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Glacial Deposits, Vol. 34, 2005-2006, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

Assessing The Potential Impact Of Microbes In The Edwards And Trinity Aquifers Of Central Texas, Kelli Willson Randall

LSU Master's Theses

The Edwards Aquifer in central Texas is one of the largest carbonate aquifers in the United States, supplying nearly two million people with water. The role of microorganisms in the development of deep carbonate aquifers has not been thoroughly investigated. The Edwards Aquifer is composed of a freshwater zone and a sulfidic, saline water zone. Down-well video surveys show an abundance of white filamentous and planktonic biomass floating in the water column, indicating that the saline water may serve as a habitat for microbes and provide a unique opportunity to investigate microbially enhanced deep subsurface karstification. A combination of geochemical …

Two-Dimensional Penalized Signal Regression For Hand Written Digit Recognition, Qing Tang

LSU Master's Theses

Many attempts have been made to achieve successful recognition of handwritten digits. We report our results of using statistical method on handwritten digit recognition. A digitized handwritten numeral can be represented by an image with grayscales. The image includes features that are mapped into two-dimensional space with row and column coordinates. Based on this structure, two-dimensional penalized signal logistic regression (PSR) is applied to the recognition of handwritten digits. The data set is taken from the USPS zip code database that contains 7219 training images and 2007 test images. All the images have been deslanted and normalized into 16 x …

Swamp Tours In Louisiana Post Hurricane Katrina And Hurricane Rita, Dawn Schaffer

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall in southern Louisiana during August and September 2005, respectively. Prior to these storms swamp tours were a popular nature-based tourism experience that entertained visitors while teaching them about local flora, fauna, and culture. The number of swamp tour businesses in the state was slowly increasing. The purpose of this study was to determine how many swamp tours were operating after the hurricanes, what type of damage they sustained, and how they repaired their businesses. Differences between those tours that remained open after the hurricanes and those that closed were also examined. A 3-phase mail …

Red And Black Tides: Quantitative Analysis Of Water-Leaving Radiance And Perceived Color For Phytoplankton, Colored Dissolved Organic Matter, And Suspended Sediments, Heidi M. Dierssen, Raphael M. Kudela, John P. Ryan, Richard C. Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

Using field measurements and quantitative modeling, we demonstrate that red coloration of the sea surface is not associated with any particular group of phytoplankton and is strongly dependent on the physiology of the human visual system. Red or brown surface waters can be produced by high concentrations of most types of algae, colored dissolved organic matter, or suspended sediment. Even though light reflected by red tides commonly peaks in the yellow spectral region (570–580 nm), human color perception requires consideration of the entire spectrum of light relative to receptors within the human eye. The color shift from green to red …

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Water, Vivek Shandas, Alton Straub, Yongxia Kou

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Describes the geography of water in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area: groundwater, rivers, irrigation, water supply, and sewer lines.

Interview With Myo Demayo, Urbanstead Farm (Audio), Myo Demayo

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Myo DeMayo by Tyler Anderson.

The interview index is available for download.

The year is estimated.

California Wetsuit Industry: A Situational Analysis & Identification Of Market Opportunities, Dave Levy

Whittier Scholars Program

This report was constructed for the benefit of the wetsuit industry. The contents aim to inform industry competitors, newcomers, and entrepreneurs, on locating underserved and unidentified markets. The research analyzed in this report was gathered from numerous companies, journals, and the individual research of market analysts. This report is applicable and pertains exclusively to the state of California. The following analysis breaks California into ten regions making clear divisions between the coastal and inland areas. The geography, population, consumer profile, and competitors construct the present competitive landscape. The significant trends of the industry within the past decade are reviewed to …

Caves And Speleogenesis At Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen, Stein-Erik Lauritzen

International Journal of Speleology

Blomstrandsøya, at Kongsfjord (78° 57’N), Spitsbergen, is within the high arctic, a completely permafrozen zone. The bedrock consists of Paleozoic marbles and has yielded a surprising amount of karst features. Early phases of hydrothermal, possibly Caledonian, speleogenesis and subsequent Devonian karstification with redbed deposits is well documented. 62 active seacaves, and more than 30 relict karst caves were found in the coastal cliffs and in escarpment faces around the island. All caves have very limited extent; they are either quite short, like most of the active sea caves, or they are soon choked by frozen sediments and ground ice after …

The Distribution Of Diatom Flora In Ice Caves Of The Northern Yukon Territory, Canada: Relationship To Air Circulation And Freezing, Bernard Lauriol, Clément Prévost, Denis Lacelle

International Journal of Speleology

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, various media in karst environments in the Northern Yukon Territory were examined for their diatom content. Cryogenic cave calcite powders, grus and various ice formations (ice plugs, ice stalagmites and floor ice) were collected from three freezing caves and one slope cave to make an inventory of the diatom content, and to explain the spatial distribution of the diatoms within the caves. The results show that approximately 20% of diatoms in the caves originate from external biotopes and habitats (e.g., river, lake, stream), with the remaining 80% of local origin (i.e., from subaerial …

Service-Learning In Watershed-Based Initiatives: Keys To Education For Sustainability In Geography?, James Eflin, Amy L. Sheaffer

Service Learning, General

A call for combining the strengths of geographic education with environmental education to produce an 'education for sustainability' addresses local problems for sustainable development. A place-based approach encourages civic responsibility among students. Using service-learning to extend education beyond the classroom in this case study connected students with local clients in a watershed-based initiative. Theoretical underpinnings of service-learning for geographic education are discussed, and the case study is viewed from instructor, student, and client perspectives to identify successful outcomes and provide suggestions for those who might adopt service-learning for the first time.

Multianalyte Detection Of Breast Cancer By Fabrication Of Hybridmicroarrays On Polymer-Based Microanalytical Devices, Suying Wei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is one of the most common and fatal cancer diseases that affect women worldwide. As is true with most other cancer diseases, early detection of breast cancer is very crucial for proper medical treatment because treatment of advanced breast cancer will be much more difficult and inconsistent. Screening and testing of breast cancer biomarkers, either genetic or proteomic, are among techniques used for diagnosis of breast cancers. Nevertheless, none of the biomarkers is by itself sensitive and selective enough for diagnosis of breast cancer, and thus, multi-analyte assays towards detection of multiple breast cancer biomarkers from different classes …

In-Use Emission Measurements Of Snowmobiles And Snowcoaches In Yellowstone National Park, Gary A. Bishop, Daniel A. Burgard, Thomas R. Dalton, Donald H. Stedman

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Sketches And Knowledge Bases For Geo-Spatial Image Retrieval, Michela Bertolotto, James Carswell, E Mcloughlin, D O'Sullivan, C Wilson

Articles

This paper presents research in the field of knowledge management for geo-spatial imagery including scanned aerial photos and satellite images. We have developed a web-based system that allows users to query a database of images not only using metadata, but also drawing sketches of configurations of objects they are interested in as well as inputting textual descriptions of their intended task. Our system integrates case-based reasoning techniques to form a knowledge base from previously issued queries that can be exploited to improve future query processing and to build organizational memory through experience capture. The effective design and implementation of a …

Salt Ingestion Caves, Charles A. Lundquist, William W. Varnedoe Jr.

International Journal of Speleology

Large vertebrate herbivores, when they find a salt-bearing layer of rock, say in a cliff face, can produce sizable voids where, over generations, they have removed and consumed salty rock. The cavities formed by this natural animal process constitute a unique class of caves that can be called salt ingestion caves. Several examples of such caves are described in various publications. An example in Mississippi U.S.A., Rock House Cave, was visited by the authors in 2000. It seems to have been formed by deer or bison. Perhaps the most spectacular example is Kitum Cave in Kenya. This cave has been …

Vashegyite From Gaura Cu Muscă Cave (Locvei Mountains, Romania): A New And Rare Phosphate Occurrence, Bogdan P. Onac, Luminiţa Zaharia, Joe Kearns, Daniel Veres

International Journal of Speleology

This study investigated the occurrence of vashegyite from a guano-rich deposit located in the Gaura cu Muscă Cave, Romania. Analytical methods used include optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron-microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), thermal investigations and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analyses. Vashegyite occurs as friable, chalky white, irregular nodules of up to 2.5 cm in diameter, within a 15 cm thick sequence of organic and minerogenic sediments. The chemical structural formula is: (Al_10.91Fe³⁺_0.06Na_0.1Ca_0.02Mg_0.08)_Σ=11.17[(PO₄)_8.78(SiO₄)_0.056]_Σ=8.83(OH) …

Studies Of Condensation/Evaporation Processes In The Glowworm Cave, New Zealand, C. R. De Freitas, A. Schmekal

International Journal of Speleology

The condensation/evaporation process is important in caves, especially in tourist caves where there is carbon dioxide enriched air caused by visitors. The cycle of condensation and evaporation of condensate is believed to enhance condensation corrosion. The problem is condensation is difficult to measure. This study addresses the problem and reports on a method for measuring and modelling condensation rates in a limestone cave. Electronic sensors for measuring condensation and evaporation of the condensate as part of a single continuous process of water vapour flux are tested and used to collect 12 months of data. The study site is the Glowworm …

The Honey Creek Member: A New Holocene Alluvial Stratigraphic Unit In The Midwest, Jeremy S. Dillon, Rolfe D. Mandel

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This paper describes the type locality and type section for the Honey Creek Member, a stratigraphic unit first recognized in the Honey Creek drainage in southeastern Nebraska. The alluvial chronology for Honey Creek basin is similar to the regional chronology of streams in the Midwest, and all of the formal members of the DeForest Formation occur in the basin. However, the lithology of one unit, the Honey Creek Member, does not correlate with any of the formally recognized members of the DeForest Formation. The Honey Creek Member is composed of grayish brown silt loam overbank facies coarsening downward to a …

The Geoprofile Metadata, Exposure Of Instruments, And Measurement Bias In Climatic Record Revisited, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To "The Endangered Species Act At Thirty, Volume 1", J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble, Frank W. Davis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This book examines one legislative effoft to resolve the dilemma, the Endangered Speeies Aet of 1973 (ESA 1973). The ESA was an idealistic and perhaps naive attempt to preserve humanity by preserving other species in the ecological support system that makes life possible. In the words of the House report accompanying the bill:

A certain humility, and a sense of urgency seem indicated .... One might analogize the case to one in which one copy of all the books ever printed were gathered together in one huge building. The position in which we find ourselves today is that of custodians …

By The Numbers, J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble, Leona K. Svancara, Anna Pidgorna

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The current endangered species list has its administrative beginnings in 1964 when the Department of the Interior's Committee on Rare and Endangered Wildlife Species published a preliminary list of 62 species at risk of extinction (Goble, forthcoming). Following the enactment of the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (ESPA), the secretary of the interior in 1967 published the first official list of 78 "native fish and wildlife threatened with extinction" (ESPA sec. l(c); U.S. Department of the Interior 1967; Wilcove and McMillan, this volume). By the time the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was adopted in 1973, there were 392 species …

A Preliminary Review Of Neotropical Primates In The Subsistence And Symbolism Of Indigenous Lowland South American Peoples, Loretta Cormier

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

This article provides a review of selected literature of nonhuman primates in the subsistence and symbolism of indigenous lowland South American groups. While few works have focused specifically on the relationship between human and nonhuman primates in Amazonia and the surrounding areas, a number of ethnographic works do incorporate information about the roles of monkeys in varied groups. The section on subsistence focuses on the use of primates as food, including preferences, avoidances, and taboos. The section on symbolism focuses on the role of monkeys in myths, folklore, and in delineating the humanity/animality divide.

Developing And Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract, Michele Schoeneberger, Gary Bentrup, Charles A. Francis, Richard Straight

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Conclusions

Based on the practical community applications of woody buffe rs and multifuncti onal areas that grew from the ini tial concepts ofecobelts. we are convinced that this type of initiative is a viable option in establishing a positive interface between different types of human activities. The challenge becomes more real every day, as cities expand and both city-edge subdivisions and acreages create ever more interfaces between people with different and often con!1icting activities and basic values. There is a need to provide some logical and acceptable boundary between these people and their different lifestyles. It is also desirable to …

Seasonal And Spatial Patterns Of Metals At A Restored Copper Mine Site. I. Stream Copper And Zinc, Dustin G. Bambic, Charles N. Alpers, Peter G. Green, Eileen Fanelli, Wendy K. Silk

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Seasonal and spatial variations in metal concentrations and pH were found in a stream at a restored copper mine site located near a massive sulfide deposit in the Foothill copper-zinc belt of the Sierra Nevada, California. At the mouth of the stream, copper concentrations increased and pH decreased with increased streamflow after the onset of winter rain and, unexpectedly, reached extreme values 1 or 2 months after peaks in the seasonal hydrographs. In contrast, aqueous zinc and sulfate concentrations were highest during low-flow periods. Spatial variation was assessed in 400 m of reach encompassing an acidic, metal-laden seep. At this …

Eolian Additions To Late Quaternary Alpine Soils, Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, Colorado Front Range, Daniel R. Muhs, James B. Benedict

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Surface horizons of many alpine soils on Quaternary deposits in high-mountain settings are enriched in silt. The origin of these particles has been debated, particularly in the Rocky Mountain region of North America. The most common explanations are frost shattering of coarser particles and eolian additions from distant sources. We studied soil A horizons on alpine moraines of late-glacial (Satanta Peak) age in the Colorado Front Range. Surface horizons of soils on these moraines are enriched in silt and have a particle size distribution that resembles loess and dust deposits found elsewhere. The compositions of sand and silt fractions of …

Ice Sheets And Sea Level, Johannes Oerlemans, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Jonathan T. Overpeck, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Gifford H. Miller, Richard B. Alley, Daniel R. Muhs, Shawn J. Marshall

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The estimate of the contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) to the higher sea level stand in the Eemian interglacial (between 2.2 and 3.4 m) is based on the assumption that there was no ice at the location of the Dye-3 ice core in southern Greenland. However, Eemian ice has been found at the base of this ice core. The presence of Eemian ice in south and coastal Greenland implies that the GIS was essentially intact in a much warmer climate and could not have contributed more than 1 to 2 m to sea-level rise.

Cougars In Kansas, Charles D. Lee, Alyssa E. Warneke, Mike Houts, Troy R. Livingston, Philip S. Gipson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The presence of the cougar (Puma concolor) in the state of Kansas is a controversial issue. Since 1999, 234 cougar sightings have been reported to the Extension Wildlife Specialist at Kansas State University. To those who have reported such sightings, the existence of cougars in Kansas is undeniable. Others, however, question the validity of such sightings as providing evidence of cougars. After surveying other governmental agencies and organizations, we discovered that acceptable identification criteria for rare or unusual felines included things beside sightings: voucher specimens, DNA from hair or scat, tracks, prey carcasses, and photographs or videos. The …

Impacts Of Irrigation On 20th Century Temperature In The Northern Great Plains, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Soil Phosphorus Levels In Residential Lawns And Comparisons Among Four Land Uses In Springfield, Missouri, Timothy R. Davis

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Eutrophication of surface waters due to high phosphorus (P) concentrations is an important water quality concern in Greene County, Missouri. Phosphorus enrichment has been linked to a variety of non-point sources including runoff from both agricultural and urban land uses. Soil P has been shown to be a source of P in runoff. The differences in soil P among different land uses may provide insight into which land use contributes more P in runoff. This study examines the soil composition, geochemistry and total P concentration of surface soil (0-5cm) in four land uses in Greene County, Missouri. The land uses …

Modeling Uncertainty In Mountain Pine Beetle Management Systems, Anthony L. Alfano

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study attempts to introduce elements of data uncertainty into the Shore and Safranyik model for approximating risk and susceptibility ratings for Mountain Pine Beetle attack in the Morice Forest District of British Columbia, Canada. Data uncertainty is introduced into the modeling procedure by introducing attribute uncertainty and spatial (boundary) vagueness into representations of Forest Inventory Polygon data, an essential component of the Shore and Safranyik modeling system, for the purposes of assessing the effects of uncertainty on the results of the Shore and Safranyik susceptibility modeling procedure. Introducing uncertainty into the forest inventory data is done by introducing spatial …