Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Analysis Of Nitrate Concentrations In The Ground-Water Of Antwerp Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, John Emil Klanke

Masters Theses

Private wells were tested for nitrate during the spring of 1979 throughout sections of Antwerp Township, Van Buren County, southwestern Michigan (sections 1-5, 7-22, 24-26, 28-31, 33-36). Water samples were collected from 159 private wells and analyzed for nitrate. Nitrate concentrations ranged from less than 1 mg/1 NO₃-N to 14.6 mg/1 NO₃-N. Seven wells were found to have nitrate concentrations equaling or exceeding the National Interim Primary Drinking Water Standard of 10 mg/1 NO₃-N. Nitrate concentrations were related to age of septic system, well depth below static water level, land use, and soil type. …

Petrology Of Fluvial And Shoreline Sands In A Modern Arc-Trench Gap, Guatemala, James Robert Bartel

Masters Theses

Petrographic studies of modern sands, derived from areas with known source rocks, climate, relief, environments of deposition, and tectonic setting, are essential for compiling compositional models for ancient sandstones. The Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala is terminated 25-60 km inland by the steep slopes of a row of active Quaternary volcanic and granitic rocks.

Sands being deposited on the coastal plain by the Rio Nahulate, which drains the older volcanic and granitic terrane, show significant compositional differences with those supplied by the Rio Samala, which drains an area dominated by active volcanism: Q₉F₃₅L₅₆ vs. Q …

Structural Analysis Of Precambrian Metasedimentary Rocks Of The Swede Gulch Formation, Nahant, South Dakota, Richard G. Cookman

Masters Theses

Precambrian X tectonites deformed between thermal domes in the northern Black Hills 1.7 B.Y.B.P. display variably trending isoclinal folds cross-cut by southeast trending slip-folds developed in discrete shear zones. Eugeosynclinal sedimentary rocks consisting of shale, quartzarenite , sublitharenite, and graywacke were metamorphosed to phyllite, quartzite, and metagraywacke during two syntectonic phases and one post-tectonic phase. The earliest syntectonic metamorphism was associated with development of isoclinal folds and may have produced amphibolite or greenschist facies. It was succeeded by retrograde metamorphism of greenschist facies syntectonic with and post-tectonic to development of southeast trending folds.

Mica, chlorite, iron oxides, and graphite are …

The Determination Of A Relative Chronology For A Surface Archeological Site Using The Obsidian Hydration Dating Method, Scott Preston Thomas

Dissertations and Theses

This methodological study is an attempt to develop relative chronologies for surface archaeological sites from the obsidian hydration analysis of waste flake samples. Two sites in southeastern Oregon were selected and their surface components sampled. The results of the obsidian hydration analysis indicate, that with the use of random sampling methods and general geochemical control, a fairly accurate representation of the history of an archaeological surface site can be obtained.

Selected Shallow Electrical Resistivity Surveys At Volcano Cliffs, Bernalillo County, And Warm Springs, Sandoval County, New Mexico, Sidney S. Brandwein

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

To help assess the applicability of shallow electrical resistivity measurements in New Mexico, two diverse areas in northwestern New Mexico were chosen as electrical resistivity survey sites: Volcano Cliffs and Warm Springs.

Volcano Cliffs, 15 km northwest of Albuquerque, is an area of Pleistocene volcanic activity which manifested itself in cinder cones and basalt flows. At Volcano Cliffs five different electrode configurations were employed to test the horizontality and derive the thicknesses and resistivities of the three geoelectric units present. All electrode configurations yielded reliable results. The ambiguities presented by the principle of equivalence were successfully treated. The first geoelectric …

A Geochemical Study Of The Sudbury Breccia, Kevin M. Prochaska

Masters Theses

The origin of the Sudbury Breccia surrounding the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, Canada has long been debated. The breccia has been described both as an igneous injection and as an abraded country rock formed by attrition in place.

A geochemical analysis of selected elements in matrix and clast samples from the breccia revealed distinct differences between the two sample groups. Matrix samples were lower in silicon and higher in heavy elements than the clasts. Matrix and clasts were comparable in light elements.

The results of the analysis favor an igneous process. Petrographic observations and structural evidence support this idea. The …

The Hydrologic Factors That Control Carbonate Hardness In Kalamazoo County Lakes, Southwestern Michigan, Linda Brittain Fenner

Masters Theses

The range and distribution of carbonate hardness in Kalamazoo County lakes were determined and hydrologic factors thought to control hardness were evaluated. Surface-water samples were collected from thirty- five randomly selected lakes in October, 1980. Carbonate hardness ranged from 16 to 244 mg/1 with 61 percent above 120 mg/1. Ten hydrologic variables were analyzed with respect to lake hardness. Lakes with a surface-water inlet were a ll hard (greater than 180 mg/1) and lakes at least two meters higher than the approximate ground-water table were all relatively soft (less than 100 mg/1). No direct correlations were found between the other …

Dolomitization Of The Brassfield Formation (Lower Silurian) In Adams County, Ohio, Lisa L. Varga

Masters Theses

The Lower Silurian Brassfield Formation which outcrops in the Tri-state area of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky is a transgressive sequence consisting of a series of interbedded shales, limestones and dolostones. Evidence from depositional environments, petrography and spatial relationships of dolomitized and undolomitized rock suggests dolomitization in southwestern Ohio was a two-stage process. Initial dolomitization was restricted to the basal Belfast Member and probably occurred penecontemporaneously on small supratidal islands in a manner analagous to that which occurs in the modern sabkha environment of the Persian Gulf. Regional dolomitization was a later diagenetic event related to the formation of a fresh-seawater …

The Petrology And Geochemistry Of Keweenawan Diabase Dikes In Ontonagon, Gogebic, Iron And Dickinson Counties, Michigan, James J. Hahnenberg

Masters Theses

Petrographic and chemical studies of Keeweenawan-age diabase dikes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula show two major groupings, Porcupine Mountain dikes and Lower Keweenawan dikes consist of two major rock types, fine-grained smaller dikes and the coarse-grained central portions of larger dikes. Major minerals are subophitic plagioclase and pyroxene. The rocks, as compared to the "average" basalts, are low in Al₂0₃, high in Ti0₂, K₂0, P₂0₅ and contain moderate amounts of Fe0_t. They are classified as quartz tholeiites. Several parental magma sources that would account for these and other …

The Ecology And Natural History Of The Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis) In The Cades Cove Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, Deborah M. Goldsmith

Masters Theses

This study was initiated to collect information on several aspects of skunk ecology and natural history in a campground situation. The areas of skunk ecology and behavior, den site availability, activity behavior, and foraging behavior in the Cades Cove campground, GSMNP. Data collection for the study began in June 1979 and ended in August 1980.

The skunk population within the 156 ha study area, which included the campground and picnic area, was estimated by mark-recapture at 31 ± 4 skunks; in late July and early August the skunk population temporarily increased as the juveniles became independent and were caught more …

Petrology Of The Arumbera Sandstone, Late Proterozoic(?) - Early Cambrian, Northeastern Amadeus Basin, Central Australia, Keith T. Conrad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Arumbera Sandstone forms distinctive strike ridges with dark reddish slopes and orange-white cliffs throughout most of the northeastern Amadeus Basin. It is divisible into four readily mappable informal units. The ridge-forming units, 2 and 4, are divided into three and two subunits, respectively.

Unit 1, Subunit 2b, Unit 3 and Subunit 4b are generally comprised of recessive, pale-red to grayish-red, medium- to thin-bedded, fineto medium-grained arkose with major proportions of siltstone and mudshale. These sedimentary bodies are interpreted as a complex system of coastal to nearshore-marine environments including tidal flats, tidal channels, estuaries and beaches. Evidence includes: (1) predominance …

Faunal Succession And Depositional Environments Within The Lodgepole Limestone (Early Mississippian) Of Samaria Mountain, Idaho, Gary Keith Hines

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Community succession, the orderly changes a community experiences with time, is considered to be the result of either autogenic or allogenic factors working singularly or in combination. It has been further suggested that, as communities undergo succession, certain biological parameters change in a predictable manner. Examination of members 2 through 4 of the Mississippian (Kinderhook-Osage) Lodgepole Formation of Samaria Mountain, Idaho provides a means to evaluate these concepts.

Within the study section comprised of 125 beds (61.5 m thick), four rock types are recognized. These include: (1) fossiliferous wackestone (78% of beds), which ranges in color from dark-gray (N3) to …

Mineralogy And Petrology Of Lava Flows (Tertiary-Quaternary) In Southeastern Idaho And At Black Mountain, Rich County, Utah, Barbara J. Puchy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lava flows of Tertiary-Quaternary age occur in Enoch Valley, Upper Valley, and Slug Valley in southeastern Idaho. The basalts in Upper Valley and Enoch Valley contain olivine (Fo₆₉ to Fo₃₇), plagioclase (An₆₂ to An₃₉), augite and Fe-Ti oxides. The lava in Slug Valley lacks plagioclase, but contains sanidine (Or₇₀ to Or₅₆) with a trace of biotite and amphibole, and thus, has been termed alkali trachyte.

Black Mountain, on the eastern side of Bear Lake, northeastern Utah, is capped by basalt. Minerals present include olivine (Fo₈₃ to Fo₇₂), plagioclase …

Petrology Of The Middle Cambrian Blacksmith Formation, Southeastern Idaho And Northernmost Utah, David Paul Zelazek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Blacksmith Formation of Middle Cambrian (Albertan) age was studied in southeastern Idaho and northernmost Utah. Lithology and sedimentary structures were compared with modern environments and ancient rocks to determine environments of deposition, paleo-geography, diagenetic alterations and patterns of dolomitization.

The Blacksmith Formation can be divided into five basic rock types. Rock type A has cryptalgalaminae, mudcracks, and lacks bioturbation. Rock type A is inferred to have been deposited in the upper intertidal to supratidal environment. Rock type B is extremely dolomitized and brecciated. It is inferred that rock type B was deposited in the upper intertidal to supratidal environment. …

Growth-Form Analysis And Paleoecology Of The Corals Of The Late Ordovician Through Mid-Silurian Fish Haven And Laketown Formations, Bear River Range, North-Central Utah, Thomas B. Rich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Morphology of corals of the Late Ordovician through mid-Silurian Fish Haven and Laketown Formations were analyzed to document adaptations to inferred enviromental conditions, i.e., (bathymetry, illumination, sedimentation, currents, and energy), under which their enclosing sediment was deposited. Specimens and data were collected from six sites. Insoluble-residue tests were performed on the corals' matrices.

Individual corallites of radial-lensoidal corals radiate in all directions. Vertical growth, however, was restricted in turbulent conditions. Umbrellic, radial-lensoidal corals feature downward facing corallites, considered to be an adaptation to a well illuminated environment.

On tabular lensoidal corals, constituent corallites faces exclusively upward, an orientation needed under …

Provenance And Description Of Landslide Masses, Rainbow Gardens, Clark County, Nevada, Joseph R. Parolini

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A landslide breccia of plutonic and metamorphic rocks located 20 km east of Las Vegas, Nevada is interstratified with the late Tertiary Thumb Formation. Rock types of similar mineral composition to the landslide masses in the Rainbow Gardens are found 60 km to the east in the Gold Butte (Nevada) area. The landslide masses were displaced into their present position by lateral strike-slip motion along either the left-lateral Lake Mead fault system or the right-lateral Las Vegas shear zone. In the Rainbow Gardens landslide masses, five plutonic rock types, including Rapakivi granite, match rocks from the Gold Butte area, both …

Provenance And Description Of Landslide Masses, Rainbow Gardens Clark County, Nevada., Joseph R. Parolini

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A landslide breccia of plutonic and metamorphic rocks located 20 km east of Las Vegas, Nevada is interstratified with the late Tertiary Thumb Formation. Rock types of similar mineral composition to the landslide masses in the Rainbow Gardens are found 60 km to the east in the Gold Butte (Nevada) area. The landslide masses were displaced into their present position by lateral strike-slip motion along either the left-lateral Lake Mead fault system or the right-lateral Las Vegas shear zone. In t.he Rainbow Gardens landslide masses, five plutonic rock types, including rapakivi granite, match rocks from the Gold Butte area, both …

U-Pb Systematics And Ages Of Rocks From The Zone Of Cataclasis, Bitterroot Dome, Southwestern Montana, Edward Charles Arruda

Masters Theses

The eastern flank of the Bitterroot range, western Montana, consists of a 100 km-long zone of cataclasis which dips to the east. Zircons in sheared granitic plutons from three localities within this zone were dated using U-Pb methods. These zircons, which consist of anhedral cores and euhedral overgrowths, yield concordia lower-intercept ages of 48-52 million years before the present, dates which likely represent crystallization ages of the plutons. Shearing which affected these plutons, therefore, is significantly younger than the 72-76 million year age assigned for eastward movement of the Sapphire tectonic block whose detachment zone has been interpreted as the …

Palynological Correlation Of The Kentucky No. 12 Coal, Gerald E. Vyhmeister

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In attempting to analyze the depositional environment for the Kentucky No. 12 Coal three columns were sampled from a 1 km area. The columns yielded 76 miospore species belonging to 33 genera, and representing in decreasing order of abundance, arborescent lycopods, tree ferns, calamites, small ferns, gymnospermous trees, seed ferns, herbaceous lycopods, and others from unknown origin.

The pattern of spore distribution in the columns did not appear to be affected by the presence of several partings, a feature which calls into question several mechanisms proposed for the origin of partings and also creates difficulties for an autochthonous origin for …

Geology Of The Plutonic And Hypabyssal Rocks Of The Betts Cove Ophiolite Complex, Newfoundland, Bruce D. Idleman

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Betts Cove ophiolite complex lies within the Dunnage Zone island arc terrain of central Newfoundland. It forms the base of the lower Ordovician Snooks Arm Group, which consists of mafic igneous rocks of the ophiolite and a thick sequence of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which conformably overlies it. The Snooks Arm Group is unconformably overlain by sub-aerial sediments and volcanics of the presumed Silurian Cape St. John Group.
The base o£ the ophiolite complex consists predominantly of ultramafic rocks. These are interlayered on a variety of scales, and show mesoscopic igneous structures which suggest that they were produced by …

Permo-Triassic Reconstruction Of Western Pangea And The Evolution Of The Gulf Of Mexico-Caribbean Region, James Lawrence Pindell

Geology Theses and Dissertations

A Permo-Triassic reconstruction of western Pangea (North America, South America, Africa) is proposed that is characterized by: 1) definition of the North Atlantic fit by matching of marginal offsets (fracture zones) along the opposing margins, 2) a South Atlantic fit that is tighter than the Bullard fit and that is achieved by treating Africa as two plates astride the Benue Trough and related structures during the Cretaceous, 3) complete closure of the Proto-Atlantic Ocean between North and South America, accomplished by placing the Yucatan block between the Ouachita Mountains and Venezuela, 4) a proposed Hercynian suture zone that separates zones …

Some Chemical And Mineralogical Aspects Of Plutonic Rocks From The North Arm Mountain Massif, Bay Of Islands Ophiolite, Newfoundland, Jerry W. Sullivan

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Whole-rock major and trace element compositions of one basalt, one diabase, and 21 rocks from the magmatic-plutonic units of the North Arm Mountain massif, Bay of Islands ophiolite, Newfoundland, were determined. Mineral compositions of a subset of the plutonic rocks were also determined.
The major and trace element compositions of the basalt and diabase are similar to abyssal tholeiites, and this is consistent with the REE data of Malpas (1978) and Suen, et. al. (1979) that suggest the lavas and dikes formed from a depleted or slightly enriched abyssal tholeiitic magma. The alkaline nature of the magma proposed by several …

Geologic Investigations In The Cayman Trough And The Nature Of The Plutonic Foundation Of The Oceanic Crust, Janet B. Stroup

Geology Theses and Dissertations

A survey of the literature that deals with the gabbroic rocks believed to comprise the foundation of the oceanic crust indicates that the overwhelming majority of these rocks are recovered from escarpments associated with transform faults. The wide range of mineral and chemical compositions characterizing oceanic gabbroic rocks suggests that the lower oceanic crust is much more heterogeneous in nature than was previously suggested by the results of geophysical investigations. The examination of gabbroic rocks recovered in situ from the walls of the Mid-Cayman Rise rift valley by the submersible ALVIN not only supports the notion that oceanic gabbroic rocks …

Structural Studies Of The Ordovician Flysch And Melange In Albany County, New York, Frederick W. Vollmer

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The middle Ordovician rocks of the Albany 15 minute quadrangle comprise interbedded graywacke and shale, and in the east, coarse cobble or olistostromic deposits. The detrital composition, westward fining and regional westward transgression of these deposits indicate that these were sediments shed off the westward thrusting Taconic Allochthon. Primary sedimentary structures show that these rocks were deposited by turbidity currents flowing into a longitudinal trough, probably formed in response to increased load during overthrusting. Although strongly dependent on lithology, deformation intensity generally increases from west to east; from essentially undeformed bedded flysch through asymmetrically folded and thrust beds to highly …

Structural Analysis Of An Area Near Middlebury, Vermont, Paul A. Washington

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Detailed mapping of an area near Middlebury, Vermont, reveals a multiple deformational scheme quite different from that previously proposed. The published stratigraphy of the middle Ordovician limestones, on which earlier structural theories are based; was found to be inaccurate, so a new system has been defined. An unreported early generation of cleavage has been discovered which indicates the existence of a decollement zone in the upper Bascom formation. The second generation of cleavage and its associated folding were well defined by earlier workers, but this study shows that it is also a thin-skinned event.
The last deformation, as exhibited by …

Stratigraphy, Lithofacies And Depositional Environment Of The Cowlitz Formation, T. 4 And 5n., R. 5w. Northwest Oregon, Dale M. Timmons

Dissertations and Theses

The Cowlitz Formation in southern Columbia and Clatsop counties, northwest Oregon was studied in order to prepare a geologic map of parts of this formation and to determine the character of its lithofacies and the environments of deposition.

The Structure, Geologic Evolution And Regional Significance Of The Bethel Creek-North Fork Area, Coos And Curry Counties, Oregon, Carl Fredrick Gullixson

Dissertations and Theses

The original purpose of this study was a detailed structural analysis of the Jurassic Otter Point Formation in order to determine if the Canyonville Fault Zone, which forms the northern boundary of the Klamath Mountains in the Riddle - Canyonville area (Benson and Perttu, 1980), extends westward to the coast and, if possible, to characterize the structure of the Otter Point Formation. Further, a detailed examination of the structural and stratigraphic relationships between the Otter Point Formation and the Eocene Roseburg and Lookingglass Formations was to be performed in an attempt to determine the tectonic history of the area.

A Geochemical Study Of The Rhododendron And Dalles Formations In The Area Of Mount Hood, Oregon, Marshall W. Gannett

Dissertations and Theses

The Miocene Rhododendron and Dalles Formations in the Mount Hood area are accumulations of chiefly pyroclastic andesitic material, largely confined to the Dalles-Mount Hood syncline. These very similar units are geographically separated by overlying andesites including the present Mount Hood cone, and past workers (Hodge 1938, Wise 1969) have suspected that they may share a common source. Prior to this study, few geochemical data were available for the Rhododendron and the Dalles Formations, compared to the well studied Columbia River basalts underlying them and the overlying Pliocene andesites. This geochemical study was designed to investigate certain aspects of the Rhododendron …

A Stratigraphic And Geochemical Investigation Of Ferruginous Bauxite Deposits In The Salem Hills, Marion County, Oregon, Charles William Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses

Pacific Northwest ferruginous bauxite deposits have formed in four main areas of northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington by laterization of flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). The deposits, averaging 36.3% Al₂O₃ , 31.8% Fe₂O₃ , and 5.9% Sio₂, generally occur near the surface of hilltops in gently rolling areas. Two very different views have been advanced regarding the setting in which the deposits have formed. The first hypothesis calls for a blanket-type laterization by erosion of much of the original deposit upon uplift and dissection of the area.

The Influence Of Halloysite Content On The Shear Strength Of Kaolinite, Reka Katalin Gabor

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this thesis is to determine the relative shear strengths of halloysite, kaolinite, synthetic mixtures, and local soils, to investigate the influence of halloysite content on the shear strength of kaolinite, and to explore the possibility that the strength properties of soil clays might be controlled by the relative content of their component minerals.