Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Geology Of El Paso, William Cornell, Diane Doser, Richard Langford, Joshua Villalobos, Jason Ricketts

Books & Monographs

The Geology of El Paso describes the history of El Paso, Texas and its surrounding region from the Precambrian formation of the continent to the modern use of geologic resources. This book is written in an easy to digest format, with definitions or links for specific geologic terms and references for further reading. It reviews the formation and evolution of local landmark features such as the Franklin Mountains, Cerro Cristo Rey, and the Sierra de Juarez. Fossils and stratigraphic units of the El Paso area are described as well as important geologic features. The book puts the events that shaped …

U-Pb Zircon Geochronology And Structure Of Regional Blueschist Units In The Easton Metamorphic Suite, Northwest Cascades, Wa, Katherine Lang

WWU Graduate School Collection

The Easton metamorphic suite of the Northwest Cascades Thrust System (NWCS) is a well-preserved subduction accretion complex in Washington State. The regional blueschist units of the Easton metamorphic suite include the Mt. Josephine semi-schist, Darrington Phyllite, and Shuksan greenschist/blueschist and all are interpreted to have accreted after the onset of Jurassic subduction beneath North America. This study uses zircon U-Pb geochronology, structure, and field observations to test the regional correlations between units in the Easton metamorphic suite and address models for the timing of subduction accretion along the North American margin in the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous. The results …

New Age Constraints On The Break-Up Of Rodinia And Amalgamation Of Southwestern Gondwana From The Choquequirao Formation In Southwestern Peru, Eben Blake Hodgin, Victor Carlotto, Francis A. Macdonald, Mark D. Schmitz, James L. Crowley

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Choquequirao Formation is a >3 km-thick amphibolite-grade succession that outcrops in the Central Andes of southern Peru. To constrain its age and tectonostratigraphic setting, detrital zircon and metamorphic zircon, titanite, and rutile U–Pb isotopic analyses were conducted. Mantle-derived c. 640 Ma detrital zircons constrain the maximum age of the lower part of the succession and 550–490 Ma metamorphic zircon domains constrain its minimum age. The absence of early Paleozoic detrital zircons suggests that deposition predated early Paleozoic orogenesis in southwestern Gondwana. The close similarity of detrital zircon age spectra to those from sediments deposited on the Arequipa basement suggests …

Relationship Between Dike Injection And B-Value For Volcanic Earthquake Swarms, Allen F. Glazner, Stephen R. Mcnutt

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Dike swarms are the fossil remains of regions of the crust that have undergone repeated magma injections. Volcanic earthquake swarms and geodetic measurements are, at least in part, a record of active injection of fluids (water, gas, or magma) into fractures. Here, we link these two ways of observing magmatic systems by noting that dike thicknesses and earthquake magnitudes share similar scaling parameters. In the Jurassic Independence dike swarm of eastern California median dike thickness is ∼1 m, similar to other swarms worldwide, but glacially polished exposures reveal that a typical dike comprises a number of dikelets that are lognormally …

Geodetic Constraints On A 25-Year Magmatic Inflation Episode Near Three Sisters, Central Oregon, Robert Mccaffrey, Michael Lisowsk, Charles W. Wicks, Daniel Dzurisin

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Crustal inflation near the Three Sisters volcanic center documented since the mid-1990s has persisted for more than two decades. We update past analyses of the event through 2020 by simultaneously inverting InSAR interferograms, GPS time series, and leveling data for time-dependent volcanic deformation source parameters. We explore several source models to estimate how the deformation rate varied through time and to identify parameters that can reproduce measured deformation. Our preferred model is a Mogi source 4.1 km below sea level (5.9 km below the surface) about 5 km west of the summit of South Sister. Inflation started in late 1995 …

Joint Spacing In The Caples Lake Granodiorite Of The Sierra Nevada Batholith In Eldorado National Forest, California: A Comparative Analysis Of Joint Sets And Data Resolution, Jimmy Wood

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Joints are the most common deformation structure in the Earth’s upper crust and exert a significant influence on structural stability, landscape morphology, and fluid flow . Therefore, a greater understanding of fracture parameters (e.g., length, aperture, etc.) allows us to more accurately predict their presence, persistence, and prevalence, in the subsurface . We study the fracture spacing of two sub-orthogonal joint sets—66 NE-246 SW and 330 NW-150 SE—in the Caples Lake granodiorite of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, California. Specifically, we investigate 1) their spacing distributions with a keen interest in power-law (fractal) spacing, 2) distribution comparisons between master and cross …

Analysis Of Dishman Hills Structure And Hydrogeology, Cole R. Mcgregor

Geosciences Student Work

The structural and hydrogeology of Dishman Hills Conservation Area was interpreted to gain a better picture of its interaction with the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer. The rock in this area is Precambrian Ravalli Group with granitic migmatites. This is due to exhumation causing decompression melting in between the bed layers. Other rocks such as amphibolite, gneiss, schist, quartzite, and phyllite are seen along with granitic dikes (WSDNR). This rock type covers all of the Dishman area and is Precambrian in age. Due to tectonic forces in the Spokane area, fractures have also formed within the Precambrian rock. Water will concentrate …

Structural Controls And Hydrogeochemical Properties Of Geothermal Fields In The Vartoregion, East Anatolia, Taygun Uzelli̇, Mehmet Furkan Şener, İskender Dölek, Alper Baba, Hasan Sözbi̇li̇r, Ramazan Kadi̇r Di̇ri̇k

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Varto and the surrounding region have important geothermal fields, developing in strike-slip tectonic setting in East Anatolia, which resulted from the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The main structural elements in the area are the NE-trending sinistral and NW-trending dextral strike-slip fault segments and N-S trending extension zones. In order to determine fault-controlled geothermal circulation, it is very important to fully characterize the structural elements in these complex environments. The widely distributed volcanic rocks have fracture and crack systems that play an important role in surface infiltration, geothermal fluid, and groundwater circulation. Especially in areas where the fault …

Structural Analysis And Interpretation Of Deformation Along The Keweenaw Fault System West Of Lake Gratiot, Keweenaw County, Michigan, Sophie A. Mueller

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is perhaps the most significant fault associated with the Midcontinent Rift System of the north-central United States. The fault, parallel to the south edge of the rift, has been interpreted as a rift-bounding normal fault that was inverted by subsequent compressional events, thrusting copper-bearing Portage Lake Volcanics (~ 1.1 Ga) over younger Jacobsville Sandstone. Geologic maps and cross sections published in the 1950s by the U. S. Geological Survey depict the fault with a well-defined, single, sinuous trace that is locally associated with smaller branch faults. Cross-sections from that time generally show a simple listric stratal geometry …

Investigating The Timing Of Initial Louann Salt Flow And Its Relationship With The Gilbertown Fault Zone, Southwest Alabama, Avery Rosenbalm

Master's Theses

The Mesozoic Louann Salt extends through the northern GOM, extending onshore from eastern Texas to western Alabama and Florida. Along the landward terminus of the salt is a system of peripheral faults, including the Gilbertown Fault Zone bordering the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin to the north and east. This study sought to constrain the timing of fault movement and determine its relationship to the baswinward evacuation of Louann Salt through the use of a 3D seismic survey and well logs. By mapping Mesozoic formations and the peripheral fault system, lateral changes in formation thickness were used to generate fault expansion …

A Gis-Based Method For Archival And Visualization Of Microstructural Data From Drill Core Samples., Elliott Holmes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Core samples obtained from scientific drilling could provide large volumes of direct microstructural and compositional data, but generating results via the traditional treatment of such data is often time-consuming and inefficient. Unifying microstructural data within a spatially referenced Geographic Information System (GIS) environment provides an opportunity to readily locate, visualize, correlate, and explore the available microstructural data. Using 26 core billet samples from the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), this study developed procedures for: 1. A GIS-based approach for spatially referenced visualization and storage of microstructural data from drill core billet samples; and 2. Producing 3D models of …

Major Lower Paleozoic Horizons Of The Southern Illinois Basin, John B. Hickman

Report of Investigations--KGS

The geology exposed at the surface in the southern Illinois Basin has been mapped in great detail by countless workers over the past century. With the exception of limited and scattered exposures in incised river valleys, the oldest rocks exposed outside of the Jessamine, Nashville, and Ozark Domes surrounding the Illinois Basin are Mississippian in age. Extensive deposits of Cambrian–Devonian sediments occur in the subsurface above crystalline basement in this region, however. All available data for the region were analyzed to produce a single, comprehensive set of interpretations. The data used in this study include 1:24,000-scale geologic quadrangle maps, oil …

Extraction And Visualization Of Orientation Data From Virtual Geologic Surfaces With Matlab®, Avery J. Welker, John Patrick Hogan, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High-resolution visualization of surfaces of geologic interest, at a multitude of scales, using 3D point cloud technologies provides an opportunity to analyze spatial relationships of surfaces using orientation data. We present a MATLAB® script that produces planar geologic attitude data (e.g., strike, dip, and dip-direction data) from 3D datasets (e.g., point clouds, 3D scanning). The method utilizes Cartesian coordinates of triangular planar surfaces and converts them into matrices of conventional geologic attitude data. Spatial relationships among data points can be investigated, using polar tangent diagrams, stereographic analysis, or geologic curvature analysis. We utilize this script to create "synthetic" graphical plots …

Fault Deformation At The Base Of And Within The Crescent Formation Along The Dosewallips River, Olympic Mountains Peninsula, Washington, Usa, Christine Meryl Maher

Dissertations and Theses

The Olympic Mountains, in the cost ranges of northwest Washington, expose a Cenozoic accretionary complex east of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Accreted material consists of metasedimentary deposits thrust eastward beneath a basaltic terrane (i.e., the basaltic Crescent Formation and the basal Blue Mountain Unit [BMU] turbidite) along a major fault, the Hurricane Ridge Fault (HRF). Recent isotopic dating of zircons from the BMU indicate that it is about 8 my younger than the basalt, implying another major fault may exist east of the HRF, between the BMU and the Crescent Fm. Field observations, data, and samples for microstructural analysis were …

A Characterization Of Structures Across The Hurricane Ridge Fault In The Southeastern Olympic Peninsula, Wa, Hamma Hamma River Transect, Veronica Catherine Biesiada

Dissertations and Theses

The Olympic Mountains in northwestern Washington, USA are defined by the arcuate shape of the basaltic Crescent Formation (Fm.) that wraps a faulted and folded meta-sedimentary core. This area was developed through accretion and exhumation by subduction-related processes, but how this relates to the deformational history of the area is not fully understood. The region has been mapped geologically, however little focus has been placed on interpreting meso-scale structures. This study investigates structures along a transect where the Hamma Hamma River crosses the Hurricane Ridge Fault, which juxtaposes the meta-sedimentary core (west) and the basaltic Crescent Fm. (east). In the …

Fault Kinematics Of The Southern Rio Grande Rift: Exploring The Possibility Of Fault Reactivation, Georgina Rodriguez Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The region in and around the southern Rio Grande rift has experienced a long and complex tectonic history since the Precambrian era. In addition to recording extension directions due to the opening of the Rio Grande rift, faults can also possibly record contractional deformation related to the Laramide orogeny, extension along the boundary of the Mesozoic Chihuahua Trough, and possibly strike - slip movement since the Precambrian related to the Texas Lineament. The northern and central segments of the Rio Grande rift preserve mostly N - S-trending faults, whereas the southern segment preserves NW - SE-trending faults. The main hypoThesis …

Structural Style And Stratigraphic Architecture Of The Northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska, Benjamin G. Johnson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Arctic Alaska–Chukotka microplate is a large Mesozoic–Cenozoic composite terrane that resides at the northern limit of the North American Cordillera. Although its Mesozoic origins are assuredly linked to the opening of the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, its Paleozoic origins can be linked to at least three separate paleocontinents, including northern Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia. Across the Arctic Alaska portion of the microplate, an internal, mid-Paleozoic suture zone presumably separates rocks of the North Slope subterrane (Laurentian affinity) from a collection of smaller subterranes in the southern Brooks Range and Seward Peninsula (Baltic affinity).

The mountains of the …

Ductile Deformation In The Central Panamint Mountains - A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To A Multi-Dimensional Problem., Tai Antonia Subia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study provides new insights into the geometry and timing of ductile, syn-metamorphic structures in the central Panamint Mountains of eastern California. The study focused on Surprise Canyon, where exposures of Meso- to Neoproterozoic miogeocline rocks, reworked crystalline basement, and syn-metamorphic granitoids record fabric overprints indicative of at least two distinct dynamo-thermal metamorphic events. Prograde metamorphism at greenschist and amphibolite metamorphic facies conditions occurred during Early Jurassic plutonism based on deformation of a dioritic pluton with a U-Pb date reported here of 175.6 ± 3.2 Ma. Mid Jurassic deformation (D1) generated the main continuous cleavage in the rocks (S1) as …

An Outcrop Based Study Of The Weches Formation In Sabine County, Texas: Investigating Its Unconventional Resource Potential Through The Study Of Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Petrology, And Geochemistry, Talban Kantala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fresh Weches Formation (Middle Eocene) exposures found in aggregate quarries in Sabine County, Texas, were sampled, measured, and logged with gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS). Sedimentology and petrology characteristics of Weches samples were analyzed through thin section, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and GRS Th/K ratios analyses. The source rock quality of the Weches was evaluated with geochemical techniques involving total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and GRS Th/U ratios.

The Weches, in the study area, is 27.4 meters thick, and delineated into three major stratigraphic facies: an upper marginal marine prodeltaic facies (Therrill Member) comprised of silty claystones and …

Structural Evolution And Petroleum Potential Of A Cambrian Intracratonic Rift System: Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, And Rome Trough, John B. Hickman, David C. Harris

Report of Investigations--KGS

Drilling and geophysical data demonstrate that the Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough are fault-bounded structures filled with as much as 27,000 ft of Cambrian sediments. Data including stratigraphic tops from 1,764 wells, 106 seismic profiles, aeromagnetic and gravity surveys, and mapped surface geology at a scale of 1:24,000 were used to study seven stratigraphic packages across parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. Detailed analysis of the thickness patterns of these stratigraphic packages was used to interpret the locations and timing of movement along major fault systems in the study area.

Active rifting of …

Structural Synthesis And Spatial Distribution Of A 335 Ma Igneous Suite From The Eastern Blue Ridge, Alabama Appalachians, Avery Rosenbalm

Honors Theses

The Appalachian range was formed by three orogenies, the most recent being the Alleghanian beginning at ~330 Ma. A small pluton outcropping along Highway 280 near Alexander City, AL, called the 280 granodiorite, has been dated at ~335 Ma and intrudes the Devonian Elkahatchee Quartz Diorite (EQD). While little work has been done on the intrusion, it is significant because of its age: all deformation of the intrusion should be related to the Alleghanian orogeny, while most other bodies in the region exhibit significant overprinting due to previous successive orogenies. The pluton was mapped constraining the geographic extent, which is …

An Investigation Of Hydrothermal Veins Along The Foy Offset Dyke, Sudbury Impact Structure, Ontario, Sarah Ann Codyre

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A multi-stage hydrothermal system is related to the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure. This system began in the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) and radiated outward along the offset dykes. Through the combination of orientation measurements of veins in the field, petrography and geochemistry of these veins, this study has determined that there are four types of hydrothermal epidote-quartz veins categorized by their orientation, petrography and geochemistry. This study discovered that there are general trends with increasing distance from the SIC along the Foy Offset Dyke. From this it can be concluded that this is in fact SIC-driven hydrothermal event not …

Twinning Strains In Synfolding Calcite, Proterozoic Sinian System, China, John P. Craddock, Junlai Liu, Yuanyuan Zheng

Faculty Publications

Synfolding calcite was precipitated between layers of Neoproterozoic sandy dolomite and striated parallel to the fold axis of an open anticline with a shallow plunge during folding. The fold had limb dips of 45° and plunged 20° to the south. The synfolding calcite had sub-horizontal grooves that trended parallel to the fold. Limb-hinge-limb calcite samples (3 samples; n = 100 grains) preserved a layer-parallel shortening strain that trended at an acute (45°) angle to the trend of the fold axis and fold lineations. Extension axes were vertical and there was no strain overprint (low NEVs). Shortening strain magnitudes were −2.9% …

Geologic Framework Of The Fang Hot Springs Area With Emphasis On Structure, Hydrology, And Geothermal Development, Chiang Mai Provence, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Pichet Kaewsomwang, Fongsaward Suvagondha Singharajwarapan

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Geologic mapping, a magnetotelluric survey, well data, and earlier reports are integrated to guide further development of the Fang geothermal system. The Fang Hot Springs originally flowed ~ 20 l s⁻¹ of 90–99 °C water from a 10-hectare area of crystal- line rocks presumed to be of Triassic age. Four wells 92–500 m deep now flow ~ 20 l s⁻¹ of 110–115 °C water and generate 115–250 kWe from the 1989 Ormat binary power plant. Wells are not pumped nor is the spent water re-injected. Temperatures of 130 °C occur in some wells and water chemistry indicates reservoir …

Conical Folds -- An Artifact Of Using Simple Geometric Shapes To Describe A Complex Geologic Structure, Avery Joseph Welker

Masters Theses

"Accurate representation of the 3D shapes of natural folds is essential to characterization of the dynamic models for fold formation. Geometrical analysis of folds commonly relies upon analyzing patterns defined by the variation in the orientation of poles to planar surfaces deformed by a shortening event when plotted using graphical calculators (e.g., stereogram, polar tangent diagrams) to interpret the shape of folds. Stereograms for which orientation data define small circles are classified as non-cylindrical regular folds and are interpreted as "conical folds," where the shape of the fold is represented by a cone that terminates at a point. Utilizing similar …

Slope, Grain Size, And Roughness Controls On Dry Sediment Transport And Storage On Steep Hillslopes, Roman A. Dibiase, Michael P. Lamb, Vamsi Ganti, Adam M. Booth

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Existing hillslope sediment transport models developed for low-relief, soil-mantled landscapes are poorly suited to explain the coupling between steep rocky hillslopes and headwater channels. Here we address this knowledge gap using a series of field and numerical experiments to inform a particle-based model of sediment transport by dry ravel—a mechanism of granular transport characteristic of steep hillslopes. We find that particle travel distance increases as a function of the ratio of particle diameter to fine-scale (1m) topographic variability associated with rocky landscapes. Applying a 2-D dry-ravel-routing model to lidar-derived surface topography, we show how spatial patterns of local and nonlocal …

Kinematic, Metamorphic, And Geochronologic Constraints On The Evolution Of The Lhagoi Kangri Gneiss Dome, Southern Tibet: Insight Into Mid-Crustal Processes During Himalayan Orogenesis, Timothy Francis Diedesch

Doctoral Dissertations

The north Himalayan gneiss domes are a series of isolated structures in southern-central Tibet that expose middle crust and record an early history of deformation, metamorphism, and partial melting. The domes are windows into the processes and physical conditions that promoted growth and uplift of the Himalaya during the early stage of collision (Eocene to Miocene) between India and Asia. Mechanisms responsible for creating the north Himalayan gneiss domes are crucial to understanding the early tectonic evolution of large orogens, such as the Himalaya, particularly with respect to crustal rheology and how middle crust is exhumed in collisional settings. Models …

Stratigraphy And Structure Of A South-Trending Structural High, Northern Arkoma Basin, Arkansas, Yirong Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a Carboniferous peripheral foreland basin in southeastern Oklahoma and west-central Arkansas. The formation of the Arkoma Basin is a result of a collision between the North American Plate and the Sabine Terrane. To the north of the basin, there is a structural high that extends southward from the Arkoma Shelf into the basin. This structure is in contrast with the prevailing east-trending strike of structures in the northern margin of the basin and is poorly defined. This paper examined the structure of the salient with stratigraphic and structural cross sections. Across the study area, two NS …

The Structural Evolution Of A Portion Of The Median Batholith And Its Host Rock In Central Fiordland, New Zealand: Examples Of Partitioned Transpression And Structural Reactivation, Hannah Jane Blatchford

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents the results of structural analyses and detailed field mapping from a region near Adams Burn in central Fiordland, New Zealand. The region preserves assemblages of metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks deposited, intruded, and ultimately metamorphosed and deformed during the growth of a Gondwana-margin continental arc from Cambrian-Early Cretaceous. Evidence of arc growth is preserved in the Late Devonian-Early Cretaceous Median Batholith, a belt of intrusive rock whose growth culminated with the emplacement of the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) into the middle-lower crust of the margin. Following this magmatic flare-up, the margin experienced Late Cretaceous extensional orogenic collapse and …

A Unified And Preserved Dirichlet Boundary Treatment For The Cell-Centered Finite Volume Discrete Boltzmann Method, Leitao Chen, Laura A. Schaefer

Publications

A new boundary treatment is proposed for the finite volume discrete Boltzmann method (FVDBM) that can be used for accurate simulations of curved boundaries and complicated flow conditions. First, a brief review of different boundary treatments for the general Boltzmann simulations is made in order to primarily explain what type of boundary treatment will be developed in this paper for the cell-centered FVDBM. After that, the new boundary treatment along with the cell-centered FVDBM model is developed in detail. Next, the proposed boundary treatment is applied to a series of numerical tests with a detailed discussion of its qualitative and …