Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Crustal Thickness Of West Antarctica, Julien A. Chaput, Richard C. Aster, Audrey D. Huerta, X. Sun, Andrew Lloyd, Douglas A. Wiens, Andrew Nyblade, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, J. Paul Winberry, Terry Wilson

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

P-to-S receiver functions (PRFs) from the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) GPS and seismic leg of POLENET spanning West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains deployment of seismographic stations provide new estimates of crustal thickness across West Antarctica, including the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), Marie Byrd Land (MBL) dome, and the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) margin. We show that complications arising from ice sheet multiples can be effectively managed and further information concerning low-velocity subglacial sediment thickness may be determined, via top-down utilization of synthetic receiver function models. We combine shallow structure constraints with the response of deeper layers using a …

Marine Diatom Assemblage Variation Across Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Transitions And Neogene Diatom Biostratigraphy Of Site C9001, Nw Pacific Ocean, Marcella K. Purkey

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2006, D/V-Chikyu cruise CK06-06 drilled Hole C9001C at Site C9001 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, 80 km east of the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. An existing chronostratigraphic framework provides a continuous glacial-interglacial (GI) climate record from which a diatom record of paleoenvironmental changes was developed across several GI cycles. Species counts, diatom temperature values, calculated sea-surface temperatures (SST) and factor analysis were produced for each sample and calibrated to prior diatom studies in this region. These features were used to characterize and compare interglacial maxima of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 5e, 9 and 11 and transitions from the preceding …

The Femur Of Orrorin Tugenensis Exhibits Morphometric Affinities With Both Miocene Apes And Later Hominins, Sergio Almecija, Melissa Tallman, David M. Alba, Marta Pina, Salvador Moya-Sola, William L. Jungers

Peer Reviewed Articles

Orrorin tugenensis (Kenya, ca. 6 Ma) is one of the earliest putative hominins. Its proximal femur, BAR 1002′00, was originally described as being very human-like, although later multivariate analyses showed an australopith pattern. However, some of its traits (for example, laterally protruding greater trochanter, medially oriented lesser trochanter and presence of third trochanter) are also present in earlier Miocene apes. Here, we use geometric morphometrics to reassess the morphological affinities of BAR 1002′00 within a large sample of anthropoids (including fossil apes and hominins) and reconstruct hominoid proximal femur evolution using squared-change parsimony. Our results indicate that both hominin …

U.S. Drought Monitor, December 3, 2013, Michael J. Brewer

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for December 3, 2013 (12/3/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Drainage Structure Datasets And Effects On Lidar-Derived Surface Flow Modeling, Ruopu Li, Zhenghong Tang, Xu Li, Jessie Winter

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

With extraordinary resolution and accuracy, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) have been increasingly used for watershed analyses and modeling by hydrologists, planners and engineers. Such high-accuracy DEMs have demonstrated their effectiveness in delineating watershed and drainage patterns at fine scales in low-relief terrains. However, these high-resolution datasets are usually only available as topographic DEMs rather than hydrologic DEMs, presenting greater land roughness that can affect natural flow accumulation. Specifically, locations of drainage structures such as road culverts and bridges were simulated as barriers to the passage of drainage. This paper proposed a geospatial method for producing …

Iron Isotope Cosmochemistry, Kun Wang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Iron is the most abundant element in the Earth and the 4th most abundant in the crust and mantle; Fe is involved in every stage of planetary formation and differentiation. Iron isotope ratios are robust process tracers used to understand the origin of the Solar System, planetary formation, and differentiation processes such as the moon-forming giant impact, core-mantle segregation, and crust formation. In this dissertation, I report the most complete dataset of high-precision iron isotope compositions of a wide range of extraterrestrial samples including carbonaceous, ordinary, and enstatite chondrites, aubrites, brachinites, HED meteorites: howardites, eucrites and diogenites), martian meteorites, angrites, …

Hydrochemical Investigation Of A Transient Parafluvial Zone Under Drought Conditions, Platte River, Nebraska, Audrey R. Boerner

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Shallow groundwater (0.5 m -1.2 m deep) beneath a vegetated and non-vegetated fluvial island was observed in the lower Platte River, Nebraska, USA during exceptional summer drought. Over the course of three months, sub-hourly measurements of hydraulic head, and weekly measurements of redox indicators, δ²H, δ¹⁸O, and dissolved gases were analyzed together with nitrogen and carbon species from an array of shallow piezometers in the river bed and islands. These data were compared with the same parameters collected from a 15 m-deep riparian borehole. Vertical hydraulic gradients in the island piezometers indicated the vertical component to …

Improving Time Structure Patterns Of Orthogonal Markov Chains And Its Consequences In Hydraulic Simulations, Juan C. Jaimes-Correa

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rainfall¹ occurrences understood as rain events are relevant for agricultural practices because temporal distribution of rainfall highly affects yield production. A few stochastic models satisfactorily generate daily rainfall events while preserving temporal and spatial dependence among multiple sites. I evaluated an extension on the traditional Orthogonal Markov chain (TOMC) model in reproducing the temporal structure of rainfall events at multiple sites in Florida (FL), Nebraska (NE) and California (CA). In addition, a simulation of watershed runoff from rainfall events, reproduced by a single- and multi-site weather generator, was conducted. Results shows that (i) a temporal structure extended …

Enhancing Usability Of The Multi-Channel Analysis Of Surface Wave (Masw) Technique For Subsurface Physical Property Mapping By Incorporating Random-Array Seismic Acquisition, Prasanta Malati Yeluru

Doctoral Dissertations

Subsurface imaging is very critical to exploit subsurface resources, monitor the fluid movement in the reservoir, mapping tunnels etc. As science advances scientists and other researchers are constantly trying to develop new techniques and methods for subsurface imaging that are more effective, efficient, and are more robust under varying field conditions. The main focus of this research is one such effort to improve and increase the usability of the Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Wave method (MASW) method in determining regolith and rock properties by introducing a new type of receiver arrangement to extend its usage in places that are inaccessible …

Species Discrimination, Systematics, And Ontogeny Of Blastoidea, James William Atwood

Doctoral Dissertations

Blastoids are ideal model organisms with which to study evolutionary processes because nearly all of the skeletal elements are shared among all taxa, there have been recent advances in the understanding of blastoid homology, and they are more commonly preserved fully inflated than any other blastozoan. Because of this homology and preservation, blastoids are the perfect candidate for studies involving geometric morphometrics and systematics. But the potential of blastoids to be a model clade has been extremely hampered by the lack of a modern phylogenetics and classification.

The focus of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of blastoid species …

Geologic Investigations In The Central Georgia Inner Piedmont And The Western Flank Of The Carolina Superterrane: Implications Regarding Acadian And Alleghanian Collisional Orogenesis, Fault Reactivation, And The Mesozoic Breakup Of Pangea, Matthew Tiesher Huebner

Doctoral Dissertations

Detailed geologic mapping, U-Pb geochronology, igneous petrology and whole-rock geochemical analysis, and structural analysis of the Inner Piedmont and Carolina superterrane were conducted to better define the tectonic history of the southern Appalachian orogen; results yield implications for Acadian/Neoacadian and Alleghanian collisional events and Mesozoic breakup of Pangea. Detailed geologic mapping was focused in the Inner Piedmont at the northeastern end of the Pine Mountain window to investigate an aeromagnetic anomaly that was hypothesized to represent the southwestern continuation of the Brindle Creek fault, which separates the Inner Piedmont terranes (Tugaloo and Cat Square). Evidence supports this hypothesis, while contrasting …

Common Core 4th Grade Environmental Science Lesson Plans For California Teachers, Gillian Schoenfeld

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

This project and its analyses were conducted to assist California fourth grade elementary school teachers in adjusting to teaching Common Core standards and science curriculum in their classrooms. The project included the creation of lesson plans, which could be utilized throughout the state of California.

As the Common Core standards, California’s Next Generation Science Standards for K- 12, were just proposed in June of 2013, these lesson plans would help teachers update their lessons and provide them materials and concepts of how to do so. These lessons provide higher-order thinking for students, which is the whole concept of the new …

Geoelectrical Detection Of Water Table Depth At Two Locations In The Los Osos Groundwater Basin, Hallie A. Douglas

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The city of Los Osos sits on top of a coastal groundwater aquifer which is the sole supplier of all its residential, agricultural, and industrial water needs. Lacking a sewer system, the upper aquifer became progressively contaminated with nitrates over several decades. Groundwater pumping eventually shifted to the lower aquifer, however seawater intrusion of the lower aquifer caused by over-pumping has further degraded water quality. The Los Osos groundwater basin provides an excellent field region to examine the utility of geophysical methods for characterizing aquifer structure. In this study shallow (<20 >m) electrical resistivity imaging methods were performed at two …

Surficial Geologic Map Of Kings Canyon: Implications For Relatively Slow Stream Incision Rates, Andrew Farris

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Most of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California has responded to regional uplift with rapid incision, creating the deepest canyon in the United States. However, Kings Canyon near Cedar Grove is still a mountainous relict landscape with little evidence of fluvial incision. Mapping took place in the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon to assess factors and/or processes causing relatively low stream incision rates in the region during Holocene time. A surficial geologic map was created in the field, along with visual observations of the South Fork of the Kings River and characterization of geologic map …

Glacier Slip And Seismicity Induced By Surface Melt, Peter L. Moore, J. Paul Winberry, Neal R. Iverson, Knut A. Christianson, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Miriam Jackson, Mark E. Mathison, Denis Cohen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Many of the key processes governing fast glacier flow involve interaction between a glacier and its basal hydrological system, which is hidden from direct observation. Passive seismic monitoring has shown promise as a tool for remotely monitoring basal processes, but lack of glacier-bed access prevents clear understanding of the relationships between subglacial processes and corresponding seismic emissions. Here we describe direct measurements of basal hydrology, sliding, and broadband seismicity made in a unique subglacial facility in Norway during the onset of two summer melt seasons. In the most pronounced of these episodes, rapid delivery of surface meltwater to the bed …

Marine Micro And Macro Faunas Of Holocene Deposits Of Anadolu Hi̇sari (Anatolian Castle, Bosphorus) And The Presence Of Xantho Poressa (Olivi) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthidae), Engin Meri̇ç, Hüsamettin Balkis, Niyazi Avşar, Atike Nazi̇k, Feyza Di̇nçer

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The presence of Xantho poressa (Olivi), known as the recent fossil, from Crustacea- Decapoda in Holocene deposits of Anadolu Hisarı has been revealed inthis study. This crab species is known as ranging from Mediterranean Sea to Black Sea and from Canary Islands to Portugal in Northeast Atlantic within depths of 0-15 meters in tidal and shallow subtidal environments. Remnants of broken crab shells with benthic foraminifera, ostracoda, bryozoan, pelecypoda and gastropoda were found in 78 samples which were collected from different levels of 8 of the cores taken from the basement of Küçüksu Palace at the Anadolu Hisarı. It was …

The Tectono-Stratigraphic Features Of Metamorphites In Alacahan-Çeti̇nkaya Region (Kangal, Sivas), Metin Beyazpi̇ri̇nç, Ali Ekber Akçay

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The study area covers Alacahan, Çetinkaya and Kangal regions. Allochthonous and autochthonous rock units are present in the region. Metamorphic rocks exposed in the region have been studied in detail as formation and member and have been incorporated into the Bolkardağ Nappe. Bolkardağ nappe which deposited in Late Devonian-Late Cretaceous and metamorphosed in green schist facies, has been distinguished into Late Devonian Düzce formation, Carboniferous Kınalar formation, late Permian Çayderesi formation, (?)Middle/Late Triassic-Cretaceous Kayaköy formation and Cretaceous Karaböğürtlen formation from base to top. The quartzites found at the base of the Kınalar formation and metaconglomerates at the base of the …

The Segment Structure Of Southern Branch Of The North Anatolian Fault And Paleoseismological Behaviour Of The Gemli̇k Fault, Nw Anatolia, Selim Özalp, Ömer Emre, Ahmet Doğan

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF), which is an intra-continental transform fault, is divided
into two branches as Northern and Southern branches in Marmara Region. The southern
branch which separates from each other by rightward stepovers between Bandırma and
Dokurcun valley is formed by three main fault segments as Geyve, İznik and Gemlik from
East to West. The length of fault segments ranges between 40 and 57 km and GPS data in
Southern branch propose a 5 mm/year slip rate. Two surface faulting events were observed
during paleoseismological excavations which had been carried out on 40 km long Gemlik
segment and …

First Determination Of Rudists (Bivalvia) From Ne Iraq: Systematic Palaeontology And Palaeobiogeography, Sacit Özer, Kamal Haji Karim, Dereen Mohamad Sadiq

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The Maastrichtian Aqra Formation around Mawat-Chwarta (Sulaimaniya city) in NE Iraq consists mainly of coarse grained detrital limestone, locally containing terrigenous clastics, and is characterized by abundant rudists in life position. The rudist biostromes are very common in the formation and benthic foraminifers, gastropods and non-rudist bivalves with scarcer echinoderms and solitary corals are associated with the rudists. This first determination of rudists from NE Iraq recognizes the following species, Dictyoptychus aff. morgani, Sauvagesia somalica, Hippurites cornucopiae, Praeradiolites subtoucasi and Lapeirousia jouanneti, as well as some indeterminable radiolitid sections. This rudist fauna is assigned to the Hippurites cornucopiae interval zone …

Organic Geochemical And Petrographic Properties Of Hazro Dadaş (Di̇yarbakir) Coals, Orhan Kavak, Selami Toprak

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

This study was carried out in Hazro-Dadaş (Diyarbakır) region which owns the only coal basin in the area. Chemical, petrographic analysis and organic geochemical evaluations of the Permian aged coals were taken into consideration. Coal quality investigation along with proximate (moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash) and elemental analyses (C, H, O, and S, N) were performed and revealed. The huminite reflectance of organically abundant matter and coal levels were found to be between 0.458 and 1.141 %. This parameter complies with fluorescence colors, calorific value (average original 3165 – 3432 Kcal/kg) and average Tmax (418 oC). Hasbro coals show …

A New Medium To High Enthalpy Geothermal Field In Aegean Region (Akyar) Menderes – Seferi̇hi̇sar – İzmi̇r, Western Anatolia, Turkey, Metin Bulut

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

This study was performed considering that low to medium enthalpy geothermal areas are important besides the geothermal fields with high temperature located in Western Anatolia for heating, thermal tourism and agricultural applications. It was also aimed at obtaining fluids at high temperature in areas which were observed at a temperature relatively lower than the surface temperature. The study area is located at a region between the towns of Menderes and Seferihisar to the south-southwest of Izmir. This is a multidisciplinary investigation which obtained fluids and studied the geothermal energy potential of the area. Field studies were finalized carrying out geological …

Brief Note On New Data Related To The Chronostratigraphic Location Of Cumaovasi Volcanics, Fikret Göktaş

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

-

The Airborne Magnetic Signature Of Gökova Gulf, Uğur Akin, Ahmet Üçer

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Gökova gulf situated in the Aegian extension zone in Turkey has been considered very interesting for numerous research workers. Gökova gulf is located in the N-S regional extentional tectonic regime. N-S extension of western Anatolia initiated development of E-W extended grabens here. The bay extends 100 km E-W and 25 km N-S directions. Datça peninsula is in the south, Bodrum peninsula is located in the north of the Gökova gulf. In recent years ‘Full Tensor Gradiometer Potential Field’ methods (FTG) has found a practice area in between the gravimetric and magnetic methods. In the past as it was in the …

Slope Instability In Open Pits And An Example Of A Retrospective Analysis: Afşi̇n-Elbi̇stan-Kişlaköy Open Pit Coal Deposit, İbrahim Akbulut, İlker Çam, Tahsin Aksoy, Dinçer Çağlan, Tolga Ölmez

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The subject of this study is to study the instabilities that have developed in the permanent east and west slopes of the Kışlaköy open pit of the Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. Afşin-Elbistan Linyitleri İşletmesi and to work out the sliding mechanism causing it. In the Kışlaköy open pit to establish if mass movement is continuing and if so which direction it would move, amount of mass to be involved and the failing model. Six movement control observations stations were established along 3 lines in each of west and east slopes. No movement was observed in the west slopes. On the other …

Original Findings On The Ore-Bearing Facies Of Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide Deposits In The Eastern Black Sea Region (Ne Turkey), M.Kemal Revan, Yurdal Genç, V. Valery Maslennikov, Taner Ünlü, Okan Deli̇baş, Semi Hamzaçebi̇

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

In the massive sulphide deposits of the eastern Black Sea region, there are ore facies and ore-bearing sedimentary facies. The former are subdivided into hydrothermal-metasomatic, seafloor hydrothermal, and biological facies. Hydrothermal-metasomatic facies refer to sub-seafloor processes and include network-disseminated, massive vein, and massive lens facies. The precipitation of sulphide minerals within pre-existing volcano-sedimentary rocks occurs largely beneath the seafloor, and these ores form an important component of some deposits. The term seafloor hydrothermal facies refers to sulphide accumulation on the seafloor and is characterised by hydrothermal chimneys and clastic sulphide ores. Clastic sulphide ores can be subdivided into proximal and …

New Approaches On The Investigation Of Covered Geothermal Fields: Exploration Of Kütahya – Şaphane – Karacaderbent Buried Geothermal Fields And Their Developments, Musa Burçak, Hüseyin Dünya, Ömer Hacisali̇hoğlu

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The basement in Şaphane region is constituted by Paleozoic gneiss, schist and marbles belonging to northern margin of the Menderes Massif. These basement rocks are overlain by Cretaceous aged Dağardı ophiolitic melange. All these rocks are discordantly covered by Neogene – Quaternary sedimentary and volcanic rocks deposited under lacustrine – continental environments. The main purpose of this study is to explore buried geothermal system on a covered area using geological, geophysical and geochemical methods and to develop this system by drilling investigations. Geological, geophysical, geochemical and drilling investigations, well development and test studies were applied in this research. This study …

Deformation And Fluid Interactions In The Mineral Fork Diamictites, Antelope Island, Utah, Kimberly Rose Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DEFORMATION AND FLUID INTERACTIONS IN THE MINERAL FORK DIAMICTITES,

ANTELOPE ISLAND, UTAH

by

Kimberly R. Johnson

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2013

Under the Supervision of Professor Dyanna Czeck

Diamictite from the Mineral Fork Formation on Antelope Island, Utah was deformed to various degrees on the footwall of the Willard Thrust Fault during the Sevier Orogeny. The diamictite contains clasts of differing strength resulting in quartzite clasts deformed the least, pink granitic clasts deformed to a greater degree, and softer green gneissic clasts deformed the most. The pink granitic and green gneissic clasts have similar compositions, but deform differently. This …

Consolidation And Suspension Of Mud From Lake Lery And Relevance To Wetland Restoration In Louisiana, Edward L. Lo

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Isotopes Of Carbon In A Karst Aquifer Of The Cumberland Platea Of Kentucky , Usa, Lee J. Florea

Lee J Florea, PhD, P.G.

In this study, the concentration and isotopic composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are measured in the karst groundwater of the Otter Creek watershed of the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky, USA. Comparisons among these data and with the geochemistry of carbonate and gypsum equilibrium reactions reveal that DOC concentration is inversely related to discharge, multiple reaction pathways provide DIC with isotopic enrichment that may be directly related to mineral saturation, and oxidation of reduced sulfur is possible for dissolution. DOC is derived from C3 vegetation with an average δ13CDOC of ‒27‰. DIC in groundwater is …

Letter: A Developing Schism In Flood Geology, Marcus R. Ross

Marcus R. Ross

First paragraph: Froede and Akridge are correct to recognize that creation geology includes two widely divergent groups seeking to reconstruct Earth history within a Biblical framework. Such has been the case throughout the history of creationism, going back to disagreements between Harold Clark and George McCready Price over the reality (or not) of the geologic column. With the increased number of geologically trained young-Earth creationists, discussions over these issues have become more common.