Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Biodiversity And Distribution Of Benthic Foraminifera In Harrington Sound, Bermuda: The Effects Of Physical And Geochemical Factors On Dominant Taxa, Nam Le

Honors Theses

Harrington Sound, Bermuda, is a nearly enclosed lagoon acting as a subtropical/tropical, carbonate-rich basin in which carbonate sediments, reef patches, and carbonate-producing organisms accumulate. Here, one of the most important calcareous groups is the Foraminifera. Analyses of common benthic orders, including miliolids (Quinqueloculina and Triloculina spp.) and rotaliids (Homotrema rubrum, Elphidium spp., and Ammonia beccarii), are essential in understanding past and present environmental conditions affecting the island's coastal environment. These taxa have been studied previously; however, factors explaining their individual patterns of abundance in the Sound are not well detailed. The goal of this study is …

Late Devonian Sedimentary Record Of Appalachian Tectonics And Erosion: Geochronology And Geochemistry Of Detrital Muscovite And Zircon From Central Pennsylvania Strata, Cole T. Gardner

Honors Theses

Foreland basin sediment deposition in North-Central Pennsylvania during Late Devonian time records erosion of hinterland source terranes exhumed during regional plate convergence, including the collisional Acadian orogeny. The Catskill clastic wedge preserves a coarsening-upwards stratigraphic succession from marine to fluvial environments associated with sediment progradation and sea-level regression, yet depositional timescales and quantitative provenance data are largely unconstrained.

Detailed facies analysis of eight outcrops spanning >2 km of stratigraphy in Lycoming Co., Pennsylvania documents distinct upsection changes, interpreted to reflect changes in depositional environments consistent with previous sedimentology of the Catskill clastic wedge. Stratigraphy displays a transition from nearshore marine …