Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Late-Quaternary Vegetational History At Jackson Pond Larue County, Kentucky, Gary R. Wilkins

Masters Theses

A 6.2 meter core of lacustrine sediment from Jackson Pond, Larue County, Kentucky represents the first continuous sequence from Kentucky permitting the vegetational reconstruction for the full-glacial through late-Holocene intervals. Jackson Pond is a spring-fed pond situated within a karst-collapse basin underlain by Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis limestone of Mississippian age. The site is located at 37°27'N, 85°30'W, 190 km south of the full-glacial limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Six sediment samples submitted for radiocarbon analysis provide an absolute chronology for the site for the last 20,460 years.

From 20,460 yr B.P. to 20,330 …

Stratigraphy And Structure Of The Ganson Hill Area: Northern Taconic Allochthon, Michelle Aparisi

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Ganson Hill study area is located in the Giddings Brook Slice of the Taconic Allochthon. It contains rocks of Cambrian(?), Cambrian and Ordovician age. The predominant rock type is slate with subordinate lithologies including quartzite, limestone, micrite, arenite and graywacke. The lithostratigraphy identified in the Ganson Hill area extends from the basal Bomoseen wacke to the Poultney slate. A more precisely defined lithostratigraphy is derived from the study area by the occurrence and recognition of the Middle Granville Slate Formation and the documentation of a second Cambrian black/green boundary. Previous workers have included this formation in different places, in …

Sedimentology And Tectonic Significance Of The Nutzotin Mountains Sequence, Alaska, Jane Kozinski

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Nutzotin Mountains Sequence, a Mesozoic flysch sequence in the eastern Alaska Range, was studied along the southern border and in the central portions of the outcrop belt. Three lithologic associations are recognized in the Bonanza Creek section (southern margin) that together indicate a coarsening-upward trend, suggestive of a prograding fan system. These associations are (from bottom to top): 1) debris flow conglomerates overlain by 500 m of intercalated mudstone and base-missing turbiditic siltstone, and mass movement features such as slump folds and slump horizons, 2) 195 m of thicker, coarser turbidites intercalated with mudstones; turbidites are graded but lack …

A Numerical Approach For Determining The Variable Ascent Velocity Of A Granitoid Diapir, Keith I. Mahon

Geology Theses and Dissertations

A mathematical model for granitoid diapirism has been developed that accounts for the time dependent thermal and rheological conditions encountered by the intruding body. This model is derived by the simultaneous solution of the partial differential equations of energy, continuity, and momentum utilizing scaling analysis. The underlying assumption is that deformation of the surrounding country rock is confined to a relatively thin layer with a temperature dependent Newtonian viscosity. When the country rock is modeled as a power-law fluid, the effective viscosity is dependent upon temperature and shear strain rate.
This model allows for realistic temperature gradients within the crust …

Geology Of The Frozen Ocean Lake - New Bay Pond Area, North-Central Newfoundland, Timothy M. Kusky

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Rocks of the Frozen Ocean Group outcrop in the Frozen Ocean Lake-New Bay Pond Area, Newfoundland, and are here divided into four formations. The Lewis Lake Formation forms the base of the Frozen Ocean Group, and is composed predominantly of mafic volcanic flows; this is conformably overlain by the Blue Star Formation which is entirely sedimentary in nature. The Blue Star Formation is in turn conformably overlain.by the Bursey Point Formation, which is a mixed volcanic and sedimentary unit. The top of the Frozen Ocean Group is marked by the Lynx Pond Formation, a mixed silicic- and mafic-volcanic formation, with …

Preliminary Investigation For Underground Storage Of Pipeline Gas In The Bruer And Flora Pools, Mist Gas Field, Columbia County, Oregon, Paul Joseph Townley

Dissertations and Theses

Northwest Natural Gas Canpany has proposed to convert the Bruer and Flora pools of the Mist Gas Field in west-central Columbia County, Northwestern Oregon, to pipeline gas storage reservoirs. Conversion to underground storage of pipeline gas in these depleted gas reservoirs would be the first in the Pacific Northwest. The Bruer and Flora Pools are fault trapped within the Cowlitz Formation. The shales overlying the Cowlitz Formation create a local seal for these gas reservoirs. X-ray diffraction and density log measurements suggest that the clay in these shales is primarily composed of smectite, which provides an excellent caprock seal.

The …

Geochemistry Of Alteration And Mineralization Of The Wind River Gold Prospect, Skamania County, Washington, Krista I. Mcgowan

Dissertations and Theses

The Wind River gold prospect is located in TSN, R7E of Skamania County, Washington, and is an epithermal gold-quartz vein system hosted in volcanic rocks of the Ohanapecosh Formation, a late Eocene to middle Oligocene unit of calcalkaline chemical composition. Andesitic pyroclastic rocks of the Ohanapecosh Formation are the host of mineralization in the study area, and form the lowest of several stratigraphic subunits. These pyroclastic rocks are overlain by two sequences of lava flows which cap the ridges and are folded by an anticlinal warp over the length of Paradise Ridge, plunging gently to the southeast. Toward the west, …

Depositional Environments And Petrology Of The Felix Coal Interval (Eocene), Powder River Basin, Wyoming, Peter D. Warwick

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

A study of a 250 ft. (76.2 m) stratigraphic interval that includes the Eocene-age Felix coal of the Wasatch Formation was undertaken in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming to establish a depositional model based on the interrelations of coal-seam geometry, coal maceral composition, and spatial distribution of adjoining rocks. Regional cross sections and maps of major rock bodies were prepared from 147 measured stratigraphic sections and 56 geophysical logs. Trends in maceral and chemical properties within the Felix coal were identified from petrographic and geochemical analyses of 72 coal channel samples. The combined data sets indicate that the thickest …

Carbonate Facies Of The Kimmswick Limestone (Trenton/Galena) In Southwestern Illinois : Their Relations As Oil Reservoirs And Traps, Gregory A. Crews

Masters Theses

"Four potentially productive oil horizons have been identified in the Kimmswick Limestone (Trenton/Galena), Ordovician of southwestern Illinois. Four non-porous caprock zones and four porous horizons were identified and informally named after corresponding members of the Dunleith Formation (Illinois State Geological Survey classification). The porous horizons generally consist of coarse-grained, fossiliferous limestone, which is overlain by finer grained, spar-cemented, impermeable limestone.

In order of production potential, the horizons are the upper Moredock, lower Moredock, Beecher-St. James (lowermost stratigraphic unit), and New London (uppermost stratigraphic unit). Porosity in the upper Moredock horizon is relatively consistent throughout the study area, as determined by …

Geology And Geochemistry Of Hydrothermal Alteration, Eastern Portion Of The North Santiam Mining Area, J. Michael Pollock

Dissertations and Theses

The Ruth Mine is a base-metal vein deposit near the eastern margin of a reported porphyry copper deposit in the Western Cascade Range in Oregon. Uplift of the Western Cascade Range has resulted in a deeply dissected terrain in which more than a kilometer of the stratigraphy overlying the porphyry-style mineralization is preserved and exposed. The stratigraphic units, which are middle Tertiary in age, have been given arbitrary letter designations beginning with the lowest unit (Unit A) through the uppermost unit (Unit D).

Provenance Study Of Late Eocene Arkosic Sandstones In Southwest And Central Washington, Mark Edward Byrnes

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to compare the sandstone composition and trace element geochemistry between samples representing the Summit Creek sandstone, Naches, Chumstick, and Carbonado Formations in order to determine if these sediments were all derived from the same provenance, and to determine the composition of the source rocks in hopes to identify the present day location of the source areas.

Current, Erosional And Depositional Patterns At A River Confluence And Bend In The Nottawasaga River, Angus, Ontario, Gregory Robert Brooks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

At a bend and confluence of the Nottawasaga River, sixty-four measurements of flow velocities were recorded at points along vertical profiles regularly spaced across a series of cross-sections. From the summarization of the data into a ‘three dimensional’ diagram, the current velocity patterns in the river reach were evident.

As observed at low discharge levels, the low speeds and directional uniformity of the flow in the Nottawasaga River entering the study reach suggests that the observed asymmetrical channel the study reach suggests that the observed asymmetrical channel was a remnant of higher discharge levels. On the other hand, in the …

Structure And Evolution Of The Horse Heaven Hills In South-Central Washington, Michael Curtis Hagood

Dissertations and Theses

The Horse Heaven Hills uplift in south-central Washington consists of distinct northwest and northeast trends which merge in the lower Yakima Valley. The northwest trend is adjacent to and parallels the Rattlesnake-Wallula alignment (RAW; a part of the Olympic-Wallowa lineament). The northwest trend and northeast trend consist of aligned or en echelon anticlines and monoclines whose axes are generally oriented in the direction of the trend. At the intersection, folds in the northeast trend plunge onto and are terminated by folds of the northwest trend.

Thermodynamics And Kinetics Of Aqueous Solution Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixtures (Solutes, Petroleum), David Robert. Burris

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Two-phase systems of a liquid hydrocarbon mixture, containing medium molecular weight (C(,7)-C(,12)) aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and water were examined in both equilibrium and kinetic experiments. Knowledge of the aqueous solution behavior of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures is of importance in determining the fate of hydrocarbon components in such systems of an environmental or geologic nature. Solute concentrations were determined by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography. The equilibrium solute concentration for a given component i (C(,i)) is related to the pure compound solubility (C(,i)('o)), mole fraction of component i in the hydrocarbon phase (x(,i(h))) and the activity coefficient of component …

The Geology And Hydrocarbon Potential Of The Dawson Bay Formation Carbonate Unit (Middle Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Wayne R. Pound

Theses and Dissertations

The Middle Devonian Dawson Bay Formation carbonate unit is present in the subsurface of North Dakota except where truncated by post-depositional erosion. The carbonate unit thickens from the erosional limit to a maximum thickness of 47.5 m (156 ft.) in Renville County and reaches a maximum depth of 3798 m (12, 432 ft.) below the surface in McKenzie County. In North Dakota, a submarine hardground separates the carbonate unit from the underlying “Second Red Bed member” of the Dawson Bay Formation. The upper contact with the Souris River Formation is conformable except in those areas where the Dawson Bay Formation …

Sedimentologic And Stratigraphic Significance Of Boulder Layers In The Outer Coastal Plain Of Southeastern Virginia, Robert C. Mcdaniel

OES Theses and Dissertations

In southeastern Virginia one to two discontinuous boulder layers occur at the base of the Pleistocene Norfolk Formation. The sediments, heavy minerals and microfossils within the boulder layers in addition to boulder lithologies, dimensions and orientations were studied to determine the origin of these layers. These data indicate the boulder layers were separated into two similar yet distinct layers.

The ancestral James River with sea-level 100 meters lower than today probably had the capacity to entrain 70-80 percent of the clasts in the boulder layers, but probably not the capacity to entrain the larger cobbles and boulders in the boulder …

The Use Of Ilmenite Element Composition For The Determination Of Provenance, Yu W. Tsang

OES Theses and Dissertations

Fifty three samples were taken from three major rivers and their tributaries in Virginia: the James, Roanoke. and Potomac-Shenandoah Rivers. Samples were obtained from the Valley and Ridge. Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces. The possible source rock types for these samples were determined by comparison of tributary ilmenite composition with drainage basin rock types. Ilmenite element concentration varied with different rock types. Ti was usually high for the ilmenite derived from non-mafic igneous rocks. Mg and Cr were high for the ilmenite from mafic igneous rocks. Zn was low for metamorphic ilmenite. The ilmenite from sedimentary rocks tended to have …

Palynology Of The Hagel Lignite Bed And Associated Strata, Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), In Central North Dakota, Edward N. Steadman

Theses and Dissertations

The Hagel bed is an economically important lignite and is the lowest named lignite in the Sentinel Butte Formation, Fort Union Group. The Hagel bed extends throughout the Knife River Basin coal-mining area of central North Dakota. Stratigraphic sections of the Hagel bed, including intercalated clastic rocks, were measured in the highwalls of the Center mine, Glenharold mine, and Falkirk mine.

Samples from the stratigraphic sections were described and analyzed, using standard palynological techniques, for their palynomorph content. Palynomorphs proved to be well preserved and abundant. Maceration of Hagel bed samples yielded a diverse collection of palynomorphs. A total of …

Petrology Of The Beulah-Zap Lignite Bed, Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Mercer County, North Dakota, David R. Kleesattel

Theses and Dissertations

The Beulah-Zap lignite bed is one of several economically important lignites in the Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene). This lignite occurs as a subsurface unit in the Knife River Basin of Mercer and I Oliver counties of North Dakota. The Beulah-Zap lignite is a heterogeneous carbonaceous rock unit composed of megascopic and microscopic I components, which are lithotypes and macerals, respectively. Relationships between the maceral contents of the lithotypes follow patterns similar to those of bituminous coals. Coal petrology, the study of maceral and lithotype occurrence and I distribution, was applied to determine: 1) mode of coalification, and 2) depositional environment …

Macrofossils And Biostratigraphy Of The Bakken Formation (Devonian And Mississippian) In Western North Dakota, Lawrence C. Thrasher

Theses and Dissertations

The Bakken Formation, up to 145 feet thick in North Dakota, is a subsurface formation in the Williston Basin that typically consists of two black shale members separated by a middle member of predominantly gray siltstone or silty limestone up to 85 feet thick.

Well over 500 macrofossils representing more than 50 taxa were collected from cores of 40 wells. Brachiopods, the most common fossil, represent 17 genera, 1 of which have not been previously reported from the Bakken. Nonbrachiopod fossils of this study, mostly not previously reported from the Bakken, are a hylothyrid, a conulariid, a syringoporid coral, several …

Late Quaternary Environmental And Climatic History Of The Southern Chilean Lake Region Interpreted From Coleopteran (Beetle) Assemblages, John W. Hoganson

Theses and Dissertations

A diverse Coleoptera fauna of 462 species in 48 families was collected from 41 locations in the Parque Nacional de Puyehue and adjacent parts of the Lake Region of southern Chile. The sample locations ranged from rain forest habitats at sea-level to Andean tundra habitats at 1500 m msl. Cluster analysis of a Dice similarity coefficient matrix revealed a broad pattern of bioassociations within the large data base, Boundaries between the bioassociations correspond largely with those of the major vegetation zones implying that the distribution of the fauna is strongly influenced by the distribution of plants. Evidence from fossils indicates …

Middle And Late Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) Insect Assemblages From Illinois, Kristine D. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Two highly organic sediment sequences from central and western Illinois (the Athens North Quarry and Biggsville sites, respectively) of Middle and Late Wisconsinan age were studied to gain knowledge about the environment and climate of this area during the time immediately prior to the maximum extent of the last glaciation. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic inferences are based principally upon knowledge of the habitat preferences and geographic distributions of extant species of beetles that are represented as fossils. These data are supplemented by information from sedimentological and taphonomic studies and from previously published palynological and plant-macrofossil studies.

The Athens North Quarry site …

Metamorphism In The Eastern Lac Seul Region Of The English River Subprovince, Ontario, Steve J. Chipera

Theses and Dissertations

The English River subprovince of the Superior Province, Canada, is a linear, east-west trending high-grade metamorphic belt which extends from Lake Winnipeg in the west, to the James Bay lowlands in the east. It is composed of two prominent lithologic domains: a northern sedimentary gneiss-migmatite domain, and a southern plutonic domain. The northern domain consists primarily of alternating migmatized layers of garnet-biotite "wacke" and garnet-cordierite-biotite "pelitic" metasediments. The southern domain is composed mainly of intermediate granitic to trondhjemitic plutons. Bordering to the north and south are the lower grade Uchi and Wabigoon greenstone belts. Metamorphism and migmatization occurred during the …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Shoreline Erosion Processes, Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, Mark D. Millsop

Theses and Dissertations

Shoreline erosion is a problem at Lake Sakakawea and Lake Audubon, North Dakota. Land is lost, water quality is adversely affected, and reservoir storage capacity is decreased.

Instrumentation of the eastern shores of both lakes began in 1983 to quantify bank erosion by process (e.g., wave erosion, rainsplash and runoff, and frost-thaw failure). Other data gathered included: pool level fluctuations; wind velocity, direction, and duration; precipita tion; soil moisture; frost penetration; freeze-thaw cycles; and geology (e.g., texture, clay mineralogy and structure).

The magnitude of shoreline erosion is highly variable, especially within Lake Sakakawea. For the interval of May 1983 through …

Depositional Environments And Diagenesis Of Carbonates And Associated Evaporites, Frobisher-Alida Interval, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, Northwestern North Dakota, Thomas J. Obelenus

Theses and Dissertations

The Frobisher-Alida interval is a subsurface, marker-defined unit, one of several units designated for rocks of the Madison Group (Mississippian) in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. The Frobisher Alida conformably overlies the Tilston interval and is conformably overlain by the Ratcliffe interval. 1t attains a maximum thickness of a little over 400 feet (123 m) and thins to an erosional edge along the eastern margin of the Basin.

The Frobisher-Alida is composed of limestones, dolomitic limestones, and dolostones of the Mission Canyon Formation and anhydrites of the overlying Charles Formation which exist in a complex facies relationship within the …

Metamorphism And Migmatization Of Metasediments In The Precambrian English River Subprovince, Western Ontario, Rodney M. Baumann

Theses and Dissertations

Metasediments of the Precambrian English River subprovince, a subdivision of the Superior province, are conspicuously migmatized by 'bands of light-colored, igneous-appearing material. The metasediments them.selves consist of alternating layers of pelite and wacke lithologies, which represent original mudstones and graywackes respectively. Their deposition is thought to represent subaqueous turbidity flows.

For the metasediments of the study area, a 250 square kilometer portion of the English River subprovince, metamorphic grade increases southward from the English River subprovince's northern border. Two isograds have been mapped: the disappearance of muscovite and the disappearance of stable sillimanite. Geothermometry studies are consistent with the trend …

Geochemistry And Petrology Of The Lake Vermilion Formation, Ely Greenstone Belt, Northeastern Minnesota, Scott E. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Alteration in the Lake Vermilion Formation took place at low water/rock ratios. Calculations using the method of Grescens (1967) indicate that the amount of open-system elemental exchange was slight. During secondary alteration, Ca, Na, K, Rb, Sr, and Ba were very mobile; Mg and Fe were less mobile; Si, Al, Ti, Zr, Y, and Ni were slightly mobile. Chemically the rocks resemble modern spilites and keratophyres.

The dacites and basalts are depleted in Ti, Zr, and Y relative to Tertiary igneous rocks of similar composition. The Lake Vermilion Formation basalts display a volcanic arc basalt trend of constant Ti02 with …

Petrology Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), North Dakota, Nels F. Forsman

Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentary materials of the Sentinel Butte Formation have been petrographically examined using optical and scanning electron micro scope/microprobe techniques. The formation consists of fine-grained materials which generally are classified mineralogically as volcanic litharenites or feldspathic litharenites. Most rock units in the formation are siltstones and mudstones. Multiple source rock types, including volcanic, metamorphic, and sedimentary, are represented by mineralogic constituents, but volcanic rock fragments are most abundant. Petrographic distinctions between basal and uppermost sandstone units suggest that a change in sediment supply took place near the end of Sentinel Butte time. Authigenic cement development appears concentrated in more porous and …

Net Shore-Drift Along The Pacific Coast Of Clallam And Jefferson Counties, Washington, James Mahala

WWU Graduate School Collection

Geomorphic and sedimentologic indicators of shore drift were used to delineate the boundaries of drift unit cells and their direction of net shore-drift along the 110 km of Pacific coastline of Clallam and Jefferson Counties, Washington. These indicators include changes in bluff morphology, sediment size gradation, beach width and slope, direction of spit progradation and stream mouth diversion, deposition and/or erosion at drift obstructions, identifiable sediment, and nearshore bar orientation. Drift determinations were based on a field oriented approach emphasizing such long-term indicators, supplemented by aerial photography, and literature relevant to the coast.

Wind from the south-southwest prevail and predominate …

Paleomagnetic Evidence For Northward Transport Of The Methow-Pasayten Belt, Julian L. (Julian Linus) Granirer

WWU Graduate School Collection

High level demagnetization isolates a single syntectonic magnetization in ten stable sites from the upper Cretaceous Winthrop and Midnight Peak Formations in the Methow-Pasayten belt of north central Washington. The mean direction of D=11.4°, 1=62.6°, Alpha₉₅=4.7° is discordant with the expected in-situ direction. This discordance is interpreted as resulting from 1,370 km of northward transport between 93 and 45 Ma. Correcting the contemporaneous Mount Stuart direction from within the Cascade terrane for approximately 16° of southward tilt brings it into accord with the new Methow direction. Further, if northward translation of these terranes were initiated by a southward …