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Enhancing Basic Geology Skills With Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration Of Automated Reasoning In Field Geology, Perry Ivan Quinto Houser

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the use of Artificial Intelligence, specifically semantics, ontologies, and reasoner techniques, to improve field geology mapping. The thesis focuses on two use cases: 1) identifying a geologic formation based on observed characteristics; and 2) predicting the geologic formation that might be expected next based upon known stratigraphic sequence. The results show that the ontology was able to correctly identify the geologic formation for the majority of rock descriptions, with higher search results for descriptions that provided more detail. Similarly, the units expected next were correctly given and if incorrect, would provide a flag to the field geologist …

Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Dynamics In The Pliocene From Sedimentological Interpretation Of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1097, Ridley Joseph

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Studying ice sheet behavior during the Pliocene Epoch is of great importance. The Early Pliocene was characterized by warm climatic conditions, similar carbon dioxide levels and high sea levels compared to the present. This time frame provides essential information on the foreseeable future of Earth’s cryosphere, particularly if climate change continues to persist. The sedimentary record of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) is the focus of this study. At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1097, cores were drilled into Pliocene strata at a shallow depth on the Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Sedimentary facies were interpreted, and twenty samples were …

Primary Production Modeling Identifies Restoration Targets For Shifting Shallow, Eutrophic Lakes To Clear-Water Regimes, Leighton King, Janice Brahney, Scott Daly, Michael J. Paul, Kateri R. Salk, Soren Brothers

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Benthic primary production (BPP) plays an important functional role in lakes, improving water quality by stabilizing clear-water regimes. Shallow, eutrophic lakes lacking BPP communities can be difficult to restore because self-stabilizing feedbacks of phytoplankton dominance can impede the establishment of BPP. BPP in lakes is light limited, and ecosystem models can provide guidance for determining the water clarity necessary to re-establish BPP dominance. We developed a multi-tiered framework for the restoration of shallow, eutrophic lakes that incorporates multiple turbidity sources, lake morphometry, and water-level fluctuations to determine water-clarity thresholds above which BPP dominance may be established. We present a case …

Obituary Prof. Dr. Ercan Özcan, Aral Okay, Demi̇r Altiner, Gyorgy Less

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

No abstract provided.

Lithological Mapping Of Ophiolitic Rocks From Southern Part Of The Sivas Basin (Turkey) Using Aster Imagery, Taner Eki̇ci̇

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The east-west extended Sivas Basin in central-eastern Anatolia is a foreland basin that formed after the obduction of the Tethyan ophiolite during the late Cretaceous and is also a north-verging fold-and-thrust belt. The basement rocks of the basin represent mainly sedimentary (Mesozoic platform-type carbonates) and late Cretaceous Divriği ophiolitic complex. As the ophiolitic rocks are affected by intense tectonic processes, field-based mapping studies require long processes and costs. The study tests to reveal the lithological features of the ophiolitic complex outcropping around the Ulaş district of the Sivas Province using remote sensing methods and techniques. Due to arid climatic conditions …

Geological Structure Informs Rupture Propagation And Surface Rupture Complexity During The 2016 Kaik?Ura Earthquake, New Zealand: Insights For Future Large Earthquake Hazard, Kelvin Berryman, Mark Rattenbury, Stephen Bannister, Susan Ellis, Pilar Villamor, Donna Eberhart-Phillips, Phaedra Upton, Andrew Howell

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

We summarise the geological setting of complex surface rupture of the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaik?ura earthquake in the Marlborough Tectonic Domain of New Zealand. The event was complex both seismologically and geologically but not totally dissimilar to other large historical events globally. The earthquake occurred in the comprehensively imbricated, steeply-dipping Pahau Terrane crust that exhibits numerous tectonic overprints with diverse faulting styles. The current strike slip faults of the Marlborough Fault System are immature in their structural development and occupy, at least in part, inherited faults of earlier deformation phases. Several of the faults that ruptured in 2016 may connect …

New Age Constraints On The Break-Up Of Rodinia And Amalgamation Of Southwestern Gondwana From The Choquequirao Formation In Southwestern Peru, Eben Blake Hodgin, Victor Carlotto, Francis A. Macdonald, Mark D. Schmitz, James L. Crowley

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Choquequirao Formation is a >3 km-thick amphibolite-grade succession that outcrops in the Central Andes of southern Peru. To constrain its age and tectonostratigraphic setting, detrital zircon and metamorphic zircon, titanite, and rutile U–Pb isotopic analyses were conducted. Mantle-derived c. 640 Ma detrital zircons constrain the maximum age of the lower part of the succession and 550–490 Ma metamorphic zircon domains constrain its minimum age. The absence of early Paleozoic detrital zircons suggests that deposition predated early Paleozoic orogenesis in southwestern Gondwana. The close similarity of detrital zircon age spectra to those from sediments deposited on the Arequipa basement suggests …

Evidence For Surface Rupture Of The 1939 Erzincan Earthquake Based On Field Data And Paleoseismology On The Ezinepazarı Fault (North Anatolian Fault Zone, Central Anatolia), Fi̇kret Koçbulut

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Ezinepazarı Fault (EPF) is an active segment that restricts the Niksar Basin in the central part of the North Anatolian Fault Zone and has been the source of the devastating Mw 8.0 earthquake in the last 100 years. Traces of the surface rupture of the EPF, which occurred in AD 1939, can still be observed in the field today as a right-lateral strike-slip character. While paleoseismological studies were mostly focused on the western part of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in previous studies, the studies on the central and eastern parts of the NAFZ are rarely addressed. In …

Geology Of The Eastern Anatolian Plateau (Turkey): A Synthesis, Ali̇ Yilmaz, Gülteki̇n Topuz, Tuna Eken, Osman Candan, Hüseyi̇n Yilmaz

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Eastern Anatolian Plateau (EAP), approximately 2000 m above sea level, is located between the Eastern Pontides to the north, the Arabian Platform to the south, and the Iranian Plateau to the east. It is characterized by approximately 6 km-thick Maastrichtian to Quaternary volcano-sedimentary cover which unconformably overlies continental and oceanic basement units. Overall, the outcrops of the pre-Maastrichtian basement are rare and include both continental and oceanic units. This led to drastically different interpretations of the nature of the pre-Maastrichtian basement as (i) the oceanic accretionary complex or (ii) continental crust and overlying ophiolitic mélange. This synthesis deals with …

Delineating A Stream Network At Gale Crater, Mars, On Arcgis Pro: A Geographic Information Systems Approach, Elpidio Guzman De La Cruz

West Chester University Master’s Theses

The northwestern region of the Gale crater experienced flooding in the past. Delineation of stream networks for the northwestern region of Gale Crater, Mars employing geographic information systems (GIS) techniques is applied. The stream network produced by the algorithm in the study traverses the clay unit in Gediz Vallis, and visual HiRISE imagery analysis correlates with a topologic cross section of an inverted river channel of 750 meters wide and 90 meters deep. HiRISE imagery analysis further confirms a sulfate and clay stratigraphic unit in a stream 125 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Lastly, data smoothing procedures in the …

Relationship Of Petrographic And Mineralogical Characteristics With Mechanical Strength Properties Of Granitic Rocks: A Case Study From The Biga Peninsula, Nw Turkey, Güven Eroğlu, Ayten Çalik

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

This study was carried out on granitic rocks from the Biga Peninsula in order to investigate petrographic, and mineralogical properties in comparison with mechanical strength properties. This study was conducted in four different locations where granitic rocks outcrop from north to south in the Biga Peninsula: Lapseki (Şevketiye granite), Ezine (Kestanbol granite), Bayramiç (Yassıbağ granite), and Edremit (Eybek granite). Field observations and detailed petrographic studies of representative samples indicate that they are quartz monzodiorite (Şevketiye and Yassıbağ), quartz monzonite (Kestanbol), and granodiorite (Eybek) in composition. All the rocks have similar mineral composition, comprising mainly feldspar (plagioclase-alkali feldspar), quartz, mafic minerals …

The Appalachian System Of Basins And Platforms As A Tectonostratigraphic Analogue To The Barents Sea Shelf: Where Arctic Meets The Appalachians, Gustavo De Aguiar Martins

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Divided between Norway and Russia, the Barents Sea shelf (BSS) is an ~1.4 million km² Arctic province, containing significant hydrocarbon accumulations. However, much of the area is frontier, and geologic data are often restricted or unavailable. One strategy to mitigate lack of geologic data is the use of analogues from well-known, mature basins. Even though there have been attempts to use analogues to study the geology of the BSS, such use is limited. Moreover, no analogue, to my knowledge, has been capable of addressing the regional tectonostratigraphic development of the shelf as a whole.

In this research, the Appalachian …

Micropaleontological Findings And Absolute Ages Mark The Termination Of The Last Glacial Maximum In The Eastern Mediterranean Region: New Electron Spin Resonance Data From Gediz Delta (Western Turkey), Eki̇n Gökçe Benli̇, Hülya Aslin, İsmai̇l İşi̇ntek, Bi̇rol Engi̇n, Berna Şengöçmen Geçki̇n

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Sediments and fossil content of Gediz Delta (Eastern Aegean Sea-İzmir) were examined from the samples collected from three drilling cores from the west (seaward) to east (landward) of the delta. Each drilling core contains Quarternary marine deposits with a marine fauna of foraminifers, bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, and ostracods at the bottom and Quaternary continental delta deposits at the top. According to our Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) age model marine sediments of the Aegean Sea started to cover the western Gediz Delta area before 19.9 ka (thousand years). Following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), after the transgression due to deglaciation occurred …

Communicating Hazard Location Through Text And Map In Earthquake Early Warnings: A Mixed Methods Study, Jeannette Sutton, Michele M. Wood, Nicholas A. Waugh, Savanah Crouch

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of presenting hazard location in different formats on key warning message outcomes—understanding, personalizing, believing, deciding, and milling. We conducted two studies using experiment and focus group methods. In the experiment, we compared a standard ShakeAlert earthquake early warning message, which merely implied location, to three enhanced messages that communicated information about the earthquake epicenter via text, map, or a combined text-and-map format. Focus groups explored reactions to warning messages accompanied by different types of maps. Overall, the standard ShakeAlert message was associated with worse message outcomes compared to messages that …

3d Hydrostratigraphic And Hydraulic Conductivity Modeling Using Supervised Machine Learning, T. A. Tilahun, Jesse T. Korus Dr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Evolution Law Of Water Inflow In Full Life Cycle Of Working Face In Deep Buried Inner Mongolia-Shaanxi Mining Area, Liu Yang, Yang Jian, Zhou Jianjun

Coal Geology & Exploration

The deep buried Inner Mongolia-Shaanxi mining area was newly developed, where the hydrogeological characteristics under the disturbance of coal mining were still unclear. Various types of water damage problems had occurred in the process of infrastructure construction and production. Among them, no research was conducted for the variation characteristics of water inflow during and after mining in working face, which increased the difficulty in the arrangement of underground water drainage system and the work of water prevention and control. In order to find out the evolution law of water inflow in the full life cycle of working face before and …

Machine Learning-Based Methods For The Segmentation Of Scanning Electron Microscopy Images Of Fine-Grained Shale Samples, Binqian Yin

Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations - Archive

The segmentation of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images is critical yet time-consuming for geological studies, as it will need to differentiate the boundaries for different mineral objects to facilitate subsequent analyses, such as porosity calculation. Recently, machine learning methods, especially convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have been explored to segment SEM images for fine-grained shale samples. However, existing methods fail to address two critical issues in the segmentation of shale rock images---insufficient labeled data and imbalanced objects. To this end, this dissertation has proposed a machine learning pipeline that consists of supervised, semi-supervised, and active learning stages to reduce manual efforts …

Very High Middle Miocene Surface Productivity On The U.S. Mid-Atlantic Shelf Amid Glacioeustatic Sea Level Variability, Marci M. Robinson, Harry J. Dowsett, Timothy D. Herbert

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) provides important insights into how the climate system operates under elevated temperatures and atmospheric CO₂ levels. Few western North Atlantic paleotemperature or paleoecological records exist from the MCO, despite their importance for understanding both regional and global climate dynamics. Here we present quantitative MCO paleoecological data from the western North Atlantic, specifically from the Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) marine sediment core from southern Maryland, USA. We examine alkenones and planktic foraminifera and document the first sea surface temperature (SST) and productivity estimates for the MCO and the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT) from …

Geomorphic And Paleoclimatic Implications Of Glacial Extent Records In The Sierra Nevada Del Cocuy, Colombia During Termination 1, Jordan Nickerson Herbert

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Reconstructions of past glacial extents using geomorphic mapping and cosmogenic dating provide an opportunity to infer past climates. A record of the past extents of tropical mountain glaciers is particularly useful because there are few other means to reconstruct past temperatures in high-altitude, low-latitude locations. The tropics play an outsized role in mediating global climate, yet there is a lack of understanding of how the tropics may have influenced past climate changes such as the most recent deglaciation (Termination 1, ~18–11.7 ka). Improving reconstructions of tropical mountain glaciers will aid in understanding the role of the tropics in the global …

Rock-Fluid Interaction And The Incorporation Of Cations Into Calcite During Recrystallization In Multiple Hydrothermal Systems., Van Anh Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Fluid-rock interaction causes an exchange of isotopes or elements through various reactions. The rate of these reactions strongly depends on temperature. The interaction involves dissolution precipitation, chemical exchange reactions, redox reactions, diffusion, and their combinations. The goal of studying fluid-rock interaction is to understand the change in mineral chemistry of the rock materials when in contact with an aqueous solution. These processes occur in all regions of the Earth where aqueous solutions are found. This work is comprised of three independent studies which provide an understanding about crystallization processes under multiple hydrothermal conditions with geological and environmental applications.

In the …

The Application Of Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Pressure-Temperature Modeling, Monazite Petrochronology, And Quartz-In-Garnet Elastic Geobarometry To The Tectonic Evolution Of The Funeral Mountains And Related Metamorphic Core Complexes, Suzanne Renae Mulligan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates and applies different techniques for studying mid-crustal metamorphic rocks including detrital zircon geochronology, monazite petrochronology, thermodynamic pressure-temperature modeling, and elastic geobarometry. The first chapter reconstructs stratigraphy in deformed metamorphic rocks from the Funeral Mountains metamorphic core complex in Death Valley, California, and the Bullfrog Hills, Nevada, using U-Pb detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology. This study documents another successful application of stratigraphic techniques applied to metamorphic rocks and migmatites. DZ geochronology identified Pahrump Group metasediments in rocks that were previously interpreted to be Paleoproterozoic basement gneisses, providing insights into the distribution of Rodinia rift basins. This analysis has shown …

Low-Temperature Plasticity Of Rock-Forming Minerals, Michael Keith Sly

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The rheology of the Earth’s crust and mantle is in part governed by the physical and mechanical properties of feldspar, quartz, calcite, and olivine. Over the past several decades a significant number of experimental studies have been performed on these minerals. Conventional experiments are generally performed at elevated temperatures because much of the viscoplastic deformation of these minerals is accommodated by high-temperature mechanisms. There is, however, evidence of viscoplastic deformation at lower temperatures (T ≤ 0.3Tm) in the uppermost mantle and throughout the crust. Micromechanical experimental techniques, including nanoindentation and micropillar deformation, can be used to achieve plastic deformation at …

Uc-172 Grizzly's Maw - Gameplay Trailer, Allen J. Harris

C-Day Computing Showcase

A brief gameplay trailer that includes a majority of mechanics that are currently implemented, and a voice over that explains the premise and appeal of the game. Gameplay video available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bYP3Ef-tymRI4QvIQxoVWNwMvHJo86Ja/view?usp=sharing

Systematic Integration Of Applications Into The Surface Biology And Geology (Sbg) Earth Mission Architecture Study, Christine M. Lee, Nancy F. Glenn, E. Natasha Stavros, Jeff Luvall, Karen Yuen, Stephanie Schollaert Uz

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) concept is the first National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth mission to develop and implement systematic integration of science application needs at the architecture study stage. Prior NASA mission concept and planning activities presumed that science measurement needs would encompasss application measurement needs and so did not explicitly evaluate and include applications at this stage. However, the effort presented here identified, documented and integrated application needs that would not have been included by considering research science needs only. First, a low latency of no greater than 24 hr was identified as the optimal …

Influencing Factors On Gas Production Effect Of Acid Fractured Cbm Wells In Deep Coal Seam Of Daning-Jixian Block, Li Shuguang, Wang Hongna, Xu Borui, Zhen Huaibin, Wang Chengwang, Yuan Pu

Coal Geology & Exploration

The No.8 deep coal seam in Daning-Jixian Block is large, thick, widely distributed, and rich in coalbed methane(CBM) resources. After volume acid fracturing, a breakthrough has been achieved in the producing test. However, the productivity of the testing wells varies greatly, and the major controlling factors of productivity are not clear, severely restricting the CBM development. In this paper, the testing wells in the No.8 coal seam with a buried depth of more than 2 000 m of the Upper Carboniferous Benxi Formation in Daning-Jixian Block were taken as the research object, and 28 typical evaluation indicators were selected from …

Segmentation Of The Wassuk Range Normal Fault System, Nevada (Usa): Implications For Earthquake Rupture And Walker Lane Dynamics, Benjamin E. Surpless, Sarah Thorne

Earth and Environmental Geosciences Faculty Research

Normal faults are commonly segmented along strike, with segments that localize strain and influence propagation of slip during earthquakes. Although geometry of segments can be constrained by fault mapping, it is challenging to determine seismically relevant segments along a fault zone. Because slip histories, geometries, and strength of linkages between normal fault segments fundamentally control the propagation of rupture during earthquakes, and differences in segment slip rates result in differential uplift of adjacent footwalls, we use along‐ strike changes in footwall morphology to detect fault segments and the relative strength of the mechanical links between them.

We apply a new …

Mineralogical, Petrological, And Geochemical Characteristics Of Şenkaya Chrysoprase,Turkey, Hami̇t Haluk Seli̇m, Aykut Güçteki̇n, Ferhan Şahi̇n, Mustafa Kaya, Beri̇l Kaya, Elanur Güner, Kami̇l Ömer Taş, Ahmet Karakaş, Yasemi̇n Kantarçeken

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Şenkaya chrysoprase is a gemstone and can be found near the Turnalı village located in the west-northwest of Şenkaya (Erzurum) county in the uplifted Kırdağ of Northeast Anatolia of Turkey. Chrysoprase only found in Şenkaya County and known with the same name commercially in Turkey is a light-dark green and cryptocrystalline structure gemstone encountered in the Örükyayla Mélange. Samples were collected from the field for defining mineralogical-petrographical, XRD, XRF, ICP-MS, optical cathodoluminescence microscopy (OCLM), FTIR-Raman and stable isotopic properties of Şenkaya chrysoprase. According to mineralogical and petrographic examination, Şenkaya chrysoprase has generally heterogeneous color distribution in macroscale and has 5 …

Data Fusion And Synergy Of Active And Passive Remote Sensing; An Application For Freeze Thaw Detections, Zahra Sharifnezhadazizi

Dissertations and Theses

There has been a recent evolvement in the field of remote sensing after increase of number satellites and sensors data which could be fused to produce new data and products. These efforts are mainly focused on using of simultaneous observations from different platforms with different spatial and temporal resolutions. The research dissertation aims to enhance the synergy use of active and passive microwave observations and examine the results in detection land freeze and thaw (FT) predictions. Freeze thaw cycles particularly in high-latitude regions have a crucial role in many applications such as agriculture, biogeochemical transitions, hydrology and ecosystem studies. The …

Investigating Depth Estimation To Archaeological Magnetic Source Bodies, Jeremy G. Menzer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Magnetometry is the most widely applied archaeo-geophysical technique. Current practice standards employ the technique to map only in a two-dimensional plan view fashion, but in deep geologic studies depth estimators are routinely applied to magnetic datasets. These estimators provide three-dimensional information to magnetic source-bodies. There are many different depth estimators employed in geologic study that all require various degrees of processing complexity. This study investigates two mathematically simple techniques, half-width rules and multi-height methods. Half-width rules are likely the oldest depth estimators within the field while multi-height techniques are but a minor footnote in the literature. The applicability of these …

Tectonomagmatic Evolution Of Northwestern Mexico, And Applications Of Machine Learning In Economic Geology, Jose Antonio Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work presented here was conducted in two study areas: La Preciosa mining project (Chapters 1 and 2) and Ray Mine (Chapter 3). Chapter 1 of this dissertation contributes to the tectonomagmatic evolution of northwestern Mexico by focusing on the temporal changes in magma source(s) regions, magma generation processes, and tectonic implications. In this chapter, I provide thin section analyses, whole rock geochemistry, in-situ zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions of subsurface lithologies from La Preciosa mining project; located in the northwestern corner of Mesa Central, Durango, Mexico. The newly acquired data identified five magmatic events. The first consists …