Earth Sciences Commons^™

Molecular Characterization Of Soil Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria Based On The Genes Encoding Ammonia Monooxygenase, Jose Javier Alzerreca

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are chemolithotrophs that oxidize ammonia/ammonium to nitrite in a two-step process to obtain energy for survival. AOB are difficult to isolate from the environment and iso lated strains may not represent the diversity in soil. A genetic database and molecular tools were developed based on the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) encoding genes that can be used to assess the diversity of AOB that exist in soil and aquatic environments without the isolation of pure cultures. The amo genes have excellent potential as molecular markers; since AMO is only found in the AOB and is essential for their metabolism, …

Evaluating Snowmelt Runoff, Infiltration, And Erosion In A Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem, Eric K. Duffin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Production of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) has created a need for safe storage facilities. These facilities must be capable of isolating radioactive waste and preventing contamination from physical or biological intrusion until the waste material is isotopically stable. At the present time, managers of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) have a substantial database characterizing rainfall events and the subsequent impact on integrity of shallow land burial sites used for storage of LLRW. Little information has been gathered describing the processes of snow accumulation/ablation and the resulting impact on storage facilities. This study examines snowmelt runoff, infiltration, and …

Sequence Stratigraphy And Paleoecology Of The Middle Cambrian Spence Shale Member Of The Langston Formation Of Northeastern Utah And Southeastern Idaho, Scott H. Wright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Cambrian Spence Shale Member contains meter-scale, shallowing-up cycles (parasequences) and record approximately 360 ky of deposition. These meter-scale cycles are nested within transgressive systems tracts (TST) and highstand systems tracts (HST) which reflect different stages of a lower-order, higher-magnitude sea-level excursion.

Fossil assemblages are located in stratigraphic positions within the Spence Shale Member that can be predicted on the basis of sequence architecture. The cycle architecture, taphonomy, and geochemistry of the Spence parasequences confirm synthetic sections and theoretical models of meter-scale cycles developed in other studies. Delineation of meter-scale cycles, based on taphonomic and sedimentologic criteria, allows high-resolution …

Prediction Of Suburban Encroachment On The Ethan Allen Firing Range And Camp Johnson, Chittenden County, Vermont, John D. Calandrelli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suburban encroachment is a growing concern for many National Guard training installations. The Ethan Allen. Firing Range and Camp Johnson, Vermont, are either experiencing or are completely enclosed by urban encroachment. The objective of this study was to analyze the trends of suburban growth within Chittenden County, Vermont, to evaluate growth and explore future training site viability of the Ethan Allen Firing Range and Camp Johnson.

This study focused on historical data, recent real estate transactions, population projections, and county plans for growth. Using historical and contemporary data, I developed a predictive model of suburban encroachment on Camp Johnson and …

Chemical And Hydrostratigraphic Characterization Of Ground Water And Surface Water Interactions In Cache Valley, Utah, J. Mike Robinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of five east-west and two north-south hydrostratigraphic cross sections were drawn from drillers' logs of water wells within the southern half of Cache Valley, Utah. These cross-sections demonstrate that ground water flow to streams is restricted by a continuous low- II permeability layer, nearly 100-feet thick. This layer was correlated to the lake-bottom deposits of the Bonneville (30,000 -13,000 years ago) and Little Valley (140,000 - 90,000 years ago) cycles of the ancient Lake Bonneville.

The most productive aquifers in the valley, collectively termed the principal aquifer , are in the southeast corner , approximately between Smithfield and …

Cenozoic Structural And Stratigraphic Evolution Of The Southeastern Salmon Basin, East-Central Idaho, James J. Blankenau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The southeastern Salmon basin (SB) of east-central Idaho is a complex east-dipping half graben containing four unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary volcanic, alluvial fan, lacustrine, and fluvial deposits. From oldest to youngest these are the Challis volcanic group, sedimentary rocks of Tendoy (new name), sedimentary rocks of Sacajaweja (new name), and Quaternary-Tertiary deposits . The thick sequence of volcanic rocks was deposited in a southeast-trending paleovalley . New mapping, cross-cutting relationships, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations, and angular unconformities show that the SB has experienced at least four episodes of extension, and that it lies in the core of an …

Tertiary Stratigraphy And Structural Geology, Wellsville Mountains To Junction Hills, North-Central Utah, Kathryn M. Goessel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study integrates detailed mapping of Tertiary deposits along the divide between the lower Bear River basin and the Cache Valley basin with several other techniques to generate a depositional model, define extension-related structures, and compile a geologic history for this part of the northeastern Basin and Range province. The study area is situated along the topographic divide between Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah, from the Wellsville Mountains north almost to Clarkston Mountain. These ranges are cored by folded and thrusted Paleozoic rocks. They are bound on the west by normal faults of the Wasatch fault zone and on …