Digital Commons Network^™

Subsoiling Of No-Tilled Corn, Lloyd W. Murdock

Soil Science News and Views

No-tillage corn production has become very popular in Kentucky because of the advantages it offers producers. Currently, over half of the corn in Kentucky is planted by this method and even a higher percentage is no-till planted on erodible lands. Because of this, many fields have received little tillage in the last 10 to 20 years. Many producers wonder if soil compaction increases with time on these long-term no-tilled fields due to annual trafficking by heavy equipment. Subsoiling implements have become available that allow subsurface tillage while preserving the surface mulch layer. This practice allows for continued no-till planting while …

Lime Rate Adjustments Based On Rnv And Depth, William O. Thom

Soil Science News and Views

Agricultural limestone quality is measured by its neutralizing value and fineness of grind. Neutralizing value is determined by calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE). The higher the CCE, the greater the limestone’s ability to neutralize soil acidity. Reaction rate in the soil is affected by fineness of grind, with finer materials reacting faster with a soil to increase pH. Methods have been developed to calculate efficiency factors that involve using both CCE and material fineness. Regardless of the aglime material used, when the same amount of effective neutralizing material is applied and mixed thoroughly with the soil, the pH change in the …

Tectonic Implications Of Erosional And Depositional Features In Upper Meramecian And Lower Chesterian (Mississippian) Rocks Of South-Central And East-Central Kentucky, Garland R. Dever Jr.

Bulletin--KGS

Erosional and depositional features in upper Meramecian and lower Chesterian (Mississippian) carbonate rocks of south-central and east-central Kentucky suggest the influence of coeval structural activity. The study area, which extends from Pulaski County northeastward into Powell County, is underlain by (1) the Greenwood Anomaly, a large north-trending gravity anomaly, which probably represents part of a Precambrian rift system, and (2) the western part of the Rome Trough, an east-trending graben-like structure, which represents a Late Precambrian to Cambrian continental rift zone. The study focused on the St. Louis Limestone and lower Monteagle Limestone of south-central Kentucky and correlative carbonate rocks …

Ground-Water Quality In Kentucky: Nitrate-Nitrogen, Philip G. Conrad, Daniel I. Carey, James S. Webb, James S. Dinger, Matthew J. Mccourt

Information Circular--KGS

No abstract provided.

A Geomorphology Of Megaliths: Neolithic Landscapes In The Alto Alentejo, Portugal, Gregory A. Pope, Vera C. Miranda

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Alentejo region of Portugal is known for a high concentration of Neolithic-aged megalithic monuments: tombs (dolmens or antas) and ceremonial features such as standing stones (menhirs) and stone circles (cromleques). Concentrations of these monuments tend to be found on or near weathered granite terrains. Unloading slabs and remnant corestones appear to be the stones of preference for megalith makers in the Alentejo district of Portugal. Some of the stones may have been imported from distant sources, but most appear to be of local origin. In general, most stones do not appear to have been altered much from their original …

2018 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy - Final Report, Mark E. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Nineteen participants completed the 2018 Water Leaders Academy bringing the total number of graduates to 120 since the inception of the program in 2011. Assessment of participants’ transformational leadership skills, champion of innovation skills, water knowledge and engagement, civic capacity, and entrepreneurial leadership behaviors showed a significant increase over the course of the year, from both participants’ and their raters’ perspectives. Feedback from participants was highly positive and constructive. Participant concerns were addressed, and only minor changes are planned for the 2019 Academy curriculum. Results of the program assessment indicate that the curriculum is meeting Academy objectives. Most importantly, Alumni …

Major- And Minor-Element Analysis Of Apollo 14 Volcanic Green Glasses B, And Petrogenic Modeling Of Apollo 14 Green Glasses A And B, Vera Assis Fernandes

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The lunar picritic volcanic glasses have been identified as being quenched samples of primary magmas extruded onto the lunar surface via fire-fountains. The study of the composition of these glasses is of extreme importance for the understanding of the Moon's mantle composition and petrogenetic processes.
Based on their chemical signature (low-Ti and high Mg#) and physical characteristics, the lunar picritic glasses are believed to represent primary magmas. Experimental data suggest that these melts formed at 360-500 km depth (18-25 kbar) in the lunar mantle, and were transported onto the lunar surface through a "channel" network (McKenzie, 1985b) that isolated these …

The Geology Of The Liberty-Orrington-Passagassawakeag/Fredericton Trough Terrane Boundary In The Bucksport-Orland Area, Coastal Maine, Heather A. Short

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Liberty-Orrington fault separates two tectonic terranes of widely different lithologies and metamorphic grades within the Coastal Lithotectonic Belt of Maine. While the juxtaposition of the sillimanite-bearing Passagassawakeag gneiss and the chlorite grade Bucksport Formation (turbidites) requires a fault between them, field evidence for, and an understanding of, the nature of the fault has hitherto been lacking. Although the Liberty-Orrington fault has previously been interpreted as a thrust, strike-slip, and/or normal fault, the most recent debate has been centered around two models of Acadian amalgamation involving thrusting of the Passagassawakeag terrane from the southeast vs. thrusting from beneath central Maine …

Late Quaternary Loess In Northeastern Colorado: Part Ii—Pb Isotopic Evidence For The Variability Of Loess Sources, John N. Aleinikoff, Daniel R. Muhs, Rebecca R. Sauer, C. Mark Fanning

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A new application of the Pb isotopic tracer technique has been used to determine the relative importance of different silt sources for late Wisconsin loess in the central Great Plains of eastern Colorado. Samples of the Peoria Loess collected throughout the study area contain K-feldspar derived from two isotopically and genetically distinct sources: (1) glaciogenic material from Early and Middle Proterozoic crystalline rocks of the Colorado province, and (2) volcaniclastic material from the Tertiary White River Group exposed on the northern Great Plains. Pb isotopic compositions of K-feldspar in loess from two dated vertical sections (at Beecher Island and Last …

Biogenic Silica Records From The Bdp93 Drill Site And Adjacent Areas Of The Selenga Delta, Lake Baikal, Siberia, Steven M. Colman, John A. Peck, Josephine Hatton, Eugene B. Karabanov, John W. King

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Biogenic silica contents of sediments on the lower Selenga Delta and Buguldeika saddle in Lake Baikal show distinct fluctuations that reflect changes in diatom productivity, and ultimately, climate. The pattern of the upper 50 m of the section, dating from about 334 ka, is similar to that of the marine oxygen isotope record, increasingly so as the younger sediments become progressively finer grained and less locally derived with time. The last two interglaciations are marked by biogenic silica abundances similar to those of the Holocene. The equivalent of marine oxygenisotope stage 3 is distinctly intermediate in character between full glacial …

The Carbon Cycle And Biogeochemical Dynamics In Lake Sediments, Walter E. Dean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and CaCO₃ in lake sediments are often inversely related. This relation occurs in surface sediments from different locations in the same lake, surface sediments from different lakes, and with depth in Holocene sediments. Where data on accumulation rates are available, the relation holds for organic carbon and CaCO₃ accumulation rates as well. An increase of several percent OC is accompanied by a decrease of several tens of percent CaCO₃ indicating that the inverse relation is not due to simple dilution of one component by another. It appears from core data that …

Slip-Parallel Seismic Lineations On The Northern Hayward Fault, California, Felix Waldhauser, William L. Ellsworth, Alex Cole

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A high-resolution relative earthquake location procedure is used to image the fine-scale seismicity structure of the northern Hayward fault, California. The seismicity defines a narrow, near-vertical fault zone containing horizontal alignments of hypocenters extending along the fault zone. The lineations persist over the 15-year observation interval, implying the localization of conditions on the fault where brittle failure conditions are met. The horizontal orientation of the lineations parallels the slip direction of the fault, suggesting that they are the result of the smearing of frictionally weak material along the fault plane over thousands of years.

Negative Ph, Efflorescent Mineralogy, And Consequences For Environmental Restoration At The Iron Mountain Superfund Site, California, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Charles N. Alpers

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Richmond Mine of the Iron Mountain copper deposit contains some of the most acid mine waters ever reported. Values of pH have been measured as low as -3.6, combined metal concentrations as high as 200 g/liter, and sulfate concentrations as high as 760 g/liter. Copious quantities of soluble metal sulfate salts such as melanterite, chalcanthite, coquimbite, rhomboclase, voltaite, copiapite, and halotrichite have been identified, and some of these are forming from negative-pH mine waters. Geochemical calculations show that, under a mine-plugging remediation scenario, these salts would dissolve and the resultant 600,000-m³ mine pool would have a pH of …

Cambrian And Deeper Tests Of Kentucky, 1999 Includes Proposed Tests (Permitted Locations), Brandon C. Nuttall

Map and Chart--KGS

No abstract provided.

Mass Flux Of Agricultural Nonpoint-Source Pollutants In A Conduit-Flow-Dominated Karst Aquifer, Logan County, Kentucky, James C. Currens

Report of Investigations--KGS

Changes in water quality in a karst ground-water basin used intensively for agriculture are being measured before, during, and after the implementation of best management practices (BMP’s) and other management practices, to determine the success of such programs in protecting ground water. The study was divided into three phases. The results of the first two phases are included in this report and cover research conducted between August 1990 and October 1994. During phase I of the study the overall ground-water quality of the basin and its hydrogeology were investigated. Phase II began monitoring the water quality at Pleasant Grove Spring …

Ground-Water Quality In Kentucky: Fluoride, Philip G. Conrad, Daniel I. Carey, James S. Webb, James S. Dinger, R. Stephen Fisher, Matthew J. Mccourt

Information Circular--KGS

Fluoride (F-) is an ion of the element fluorine, and is a natural component in most water resources. According to Hem (1989), fluoride concentrations in fresh water are generally less than 1 mg/L (milligrams per liter), and the concentration of fluoride in the world's oceans is about 1.3 mg/L. The source of most fluoride in natural fresh-water resources is various rocks and minerals in bedrock and sediments.

Sustainable Development Of Agriculture In Karst Areas, South China, Linhua Song

International Journal of Speleology

The exposed carbonate rocks aged from Sinian to Mid-Triassic Periods cover an area of 500,000 km² in south-west China. In karst areas with spectacular landscapes characterized by magnificent tower karst and conical karst, rare surface drainage systems and prevalent subsurface drainage systems, the environment is ecologically very fragile. The rapid increase of population, over deforested and cultivated lands, worsted the ecological system, causing a higher frequency of draught, flood and various disasters, backward economic development, low living standard of the people. In order to improve the sustainability of the agriculture the experience shows that the following operations should be …

Karst And Agriculture In Australia, David Gillieson, Mia Thurgate

International Journal of Speleology

Much of the development and degradation of karst lands in Australia has occurred in the last two centuries since European settlement. Recent prolonged El Niño events add further climatic uncertainty and place real constraints on sustainable agriculture. The lower southeast of South Australia is perhaps the one area in Australia where karst, and particularly karst hydrology, impinge on the daily lives of the community in that pollution and overexploitation of the aquifer are readily apparent to the local population. Effluent from intensive dairy farms, piggeries and cheese factories enters the karst and has caused concern over pollution of water supplies. …

Agricultural Use And Water Quality At Karstic Cuban Western Plain, Juan Reynerio Fagundo Castillo, Patricia González Hernandez

International Journal of Speleology

In the paper some results of studies on the karstic aquifers of the western plain of Cuba are presented and discussed. The intensive exploitation of these aquifers for agriculture use and drinking water supply induces an increase of marine water intrusion, water salinisation and a progressive increase of chemical corrosion with a greater dissolution of carbonates. During the period of study (1983-1998) a trend in the deterioration of water quality was observed by means of a chronological series of hydrochloride content.

Impacts Of Agricultural Transformation On The Principal Karstic Regions Of France, Jean Nicod, Jean-Noël Salomon

International Journal of Speleology

The recent extension of intensive agriculture on the karst plateaus has caused different types of impact: soil management, generalised and/or localised pollution. Yet paradoxically rural depopulation can also have negative impacts, which largely depend on the characteristics and the hydrological function of the different karst environments. They are often negative, particularly as far as the water quality is concerned, which is why protection measures are undertaken, either in a defined area for a catchment, or in the framework of regional parks. But this is not always the case, so it is appropriate to analyse the problem of karst pollution as …

Noise In Gps Coordinate Time Series, Ailin Mao, Christopher G.A. Harrison, Timothy H. Dixon

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

We assess the noise characteristics in time series of daily position estimates for 23 globally distributed Global Positioning System (GPS) stations with 3 years of data, using spectral analysis and Maximum Likelihood Estimation. A combination of white noise and flicker noise appears to be the best model for the noise characteristics of all three position components. Both white and flicker noise amplitudes are smallest in the north component and largest in the vertical component. The white noise part of the vertical component is higher for tropical stations (±23° latitude) compared to midlatitude stations. Velocity error in a GPS coordinate time …

Phelps County Test Hole Logs, S. E. Summerside

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Groundwater-Level Changes In Nebraska 1996, Abraham H. Chen, Mohan J. Khisty

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Douglas County Test Hole Logs, Raymond R. Burchett, Frank A. Smith

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Dawson County Test Hole Logs, Frank A. Smith

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Hall County Test Hole Logs, Vincent H. Dreeszen

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Hamilton County Test Hole Logs, Perry B. Wigley

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Wayne County Test Hole Logs, Sue Olafsen Lackey, Frank A. Smith, Raymond R. Burchett

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Description And Taphonomy Of A Turtle Assemblage (Chelonia: Trionychidae) In The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Billings County, North Dakota, Glenn B. Kays

Theses and Dissertations

Soft-shelled turtle fossils (Family: Trionychidae) are common in Late Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic freshwater terrestrial deposits throughout western North America. Taxonomy of the Trionychidae is confusing for two reasons: 1) there are differences of opinion as to which characters are important in defining the lower systematic groups; 2) trionychid fossil material is often incomplete and fragmentary and has been used as the basis for numerous taxonomic descriptions.

The Ash Coulee Quarry is a fossil turtle assemblage located within the lower portion of the Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene) in Billings County, North Dakota. This quarry has produced at least 40 individual …

In-Situ Measurement Of Denitrification In The Elk Valley Aquifer, Allen Schlag

Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater serves more than half of North Dakota's population as a drinking water source. Nitrate (NO₃¯) is a common groundwater contaminant associated with fertilizers, septic systems and livestock waste in shallow unconfined aquifers. As a suspected carcinogen and cause of potentially lethal methemoglobinemia in infants, the natural attenuation of NO₃¯ by denitrification can be an important process in keeping groundwater as a reliable source of clean drinking water for North Dakota. Organic carbon is often considered the most important electron donor for the chemical reduction of NO₃¯ into harmless nitrogen gas. However, several studies have shown that inorganic electron donors …