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Kinematics Of Orocline Tightening In The Core Of An Arc: Paleomagnetic Analysis Of The Ponga Unit, Cantabrian Arc, Northern Spain, Arlo Brandon Weil

Geology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Paleomagnetic and structural analyses of the Western European Variscan Belt (WEVB) suggest that the most viable kinematic model for Variscan deformation in northern Iberia is oroclinal bending of an originally linear belt in a two-stage tectonic history. This history represents two regional compression phases (E-W in the Late Carboniferous and N-S in the Permian, both in present-day coordinates), which resulted in the refolding (about steeply plunging axes) of initially north-south trending thrusts and folds in the hinge zone, and oroclinal tightening due to vertical axis rotation of the belt's limbs. However, the orocline model has yet to be critically tested …

Lockhart Catchment Appraisal 2005, Susan Murphy-White, P Leoni

Resource management technical reports

The Lockhart Catchment is the largest subcatchment of the Avon River Basin covering just over 3.56 million hectares, including 15 Shires running from Quairading and Bruce Rock in the north to Pingrup and Lake King in the south. This document aims to give the reader a starting point from which to further assess larger scale areas of the catchment for the purpose of planning to reverse and improve land degradation and sustainable farming in Western Australia.

Morphologic Features Of Conduits And Aquifer Response In The Unconfined Floridan Aquifer System, West Central Florida, Lee J. Florea, H L. Vacher

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Conduits within the unconfined Floridan Aquifer of west-central Florida include both horizontal and vertical components. In this paper, we investigate each and propose theories based upon cave survey data and a collection of over 300 Florida cave maps. First, we find that vertical portions of conduits visually correlate to fractures, and these fractures tend to be the dominant control of conduit directionality. Length-weighted rose diagrams of passage directions reveal a NW-SE and NE-SW pattern of conduit directions statistically similar to results found in remote sensing studies of photolinears. Secondly we note that horizontal elements of conduits occur at consistent horizons …

Seasonal Sediment Transport And Unusually Large Spit Development At Sandy Point, San Salvador, Bahamas, Vincent J. Voegeli, Alicia L. Simonti, H. Allen Curran

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Reprinted from: R.L. Davis & D. Gamble, eds., Proceedings of the 12th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions, San Salvador, Gerace Research Center

A Multimetric Benthic Index For Georgia's Wadeable Streams, Amanda Lynn Middleton

Theses and Dissertations

Using an ecoregional approach, multimetric indices were developed to describe stream condition in each geographically distinct region of Georgia. Collected from predetermined reference and impaired condition streams, macroinvertebrate data were used to develop multimetric indices. Multimetric indices identified a range of stream conditions, as well as, the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. Based on multimetric indices, the Multimetric Rating System grouped streams according to overall stream condition. The Multimetric Rating System used multiple indices to describe various facets of stream condition. Therefore, it may be concluded that the Multimetric Rating System is a robust water management tool that may be …

Petrogenesis Of Pleistocene Basalts In The Norris-Mammoth Corridor, Yellowstone National Park, Kristeen Marie Bennett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The basalts of the Norris-Mammoth corridor within the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field have an outcrop erupted volume of ~94 km³. Basalt in the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field is minor in volume compared to 3,700 km³ of felsic lavas, domes, and pyroclastic rocks. The tholeiitic eruptive products formed small Hawaiian-style shield volcanoes. A newly identified volcanic vent, called the Panther Creek vent, within the Swan Lake Flat basalt stratigraphic unit, was primarily Strombolian in its eruption style. This vent is the first recognized cinder cone in Yellowstone National Park.

All basaltic units within the Norris-Mammoth corridor, and the …

Local Infrasound Observations Of Large Ash Explosions At Augustine Volcano, Alaska, During January 11-28, 2006, Tanja Petersen, Silvio De Angelis, Guy Tytgat, Stephen R. Mcnutt

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

We present and interpret acoustic waveforms associated with a sequence of large explosion events that occurred during the initial stages of the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska. During January 11–28, 2006, 13 large explosion events created ash-rich plumes that reached up to 14 km a.s.l., and generated atmospheric pressure waves that were recorded on scale by a microphone located at a distance of 3.2 km from the active vent. The variety of recorded waveforms included sharp N-shaped waves with durations of a few seconds, impulsive signals followed by complex codas, and extended signals with emergent character and durations up …

On The Spatial Nature Of The Groundwater Pumping Externality, Nicholas Brozovic, David L. Sunding, David Zilberman

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Most existing economic analyses of optimal groundwater management use single-cell aquifer models, which assume that an aquifer responds uniformly and instantly to ground- water pumping. This paper demonstrates how spatially explicit aquifer response equations from the water resources engineering literature may be embedded in a general economic framework. Calibration of our theoretical model to published economic studies of spe- cific aquifers demonstrates that, by averaging basin drawdown across the entire resource, existing studies generally understate the magnitude of the groundwater pumping external- ity relative to spatially explicit models. For the aquifers studied, the drawdown predicted by single- cell models may …

Ground-Penetrating Radar Theory And Application Of Thin-Bed Offset-Dependent Reflectivity, John H. Bradford, Jacob C. Deeds

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Offset-dependent reflectivity or amplitude-variationwith- offset (AVO) analysis of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data may improve the resolution of subsurface dielectric permittivity estimates. A horizontally stratified medium has a limiting layer thickness below which thin-bed AVO analysis is necessary. For a typical GPR signal, this limit is approximately 0.75 of the characteristic wavelength of the signal. Our approach to modeling the GPR thin-bed response is a broadband, frequency-dependent computation that utilizes an analytical solution to the three-interface reflectivity and is easy to implement for either transverse electric (TE) or transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations. The AVO curves for TE and TM modes differ …

Reflectivity Modeling Of A Ground-Penetrating-Radar Profile Of A Saturated Fluvial Formation, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Major horizons in radar reflection profiles may correlate with contacts between stratigraphic units or with structural breaks such as fault surfaces. Minor reflections may be caused by clutter or, in some cases, may indicate material properties or structure within stratigraphic units. In this study, we examine the physical basis for major and minor reflections observed in a shallow, unconfined, fluvial aquifer near Boise, Idaho, U. S. A. We compare a 2D profile from a surface ground-penetrating-radar reflection transect with the 1D modeled reflection profiles at three wells adjacent to the surface-reflection profile. The 1D models are based on dielectric constant …

Dendrochronological Analysis Of The Morgan House, Wayne County, Wooster, Ohio

Historic Structures

Dating historical structures in Wayne County, Ohio using dendrochronology. The Historical Structures collection consists of reports that are the result of dendochronological analysis of timbers from structures in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Contributors: Lehmann, Sophie; Wiles, Greg

Investigating The Stratigraphy Of An Alluvial Aquifer Using Crosswell Seismic Traveltime Tomography, Geoff J.M. Moret, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash, William P. Clement

CGISS Publications and Presentations

In this study, we investigate the use of crosswell P-wave seismic tomography to obtain spatially extensive information about subsurface sedimentary architecture and heterogeneity in alluvial aquifers. Our field site was a research wellfield in an unconfined aquifer near Boise, Idaho. The aquifer consists of a ~ 20-m-thick sequence of alluvial cobble- and-sand deposits, which have been subdivided into five stratigraphic units based on neutron porosity logs, grainsize analysis, and radar reflection data. We collected crosswell and borehole-to-surface seismic data in wells 17.1 m apart. We carefully considered the impact of well deviation, data quality control, and the choice of inversion …

Geostatistical And Stochastic Study Of Radio Nuclide Transport In The Unsaturated Zone At Yucca Mountain, Ming Ye, Amy J. Smiecinski, Raymond E. Keeler

Publications (YM)

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board [Cohon et al. 1998] evaluated the technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken by the Secretary of Energy to characterize Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for its suitability as an underground repository in which to store high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. In the report, the Board pinpointed that the study on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport in the saturated and unsaturated zones below Yucca Mountain should, over the next several years, focus on reducing prediction uncertainty. In its 2002, the Board repeated this concern by stating, “… hydrogeologic processes that affect radionuclide transport …

Traveltime Inversion Of Vertical Radar Profiles, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traveltimes of direct arrivals in vertical radar profiles (VRPs) are tomographically inverted to estimate the earth’s electromagnetic (EM) velocity between a surface transmitter and a downhole receiver. We determine the 1D interval velocity model that best fits the first-arrival traveltimes by using a weighted, damped, least-squares inversion scheme. We assess the accuracy of the velocity model using synthetic traveltimes from a known velocity-distribution model simulating an unconfined aquifer. The inverted velocity profile closely matched the velocity profile of the input model in the synthetic examples. Using vertical radar profile data from an unconfined aquifer near Boise, Idaho, we inverted traveltimes …

Hydrolgeologic Groundwater Sensitivity And Vulnerability Mapping In South Central Kentucky, Andrea Croskrey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Groundwater sensitivity (Ray and O'dell 1993 a) refers to the inherent ease with which groundwater can be contaminated based on hydrogeologic characteristics. We have developed digital methods for identifying areas of varying groundwater sensitivity for a ten county area of south-central Kentucky relevant to a scale of 1: 24,000. The study area includes extensive limestone karst sinkhole plains, with groundwater that is generally extremely sensitive to contamination. Digitally Vectorized Geologic Quadrangles (DVGQs) were combined with elevation data to both identify hydrogeologic groundwater sensitivity regions and to identify zones of "high risk runoff where contaminants could be transported in runoff from …

Spatial Characteristics Of Paleochannels In Association With The Mississippian/Pennsylvanian Systematic Boundary In Western And South-Central Kentucky, Scott Schoefernacker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The basal Pennsylvanian Caseyville Formation of south-central Kentucky includes an extensive network of paleochannels, which unconformably overlie various Mississippian (Chesterian Series) rocks. Questions have been raised about the extent and orientation of paleochannels and the systemic boundary in the region. The problematical systemic boundary is quite significant in cases where marker beds are lacking or where sandstone facies of Pennsylvanian age are juxtaposed on lithologically similar Mississippian-age strata. Discerning the systemic boundary may also be complicated by facies changes in Chesterian strata. This study employs various data to investigate the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian systemic boundary such as well logs, outcrops, and subsurface-to-outcrop …

Geochemistry Of Benthic Foraminifera As An Environmental Indicator: A Study From Multiple Hydrographic Regimes, Chandranath Basak

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The geochemistry (stable isotopes and Lracc clements) or living (sLaincd) calcareous benthic foraminifera was compared with ambient botlom water stable isotope values to provide modern analog conditions and calibrations for environmental and paleoenvironmental assessments. Stable isotope values of live (stained) bcnthic foraminifera were investigated from push core and multicorer samples from the North Pacific (on the Aleutian margin, water depth 1988m) and the South Australian Bight (water depth 2476m and 1634m). Living benthic foraminifera specimens collected from contaminated sites in the Venice Lagoon were analyzed for trace elements. Both the isotopic and the trace element study involved interpretation of modern …

The Influence Of North Pacific Atmospheric Blocking On Colorado Lee Cyclogenesis, Diana S. Dickey

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North Pacific atmospheric blocking is an upper tropospheric phenomenon that occurs modally in the northwestern quadrant of the North American cyclogenetic region primarily during the winter season. In this study, Colorado lee cyclones, which develop to the east of the Rocky Mountains, are investigated to see if differing strengths of North Pacific atmospheric blocking influences cyclone frequency, intensity and tracks during the study period 1965-1995. Three blocking categories, strong blocking, anti-blocking and weak-index blocking were created based on indices provided by previously published research. Additionally, an analysis of upper tropospheric circulation during strong blocking and anti-blocking winter seasons was made …

A Preliminary Benthic Invertebrate Study Of Jun Jaegyu Volcano : An Undersea Volcano In Antarctic Sound, Antarctica, Gina QuiñOnes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Jun Jaegyu volcano, an Antarctic submarine volcano, was dredged in May 2004 for sediment and marine macroinvertebrates. The objectives of this study were to examine the benthic assemblages and biodiversity present on the newly discovered volcano. The volcano is located on the continental shelf of the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula, where recent changes in surface temperature and ice shelf stability have been observed. This volcano was swath-mapped during cruise 01 -07 of the Research Vessel-Ice Breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer. The volcano was studied using a SCUD video camera and a dredge along the flanks and crest. Results indicate a seafloor surface …

A Habitat Suitability Index Model For Black Bear Living Within The Kittatinny Mountain Range In New Jersey, Brett Callanan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Throughout the past decade, an increase in urbanization and the population of black bear (Ursus americanus) in New Jersey have caused an overlap of bear habitat and areas of residential and commercial development (Eriksen 1999). Consequently, the close proximity of humans to black bear has resulted in a variety of conflicts (Carr and Burguess 2003). Strategies traditionally used to regulate the numbers and interactions with bear, such as capture and relocation, euthanization, and the utilization of game hunts can be limited by their efficiency and predictability of results. New tools are needed to address the issues of habitat loss, bear …

Late Pleistocene Climate Inferred From The Reconstruction Of The Taylor River Glacier Complex, Southern Sawatch Range, Colorado, Keith A. Brugger

Geology Publications

Ice surface topography of a late Pleistocene glacier complex, herein named the Taylor River Glacier Complex (TRGC), was reconstructed on the basis of detailed mapping of glacial landforms combined with analyses of aerial photos and topographic maps. During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the TRGC covered an area of 215 km² and consisted of five valley or outlet glaciers that were nourished by accumulation in cirques basins and/or upland ice fields.

Equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) for the glaciers of the TRGC were estimated using the accumulation-area ratio method, assuming that ratio to be 0.65 ± 0.05. ELAs thus derived ranged …

Environmental, Chemical, And Genetic Reduction Of Ethylene Sensitivity In Crop Plants, Timothy J. Hudelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethylene is an endogenously synthesized plant hormone that dissipates quickly in field conditions and seldom exceeds five nmol mol^-1. Ethylene can accumulate to 1000 times this level in closed environments. The best-known effects of ethylene are its impacts on fruit ripening and senescence, yet ethylene influences growth and development throughout the plant life cycle. At low, continuous concentrations (20 to 50 nmol mol^-1), ethylene reduces yield of many plants. Clean-air treatment during critical stages of floral development, silver thiosulfate (STS), and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) may delay flower senescence and reduce the detrimental effects of ethylene on peas …

Lower Paleozoic Sequence Stratigraphy, Deposystems And Paleogeography Of Northwestern Ordos Basin, North China, Benjamin J. Kessel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Ordos basin rests upon the North China Block and is one of the largest sedimentary basins in north China, with more than 15 km of Phanerozoic strata. Published estimates suggest that over 2000 m of carbonates and lesser amounts of siliciclastics were deposited on the North China Carbonate Platform (NCCP) from the Lower Can1brian through the Middle Ordovician. However, lower Paleozoic facies successions and deposystems of northwestern Ordos basin remain poorly represented in western literature. This paper constrains depositional environments, lithologies, facies relationships and sea-level history of the northwestern part of the North China block (NCB) in an effort …

The Evolution From Late Miocene West Salton Detachment Faulting To Cross-Cutting Pleistocene Oblique Strike-Slip Faults In The Sw Salton Trough, Southern California, Alexander N. Steely

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Field studies in the southwest Salton Trough between Yaqui Ridge and Borrego Mountain show that the West Salton detachment fault was active during the Pliocene and may have initiated during the latest Miocene. At Yaqui Ridge dominantly east-directed extension is recorded by slickenlines on the NW-striking detachment fault, and shows that the fault is actually a low-angle dextral oblique strike-slip fault. Crustal inheritance is responsible for the position of the fault at Yaqui Ridge, which reactivates a late Cretaceous reverse-sense mylonite zone at map scale.

Late Miocene to Pliocene basin fill deposits at Borrego Mountain display progressive unconformities, contain detritus …

Biogeochemistry Of Arsenic And Antimony In The North Pacific Ocean, Gregory A. Cutter, Lynda S. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

The biogeochemical cycles of the metalloid elements arsenic and antimony were examined along a 15,000 km surface water transect and at 9 vertical profile stations in the western North Pacific Ocean as part of the 2002 IOC Contaminant Baseline Survey. Results show that the speciation of dissolved arsenic (As III, As V, and methylated As) was subtly controlled by the arsenate (AsV)/phosphate ratio. An additional fraction of presumed organic arsenic previously reported in coastal waters was also present (~15% of the total As) in oceanic surface waters. Dissolved inorganic antimony displayed mildly scavenged behavior that was confirmed by correlations with …

Using Fill Terraces To Understand Incision Rates And Evolution Of The Colorado River In Eastern Grand Canyon, Arizona, J. L. Pederson, M. D. Anders, Tammy M. Rittenour, W. D. Sharp, J. C. Gosse, K. E. Karlstrom

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The incision and aggradation of the Colorado River in eastern Grand Canyon through middle to late Quaternary time can be traced in detail using well-exposed fill terraces dated by a combination of optically stimulated luminescence, uranium series, and cosmogenic nuclide dating. This fluvial history provides the best bedrock incision rate for this important landscape and highlights the complications and advantages of fill terrace records for understanding river long-profile evolution and incision. The use of fill terraces, as distinct from strath terraces, for calculating incision rates is complicated by the cyclic alluviation and incision they record. In the example of the …

Coupling Between Primary Terrestrial Succession And The Trophic Development Of Lakes At Glacier Bay, D. R. Engstrom, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We use sediment cores from lakes in Glacier Bay National Park to examine the relationship between successional changes in catchment vegetation and trends in water-column nitrogen (a limiting nutrient) and lake primary production. Terrestrial succession at Glacier Bay follows several different pathways, with older sites in the lower bay being colonized directly by spruce (Picea) and by-passing a prolonged alder (Alnus) stage that characterizes younger upper-bay sites. Sediment cores from three sites spanning this successional gradient demonstrate that the variability in trophic development among lakes is a consequence of the establishment and duration of N-fixing alder …

Discontinuities In Ecological Data, Craig R. Allen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Historically, ecology has focused on continuous distributions and smooth transitions. Only recently have discontinuities and thresholds become an explicit focus in some areas of ecology, especially in the realm of complex systems. The study of animal body mass distributions has been recognized for its potential to provide insight into the underlying processes shaping animal communities. Hutchinson (1) formalized the understanding of species niches and the potential for competition to shape body mass distributions. However, despite a long history of theoretical and empirical pursuit, the mechanisms driving patterns in body mass distributions remain poorly understood. The work of Scheffer and van …

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

Physical And Chemical Predictors Of Diatom Dissolution In Freshwater And Saline Lake Sediments In North America And West Greenland, David B. Ryves, Richard W. Battarbee, Stephen Juggins, Sherilyn C. Fritz, N. John Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Diatom dissolution in surface sediment samples from two regional lake datasets in the Northern Great Plains (NGP; n = 64) and West Greenland (n = 40) is assessed using a morphological approach categorizing valves during routine diatom analysis. Two dissolution indices are derived to parameterize diatom dissolution, and, when compared between two analysts in a blind test, show good correspondence and are closely correlated to diatom fragmentation. We explore the relationships between hydrochemical and physical lake parameters (including meromixis) on dissolution within both lake regions using multivariate methods and modeled with logistic regression. Salinity is the sole significant predictor …