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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Hydrogeologic Variations Across A Barrier Island That Influence Inter-Dune Wetlands False Cape State Park, Virginia, Matthew Collier Richardson Oct 2013

Hydrogeologic Variations Across A Barrier Island That Influence Inter-Dune Wetlands False Cape State Park, Virginia, Matthew Collier Richardson

OES Theses and Dissertations

False Cape State Park in southeastern Virginia Beach, Virginia contains a transgressive barrier island complex. Inter-dune swales located on the eastern coast of the barrier island contain soils that experience hydric conditions. However, these swales lack the prolonged presence of hydric soil indicators that are necessary for a site to be officially recognized as a jurisdictional wetland. The appearance and subsequent disappearance of redoximorphic wetland soil features in the young, sandy soils of the inter-dune swales here may stem from changes in the patterns of groundwater recharge and discharge across the island. These soils are being monitored by the Mid …


Quantifying The Relationship Among Ground Penetrating Radar Reflection Amplitudes, Horizontal Sub-Wavelength Bedrock Fracture Geometries, And Fluid Conductivities, Carolyn Morgan Tewksbury-Christle May 2013

Quantifying The Relationship Among Ground Penetrating Radar Reflection Amplitudes, Horizontal Sub-Wavelength Bedrock Fracture Geometries, And Fluid Conductivities, Carolyn Morgan Tewksbury-Christle

Masters Theses

Accurate characterization of subsurface fractures is indispensible for contaminant transport and fresh water resource modeling because discharge is cubically related to the fracture aperture; thus, minor errors in aperture estimates may yield major errors in a modeled hydrologic response. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been successfully used to noninvasively estimate fracture aperture for sub-horizontal fractures at outcrop scale, but limits on vertical and horizontal resolution are a concern. Theoretical formulations and field tests have demonstrated increased GPR amplitude response with the addition of a saline tracer in a sub-millimeter fracture; however, robust verification of existing theoretical equations without an accurate …


The Evaluation Of Water Storage In Death Valley Using Grace Satellite Data, Maile Sweigart May 2013

The Evaluation Of Water Storage In Death Valley Using Grace Satellite Data, Maile Sweigart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As drought conditions spread across the United States, concerns over water supplies, water use, and water management policies are growing and possible contributing environmental factors are continually being scrutinized. This thesis examines Death Valley as an analog for Southern Nevada and utilizes NASA EOS data, combined with ancillary climate data, to assess the effect of decadal climate variability on groundwater storage in the Death Valley area. Historical climate data, combined with satellite imagery observations, were compiled and calculated for analyses. Conclusions derived from statistical analyses infer trends between GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite data and fluctuating levels of …