Earth Sciences Commons^™

Modeling Macrophytes Of The Columbia Slough, Oregon, Chris Berger, Scott A. Wells

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Columbia Slough is a tidally influenced freshwater system of wetlands, channels, and lakes located within the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. It is a eutrophic water body susceptible to algae blooms and crashes and periods of high pH which violate water quality standards. High nutrient loads from groundwater principally controls algae productivity. Past structural changes to the Columbia Slough have included filling of wetlands and lakes and the construction of levees, dikes, culverts and irrigation channels. These changes have altered the natural flow dynamics creating an environment more conducive to eutrophication. …

The Salinity And Hydrology Of The Upper Slab Hut Catchment, R Ferdowsian, A T. Ryder

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Depositional And Diagenetic Relationships Of The Honaker-Nolichucky Formational Boundary (Middle Cambrian, Conasauga Group), Southern Appalachians, Gary Alan Ottinger

Masters Theses

The upper Honaker and lower Nolichucky Formations (Middle Cambrian, Conasauga Group) in northeastern Tennessee comprise part of a thick pericratonic Cambro-Ordovician passive margin sequence along the eastern edge of North America. Throughout the Cambrian, the interplay of autocyclic controls, including sediment supply, tectonism and accompanying subsidence, and eustasy, resulted in various sedimentary architectures, including the Conasauga platform and intrashelf basin adjacent to the craton. To date, the Middle Cambrian westerly carbonate sections adjacent to and within the intrashelf basin (near Knoxville) have been studied in considerable detail. Particularly, these studies have proposed a third-order sequence boundary near Knoxville as well …

The Effects Of Phosphorus Enrichment On The Dominant Phytoplankton Communities Of Chaney Lake, Kathy Tehrani

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Chaney Lake is a temporary karst wetland located in southern Warren County, Kentucky. Because of an impermeable chert layer between the surface and the porous limestone, Chaney Lake fills with water over the winter and spring and then gradually drains over the summer. Three experiments were conducted over the course of the 1998 flooding season to assess the effects of phosphorus addition on the phytoplankton community in Chaney Lake. Ten plastic-sided mesocosms were constructed and placed in the marsh area of the wetland at three different periods: early spring, early summer, and late summer. Phosphorus in the form of K2HPO4 …

Acquisition Of An Automated Powder X-Ray Diffraction System, Charles V. Guidotti, Edward S. Grew, Martin Yates

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This grant provides $70,295 as one-half support of the costs of acquiring a state-of-the-art powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD) that will be housed in a newly constructed Global Sciences building on the Orono campus of the University of Maine. This acquisition will allow these PI's to continue their internationally recognized research programs in petrologic mineralogy including studies of the phase equilibria of solid solutions in metamorphic rocks and borosilicates. The characterization of both structural properties and mineralogic identification of unknowns is fundamental to these researchers and the establishment of a modern XRD facility at the University of Maine will benefit a …

Capstone Experience For Geoscience Students At The University Of Maine: Integrating Fieldwork, Laboratory Analysis And Multimedia Technology In A Teamwork Environment, Daniel F. Belknap, Martin Yates

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This project establishes a Capstone Experience for senior undergraduate geoscience students. The major component is equipment for a networked Collaborative Computer Laboratory housed in the new sciences center. The laboratory is the major resource for an integrated course including computer, field work, laboratory, analytical, and publishing experiences for undergraduate seniors in geology and anthropology. This Capstone Experience has a strong interdisciplinary component (geology, environmental sciences, and anthropology) and involves other universities and K 12 students. This project focuses on Maine and neighboring regions and builds on the strengths of the university and opportunities provided by Maine's geological and geographic setting. …

Liming Of Vineyard Soils, Thomas J. Rice

Earth and Soil Sciences

Liming vineyard soils to increase soil pH and raise calcium levels has been practiced for centuries in the humid areas of the world where soils tend to be more acid. Today, liming is increasingly practiced in the semiarid central coast regions of California, where liming of vineyards was unheard of even a decade ago.
Past agricultural practices, such as the addition of sulfur, acid-forming nitrogen fertilizers, and organic soil amendments, have caused soil acidification. Previously, most of these lands were either open space, range lands, or planted to grain crops.
To avoid unnecessary expense and protect the soil from environmental …

Interannual Variations In Snowmelt Onset And Links To 500 Hpa Atmospheric Anomalies Over The Arctic, Sheldon D. Drobot, Mark R. Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Interannual variations in the melt onset of snow provide a mechanism to observe climatic fluctuations. Timing of initial ablation is associated with certain poorly defined overlying atmospheric conditions. This paper investigates the spatial and temporal patterns in melt onset dates and associated 500 hPa height anomalies over the Arctic region from 1982 to 1992. Melt onset dates are derived from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data, while 500 hPa height anomalies are computed from the National Centers for Environmental Protection (NCEP) reanalysis models. Results indicate significant interannual variations in the spatial pattern and timing …

"Cosmic Spherules In Glaciogenic Sediments: An Update.", Karl Wirth, A.E. Funk, M.B. Ricke, L.B. Wallin, J.O. Annexstad

Karl Wirth

No abstract provided.

Studying The Importance Of Hurricanes To The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Gregory W. Stone, Ping Wang, David A. Pepper, J. M. Grymes Iii, Harry H. Roberts, Xiongping Zhang, S. A. Hsu, Oscar K. Huh

Geology Faculty Publications

A pilot study was recently begun dealing with the impacts and post-storm adjustment of barrier islands to severe storms along the northern Gulf of Mexico. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of coastal morphodynamics and longer term evolution of the coast in that area. Study of the recent impacts and post-storm adjustment of the area to Hurricane Georges is playing a very important role in enhancing our comprehension of the significance of these high-energy events in coastal dynamics.

A few hours before dawn on September 28, 1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall …

Zinc Speculation And Ligand Fluxes In Chesapeake Bay And Elizabeth River Pore Waters, Duncan Glover Byers

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Presented here are the first data on the vertical concentrations, complexation, speciation, and fluxes of total dissolved zinc and zinc complexing ligands, and zinc speciation in sediment pore waters in the Chesapeake Bay and Elizabeth River, Virginia.

Sediment pore waters were collected in mid and southern Chesapeake Bay in November 1997 and in the Elizabeth River (Pinner's Point) in March, April, and July 1998. Flux experiments were conducted in Elizabeth River sediment cores in April and July 1998. [TDZn] and zinc complexation were determined using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electrode (DPASV-HMDE).

[TDZn] in the …

The Relationship Of Cloud Cover To Near-Surface Temperature And Humidity: Comparison Of Gcm Simulations With Empirical Data, Pavel Ya. Groisman, Raymond S. Bradley, Bomin Sun

Raymond S Bradley

One of the possible ways to check the adequacy of the physical description of meteorological elements in global climate models (GCMs) is to compare the statistical structure of these elements reproduced by models with empirical data from the world climate observational system. The success in GCM development warranted a further step in this assessment. The description of the meteorological element in the model can be considered adequate if, with a proper reproduction of the mean and variability of this element (as shown by the observational system), the model properly reproduces the internal relationships between this element and other climatic variables …

Collaborative Research: Long Records Of Paleoclimate From Florida, George L. Jacobson, Heather Almquist

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Long Records of Paleoclimate from Florida Recent research on a continuous 50,000-year sediment record from eastern North America has revealed a striking correlation between Heinrich events (large surges in flow of ice streams feeding from the Laurentide ice sheet into the North Atlantic) and major changes in vegetation in peninsular Florida. These events are expressed at Lake Tulane, Florida, as abrupt shifts between pine-dominated and oak-dominated communities, which likely correspond with times of moist climate alternating with periods of extreme drought. Those results suggest that the Heinrich events involved important changes in ocean-atmosphere circulation, and thus forcing other than internal …

Influence Of Nitrogen Rate And Sampling Date On Soil Analysis Values Of Highbush Blueberries, John R. Clark, Ronald W. Mcnew, Richard C. Maples

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Three studies were conducted on nitrogen (N) fertilization effects on soil of highbush blueberries in Arkansas. Objectives included: 1) determination of varying N rate effects on the standard soil analysis variables, 2) determination of date of soil sampling effects on soil analyses, 3) evaluation of the interactions of N rate and time of sampling, and 4) determination of changes in soil content over years. This research was done in two of the more important highbush blueberry production areas in Arkansas: the Arkansas River Valley where blueberries are grown on sandy loam soils, and northwest Arkansas where production is more common …

A Comprehensive Approach For Evaluation Of Groundwater Vulnerability To Contamination, Shafiul H. Chowdhury

Dissertations

Groundwater vulnerability to contamination from surface sources was evaluated for Nottawa Creek Watershed, Calhoun County Michigan using AQUIPRO and DRASTIC vulnerability methods. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to analyze and map the data. Forty groundwater samples were collected following a statistical sampling protocol from private wells. Samples were analyzed for nitrate-N and atrazine. Atrazine was not detected (detection limit 0.1 ppb) in any of the samples. Five samples contained detectable nitrate-N (detection limit 0.05 mg/L). Due to insufficient chemical data, the relative AQUIPRO and DRASTIC vulnerability scores could not be compared with the frequency of occurrences o f …

Multiple Isotopic Studies Of Calcium Carbonate Growths In Concrete Structures, Danielle M. Schmitt

Masters Theses

Secondary minerals, predominantly carbonates, forming under concrete structures have received attention in terms of their possible role in the degradation of their hosts. δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O analyses of several calcium carbonate growths collected from bridges in Michigan and New York were performed. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values clustered around -24.7 ± 1(PDB) and 13.7 ± 1(SMOW) ‰, respectively. A positive δ¹⁸O- δ¹³C correlation suggests kinetically driven precipitation involving atmospheric CO2• ¹⁴C activities determined for select samples support the theory that atmospheric CO₂ is involved …

Molybdenum Accumulation In Cariaco Basin Sediment Over The Past 24 K.Y.: A Record Of Water-Column Anoxia And Climate, Walter E. Dean, David Z. Piper, Larry C. Peterson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Molybdenum (Mo) concentrations in a sediment core from the Cariaco basin on the Venezuelan continental shelf can be partitioned between a marine fraction and a terrigenous fraction. The accumulation rate of the marine fraction of Mo increased abruptly 15 000 calendar years ago (15 ka), from <0.5 mg • cm^-2 • yr^-1 to >4 μg • cm^-2 • yr^-1, and then decreased abruptly at 9 ka. The accumulation rate remained high throughout this 6 k.y. period, but exhibited maxima at 15–14 and 12.5 ka, corresponding in time to meltwater pulse IA into the Gulf of Mexico and the onset …

Reply [To “Comment On “Sks Splitting Beneath Continental Rifts Zones” By Gao Et Al.”], Stephen S. Gao, Paul M. Davis, Kelly H. Liu, Philip D. Slack, Andrew W. Rigor, Yuliy A. Zorin, Valentina V. Mordvinova, Vladimir M. Kozhevnikov, Nikolai A. Logatchev

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Vauchez et al. [this issue] (hereinafter refered to as VBN) interpret the petrologic, tomographic, and anisotropy data from continental rifts to support a model of continental rifting [Nicolas, 1993; Nicolas et al., 1994] in which the lithosphere splits along the rift axis and asthenosphere flows in from the sides to fill the resulting gap. We suggest here that the data can also be described by a model in which the lower lithosphere is modified or eroded by active mantle upwelling over a region of significantly greater dimensions than the rift graben and that partial melt developing in the upwelling …

Radiocarbon In Marine Bacteria: Evidence For The Ages Of Assimilated Carbon, J Cherrier, Je Bauer, Et Al

VIMS Articles

It is generally accepted that marine bacteria utilize labile, recently produced components of bulk dissolved organic matter. This interpretation is based largely on indirect measurements using model compounds and plankton-derived organic matter. Here, we present an assessment of the relative proportions of modem and older dissolved organic carbon (DOC) utilized by marine bacteria. Bacterial nucleic acids were collected from both estuarine (Santa Rosa Sound, FL) and open-ocean (eastern North Pacific) sites, and the natural radiocarbon signatures of the nucleic acid carbon in both systems were determined. Bacterial nucleic acids from Santa Rosa Sound were significantly enriched in radiocarbon with respect …

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 …

Geochemistry And Petrogenesis Of The Bonanza King Mafic Intrusive Complex, Trinity Terrane Ophiolite, California, Keith R. Willse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Bonanza King mafic intrusive complex (MIC) (>25 km^2₎ of the Trinity terrane ophiolite, northern California, consists of cogenetic plutonic and dike lithologies. Steep intrusive contacts exist between cumulate pyroxenite, isotropic gabbro, and peridotite country rock. Near vertical east-west trending, bimodal dikes intruded gabbro and are centered within the complex. Geochemical modeling indicates taht accumulation/fractionation of a gabbroic parental magma produced lithologic trends of cumulate pyroxenite and fractionated gabbro and dike lithologies. Similarities between all lithologies suggest cogenetic formation of all the elements of the Bonanza King MIC during the Late Silurian (431 +/- 3).

Parental magma …

The Geochronology And Geochemistry Of The Bearhead Rhyolite, Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico, Leigh Justet

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Around 82% of mapped Bearhead Rhyolite (Main Cluster) and Peralta Tuff appears to have been derived from a relatively long-lived (~680 ka), large, shallow (Earth's surface) magma chamber that did not produce a caldera-forming eruption. Although volatile contents were great enough (~ wt.% H₂O), no large-scale explosive eruptions occurred because magma may have been tectonically vented. The lack of systematic chemical variation within the Main Cluster with time during this ~680 ka interval may imply that erupted magmas were physically separated from each other by fault-formed cupolas in the roof of the magma chamber. These results are significant …

The Origin Of Brucite In Hydrothermally Altered Limestone Near Devil Peak, Nevada, Rhonda L. Knupp

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Open-space brucite was identified in veins crosscutting hydrothermally altered limestone near the Devil Peak rhyolite plug in southern Nevada. The brucite occurs with serpentine, calcite, chalcedony, hydromagnesite, dolomite, and clinochlore.

Brucite usually forms as a replacement mineral, but textural evidence indicates that the brucite at Devil Peak precipitated in open space. The presence of chalcedony in veins indicates the temperature of the hydrothermal fluid was <180^oC during and after mineral deposition. Thermodynamic modeling shows this temperature is too low for replacement brucite to form, thus the low temperature of alteration may be a factor in this unusual occurrence of …

Close-Range And Satellite Remote Sensing Of Algal Biomass In The Iowa Great Lakes, Eric A. Wilson

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The utility of both close-range and satellite remote sensing for assessing inland water quality was examined in the Iowa Great Lakes. The water quality of this system is of considerable interest because of its status as an environmental, recreational, and therefore, economic resource. The broad range of optical conditions present in the lakes and the wealth of literature on the system make it an ideal environment for water quality remote sensing research. The goal of this research was to survey the water quality of the Iowa Great Lakes via remote sensing, evaluate different predictive algorithms, and map the distribution of …