Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Observations Of Sand Waves, Megaripples, And Hummocks In The Dutch Coastal Area And Their Relation To Currents And Combined Flow Conditions, Sandra Passchier, Maarten Kleinhans

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

[1] This paper aims to investigate the distribution and stability of large‐scale bed forms in response to storm and fair‐weather conditions in a shallow marine environment. Multibeam and side‐scan sonar data off the Dutch coast (median grain size 0.25–0.35 mm) were collected to monitor sand waves (λ = 100–800 m) and superimposed megaripples (λ = 1–40 m) through multiple storm and fair‐weather events. Box cores were used to observe the vertical bed structure and grain size. In the Dutch coastal area, two‐dimensional (2‐D) megaripples (λ = 1–15 m) are the dominant bed forms in current‐dominated (>0.4 m/s) tidal flow …

Spectral Analysis Of Ground Penetrating Radar Response To Thin Sedimentary Layers, Swagata Guha, Sarah E. Kruse, E. E. Wright, U. E. Kruse

Geology Faculty Publications

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems utilized in studies of sedimentary deposits generate wavelengths (tens of centimeters) that are commonly much longer than the thickness of bedding (often millimeters to centimeters) within the target strata. Where this is the case, radar profiles represent interference patterns. Simple models of radar response to sequences of thin beds such as those found in coastal deposits show potentially detectable spectral shifts toward higher frequencies in radar returns. Spectral analysis of radar data over barrier beach deposits at Waites Island, South Carolina, shows that returns from packages with heavy mineral laminations are shifted toward higher frequencies …

Pervasive Cracking Of The Northern Chilean Coastal Cordillera: New Evidence For Forearc Extension, John P. Loveless, Gregory D. Hoke, Richard W. Allmendinger, Gabriel González, Bryan L. Isacks, Daniel A. Carrizo

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Despite convergence across the strongly coupled seismogenic interface between the South American and Nazca plates, the dominant neotectonic signature in the forearc of northern Chile is arc-normal extension. We have used 1 m resolution IKONOS satellite imagery to map nearly 37,000 cracks over an area of 500 km2 near the Salar Grande (21°S). These features, which are best preserved in a ubiquitous gypcrete surface layer, have both nontectonic and tectonic origins. However, their strong preferred orientation perpendicular to the plate convergence vector suggests that the majority owe their formation to approximate east-west extension associated with plate boundary processes such as …

Results Of Vadose Zone Sampling Within The Tri-Basin Natural Resources District, Mark E. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

The Quartzite Problem Revisited, Jeffrey L. Howard

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

A review of past terminology and previous petrological studies suggests that quartzite should be classified descriptively as both a sedimentary and a metamorphic rock. Quartzite is identified in the field as a quartz‐rich rock (exclusive of chert and vein quartz) that is exceptionally hard and, when broken by a rock hammer, fractures irregularly through both grains and cement (where present) to form an irregular or conchoidal fracture surface. Quartzite is differentiated from quartzose sandstone (arenite), which is softer and fractures around individual grains, and from chert and vein quartz by a bright vitreous luster. Quartzite is classified further on the …

A Geologic Record Of Methane Consumption Associated With Methane Gas Hydrates At Blake Ridge Region (Continental Rise, Offshore Southeastern United States), Walter S. Borowski, Kathryn G. Takacs, Matthew K. Thompson

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Geochemical signals locked within sedimentary rocks are a record of earth processes. Sulfide minerals (elemental sulfur, iron monosulfides, and pyrite) are formed within marine sediments by several different geochemical processes mediated by microbes. Investigating the concentration and sulfur isotopic composition (d³⁴S) of sulfide minerals gives clues about the relative importance of these competing geochemical processes.

Marine sediments of the Blake Ridge(offshore South Carolina and Georgia) contain sulfide minerals that point to anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) as an important diagenetic process both today and in the recent geological past (Miocene). At the present-day methane-sulfate interface, upward-diffusing methane is consumed …

Tunnel Geology As Seen By Geologists: Manhattan, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Masud Ahmed, Alan R. Slaughter, Belal A. Sayeed, Dorean J. Flores, Mario Jo-Ramirez

Publications and Research

Current exploratory boring operations in and around Manhattan, New York City are providing geologists and geotechnical engineers with a plethora of new and interesting geological information, which has not been previously reported. The rocks encountered, mostly medium to high-grade metamorphic rocks, with both mafic and felsic intrusives, are highly variable in competency and mechanical durability. One of the most frequently encountered rock types is a garnetiferous-muscovite-biotite schist which grades into schistose gneiss and displays a wide variety of structural, compositional, and textural attributes. Metamorphic minerals showing the variable degree of metamorphism include graphite, talc, garnet, kyanite, tourmaline, emory, and occasionally …

The Moxee City (Washington) Mammoth: Morphostratigraphic, Taphonomic, And Taxonomic Considerations, Karl Lillquist, Steve Lundblad, Bax R. Barton

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

A nearly complete, but highly fractured, proboscidean tusk was unearthed during parking lot construction near Moxee City in central Washington in May 2001. Schreger angle analysis revealed that the tusk was from a mammoth. AMS radiocarbon dating of the tusk established that the mammoth died 14,570 ¹⁴C yr BP. The age, combined with the biogeography of proboscidean finds in the Pacific Northwest, suggests the tusk is from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The condition of the tusk and its association with basalt and crystalline erratics suggest that a locally derived tusk was swept up in the advancing …

Geogram 2005, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Prediction Of Sediment-Bound Nutrient Delivery From Semi-Arid California Watersheds, Emmanuel Gabet, Noah Fierer, Oliver Chadwick

Faculty Publications

Soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are lost from hillslopes in particulate forms through soil erosion. The fate of the eroded C (e.g., sequestration or oxidation) may affect the global C budget, and delivery of N and P to waterbodies can lead to eutrophication. Whereas the magnitude of particulate nutrient losses may be similar to or greater than dissolved losses, it is rarely estimated. We couple a sediment delivery model with measurements of C, N, and P in soil to account explicitly for hillslope sediment transport processes that yield sediment-bound nutrients to fluvial networks. The model is applied …

Review Of Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of The Great Plains And Lewis And Clark And The Geology Of Nebraska And Parts Of Adjacent States, Harmon D. Maher Jr.

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

When it comes to science in general, and the geology of the Great Plains in particular, there is arguably an imbalance between the wealth of material written for experts and the relative paucity written for the general public. These publications help correct that imbalance at a time when the various Lewis and Clark celebrations create an especially receptive and engaged audience.

Coral Reef Ed-Ventures: An Environmental Education Program For School Children In San Pedro, Belize, H. Allen Curran, Susan Etheredge, Elizabeth Callaghan, Paulette M. Peckol

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Dynamics In Ecosystem Response To Climatic Change: Case Studies And Policy Implications, Virginia R. Burkett, Douglas A. Wilcox, Wilcox Stottlemyer, Wylie Barrow, Dan Fagre, Jill Baron, Jeff Price, Jennifer L. Nielsen, Craig D. Allen, David L. Peterson, Greg Ruggerone, Thomas Doyle

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Many biological, hydrological, and geological processes are interactively linked in ecosystems. These ecological phenomena normally vary within bounded ranges, but rapid, nonlinear changes to markedly different conditions can be triggered by even small differences if threshold values are exceeded. Intrinsic and extrinsic ecological thresholds can lead to effects that cascade among systems, precluding accurate modeling and prediction of system response to climate change. Ten case studies from North America illustrate how changes in climate can lead to rapid, threshold-type responses within ecological communities; the case studies also highlight the role of human activities that alter the rate or direction of …

Spatial And Temporal Variations In Epikarst Storage And Flow In South Central Kentucky’S Pennyroyal Plateau Sinkhole Plain, Chris Groves, Carl Bolster, Joe Meiman

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

The well-developed karst aquifers of south central Kentucky’s Pennyroyal Plateau are impacted by contamination from animal waste and other agricultural inputs. Understanding fate and transport of these and other contaminants first requires knowledge of flow and storage behaviors within the impacted aquifers, complicated by significant heterogeneity, anisotropy, and rapid temporal variations. Here we report on spatial and temporal variations in vadose zone flow and water chemistry (or quality) within Cave Spring Caverns, Kentucky beneath agricultural lands on a well-developed sinkhole plain. Weekly sampling of three underground waterfalls show statistically significant differences in water quality, though the sites are laterally within …

Active-Passive Array Surface Wave Inversion And Comparison To Borehole Logs In Southeast Missouri, Alexei A. Malovichko, Neil Lennart Anderson, Dmitriy A. Malovichko, Denis Yu Shylakov, Pavel G. Butirin

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In May 2002, both active- and passive-source surface wave data were acquired using 4-channel arrays at six selected bridge sites in southeast Missouri. Processing of acquired data (increase of signal-to-noise ratio, estimation of phase velocities) was carried out and dispersion curves of Rayleigh wave phase velocities were constructed. Each fundamental mode dispersion curve was then inverted by linearised optimization to a layered shear-wave velocity profile to depths of up to 60 m. The estimated shear-wave velocity profiles were compared to other geotechnical data that had been previously acquired at each test site for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) including …

Hyperpycnal Discharge Of Fluvial Sediment To The Ocean: Impact Of Super‐Typhoon Herb (1996) On Taiwanese Rivers, John D. Milliman, Shuh-Ji Kao

VIMS Articles

Hyperpycnal events (when suspended sediment concentrations exceed 40 g/L) occur in small‐ and medium‐sized rivers throughout the world but are particularly common in Taiwan; they are often related to landslides or debris flows initiated and transported by typhoon floods. Super‐Typhoon Herb, which swept across Taiwan on July 31–August 2, 1996, triggered floods and landslides throughout the southern part of the island. Sediment concentrations in at least seven rivers (Taan, Choshui, Pachang, Erhjen, Tsengwen, Kaoping, and Peinan) approached or exceeded 40 g/L. Calculated sediment discharged from nine rivers (these seven as well as the Wu and Houlung, neither of which apparently …

Modeling Tephra Sedimentation From A Ruapehu Weak Plume Eruption, Costanza Bonadonna, J. C. Phillips, B. F. Houghton

Geology Faculty Publications

We present a two-dimensional model for sedimentation of well-mixed weak plumes, accounting for lateral spreading of the cloud, downwind advection, increase of volumetric flux in the rising stage, and particle transport during fallout. The 17 June 1996 subplinian eruption of Ruapehu produced a bent-over plume that rose to a height of 8.5 km in a wind field with an average velocity of 24 m s⁻¹ and generated a narrow deposit on land extending up to 200 km from vent. The sedimentation from the Ruapehu plume was dominated by coarse ash, with all the blocks and most of the lapilli …

Variation In Glacier Length And Ice Volume Of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, In Response To Climate Change, 1910–2003, Keith A. Brugger, Kurt A. Refsnider, Matthew F. Whitehill

Geology Publications

Historical records, photographs, maps and measurements were used to determine changes in the length, geometry and volume of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, in response to a warming that occurred early in the 20th century.

Paleomagnetism And Tectonic Significance Of Albian And Cenomanian Turbidites, Ochoco Basin, Mitchell Inlier, Central Oregon, Bernard A. Housen, Rebecca J. Dorsey

Geology Faculty Publications

Understanding continental growth and convergent margin dynamics associated with terrane accretion and modification of the Cordilleran margin of North America is prevented by conflicts in paleogeographic models for major terranes, oceanic plates, and the North American margin. We present new paleomagnetic data suggesting that the Blue Mountains superterrane, located at an inboard portion of the Cordilleran margin, has undergone substantial northward translation and clockwise rotation relative to North America since mid-Cretaceous time. Positive baked-contact, conglomerate, and fold tests, provide evidence that the magnetization of these rocks dates from their deposition. These results yield a mean direction of D = 10.8°, …

Paleolimnological Investigation Of Recent Sediments From Lake Monroe, Florida, Usa., Bryan P. Carroll

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sediments recovered in October 2003 from Lake Monroe, a hypereutrophic lake in central Florida, have been sub-sampled and analyzed for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, TC, TIC, TOC, and TN. A chronology of bulk sediment and nutrient accumulation was established by radiometric analyses (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and ¹⁴C), to aid in evaluating spatial and temporal patterns within the lake since development in the watershed began. A continuous 100- year sediment record from Lake Monroe shows significant changes in production, sedimentation, and nutrient abundance following land settlement in the mid 1800's. Sediment nutrient and isotopic analyses demonstrate …

A Late Devonian Isoetalean Lycopsid, Otzinachsonia Beerboweri Gen. Et Sp Nov., From North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Walter L. Cressler, H W. Pfefferkorn

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evidence For Marine Influence On A Low-Gradient Coastal Plain: Ichnology And Invertebrate Paleontology Of The Lower Tongue River Member (Fort Union Formation, Middle Paleocene), Western Williston Basin, U.S.A., Edward S. Belt, Neil E. Tibert, H. Allen Curran, John A. Diemer, Joseph H. Hartman, Timothy J. Kroeger, David M. Harwood

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

The Paleocene Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation contains trace-fossil associations indicative of marine influence in otherwise freshwater facies. The identified ichnogenera include: Arenicolites, Diplocraterion, Monocraterion, Ophiomorpha, Rhizocorallium, Skolithos linearis, Teichichnus, Thalassinoides, and one form of uncertain affinity. Two species of the marine diatom Coscinodiscus occur a few meters above the base of the member. The burrows occur in at least five discrete, thin, rippled, fine-grained sandstone beds within the lower 85 m of the member west of the Cedar Creek anticline (CCA) in the Signal Butte, Terry Badlands, and Pine Hills areas. Two discrete burrowed beds …

Interaction Of Sea Ice Sediments And Surface Sea Water In The Arctic Ocean: Evidence From Excess 210Pb, M. Baskaran

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

We measured the activities of ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸U and ¹³⁷Cs in a suite of ice-rafted sediments (IRS) from the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to assess the interaction of sea ice sediments and surface water. The concentrations of these nuclides were compared to those of the benthic sediments in the coastal and shelf regions of the Arctic Ocean, which are believed to be the major source region for the IRS. The concentration factors (CF = activity of a nuclide in IRS/average activity in benthic sediments) are ∼1 and 4-92 for ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb, respectively. …

A Systems View Of Life: A Grander Order In The Complexity Of Life, Steven M. Gollmer

Science and Mathematics Faculty Presentations

Design has been a key and yet elusive word in the areas of science and philosophy for many years. It seemed to reach its apex in 1802 with Paley’s Natural Theology. However, in the wake of Darwin’s Origin the recognition of design as part of a biological research paradigm has been greatly undermined. Design as expressed in Natural Theology is equivalent to that of a highly tuned machine. The parts are idealized and their relationships are synchronized and static. Although we see design of this type in nature, it has limitations when dealing with dynamic, complex interactions between components of …

A Memorial To D. Craig Edwards (1939-2004), H. Allen Curran, Hilary Edwards Lithgow

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"Got Rocks?" An Inquiry-Based Geology Program For 3rd To 5th Grades In Conjunction With The Museum Of Science, Jennifer D. Todd

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

How can the Boston Museum of Science be of help to classroom teachers when planning a field trip? The synthesis presents a set of lesson plans for 3rd to 5th grade science teachers in the Boston area, with an ultimate goal of promoting students’ critical and creative thinking in their classroom units on rocks and minerals. The program was designed especially for those in the New England area because these states are within proximity to take a field trip to the Boston Museum of Science. The institution has many rocks and mineral samples from around the world and in the …

Geochronology Of Hemphillian-Blancan Aged Strata, Guanajuato, Mexico, And Implications For Timing Of The Great American Biotic Interchange, Bart J. Kowallis, John J. Flynn, Clarita Nunez, Oscar Carranza-Castaneda, Wade E. Miller, Carl C. Swisher Iii, Everett Lindsay

Faculty Publications

We present new geochronologic magnetostratigraphy, fission-track and 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic dates, biostratigraphy)bdata constraining the age of three separate sequences and a composite section from Guanajuato, Mexico. Those data make this one of the most complete and precisely age-calibrated sequences in North America spanning the Hemphillian/Blancan North American Land Mammal “Age” (NALMA) boundary interval, and the data further constrain the timing and pattern of the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). In total, 196 samples (77 sites) were used to construct the magnetic polarity stratigraphies, with eight fission-track analyses and four new 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic dates. The sections sampled are possibly latest Miocene to …

Patterns Of Fish Use And Piscivore Abundance Within A Reconnected Saltmarsh Impoundment In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Philip W. Stevens, Clay L. Montague, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Nearly all saltmarshes in east-central, Florida were impounded for mosquito control during the 1960s. The majority of these marshes have since been reconnected to the estuary by culverts, providing an opportunity to effectively measure exchange of aquatic organisms. A multi-gear approach was used monthly to simultaneously estimate fish standing stock (cast net), fish exchange with the estuary (culvert traps), and piscivore abundance (gill nets and bird counts) to document patterns of fish use in a reconnected saltmarsh impoundment. Changes in saltmarsh fish abundance, and exchange of fish with the estuary reflected the seasonal pattern of marsh flooding in the northern …

Geochemistry Of Serpentinized Peridotites From The Mariana Forearc Conical Seamount, Odp Leg 125: Implications For The Elemental Recycling At Subduction Zones, Ivan P. Savov, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Massimo D'Antonio, Katherine Kelley, Patrick Mattie

Geology Faculty Publications

Recent examinations of the chemical fluxes through convergent plate margins suggest the existence of significant mass imbalances for many key species: only 20–30% of the to-the-trench inventory of large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) can be accounted for by the magmatic outputs of volcanic arcs. Active serpentinite mud volcanism in the shallow forearc region of the Mariana convergent margin presents a unique opportunity to study a new outflux: the products of shallow-level exchanges between the upper mantle and slab-derived fluids. ODP Leg 125 recovered serpentinized harzburgites and dunites from three sites on the crests and flanks of the active Conical Seamount. These …

Use Of Tracers And Isotopes To Evaluate Vulnerability Of Water In Domestic Wells To Septic Waste, Ingrid M. Verstraeten, Gregory S. Fetterman, Michael T. Meyer, Thomas D. Bullen, Sonja Sebree

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In Nebraska, a large number (>200) of shallow sand-point and cased wells completed in coarse alluvial sediments along rivers and lakes still are used to obtain drinking water for human consumption, even though construction of sand-point wells for consumptive uses has been banned since 1987. The quality of water from shallow domestic wells potentially vulnerable to seepage from septic systems was evaluated by analyzing for the presence of tracers and multiple isotopes. Samples were collected from 26 sand-point and perforated, cased domestic wells and were analyzed for bacteria, coliphages, nitrogen species, nitrogen and boron isotopes, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), …