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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Hydrogeologic Heterogeneity Identification: Using Inverse Modeling Of Synthetic Borehole Temperatures To Predict Groundwater Flux, Kevin Heintz
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
Heat has been effectively used as a groundwater tracer for decades, and high-resolution temperature data can better identify and quantify discrete flow zones. Refinements to the numerical modeling of advective heat transfer in borehole temperature sensing deployments can improve understanding of dynamic hydrogeologic systems. In my thesis, I develop a novel two-dimensional coupled radial groundwater flow and heat transfer numerical model that considers intra-borehole vertical flow. To test the performance of this model, I used finite element analysis to generate synthetic data sets consisting of prescribed variable flow fields and resulting borehole temperatures. I input synthetic temperatures into the two-dimensional …
Influence Of Bedrock Erodibility On Orogen Evolution In Collisional Systems And Implications For Geodynamic Models, Stephanie Ann Sparks
Influence Of Bedrock Erodibility On Orogen Evolution In Collisional Systems And Implications For Geodynamic Models, Stephanie Ann Sparks
Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences
Theoretical and numerical geodynamic models of continental collisional systems often involve, either explicitly or implicitly, a necessary yet complicated dependence between tectonics and erosion; however, the exact nature of these relationships remains elusive and controversial. In such models for the Himalayan-Tibetan (H-T) collisional orogen, surface processes are theorized or in some cases required to play an essential role in modulating critical processes active in the evolution of that system. To investigate, at least to first order. these interactions between climate and tectonics, we generate a simplified landscape evolution model of an actively uplifting orogenic wedge acted upon by surface processes. …
Syn- To Post-Orogenic Evolution Of Collisional Mountain Systems: Investigating The Potential For Crustal Flow Using Thermochronology And Numerical Models, Brandon Spencer
Syn- To Post-Orogenic Evolution Of Collisional Mountain Systems: Investigating The Potential For Crustal Flow Using Thermochronology And Numerical Models, Brandon Spencer
Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences
This dissertation is composed of three distinct manuscripts which collectively investigate processes that contribute to the late evolution of collisional mountain systems —specifically, the ancient Appalachian-Caledonian system. In the first paper, 40Ar/39Ar thermochronological data are used to constrain the timing of exhumation of the Scandian orogenic wedge of northern Scotland. Muscovite and amphibole samples yield dates of ca. 420-411 Ma, consistent with cooling after peak orogenesis. During this cooling phase, dates from both systems in individual thrust sheets show an increase in cooling rate in the later stage of exhumation; in the orogenic core, the cooling rate …