Geology Commons^™

Structural Control Of Mesic Vegetation Communities Within The Owl And Bear Creek Watersheds, Fort Hood Military Installation, Texas, Melinda S. Faulkner, Matthew Mcbroom, Kenneth W. Farrish, Kevin Stafford

Faculty Publications

The Fort Hood Military Installation is a karst landscape, dominated by Lower Cretaceous carbonates of the Trinity and Fredericksburg groups. The study area is the northeastern peninsula known as the Owl Mountain Province, utilized by the U.S. Army for troop maneuvers and training. The geomorphic evolution of the province has been controlled by the structural development of incised canyons in the Owl and Bear creek watersheds, following the deformational trend of the Balcones/Ouachita fault system and the transverse Belton High-Central Texas Reef Trend. These trends control cave development in the subsurface, karst manifestations at the surface, joints in outcrop, stream …

Assessing Paleoenvironmental And Geomorphic Variability In Relationship To Paleoindian Site Burial; Centennial Valley, Montana, Hillary A. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wave action along the shores of Lima Reservoir in Centennial Valley, Montana is actively eroding the southern margins of three neighboring Paleoindian sites. Despite ostensible similarity among the sites, major site formation differences are apparent in exposed sediments. Shoreline cutbank exposures one-to-five meters high connect the sites and reveal a complicated geomorphic history. Although each site contains artifact evidence of terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene occupations, Paleoindian components at these three localities occur in very different contexts: one is buried, while the other two are apparent surface scatters. This raise the question of why sites of the same age are in both …

Legacy Sediment Controls On Post-Glacial Beaches Of Massachusetts, Alycia Ditroia

Masters Theses

Here we examine seasonal grain-size trends on 18 beaches in the Northeastern US and dispersed along the post-glacial coast of Massachusetts (USA) in order to explore the mechanisms influencing median grain size and slope. Over 800 grain size samples were collected along 200 summer and winter cross-shore beach elevation surveys. Obtained grain size and beach slope data are compared to coastal morphology, sediment source, wave height, and tidal magnitude in order to ascertain controls on beach characteristics. In general, median grain size increases with intertidal beach slope in the study region. However, grain sizes along post-glaciated beaches in the study …

Three-Dimensional Bedrock Channel Evolution With Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, Nick Richmond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bedrock channels are responsible for balancing and communicating tectonic and climatic signals across landscapes, but it is difficult and dangerous to observe and measure the flows responsible for removing weakly-attached blocks of bedrock from the channel boundary. Consequently, quantitative descriptions of the dynamics of bedrock removal are scarce. Detailed numerical simulation of violent flows in three dimensions has been historically challenging due to technological limitations, but advances in computational fluid dynamics aided by high-performance computing have made it practical to generate approximate solutions to the governing equations of fluid dynamics. From these numerical solutions we gain detailed knowledge of the …

Late Quaternary Evolution And Stratigraphic Framework Influence On Coastal Systems Along The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Usa, Robert Hollis

Master's Theses

Coastal systems in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened to reduced sediment supply, storm impacts and relative sea level rise (RSLR). The geologic record can provide insights of geomorphic threshold crossings (formation, progradation, transgression, destruction) to these forcing mechanisms to predict future barrier evolution to climate change. The stratigraphic framework and antecedent topography directly influence coastal evolution over geologic timescales. This study synthesizes ~2100km of geophysical data, 700+ sediment cores, and 63 radiocarbon dates to regionally map two sequence boundaries, multiple ravinement surfaces and fourteen depositional facies. One marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 valley’s fill provided up to 300 x10 …

Controls On Speleogenesis In The Upper-Mississippian Pennington Formation On The Western Cumberland Plateau Escarpment, Hali Steinmann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Much of the pioneering work on caves of the Cumberland Plateau (province spanning Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia) has been stratigraphically located within the Mississippian Bangor and Monteagle Limestones, wherein some of the region’s largest and most spectacular caves occur. Of interest to the understanding of this karst landscape, but severely underrepresented in the literature thereof, are caves and karst features in a heterogeneous sequence of clastics and carbonates known collectively as the Pennington Formation (Upper Mississippian). This work consisted of a regional study of Pennington caves on the western Cumberland Plateau escarpment (Alabama and Tennessee), and a case study …

The Periglacial Landscape Of Mars: Insight Into The 'Decameter-Scale Rimmed Depressions' In Utopia Planitia, Arya Bina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Currently, Mars appears to be in a ‘frozen’ and ‘dry’ state, with the clear majority of the planet’s surface maintaining year-round sub-zero temperatures. However, the discovery of features consistent with landforms found in periglacial environments on Earth, suggests a climate history for Mars that may have involved freeze and thaw cycles. Such landforms include hummocky, polygonised, scalloped, and pitted terrains, as well as ice-rich deposits and gullies, along the mid- to high-latitude bands, typically with no lower than 20o N/S. The detection of near-surface and surface ice via the Phoenix lander, excavation of ice via recent impact cratering activity as …

Impact Craters On Titan: Finalizing Titan's Crater Population, Joshua E. Hedgepeth

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Titan is one of the most dynamic moons in the solar system. It is smaller than Earth and much colder, yet Titan is eerily similar to Earth, with rivers, rain, and seas, as well as sand seas that wrap around the equator. However, the rivers are made of hydrocarbons rather than water and the sand made of organics rather rock. We can use Titan’s impact craters to study how these processes modify the surface by comparing the craters depths, diameters and rim heights of Titan’s craters with fresh craters. Therefore, we have used the complete data set from NASA’s Cassini …

Analysis Of The Parkway Drive Landslide, North Salt Lake, Ut, Brianna V. Hill

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

On August 5^th, 2014, a hillside failed behind a North Salt Lake City, UT neighborhood threatening several homes. Aerial Photography, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), geochemistry, rain gage and seismic data were used to test the influence of contributing factors in this landslide failure. Aerial photographs available from 1993 to present were examined for signs of tension cracks suggesting impending ground motion, as well as documentation of human modification along the hillslope. Repeat DEM analysis of elevation and slope of the hillside before and after the slide were examined to characterize the pre-failure hillslope and subsequent landslide. Geochemical analyses …

Effects Of Natural And Anthropogenic Forcing On Marsh Channel Evolution, Jeremiah Robinson

LSU Master's Theses

Wetlands have many ecological and physical properties that are essential for coastal communities. These ecosystems sustain local economies, provide essential habitats, are a source of numerous ecological and biological services, and protect coastal populations from storms. Of the many wetland types, salt marshes are among the most vulnerable to environmental changes. Salt marshes quickly respond to natural and human-driven perturbations and their high rate of loss in the last century is cause for concern.

In this project the rate of marsh loss driven by channel widening was measured through a comparative analysis of modern high resolution images and historic aerial …

Tectonic Controls On Alluvial Fan Dissection In The El Paso Mountains, Michael Thomas Gaffney

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The localized dissection of alluvial fans along the western El Paso Mountains is under question. A relatively minor, south dipping normal fault, previously unmentioned in scientific literature, cuts across Quaternary terraces and alluvial fans in the piedmont of the El Paso Mountains. The linear trend of footwall uplift and the pattern of stream incision into the footwall adjacent to the linear trend of footwall uplift reveal that fan dissection is a result of base level fall caused by ongoing tectonism along the El Paso fault system. The regional importance is discussed as the timing of faulting reveals relatively recent uplift …

A Shift From Drought To Extreme Rainfall Drives A Stable Landslide To Catastrophic Failure, Alexander L. Handwerger, Mong-Han Haung, Eric Jameson Fielding, Adam M. Booth, Roland Burgmann

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The addition of water on or below the earth’s surface generates changes in stress that can trigger both stable and unstable sliding of landslides and faults. While these sliding behaviours are well-described by commonly used mechanical models developed from laboratory testing (e.g., critical-state soil mechanics and rate-and-state friction), less is known about the field-scale environmental conditions or kinematic behaviours that occur during the transition from stable to unstable sliding. Here we use radar interferometry (InSAR) and a simple 1D hydrological model to characterize 8 years of stable sliding of the Mud Creek landslide, California, USA, prior to its rapid acceleration …

Quantitative Morphological Classification Of Planetary Craterforms Using Multivariate Methods Of Outline-Based Shape Analysis, Thomas Joseph Slezak

Theses and Dissertations

Craters formed by impact and volcanic processes are among the most fundamental planetary landforms. This study examines the morphology of diverse craterforms on Io, the Moon, Mars, and Earth using quantitative, outline-based shape analysis and multivariate statistical methods to evaluate the differences between different types of. Ultimately, this should help establish relationships between the form and origin of craterforms. Developed in the field of geometric morphometrics by paleontological and biological sciences communities, these methods were used for the analysis of the shapes of crater outlines. The shapes of terrestrial ash-flow calderas, terrestrial basaltic shield calderas, martian calderas, Ionian paterae, and …

Late Quaternary Uplift Along The North America-Caribbean Plate Boundary: Evidence From The Sea Level Record Of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Daniel R. Muhs, Eugene S. Schweig, Kathleen R. Simmons, Robert B. Halley

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The tectonic setting of the North America-Caribbean plate boundary has been studied intensively, but some aspects are still poorly understood, particularly along the Oriente fault zone. Guantanamo Bay, southern Cuba, is considered to be on a coastline that is under a transpressive tectonic regime along this zone, and is hypothesized to have a low uplift rate. We tested this by studying emergent reef terrace deposits around the bay. Reef elevations in the protected, inner part of the bay are ~11e12 m and outercoast, wave-cut benches are as high as ~14 m. Uranium-series analyses of corals yield ages ranging from ~133 …

How Dredge Pits Evolve Over Time: A Look At Their Geomorphologic Evolution And Infilling Processes, Patrick Robichaux

LSU Master's Theses

As coastal environments become more susceptible to land loss through accelerating sea level rise and subsidence, new restoration methods harnessing borrowed sediment are more valuable than ever. Mud-capped dredge pits (MCDPs) are a relatively new source of restoration-quality sediment that has only recently been utilized for beach and barrier island restorations in Louisiana. Because MCDPs have been in use for less than two decades in only a handful sites, little is understood about their evolution over decadal timescales. To improve our understanding of MCDPs after they are dredged, we have conducted a suite of geophysical surveys including bathymetry, sidescan sonar, …

A Study Of Marine Terrace Formation Along The California Central Coast, Mary C. Devlin

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Marine terrace formation is in many instances attributed to wave action, and shore platforms are often called “wave-cut”. However, alternative models for marine terrace formation suggest that other types of physical and chemical weathering have a more central role in the formation of marine terraces than is widely acknowledged. Roering and Retallack (2012) concluded that the roles of subaerial physical and chemical weathering are significant, and played a major role in the formation of the terraces. In this study, weathering of beach cliffs and shore platforms associated with marine terraces at eight sites in two different locations along the central …

Collaborative Research: Facet: Quantifying The Topographic Response To Tectonic Processes In Southern Taiwan, Tammy M. Rittenour

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Relationships Between Rock Strength And Longitudinal Stream Profile Morphometry In The Southern Guadalupe Mountains, Texas, Samuel T. Schoenmann

Theses and Dissertations

Landscapes record information about the tectonic, climatic, and lithologic environments in which they form (Yang et al., 2015). When one or more of these environmental conditions change spatially or temporally, the landscape responds through erosion and thus, develops representative geomorphic features (Ritter et al., 2011). Since the nineteenth century, it has been clear that bedrock strength and erodibility play an important role in landscape evolution and geomorphology (Lifton et al., 2009). However, the nuances of variable erodibility remain poorly understood. The implications of this limited understanding lies within landscape evolution models. While these models show strong qualitative relationships between longitudinal …

Investigating Patterns Of Fluvial Form And Incision Near The Yellowstone Hotspot — Alpine Canyon Of The Snake River, Wyoming, Daphnee Tuzlak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The shape of a landscape is created by rivers, which erode the underlying bedrock and carve through mountains. The Snake River flows across the uplifting hotspot plume of the Yellowstone region, cuts through the Snake River Range, and ultimately enters the low-lying eastern Snake River Plain. Although there is a good understanding of the track of the Yellowstone hotspot over geologic time and shorter timescales, measurements over Quaternary timescales and an understanding of how uplift influences the rivers and landscape in the Yellowstone region are absent. We study the Snake River and its past deposits where it cuts through Alpine …

Evaporite Karst In Italy: A Review, Jo De Waele, Leonardo Piccini, Andrea Columbu, Giuliana Madonia, Marco Vattano, Chiara Calligaris, Ilenia D’Angeli, Mario Parise, Mauro Chiesi, Michele Sivelli, Bartolomeo Vigna, Luca Zini, Veronica Chiarini, Francesco Sauro, Russell Drysdale, Paolo Forti

International Journal of Speleology

Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described in detail since the early 20^th century. Gypsum caves are now known from almost all Italian regions, but are mainly localised along the northern border of the Apennine chain (Emilia Romagna and Marche), Calabria, and Sicily, where the major outcrops occur. Recently, important caves have also been discovered in the underground gypsum mines in Piedmont. During the late 80s and 90s several multidisciplinary studies were carried out in many gypsum areas, resulting in a comprehensive overview, promoting further research in these special karst regions. More recent …

The Dynamic Geomorphic Setting Of The Late Pleistocene Hartley Mammoth Site: Burial And Skeletal Preservation In A Slump-Block Depression Near Abiquiu, New Mexico, Jennifer K. Muus

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Near Abiquiu in northern New Mexico, the skeletal remains of two mammoths were discovered in the summer of 2014 in the near-surface deposits of a very small alluvial channel. The channel occupies a depression on the backtilted top of a Toreva slump block, a highly unusual setting for a mammoth burial. Geomorphological investigation of the site has provided insight into processes leading to burial and preservation of the remains, as well as local environmental change. Field mapping of sediment sources and LiDAR scans of the contributing slope basin and slump bench provided a map of geomorphic features and surficial geologic …

Stream Terrace Genesis Along Bunte Creek In The Elkhorn Plain, Ca, Madi Allgaier, Shelley Anderson, Duncan Lord

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

There are several factors influencing terrace genesis and terrace types in Bunte Creek. Strath terraces exist at upper Bunte Creek, whereas thick fill terraces exist at lower Bunte Creek. Analysis of these terraces leads to insight on what specific factors lead to their formation. Terraces were mapped along the extent of Bunte Creek. Sediment data and terrace-height data were collected for in order to make a complete analysis of the terraces. Tectonic uplift led to incision and strath terrace genesis at upper Bunte Creek. Climatic forcing and base-level rise caused alluvial aggradation behind a shutter ridge that intersects lower Bunte …

Evaluating Lithology As An Erosional Control On A Fluviokarst System In Northeastern Kentucky, Andrew K. Francis

Theses and Dissertations

Longitudinal stream profiles can be used to evaluate landscape evolution. Lithology as a control on a stream profile is especially of interests because fluviokarst systems are characterized by the contact of carbonate and non-carbonate rocks at the surface. Due to the difference in weathering processes between carbonates and non-carbonate rocks, it is likely that there is a difference in their rates of erosion. Cave Branch and its tributary Horn Hollow, are fluviokarst systems located in northeastern Kentucky. This area is primarily comprised of sandstone and limestone. The objectives of this study were to determine if variation in lithology was creating …

Geomorphology, Stratigraphy, And Paleohydrology Of The Aeolis Dorsa Region, Mars, With Insights From Modern And Ancient Terrestrial Analogs, Robert Eric Jacobsen Ii

Doctoral Dissertations

Ancient fluvial features on Mars evidence past episodes of hydrologic activity and paleoclimate conditions suitable for liquid water. The Aeolis Dorsa region preserves the most numerous and diverse assemblage of fluvial features yet observed on Mars and many of these features have experienced a history of burial, exhumation, and topographic inversion. This dissertation describes analyses of visual images and topography of Mars and complementary analyses of fluvial analogs on Earth. These analyses provide information about the styles of fluvial activity, magnitudes of paleodischarge, changes in slope, and inferences about Martian paleoclimate conditions. Results indicate that the Aeolis Dorsa deposits encapsulate …

Montauk Point, An Essential Field Experience For Students In The New York City Area, Stanley Schleifer, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Keshaw Narine

Publications and Research

Except for a thin strip of Proterozoic and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rock along its very western edge and an outcropping of coastal plain deposits along its northwestern edge, the surface of Long Island is immediately underlain by unconsolidated deposits consisting of moraines of glacial till, outwash plains of stratified drift, and beach and dune complex formed by wave action. Two very prominent features of the island are the Harbor Hill Moraine, which marks the southernmost extent of the last major advance of continental glacier ice in the New York area during the Pleistocene and the Ronkonkoma Moraine, which marks …

Birth And Evolution Of The Rio Grande Fluvial System In The Last 8 Ma:Progressive Downward Integration And Interplay Between Tectonics, Volcanism, Climate, And River Evolution, Marisa N. Repasch

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Rio Grande-Rio Chama (RG-RC) fluvial system has evolved dramatically over the last 8 Ma, undergoing channel migrations, drainage capture and integration events, volcanic damming, and carving and refilling of paleocanyons. Volcanism concurrent with the development of the river system provides a unique opportunity to apply multiple geochronometers to the study of its incision and drainage evolution. This paper reports 19 new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar basalt ages and 19 detrital mineral samples (zircon and sanidine) collected from RG-RC alluvium overlain by dated basalt flows in the context of a compilation of published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar basalt ages. The …

Dating Late Quaternary Alluvial Fills In The Platte River Valley Using Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating, Jacob C. Bruihler

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Alluvial fills underlying the Platte River Valley in Nebraska record the geologic history of the Platte River in the late Quaternary. This study investigated the alluvium underlying the valley near the cities of North Platte and Kearney, Nebraska. Data obtained from sediment cores drilled in the alluvial deposits was used to investigate the changes in Platte River dynamics on a glacial – interglacial timescale. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating was used to determine burial ages of recovered sediments and to quantify the thicknesses of the late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial fills at each study area. Our geochronology depicts considerable differences …

Neuro-Fuzzy Classification Of Felsic Lava Geomorphology At Alarcon Rise, Mexico, Christina Hefron Maschmeyer

Theses and Dissertations

The Alarcon Rise is the only submarine oceanic spreading ridge setting where rhyolitic lavas have been found. This intermediate-rate spreading ridge provides a unique natural laboratory for studying the geomorphology of felsic submarine lava flows at oceanic spreading ridges. Seafloor observations of felsic lava indicate the flow morphology differs from typical submarine basaltic lava at the few other oceanic spreading ridges where differentiated compositions have been recorded. Morphologic variation between mafic and felsic lava flows, especially rhyolites, was also observed at Alarcon Rise.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute conducted mapping surveys with autonomous underwater vehicle D Allan B. in …

Spatiotemporal Slip Rate Variations Along Surprise Valley Fault In Relation To Pleistocene Pluvial Lakes, Brian N. Marion

All Master's Theses

Using mapped paleoshoreline features with high-resolution topographic data and obtained radiocarbon dates on paleoshoreline tufas, I documented precise fault offsets of dated features over the last 25 ka along the Surprise Valley Fault (SVF). Fault offset measured in three lake sections within Surprise Valley ranged from 3.6 m in the southern section to 14.4 m in the central section. The offset paleoshorelines are dated to the late Pleistocene (<22 >ka) and were formed during the latest impoundment of pluvial Lake Surprise since the last glacial maximum. Slip rates vary along strike, assuming a fault dip of 68° with 0.25 ± …

The Speleogenesis Of Vallgornera Cave (Mallorca, Spain): A Mineralogical And Morphological Study, Jacqueline Amelia Diehl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (CPV) is morphologically and scientifically, the most prominent karst feature of Mallorca Island (Spain). It consists of over 74 km of passages developed within two carbonate lithologies (reef front and back reef facies) of Upper Miocene age. Two distinct cave patterns are recognized, both tightly controlled by the type of facies; spongework mazes and collapse chambers are characteristic for the reef front unit, whereas linear, fracture-guided galleries develop in the back reef carbonates. CPV is abundantly decorated with a variety of speleothems.

The overarching goal of this study is to provide evidence towards the cave's …