Earth Sciences Commons^™

Yellowstone! A National Park On A Hot Spot, Judy Mcilrath

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum activity introduces Geology of National Parks students to Yellowstone National Park. The module takes a broad overview of volcanic features of the park, including the line of calderas along the up-drift hot spot trace, the mapped area of tuffs produced by their cataclysmic eruptions, and the hydrothermal features for which the park is so well known. Students calculate the rate that the North American Plate has been moving over the hot spot, the relative volume of the materials produced in the cataclysmic eruptions, their recurrence interval, and probability of eruption in any given year. The …

Planning The Future Of Geocybereducation, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Susan Eriksson

Geology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Green Local Governments In Florida: Assessment Of Sustainability Performance, Naimish Upadhyay, Robert Brinkmann

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The sustainability performance of local governments that adopted the Florida Green Building Coalition’s Green Local Government standard was evaluated using a web-based review and survey of 26 local governments within the context of the Three Es of environment, equity, and economic development. The results indicate that while many local governments exhibit a broad commitment to sustainability as evidenced by the inclusion of sustainability in formal documents, such efforts are not present across all government functions or departments. In addition, while local issues are often addressed, interrelated sustainability goals of equity and economic development are not clearly articulated. Most local governments …

Landscape Values As A Determinant In Geotourism Development: A Case Study Of Utah, Usa, E. Papińska, Elzbieta Białkowska-Jelińska

School of Geosciences Student Publications

The state of Utah is located in west-central United States. The area of 219 887 km²is populated by 2.8 million people (in 2009). Population density is relatively low: 12 persons per square km. The main reasons for low population density are unfavourable natural conditions. The most important are topography and climate. Utah’s landscape diversity is a consequence of a variety of terrain types. For that reason, there are 5 national parks (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands), national monuments, and other lower rank protected areas established in Utah. Each of these places, characterized by unique types of …

Thermal Imaging Of The Waccasassa Bay Preserve: Image Acquisition And Processing, Ellen A. Raabe, Elzbieta Bialkowska-Jelinska

School of Geosciences Student Publications

Thermal infrared (TIR) imagery was acquired along coastal Levy County, Florida, in March 2009 with the goal of identifying groundwater-discharge locations in Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park (WBPSP). Groundwater discharge is thermally distinct in winter when Floridan aquifer temperature, 71-72 °F, contrasts with the surrounding cold surface waters. Calibrated imagery was analyzed to assess temperature anomalies and related thermal traces. The influence of warm Gulf water and image artifacts on small features was successfully constrained by image evaluation in three separate zones: Creeks, Bay, and Gulf. Four levels of significant water-temperature anomalies were identified, and 488 sites of interest were …

Burrow Morphology Of The Bahamian Land Crab Gecarcinus Lateralis, Koji Seike, H. Allen Curran

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Abstract from 2010 Workshop on Crustacean Bioturbation — Fossil and Recent held in Lepe, Spain.

Editors: Jordi M. deGibert, Fernando Muñiz, Eduardo Mayoral, Zain Belaústegui

Ancient Dna Analyses Exclude Humans As The Driving Force Behind Late Pleistocene Musk Ox (Ovibos Moschatus) Population Dynamics, Paula F. Campos, Eske Willerslev, Andrei Sher, Ludovic Orlando, Erik Axelsson, Alexei Tikhonov, Kim Aaris-Sorensen, Alex D. Greenwood, Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, Pavel Kosintsev

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The causes of the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions are poorly understood. Different lines of evidence point to climate change, the arrival of humans, or a combination of these events as the trigger. Although many species went extinct, others, such as caribou and bison, survived to the present. The musk ox has an intermediate story: relatively abundant during the Pleistocene, it is now restricted to Greenland and the Arctic Archipelago. In this study, we use ancient DNA sequences, temporally unbiased summary statistics, and Bayesian analytical techniques to infer musk ox population dynamics throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal …

Stratigraphy And Larger Foraminifera Of The Eocene Shallow-Marine And Olistostromal Units Of The Southern Part Of The Thrace Basin, Nw Turkey, Ercan Özcan, György Less, Aral İ. Okay, Mária Báldi-Beke, Katalin Kollányi, İsmai̇l Ömer Yilmaz

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Eocene marine sequence in the southern part of the Thrace Basin (NW Turkey) involves a variety of platform and deep-marine olistostromal units, the stratigraphy of which have been vigorously debated in the past. A detailed analysis of larger foraminifera in these either foraminifera or foraminifera-coral-coralline algae-dominated platform and associated comparatively deeper-marine units permits us to establish a high-resolution biostratigraphy in the context of shallow benthic zonation (with SBZ zones) of Tethyan Paleogene. The oldest zone (SBZ 5, corresponding to the basal Ypresian) was observed only in olistoliths. An old erosional remnant of a transgressive shallow-marine to basinal sequence (Dişbudak …

Mineral And Whole-Rock Geochemistry Of The Kestanbol Granitoid (Ezine-Çanakkale) And Its Mafic Microgranular Enclaves In Northwestern Anatolia: Evidence Of Felsic And Mafic Magma Interaction, Sabah Yilmaz Şahi̇n, Yüksel Örgün, Yildirim Güngör, A. Feti̇ Göker, A. Haydar Gülteki̇n, Zeki̇ye Karacik

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Miocene Kestanbol granitoid, in Ezine-Çanakkale, Turkey, is one of post-collision granitoids of western Anatolia, which have been related to the the late Cretaceous collision between the Anatolide-Tauride platform and the Pontides. Magmatism began during the early Miocene, with coeval alkaline to calc-alkaline plutonism and volcanism, controlled by the regional tectonic evolution. The Kestanbol pluton intruded regionally metamorphosed basement rocks. Volcanic and volcano-clastic sedimentary rocks overlie the pluton, which is bounded in the west and east by major faults. The pluton is frequently cut by felsic and mafic dykes and includes mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) that are mixing products of …

Volcanic Rocks From Foça-Karaburun And Ayvalik-Lesvos Grabens (Western Anatolia) And Their Petrogenetic-Geodynamic Significance, Samuele Agostini, Murat Tokçaer, Mehmet Yilmaz Savaşçin

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Foça-Karaburun and Ayvalık-Lesvos grabens (western coast of Anatolia, Turkey) are two important NW-SE-trending extensional areas generated in response to the Early Miocene-Holocene extension of the Western Anatolian region, related to the opening of the "unconventional" back-arc basin of the Aegean Sea. The abundance of geo-structural evidence and the occurrence of volcanic rocks representing all the stages of the Aegean-Western Anatolia volcanism render the Foça-Karaburun and Ayvalık-Lesvos Grabens key localities to exemplify the petrogenetic and geodynamic evolution of the area. In this context, the Foça-Karaburun and Ayvalık-Lesvos grabens, possibly formerly a single graben, formed along an original NE-SW-trending extension, later …

Statistical Evaluation Of Classification Diagrams For Altered Igneous Rocks, Surendra P. Verma, Rodolfo Rodriguez Rios, Rosalinda González-Ramírez

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has proposed recommendations for the classification of relatively fresh volcanic rocks, but with no specific instructions for altered volcanic rocks, other than discouraging the use of the total alkalis versus silica diagram. The Nb/Y-Zr/TiO2 diagram has been in use for the classification of altered rocks now for over 30 years. Recently (during 2007) another diagram (Co-Th) has been proposed to replace this old diagram, particularly for altered arc rocks. Using an extensive database of all kinds of relatively fresh rocks from four tectonic settings (island arc, continental rift, ocean island, and mid-ocean ridge), …

Petrography And Geochemistry Of The Jajarm Bauxite Ore Deposit, Northeast Iran: Implications For Source Rock Material And Ore Genesis, Dariush Esmaeily, Hosein Rahimpour-Bonab, Amir Esna-Ashari, Ali Kananian

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Jajarm bauxite deposit, northeast Iran, is the largest such deposit in Iran. The deposit is sandwiched between the Triassic Elika formation and the Jurassic Shemshak formation, housed within karstic features developed within the former unit. The deposit generally shows an internal layering defined by the following four distinct horizons (from bottom to top): (a) a lower argillaceous horizon, approximately 50-80 cm thick, is mainly composed of clay minerals that directly overlies the carbonate footwall (Elika formation); (b) a bauxitic clay layer approximately 2-3 m thick that consists mainly of hematite, kaolinite, anatase, and diaspore; (c) a red bauxite layer …

Debrunia Occitanica Nov. Sp. (Monopleuridae) From The Early Aptian Of Se France, Mükerrem Fenerci̇-Masse, Jean-Pierre Masse

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Debrunia occitanica nov. sp., described from the early Aptian platform limestones of SE France, is characterized by: a moderately convex left valve, inconspicuous radial bands and a ligament groove in a depression flanked by two longitudinal rounded edges. Debrunia occitanica nov. sp. is considered as a chronospecies belonging to a single lineage rooted in the Barremian, and including Debrunia bruni and Debrunia mutabilis. Evolutionary trends in the three species include flattening of the left valve, development of the corresponding myophores, and reduction of the radial bands. This new species has the potential to be a stratigraphic marker for the early …

Albian Rudist Fauna From The Karaburun Peninsula, İzmir Region, Western Turkey, Jean-Pierre Masse, Mükerrem Fenerci̇-Masse, İsmai̇l Işintek, Tali̇p Güngör

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Platform carbonates bearing shallow water foraminifera and dasycladale assemblages with an Albian stratigraphic significance, crop out at two localities on the Karaburun Peninsula: Barbaros and Zeytineli. Rudist faunas collected from these localities include Toucasia seunesi Douvillé, Pseudotoucasia catalaunica Astre , Mathesia darderi (Astre), Petalodontia ? sp., and Eoradiolites sp. aff. murgensis. The overall stratigraphic significance of this fauna is consistent with the Albian age derived from micropalaeontological data. Some taxonomic elements, e.g. Toucasia seunesi, Pseudotoucasia catalaunica and Mathesia darderi possess a broad Mediterranean palaeobiogeographic distribution. By contrast, Eoradiolites sp. aff. murgensis, an advanced form resembling Eoradiolites murgensis, restricted to the …

Distribution And Abundance Of Rudist Bivalves In The Cretaceous Platform Sequences In Egypt: Time And Space, Mohamed S. Zakhera

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

As the rudist bivalves represent important organic buildups in the Cretaceous platform sequences, this study emphasizes vertical and spatial distribution of this group of bivalves in the geographic divisions of Egypt, including Western Desert, Eastern Desert and Sinai. Rudists are encountered in different rock facies ranging from mudstones to carbonates. About sixty eight species belong to twenty one genera are reported from Egypt. They belong to six families: Requieniidae, Monopleuridae, Caprotinidae, Caprinidae, Hippuritidae, and Radiolitidae. The Radiolitidae is the most diverse family, comprising eleven genera and fifty-one species, dominated by species of Radiolites, Eoradiolites and Durania. The elevator morphotype of …

The No. 5 Block In Eastern Kentucky: A Critical Re-Examination Of The Petrology With Special Attention To The Origin Of Inertinite Macerals In The Splint Lithotypes, Allison Ranae Richardson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Microbes, including fungi and bacteria, and insects are responsible for the consumption and subsequent degradation of plant materials into humus. These microbes directly and indirectly affect the physical and chemical characteristics of coal macerals. Efforts to understand and determine the origins of inertinite macerals are largely misrepresented in the literature, conforming to a single origin of fire. This study focuses on the variability of physical and inferred chemical differences observed petrographically between the different inertinite macerals and discusses the multiple pathways plant material may take to form and or degrade these macerals.

Petrographic results show that fungal activity plays a …

Latest Quaternary Paleoclimate Reconstruction Utilizing Stable Isotopic And Trace Element Proxies In A Stalagmite From Culverson Creek Cave, West Virginia, Ashley Nicole Gilbert

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A reconstruction of regional climate variability in southern West Virginia that spans the last glacial/interglacial transition is presented. Paleoclimate interpretations obtained from the 50-cm long stalagmite provide key insights regarding the timing, magnitude, and forcing mechanisms responsible for past climate variability. Stable isotopic (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) and trace element (Ba, Sr, Mg) signatures from samples contiguously milled along the growth-axis of a ²³⁰Th-dated stalagmite which grew between approximately 20 and 5 thousand years before present (kyr BP) provide critical constraints for above-cave mean annual temperature, seasonality of moisture mean annual precipitation, and potential vegetation shifts. …

Taphonomy And Sedimentology Of Two Miocene Vertebrate Fossil Sites On Fort Polk, Louisiana, Julie Lynn Hill

LSU Master's Theses

The discovery of a terrestrial mammalian fauna in the Miocene deposits on Fort Polk, Louisiana, fills a geographic gap in the Gulf Coast paleontological framework, but the provenance of the fossils, nature of the depositional environments, and relationships between the sites is still debated. This is especially true for the TVOR site cluster. TVOR SE has a mixture of marine and terrestrial vertebrates in association with a partly dissolved, in situ bed of articulated oyster shells, which stands in contrast to the fully terrestrial and freshwater assemblage at TVOR, and the indeterminate site TVOR S. Although limited outcrop may bias …

Plant Isotopes As Indicators Of N Cycling Processes In Agricultural Fields, Eric Thuss

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When nitrogen (N) availability exceeds biological demand, excess N, especially nitrate (NO₃), may subsequently pollute ground and surface water. Agricultural practices in Southern Ontario typically supplement soils with organic and inorganic nutrients to aid in crop development, and employ various management techniques to limit nutrient loss. Excess N has several potential fates, which are controlled by the net effects of numerous N cycling reactions in the soil that are often difficult to measure directly. N cycling in soils is controlled in large part by soil moisture, as it affects microbial activity and soil redox conditions. Stable isotope geochemistry …

Carbon Dioxide Exchange In A Permafrost-Dominated Boreal Wetland In The Northwest Territories, Canada, Andrea J. Kenward

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northern boreal wetland complexes are substantial reservoirs for carbon and play a crucial role in both regional and global carbon budgets but they are showing significant signs of impact by climate change. This study examined the carbon dioxide flux of a high boreal wetland during the snowmelt and growing season of 2008 in Scotty Creek Basin, located near Fort Simpson (61°18'N, 121°18'W), Northwest Territories. This basin is not only responding to shifts in atmospheric temperatures, but it is also under additional pressure from increasing permafrost degradation. A dynamic closed-system chamber was used to monitor and quantify mid-day total respiration (R …