Earth Sciences Commons^™

Alluvial Geochronology And Watershed Analysis Of The Golo River, Northeastern Corsica, France, Emilee M. Skyles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Golo River in Corsica, France, is a short, steep river (~95 km, 2706 m relief) in the Western Mediterranean with formerly glaciated headwaters. The small size and location of the Golo River make this system ideal for observing the influence of climate and sea-level change on river dynamics over the 100,000 years. A rapidly advancing dating technique, optically stimulated luminescence, was utilized to determine the timing of these river deposits on the coastal plain in order to frame them in the context of previous glacial and interglacial episodes. Climate fluctuations in the headwaters supplied the vast majority of sediment …

Mechanisms Of Vegetation-Induced Channel Narrowing On An Unregulated Canyon-Bound River, Rebecca Blanche Manners

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The accurate prediction of river channel width remains a fundamental area of investigation in the field of geomorphology. River managers and scientists are interested in understanding how a channel will respond to environmental perturbations such as altered runoff patterns from climate change, a new dam, or a pulse of sediment from a landslide. Increasingly, studies that focus on this question acknowledge the importance of accounting for the vegetation that lines the river banks. For this dissertation, I strove to identify some of the primary ways by which vegetation affects channel width.

At a fundamental level, vegetation influences the size of …

Two Scenes From Utah's Stratigraphic Record: Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth, Before And After, Dawn Schmidli Hayes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research is focused on rock units deposited in northern Utah before and after global glacial events of unprecedented magnitude, commonly referred to as
“Snowball Earth” glaciations. The rock units deposited prior to the beginning of these glaciations (~770 to 740 million years ago) include the Uinta Mountain Group in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. Rock units deposited after the glaciations (either ~665 or ~635 million years ago) include parts of the Kelley Canyon Formation on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. These rocks, deposited in shallow ocean environments, record the history of life and ocean chemistry just before and after …

Formation, Deformation, And Incision Of Colorado River Terraces Upstream Of Moab, Utah, Andrew P. Jochems

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The history of rivers is laid down as sediment in all landscapes, typically as a function of climate, geologic structures, and/or changes in sea level. When a river abandons its floodplain, this sediment collectively constitutes a landform called a fluvial terrace. Terraces are used to unlock prior characteristics of a river flowing through a given area at both local and regional scales. Dating terrace sediment allows comparison to known changes in climate and geologic deformation, two significant controls on the hydraulics of rivers and the deposition of their sediment loads.

The importance of terraces lies in their utility as markers …

A Middle To Late Holocene Record Of Arroyo Cut-Fill Events In Kitchen Corral Wash, Southern Utah, William M. Huff

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arroyos are steeply entrenched channels that form by incision into weakly consolidated valley-fill alluvium. This study attempts to offers clues into the processes behind their formation by dating arroyo sediments using luminescence and radiocarbon techniques. The importance of understanding arroyo formation is due to a possible linkage with decadal to centennial-scale climate fluctuations. In the 1800s and early 1900s, many of the shallow, perennial streams throughout southern Utah that used for a variety of agricultural and domestic uses were incised up to ~30 m into their alluvium by frequent and high-magnitude flood events. The economical and ecological effects of these …

Constraining Ice Advance And Linkages To Paleoclimate Of Two Glacial Systems In The Olympic Mountains, Washington And The Southern Alps, New Zealand, Cianna E. Wyshnytzky

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis investigates glacial sediments in the South Fork Hoh River Valley, Washington and the Lake Hawea Valley, New Zealand that were deposited during the last glacial period. Research objectives were to reconstruct the style and timing of glacier advance and retreat in both areas and to assess the viability of luminescence dating of sediments in glacial environments.

Glaciers are influenced primarily by temperature and precipitation. Valley glaciers, like those in the Olympics Mountains and Southern Alps, are thought to respond relatively rapidly to climate fluctuations in comparison to continental ice sheets. Understanding how these glacial systems responded to past …

Evaluation Of The Geothermal Potential Of The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Based On Three Exploration Holes, Thomas G. Freeman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The work in this thesis was based on analyzing water samples collected from three exploratory boreholes drilled during Project Hotspot. The water samples were analyzed for their chemical properties. The chemical properties of the water samples were used as a basis for further analysis.

Geophysical logs, mainly temperature logs, were also analyzed for this project. Temperature logs measure temperature in relation to depth within a borehole.

All the analyses were made in order to estimate the geothermal potential of the project areas. The exploratory boreholes were all drilled in different areas and each had unique characteristics. The Mountain Home borehole …

Earthquake Petrology: Linking Fault-Related Deformation To The Earthquake Cycle, Mitchell R. Prante

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Faults have a controlling influence on a variety of geologic processes including fluid flow, the mechanical behavior of the crust, and seismicity. The geologic sciences have long recognized that faults generate earthquakes; however, few indicators of ancient earthquakes exist in fault-zones. This dissertation documents several indicators for the preservation of ancient earthquakes in fault-zones including frictional melt (pseudotachylyte), highly-polished fault slip surfaces, and hydrothermal alteration.

These deformation products result from rapid generation of frictional heat during earthquakes. This dissertation also focuses on the seismic potential of continental low-angle normal faults (LANF). We document the preservation of voluminous pseudotachylyte along a …

Southward Continuation Of The San Jacinto Fault Zone Through And Beneath The Extra And Elmore Ranch Left-Lateral Fault Arrays, Southern California, Steven Jesse Thornock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Clark fault is a significant fault within the southern San Andreas fault system. The Clark fault abruptly ends where it intersects a second, smaller fault that crosses it called the Extra fault zone. In this study we investigate the possibility of the Clark fault continuing beneath and beyond the Extra fault zone. Based on field mapping and other geological data that we present, we determine that the Clark fault continues below the Extra fault and is not evident on the surface. Over time, earthquake slip along the Clark fault has caused the Extra fault zone to rotate in a …

Fault Seal Analysis For Co2 Storage: Fault Zone Architecture, Fault Permeability, And Fluid Migration Pathways In Exposed Analogs In Southeastern Utah, David J. Richey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) primarily resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels can be captured and stored by injection into underground porous sandstone reservoirs. This process has been proposed as a method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Two of the major risks associated with this technology include: 1) upwards migration and leakage of injected fluids along natural fault and fracture networks, and 2) possible induced seismicity (earthquakes) resulting from increasing the pressure in reservoirs and along existing faults.

We use geologic field mapping, petrographic analysis, characterization of the fault zone, analysis of altered …

Applications Of Bayesian Statistics In Fluvial Bed Load Transport, Mark L. Schmelter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The science of fluvial sediment transport studies the processes involved in the movement of river sediments. It is commonly understood that when rivers flood they have a great capacity to move sand, gravel, and even larger cobbles and boulders. This process is not only limited to the big floods that usually attract so much attention, but also the more common river flows play a very important role in forming a river. As engineers and scientists, we like to be able to develop equations and relationships that describe some natural phenomenon—in this case, fluvial sediment transport. While we are able to …

Dendrochronology In Northern Utah: Modeling Sensitivity And Reconstructing Logan River Flows, Eric B. Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The population centers in northern Utah are highly dependent upon snowpack for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower. When the snowpack melts in the spring and early summer, it feeds streams draining the Wasatch, Bear River, and Uinta Mountains. The rivers are diverted and dammed to deliver water to the greater Salt Lake metropolitan area. In order to properly allocate this water, managers need to know how much water normally flows in the rivers and the frequency and magnitude of wet and dry periods to expect. However, climate patterns in the region are not well understood and records of streamflows are …

Comparison Of Topographic Surveying Techniques In Streams, Sara G. Bangen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP) mitigates impacts, including mortality, from hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin for ESA-listed salmon and steelhead populations and other species of special concern. Given the extensive economic resources invested in mitigation and the incredible diversity of in-stream habitat across the Columbia River basin, questions have arisen about which sampling strategies are most tractable across the entire Columbia River Watershed, but also produce datasets that allow researchers to answer meaningful questions about salmonid populations and trends in habitat. In response to these issues, the NOAA Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring …