Digital Commons Network^™

Edmore And Webster Coulee Hydrologic Simulation Data, Sharhad Wainty, Taufique H. Mahmood

Datasets

The authors compiled a hydrologic model for the Edmore at Edmore and Edmore at Webster Coulee Basin using Cold Region Hydrologic Platform. The datasets include observed and simulated streamflow, observed climatic data, land use maps and hydrological representative unit maps (HRU) maps. This study detected a mechanism of hydrologic change to wetting using a cold region hydrologic model during 1991-2024 period.

Study Of Anomalous Variations In Seismic And Non-Seismic Parameters Using Machine Learning Techniques To Develop The Earthquake Forecasting Model In The Himalayan Belt, Senthil Kumar M

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and forecasting earthquakes is not just about science it’s about saving lives, even as the dynamic and hidden nature of Earth's tectonic processes makes this an intricate challenge. The Himalayan belt is one of the most seismically active regions globally due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Investigating this region is essential for understanding highly complicated tectonic mechanisms and reducing substantial hazards posed to millions of people by persistent and intense seismic events. This study aims to enhance forecasting methodologies by applying machine learning techniques while dealing with the inherent challenges of geological complexity and …

One Year Of Analysis Of Pfas Contamination In Surface Waters Of The West Plains Region Of Spokane County, Jerusha R. Hampson

2025 Symposium

The West Plains has been significantly impacted by PFAS contamination due to the decades-long use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for firefighting training at both Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB) and the Spokane International Airport (SIA). Groundwater contamination is significant, but less work had been done to understand contamination in surface waters. We now have over a year of data with most locations were sampled seasonally. Though FAFB and SIA are likely sources for some of the contamination, other, smaller sources exist. Surface waters are important to study as they form the boundaries of the West Plains and often function …

The Kentucky Microbiome Dataset, Rachel L. Washburn, Douglas C. Curl

Research Data--KGS

The Kentucky Microbiome Dataset is a continuously updated geolocated dataset which describes the distribution and diversity of microorganisms across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Each geolocated point represents a location reported in the peer-reviewed literature where microorganisms were sampled from soil, water, geologic substrates, or clinical settings. Environmental studies include only non-host-associated, non-clinical microorganisms sampled from natural environments. Clinical studies are mapped separately to highlight locations where investigations into host-associated or human health-related microbes have occurred.

For each location, associated metadata include study information, taxonomic classifications, sample type, sampling method, latitude and longitude, sampling date, publication reference, and a direct link …

Framework For Mapping Sublimation Features On Mars’ South Polar Cap Using Object-Based Image Analysis, Racine D. Cleveland, Vincent F. Chevrier, Jason A. Tullis

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mars’ south polar cap hosts dynamic landforms known as Swiss cheese features (SCFs), which form through the sublimation of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice driven by the planet’s extreme seasonal and diurnal solar insolation cycles. These shallow, rounded depressions—first identified by Mars Global Surveyor in 1999 and later monitored by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)—have been observed to increase in size over time. However, large-scale analysis of SCF formation and growth has been limited by the slow and labor-intensive nature of manual mapping techniques. This study applies object-based image analysis (OBIA) to automate the detection and measurement of SCFs using High-Resolution …

Onset Of The Messinian Salinity Crisis: Insights From Molecular Organic Geochemistry, Albert Permanyer, Michael A. Kruge, Luis Gibert

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) generated extensive anoxic sediments under the evaporitic deposits in marginal Mediterranean basins. In an interdisciplinary approach combining field work with multiple laboratory techniques, the oil source rock potential and biomarkers of pre-evaporitic Messinian sediments from the Caltanissetta Basin (Sicily) were evaluated using Rock-Eval pyrolysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, isotopic analysis and optical and electron microscopy. Organic-rich samples from the 45 m Serra Pirciata section consist of cycles of diatomaceous and carbonate layers alternating with organic shales of variable TOC. The organic matter is mostly optically amorphous, increasing in content upwards in the section. Of the 43 …

Groundwater In Nebraska, Troy E. Gilmore, Jesse T. Korus Dr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

What is groundwater? Groundwater is water that fills and moves between spaces in underground rocks, gravel, sand, or other materials.

Map Of The Thickness Of Ordovician Shales Across The Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (Ktmd), John B. Hickman, Alex M. Washburn, Georgina Lukoczki

Research Data--KGS

The deposits of critical minerals have been found in metalliferous shales. To aid in critical mineral assessments of the Ordovician Shales in the Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (KTMD), this research project produced a map (digital GIS dataset) of the thickness (isopach) of the combined Upper Ordovician shale interval across the region. The subsurface input data are from oil/gas well records and exploratory mineral core. Well and core records for the KTMD were acquired from the state surveys of Tennessee and Kentucky. Along with the GIS files, a summary table of the 594 well and core data points used to produce this …

Thickness Of Devonian Shale, Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (Ktmd), John B. Hickman, Alex M. Washburn, Georgina Lukoczki

Research Data--KGS

The deposits of critical minerals have been found in metalliferous shales. To aid in critical mineral assessments of the Devonian Shales in the Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (KTMD), this research project produced a map (digital GIS dataset) of the thickness (isopach) of the combined New Albany Shale/Chattanooga Shale/Ohio Shale interval across the region. The subsurface input data are from oil/gas well records and exploratory mineral core. Well and core records for the KTMD were acquired from the state surveys of Tennessee and Kentucky. Along with the GIS files, a summary table of the 6,607 well and core data points used to …

Mines Of The Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District, Paul Puckett, Emily Morris, Georgina Lukoczki

Map and Chart--KGS

This map presents a unified compilation of mining and mineral resource information for the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District (IKFD), integrating two previously published maps: Denny et al. (2020) for the Illinois portion and Anderson and Sparks (2012) for the Kentucky portion. While the Illinois side remains unchanged, the Kentucky side has been updated using newly compiled data from the Kentucky Geological Survey’s Kentucky Mineral Resources Information map service (https://kgs.uky.edu/KYMineral/). This composite map offers an improved and more comprehensive view of the IKFD, highlighting mineral occurrences, historical mining activity, and structural features of the district.

Structure On The Top Of Knox Group, Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (Ktmd), John B. Hickman

Research Data--KGS

The deposits of critical minerals within the Kentucky-Tennessee Mineral District (KTMD) are hosted within the Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician carbonate rocks of the Knox Group. To aid in critical mineral assessments of the region, this research project produced a map (digital GIS dataset) of the subsurface structure of the top of the Knox Group: the Knox Unconformity surface. All the input data is from oil/gas well records and exploratory mineral core records because these rocks are not exposed within the study area. Well and core records for the KTMD were acquired from the state surveys of Tennessee and Kentucky …

First Detrital Zircon Provenance Data From Oligocene-Pleistocene Sediment In The Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, Arctic Ocean, Joseph Martina

Theses and Dissertations

Sediment, runoff, and nutrient input to the Arctic Ocean plays a critical role in both physical and biological processes that impact regional and global systems. The Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, situated in the Arctic Ocean offshore northwestern Canada, contains more than 14 km of clastic strata and provides a record of erosion and sediment transport from the Cretaceous to present. Pliocene sedimentation rates within the basin jump nearly 2000% relative to underlying units, but the cause of this shift remains unknown. We used cuttings from the N. Issungnak L-86 well, focusing on the Oligocene-lower Miocene Kugmallit and Mackenzie Bay sequences and the …

Mo Isotopes In The Aleutian And Costa Rican Arcs: Source Variability And Juvenile Crust Formation, Ekaterina Rojas Kolomiets

Theses and Dissertations

Chemical and physical transfer between the surface, lithosphere and asthenosphere at subduction zones leads to arc magmatism and continental crust (CC) production. Subduction zones magmas and associated volcanic products sample a variety of magmatic sources that contribute to their chemical compositions in various proportions. This dissertation contributes to the study of subduction zones magmatism by assessing the relative role of subduction inputs (sediments, altered oceanic crust – AOC – and serpentinite) as flux agents in the arc magmatism and in CC formation in subduction zones under the scope of Mo isotope systematics.

I present the first Mo isotope analyses form …

Retraction: A Database Of Teleseismic Shear-Wave Splitting Measurements For The Ordos Block And Adjacent Areas(Seismological Research Letters (2022), 93, 5, (2731–2739), 10.1785/0220210310), Lin Liu, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Tu Xue, Yan Jia, Sanzhong Li

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An earlier version of this article (Liu et al., 2022) included private data from the Himalayan-III program which should not have been made public. The authors acknowledge and regret their negligence during the selection of the measurements. The impacted data represent only 2.7% of the total data published in this article, and after review, the authors and the editors agree that this unintentional error has no bearing on the work's scientific conclusions. Therefore, we are retracting the impacted data and have made corrections to remove any Himalayan-III program data from the article's text, figures, and supplemental tables.

Deciphering A Quantitative Relationship Between Rifting And Crustal Melt Fraction: Insights From The Incipient Okavango Rift Zone, Tuo Wang, Ling Chen, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rifting and magmatism are fundamental geological processes in the evolution of the lithosphere; however, quantitative investigations of their relationship are rare. The Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ) is in the early stages of rifting and magmatic activity and thus is an ideal locale to study this relationship. We examine the relationship using two primary crustal structure parameters: crustal thickness and average Vp/Vs ratio obtained from receiver functions. Our large Vp/Vs estimates indicate the existence of melts within the crust of the ORZ. Comparing our results with those of other continental rifts, we identify a quantitative relationship between rifting and crustal melt …

Phosphorus: From The Origins Of Life To The Origin Of An Industry, Joshua Abbatiello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The element phosphorus is a key biogenic element that is often the limiting reagent for life. Phosphorus is quickly bound by metal divalent cations making it virtually insoluble and inert in water (forming the phosphate mineral apatite). Due to this, it becomes imperative to understand alternative pathways to increase biogenically available phosphorus in environments. To that end, this dissertation involved examining olivine as an alternative source of phosphorus to apatite, analyzing a novel grain of iron silicide found via lightning reduction in a fulgurite, and finally sought to understand the impact of phosphate mining through phosphogypsum stacks. Olivine is a …

First Insight On The Genesis Of Iron Oxide-Hydroxide Biospeleothems In Rancho Chico Lava Tube, Mexico, Rafael López-Martínez, Elizabeth Solleiro-Rebolledo, Rocio Alcántara-Hernández, Teresa Pi Puig, Sergey Sedov, Daisy Valera Fernández, M. Nayeli Luis-Vargas, Yasmany Lima Vera, Jesús Solé, Ramon Espinasa-Pereña

International Journal of Speleology

Iron is a common element in lava tube systems, typically observed as thin crusts or inferred from the reddish coloration of secondary mineral deposits. In this study, we describe iron oxide-hydroxide biospeleothems discovered in the Rancho Chico Lava Tube, located within the Xalapa Monogenetic Volcanic Field in Mexico. We adopt an integrative approach combining petrography, soil micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy, mineralogy, and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding. DNA sequencing reveals the presence of microorganisms such as Acidithiobacillus, Gallionella, and members of the Leptospirillaceae family, which may be involved in the oxidation of Fe²⁺ within the lava tube. The source …

Stratigraphic Evidence Of Backwater Morphodynamics And Lowland River Deltas In The Northern Hemisphere Of Mars, C.M. Hughes, J.B. Shaw, A.M. Fernandes, T.E. Swanson

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Backwater morphodynamics describe feedbacks between hydraulics and sedimentation in fluvio-deltaic systems in the coastal backwater zone. On Earth, normalized channel belt width decreases approaching the coastline and drops sharply at the start of the backwater zone. This systematic decrease allows a backwater/belt-width window to be defined, one backwater length upstream from the coast with normalized widths from 2 to 6. We use the backwater/belt-width window to interpret backwater morphodynamics and estimate backwater length on Mars using narrowing channel belts at Aeolis Dorsa. We measure nine belts from martian delta deposits and compare normalized width to distance upstream from an ancient …

Sea Turtle Nesting On Nourished Beaches With Different Construction Designs: A Case Study In Southeast Florida, Usa., Lara Novalvos Hernandez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the influences of different beach nourishment designs and subsequent post-nourishment profile adjustments on loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles nest survival and reproductive success. Data on time-series post-nourishment beach-profile changes, positions and elevations of turtle tracks and nest/false-crawl apices, and sea turtle nest hatch/emergence success were collected on five high density nesting beaches along the east coast of Florida: Melbourne Beach, Jensen Beach, Jupiter Island Beach, Juno Beach, and South Hutchinson Island Beach. The field data collection was conducted in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 with the main goal of documenting and comparing turtle …

Quantifying Wellbore Effects During Co2 Sequestration In A Saline Aquifer, Uzoma Johnpaul Ajugwe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a strategy for mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from large stationary sources like fossil-fuel-fired power stations. One method of CCS involves carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in deep saline aquifers, where supercritical CO2 is injected into an aquifer. The success of such projects depends on accurate predictions of CO2 behavior within the subsurface, which are obtained through numerical simulations.

TOUGHREACT, a renowned simulation tool, models subsurface fluid flow, geochemical interactions, and solute transport, providing insights into the feasibility of CO2 sequestration projects. A critical aspect of these simulations is the apportioning of …

The Discovery, Communication, And Implementation Of New Geologic Findings: Examining The Cascadia Earthquake, Saylor Brainard

University Honors Theses

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, located off the Coast of the Pacific Northwest, is at risk of generating a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the near future. Despite its significance, the discovery of the seismic potential of Cascadia didn't occur until 1987, when geologist Brian Atwater searched for non-traditional forms of earthquake evidence. As decades of continued research fleshed out Atwater's initial discovery, the implications associated with the discovery became apparent, presenting Washington and Oregon with the high probability that a massive earthquake will take place within the next century. Communicating the severity of this geologic discovery to both the public and …

Characterization Of The Quaternary Active Twin Lakes Fault, Mount Hood, Oregon, Johnathan Peterson

University Honors Theses

The High Cascades chain of volcanoes results from Cascade Arc volcanism and is responsible for the generation of the highest topography in the state of Oregon. Surrounding Mt. Hood at the crest of the Cascade chain in northern Oregon is the Mt. Hood Fault Zone, an extensional fault zone of generally north-south trending normal faults that down-drop this high volcanic topography. The Twin Lakes Fault is located just south of Mt. Hood and is one of the southernmost faults in the Mt. Hood Fault Zone, previously mapped as approximately 12-13 km in length. This study provides the first in-depth characterization …

Perchlorate Brine Formation From Frost At The Viking 2 Landing Site, Vincent F. Chevrier

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The presence and stability of brines on Mars’s surface remain a significant mystery in planetary exploration. Previous mechanisms proposed for brine formation include melting of ice-salt mixtures and salt deliquescence. However, melting lacks a recharge mechanism, and deliquescence is impeded by Mars’s extreme surface aridity. This study explores an underexplored process: the role of seasonal frost in brine formation. Utilizing meteorological data from the Viking 2 lander—the only mission, with Phoenix, to observe in situ water frost formation—I demonstrate that brines can form over approximately 30 sols at the end of winter as frost sublimates. The stable brines exhibit a …

Siliciclastic Cave Or Diamond Mine? Multiapproach Investigation In Igatu Village, Chapada Diamantina, Northeastern Brazil, Raphael Parra, Ricardo G. F. De A. Pereira, Leonardo F. Vieira, Rubson P. Maia

International Journal of Speleology

The territory around Igatu, as that of many villages in southeastern Chapada Diamantina (Bahia, Brazil), was deeply modified by diamond mine activity. Caves were special targets for miners, since they can act as diamond-bearing sediment traps, and the Canal da Fumaça Cave was one of the most important and rich of them. The question that arises is whether the formation is a natural cave or an artificial diamond mine. In order to answer this question, we developed speleological and geological studies with detailed cave surveys, remote sensing and field measurements for structural analysis, optical and electronic microscope for petrographic characterization, …

Short Communication: Multiscale Topographic Complexity Analysis With Pytopocomplexity, L. S.-H. Lai, Adam Booth, A. R. Duvall, E. Herzig

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

TopoComplexity is a Python package designed for efficient and customizable quantification of topographic complexity using four advanced methods: two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform analysis, fractal dimension estimation, rugosity index, and terrain position index calculations. This package addresses the lack of open-source software for these advanced terrain analysis techniques essential for modern geomorphology and geohazard research, enhancing data comparison and reproducibility. By assessing topographic complexity across multiple spatial scales, pyTopoComplexity allows users to identify characteristic morphological scales of studied landforms. The software repository also includes a Jupyter Notebook that integrates components from the surface-process modeling platform Landlab (Hobley et al., 2017), facilitating …

Sequestrichnia In Complex Ophiomorpha Isp. From Late Pleistocene Grainstones In The Bahamas, With Modern Analogue Comparisons, H. Allen Curran, Koji Seike, Bosiljka Glumac

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

An important scientific contribution of ichnological research is to expand knowledge of animal behavior through the study of trace fossils. Ophiomorpha isp. is the dominant trace fossil preserved in Late Pleistocene shallow-marine grainstones throughout the Bahama Archipelago. These large, distinctive, and complex burrows commonly display elements reflecting specialized activities. Pouchlike structures of Ophiomorpha from two Exuma sites are interpreted as sequestrichnia—in this case, chambers constructed by callichirid shrimp specifically for storage of seagrasses and algae as food resources. Two morphologies are recognized: structures with radiating arms and blunt endings, and rectangular forms with pairs of arms separated by a short …

Classifying Detrital Zircon U-Pb Age Distributions Using Automated Machine Learning, Jack W. Fekete, Glenn R. Sharman, Xiao Huang

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The prodigious use of detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology for provenance studies in recent decades has led many researchers to amass extensive datasets (>100,000 dates). When displayed as age distributions, individual samples are traditionally compared using visual inspection and statistical methods, which can become timeconsuming and challenging when using large datasets. We propose that machine learning (ML) can more efficiently classify a sample by its source using detrital zircon U-Pb age distributions. Specifically, we hypothesize that automated machine learning (AutoML), which optimizes algorithm selection and hyperparameters, will outperform an unoptimized Random Forest (RF) classifier and the cross-correlation coefficient (R-2), a …

Investigation Of Retention And Dehydration Of Preformed Particle Gel For Conformance Control In Fractured Carbonates, Abdulaziz A. Almakimi, Abdullah O. Almansour, Junchen Liu, Baojun Bai, Ibnelwaleed A. Hussein

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Preformed particle gel (PPG) treatment has proved to be among the most effective methods to reduce excessive water production in fractured reservoirs. The blocking ability of PPGs to fractures or fracture-like features is highly dependent on injected gel properties and volume. Gel dehydration during extrusion through fracture is common and has a considerable effect on gel properties, transport, and plugging efficiency. As the gel particles propagate through the fracture, continuous dehydration is often associated and causes the gel to concentrate and require high-pressure gradients to move. Dehydration might be desirable to a certain limit because it can help to form …

Revealing Watery Geologies: Softening The Mississippi River Bluffs In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Chloe Kahn

Masters Theses

How is a place shaped by the geologies beneath it? In Saint Paul, Minnesota, the geologic ground tells the story of the different forces and processes that shaped it through time, but in the most recent geologic period of the anthropocene, industrialization and urban development have covered up these stories. On the edge of downtown, where the city meets the Mississippi River, an eighty foot concrete wall replaces the natural form of the bluff shaped by glacial and riverine activity. This thesis peels back the anthropogenic materials we encounter every day and explores Saint Paul through deep time– exploring how …

Latah Formation: History And Case Studies, Kylee M. Woodworth

2025 Symposium

The Latah Formation is a series of discontinuous sedimentary interbeds between the flows of the Columbia River Flood Basalts outcropping across northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Ages ranging between the Middle to Upper Miocene, the sediments represent varied fluvio-lacustrine environments. The deposits are predominantly composed of claystones and shales as alternating, laminated couplets, many containing a variety of fossils. Though the sediments may appear similar across localities, they come from different source rocks, ranging from ashes from Yellowstone hotspot to metamorphic rock from nearby hills. These ancient lacustrine and fluvial environments allowed for great preservation of fossils, often in great …