Digital Commons Network^™

The Distribution Of The Mid-To-Lower Crustal Low-Velocity Zone Beneath The Northeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed From Ambient Noise Tomography, Hongyi Li, Yang Shen, Zhongxian Huang, Xinfu Li, Meng Gong, Danian Shi, Eric Sandoval, Aibeng Li

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

We collected continuous seismic data recorded between 2007 and 2010 by 208 broadband stations from the Chinese Provincial Digital Seismic Networks, A Seismic Collaborative Experiment of Northern Tibet, and the Northeastern Tibet Seismic experiment. Cross correlations of vertical component records are computed to extract the Rayleigh wave empirical Green's functions. Group and phase velocities are then constructed from the empirical Green's functions in 8 to 50 s period. At periods ≤25 s, more than 10% lower velocities are imaged beneath the Qaidam Basin, and high velocities are observed beneath the nonbasin regions. At periods ≥30 s, up to 10% lower …

Multi-Scale Neotectonic Study Of The Clear Lake Fault Zone In The Sevier Desert Basin (Central Utah), Brandon D. Heiner

Theses and Dissertations

A multi-scale high-resolution geophysical and geological study was conducted in the Sevier Desert, central Utah, found within the Colorado Plateau-Basin and Range Transition Zone. The region is marked by with Quaternary volcanics and faulting as young as 660 yr B.P., with many fault scarps thought to have the potential for 7+ magnitude earthquakes. Three locations within the Sevier Desert which represent three different tectonic expressions of possible faulting at the surface were selected. These include a location found within surface sedimentation, a location with surface sedimentation and sub-surface basalts and a location with basalts, at the surface with very limited …

A National Mineral Policy As An International Investment Law Stratagem: The Case Of Tajikistan’S Gold Reserves, Nadia B. Ahmand

Global Business & Development Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A New Bathymetric Compilation For The South Orkney Islands Region, Antarctic Peninsula (49°–39°W To 64°–59°S): Insights Into The Glacial Development Of The Continental Shelf, William A. Dickens, Alastair G. C. Graham, James A. Smith, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Robert D. Larter, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Phil N. Trathan, Jan Erik Arndt, Gerhard Kuhn

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We present a new, high resolution (300 m) bathymetric grid of the continental shelf surrounding the South Orkney Islands, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The new grid, derived from a compilation of marine echo-sounding data, improves previous regional bathymetric representations and helps to visualize the morphology of the shelf in unrivalled detail. The compilation forms important baseline information for a range of scientific applications and end users including oceanographers, glacial modelers, biologists, and geologists. In particular, due to the limited understanding of glacial history in this region, the bathymetry provides the first detailed insights into past glacial regimes. The continental …

A National Mineral Policy As An International Investment Law Stratagem: The Case Of Tajikistan's Gold Reserves, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A National Mineral Policy As An International Investment Law Stratagem: The Case Of Tajikistan's Gold Reserves, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article proposes that a national mineral policy ("NMP") can be crafted to generate foreign direct investment ("FDI") and strengthen sustainable development goals. Less-developed countries ("LDCs") typically overlook or underestimate this federal policy imperative while seeking to harness mineral resources.' Creation of a NMP and complementary changes to federal mining investment laws can provide host countries increased opportunities as well as autonomy to profit from their own natural resources and, at the same time, investor nations can benefit from a NMP because of further mining prospects.

This Article goes on to discuss how the formulation and implementation of a NMP …

Commencement Program (December 2014), Csusb

CSUSB Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Bicoelia Corticifera, A New Inozoid Sponge From The Upper Triassic (Norian) Reef Boulders Of The Central Taurids (Southern Turkey), Baba Senowbari-Daryan, Michael Link

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Upper Triassic Norian reef boulders, exposed in a locality in the Central Taurids, southern Turkey, yielded a high number of hypercalcified sponges, including Sphinctozoans, Inozoans, Spongiomorphids, and Chaetetids. The reef boulders are exposed near the fountain Tavuk Çeşme, located at the road leading from the town of Aksu to Yenişarbademli. Geologically this locality belongs to the Anamas Akseki Autochthon. In this paper a new inozoan sponge, Bicoelia corticifera nov. sp., is described from Tavuk Çeşme. It is a cylindrical and unbranched sponge, found in several thin sections. The sponge is characterized by 2 axial spongocoels, and the sponge wall is …

The Spratly Islands Dispute: International Law, Conflicting Claims, And Alternative Frameworks For Dispute Resolution, Robin Gonzales

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The Spratly islands dispute is a regional maritime territorial sovereignty dispute which involves six countries in the South China Sea – China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Underscored by the prospects of large natural energy reserves, control of strategic global maritime areas, and shifting global power dynamics, the dispute has significant international geo-strategic, economic, political and legal implications. This Honors Thesis evaluates the international legal standards for resolving maritime sovereignty disputes, provides a historiography of the six countries’ competing claims, and analyzes the legal soundness of their claims. This thesis also proposes and examines potential political and diplomatic frameworks …

Neotectonics Of The Zanjan-Kazvin Area, Central Iran: Left Lateral Strike‐Slip Induced Restraining Stepovers, Moosarreza Toori, Gürol Seyi̇toğlu

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The neotectonics of the Zanjan-Kazvin area are dominated by the region-wide E-W trending left lateral strike-slip faults. These faults create restraining and releasing stepovers indicating strain partitioning. Instead of the NW-SE trending long range-parallel continuous thrust faulting suggested in previous studies, this paper demonstrates that there are E-W trending range-crossing left lateral strike-slip faults creating short range-parallel thrust faults in the restraining stepovers. Establishing this strike-slip-induced structural style might contribute to an understanding of the nature of the Elburz (Alborz) Mountains located between the Central Iran and Caspian blocks.

Emplacement Of Pleistocene Basalt Flows Near Mccoy, Colorado, Andrea Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Paleoseismic And Structural Characterization Of The Hines Creek Fault: Denali National Park And Preserve, Alaska, Sara E. Federschmidt

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Hines Creek fault (HCF) is a Holocene-active fault in central Alaska. Its trace has been mapped several times, but data on the history of fault displacement is scarce. As a major crustal-scale geologic boundary with uncertain Quaternary tectonic activity, it is a priority for more to be known about the activity of this fault to better understand the hazards it presents to the Denali National Park and Preserve and Alaskan infrastructure. This study characterizes the late Quaternary activity of the HCF through surficial geologic mapping and paleoseismic investigations. Mapping revealed a very steep (~84°-88° apparent dip), north dipping fault …

Late Quaternary Crustal Deformation At The Apex Of The Mount Mckinley Restraining Bend Of The Denali Fault, Alaska, Corey A. Burkett

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The tallest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley is situated inside a sharp bend in the right‐lateral Denali fault. This anomalous topography is clearly associated with the complex geometry of the Denali fault, but how this topography evolves in conjunction with the adjacent strike‐slip fault is unknown. To constrain how this fault bend is deforming, the Quaternary fault‐related deformation on the opposite side of the Denali fault from Mount McKinley were documented through combined geologic mapping, active fault characterization, and analysis of background seismicity. My mapping illustrates an east‐west change in faulting style where normal faults occur east of the …

Introduction: Superstorm Sandy & Its Impact On Coastal New Jersey, Zachary Grey Farnsworth

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Time Marker For The Late Pleistocene In Peninsular Malaysia: Study Of The Volcanic Ash Deposits / Norishah Binti Hashim, Norishah Hashim

Student Works (2010-2019)

A detailed study was conducted on the tephra deposits that were found in several locations in the Peninsular Malaysia which are important time markers in the local Quaternary stratigraphy. Typically, these deposits consisted of aerially deposited, fine-grained < 100 μm, silica-rich volcanic glass shards and mineral grains, in layers ranging from 10 cm to 9 m in thickness, within quaternary lacustrine sediments. Few of these have been dated. In the literature, most, if not all, were attributed to the VEI 8 eruption at Lake Toba at 70-75 k.a., while, in actuality, there have been three other high VEI eruptions in Sumatra that might have been responsible - Mount Maninjau at 80 and 52 k.a. (proximal tuffs are exposed at Sianok Canyon near Padang Highlands, Sumatra) and Lake Ranau between 0.7 and 0.4 m.a. In this study, site reconnaissance, tephra age determination and geochemical fingerprint analysis have been carried out to provide scientific proves of the origins of Peninsular Malaysia tephra. Detailed field mapping of tephra distribution in the vicinity of Lenggong in Perak revealed that the tephra layers, covering 15 km2, were deposited at a time when the local stream base level was 70 m above the current level, as most of the fresh tephra layers were found at that elevation. Tephra distribution was controlled by topography at the time of deposition since layers of fresh and reworked deposits of tephra had been discovered in the vicinity of the Perak River banks and on gentle slopes of palm oil estates. The presence of reworked ash under layers of fresh ash might indicated that more than one paroxysmal eruption were responsible. Fission track and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques were executed on two selected areas with fresh layers of tephra and correlated the results with published data of possible origins. Cluster analysis, bivariate analysis, Rare-Earth Element and trace element ratios analysis and spider diagrams were implemented to differentiate and recognize individual eruptions. The results of fission track dates of Lenggong tephra were 59 ± 7 k.a. and 59 ± 9 k.a., while Kuala Pelus tephra had luminescence dates of 58.5 ± 7.6 k.a and 75.5 ± 9.8 k.a. These dates could be correlated with the 52 k. a. Maninjau and 75 k. a. Toba eruptions. Major and trace element content of glass shards revealed similarities between those from the Peninsular Malaysia and the proximal tuff from the 75 k.a. Toba eruption. The majority of Gelok samples were correlated to Toba sample. Even though Lenggong and Padang Sanai major elements result showed that there were three populations in the same layer, chemical genetically it could not be related with Maninjau samples. Kg. Dong and Kuala Kangsar tephra showed the largest variations of SiO2 and alkalies which were distinct from the other Peninsular Malaysia tephra. The Maninjau tuff was distinctly different from the Peninsular Malaysia tephra and from the YTT. This implies that Lenggong tephra could be originated from Toba and other possible source(s). The conclusion that could be drawn from this evidences that it is significantly proved that the tephra in Peninsular Malaysia is most likely originated from Toba and also possible from Maninjau and other eruptions.

Structural Deformation Across The Southwest Mina Deflection, California-Nevada: Field Studies In The Huntoon Spring Quadrangle, Eliya R. Hogan

All Master's Theses

New geologic data provides insight into Pliocene strain rates across the southwest Mina deflection. ⁴⁰ Ar/³⁹ Ar geochronology of geologic units indicate cooling of Miocene ignimbrite at 11.86 ± 0.01 Ma, Pliocene basalt lavas at 3.7241 ± 0.0051 and 3.5262 ± 0.0172 Ma, and basaltic andesite and andesite lavas at 3.4715 ± 0.0107 Ma and 3.1078 ± 0.0088 Ma. Pliocene cinder cones and Quaternary sediments are also exposed in the Huntoon Spring quadrangle. Volcanic units are cut by a dominant set of NNE-, NE-, and ENE- striking sinistral faults and a lesser set of NNW- and NW- striking normal …

Controls On Fault Geometry During Early Stages Of Extension In The Larkspur Hills, Northwest Basin And Range, Diana Jean Strickley

All Master's Theses

Detailed analyses of normal faults in the Larkspur Hills, CA-NV, northwest Basin and Range, offer insight into factors controlling normal fault initiation, growth, and distribution. N-trending faults in the southern portion of the study area share trends of major range-bounding structures and Pliocene linear volcanic vents; in contrast, NNW- and NNE- trending faults dominate further north and into south-central Oregon. Stress analyses and comparison with experimental and field data suggest that preexisting structures control faults in the northern Larkspur Hills, while faults form perpendicular to σ3 in the southern hills. The change in fault orientations is abrupt, occurring across a …

Palynology Of The Upper Cretaceous Ferron-Notom Sandstone, Utah, Isil Akyuz

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT The Late Cretaceous Ferron-Notom Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale Formation plays a dominant role in oil production in Utah. Although numerous sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic studies have been conducted in recent years on this sequence, palynological analyses had not yet been undertaken. Here we present palynological data from one hundred twenty eight samples collected in the Ferron-Noton Sandstone Member outcroping in south-central Utah. The purpose of this study is to refine our understanding of climatic and depositional environments and to build a biostratigraphic palynological framework. The dominance of terrestrial palynomorphs, especially the high yield in moisture-loving cryptogam spores …

Relationship Between Static Stress Change And Volcanism. How And If Tectonic Earthquake Could Influence Volcanic Activity. Example Of El Reventador Volcano, Ecuador, Daniele Alami

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

No abstract provided.

Systematical Analysis Of The Impacts Of Different Operations Conditions And Geological Formation Characteristics On Area Of Review (Aor), Post Injection Site Care (Pisc) And Risk Associated With Anthropogenic Co 2 Sequestration In Citronelle Dome, Alabama, Danilo Arcentales

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) has been one of the biggest problem concerning the climate change during these years. The concentration of these gases has increased by a disproportionate amount over the last decade due to human activities such as, deforestation, agricultural practices and burning fuel, oil and coal while natural sources are extracted and processed. Being the main cause of global warming, a variety of technology is being applied in order to diminish GHC emissions. There are two ways to achieve this goal: burning less carbon-containing fuel or by storing CO2 resulting from burning carbon-rich fuels. Potential storage …

Geodesy- And Geology-Based Slip-Rate Models For The Western United States (Excluding California) National Seismic Hazard Maps, Mark D. Petersen, Yuehua Zeng, Kathleen M. Haller, Robert Mccaffrey, William C. Hammond, Peter Bird, Morgan Moschetti, Zheng-Kang Shen, Jayne Bormann, Wayne R. Thatcher

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 2014 National Seismic Hazard Maps for the conterminous United States incorporate additional uncertainty in fault slip-rate parameter that controls the earthquake-activity rates than was applied in previous versions of the hazard maps. This additional uncertainty is accounted for by new geodesy- and geology-based slip-rate models for the Western United States. Models that were considered include an updated geologic model based on expert opinion and four combined inversion models informed by both geologic and geodetic input. The two block models considered indicate significantly higher slip rates than the expert opinion and the two fault-based combined inversion models. For the hazard …

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 …

Geoecology, Nishanta Rajakaruna, S. Boyd

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Rotifers Of Southwest Iran: A Faunistic And Biogeographical Study, Raheleh Reihan Reshteh, Hassan Rahimian

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The fauna of freshwater rotifers from Khuzestan Province (Southwest Iran) was expected to be different from that of the rest of Iran because of its geographical position, past geological events, climatic conditions, and similarities to neighboring zoogeographical areas. To test this hypothesis, we first had to determine the rotifer fauna of Khuzestan and then compare it with the results of surveys from other parts of Iran as well as with those from neighboring regions. Samples were collected from 10 sites throughout the province from May 2009 to April 2010. During the study, 66 species were identified, mostly with distribution in …

Reservoirs Modeling Of Gas Hydrate Deposits In North Slope Of Alaska And Gulf Of Mexico, Manohar Gaddipati

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In order to address the world's growing energy demand, the necessity to explore more and more unconventional sources of energy arises. Recently there has been increased interest in the potential of natural gas hydrates as an alternate energy resource. Methane hydrates are crystalline solids, very similar to ice, in which non-polar molecules are trapped inside the cages formed by water molecules. Methane hydrates could be potentially a vast source of energy. The production of natural gas from hydrates economically poses a big challenge to today's scientific world. Two sites for greatest potential for gas production from gas hydrates as identified …

On The Optimization Of Co2-Eor Process Using Surrogate Reservoir Model, Vida Gholami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

CO2-EOR projects are becoming increasingly popular. Since enhanced recovery processes are applied to the mature fields, it usually involves a large number of wells. While the large number of wells leads to a better geological model, it results in very large flow models that are hard to manage, history match, and use as an optimization base. Nevertheless, injection-production optimization remains the core of all modeling efforts in CO2-EOR projects.;The objective of this work is to investigate the feasibility of using state-of-the-art data-driven proxy models to facilitate injection-production optimization in a CO2-EOR process. The use of coupled grid-based---SRM G and well-based---SRMW …