Earth Sciences Commons^™

Analyzing Strain Localization, Kinematic Partitioning And Fluid Flow In The Pulo Do Lobo Metasedimentary Rocks Along The Southern Iberian Shear Zone, Andalucia, Spain, Nancy Alejandra Carman

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone is a regional scale ductile shear zone that placed Beja-Acebuches metabasites over metapelite and quartzite rocks of the Pulo do Lobo Formation in a transpressional deformation with components of thrust and left-lateral movement. This project evaluates factors that contributed to strain localization at a variety of scales within the Pulo do Lobo formation, including lithologic variations, microstructures, and fluid flow. Additionally, microstructural data are used to test whether kinematic partitioning accompanied strain localization. Grain scale asymmetric indicators of sigma-type clasts, S-C fabrics, and asymmetric folds indicate dominant thrust motion. Strain intensity and metamorphic grade increase …

Surface Alteration In The Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, And Geysir Hydrothermal Systems, Iceland: Implications For Mars, Jordan Ludyan

Theses and Dissertations

Silica- and sulfate-rich deposits observed by Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit near Home Plate, Gusev crater, Mars, indicate alteration of Mars basalt by a diverse array of hydrothermal fluids and processes. Constraining the precise fluid conditions present at the time of deposition for these deposits on Mars relies on investigations of terrestrial hydrothermal systems that produce similar mineral assemblages. Alteration products and fluids collected from the Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, and Geysir hydrothermal areas in southern Iceland cover a wide range of end-member and intermediate fluid and alteration environments, and provide a means to compare the secondary minerals produced from different hydrothermal …

Evaluating Hydration And Artificial Aging Effects On The Paleointensity In Natural Glass, Sebastian Fearn

Theses and Dissertations

Young natural volcanic glasses have been successfully used to recover Earth’s geomagnetic field intensity (paleointensity). However, the magnetic stability and reliability of volcanic glass as a paleomagnetic recorder over geologic time is unclear. Paleointensity estimates may be influenced by natural processes that alter magnetic mineralogy. Previous results from paleointensity and rock magnetic experiments suggest that post-emplacement hydrothermal alteration can alter the magnetic remanence and can possibly cause paleointensity experiments to fail. Low-temperature hydration and natural relaxation of the glass structure over time may also adversely impact paleointensity results. In this study, rhyolitic and basaltic glass specimens underwent artificial aging and …

Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy, And High-Precision U-Pb Age Constraints On The Late Paleozoic Ansilta Formation, Calingasta-Uspallata Basin, Nw Argentina, John Ethan Malone

Theses and Dissertations

The Ansilta Formation, located several kilometers east of the Astronomical Observatory El Leoncito near Barreal, San Juan Province, Argentina was deposited during the late Mississippian to early Pennsylvanian. This succession includes glacimarine, nearshore, and fluvial systems deposited at the mid-Carboniferous portion of the late Paleozoic ice age within the Calingasta—Uspallata Basin on the western margin of the Protoprecordillera. The lower member of the Ansilta Formation is equivalent to the nearby Leoncito, Majaditas, and Hoyada Verde formations, and is composed of diamictite, conglomerates, sandstones, pebbly mudstones, and laminated mudstone. Glacial environments are unique in that facies changes occur as a result …

Exploring The Potential Of Feature Selection Methods In The Classification Of Urban Trees Using Field Spectroscopy Data, Simbarashe Jombo, Elhadi Adam, Marcus J. Byrne, Khalid Adem Ali, Solomon W Newete

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Mapping of vegetation at the species level using hyperspectral satellite data can be effective and accurate because of its high spectral and spatial resolutions that can detect detailed information of a target object. Its wide application, however, not only is restricted by its high cost and large data storage requirements, but its processing is also complicated by challenges of what is known as the Hughes effect. The Hughes effect is where classification accuracy decreases once the number of features or wavelengths passes a certain limit. This study aimed to explore the potential of feature selection methods in the classification of …

Scale Mis-Matches When Assessing Chloride Concentration And Corrosiveness Using Statewide Data For Trend Analysis, Rebecca L. Kauten

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

This study compares chloride concentrations and a series of corrosiveness indexes to determine whether trends in statewide databases appropriately detect local conditions. Chloride concentrations in local, urban streams generally persist at higher levels than what is typical of natural waters. Data collected for statewide water quality assessments are often at a broader geographical scale. Results and subsequent policies may indicate little to no environmental concern, meanwhile degradation at the local scale remains relatively undetected. Pulses of local snowmelt runoff may violate water quality criteria, but long-term trends measured at the statewide scale are in decline. Results highlight the need for …

A Neighborhood-Level Perspective Of Real Estate Determinants In Three U.S. Cities, Mikhail Samarin, Madhuri Sharma

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

This study examines the relationships between commonly available socio-economic and environmental determinants of real estate (crime, quality of schools, racial/ethnic diversity, and built environment) and real estate values in socially and politically recognized units in the three largest cities of the U.S.—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Utilizing a variety of data sources used by potential real estate buyers, we conduct correlations, mapping, and multiple regression analyses to identify the degrees and strengths of associations between select determinants and real estate values at these politically recognized units. Results suggest that the cities exhibit similar patterns for crime-related characteristics and quality …

Late Paleozoic Climatic Reconstruction Of Western Argentina: Glacial Extent And Deglaciation Of Southwestern Gondwana, Kathryn N. Pauls

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout its history Earth has experienced both icehouse and greenhouse conditions. Shifts and transitions from one end member to the other are driven by numerous driving mechanisms on global, orbital and more local scales. In particular, the late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) is thought to have been driven by global drivers such as the drift of the Gondwanan continent across the South Pole, fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and Milankovitch cycles. It was also affected by more local and regional drivers such as active tectonism along accretionary margins and changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. South American Gondwana provides …

Water Chemistry And Lake Dynamics Of Laguna Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Ryan Matzuk

Theses and Dissertations

Laguna Bacalar in the Quintana Roo region is the second largest lake in Mexico and contains freshwater derived solely from groundwater. Local geology on the Yucatan Peninsula is karstic and the southern shoreline of Laguna Bacalar is spotted with a handful of cenotes that contribute substantial amounts of inflowing groundwater to the lake. This is shown by sonde profile data taken in one of the largest cenotes in the area. Outflow is dominated by a surface water outlet in the southern portion of the lake and an unknown amount of outflowing groundwater. During January of 2017 through 2019, UWM researchers …

Triple Threat Gateway? Respiratory Health, Demographics And Land Use In Metro East St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois, Usa, Stacey R. Brown-Amilian

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

This paper examines a triple threat for residents of two counties in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Previous environmental justice research has focused on demographics and toxic facilities. This research builds upon those assessments by incorporating hospital discharge data and demographics as well as three different types of pollution sources. Air pollution monitors were unavailable to use during the time period of 2009-2011, therefore proxy measures of pollution in the form of major roadways, industrial land use parcels, and toxic facility information from the EPA Toxic Release Inventory are utilized. This study integrates both spatial coincidence and proximity analysis methods …

Green To Gray: Political Ecology Of Paving Over Green Spaces In Moscow, Russia, Mikhail S. Blinnikov, Liudmila Volkova

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Moscow, Russia is the largest city in Europe with over 12.6 million residents. The remarkable fact is that it is also a biologically diverse ecosystem with a few dozen specially protected natural areas, including 15 large forest parks and a variety of smaller nature-places. The recent landscaping “improvements” conducted by the Moscow government since 2010 greatly increased negative impacts on the green infrastructure, e.g., a lot more paving, systematic grass mowing, widespread planting of exotic plant species, increased residential and commercial construction, more noise, etc. While quantification of the impacts of the above on the biota is not easy, we …

A Conceptual Agent-Based Model Of Farming Households’ Vulnerability To Winter Storms, Yiyi Zhang

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Vulnerability assessments are implemented to identify regions and groups at risk and factors that need to be addressed to reduce vulnerability. Existing assessments have allowed multidimensional factors to be examined in various settings and adopted complex models to simulate human-environment-weather interactions. However, these models are far less accessible than traditional models due to model abstraction and there has been limited research detailing a formalized way to simulate the interactions between rural households and external changes in response to a specific extreme weather event. To supplement applied efforts in vulnerability assessments and address the challenge in communicating agent-based models, this study …

Characterization Of Water Pathways And Hydrolytic Weakening Within Naturally Deformed Quartz Grains Along The Willard Thrust Fault, Utah, Charles Alexander Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Evidence of water infiltration was examined in naturally deformed quartzite clasts from diamictite of the Mineral Fork Formation sampled from Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. The diamictite deformed via subsimple shear in the footwall of the Willard thrust fault and displays spatial variations in strain intensity. Evidence of water infiltration was investigated utilizing three complimentary techniques: standard petrographic microscopy to identify microstructures and interpret deformation mechanisms; scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL) to create maps of healed microfractures and subgrain boundaries related to pathways of fluid infiltration; and synchrotron-source Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to create micron-scale water absorbance …

Simulating The Effects Of Urbanization And Climate Change On Ground Water Recharging Using The Usgs Precipitation And Runoff Modelling System (Prms), Kenneth Oanes

Theses and Dissertations

The Root River watershed, located in southeastern Wisconsin, was selected to be the subject of a study modeling the impacts of urbanization and climate change on groundwater recharge. Historical and projected (2035) land use data for the study area was sourced from the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Committee (SEWRPC). The USGS Precipitation and Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) was selected to estimate recharge from a 35-year period of historical climate data (1980-2014). PRMS was run for the full 35-year time period under each land-use scenario and model outputs for evapotranspiration (ET), runoff, and recharge were calculated on a daily time-step.

Model …

A Feasibility Study Of Microbialites As Paleomagnetic Recorders, Ji-In Jung

Theses and Dissertations

Microbialites are carbonate organosedimentary deposits formed by benthic microbial communities that trap and bind detrital sediments, and/or inorganic and biologically influenced calcification. Any ferromagnetic particles incorporated into the microbialite structure have the potential to preserve variations in Earth’s magnetic field. A paleomagnetic record in microbialites would be useful for reconstructing the geomagnetic field because it may record at a high temporal resolution based on estimated growth rates, thus preserving relatively short-period variations of the Earth’s magnetic field. In addition, microbialites can be found in the geologic record going back ~3.5 Ga, hence potentially providing information on very ancient variations in …

Development Of A Hydrodynamic And Sediment Transport Model For Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Bahram Khazaei

Theses and Dissertations

Sediment dynamics are strongly linked with biogeochemical and physical changes in estuarine systems. Understanding the links between sediment processes and ecosystem responses is necessary for the restoration of degraded systems. Located in Northern US, and one of the largest freshwater estuaries on earth, Green Bay is a distinct example of these degraded systems. Rapid development and anthropogenic activities increased nutrient loading rates into the bay and led to a major disruption of the pre-existing biogeochemical regimes in the ecosystem. Contaminated and nutrient-rich sediments were discharged to the bay by the Fox River for almost half a century. Green Bay’s seasonal-, …

Pesticides In Urban/Suburban Water Wells In Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, And Waukesha Counties In Wisconsin, Leslie Bychinski

Theses and Dissertations

The professional lawn care business has developed into a multibillion-dollar industry over the last few decades with a rise in home and garden market sector for urban/suburban use. Some homeowners purchase and apply the pesticides themselves while others hire professional lawn care companies. The US EPA states that “all pesticides are toxic to some degree” and the prevalent, widespread use of pesticides is both a major environmental problem and a public health issue. There have been many studies tracing agricultural pesticides application and contamination of public drinking water, and less on (sub)urban, residential pesticide application. This study targets active, private …

A Pilot Study On The Relationship Between Urban Green Spaces And Fine Particulate Matter, Sohyun Park, Seungman Kim, Jaehoon Lee

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

This study aims at identifying the relationships among various variables that influence city-wide PM_2.5 pollution levels in the six largest cities in Texas. The variables were categorized into three groups for statistical analysis: 1) urban components (city land area, urban population, population density); 2) green space components (coverage, percentage, connectivity, and shape); and 3) meteorological factors (ambient temperature and wind speed). To identify the relationship between meteorological features and daily PM_2.5 concentration, we used descriptive statistics for each city and all six cities combined. A bivariate statistical test was used to examine the correlation between urban and green …

Special Thanks To Reviewers 2018-2019, Woonsup Choi

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Sincere thanks are extended to the following individuals who reviewed manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research during the period of 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019.