Geomorphology Commons^™

Soil Moisture And Geomorphologic Data For Use In Dynamic And Forecastable Landslide Hazard Analyses In Eastern Kentucky, Daniel M. Francis, L. Sebastian Bryson

Civil Engineering Research Data

These data are the geomorphologic and land information system-based soil moisture estimates from assimilation of NASA SMAP satellite-based observations and NOAH 3.6 Land Surface Model estimates over known landslides in Eastern Kentucky. Additionally Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network and logistic regression machine learning codes, as well as an Application programming interface code are included. Finally, in-situ data from Eastern Kentucky is included.

Spatiotemporal Retrievals Of Soil Moisture And Geomorphologic Data For Landslide Sites In Eastern Kentucky, Lindsey Sebastian Bryson, Daniel M. Francis

Civil Engineering Research Data

These data are the soil texture, land information system-based soil moisture estimates from assimilation of NASA SMAP satellite-based observations and NOAH 3.6 Land Surface Model estimates, artificial neural network machine learning code, and in-situ soil moisture measurements.

Closing The Modern Seismic Gap Along The Teton Fault Via Seismic Mapping Of Mass Transport Deposits In Jackson Lake, Wy, Callia Jacqueline Cortese

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Terrestrial paleoseismological records along the Teton fault have historically indicated two-to-three major post-Pinedale (~14 ka) earthquake events, leaving an unresolved 6-9 m offset along the modern scarp. Recent studies of Jenny Lake have augmented this record, but the triggering mechanism is still equivocal until new paleo-earthquake records are developed. The earthquake record of the Teton fault is complicated by quiescence from ~5 ka to present, demonstrating the need for additional paleoseismic investigations. Compressed, high-intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) reflection data from Jackson Lake indicates multiple potentially seismically-induced mass transport deposits (MTDs). At least six MTD Groups representing chronostratigraphic intervals were interpreted …

A Source-To-Sink Analysis Of The Pantanal Basin (Brazil): Implications For Weathering, Erosion, And Landscape Evolution In The World's Largest Wetland, Edward L. Lo

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Large back-bulge retro-arc basins have limited information about the sediment composition, yet they comprise important parts of the stratigraphic rock record. The exorheic Pantanal Basin is the world's largest continental wetland that regulates many valuable ecosystem services (water storage, nutrient cycling, agriculture, ranching, tourism, and transportation). This dissertation is composed of three studies that utilize a suite of tools to examine the most fundamental basin-wide source-to-sink sediment processes and controls that affect the characteristics and distribution of modern sediments.

The first paper consists of a metadata analysis of 76 shallow tropical floodplain lakes in the literature with bathymetric data and …

Historical And Forecasted Kentucky Specific Slope Stability Analyses Using Remotely Retrieved Hydrologic And Geomorphologic Data, Daniel M. Francis

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Hazard analyses of rainfall-induced landslides have typically been observed to experience a lack of inclusion of measurements of soil moisture within a given soil layer at a site of interest. Soil moisture is a hydromechanical variable capable of both strength gains and reductions within soil systems. However, in situ monitoring of soil moisture at every site of interest is an unfeasible goal. Therefore, spatiotemporal estimates of soil moisture that are representative of in-situ conditions are required for use in subsequent landslide hazard analyses.

This study brings together various techniques for the acquisition, modeling, and forecasting of spatiotemporal retrievals of soil …

Applications Of Digital Terrain Modeling To Address Problems In Geomorphology And Engineering Geology, Sarah Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This dissertation uses digital terrain modeling and computational methods to yield insight into three topics: 1) evaluating the influence of glacial topography on fluvial sediment transport in the Teton Range, WY, 2) integrating regional airborne lidar, UAV lidar, and structure from motion photogrammetry to characterize decadal-scale movement of slow-moving landslides in northern Kentucky, and 3) applying machine learning methods to surficial geologic mapping.

The role of topography as a boundary condition that controls the efficiency of fluvial erosion in the Teton Range, Wyoming, was investigated by using existing lidar data to delineate surficial geologic units, geometrically reconstruct the depth to …

Distribution Of Particulate Organic Carbon – Fluxes And Inventories – In Growth-Faulted Coastal Wetlands, Samuel Joel Whitehead

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Coastal wetlands along the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOMx) are critically important but threatened environments which provide significant and diverse economic, social, and environmental value. These environments are essential components to the global carbon cycle, serving as one of the most efficient terrestrial carbon sinks. Since onset of the Industrial Revolution increasing rates of coastal wetland loss have been documented due to a variety of anthropogenic activities, neotectonic processes, subsidence, and rising sea-levels. This research utilized an array of methods and sedimentological analyses to test the hypothesis that growth-fault induced changes at Earth’s surface affects the delivery to, and storage …

Influence Of Bedrock Erodibility On Orogen Evolution In Collisional Systems And Implications For Geodynamic Models, Stephanie Ann Sparks

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Theoretical and numerical geodynamic models of continental collisional systems often involve, either explicitly or implicitly, a necessary yet complicated dependence between tectonics and erosion; however, the exact nature of these relationships remains elusive and controversial. In such models for the Himalayan-Tibetan (H-T) collisional orogen, surface processes are theorized or in some cases required to play an essential role in modulating critical processes active in the evolution of that system. To investigate, at least to first order. these interactions between climate and tectonics, we generate a simplified landscape evolution model of an actively uplifting orogenic wedge acted upon by surface processes. …

Landslide Site Assessment And Characterization Using Remote Sensing Techniques, Batmyagmar Dashbold

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Landslides are common and dangerous natural hazards that occur worldwide, often causing severe direct impacts on human lives, public and private properties. It is imperative to identify the landslide susceptible areas to avoid or mitigate the possible damage. Landslide prediction can be presented in a slope failure in spatial and/ or temporal terms. If it is presented in spatial term, it is considered a landslide susceptibility map (LSM) defined as the probability of spatial occurrence of slope failures. If it is presented in a combination of spatial and temporal distribution of the landslide susceptibility, it is commonly referred to as …

Biogeomorphology Of Bedrock Fluvial Systems: Example From Shawnee Run, Kentucky, Usa, Tasnuba Jerin

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

The dynamic interactions between fluvial processes and vegetation vary in different environments and are uncertain in bedrock settings. Bedrock streams are much less studied than alluvial in all aspects, and in many respects act in qualitatively different ways. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by studying bedrock streams from a biogeomorphic perspective. The first part of this research aims to identify the impacts of woody vegetation that may be common to fluvial systems and rocky hillslopes in general, or that may be unique to bedrock channels. A review of the existing literature on biogeomorphology — mostly fluvial and rocky …

Tracing Source Contributions To Assess Spatial Patterns Of Erosion In A Mixed Land Use Environment: Otter Creek Catchment, Fort Knox, Kentucky, Cara Peterman

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

There is an inherent difficulty in predicting source contributions of fine-grained fluvial sediment in mixed land-use watersheds. Over a 56-week period, the spatial and temporal variability in sediment-source contributions and water quality was monitored at three sites along Otter Creek in Hardin and Meade counties, Kentucky (USA). The 203-km² study area drains rural and agricultural lands and includes Fort Knox Army Post’s tracked-vehicle training areas. The main objectives for sediment source apportionment were to 1) identify and differentiate characteristics of civilian and military source soils to Otter Creek and 2) to apportion sediment at locations along Otter Creek to …

Middle To Late Holocene (7200-2900 Cal. Bp) Archaeological Site Formation Processes At Crumps Sink And The Origins Of Anthropogenic Environments In Central Kentucky, Usa, Justin Nels Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Though some researchers have argued that the Big Barrens grasslands of Kentucky were the product of anthropogenic land clearing practices by Native Americans, heretofore, this hypothesis had not been tested archaeologically. More work was needed to refine chronologies of fire activity in the region, determine the extent to which humans played a role in the process, and integrate these findings with the paleoenvironmental and archaeological record. With these goals in mind, I conducted archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations at Crumps Sink in the Sinkhole Plain of Kentucky. The archaeological record and site formation history of Crumps Sink were compared with environmental …

Determining Rates Of Landscape Response To Tectonic Forcing Across A Range Of Temporal Scales And Erosional Mechanisms: Teton Range, Wy, Meredith Swallom

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Understanding how mountain landscapes respond to variations in tectonic forcing over a range of temporal scales in active mountain belts remains as a prominent challenge in tectonic and geomorphological studies. Although a number of empirical and numerical studies have examined this problem, many of them were complicated by issues of scale and climatic variability. More specifically, the relative efficiencies of fluvial and glacial erosion, which are presumably controlled by climate, are difficult to unravel. The Teton Range in Wyoming, which results from motion on the crustal-scale Teton fault, is an ideal natural laboratory for addressing this challenge as the tectonic …

Fluvial-Lacustrine Processes Shaping The Landforms Of The Distal Paraguay Fluvial Megafan, Edward Limin Lo

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Tropical wetlands such as the Pantanal help regulate global biogeochemical cycles, but climate change is modifying these environments. Controls on environmental changes can potentially be assessed from ancient, well-dated lacustrine sedimentary records. An integrated field and laboratory approach was undertaken to study the limnogeology of Lake Uberaba in the northern Pantanal, and test whether the lake has preserved a reliable record of environmental change in its strata. This study was designed to understand how the basin accumulates sediment and to assess its sensitivity to hydroclimatic variability. The data showed that modern Lake Uberaba is a highly dynamic, freshwater fluvial-lacustrine basin. …

Sedimentary Responses To Growth Fault Slip And Clay Shrink And Swell Induced Elevation Variations: East Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, Wei Ji

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

East Matagorda Peninsula in southwestern Texas is characterized geologically by active, regional-scale and near-surface growth faulting. Decimeter scale (up to 0.42 m) vertical displacement was recorded at the study site over a period of four years, not believed to be associated with growth faulting. This research tested the hypotheses that fault slip rates were correlated with sediment accumulation rates, and that the observed vertical displacement was produced by shrink-and-swell clays in near surface sediments. To quantify sediment accumulation rates, a suite of radionuclides (⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs, and ²¹⁰Pb) were used. To understand the effects of shrink-and-swell clays, …

Paleoearthquakes Of The Past ~6000 Years At The Dead Mouse Site, West-Central Denali Fault At The Nenana River, Alaska, Joseph K. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Denali fault (DF) in south-central Alaska is a major right lateral strike-slip fault that parallels the Alaska Range for much of its length. This fault represents the largest seismogenic source for interior Alaska but due to its remote location and difficulty of access, a dearth of paleoearthquake (PEQ) information exists for this important feature. The fault system is over 1200 km in length and identification of paleoseismic sites that preserve more that 2-3 PEQs has proven challenging. In 2012 and 2015, we developed the ‘Dead Mouse’ site, which provides the first long PEQ record west of the 2002 rupture …

Assessing The Relative Mobility Of Submarine Landslides From Deposit Morphology And Physical Properties: An Example From Kumano Basin, Nankai Trough, Offshore Japan, Zachary T. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

A prominent landslide deposit in the Slope Basin seaward of the Megasplay Fault in the Nankai Trough was emplaced by a high-mobility landslide based on analysis of physical properties and seismic geomorphology. Slide acceleration is a critical variable that determines amplitude of slide-generated tsunami but is many times a variable with large uncertainty. In recent controlled laboratory experiments, the ratio of the shear stress to yield strength (defined as the Flow Factor) controls a wide spectrum of mass movement styles from slow, retrogressive failure to rapid, liquefied flows. Here, we apply this laboratory Flow Factor approach to a natural landslide …

The Geologic Context Of Landslide And Rockfall Maintenance Costs In Kentucky, Bethany L. Overfield, Daniel I. Carey, Gerald A. Weisenfluh, Rebecca Wang, Matthew M. Crawford

Report of Investigations--KGS

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet maintenance cost data for landslides and rockfalls were associated with geology along Kentucky roadways in a three-phase study. Work-order costs collected over 7 yr were divided into 1-mi segments, and the segment midpoints were assigned to geologic formation. Formations that were expensive to maintain were not necessarily those that were the most frequently repaired and vice versa. Costs and frequency of repair were greater in eastern and northern Kentucky, where slope and relief are greater than in other parts of the state and shale-bearing geologic units prevail.

Fluvial Responses To Growth Faulting In The West Pearl River, Louisiana, Stephen A. Prosser

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southeastern Louisiana is an actively deforming deltaic complex displaying surface and near-surface evidence of growth faulting. Active growth faults in these environments are rarely identified at the surface, in part because the downthrown blocks often experience increased rates of sediment deposition leading to an obscured and low-relief, or entirely absent, surface expression. Faulting can be expressed in fluvial systems as changes in channel gradient, which often result in coincident changes in channel sinuosity, migration rates, planform deflections, and/or ponding features within the deformed zone. The study area is focused on a meander bend of …

Ecohydraulic Investigation Of Diatoms In A Bedrock-Controlled Stream, Alex M. Rittle

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Recent studies within the past decade or so have shown the importance of algae in geomorphic and hydrologic processes of lotic systems. However, the ecohydraulic role of algae in bedrock systems has largely been ignored. In addition, the utility of algae as indicators of channel dynamics have often been assumed by geomorphologists, but relatively few studies have examined this relationship. The purpose of this study was to determine whether algae, specifically diatoms, are useful indicators of channel geomorphological dynamics, and to examine if distinct habitats or biotopes typical in fluviokarst and bedrock systems provide unique habitat space for diatoms, and …

Paleoseismic And Structural Characterization Of The Hines Creek Fault: Denali National Park And Preserve, Alaska, Sara E. Federschmidt

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Hines Creek fault (HCF) is a Holocene-active fault in central Alaska. Its trace has been mapped several times, but data on the history of fault displacement is scarce. As a major crustal-scale geologic boundary with uncertain Quaternary tectonic activity, it is a priority for more to be known about the activity of this fault to better understand the hazards it presents to the Denali National Park and Preserve and Alaskan infrastructure. This study characterizes the late Quaternary activity of the HCF through surficial geologic mapping and paleoseismic investigations. Mapping revealed a very steep (~84°-88° apparent dip), north dipping fault …

Biomechanical Effects Of Trees And Soil Thickness In The Cumberland Plateau, Michael Shouse

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Previous research in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas suggests that, on relatively thin soils overlying bedrock, individual trees locally thicken the regolith by root penetration into bedrock. However, that work was conducted mainly in areas of strongly dipping and contorted rock, where joints and bedding planes susceptible to root penetration are more common and accessible. This project extended this concept to the Cumberland Plateau, Kentucky, with flat, level-bedded sedimentary rocks. Spatial variability of soil thickness was quantified at three nested spatial scales, and statistical relationships with other potential influences of thickness were examined. In addition, soil depth beneath trees was compared …

Convergence Of Dune Topography Among Multiple Barrier Island Morphologies, Jackie Ann Monge

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Wave-dominated and mixed tidal and wave energy barrier islands are assumed to have characteristic dune topographies that link to their macroscale form. However, there has been no systematic attempt to describe the linkage between barrier island macroscale form and dune topography. The goal of this thesis was to investigate how dune topographies correspond to a number of barrier island morphologies found along the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast. Macroscale process-form variables were used to classify 77 islands into seven morphologic clusters. Islands from each cluster were selected and sites characteristic of the range of dune topographies within islands were characterized using …

Determining Hillslope Diffusion Rates In A Boreal Forest: Quaternary Fluvial Terraces In The Nenana River Valley, Central Alaska Range, Laurel Anne Walker

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The subarctic boreal forest biome is predicted to experience higher magnitudes of warming than other biomes due to climate change. The effects of this warming will be pronounced in areas underlain by discontinuous permafrost where melting permafrost and distinct changes in vegetation patterns are expected. To better understand rates of hillslope diffusion in the boreal forest I have used a geomorphic process modeling approach, using data from a sequence of Quaternary fluvial terraces located in the Nenana River valley of central Alaska. I hypothesized that diffusion rates here would be slower when compared to the mid-latitudes, and faster on north …

Modeling Bedrock Mining Hotspots Within The Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas, Stephanie H. Mehlhope

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This study, concentrating on the Ouachita Mountain Range in western-central Arkansas, extends prior work on treethrows and their influence on soil development in the region by supplying a method of determining hotspots of bedrock mining by treethrow. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the abiotic and biotic factors that are highly correlated with the rate of bedrock detachment found in uprooted rootwads from three study sites within the Ouachita National Forest. The produced logistic regression models suggest topographic factors, tree specific characteristics, as well as the local geology and soil characteristics all have a significant effect upon the …

Using Gis To Delineate Headwater Stream Origins In The Appalachian Coal-Belt Region Of Kentucky, Jonathan A. Villines

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Human activity such as surface mining can have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Performing a Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA) of such impacts on surface water systems requires knowing the location and extent of these impacted streams. The Jurisdictional Determination (JD) of a stream’s protected status under the Clean Water Act (CWA) involves locating and classifying streams according to their flow regime: ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial. Due to their often remote locations and small size, taking a field inventory of headwater streams for surface mining permit applications or permit reviews is challenging. A means of estimating headwater stream location …

Geology And Structure Of The Rough Creek Area, Western Kentucky, William D. Johnson Jr., Howard R. Schwalb

Bulletin--KGS

The Rough Creek area is a rectangular area about 113 mi east to west and 35 mi north to south encompassing about 3,900 mi² in west-central and western Kentucky. The Ohio River delineates most of the western border with Illinois and locally also part of the northern border with Indiana. The northeast corner of the area is about 27 mi southwest of Louisville. The principal cities are Owensboro and Henderson.

The Precambrian basement has been penetrated in only two wells in western Kentucky at depths somewhat greater than 14,000 ft. Basement is projected to underlie much of the area …