Earth Sciences Commons^™

Identification And Evaluation Of Critical Transportation Infrastructure Resilience After Hydro-Meteorological Event, Herman Serrato

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Modern civilization is dependent on essential infrastructure assets that allow society to function in today’s standards. Critical interdependent infrastructure such as transportation, communication, security, and public health are marvels of human innovation and an important aspect of civilization's evolution. Recent world events such as climate change have underlined the necessity to develop strategic plans to enhance the resilience of infrastructure. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the flooding potential of critical transportation infrastructure that will influence traffic flow and impact the economy. The technical workflow is based on observations, predictions, experiments, testing, and analysis to derive a resilience score …

Application Of Machine Learning In Flood Depth Prediction, Armando Esquivel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning technologies have helped provide answers for problems with a high degree of complexity. Machine learning has been utilized by various disciplines within the Civil Engineering profession and has proven to be efficient in solving complex problems. Although machine learning is being used in the Civil Engineering profession, a formal framework on developing and integrating machine learning has not been developed for flood depth prediction. The proposed word uses machine learning to predict the depth of flood at Houston, TX, due to a 100-year 24-hour storm. The proposed work can be used to collect, store and analyze data to …

Back Calculation Of Intelligent Compaction Data For Mechanical Properties Of Soil System, Afshin Gholamy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For national economy, it is very important to have a reliable infrastructure. Because of this, all over the world, new roads are constantly being built and old roads are being maintained and, if necessary, expanded and/or repaired. Building a good quality road is very expensive, it costs several million dollars per kilometer. It is therefore crucial to make sure that the newly built and newly repaired roads are sufficiently stiff - so that they can withstand the predicted volume of traffic for a sufficient number of years. Current methods of estimating the stiffness are time-consuming and labor-consuming. The most accurate …

Onshore-Offshore Velocity Models North Of The Mendocino Triple Junction In Northern California, Alan Jacquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ) marks the boundary where the Gorda plate, North American Plate, and Pacific Plate meet, separating the Cascadia subduction zone to the North from transform tectonics of the San Andreas plate boundary. This actively deforming region experiences high seismic activity and young geological features. Here we examine offshore and onshore seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data north of the MTJ crossing the Cascadia subduction zone from offshore northern California to the Western edge of the Sierra Nevada. We image subsurface structures in this region by creating P-wave velocity models using datasets collected in 1993 to 1994 …

Effects Of Gradation And Moisture Content On Resistivity Of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall Backfill Materials, Jose Luis Arciniega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The service life of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls depends on the corrosion rate of the metallic reinforcement used in their construction. The resistivity of the backfill aggregates needs to be measured accurately in order to estimate realistically the corrosion rate of the reinforcement. Resistivity testing is usually performed using the traditional soil box on the portion of the aggregates that passes a No. 10 or No. 8 sieve to either select or reject the backfill. For a more reasonable characterization of the corrosivity of coarse backfills, it is desirable to use their actual gradations. To that end, several resistivity …

National Evaluation For Development And Exploration Potential Of Mineral Commodities In Produced Waters, Stephanie Ray

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated a geochemical database consisting of data for approximately 160,000 produced waters samples, primarily from petroleum and geothermal reservoirs. Using major and trace elements from conventional and unconventional well types from the database, this Thesis provides a comprehensive, national evaluation for mineral commodity potential in produced waters. Produced waters contain virtually every naturally occurring element and can range in salinity to several times that of seawater. Despite the typical outlook to view produced waters as a waste, they have potential for natural resource development.

This Thesis provides, for each mineral commodity found in the produced …

Evaluating Methods Of Field-Based 3d Visualization And Their Application To Mapping Metamorphic Terranes: An Example From The Panamint Mountains, California, Jade Ashley Brush

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Field geology has traditionally relied on 2D, paper-based workflows, but digital mapping techniques are rapidly replacing these outdated methods because they allow for more efficient and accurate mapping. This research applies digital mapping techniques and two terrestrially-based 3D visualization technologies, photogrammetry and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), to the study of metamorphic terranes in the Panamint Mountains, California. This study reports on the spatial accuracy of TINs (triangulated irregular networks) generated from both photogrammetry and ground-based LiDAR using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and discusses how spatial accuracy can be increased. Two levels of comparison were used to test spatial …

Salt And Mineral Recovery From High Salinity Waters, Osvaldo Alejandro Broesicke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Natural salt springs in the Salt Fork Basin in Crosby County, Texas, result in the natural salt pollution of the Brazos River, rendering it unusable for most potable purposes. Previous research indicates that by intercepting the source of the pollution, water quality of the Brazos River can be greatly improved. This paper investigates and assesses two strategies for salt and mineral recovery using natural brine collected from the Salt Fork Basin, the first of which is presented in a separate work.

The research described in this paper evaluates the potential of a desulfation, soda-caustic softening, acidification/decarbonation, and evaporation process to …

Why Ricker Wavelets Are Successful In Processing Seismic Data: Towards A Theoretical Explanation, Afshin Gholamy Salehabady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many engineering applications ranging from engineering seismology to petroleum engineering and civil engineering, processing seismic data plays a key role. In processing seismic data, it turns out to be very efficient to describe the signal's spectrum as a linear combination of Ricker wavelet spectra.

In this Thesis, we provide a possible theoretical explanation for this empirical efficiency. Specifically, signal propagation through several layers is discussed, and it is shown that the Ricker wavelet is the simplest non-trivial solution for the corresponding data processing problem, under the condition that the described properties of the approximation family are satisfied.

Use Of Environmental Isotope Tracer And Gis Techniques To Estimate Basin Recharge, Abdulganiu A.A. Odunmbaku

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The extensive use of ground water only began with the advances in pumping technology at the early portion of 20th Century. Groundwater provides the majority of fresh water supply for municipal, agricultural and industrial uses, primarily because of little to no treatment it requires. Estimating the volume of groundwater available in a basin is a daunting task, and no accurate measurements can be made. Usually water budgets and simulation models are primarily used to estimate the volume of water in a basin.

Precipitation, land surface cover and subsurface geology are factors that affect recharge; these factors affect percolation which invariably …

Implications Of Surface Runoff Recharge In Semi-Arid Regions On Groundwater Sustainability, Omar M. Al-Qudah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Amargosa Desert, Nevada regional groundwater studies show that the surface runoff infiltration occurring in the arroyos following runoff producing storms, and this infiltration is considered to be a major source of groundwater recharge. Groundwater infiltration through alluvium was investigated in the Amargosa Desert using borehole drill cuttings, groundwater chemistry, and applying a novel method for collecting runoff water. The sampling process included sediment, precipitation, and runoff water. In total, 176 runoff, 182 sediment, and 45 precipitation samples were collected between January, 2009 and January, 2011.Water chemistry, chloride concentrations, and stable isotopes of water collected from specially designed runoff samplers, placed …

Controlling Features And Processes For Radionuclide Release From Unsaturated Zone Geological Repositories, Lubna K. Hamdan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the long run, nuclear waste packages will fail gradually due to localized and general corrosion and radionuclides will be transported to the accessible environment by ground water.

Two main failure scenarios are expected for the waste packages: Flow-through model and bathtub model; in the flow-through model water flows through the waste container, while in the bathtub model water pools inside the waste package. The Department of Energy, in their performance assessment of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, excluded the bathtub model from their analysis and assumed the diffusion and advection to be in the same direction in the …

Estimating Variation In Stiffness And Volume Change Of Clays From Geochemical And Index Properties, Cynthia Roxanna Zuniga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Clayey soils from six different locations in Texas were analyzed and evaluated with respect to their expansion and shrinkage and change in stiffness associated with moisture content variation. These soils consist of five high plasticity-index (PI) clays (PI greater than 25) and one low-PI clay (PI = 17). The behavior of the clays changes dramatically with moisture content fluctuation, thus causing stiffness and volume changes throughout the year. Total or differential volume movements caused by swell or shrinkage strains of expansive soils and reduction in modulus can exert enough pressure to damage the pavements and cause maintenance problems.

The intent …