Earth Sciences Commons^™

The Relation Of Radium-226 And 228 To The Groundwater Geochemistry Of Carbon, Sulfur, And Chlorine Near Michigan's Saginaw Bay, Ray Milejczak

Masters Theses

The Michigan Department of Public Health (MDPH) sampled 149 residential wells producing from glacial drift and Saginaw Formation aquifers in Bay, Midland, Saginaw, and Tuscola counties in 1987. These wells were analyzed for ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and general chemistry. Of the 149 samples, 50 exceeded the USEPA MCL of 5 pCi/L or greater for combined ²²⁶Ra + ²²⁸Ra activities. A geochemical model (WATEQF, Plummer et al., 1976) was used to determine activity coefficients, activities, ionic strength, and mineral saturation. The radium isotopes were statistically analyzed with respect to the chemical data from MDPH and the geochemical model …

Identification And Quantitation Of Volatile Amines In Marine Sediments, Chuen Mei Huang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Pore waters which were taken from sediments of the Chesapeake Bay were analyzed to determine the presence of volatile amines. A purge-and-trap technique was used to concentrate the amines. Then, following derivatization with heptaflourobutyric anhydride, the HFBA-amines were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and with mass spectrometric detection. One secondary amine, diethylamine with a concentration of 0.3-0.6 uM, was found in a total of three pore water samples from cores collected on two different dates. A primary amine, sec-butylamine with a concentration of O. 05 AIM, was also found in one of these same samples. Another primary …

Lithofacies Of The Pliocene Yorktown Formation In The Vicinity Of Kingsmill On The James River, Virginia, Michael David Lawless

OES Theses and Dissertations

The Yorktown Formation beds which crop out along the James River in southeastern Virginia near Kingsmill and Carter's Grove are lithologically described in order to compare them with the "typical" Yorktown beds upriver in the area of Fort Boykins, Rushmere, and Cobham Wharf. Thirty-four stratigraphic sections are constructed of the bluffs along the river. The Yorktown beds in the area of Kingsmill and Cobham Wharf are divided into ten lithofacies: the silty sand facies (B), the Chesapecten facies (C), the Glycymeris facies (D), the Chama facies (E), the glauconitic biofragmental sand facies (F), the laminated silty clay facies (G), the …

A Geophysical Study Of The Easternmost Piedmont: Brunswick County, Virginia, Mark A. Corbin

OES Theses and Dissertations

Gravity and magnetic models indicate that a steeply dipping, mylonitic shear zone recognized by reconnaissance mapping in the easternmost Piedmont of Brunswick County, Virginia is a listric fault. A pronounced 3 to 5 mgal Bouguer anomaly high is associated with the fault zone. A band of N10° trending aeromagnetic anomalies delineate the areal extent of the fault zone. The fault zone flattens eastward over a short distance to a depth of 15 kms where it joins a near horizontal surface that cuts across the region. This surface is herein interpreted to be a decollement. The fault zone of this study …

Debris Slides And Flows On Anakeesta Ridge Within The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, U.S.A, Patrick T. Ryan

Masters Theses

Debris slides and flows along Anakeesta Ridge in the GSMNP have been investigated utilizing dendrochronology, aerial photography, erosion stations, precipitation data and rockslope engineering techniques.

Based on the slides for which the specific dates of occurrence are known, the corresponding precipitation that was at least in part responsible for triggering the mass-wasting events varies from 1 .5 inches of rain per day to 4 inches of rain for a 6 hour period. Unfortunately, intensity records are not available to provide at what rate the precipitation was delivered. Based on TV A precipitation records it was determined that 1273 storms (1 …

Wetland Study Of Southeastern Portage Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kevin M. Walsh

Masters Theses

Under the Clean Water Act, Congress passed legislation to maintain and restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the water of the United States. The objective of this study is to determine if the wooded area located in Upjohn Company's Property in southeastern Portage Township, Portage, Michigan falls under the classification of a wetland.

This objective has been pursued through an examination of the hydrology of the area, the soil characteristics of the area, and the vegetation types and characteristics of the area. These parameters have been utilized following the guidelines outlined in the "Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation …

Late-Holocene Earthflows Of The Willard Playa/Dune Complex, Estancia Valley, New Mexico: A Geomorphic Response To Climatic Change, Kurt A. Goebel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Late-middle to late Holocene dune sediment that overlies Pleistocene lacustrine sediment marks the onset of xeric conditions in the Estancia Valley, central New Mexico. Incised into the underlying lacustrine sediments, the modern deflation basins are enclosed by parabolic dunes composed of clay and gypsum derived from the underlying sediment.

Located on the in-facing dune slopes of the deflation basins, the most striking geomorphic feature of this dune complex are numerous elongated scars. These relict scars document a geomorphically distinct earthflow event. Arroyos that cut into flow scars expose eolian earthflow sediment overlying lacustrine deposits. In the zone of depletion, erosional-flow …

Hillslope Processes On Late Quaternary Cinder Cones Of The Cima Volcanic Field, Eastern Mojave Desert, California, Claire Estelle Renault

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Four basaltic cinder cones of the cima volcanic field were studied in an attempt to understand the geomorphic and volcanic processes involved in the constructional and degradational evolution of late Quaternary cinder cones in an arid climate. Modern hillslope processes were mapped on cone slope and soil and subsurface stratigraphy were documented in the surrounding debris-apron deposits. In addition, morphometric parameters shown to be sensitive to cinder cone age (Dohrenwend et al., 1986) were measured on the four cinder cones to evaluate previous studies which estimated the relative or absolute age of cinder cones based only on morphologic changes in …

The Geomorphology And Surficial Geology Of The West Flank Of The Blue Ridge, Sherando Area, Virginia, Derek Weston Ryter

OES Theses and Dissertations

The west flank of the Blue Ridge near Sherando, Virginia (Augusta County) consists of many landforms including talus slopes, bedrock cliffs, boulder streams, colluvial slopes, residual knobs, and debris fans. The purpose of this study is to describe the geomorphic history of the area by understanding the spatial and temporal relationships between landforms on the hillslopes.

Boulder streams (maximum 30 m wide, 400 m long, 6.1 m thick) exhibit a gently dipping imbricated fabric and basal shear stresses of 0.1 to 0.4 bars.

Debris fans in Group L (lower) and Group U (upper) are distinguished by topographic position, degree of …

A Laboratory Characterization Of Pulp And Paper Mill Solid Wastes For Potential Use As Hydraulic Barrier Material In Landfill Covers, Carleton Van Maltby

Masters Theses

Fifteen sludges from wastewater treatment systems of pulp and paper mills that encompass major production categories, and eight fly ashes from mill boilers incinerating wood waste, coal, or their combination were characterized for their potential suitability as hydraulic barrier material. Hydraulic conductivity was observed to range over four orders of magnitude for the materials tested.

Paleogeography And Paleoenvironments Of The Lower Unit, Fossil Butte Member, Eocene Green River Formation, Southwestern Wyoming, Roberto Enrique Biaggi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

During Eocene time sediment accumulated in Fossil Lake, in what developed to be a small linear and structurally controlled basin. Fossil Lake was one of several lakes into which the Green River Formation was deposited in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

Detailed stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Unit of the Fossil Butte Member revealed a well developed lacustrine sequence south of Fossil Butte, and indicates four major depositional facies: (1) open lacustrine, (2) marginal lacustrine, (3) carbonate mudflat, and (4) marginal fluvio-deltaic. The open lacustrine facies is characterized by kerogen rich to kerogen poor finely laminated micrites , that consist mainly …

Geology In The Vicinity Of The City Of Fossil, Wheeler County, North-Central Oregon, Patrick W. Riseley

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The area of study is located on the north flank of the northeast-southwest trending Blue Mountains Anticlinorium in north-central Oregon. The primary geologic problems investigated were: 1) the age and stratigraphic position of leaf-bearing tufts mapped as Oligo-Miocene John Day Formation but surrounded by andesitic basalts of the Eo-Oligocene Clarno Formation, 2) the age of "olivine basalt" mapped as John Day Formation by some workers but referred to the Clarno Formation by others, and 3) the petroleum potential of the Fossil area.

To resolve these three problems I mapped a 25 square mile area surrounding Fossil at 1 :24,000 scale. …

The Geology And Structural Significance Of The Arch Mountain Area, Northern Black Mountains, Mohave County, Arizona, Edward Eschner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Arch Mountain area of northwestern Mohave County, Arizona, is typified by rocks that range from Precambrian to Quatemary in age. Arch mountain is a north-trending horst bounded on the west by the Petroglyph Wash graben and on the east by the Virgin Basin. A low-angle normal fault, herein named the Arch Mountain detachment fault, is exposed for 6 km along strike just below the ridge crest of Arch Mountain, and it is typified by a 2-20 cm thick zone of hematite-impregnated breccia and cataclasite. The detachment fault places an upper plate of Precambrian gneiss, Paleozoic quartzite, shale and dolomite, …

Soil Temperature Influence On Water Use And Yield Under Variable Irrigation, Jon M. Wraith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The need for efficient use of water resources has increased the importance of optimum soil water usage in agricultural systems. Soil temperature has been shown to be important in influencing the early development of many plant species. Many agricultural regions have suboptimal soil temperature regimes for plant growth, and some cultural practices have been shown to reduce near-surface soil temperatures. The seasonal influence of soil temperature on soil water extraction and aboveground and belowground plant growth under variable irrigation was investigated at the USU Greenville Farm in Logan, UT. Soil surface mulches and buried heat cables were used to modify …

Footwall Deformation And Structural Analysis Of The Footwall Of The Willard Thrust Fault, Northern Wasatch Range, Utah, Douglas Scott Neves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Deformation mechanisms in the footwall of the Willard thrust fault, northern Wasatch Range, Utah, change from dominantly plastic to dominantly cataclastic (both microscopically and macroscopically) in the Ophir Formation and Maxfield Limestone before the thrust begins to ramp laterally upsection southward, just to the north of the North Ogden Canyon field area. This transition in compressional deformation style and mechanism is located within a lateral distance of 3.2-kilometers along the 22-kilometer long trace of the thrust fault.

Between Willard Canyon and North Ogden Canyon penetrative deformation is localized within 200 meters of the thrust surface and is characterized by transposed …

Origin And Evolution Of Dolostone In The Middle Cambrian Langston Formation, Northern Utah, Mark C. Hall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Six major generations of dolomite are present within the Cambrian Langston Formation in the Wellsville Mountains and Bear River Range of northern Utah. Identification of dolomite generations and delineation of their relative sequences are based on normal light petrography, cathodoluminescence, staining, chemistry, inferred burial history, and deformation features. The earliest stage is believed to be Middle to Late Cambrian in age. The presence of dolomite rhombs and dolomitized echinoid fragments and peloids suggests that this stage probably formed under sabkha reflux conditions. Extensive nonferroan, polymodal, nonplanar ("xenotopic") dolomite formed next under confined mixing zone conditions. A succeeding generation of pervasive …

Groundwater Flow Systems And Thermal Regimes Near Cooling Igneous Plutons: Influence Of Surface Topography, Mark U. Birch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous studies of cooling igneous plutons did not consider the possible influence of sloping surface topography. Topographically-driven fluids in high relief terrain, however, are thought to interact with deep buoyancy-driven fluids to produce large lateral-flow systems up to 5 km long and 20 km long in silicic and andesitic volcanic terrain, respectively. In this study, a quantitative investigation of the interaction of topographically-driven and buoyancy-driven fluid flow is conducted through the use of a finite element numerical model to simulate the fluid flow and thermal regimes associated with a cooling igneous pluton in the presence of significant topographic relief. The …

Root Exploitation Of Fertile Soil Microsites, Robert B. Jackson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Root exploitation of enriched soil microsites was examined for the tussock grasses Agropyron desertorum and Agropyron spicatum and the shrub Artemisia tridentata. Two mechanisms of exploitation of the microsites were examined: root proliferation and changes in nutrient uptake capacity. One day after nutrient solution was applied to small soil patches, the mean relative growth rate of Agropyron desertorum roots in enriched patches was two to four times greater than for roots of the same plants in soil patches treated with distilled water. This rapid and striking root proliferation occurred in response to N-P-K enrichment as well as to P or …

Resistivity And Seismic Refraction Surveys Applied To A Groundwater Investigation In Richland Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Homa Moaddel

Masters Theses

Many geophysical methods are increasingly being applied in investigations of contaminated sites. Among the most popular ones are resistivity and seismic refraction techniques.

In this study seismic refraction utilizing a twelve channel digital seismograph and hammer impact source provided records that have given important information about the subsurface layers. Along the same traverses, the Schlumberger resistivity method was applied at selected points. An AC digital resistivity system with a separate uncoupled transmitter (50 watts) and receiver was applied to obtain these measurements.

Geoelectrical cross-sections provided information about the variation in thickness of important layers within the glacial drift aquifer system. …

Paleoenvironmental History Of The Middle Ordovician Rugosa Of Eastern North America, Gretchen Hampt Andreasen

Honors Papers

Our understanding of the structure and function of biological systems can be increased when viewed in the context of their evolutionary history on a geological time scale. Generally, both paleoecology and ecology have focused on the interrelationships of organisms and their environments in short time frames. For instance, a paleoecologist might study the fossil communities of the Columbus Limestone reefal environment at Marblehead, Ohio, or an ecologist might attempt to characterize the interrelationship of glacier lilies and their pollinators. Both workers may realize that the organisms they study evolved in response to ecological pressures, yet neither, most likely, considers that …

Hydrogeological And Hydrogeochemical Evaluation Of A Proposed Flue Gas Cleanup Dry Waste Disposal Pit Near Beulah, North Dakota, Nathan T. Hunke

Theses and Dissertations

The Coyote I electrical operating station of the Montana Dakota Utilities Company (MDU) is located near Beulah, North Dakota. Flue gas cleanup {FGC) dry waste is generated by the facility in the conversion of coal to electricity. MDU submitted a permit application to the North Dakota State Department of Health {NDSDH) to dispose of FGC dry waste in a strip-mined area 1.6 kilometres northeast of the plant.

Two disposal pits were proposed by MDU, a Phase I and Phase II pit. The objectives of the investigation were to determine the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical suitability of the site for FGC waste …

Geology And Petrochemistry Of The Mount Chase Massive Sulfide Prospect, Penobscot County, Maine, Michael V. Scully

Masters Theses

"The Mount Chase massive sulfide prospect of northern Penobscot County, Maine was discovered in 1979 by Getty Mining Company. The deposit occurs within a sequence of lower paleozoic metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. The footwall units consist of rhyolitic flows, quartz-feldspar crystal tuff, and altered tuffaceous volcanic breccias. These rocks lie unconformably upon intensely folded sediments which are tentatively correlated with the Grand Pitch Formation of probable Cambrian age. The footwall volcanoclastic rocks exhibit a narrow zone of intense chloritic alteration immediately below the massive sulfide horizon, and a broader zone of sericitic alteration below that. A zone of stringer mineralization …

The Stratigraphy And Geochemistry Of The Crescent Formation Basalts And The Bedrock Geology Of Associated Igneous Rocks Near Bremerton, Washington, Kenneth P. Clark

WWU Graduate School Collection

A stratigraphic section developed for the Bremerton rocks in the Kitsap Peninsula suggests formation by rifting in a marine environment. Basal gabbro, dated by 40Ar/39Ar at 49.8 Ma plus or minus 0.8 Ma, and associated mafic to felsic plutonics, appear to be the source of a mafic dike complex that composes 100% of the stratigraphic level above the plutonics. These dikes are the apparent feeders to overlying submarine and subaerial volcanics. The previously unrecognized submarine sequence consists of interbedded basaltic breccia, tuffs, basalt flows, and basaltic sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate. Approximately 1 km of columnar basalt flows cap the sequence. …

The Mechanisms Of Landslide Initiation And Flood Generation In The Boulder Creek Basin, Whatcom County, Washington, Monica E. Gowan

WWU Graduate School Collection

Over the past fifty years, the frequency of landsliding and flooding in the Boulder Creek basin, Whatcom County, Washington, has increased. This trend is examined through analysis of the landslides and their mechanisms of initiation, the conditions for generation of runoff during eight debris-laden floods, and long-term precipitation and land-use patterns. Thirteen active landslides are identified along the main channel of Boulder Creek, located within the shear zone of a late Eocene high-angle fault. Landslides are classified as debris slides and slump-earthflows. Average landslide volume is 8,700 cubic meters. The largest slide observed is 36,700 cubic meters. Slope angles range …

Sedimentary Petrology, Depositional Environment And Paleogeographic Significance Of The Upper Eocene Hoko River Formation, Northern Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Jennifer H. (Jennifer Helen) De Chant

WWU Graduate School Collection

The upper Eocene Hoko River Formation is the oldest formation of the Twin River Group. Exposures dipping to the northeast and north run across the northern Olympic Peninsula. The Hoko River Formation is composed of siltstone, turbidites, channel conglomerates and debris flows. The sandstones are lithic-arenites and -graywackes and are composed of fine to very coarse, moderately well sorted to poorly sorted sand. The dominant cement is calcite with minor polycrystalline quartz and zeolite cements. The average composition of the sandstones is quartz (Q) = 29%+14, feldspar (F) = 15%+9, and lithics (L) = 55%+12. Comparison of these data to …

A Study Of Fluid Inclusions And Geochemical Mechanisms For Gold Deposition, Cannon Mine, Wenatchee, Washington, Michael P. (Michael Peter) Klisch

WWU Graduate School Collection

The Carmen Mine is located 1 km south of the city of Wenatchee, Washington. The mine is hosted by lower to middle Eocene fluvial arkoses of unknown correlation. An unaltered rhyodacite dome, dated at 43.2 ± 8 Ma, bordered by perlite, intrudes the sediments and is separated from the orebody by a zone of sheared and faulted sediments. The western border of the orebody is a brecciated and weakly altered and mineralized andesite of probable early Eocene age. The structural geology of the mine area is quite complex and related to the formation of the Chiwaukum graben during the middle …

Timing And Conditions Of Deformation And Metamorphism Of The Structural Packages East Of Harrison Lake, B.C., Jeffrey D. (Jeffrey Dale) Bennett

WWU Graduate School Collection

Metamorphosed oceanic and arc-related lithologies of the Slollicum, Cogburn and Settler packages crop out to the east of Harrison Lake, B.C., within the southern Coast Plutonic Complex and represent the northern extension of the Cascade orogenic belt. The Cretaceous Spuzzum plutons intruded the packages in late syn- to post-metamorphic time, and several early Tertiary stocks intruded all units after deformation.

The Slollicum package is dominated by graphitic to politic phyllite, and felsic to mafic arc volcanics intercalated with marble, conglomerate and quartzite. The sediments dominate western exposures, and eastern exposures are mainly volcanics. U-Pb analysis of zircon in a volcanic …

Petrology And Structure Of The Cascade River Schist, In The Sibley Creek Area, Northern Cascades, Washington, Joe D. Dragovich

WWU Graduate School Collection

The focus of this study is on the protolith types, metamorphism and structure of the Cascade River Schist in the Sibley Creek area of the North Cascades, Washington. The two general lithologic packages are an arc and ocean floor unit termed the Cascade River and Napeequa units, respectively, by Tabor and others (in press). The Cascade River unit has a recognizable stratigraphy which is inverted and repeated across strike from the southwestern to northeastern sides of the field area, apparently as a result of macroscopic synclinal folding. The Napeequa unit lies on top of the Cascade River unit, in the …

Sedimentary Depositional Cyclicity, Mission Canyon And Charles Formations (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Jean L. Hoff

Theses and Dissertations

Workers within the Williston Basin have repeatedly reported the presence of sedimentary cyclicity within the carbonate and evaporite succession of the Mississippian Madison Group. Descriptions of cyclicity are diverse and commonly conflict. Previous work has been exclusively qualitative. This study used a group of statistical techniques in a method designed specifically for the objective identification and evaluation of cyclicity in the lithofacies sequence of the Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations in North Dakota.

Twelve cores were sampled at every visually distinguishable lithologic unit. Forty-six lithologic components were counted in each sample on a presence-absence basis. The phi association coefficient …

Distribution Analysis Of Heavy Minerals On The Inner Continental Shelf Of Virginia, Hakan Ozalpasan

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.