Earth Sciences Commons^™

Tree Islands In Everglades Landscapes: Current Status, Historical Changes, And Hydrologic Impacts On Population Dynamics And Moisture Relations, First Annual Report, Michael Ross, Steve Oberbauer, Pablo Ruiz, Nilesh Timilsina, Daniel Gomez, Jay Sah, Susanna Stofella, Leonel Sternberg

SERC Research Reports

In 2005 we initiated a project designed to better understand tree island structure and function in the Everglades and the wetlands bordering it. Focus was on the raised portions at the upstream end of the islands, where tropical hardwood species adapted to well-drained conditions usually are the most prominent component of the vegetation. The study design is hierarchical, with four levels; in general, a large number of sites is to be surveyed once for a limited set of parameters, and increasingly small sets of islands are to be sampled more intensively, more frequently, and for more aspects of ecosystem function. …

Geophysical And Hydrological Evaluation Of Two Bog Complexes In A Northern Peatland: Implications For The Distribution Of Biogenic Gases At The Basin Scale, Xavier Comas, Lee Slater, Andrew S. Reeve

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to determine peat basin geometry and the spatial distribution of free-phase biogenic gasses in two separate units of a northern peatland (Central and Southern Unit of Caribou Bog, Maine). The Central Unit is characterized by a deep basin structure (15 m maximum depth) and a raised (eccentric) bog topographic profile (up to 2 m topographic variation). Here numerous regions of electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering are considered diagnostic of the presence of extensive free-phase biogenic gas. In contrast, the Southern Unit is shallower (8 m maximum depth) and has a slightly convex upwards bog profile …

Observations Of Sand Waves, Megaripples, And Hummocks In The Dutch Coastal Area And Their Relation To Currents And Combined Flow Conditions, Sandra Passchier, Maarten Kleinhans

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

[1] This paper aims to investigate the distribution and stability of large‐scale bed forms in response to storm and fair‐weather conditions in a shallow marine environment. Multibeam and side‐scan sonar data off the Dutch coast (median grain size 0.25–0.35 mm) were collected to monitor sand waves (λ = 100–800 m) and superimposed megaripples (λ = 1–40 m) through multiple storm and fair‐weather events. Box cores were used to observe the vertical bed structure and grain size. In the Dutch coastal area, two‐dimensional (2‐D) megaripples (λ = 1–15 m) are the dominant bed forms in current‐dominated (>0.4 m/s) tidal flow …

Detecting Submarine Groundwater Discharge With Synoptic Surveys Of Sediment Resistivity, Radium, And Salinity, John A. Breier, Crystaline F. Breier, Henrietta Edmonds

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

A synoptic geophysical and geochemical survey was used to investigate the occurrence and spatial distribution of submarine discharges of water to upper Nueces Bay, Texas. The 17 km survey incorporated continuous resistivity profiling; measurements of surface water salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen; and point measurements of dissolved Ra isotopes. The survey revealed areas of interleaving, vertical fingers of high and low conductivity extending up through 7 m of bay bottom sediments into the surface water, located within 100 m of surface salinity and dissolved Ra maxima along with peaks in water temperature and lows in dissolved oxygen. These results indicate …

Estimation Of Iron Solubility From Observations And A Global Aerosol Model, Chao Luo, N. M. Mahowald, N. Meskhidze, Y. Chen, R. L. Siefert, A. R. Baker, Anne M. Johansen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Mineral aerosol deposition is the dominant source of iron to the open ocean. Soil iron is typically insoluble and understanding the atmospheric processes that convert insoluble iron to the more soluble forms observed over the oceans is crucial. In this paper, we model several proposed processes for the conversion of Fe(III) to Fe(II), and compare with cruise observations. The comparisons show that the model results in similar averaged magnitudes of iron solubility as measured during 8 cruises in 2001–2003. Comparisons show that results of cases including cloud, SO₂ and hematite processing are better than the other approaches used using …

Icesat Measurements Reveal Complex Pattern Of Elevation Changes On Siple Coast Ice Streams, Antarctica, B. Csatho, Y. Ahn, T. Yoon, C. J. Van Der Veen, S. Vogel, Gordon S. Hamilton, D. Morse, B. Smith, V. Blue Spikes

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

We compare ICESat data (2003-2004) to airborne laser altimetry data (1997-98 and 1999-2000) to monitor surface changes over portions of Van der Veen (VdVIS), Whillans (WIS) and Kamb ice streams (KIS) in the Ross Embayment of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The spatial pattern of detected surface changes is generally consistent with earlier observations. However, important changes have occurred during the past decade. For example, areas on the VdVIS and WIS, where large thinning was detected by the airborne surveys, are now closer to being in balance. The upper trunk of KIS continues to build up with thickening rates reaching …

Spectral Analysis Of Ground Penetrating Radar Response To Thin Sedimentary Layers, Swagata Guha, Sarah E. Kruse, E. E. Wright, U. E. Kruse

Geology Faculty Publications

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems utilized in studies of sedimentary deposits generate wavelengths (tens of centimeters) that are commonly much longer than the thickness of bedding (often millimeters to centimeters) within the target strata. Where this is the case, radar profiles represent interference patterns. Simple models of radar response to sequences of thin beds such as those found in coastal deposits show potentially detectable spectral shifts toward higher frequencies in radar returns. Spectral analysis of radar data over barrier beach deposits at Waites Island, South Carolina, shows that returns from packages with heavy mineral laminations are shifted toward higher frequencies …

Pervasive Cracking Of The Northern Chilean Coastal Cordillera: New Evidence For Forearc Extension, John P. Loveless, Gregory D. Hoke, Richard W. Allmendinger, Gabriel González, Bryan L. Isacks, Daniel A. Carrizo

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Despite convergence across the strongly coupled seismogenic interface between the South American and Nazca plates, the dominant neotectonic signature in the forearc of northern Chile is arc-normal extension. We have used 1 m resolution IKONOS satellite imagery to map nearly 37,000 cracks over an area of 500 km2 near the Salar Grande (21°S). These features, which are best preserved in a ubiquitous gypcrete surface layer, have both nontectonic and tectonic origins. However, their strong preferred orientation perpendicular to the plate convergence vector suggests that the majority owe their formation to approximate east-west extension associated with plate boundary processes such as …

The Relationship Between Meteorological Patterns And Rural Ground Ozone Concentration, Dasen Kendrick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Throughout the United States, many areas exceed the level of safe ground ozone (O3) concentration. Non-natural emissions made as result of daily human activities and natural emissions react photochemically to produce ground O3 concentration. Variation in ground O3 concentration is controlled by local and regional emissions, synoptic and mesoscale meteorology, and boundary layer chemistry and dynamics. When the right meteorological variables are present, rural areas can have unhealthy air conditions with high levels of ground O3 concentration similar to that of metropolitan areas. Particular ground O3 concentration episodes were analyzed to summarize what meteorological variables constitute a healthy or hazardous …

Results Of Vadose Zone Sampling Within The Tri-Basin Natural Resources District, Mark E. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Total And Bioavailable Soil Lead From A Shooting Range In Central California., Phil Roberts, Chip Appel, Jake Shneider, Tamber Schmall, Melissa Simoes, Carissa Griffith, Dave Baker, Chad Lessard, Katharine Carr, Myles Davis, Cameron Sharp, Jesse Hitchcock, Craig Stubler, Jason Stuckey

Earth and Soil Sciences

Lead can pose a significant risk to environmental quality at and around shooting ranges due to its use in bullets and shot. The concentrations of Pb in soils, plants and surficial waters from a shooting range were determined in this study. Soil and plant samples were analyzed for total Pb (US EPA method 3050a) to determine the extent of Pb contamination. The toxicity characteristic leach procedure (TCLP; US EPA method 1311) was followed to ascertain bioavailable Pb. Soil samples ranged from 14.71 to 6346.15 mg Pb kg-1 soil with an average value of 1157.43 (±2000.57) mg Pb kg-1 soil across …

Vegetation Treatments On Bureau Of Land Management Lands In 17 Western States, Bureau Of Land Management

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

The Quartzite Problem Revisited, Jeffrey L. Howard

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

A review of past terminology and previous petrological studies suggests that quartzite should be classified descriptively as both a sedimentary and a metamorphic rock. Quartzite is identified in the field as a quartz‐rich rock (exclusive of chert and vein quartz) that is exceptionally hard and, when broken by a rock hammer, fractures irregularly through both grains and cement (where present) to form an irregular or conchoidal fracture surface. Quartzite is differentiated from quartzose sandstone (arenite), which is softer and fractures around individual grains, and from chert and vein quartz by a bright vitreous luster. Quartzite is classified further on the …

Geosciences Newsletter - 2005, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 2, No. 1

• Mohamed Sultan, Chairperson
• Faculty News
• Emeriti News
• Department News
• Graduate Student News
• Awards & Graduations
• Alumni News
• Professional Meetings
• Outstanding Alumni Academy
• New Faces in the Geosciences

Systematic Revision Of The Genus Eupleura H. And A. Adams, 1853 (Gastropoda: Muricidae) In The Neogene To Recent Of Tropical America, Gregory S. Herbert

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The systematics of the Neogene to Recent genus Eupleura of tropical America are revised, with descriptions of four new species: Eupleura engerrabunda, from the Late Miocene of Mexico (Atlantic); Eupleura gravidentata, from the Plio-Pleistocene of Colombia (Atlantic); Eupleura paroudia, from the Early or middle Pliocene of Mexico (Atlantic); and Eupleura vokesorum, from the Pliocene of Costa Rica (Pacific) and Ecuador and the Recent tropical eastern Pacific. Two recent taxa, Eupleura plicata and Eupleura limata, are also resurrected, increasing the standing diversity of Eupleura in the eastern Pacific to seven species. Eupleura limata, however, may …

Chlorsulfuron, Ecological Risk Assessment, Final Report, Ensr International

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Department of the Interior (USDI), proposing a program to treat vegetation on up to six million acres of public lands annually in 17 western states in the continental United States (US) and Alaska. As part of this program, the BLM is proposing the use of ten herbicide active ingredients (a.i.) to control invasive plants and noxious weeds on approximately one million of the 6 million acres proposed for treatment. The BLM and its contractor, ENSR, are preparing a Vegetation Treatments Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate this and other proposed vegetation …

A Geologic Record Of Methane Consumption Associated With Methane Gas Hydrates At Blake Ridge Region (Continental Rise, Offshore Southeastern United States), Walter S. Borowski, Kathryn G. Takacs, Matthew K. Thompson

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Geochemical signals locked within sedimentary rocks are a record of earth processes. Sulfide minerals (elemental sulfur, iron monosulfides, and pyrite) are formed within marine sediments by several different geochemical processes mediated by microbes. Investigating the concentration and sulfur isotopic composition (d³⁴S) of sulfide minerals gives clues about the relative importance of these competing geochemical processes.

Marine sediments of the Blake Ridge(offshore South Carolina and Georgia) contain sulfide minerals that point to anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) as an important diagenetic process both today and in the recent geological past (Miocene). At the present-day methane-sulfate interface, upward-diffusing methane is consumed …

Modeling And Measuring The Nocturnal Drainage Flow In A High-Elevation, Subalpine Forest With Complex Terrain, Chuixiang Yi, Russell K. Monson, Zhiqiang Zhai, Dean E. Anderson, Brian Lamb, Gene Allwine, Andrew A. Turnipseed, Sean P. Burns

Publications and Research

The nocturnal drainage flow of air causes significant uncertainty in ecosystem CO₂, H₂O, and energy budgets determined with the eddy covariance measurement approach. In this study, we examined the magnitude, nature, and dynamics of the nocturnal drainage flow in a subalpine forest ecosystem with complex terrain. We used an experimental approach involving four towers, each with vertical profiling of wind speed to measure the magnitude of drainage flows and dynamics in their occurrence. We developed an analytical drainage flow model, constrained with measurements of canopy structure and SF₆ diffusion, to help us interpret the tower …

Geodetic Gps Measurements In South Iceland: Strain Accumulation And Partitioning In A Propagating Ridge System, P. C. Lafemina, Timothy H. Dixon, R. Malservisi, T. Arnadottir, E. Sturkell, F. Sigmundsson, P. Einarsson

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

GPS observations in south Iceland between 1994 and 2003 are compared with two-dimensional elastic half-space and viscoelastic coupling models for two parallel rift zones, representing the Western and Eastern volcanic zones (WVZ, EVZ). GPS data from the Hreppar block, between the WVZ and EVZ, fit a rigid block model within uncertainties. Spreading rates across the WVZ increase from 2.6 ± 0.9 mm/yr in the northeast to 7.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr in the southwest. Conversely, spreading rates in the EVZ decrease from 19.0 ± 2.0 mm/yr in the northeast to 11.0 ± 0.8 mm/yr in the southwest, the direction of ridge …

The 21st Annual International Conference On Soils, Sediments And Water

Annual Conference on Soils, Sediments and Water: Abstracts

Conference at a Glance Monday, October 17, 2005 Workshops (Workshops #1 and #2: 10:00am - 5:00pm; Workshop #3: 1:00 - 5:00pm; Workshop #4: 1:00 - 3:00pm, Workshop #5: 2:00 - 5:00pm) 1) Theory and Use of Field Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Soil Analysis 2) In-Situ Chemical Oxidation Workshop 3) The Role of Anaerobic Biodegradation Processes in Passive and Enhanced Monitored Natural Attenuation Programs 4) Application of Classic and Emerging Techniques in Environmental Forensics 5) Environmental Fate of Hydrocarbons in Soils and Groundwater Tuesday, October 18, 2005 Platform Presentations 8:30am – Noon Session 1: Environmental Biotechnology Session 2: Ecological Restoration and …

Tunnel Geology As Seen By Geologists: Manhattan, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Masud Ahmed, Alan R. Slaughter, Belal A. Sayeed, Dorean J. Flores, Mario Jo-Ramirez

Publications and Research

Current exploratory boring operations in and around Manhattan, New York City are providing geologists and geotechnical engineers with a plethora of new and interesting geological information, which has not been previously reported. The rocks encountered, mostly medium to high-grade metamorphic rocks, with both mafic and felsic intrusives, are highly variable in competency and mechanical durability. One of the most frequently encountered rock types is a garnetiferous-muscovite-biotite schist which grades into schistose gneiss and displays a wide variety of structural, compositional, and textural attributes. Metamorphic minerals showing the variable degree of metamorphism include graphite, talc, garnet, kyanite, tourmaline, emory, and occasionally …

Potential Of Modis Evi And Surface Temperature For Directly Estimating Per-Pixel Ecosystem C Fluxes, Abdullah Rahman, Daniel A. Sims, Vicente D. Cordova, Bassil Z. El-Masri

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We tested the potential of estimating per-pixel gross primary production (GPP) directly from the MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and respiration directly from MODIS surface temperature (MOD11). Carbon flux data were obtained from 10 eddy covariance tower sites representing a wide range of North American vegetations. The correlation between across-site tower GPP and EVI was comparable (r = 0.77) to that between tower GPP and MOD17-GPP (r = 0.73), suggesting that EVI could be used to provide reasonably accurate direct estimates of GPP on a truly per-pixel basis. There was also a strong relationship (r2 = 0.67) between respiration and …

The Moxee City (Washington) Mammoth: Morphostratigraphic, Taphonomic, And Taxonomic Considerations, Karl Lillquist, Steve Lundblad, Bax R. Barton

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

A nearly complete, but highly fractured, proboscidean tusk was unearthed during parking lot construction near Moxee City in central Washington in May 2001. Schreger angle analysis revealed that the tusk was from a mammoth. AMS radiocarbon dating of the tusk established that the mammoth died 14,570 ¹⁴C yr BP. The age, combined with the biogeography of proboscidean finds in the Pacific Northwest, suggests the tusk is from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The condition of the tusk and its association with basalt and crystalline erratics suggest that a locally derived tusk was swept up in the advancing …

Penrose Conference Report: Kinematics And Geodynamics Of Intraplate Dextral Shear In Eastern California And Western Nevada, Jeffrey Lee, Daniel Stockli, Christopher Henry, Timothy Dixon

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

This conference provided a forum to discuss the range of geological and geophysical datasets from the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ) and Walker Lane belt (WLB) that bear on how intraplate deformation is accommodated and how to integrate the data into a comprehensive, spatially and kinematically coherent view of intraplate deformation through time.

Geogram 2005, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Prediction Of Sediment-Bound Nutrient Delivery From Semi-Arid California Watersheds, Emmanuel Gabet, Noah Fierer, Oliver Chadwick

Faculty Publications

Soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are lost from hillslopes in particulate forms through soil erosion. The fate of the eroded C (e.g., sequestration or oxidation) may affect the global C budget, and delivery of N and P to waterbodies can lead to eutrophication. Whereas the magnitude of particulate nutrient losses may be similar to or greater than dissolved losses, it is rarely estimated. We couple a sediment delivery model with measurements of C, N, and P in soil to account explicitly for hillslope sediment transport processes that yield sediment-bound nutrients to fluvial networks. The model is applied …

Review Of Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of The Great Plains And Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of Nebraska And Parts Of Adjacent States, Harmon D. Maher Jr.

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

When it comes to science in general, and the geology of the Great Plains in particular, there is arguably an imbalance between the wealth of material written for experts and the relative paucity written for the general public. These publications help correct that imbalance at a time when the various Lewis and Clark celebrations create an especially receptive and engaged audience.

Coral Reef Ed-Ventures: An Environmental Education Program For School Children In San Pedro, Belize, H. Allen Curran, Susan Etheredge, Elizabeth Callaghan, Paulette M. Peckol

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mountain Plover Population Responses To Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs In Montana, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Gary C. White, Fritz L. Knopf

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We studied a local population of mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) in southern Phillips County, Montana, USA, from 1995 to 2000 to estimate annual rates of recruitment rate (f) and population change (λ). We used Pradel models, and we modeled λ as a constant across years, as a linear time trend, as year-specific, and with an additive effect of area occupied by prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). We modeled recruitment rate (f) as a function of area occupied by prairie dogs with the remaining model structure identical to the best model used to estimate λ. Our results indicated …

The 7 May 2001 Induced Seismic Event In The Ekofisk Oil Field, North Sea, L. Ottemöller, H. H. Nielsen, K. Atakan, Jochen Braunmiller, J. Havskov

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

A moderate size seismic event on 7 May 2001 was strongly felt on platforms in the Ekofisk oil field, in the southern North Sea, but did not cause damage to platforms or wells. We combined near- and far-field observations to develop a consistent source model and to determine whether the event was induced. Seismic data placed the epicenter inside the Ekofisk field and suggested a shallow source depth based on spectral and moment tensor analysis. GPS data from the Ekofisk platforms displayed permanent vertical and horizontal movement due to the event. A topographic bulge in the sea bottom, revealed by …