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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Geology Of The Bishop 7.5-Minute Quadrangle And Geophysical Modeling To Constrain Syndepositional Deformation Of The Black Warrior Foreland Basin, Joseph Edward Lane Jan 2024

Geology Of The Bishop 7.5-Minute Quadrangle And Geophysical Modeling To Constrain Syndepositional Deformation Of The Black Warrior Foreland Basin, Joseph Edward Lane

MSU Graduate Theses

The Black Warrior basin is a foreland basin formed by the Ouachita–Appalachian orogeny during the late Paleozoic Era. Mississippian strata record the transition from the carbonate platform within the Tuscumbia Limestone to the clastic-rich units within the overlying Pride Mountain Formation and Hartselle Sandstone. The western and southern-most fringes of the Black Warrior basin are covered by thin, post orogenic Cretaceous sediments of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Geological mapping of the Bishop 7.5-Minute quadrangle revealed subtle deformation in Mississippian strata in the form of gentle folds (


Bank Erosion Dynamics In Response To Anthropogenic Disturbances In The Cuivre River Watershed Of Missouri, Usa, Nathan Douglas Sines Jan 2024

Bank Erosion Dynamics In Response To Anthropogenic Disturbances In The Cuivre River Watershed Of Missouri, Usa, Nathan Douglas Sines

MSU Graduate Theses

Riverbank erosion is increasingly recognized as a pressing issue exacerbated by human activities. The Cuivre River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, located in northeast Missouri, has limited documentation on bank erosion, with the most recent study conducted in the early 1990s. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the stream bank erosion dynamics from 1816 to 2015. The objectives are to: (i) understand the channel width dynamics for 1816 to 1994 ii) determine the sediment erosion and deposition volume along the riverbank in the period of 1994 to 2015. iii) identify the anthropogenic disturbances particularly land use …


Beach Erosion And Recovery Since Hurricane Ivan In 2004 Along A Headland-Bay Coast In Treasure Beach, Jamaica, Elandé Engelbrecht Jan 2024

Beach Erosion And Recovery Since Hurricane Ivan In 2004 Along A Headland-Bay Coast In Treasure Beach, Jamaica, Elandé Engelbrecht

MSU Graduate Theses

Anthropogenic climate change is causing sea-level rise and shoreline changes that threaten the environment and economy of coastal communities in Caribbean Island nations. To assess this risk, this study quantifies shoreline changes at Treasure Beach in St. Elizabeth Parish on the south coast of Jamaica from 2001 to 2023. The effects of storm events on erosion were also assessed. Over 10 km of shoreline are assessed with about half being sandy pocket beaches ranging from 300 to 900 m in length, separated by rocky headlands and beach rock outcrops. Sand beach erosion trends since 2001 are assessed for seven sandy …


Mining Contamination Of Legacy Deposits On Floodplains Along Turkey Creek, Western Border Of The Ozark Highlands, Hannah Riley Eades Jan 2024

Mining Contamination Of Legacy Deposits On Floodplains Along Turkey Creek, Western Border Of The Ozark Highlands, Hannah Riley Eades

MSU Graduate Theses

Historical mining activities in the Tri State mining district in Southwest Missouri from 1850 to 1950 resulted in widespread metal contamination of stream sediments. Beginning in the 1840s, land disturbances associated with Euro-American settlement and agricultural expansion increased runoff and soil erosion rates resulting in the deposition of contaminated alluvium or legacy sediment on floodplains. This study assesses zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) contaminated legacy deposits in cut-bank exposures along floodplains in Turkey Creek Watershed (119 km²) which drained mining areas in Missouri. Ore production histories were used date metal contamination profiles and calculate floodplain deposition rates in legacy deposits. …


Origin Of Carbonate Mud Mounds In Southwestern Missouri, Jared Mcavoy Jan 2024

Origin Of Carbonate Mud Mounds In Southwestern Missouri, Jared Mcavoy

MSU Graduate Theses

Small carbonate mud mounds are found in Lower Mississippian strata of southwestern Missouri. These compare favorably with larger mounds, known as Waulsortian mounds, located in the Meuse River valley of southern Belgium. The origin of Waulsortian and similar mounds is unknown, but they commonly are interpreted as accumulations of mud, where the presence of biological organisms responsible for supposed bio-construction remains uncertain. Alternative hypotheses are that these may have been non-cohesive slump or cohesive slide masses. Multiple techniques, including δ13C and δ18O isotopic analyses and unmanned aerial vehicle photography, were used to determine the most feasible working hypothesis. Determining the …


Thermochronology And Exhumation Dynamics Of Metamorphic Units In The Salmon River Suture Zone, Jonathan J. Cone Jan 2024

Thermochronology And Exhumation Dynamics Of Metamorphic Units In The Salmon River Suture Zone, Jonathan J. Cone

MSU Graduate Theses

The Salmon River suture zone in western Idaho records the Jurassic-Cretaceous (160-90 Ma) accretion of amalgamated volcanic arc terranes onto the North American continent. Rocks exposed at the surface record burial to depths of more than 20 kilometers, with unclear drivers for uplift and exhumation. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the transport of deep crustal rocks to the surface: (1) delamination of a dense lithospheric root resulted in rapid isostatic uplift of the crust and (2) exhumation of crustal blocks along thrust faults. To test these models, I present temperature-time (T-t) paths for mid-crustal metamorphic rocks constructed …


Experimental Determination Of Zinc, Potassium And Rubidium Diffusion Coefficients In Olivine, Christopher J. Willingham Jan 2023

Experimental Determination Of Zinc, Potassium And Rubidium Diffusion Coefficients In Olivine, Christopher J. Willingham

MSU Graduate Theses

One of NASAs key strategies is to learn more about the early solar system and its formation. Chondrites were formed from the most primitive materials at the collapse of the solar system and over time have been classified into different categories based on their elemental abundance. These chondrites have fallen to Earth and have even formed entities such as asteroids and planetary bodies. It has been found through studies that one of these chondrites is close to the elemental abundance of the Sun. The other types of chondrites were up to two orders of magnitude less in concentration …


Dynamics And Timescales Of Magmatic Processes At Cerro Uturuncu, Bolivia, Sarah Jane Rasor Jan 2023

Dynamics And Timescales Of Magmatic Processes At Cerro Uturuncu, Bolivia, Sarah Jane Rasor

MSU Graduate Theses

Between 12-25°S latitude there is prolific volcanism fueled by the Altiplano-Puna Magmatic Body (APMB), a mid-crustal magma body above the 30° angle subduction of the Nazca plate and within 60-70 km thick South American crust. Cerro Uturuncu, a stratovolcano constructed above the center of the APMB, can provide insight to the evolution of the APMB over time. Previous research suggests that the APMB is more homogenous near its center as opposed to its edges. However, the processes that led to greater homogenization as well as the structure of the magma body below Cerro Uturuncu remain unknown. This research contributes greater …


Recent Climate Change Influence On Flood Magnitude And Frequency, Channel Widening, And Bar Deposition In Big River, Missouri Ozarks, Patrick Saulys Jan 2023

Recent Climate Change Influence On Flood Magnitude And Frequency, Channel Widening, And Bar Deposition In Big River, Missouri Ozarks, Patrick Saulys

MSU Graduate Theses

Climate and land use can control the flood regime of a river and regulate channel form and size over periods of decades to centuries. Recent climate change has increased rainfall intensity and flood magnitude/frequency in many watersheds in the midwestern United States. Thus, river channels affected by more frequent and larger floods are expected to respond by increasing width (or depth) by fluvial erosion to accommodate larger peak discharges. This hypothesis was evaluated along 186 km of the Big River in southeast Missouri by analysis of historical aerial photography, precipitation studies, and United States Geological Survey (USGS) flow gage records. …


Magma Residence Times And Pre-Eruptive Processes As Determined By Diffusion Geospeedometry And Textural Analysis—Lascar Volcano, Chile, Bennett G. Van Horn Jan 2023

Magma Residence Times And Pre-Eruptive Processes As Determined By Diffusion Geospeedometry And Textural Analysis—Lascar Volcano, Chile, Bennett G. Van Horn

MSU Graduate Theses

Petrographic textural analysis and geochemical microanalysis of plagioclase phenocrysts was conducted to model near-liquidus residence times and to gain further insight into processes that occurred within the magma chambers sourcing historical explosive eruptions at Láscar Volcano (NE Chile). Plagioclase crystals were analyzed from representative samples of Stages II (Soncor ignimbrite), III (Tumbres scoria deposit), and IV (Talabre lava, 1993 Plinian eruption). I used laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which was combined with previously collected electron microprobe analyses and electron backscatter images to build a representative dataset of major- and trace element contents, as well as the zoning patterns and …


Historical Channel Evolution And Human Modifications Of Blue River Near Kansas City Missouri, Katie Ann Grong Jan 2023

Historical Channel Evolution And Human Modifications Of Blue River Near Kansas City Missouri, Katie Ann Grong

MSU Graduate Theses

Channel form can respond to changes in flood regime and sediment load caused by land use and climate disturbances. In the eastern United States, widespread soil and vegetation disturbances in the 1800s during agricultural expansion increased runoff rates, flood magnitude and frequency, and sediment loads often causing major changes in channel activity and floodplain sedimentation in local streams. Investigating the historical evolution of a stream channel system including its floodplains can help to advance geomorphological theory and benefit environmental managers. This study documents human impacts on historical changes in channel and floodplain widths since the early to middle 1800s in …


Magmatic Evolution Of The Chasca Orkho Lava Series And Its Magmatic Enclaves, Volcán Ollagüe, Central Andes, Nathaniel W. Lenhard Jan 2023

Magmatic Evolution Of The Chasca Orkho Lava Series And Its Magmatic Enclaves, Volcán Ollagüe, Central Andes, Nathaniel W. Lenhard

MSU Graduate Theses

Magma mixing is a common factor in the creation of intermediate composition magmas and a potential instigator of a volcanic eruption. Magmatic enclaves, physical evidence of magma mixing within a volcanic system, are a phenomenon whose mechanisms remain unclear and debated. Common hypotheses explaining the occurrence of magmatic enclaves within a host lava range from the repeated injection of a new magma into a shallow reservoir to the disruption of equilibrium within a stratified magma chamber. Within the Andean Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), the occurrence of magmatic enclaves yields similar geochemical compositions to their respective host rocks, bringing more difficulty …


Investigation Into Karst Of Southwest Missouri Using Electrical Resistivity, Donald Zachary Wormington Jan 2022

Investigation Into Karst Of Southwest Missouri Using Electrical Resistivity, Donald Zachary Wormington

MSU Graduate Theses

Nixa, Missouri is located on the southwestern edge of the Ozark Dome which has a karst geomorphological environment. Near surface geophysical methods can be used in determining the location and nature of karst features such as caves and sinkholes. Electrical resistivity methods have been shown to be among the most useful methods in deciphering sinkholes and caves. To investigate a known cave and related sinkholes and faults within Mississippian carbonates south of Nixa, Missouri, a series of two-dimensional electrical resistivity profiles were collected using the dipole-dipole and Schlumberger arrays. Terrain data was collected to include in modeling. The data were …


Geology Of The Jacksonville 7.5 Minute Quadrangle And U–Pb And (U–Th)/He Reveal Sediment Routing And Uplift In The Southern Appalachian Valley And Ridge Province, Derek L. Spurgeon Jan 2022

Geology Of The Jacksonville 7.5 Minute Quadrangle And U–Pb And (U–Th)/He Reveal Sediment Routing And Uplift In The Southern Appalachian Valley And Ridge Province, Derek L. Spurgeon

MSU Graduate Theses

The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced multiple deformation events having undergone two full Wilson cycles. The foreland Valley and Ridge province is composed of sedimentary Paleozoic rock that range in age from earliest Cambrian to Middle Pennsylvanian. This sedimentary basin was intensely folded and faulted during the collision of Gondwana during the Middle to Late Carboniferous Period. From previous geologic structural mapping that has taken place, some large-scale structures in the Valley and Ridge Province seem to be out of sequence. To better understand the relationships in these structures, geologic mapping in high detail at the 1:24,000 scale coupled with …


Disequilibrium Melting Of The Continental Crust During Emplacement Of The Mt. Princeton Batholith, Central Colorado Volcanic Field, Loren A. Bohannon Jan 2022

Disequilibrium Melting Of The Continental Crust During Emplacement Of The Mt. Princeton Batholith, Central Colorado Volcanic Field, Loren A. Bohannon

MSU Graduate Theses

Assimilation and crystallization are difficult to constrain at magmatic boundaries, including the interactions of magma with the surrounding country rock. The assumption of the relationship between a magma and what it is intruding upon is relegated to homogenous bodies or epizonal plutons. Realistically, wall rock influences chemical heterogeneity and isotopic variance at the outcrop scale and changes depending on distance from the magma-wall rock interface. Here, we present a case study of the 35 Ma Mt. Princeton Batholith and the host Precambrian rocks of the Central Colorado Volcanic Field. We assess chemical heterogeneity by whole rock and mineral trace element …


Mining-Contaminated Sediment And Metal Storage In Channel Deposits In Turkey Creek, Tri-State Mining District, Missouri And Kansas, Max Quinn Hillermann Jan 2022

Mining-Contaminated Sediment And Metal Storage In Channel Deposits In Turkey Creek, Tri-State Mining District, Missouri And Kansas, Max Quinn Hillermann

MSU Graduate Theses

The Joplin subdistrict, within the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD), was a major producer of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) ore between the 1880s to 1920s. Metalliferous mining wastes are still stored in the channel deposits of local streams raising environmental and health concerns. This study quantifies the volume, sediment size, and metal concentrations in channel bed, bar, bench, and chute deposits to quantify the spatial variability of contaminated sediment storage in Turkey Creek (119 km2). Sample reaches (n=14) contained metal concentrations elevated above the Tri-State Mining District specific probable effects concentration at every site with mean concentrations in …


Chemical And Thermal Influence On Intermediate Magma Storage Conditions: Volcán Ollagüe, Chile-Bolivia, Central Andes, Drew Allen Laviada-Garmon Jan 2022

Chemical And Thermal Influence On Intermediate Magma Storage Conditions: Volcán Ollagüe, Chile-Bolivia, Central Andes, Drew Allen Laviada-Garmon

MSU Graduate Theses

Continental arc volcanoes are the single best portrayal of the evolution of recycled earth material stemming from subduction, one of the most important and foundational phenomena in global tectonics. Understanding the genesis of intermediate-composition magmas produced at arc volcanoes is a difficult process making them a focal point for investigation. Geochemical investigation of zircon and plagioclase mineral phases erupted from continental arcs can provide insight into magma process, generation, storage conditions, timescales and differentiation of sub-volcanic plumbing systems prior to eruption events. The Central Volcanic Zone is a prime example of continental arc volcanism through subduction, and is host to …


Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster Magma Evolution And Magma Plumbing System Architecture During The Gordo Stage (6-4 Ma), Kasey Lynn Buckley Jan 2022

Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster Magma Evolution And Magma Plumbing System Architecture During The Gordo Stage (6-4 Ma), Kasey Lynn Buckley

MSU Graduate Theses

Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster (AVC) is an 11 m.y. volcanic system in the central Andes that is evolving over four distinct stages of activity. Stages include the Aloncha (11-8 Ma), Gordo (6-4 Ma), Polán (4-2 Ma), and Aucanquilcha (Ma) stages. The AVC evolved from a series of magmatic underpinnings during the Aloncha Stage to a larger zone of melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization (MASH) by the Polán Stage. The transition from smaller underpinnings to MASH zones began during the Gordo Stage. At ~5-2 Ma the AVC reached thermal maturity before beginning its volcanic death during the Aucanquilcha Stage. This study focuses …


Geology Of The Porter Gap 7.5–Minute Quadrangle, Alabama, And Stretched Pebble Analysis Within The Western Blue Ridge Of The Southern Appalachians, Tessa Mills Jan 2022

Geology Of The Porter Gap 7.5–Minute Quadrangle, Alabama, And Stretched Pebble Analysis Within The Western Blue Ridge Of The Southern Appalachians, Tessa Mills

MSU Graduate Theses

The Porter Gap 7.5–minute quadrangle in eastern Alabama contains portions of the undifferentiated sedimentary Knox Group of the Valley and Ridge province, the metamorphic Talladega Group of the western Blue Ridge, and the metamorphic Ashland Supergroup of the eastern Blue Ridge. Three major faults separate the rock units, including the Talladega-Cartersville fault, the Hillabee thrust fault, and the Hollins Line fault. Deformation and metamorphism of rocks within the Talladega Group occurred during the middle to late Mississippian (~334–320 Ma) recorded by stretched pebbles within the Cheaha Quartzite member of the Lay Dam Formation. Stretched pebbles within the Cheaha Quartzite have …


U-Pb Apatite Chronometry Of Intrusions In An Accretionary Metamorphic Belt In Western Idaho, Usa, Colleen Grace Rankin Jan 2022

U-Pb Apatite Chronometry Of Intrusions In An Accretionary Metamorphic Belt In Western Idaho, Usa, Colleen Grace Rankin

MSU Graduate Theses

The Salmon River suture zone in west-central Idaho, USA records the tectonic processes where island arcs, similar to modern-day Japan, were accreted to the North American continent in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (160-90 million years ago). This suture zone contains metamorphic rocks that were buried deep within the crust at depths of 20 kilometers or more and have subsequently been brought to the surface. The exhuming processes responsible for the metamorphic rocks in the Salmon River suture zone remains unclear. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the transport of the rocks from the Salmon River suture zone …


Downstream Dispersal Of Fine Tailings, Chat And Metals In Channel Sediment Of Big River, Old Lead Belt, Southeast Missouri, Jennifer Pace Witt Jan 2022

Downstream Dispersal Of Fine Tailings, Chat And Metals In Channel Sediment Of Big River, Old Lead Belt, Southeast Missouri, Jennifer Pace Witt

MSU Graduate Theses

In St. François County, Missouri, compromised above-ground tailings piles and containment ponds from historical mining activities in the Old Lead Belt released considerable amounts of dolomitic, Pb- and Zn-contaminated waste sediments to the Big River, contributing to significant downstream floodplain and channel sediment contamination. Previous studies have documented the effects of heavy metals on Big River biota and water quality, as well as benthic habitat disruption resulting from the influx of small sediments. Few have considered the effects and future contamination risk of the coarse waste sediments (2-16 mm in diameter), locally called “chat”, which retain high Pb and Zn …


Largemouth Bass In The Upper Mississippi River: An Evaluation Of Management Strategies And Understanding Potential Factors Influencing Dynamic Rate Functions, Kylie Beth Sterling Jan 2022

Largemouth Bass In The Upper Mississippi River: An Evaluation Of Management Strategies And Understanding Potential Factors Influencing Dynamic Rate Functions, Kylie Beth Sterling

MSU Graduate Theses

The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) supports ecologically and economically important commercial and recreational fisheries. One recreational fishery in the UMR is the Largemouth Bass fishery. Recreational fisheries can be effectively managed using information on population dynamics, though little is known about Largemouth Bass population dynamics in large river ecosystems. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate recruitment, growth, and mortality of three Largemouth Bass populations in the UMR, specifically within Pools 4, 8, and 13, and 2) to use those estimates of recruitment, growth and mortality to inform exploitation models to evaluate best management practices for each …


Geochemical Investigation Of Monogenetic Volcanoes From The Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea, Alaska, Clayton L. Reinier Dec 2021

Geochemical Investigation Of Monogenetic Volcanoes From The Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea, Alaska, Clayton L. Reinier

MSU Graduate Theses

Small-volume basaltic magmas found at continental intraplate environments have not been as extensively studied compared to their polygenetic counterparts. Specifically, regions such as the Bering Sea basalt province, described as a diffuse igneous province, have commonly been overlooked. Assumptions that these systems are invoked by simple, single batches of magma has subsequently left a gap in understanding the processes responsible for primary magma generation away from plate boundaries with little tectonic influence. The following studies that constitute this thesis focus on an in-depth geochemical investigation at the crystal and sub-crystal scale to evaluate lithospheric mantle heterogeneities, processes that govern primary …


Historical Changes Of Channel Width In A Headwater Stream System, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, Sierra N. Casagrand Aug 2021

Historical Changes Of Channel Width In A Headwater Stream System, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, Sierra N. Casagrand

MSU Graduate Theses

It is well known that watershed disturbances due to land clearing and agricultural settlement during the early 1800s changed the hydrology and geomorphology of stream systems in the Midwestern USA. However, little is known about the impacts of historical logging on stream systems in forested watersheds. This study evaluates channel width measurements from 38 General Land Office (GLO) surveys completed in 1821, aerial photographs from the 1930’s to present, and LiDAR imagery from 2016/17 to evaluate changes in channel morphology in Big Barren Creek in Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozarks Highlands of southeast Missouri. The area was heavily …


Long-Term Hydrological Impacts Of Historical Logging On Recent Hydro-Geomorphic Conditions, Big Barren Creek Watershed, Mark Twain National Forest, Shoukat Ahmed Aug 2021

Long-Term Hydrological Impacts Of Historical Logging On Recent Hydro-Geomorphic Conditions, Big Barren Creek Watershed, Mark Twain National Forest, Shoukat Ahmed

MSU Graduate Theses

Despite their important role of headwater watersheds as a buffer for upland soil and vegetation disturbances, there has been little research about the effects of historical logging practices on present-day watershed hydrology and channel form. Middle Big Barren Creek (MBBC) watershed (48 km2 ) drains Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozark Highlands and was heavily logged from 1880 to 1920, reducing native shortleaf pine forest by 90%. Additionally, the frequency of intense rainfall events has increased in the region over the past 30 years. In this study, field surveys and hydrologic/hydraulic modeling were used to evaluate the historical timber …


Ground Control Point Assessment For Suas-Based Sfm Photogrammetry, Bailey Dianne Wolf Aug 2021

Ground Control Point Assessment For Suas-Based Sfm Photogrammetry, Bailey Dianne Wolf

MSU Graduate Theses

The use of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in combination with Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry is an evolving tool for geoscientists. SfM photogrammetry allows for rapid acquisition of the data that is required to create orthophotos and Digital Surface Models (DSMs) for a variety of field applications. Ground Control Points (GCPs) are used to reconstruct the DSM and evaluate the accuracy of aerial imagery collected from sUAS. When acquiring data for SfM photogrammetry, GCPs are required for spatial referencing. However, questions remain open regarding the effect of methodological techniques on the precision and accuracy of the resulting DSMs. This …


Geology Of The Clairmont Springs 7.5-Minute Quadrangle And Geochronology Of The Alabama Blue Ridge, Adelie Ionescu Aug 2021

Geology Of The Clairmont Springs 7.5-Minute Quadrangle And Geochronology Of The Alabama Blue Ridge, Adelie Ionescu

MSU Graduate Theses

The Alabama Blue Ridge (USA) of the southern Appalachians contains metamorphic rocks and structures associated with island arc accretion and continent-continent collision that record the Acadian and Alleghenian orogenies. The western Blue Ridge is underlain by Cambrian to Mississippian, clastic and carbonate, low-grade, greenschist facies metamorphic Talladega belt that formed outboard from the Alabama promontory or along the Laurentian margin. The eastern Blue Ridge contains the Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic, lithologically diverse, high grade, middle to upper amphibolite facies Ashland Supergroup. Geologic mapping of the Clairmont Springs 7.5- minute quadrangle unveils tectonic relationships between the eastern and western Blue Ridge and …


Assessing The Prevalance Of Joint-Controlled Mass Wasting In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A., Madeline Konopinski Aug 2021

Assessing The Prevalance Of Joint-Controlled Mass Wasting In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A., Madeline Konopinski

MSU Graduate Theses

Landslides are common hazards that produce devastating effects worldwide. Within the United States, the Appalachian Mountains are identified as an area of moderate to high susceptibility and incidence for landslides (Mirus et al., 2020; Wieczorek and Morgan, 2008). Given the presence of active seismic zones (eastern Tennessee and Giles County seismic zones) and variable rainfall due to seasonal storms (hurricanes) throughout the Appalachians, ancient earthquake activity or intense rainfall may trigger mass wasting events. Regional bedrock joints may further control the susceptibility of landslides to develop in specific locations during trigger events by providing a pre-existing weakness in the substrate. …


Analysis Of Gravity For The Crustal Structure Of Nepal Himalaya, Kapil Prasad Phuyal Aug 2021

Analysis Of Gravity For The Crustal Structure Of Nepal Himalaya, Kapil Prasad Phuyal

MSU Graduate Theses

Nepal Himalaya is situated in the central portion of the seismically active Himalayan Orogenic Belt, which is geologically segmented by four major mega fault structures: Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), Main Central Thrust (MCT), and the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS). The MFT, MBT, and MCT are part of the basal decollement Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) which accommodates the convergence between the Indian and Eurasian Plate. The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake occurred within the MHT system, MHT system itself had been seismically locked since the 1934 Nepal-Bihar Earthquake, complicating the geometry depth of MHT. Available land and airborne …


Developing A Tourism Opportunity Index Regarding The Prospective Of Overtourism In Nepal, Susan Phuyal Dec 2020

Developing A Tourism Opportunity Index Regarding The Prospective Of Overtourism In Nepal, Susan Phuyal

MSU Graduate Theses

This research explores Nepal's overtourism scenario based on the capacity of a locality to manage sustainable tourism practices. Environmental degradation, local infrastructure degradation, negative tourist experience and local resident responses regarding visitors are the four main variables used in this study to analyze overtourism. In order to analyze the case study of overtourism, we select the three top touristic cities of Nepal, Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Chitwan based on the number of annual visitors. Nepal's case analysis of overtourism conditions reviews the overall threat of over-tourism and establishes a metric by which tourism can be viewed as potentially detrimental to sustainability. …