Hydrology Commons^™

Groundwater Level Response To The Wenchuan Earthquake Of May 2008, Anhua He, Ramesh Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We have comprehensively analysed the co-seismic response of the groundwater levels of 280 wells in mainland China that were associated with the Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9) that occurred on 12 May 2008. The observed co-seismic responses can be classified as step-like changes in 138 wells, variations in 69 wells and non-responses in 73 wells. After a quantitative analysis of spatial distribution, there was no spatially coherent signal found in the step-like changes (positive values indicate a step-like rise, and negative values indicate a step-like fall), even within 300 km of the epicenter. The amplitude and the phase shift of the …

Depositional Environment And Facies Analyses Of The Owl Mountain Province, Fort Hood Military Installation, Bell And Coryell Counties, Texas, Jacob Meinerts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Owl Mountain Province is a plateaued, karst landscape located in the eastern section of the Fort Hood Military Installation and is characterized by Lower Cretaceous Fredericksburg Group carbonates. The topography is capped by thick sequences of the Edwards limestone; steep scarps and incised valleys along the edges of the plateaus host inter-fingering outcrops of the Edwards and Comanche Peak limestones, and the lower valleys are covered by alluvial sediments and intermittent outcrops of the Walnut Clay. These formations were deposited to the north and west of the main Edwards trend, and are thought to be part of a series …

Speleogenesis In Turbulent Flow, Max P. Cooper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Existing models of speleogenesis neglect the shape of cross-sections, which can hold information related to climate, tectonics, and sediment supply in their widths. The first study of this dissertation simulates cross-sections of phreatic tubes, vadose canyons, and paragenetic galleries using a method developed for bedrock channels. Successful simulation of these cross-sections depends on erosion scaling with shear stress, in conflict with speleogenesis theory. Scaling of equilibrium width in paragenetic galleries was explored through analytical derivation and simulations, showing that width scales positively with discharge to the 1/2 power, and negatively with a weak power of sediment supply. Negative scaling of …

Margaret White Springs Recharge Study, Buffalo National River, North-Central Arkansas, Usa, Ashlon Elizabeth Leonard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Margaret White Springs (MWS) is one of the largest springs in the middle section of the Buffalo National River (BNR) and contributes several tens of cubic feet per second of flow to river discharge on average, yet the source of the water has not been fully studied or documented. The spring is located approximately 4 miles downstream from Robertson Hole, a losing reach of the river. At Robertson Hole the river loses a significant amount of flow to groundwater, which during the dry season (summer) can be as much as 100%. Flow in the main channel is re-established at MWS; …

Hydrogeologic Framework Studies Of Portions Of The Niobrara River, Douglas R. Hallum, Steven S. Sibray, Leslie M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division

The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NeDNR) and Upper Niobrara-White Natural Resources District (UNWNRD) expressed interest in improving understanding and their ability to effectively manage water resources in and around a particular reach of the Niobrara River. Aquifer-thickness contours mapped by the Conservation and Survey Division (CSD) indicate that the principle aquifer has zero thickness in this area. Additionally, the statewide geologic bedrock map produced by CSD shows non-aquifer strata of the White River Group along the same reach, and this setting is consistent with the designation of an “aquifer absent area,” as in the present document. Water-management policy development …

The Utility Of The Conductivity Mass-Balance Method For Base Flow Separation In Rivers And Streams, Darline Alegria Lott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater for ecosystems, drinking water, and water for various businesses are important resources and those resources are rapidly diminishing globally due to drought and overuse. In order to manage the availability of water for all concerned, good estimates of base flow (groundwater) is required. Base flow, a component of streamflow, is deduced by separating a stream hydrograph into two components, base flow and runoff. There are several techniques used to perform base flow separation; however two techniques are used in this study, chemical mass-balance and analytical methods. This dissertation explains how an analytical technique was derived from a mass-balance method, …

Interpreting The Origin And Evolution Of ‘Karst’ Features From A Siliceous Hydrothermal Terrane: A Case Study From The Upper Geyser Basin In Yellowstone National Park, Usa, Kevin W. Blackwood, Lainee A. Sanders, Stacy I. Gantt-Blackwood

International Journal of Speleology

The Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park occurs over a siliceous hydrothermal terrane containing numerous hot springs and geysers. The pool and vent-conduit geometries of these hydrothermal features share a resemblance to conventional karst features known from other rock types, suggesting karst processes could be responsible for their origin and/or evolution. Hypogene speleogenesis is a cave-forming process in which the formation of caves is decoupled from and occurs independently of surface recharge. The geologic setting for hypogene speleogenesis typically occurs at the distal end of regional groundwater systems wherein the hydrogeology is manifested by ascending fluids and/or by geochemical …

Natural Trace Element Salinization Of The Jemez River, New Mexico By Geothermal Springs And Major Tributaries, Jon K. Golla, Laura J. Crossey, Abdul-Mehdi S. Ali, Karl E. Karlstrom

Shared Knowledge Conference

The Jemez River (JR), a tributary of the Rio Grande, is in north-central New Mexico within the Jemez Mountains, which houses the active, high-temperature (≤ 300 oC), liquid-dominated Valles Caldera geothermal system (VC). This work focuses on the northern portion of the JR, spanning a reach from the East Fork JR to the town of San Ysidro. Previous decadal work during low-flow or baseflow conditions (~10-20 cfs) has identified and characterized significant major-solute contributions from two outflow expressions of the VC, Soda Dam Springs and Jemez Hot Springs, and two major tributaries, Rio San Antonio and Rio Guadalupe. There is …

Water Flow Net Characterization By Using A Tank Model: Preliminary Outcome, Jasmin Budhan, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer

Publications and Research

A model study was conducted to observe and characterize the flow of water through sandy soil. One of the most relevant tools used for characterizing groundwater flow is the flow net. Assuming that water is incompressible and there is zero volume change in the soil mass, it is known that the total rate of inflow is to equal the total rate of outflow. Thus, following the principle of flow continuity, we use the Laplace equation of continuity, to observe the concept of the flow net. Computing the flow through a miniature channel, we observed the total head difference from the …

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Modified Bed Load Sediment Transport Equations For Enhanced Sediment Transport Quantification In Steep Mountain Streams – Case Study Little Fountain Creek, Colorado Springs, Co., James Emerson Smith Iv

LSU Master's Theses

In mountainous regions, extreme floods occur every year, placing societies and infrastructures at risk. Communities rely on local, state, and federal agencies to emplace flood structures, perform flood risk assessments, and simulate catastrophic events. While, our ability to quantify and predict the movement of sediment in streams with low gradients is well developed (Bathurst, 1987), our ability to quantify and predict the movement of sediment along steep mountain streams (SMS) has not been developed to a similar degree (Yager, 2012; Schneider, 2016). To most effectively manage mountainous watersheds and understand the risk associated with flood events, scientists must better understand …

New Insights Into Carboniferous Cyclothems. The Fourth Biennial Field Conference Of The American Association Of Petroleum Geologists (Aapg) Midcontinent Section Fourth Biennial Field Conference Abstracts And Guidebook, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Christopher R. Fielding

Conservation and Survey Division

The term “cyclothem” was coined by Wanless & Weller (1932) to describe repetitive stratigraphic successions of Carboniferous age in Illinois. Nonetheless, comparable rhythmicity had been identified in Carboniferous rocks both in the central and eastern USA, and in Europe during the preceding century. Cyclothems were found to comprise repetitive vertical successions of sandstones, heterolithic (thinly interbedded) sandstones and mudrocks, mudrocks, limestones, and coals, in many cases with pedogenic overprinting of these lithologies. As usage of the term “cyclothem” increased, so did the diversity of successions to which the term was applied, to the point where many geologists advocated abandonment of …

Geologic Mapping Of Nebraska: Old Rocks, New Maps, Fresh Insights, R. Matthew Joeckel, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., P. R. Hanson, Jesse T. Korus

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Geologic mapping in Nebraska and environs is an ongoing endeavor that has spanned more than 170 years, involved dozens of scientists, and evolved through many changes. Digital mapping has risen to dominance in the state only since 1996. Geologic mapping in Nebraska today concentrates on surficial mapping, which emphasizes materials exposed at the land surface and their relationships with landforms, and which is particularly relevant because non- bedrock geologic materials (regolith) lie at the surface across at least 87% of the state. Moreover, surfi cial geologic maps assist the understanding of groundwater and sand and gravel resources, to name a …

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 …

Decadal Topographic Change In The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys Of Antarctica: Thermokarst Subsidence, Glacier Thinning, And Transfer Of Water Storage From The Cryosphere To The Hydrosphere, J. S. Levy, Andrew G. Fountain, M. K. Obryk, J. Telling, Craig Glennie, M. Gooseff, David J. Van Horn

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent local-scale observations of glaciers, streams, and soil surfaces in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica (MDV) have documented evidence for rapid ice loss, glacial thinning, and ground surface subsidence associated with melting of ground ice. To evaluate the extent,magnitude, and location of decadal-scale landscape change in the MDV, we collected airborne lidar elevation data in 2014–2015 and compared these data to a 2001–2002 airborne lidar campaign. This regional assessment of elevation change spans the recent acceleration of warming and melting observed by long-term meteorological and ecosystem response experiments, allowing us to assess the response of MDV surfaces to warming …

County-Wide Assessment Of Irrigation Expansion On Air Temperature, Humidity And Evapotranspiration Rates In Nebraska, 1979-2015, Jozsef Szilagyi

Conservation and Survey Division

Total irrigated land area has been expanding in Nebraska over the last 40 years, propelling the state into a leading position within the US in terms of irrigated acreages. Typically, those counties which display the largest degree of irrigation development had a significant portion of their land area already irrigated in 1978. Large-scale irrigation in Nebraska affects its atmospheric environment. During the typical irrigation season of May to August, counties with the largest rate of irrigation expansion have cooled by about 0.2 – 0.3 °F per decade in the summer months of June, July and August, while counties with the …

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 …

Quantifying Carbon Dioxide Fluxes In The Air And Water In Blowing Springs Cave, Arkansas, Holly Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior work has shown that the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) within cave atmospheres is a function of cave airflow patterns. The dynamics of CO2 within karst systems are of increasing interest as they can control periods of precipitation or dissolution in speleothems and influence potential interpretations of paleoclimate records. Similarly, CO2 is an important driver of speleogenesis, and air-water CO2 dynamics can control patterns of cave passage evolution. Karst also plays an uncertain role in the global carbon cycle and understanding CO2 dynamics within karst systems will aid the development of carbon budgets. Here, a monitoring station was deployed …

Estimating Watershed Mercury Contribution To Lake Fort Smith State Park, Arkansas, Usa, William Miles Harmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mercury contamination associated with human activities poses global human health and environmental risks. A fish-consumption advisory has been in effect at Lake Fort Smith in central west Arkansas for more than a decade due to observed methylmercury concentrations in fish tissue. Lake Fort Smith is an important municipal drinking water supply and recreational resource. Water samples from the majority contributing tributary stream, Frog Bayou creek, were collected periodically, under differing hydrologic conditions in order to quantify the allochthonous mercury load delivered to the lake. Temperature, specific conductance, and turbidity data were collected and used to estimate dissolved organic carbon, methylmercury …

Comparative Microbial Community Dynamics In A Karst Aquifer System And Proximal Surface Stream In Northwest Arkansas, Josue Rodriguez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Northwest Arkansas has well-developed karst systems, with numerous sinking streams and springs. Karst conduits make it easy for contaminants to enter groundwater systems, degrading the water quality and destroying fragile karst ecosystems. With the increase of urbanization, potential threats in the form of fecal contamination may prove to be more of a problem. The purpose of this research is to compare the difference between microbial communities within two different settings, a karst aquifer and a surface stream. The microbial communities within Blowing Spring Cave and Little Sugar Creek were detected and identified in water and sediment samples. Samples were also …

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 …

Extremely High Diversity Of Sulfate Minerals In Caves Of The Irazú Volcano (Costa Rica) Related To Crater Lake And Fumarolic Activity, Andrés Ulloa, Fernando Gázquez, Aurelio Sanz-Arranz, Jesús Medina, Fernando Rull, José María Calaforra, Guillermo E. Alvarado, María Martínez, Geoffroy Avard, J. Maarten De Moor, Jo De Waele

International Journal of Speleology

The caves of the Irazú volcano (Costa Rica), became accessible after the partial collapse of the NW sector of the Irazú volcano in 1994, offering the opportunity to investigate active minerogenetic processes in volcanic cave environments. We performed a detailed mineralogical and geochemical study of speleothems in the caves Cueva los Minerales and Cueva Los Mucolitos, both located in the northwest foothills of the main crater. Mineralogical analyses included X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, while geochemical characterization used Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) coupled to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In addition, measurements of environmental parameters in the caves, …

Modelling The Thermal Transport Of A Thawing Permafrost Plateau, Joelle E. Langford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Permafrost covers approximately 24% of the Northern Hemisphere and is in a state of decay which has large implications. To characterize the processes involved in the transitional period of permafrost decay, a three-dimensional finite element numerical model is developed. The model is based on the Scotty Creek Research Basin in the Northwest Territories, Canada (61°18'N, 121°18'W). FEFLOW groundwater flow and heat transport modelling software is used in conjunction with the piFreeze plug-in, to account for phase changes between ice and water. As transiently simulating actual permafrost evolution would require 100’s of years of climate variations over an evolving landscape, whose …

Results Of Test-Hole Drilling For Observation Well Planning In The Lower Loup Natural Resources District, Spring 2017, Douglas R. Hallum P.G., Sue Olafsen Lackey, Steven S. Sibray

Conservation and Survey Division

The High Plains Aquifer underlies much of Nebraska. It is the primary source of groundwater within the Lower Loup Natural Resources District (LLNRD) of central Nebraska. Water derived from the aquifer is an important natural resource for the area and supplies water for recreation, wildlife and agriculture, as well as domestic, municipal, and industrial uses. Falling spring water levels measured in existing observation and irrigation wells have raised concerns about possible changes in water availability, groundwater-surface water relationships and water quality in the area, prompting the LLNRD to propose test holes and the collection of additional groundwater data in the …

Quantifying Factors That Influence Road Deicer Retention And Export In A Multi-Landuse Upstate New York Watershed, David Joseph Saba

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Chloride contamination of streams and groundwater has become a prevalent issue throughout urbanizing areas in the last half century, particularly in northern latitudes where deicing salts are applied to roadways. This study determined how deicer impacted runoff disperses through sub-urban and urban areas on seasonal and multi-year scales. Chloride concentration changes were then modelled under varying pollutant loading scenarios through an integrated catchment model (INCA-Cl).

Six in-stream conductivity/stage/temperature sondes, recording at 15-minute intervals, were installed within the small (~9.6 km2) Fuler Hollow Creek multi-landuse watershed in Broome County NY and monitored over a 1-year period. Weekly grab samples were taken …

Chemical And Statistical Analysis Of Karst Groundwater Basin Signatures - Springfield, Mo, Benjamin E. Lockwood

MSU Graduate Theses

Springfield, MO is located on the Springfield Plateau physiographic province. The Springfield plateau contains a number of Mississippian aged units and is mainly capped by the Burlington-Keokuk Formation. The Burlington-Keokuk is a highly fossiliferous limestone with nodular and interbedded chert. Beneath the Burlington-Keokuk lies the Elsey, Reeds Spring, and Pierson Formations respectively which comprise the Springfield Plateau aquifer hydrostratigraphic unit. Within the Springfield Plateau aquifer, a well-developed karst system includes springs, sinkholes, and caves. The Springfield Plateau aquifer is the predominant source for springs and seeps in the Springfield area. The purpose of this study was to understand the differences …

Assessing Land Deformation And Sea Encroachment In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Esayas Gebremichael

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Envisat ASAR scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea level rise and land subsidence to identify areas and populations threatened by sea encroachment by the end of the 21st century. Findings include: (1) general patterns of subsidence in the northern delta, near-steady (none) subsidence in the southern delta, separated by a previously mapped flexure zone undergoing uplift; (2) high …

Grain Size Analysis Of Massie’S Creek Near Flax Pond And Community Park, Andrew R. Rivera

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The goal of this research is to better understand the stream bed conditions at the confluence of North Fork and South Fork Massie’s Creek next to Community Park in downtown Cedarville, OH. Stream depth as well as sediment type where determined as a result of field work done for this project. The depth data was then used to create a contour map of the pool behind the low-head dam that defines the lower boundary of the confluence area. Sediment distribution is represented on this map based on laboratory particle size analysis and gross piratical size analysis done in the field. …

A Hydrologic And Hydraulic Analysis Of Massie’S Creek Gorge, Greene County, Oh, Using Hec-Ras, Joshua W. Perez

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Massie’s Creek is a small tributary of the Little Miami River, located in southwest Ohio near the village of Cedarville. For approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) it flows westward through the Indian Mound Reserve Park, an area which occasionally undergoes flooding. In the first ½ mile (0.8 km) of the park, the stream is confined by a deep gorge, 40 feet (12 m) or more tall, and quickly flattens to a meandering stream through the rest of the park. The present study describes the application of HEC-RAS with the integration of ArcGIS for steady flow analyses and flood inundation mapping, …

Modeling Climate Change Impacts On Water Balance Components Of The Mackinaw River Watershed, Central Illinois, Joseph Honings

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the response of water cycle dynamics to climate change and human activity is essential for best management of water resources. This study used the USDA Soil-Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to measure and predict major water balance variables including stream discharge, potential aquifer recharge, and surface storage in a small-scale watershed (~2,930 km²) in Central Illinois. The watershed is predominantly tile-drained agricultural land, which controls the nutrient dynamics and hydrology. Two reservoirs, Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington, and the Mahomet Aquifer in the watershed are used for public water supply. The subject watershed has been very sensitive to recent droughts, …