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Mountainous City, Yixuan Hu

Masters Theses

My thesis studies how glaciation and vegetation systems define the landscapes of Mount Gongga, and asks how these and their modes of relation and zonation might provide a model for more sustainable and fully adaptable structures to support urbanism. Using mountain systems as the metaphor, I proposed a mountainous city model focusing on efficient urban ecosystems and spontaneous human activities. By the methods of deconstructing and mimetic modeling, they triggered a series of rethinking about the formation and relation of urban spaces. The mountainous city has four distinctive vertical layered zones, which integrated with hydrological and ecological systems and vertical …

Evaluation Of Engineering Properties Of Soil In Al Butayn, Mudarraj Al Qassim And Turubah - Hail Saudi Arabia, Turki Essam A. Sehly

Masters Theses

"Fractures, sinkhole, building cracks, and ground subsidence have spread in many regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, some of which are related to seismic activity, others due to the presence of unstable soils (collapsing soils and Expansive soils) and others because of faults, while others result from drawing groundwater at great rates. The current study has several facts related to the formation of cracks and landslides, including:
1) A general study of geomorphology and geology of the study areas.
2) The causes affecting the formation of cracks and subsidence.
3) Detailed geomorphological and geological studies of the locations of …

Bedrock Topography Mapping Of The East Leroy And Climax 7.5’ Quadrangles, Mi Using Hvsr And Other Geophysical Methods, Tyler A. Norris

Masters Theses

Geophysical methods were used to estimate bedrock depths below sedimentary cover and infer previously unknown features in two adjacent topographic quadrangles (Climax & East Leroy) in Michigan, USA. The study area contains mostly Mississippian Shale bedrock overlain by Wisconsin-aged glacial drift deposited during multiple glacial advances and retreats of the Saginaw Lobe (Laurentide Ice Sheet). These glacial events created complex landform assemblages that have only recently been mapped in detail near-surface, but are still poorly understood in the subsurface. Buried bedrock valleys typically contain coarse glacial sediment and thus are valuable aquifers, but these can be difficult to locate due …

Hydraulic Fracture Design Optimization For Nubian Sandstone Formation In Libya, Housameddin Mohamed Sherif

Masters Theses

There is growing interest in developing unconventional oil and gas reserves in Libya, such as the tight portions of the Nubian sandstone.

Well-X7 is a development well drilled to a TD of 13,005' penetrating the Upper Nubain Sandstone (UNSS) at 12,122'-12,207' and the Lower Nubain Sandstone (LNSS) at 12,524'-12,880' KB. Based on open hole logs, the UNSS has 71 ft of net pay and the LNSS was found to have 295 ft of net pay. Openhole logs also showed low permeabilities of 2.5 and 3 md for the UNSS and LNSS, respectively. The well was initially perforated in both zones …

Structural And U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronologic Constraints On The Origin Of The Condrey Mountain Schist, California - Oregon, Joseph Reid Coons

Masters Theses

"The Condrey Mountain Schist (CMS) of the Klamath Mountains (northern California and southern Oregon) represent low grade oceanic and terrigenous sediments thrust beneath higher grade ophiolitic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek Terrane (RCT). This study presents new U-Pb detrital zircon dates from the CMS, and from the possibly correlative basin rocks of the Galice Formation and accretionary rocks of the South Fork Mountain Schist. The Galice Formation yields a maximum depositional age of ca. 152 Ma with prominent date distributions of ca. 150-200 Ma (39% of analyzed grains), 200-600 Ma (1%), 600 - 1000 Ma (2%), and 1000-3200 Ma (58%). …

Geochemical And Petrological Characterizations Of Peridotite And Related Rocks In Marquette County, Michigan, Andrew Lloyd Sasso

Masters Theses

This study characterizes the following rock units in Marquette County, Michigan in terms of geochemistry and petrology: (1) Presque Isle Peridotite, (2) Deer Lake Peridotite, (3) Yellowdog Peridotite, and (4) Black Rock Point Gabbro. Analyses were conducted to determine if any petrological or geochemical relationships exist between these units, and to assess the potential of these units to host magmatic sulfide deposits.

The generated data and chosen geotectonic proxies indicate that Black Rock Point Gabbro and Deer Lake Peridotite crystallized from unrelated magmas, probably during the formation of the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone (2.7-1.85 Ga). No evidence was found which …

Fluid Flow Through Deformation Band, Huining Zhang

Masters Theses

"Cataclastic deformation bands, which are common in porous sandstone, have the potential to restrict fluid flow. Geological studies have shown that permeability of deformation band shear zones can be one to five orders of magnitude less than for the sandstone host rock. However, recent studies based on simplified analytical estimates have shown that fluid flow in jointed deformation bands may not be retarded since joints play an important role in conducting fluids. In this study, 2 dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) is used to simulate the total discharge flow rate through jointed deformations. Variations of single planar and conjugate jointed …

Geological Controls On Stratigraphy And Sedimentation Of The Mississippian Marshall Formation, Michigan Basin, U.S.A., Joseph G. Adducci

Masters Theses

An understanding of regional orogenic, climatic, and eustatic processes is critical to the interbasinal correlation of Paleozoic strata in eastern North America. Tectonic activity associated with the culmination of Appalachian Orogenic events has been shown to have regional influence on paleostructure and sediment dispersal in the Appalachian foreland basin and adjacent intracratonic Illinois and Michigan basins. The culmination of the Acadian Orogeny at the end of the Devonian represents the beginning of a period of general tectonic quiescence extending throughout the early and middle Mississippian in eastern North America. Early Mississippian strata in the Michigan basin is distinctive and marks …

Updated Screening Criteria For Steam Flooding Based On Oil Field Projects Data, Mariwan Qadir Hama

Masters Theses

"Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening is considered the first step in evaluating potential EOR techniques for candidate reservoirs. Therefore, as new technologies are developed, it is important to update the screening criteria. Many of the screening criteria for steam flooding that have been described in the literature were based on data collected from EOR surveys biennially published in the Oil & Gas Journal. However, these datasets contain some problems, including outliers, missing data, inconsistent data and duplicate data, that could affect the accuracy of the results. Despite the importance of ensuring the quality of a dataset before running analyses, data …

The Description Of An Effective Sinkhole Investigation Approach: A Case Study Of Two Sites In Greene County, Missouri, Stanley Chinedu Nwokebuihe

Masters Theses

"Karst topographies pose danger to the environment. The associated gradual subsidence or sudden collapse of the ground can lead to loss of lives and damage to property. A sinkhole is the subsidence or collapse of the overburden into subsurface cavities. Sinkholes develop in different sizes, shapes and rates all over the world especially in areas where the bedrock can be dissolved by percolating slightly acidic surface water.

Different methods have been used to investigate sinkholes. Boring is the most common of these methods. But the boring technique is quite inefficient; it only provides information of the subsurface conditions at the …

Pn Anisotropy Tomography Of The Colorado Plateau And Adjacent Areas, Shengyao Cheng

Masters Theses

"The Pn tomography method utilizes seismic waves that refract along the Moho interface to perform inversion in order to investigate velocity anomalies and seismic anisotropy in the uppermost mantle. Results from Pn tomography can provide important information about the composition, temperature, and tectonic processes beneath the study area. Over the past decades, numerous seismic and geologic studies have been conducted in the Colorado Plateau and its adjacent areas to reveal crustal and mantle structures and processes responsible for the diverse surface geological features and tectonic events that have occurred in this area. To investigate lateral variations in the uppermost mantle …

A Structural Analysis Of The El Kasr Structure In The Western Desert Of Egypt, Trevor Charles Ellis

Masters Theses

"The El Kasr structure was studied in order to investigate the origins and evolution of the enigmatic Desert Eyes structures of the Western Desert due to its accessibility and uniqueness among the structures. The El Kasr structure, an elongate structural basin with low limb dips, is unique among the "Desert Eyes" structures in that it: 1) occurs in isolation in otherwise horizontal sedimentary rock, 2) the long dimension of the basin is oriented NNW, 3) it is closely spatially associated with the less common NNW fault zones, and 4) is composite in nature. The structure was investigated using remote sensing …

Wolf Creek Dam: A Case Study Of Foundation Remediation For Dams Built On Karst Foundations, Kyla Justene Erich

Masters Theses

"Wolf Creek Dam was completed in 1952 as a 5,736-foot long and 258-foot high combination embankment-concrete gravity dam. Its storage capacity of 6 million acre feet makes it the ninth largest reservoir in the nation. The dam was built on a heavily karstified limestone foundation and began exhibiting signs of excess foundation seepage in late 1967. This led to extensive corrective work in the 1970s beneath the earthen core of the embankment to reduce underseepage. In 2006 an independent assessment by the Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) Peer Review Panel recommended that Wolf Creek Dam exhibited "Urgent and Compelling" foundation …

Cretaceous/Paleogene Boundary Biostratigraphy And Palynofacies Of The Alo-1 Well, Southeastern Nigeria, Janet Diane Raymer

Masters Theses

"The Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary (K/Pg) has been studied in great detail because of the fascination most people have with the extinction of the dinosaurs. The response of the vegetation to this extinction event has been studied in detail in mid to high latitudes, but little is known about what happened in the tropics. Sixty-seven samples from the Nsukka and Imo formations in the Alo-1 well in the Anambra Basin, southeastern Nigeria have been studied for their palynological contents. The aims of the study was to use spores, pollen and dispersed organic matter components to interpret biostratigraphy, and evaluate depositional conditions across …

Backstripping The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure: Differentiating Regional Tectonics From Impact Effects, Travis Gary Hayden

Masters Theses

The Chesapeake Bay impact structure is a ca. 35.4 Ma old crater located on the coastal plain of Virginia along the eastern seaboard of North America. The impact generated a crater between 85 and 90 km in diameter, and over 2000 meters deep. Deposition returned to normal shortly after impact, resulting in a unique record of both the impact related and subsequent passive margin sedimentation. We use backstripping to show that the impact strongly affected sedimentation for 7 m.y. through a combination of impact derived crustal scale tectonics, dominated by the introduction and subsequent removal of a negative thermal anomaly, …

A Study On The Causes Of Variations In Transmissivity And Storativity During Pump Tests At Asylum Lake, Paul Joseph Pare

Masters Theses

Over a two year period, Western Michigan University ran a number of pump tests in the Asylum Lake Area in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The transmissivities and storativities calculated from these tests differed significantly from well to well in any particular test, and from pump test to pump test. Utilizing the computer programs AQTESOLV 3.0 and Aquifer Parameter Estimator, a number of T and S values were calculated. After analysis of the results, the following conclusion was drawn. The main reason for the deviations in the T and S values arose from the mixing of the results of numerous methods (some of …

The Relationship Between Basement Structure And Overlying Sediments In The Michigan Basin: A Detailed Gravity Investigation, Mitchell Joseph Gutaj

Masters Theses

A detailed gravity study consisting of 945 measurements was carried out in Branch County, Michigan. The objectives of this study are to determine if: (a) structural trends interpreted from regional gravity data in southwestern Michigan are also observed in a more detailed survey in Branch County and (b) any relationship exists between observed geophysical anomalies, geological structures and overlying basin sediments.

The resulting gravity map indicates that NW-SE, NE-SW, and N-S trends are more clearly identified comprising several elliptical highs and lows. Variations in the isopachs of some of the overlying Phanerozoic formations area are also coincident with gravity anomalies. …

A Paleoenvironmental Study Of The Salem Limestone In The Vicinity Of St. Louis, Missouri, Douglas J. Van Brunt

Masters Theses

“The Salem Limestone (Meramecian) of Mississippian age in the vicinity of St. Louis, Missouri is composed of a variable sequence of limestones deposited in shallow waters adjacent to scattered positive elements. This unit varies in thickness from zero up to 160 feet.

A medium to coarse-grained calcarenite is the dominant rock-type of the thesis area and is most abundant in the central and southwest regions. Stratigraphic sections in the northern region are more dolomitic, increasingly brecciated, and contains numerous secondary features. The southeast region is thinly bedded and composed of greater amounts of micrite formed by algal activity or direct …

A Gravity And Magnetic Study Of The Crooked Creek Cryptoexplosion Structure, Crawford County, Missouri, Charles Edward Woodbury

Masters Theses

"The pre-Pennsylvanian structure at Crooked Creek consists of a complex, vertically faulted ring of Cambrian and Ordovician sediments with a central uplifted core. The center of the structure is strongly deformed and contains shatter cones, brecciation, and other signs of extreme shock.

A magnetic low over the center of the structure suggests that igneous material was not involved in the formation of the structure, and this is corroborated by core analysis. Gravity data indicates several small gravity lows, possibly associated with areas of brecciation, circling the flanks of the structure. As in the magnetic data, there is no indication that …

A Structural Investigation Of A Basement-Involved Thrust System In Southern Sphinx Mountain Quadrangle (Madison Range) Southwestern Montana, Jeffrey Scott Brown

Masters Theses

The Madison Range is the eastern limb of the Laramide Rocky Mountain foreland Madison-Gravelly Arch. The main segment of the Madison thrust system in the map area is the basement-involved Scarface thrust which dips westward, trends north-northwest, and places Archean rocks onto an overturned footwall of Cambrian through Cretaceous rocks. Foliation of Archean rocks in the footwall is folded with overlying sedimentary rocks.

The Shedhorn Mountain thrust splays from the Scarface thrust. It is exposed north and south of the Shedhorn Mountain anticline, but is blind beneath it. The Taylor fault, an east-dipping back thrust, is inferred to be associated …

Tertiary Welded Tuffs Of The Ryan Spring Area, Needle Range, Beaver County, Utah, Peter Carlyle Rauch

Masters Theses

"The Needle Range of southwestern Utah is composed of Paleozoic sediments overlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks primarily of the welded tuff class. The area has undergone at least four stages of post-eruptive structural deformation. The most significant stage is that which formed the range by normal Basin and Range type faulting. The faults strike northwest and tilt the volcanic layers northeast.

The volcanic section is composed primarily of the Needles Range Formation (Oligocene) overlain by the Isom Formation and underlain by several flows and ash flows, one of which has been tentatively correlated to the Escalante …

Heavy Metal Analysis Of Stream Sediments In The James River Basin, Missouri, William J. Head

Masters Theses

"A reconnaissance survey of stream sediments using the minus 80 mesh sieve fraction was made at 53 sites throughout the James River basin, Missouri. Sample sites within the 1460 square miles of the basin were chosen at tributary confluences, suspected contamination sources, and known areas of mineralization. Replicates and stream profiles were taken to check for analytical variation and reproducibility of results. Sediment samples were prepared by a hot nitric acid leach method. The sediments were analyzed using an atomic absorption unit to determine Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd trace metal contents.

Values of selected streams within the basin were …

Digital Registration Of Stereo Images Using The Fast Fourier Transform, Victor Francis Wilreker Jr.

Masters Theses

"The exact alignment of multispectral imagery is a requirement of any image classification system. This investigation develops a system of programs which result in a technique that corrects for the translational and rotational misalignment of two images. Rotational and translational components are determined by using the fast Fourier transform to find the points of maximum correlation between the two images. The registration of two equal but misaligned boxes is given as an example of how the transform technique is used in correlating the images. The results of registering two digitized images that were obtained by scanning a pair of color …

Ground Water Of The Uncompahgre Valley Montrose County, Colorado, Ted William Craig

Masters Theses

"Data from water quality tests of 50 wells and from general well information of 309 wells registered with the Colorado Division of Water Resources are presented for the area of Montrose County, Colorado, drained by the Uncompahgre River. This information, along with other pertinent information such as water laws and costs, is evaluated to determine the feasibility of increasing the use of ground water in the area. The drainage basin of the Uncompahgre River within the Montrose area bas three main geologic structures: the Uncompahgre uplift, the Montrose syncline, and the Gunnison uplift. All formations exposed in the area are …

A Subsurface Geologic Study Of Petroleum Possibilities In The Pennsylvanian Rocks Of Concho County, Texas, Gregory Paul Kraus

Masters Theses

"During early Pennsylvanian time the area now occupied by Concho County was a portion of the Texas peninsula, a broad, low arch with a karst topography developing on its exposed Ellenburger surface. A mid-Pennsylvanian marine transgression inundated the arch and it became an area of clear, shallow water deposition favorable to limestone development. Local sedimentation during Strawn time was largely controlled by its position relative to the Llano uplift and surrounding basins. A variety of subsurface maps were constructed for this study essentially utilizing electric log data. The results indicate that limestones of the Strawn platform facies rapidly change in …

Geology Of The Acari Iron Mining District Arequipa, Peru, Raul Alejandro Zevallos

Masters Theses

"The Acari Iron Mining District, part of a tilted uplifted fault block, comprises an area about 300 square kilometers, in the southern part of the coastal belt of Peru. It is in the foothills of the western range of the Andes and it is dominantly formed by granodioritic and granitic intrusive rocks which belong to the Andean batholith of Cretaceous-Tertiary age. The intrusive rocks are overlain by a central, elongated, northwest trending band, of metasedimentary and volcanic rocks

The magnetite deposits of Acari district are long, dike-shaped bodies, which fill two systems of fractures in the granodiorite intrusive, located in …

Petrology And Mineralogy Of The "Old Workings Area," El Salvador, Chile, Bertis James Vander Schaaff

Masters Theses

"The 'Old Workings Area,' so called for its early mining by the Incas, is located 4 1/2 miles northeast of the El Salvador Porphyry copper deposit, the third largest copper producer in Chile. The area mapped in this study is shown to consist of rhyolite pebble conglomerate, two volcanic flows, andesite and rhyolite porphyry, and two intrusions. Quartz porphyry and tourmaline-bearing breccia. Petrographic study of surface and drill core rock samples confirms the field nomenclature used for the five rock types. All of the rock types are altered, but the quartz porphyry and andesite are the most intensely altered. Both …

Structural And Magnetic Characteristics Of The Belton Anomaly, Cass County, Missouri, Nagib Chamon

Masters Theses

"A vertical intensity magnetic survey of approximately 156 square miles in Cass County, central-west Missouri, revealed a broad circular anomaly whose magnetic relief exceeds 1000 gammas. Surface rocks are very gently inclined and are of Pennsylvanian age. Crystalline basement rocks are at a depth of approximately 2400 feet. Analysis of the data shows that the Belton anomaly consists of discontinuous smaller magnetic anomalies surrounding the central part of this broad anomaly. The central area of the Belton anomaly is occupied by a magnetic low. Analytical calculation showed that the source of the magnetic disturbance is at least 3650 feet below …

Pegmatites Of The Anderson Ridge Quadrangle, Fremont County, Wyoming, Hassan A. Etr

Masters Theses

“The oldest rocks in the area consist mainly of para- schists of low to medium rank and restricted higher rank sillimanite schist. The entire series has been at least double folded. The most apparent are tight north to north- east trending folds. These have been intruded in the northern part of the area by a batholithic body of granitic composition, a granitic stock, a pegmatitic granite, a granitic sill-like body and different types of pegmatite dikes and sills. The youngest intrusions are a series of northeast trending basic dikes and sills. A major easterly trending transverse fault and a series …

A Simplified Method Of Estimating Drilling And Blasting Costs Of A Highway Through-Cut Excavation In Rock, Donald J. Roberts

Masters Theses

"The development of cost estimating methods has been the most neglected phase of highway engineering. Overlooked in particular has been the development of an easily understood and easily applied method of estimating the costs of the drilling and blasting operations involved in a highway through-cut excavation in rock.

This investigation developed such a method by adapting and applying recent developments in the blasting planning field. The study was limited to small diameter blastholes and excavations in lifts of less than thirty feet. Normal efficient construction practices were presumed.

It was found from the investigation that the blast geometry and, subsequently, …