Natural Fracture Evolution: Investigations Into The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin, Usa, 2023 West Virginia University
Natural Fracture Evolution: Investigations Into The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Natalie Abigail Mitchell
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Optimizing recovery from unconventional shale reservoirs has generated considerable research into optimal recovery methods through hydraulic fracturing design and shale reservoir characterization in the development of long-term hydrocarbon producers. Permeability at multiple scales from nanometer-scale pore sizes and nano-darcy permeability to completion-induced fractures defining a 100’s of meter stimulated reservoir volume plays a significant role in hydrocarbon flow during production in shale reservoirs. Preexisting cemented fractures in unconventional shale reservoirs are abundant and preferentially reactivate during induced hydraulic fracturing treatment to create necessary large-scale permeability. While previous investigations have significantly improved our knowledge of shale reservoirs, it has also highlighted …
Relationships Between Geochemistry, Carbon Content, And Grain Size In Clastic Cave Sediments, 2023 West Virginia University
Relationships Between Geochemistry, Carbon Content, And Grain Size In Clastic Cave Sediments, Rebekah Rose Nicholas
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Understanding geochemical and physical properties of cave sediment gives insight to sediment characterization and carbon storage in the cave system. Previous work on clastic sediments largely encompasses physical properties, neglecting the importance of geochemical parameters on sediment deposition.
This study reports physical and chemical properties of sediment cores from three caves: two caves in Puerto Rico and one cave in Virginia. A total of 25 cores were used in this study; 6 of these cores were new and collected in 2022 from Butler Cave (BTC) in Virginia to focus on the effects of water level. Core samples were analyzed for …
Organic Matter Content And Grain Size Analysis In Seagrass Sediments, 2023 Old Dominion University
Organic Matter Content And Grain Size Analysis In Seagrass Sediments, Adriana Amrhein, Rip Hale
College of Sciences Posters
Anthropogenic stresses including increased water temperatures, decreased water quality, sea level rise, ocean acidification and sediment biogeochemical processes have caused a significant loss in seagrass meadow acreage. Seagrass meadows provide coastal protection from storms and recently have been emphasized for their importance in sequestering and storing “Blue Carbon” from the atmosphere and ocean. Seagrass meadows can trap this blue carbon in their sediment as organic carbon, and it can be stored for hundreds to thousands of years. Restoration efforts of seagrass meadows in the Virginia coast started in the 1990s and effects of increasing seagrass density can be observed in …
Dust Deposition To The Bermuda Region: A Comparison Of Estimates Using Seasonally-Resolved Measurements Of Aluminum In Water-Column, Aerosol, And Rain Samples, 2023 Old Dominion University
Dust Deposition To The Bermuda Region: A Comparison Of Estimates Using Seasonally-Resolved Measurements Of Aluminum In Water-Column, Aerosol, And Rain Samples, Tara Williams, Peter Sedwick, Bettina Sohst, Joe Resing, Kristen Buck, Salvatore Caprara, Rod Johnson, Dan Ohnemus, Ben Twining, Alessandro Tagliabue
College of Sciences Posters
Dust deposition is a major source of bioactive trace elements to the surface ocean, yet this flux remains difficult to constrain. Previously, time-averaged dust flux has been estimated using surface ocean dissolved aluminum (DAl) concentrations, assumed values for aerosol aluminum solubility (%AlS), and the residence time of DAl in the surface mixed layer (SML). We apply this method to estimate dust deposition in the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) region using water-column DAl data from cruises in 2019, which is compared with direct flux estimates from contemporaneous measurements of aluminum in aerosols and rain collected on Bermuda. Seasonal …
A Synthesis-Based Approach To The Study Of Fe(Ii) Oxidation In Smectites, 2022 Washington University in St. Louis
A Synthesis-Based Approach To The Study Of Fe(Ii) Oxidation In Smectites, Robert Joe Kupper Ii
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Smectite clay minerals are present in diverse environments on Earth as a major product of silicate weathering. Although smectites are compositionally varied, they almost always incorporate iron. Iron-bearing smectites are an important component of the biogeochemical iron cycle, serving as a major iron fraction in many soils and altered rocks as well as participating in redox reactions within the surrounding environment. Iron incorporates into smectites in the ferric [Fe(III)] form at the modern, oxygenated surface of Earth but clays forming in anoxic settings instead incorporate ferrous iron [Fe(II)]. Owing to their ubiquity at the surface of the modern Earth, the …
Silting Dynamics And Metal Contaminants In The Georgetown Inner Harbor, 2022 Coastal Carolina University
Silting Dynamics And Metal Contaminants In The Georgetown Inner Harbor, Ezekiel Wil Meyers
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Georgetown inner harbor is an abandoned oxbow-like river loop and a vital historic site with a wealth of traditional businesses and heavy local industry located within Winyah Bay. Since the modification of the Sampit River in 1949, chronic rapid silting has plagued the inner harbor. With these substantial amounts of fine-grained material accumulating inside the inner harbor, business operations along the waterfront, navigational and maritime operations, and contamination within the harbor are of major concern. The goals of this study were to (a) understand the silting dynamics inside the inner harbor, (b) identify heavy metals which might be of …
Natural, Experimental, And Educational Explorations Of The Interiors Of Terrestrial Planetary Bodies, 2022 University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Natural, Experimental, And Educational Explorations Of The Interiors Of Terrestrial Planetary Bodies, Nadine L. Grambling
Doctoral Dissertations
Planetary interiors are enigmatic, inaccessible, and vital to the processes that have formed the rocks we see on the surface of bodies in the inner Solar System today. Based on geophysical explorations of the Moon and Earth, along with information gleaned from rocks at the surface today, there is understanding of the basic structure and processes at depth. Using a combination of natural samples and experimental studies, we attempt to learn more about the physical conditions beneath the surface, and their effect on material properties and tectonics processes in the mantle.
On Earth, mid-ocean ridge processes have long been debated, …
Geochemical And Climatic Controls On The Sulfur Cycle In Volcanic Settings: Implications For The Origin Of Sulfur-Rich Deposits Investigated By The Spirit And Opportunity Rovers On Mars, 2022 University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Geochemical And Climatic Controls On The Sulfur Cycle In Volcanic Settings: Implications For The Origin Of Sulfur-Rich Deposits Investigated By The Spirit And Opportunity Rovers On Mars, Rhianna D. Moore
Doctoral Dissertations
On Earth, volcanic activity with elevated sulfur (S) degassing in the presence of water leads to the formation of hydrothermal deposits enriched in S-bearing minerals. Similar processes may have been an important source of S on Mars. The landing sites of Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum investigated by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, respectively, showed elevated SO42- [sulfate] concentrations, suggesting high- and low-temperature aqueous processes. However, the SO42- contribution from subsequent aqueous weathering of hydrothermal S deposits has been poorly constrained, thus its importance to regional S cycling in the landing sites is unclear. In this …
Experimental Approaches To Evaluating Silicate Melt Properties And Trace Element Fractionation During Crystallization At High Pressures And High Temperatures, 2022 University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Experimental Approaches To Evaluating Silicate Melt Properties And Trace Element Fractionation During Crystallization At High Pressures And High Temperatures, Megan D. Mouser
Doctoral Dissertations
Current understanding of the evolution and behavior of silicate materials that form in planetary interiors at high-pressures and high-temperatures largely come from experimental work as natural samples are either rare, or physically inaccessible. Laboratory experiments provide a comprehensive way to constrain the crystallization history, elemental partitioning, and viscosity of different silicate materials at planetary mantle pressure and temperature conditions. This work utilizes two high-pressure experimental techniques, the Paris-Edinburgh apparatus, and the piston cylinder apparatus, to measure physical and chemical properties of silicate materials. The viscosity of reduced, Fe-free silicate liquids, with and without sulfur (S-free and S-bearing), were measured to …
Phosphate Mineralogy And Paragenesis Of The Fletcher Pegmatite, North Groton, New Hampshire, 2022 University of New Orleans
Phosphate Mineralogy And Paragenesis Of The Fletcher Pegmatite, North Groton, New Hampshire, Susanna T. Kreinik
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Investigation of phosphate assemblages selectively collected at the Fletcher Mine pegmatite, North Groton, New Hampshire, yielded eighteen discrete secondary phosphate species. Secondary phases were formed via metasomatic (high temperature) and hydrothermal (low temperature) alteration of primary triphylite and fluorapatite. Mineral associations bear proximal phases known to occur under contrasting conditions, both oxidizing and reducing, suggesting the formation of microenvironments during concomitant mineral generation. Late-stage hydrothermal fluids provide ions taken up in low temperature secondary phases with calcium and magnesium most prevalent in these suites. High iron to manganese ratios in analyzed specimens establish the relative evolution of the pegmatite host. …
Computational And Experimental Investigations Of Alkali Cation Interactions At The Rutile – Water Interface, 2022 Clemson University
Computational And Experimental Investigations Of Alkali Cation Interactions At The Rutile – Water Interface, Isaac Johnston
All Dissertations
Overall, the objective of this dissertation was to investigate the degree of sorption for the alkali cations on rutile to ascertain the impact of different cation properties, such as ion size and charge density, on sorption mechanics as well as probe how the ion may alter the surface – aqueous interface. Initial molecular dynamic simulations and batch experiments showed minimal surface sorption for any alkali cation at relatively low concentrations while simultaneously suggesting the enthalpy of deprotonation shifts slightly in the presence of the alkali cations at different ionic strengths. The cations are likely causing small reorientations of the near-surface …
Trace Element Behaviors During Igneous Evolution And Hydrothermal Alteration Of An Evolved Rhyolite, The Blawn Formation, Wah Wah Mountains, Utah: Implications For Critical Metal Abundances In Highly Evolved Rhyolites, 2022 University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Trace Element Behaviors During Igneous Evolution And Hydrothermal Alteration Of An Evolved Rhyolite, The Blawn Formation, Wah Wah Mountains, Utah: Implications For Critical Metal Abundances In Highly Evolved Rhyolites, Drew William Barkoff
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
A-type rhyolites and granites often contain elevated concentrations of the rare earth elements (REE) and many other critical trace elements relative to I- and S-type rhyolites and granites. Their trace element-enriched nature makes them potentially prospective bulk tonnage, low-grade resources of the REE and many other critical trace elements, including Li, Be, Mo, Sn, and W, but little work has been performed to delineate their economic potential. The 22.1 Ma Red Beryl Rhyolite (RBR) and the 18.3 Ma Tetons Rhyolite (TR) units of the Blawn Formation represent two A-type rhyolite domes located in the southern Wah Wah Mountains of Utah. …
Ligand-Promoted Dissolution Of Uranyl Phosphate Across Scales, 2022 Clemson University
Ligand-Promoted Dissolution Of Uranyl Phosphate Across Scales, Brennan Ferguson
All Dissertations
The formation of uranyl phosphate precipitate is a remediation strategy because the low solubility of uranyl phosphate minerals, like chernikovite, limits the mobility of uranium in contaminated soils. However, organic ligands can complex with aqueous metal cations to form more soluble species. For example, citrate is a commonly occurring organic ligand produced by plants and microbes that increases the solubility of uranium and therefore the dissolution of uranyl phosphate minerals in the uranyl phosphate-citrate system. This effect is an important control on the mobility of uranium in organic-rich, and near-surface vegetated environments. Nevertheless, key aspects of the citrate-uranyl phosphate system …
Snapshots Of Coastal Ecology During Glacial And Deglacial Intervals: A Multiproxy Assessment Of Northern Gulf Of Mexico Sediment Cores, 2022 Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Snapshots Of Coastal Ecology During Glacial And Deglacial Intervals: A Multiproxy Assessment Of Northern Gulf Of Mexico Sediment Cores, Kendall Emilie Brome
LSU Master's Theses
Terrestrial ecosystems along exposed continental shelves during times of relatively low sea level and glaciation are rarely preserved due to the mechanically erosive nature of marine transgression and regression. In this study, I investigate the geochemical and palynological characteristics of two well-preserved sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) to determine the ecologic settings and subsequent mechanisms of preservation in this region. Both sites contain preserved terrigenous sediments of previously exposed coastal margins; the first is located at the Alabama Underwater Forest (~13 km south of Gulf Shores, AL, at ~15 mbsl), and optically stimulated luminescence dates to 72–56 …
A Rapid High-Precision Analytical Method For Triple Oxygen Isotope Analysis Of Co2 Gas Using Tunable Infrared Laser Direct Absorption Spectroscopy, 2022 University of New Mexico - Main Campus
A Rapid High-Precision Analytical Method For Triple Oxygen Isotope Analysis Of Co2 Gas Using Tunable Infrared Laser Direct Absorption Spectroscopy, Nathan Perdue, Zachary Sharp, David Nelson Jr., Rick Wehr, Christoph Dyroff
Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs
Rationale
The simultaneous analysis of the three stable isotopes of oxygen – triple oxygen isotope analysis – has become an important analytical technique in natural sciences. Determination of the abundance of the rare 17O isotope in CO2 gas using magnetic sector isotope ratio mass spectrometry is complicated by the isobaric interference of 17O by 13C (13C16O16O and 12C16O17O both have mass 45 amu). A number of analytical techniques have been used to measure the 17O/16O ratio of CO2 gas. They …
Preliminary Geochemical And Mineralogical Assessment Of The Beach Sand, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2022 CUNY York College
Preliminary Geochemical And Mineralogical Assessment Of The Beach Sand, Vieques, Puerto Rico, Nazrul I. Khandaker
Publications and Research
PRELIMINARY GEOCHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE BEACH SAND, VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO
ROBBINS, Kathy H., KHANDAKER, Nazrul, SINGH, Andrew, and MUNRO, Toralv, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol 54, No. 5, https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2022AM-379886
ROBBINS, Kathy H., Bronx Early College Academy for Teaching and Learning, 250E 164 STREET, Bronx, NY 10456, KHANDAKER, Nazrul, Geology Discipline, York College of CUNY, 9420 Guy R Brewer Blvd, AC-2F09, Jamaica, NY 11451-0001, SINGH, Andrew, Earth and Physical Sciences, York College of CUNY, 9420 Guy R Brewer Blvd, AC-2F09, Jamaica, NY 11451-0001 and MUNRO, Toralv, 10911 164th St Apt 1, Jamaica, NY 11433-2921 …
Sulfur Behavior In The 1257 Ce Samalas Magma (Lombok, Indonesia) As Revealed By Volcanic Apatite, 2022 Southern Methodist University
Sulfur Behavior In The 1257 Ce Samalas Magma (Lombok, Indonesia) As Revealed By Volcanic Apatite, Yasmin Jackson
Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations
Explosive volcanic eruptions can inject massive amounts of volatiles, including SO2 and H2S, into the stratosphere, inducing drastic tropospheric cooling via sulfate aerosols. Greenland and Antarctic ice cores record evidence of these substantial releases of SO2 and H2S, including the massive release during the ultraplinian 1257 CE Samalas eruption. The 1257 CE Samalas eruption is estimated to have released ~158 Tg of SO2, making it the largest volcanogenic release of SO2 within the last 2000 years. Vidal et al. (2016) propose that most of this sulfur (S) was hosted in a …
Evaluating The Impact Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge On Nutrients And Trace Elements In Coastal Systems: The Examples Of The Tuckean Swamp (Australia) And The Mississippi Sound (Usa), 2022 The University of Southern Mississippi
Evaluating The Impact Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge On Nutrients And Trace Elements In Coastal Systems: The Examples Of The Tuckean Swamp (Australia) And The Mississippi Sound (Usa), Amy Moody
Dissertations
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is the advective flow of both fresh terrestrial groundwater and recirculating seawater through aquifer sediments, which is released into the coastal ocean. In this dissertation, I evaluated the impact of SGD on the distributions and input of trace metals and nutrients. In the Tuckean Swamp, an estuary in Australia dominated by coastal acid sulfate soils, I determined the impact of groundwater on Ba and U during the flood season, when the local aquifer is flushed out after a rapid increase in water table elevation. For Ba and U, groundwater contributed up to 18 and 66 % …
Geomorphic And Paleoclimatic Implications Of Glacial Extent Records In The Sierra Nevada Del Cocuy, Colombia During Termination 1, 2022 Dartmouth College
Geomorphic And Paleoclimatic Implications Of Glacial Extent Records In The Sierra Nevada Del Cocuy, Colombia During Termination 1, Jordan Nickerson Herbert
Dartmouth College Master’s Theses
Reconstructions of past glacial extents using geomorphic mapping and cosmogenic dating provide an opportunity to infer past climates. A record of the past extents of tropical mountain glaciers is particularly useful because there are few other means to reconstruct past temperatures in high-altitude, low-latitude locations. The tropics play an outsized role in mediating global climate, yet there is a lack of understanding of how the tropics may have influenced past climate changes such as the most recent deglaciation (Termination 1, ~18–11.7 ka). Improving reconstructions of tropical mountain glaciers will aid in understanding the role of the tropics in the global …
Acid Mine Drainage In The Shamokin Creek Watershed: A Spatial Analysis Of Economic And Environmental Consequences Of Coal Mining, 2022 Bucknell University
Acid Mine Drainage In The Shamokin Creek Watershed: A Spatial Analysis Of Economic And Environmental Consequences Of Coal Mining, Ben Shimer
Student Project Reports
No abstract provided.