Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pedogenic Relationships In A Texas Vertisol Climosequence Defined By Geochemical Mass Balance Of Whole Soil And Chemistry Of Iron-Manganese Nodules, Cynthia A. Stiles

Doctoral Dissertations

Climosequence Vertisol profiles derived from the Upper Beaumont Formation in the Gulf Coastal Prairie physiographic province of Texas were examined for geochemical trends ascribed to different precipitation regimes. Mass-balance relationships were utilized for the comparisons. Compositional differences in zirconium (Zr) content between the solum and lower sub-soil precluded it use an immobile strain (volumetric change) indicator. This difference was correlated to sand weight percent (r² = 0.65**). Titanium (Ti) content did not shift correlatively with depth, thus making Ti the preferred strain index element for mass-balance calculations. Depths at which the Zr compositions shifted were not directly related to …

Diagenesis Of Upper Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone In The Illinois Basin - Microscale Investigation Of Basinal Fluid Migration And Mass Transfer, Zhensheng Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

A series of investigations were conducted to evaluate microscale evidence for basinal fluid migration in the Illinois basin during diagenesis of the Upper Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone. Samples were examined using transmitted light and cathodoluminescence (CL) petrography, fluid inclusion analysis, and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) analysis of ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios and trace element compositions. Preliminary investigation of in situ laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar age dating techniques on authigenic K-feldspar over growths was also completed.

Two major generations of quartz overgrowths are observed, on the basis of transmitted light and CL petrography and fluid inclusion studies. …

Magmatic Enclaves And Evidence For Magma Mixing In The Oak Point Granite, Deer Isle, Maine, Usa, Ben Johnston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Coastal Maine Magmatic Province (CMMP) consists of over 100 post tectonic plutons with ages varying from Silurian to Carboniferous. Predominately, plutons are either felsic or mafic with little intermediate material. Several plutons within the CMMP show evidence for direct interaction of contemporaneous mafic and felsic magmas. These are classified as Mafic and Silicic Layered Intrusions (MASLI), a specific group of plutons with characteristics indicative of mafic magma replenishment into silicic magma chambers. While the Maine coast contains several MASLI type plutons, other plutons in the CMMP contain less definitive, more cryptic evidence that suggests interaction of mafic and silicic …

Evolution Of Sprague Neck Bar, Machias Bay, Maine, Rebecca A. Nestor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sprague Neck Bar is a recurved barrier spit located in Machias Bay, Maine. Principle geomorphic features associated with Sprague Neck Bar include bedrock, coastal bluffs, till in grounding line (the Pond Ridge Moraine) and washboard moraines, mudflats, sand and gravel beaches, and a salt marsh. Sprague Neck Bar is attached to the western end of the Pond Ridge Moraine (Sprague Neck) and extends northward toward the head of Machias Bay for 845 meters before the system recurves to the southeast for 232 meters. The recurve system forms a broad tidal flat with evidence for northward and eastward migration of the …

Anthropogenic Influences And Meteorological Effects: How They Are Changing The Sand Beaches In Southern Maine, Heather W. Heinze

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although sand beaches in southern Maine comprise only a small segment of the coastline, they are economically important to the state. From September 1999-March 2001, volunteers made monthly topographic profiles along nine beaches in southern Maine to monitor changes. The volunteers used the Emery Method of beach profiling to take simultaneous measurements at spring low tide. The beaches are significantly different with respect to physiography, incident wave energy and direction, available sediment supply and extent of development. An average of the profiles for each category demonstrates that the undeveloped beaches experienced regular seasonal fluctuations and a consistent berm elevation from …

The Role Of Small And Medium Enterprises In The Economy Of Slovakia, Jaroslav Kling

Student Work

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of small and medium enterprises in the economy of Slovakia. The changes of 1989 brought about the changes of society and economy as well. In the period of transformation of the Slovak economy, small and medium enterprises have been often considered to be a critical element of economic revival. The study answers to what extent this expectation has been met. Legal and institutional frameworks of the small and medium enterprises development are analyzed. Popular attitudes toward entrepreneurs, views and opinions of the key representatives of entrepreneurs and state representatives are …

Lithospheric Structure Of The Basin And Range Province-Southwestern Colorado Plateau. Southeastern California, Southern Nevada, And Western Arizona, Nigel Oakley Hicks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Basin and Range Province of the western United States is an unusually wide continental rift zone and its structure and evolution have been the topic of much debate. Active source seismic surveys within the Basin and Range Province have delineated a relatively uniform crustal thickness (-30 km) despite varying magnitudes of crustal extension (<10-300 km). Large scale Cenozoic crustal extension has exhumed midcrustal rocks (from 10-20 km depth) along low angle detachment faults to create metamorphic core complexes (exposed lower plate rocks). In contrast to the extreme amounts of extension and internal deformation of the Basin and Range, the Colorado Plateau has remained a relatively rigid block, with a crustal thickness of 40-50 km, apparently resistant to the deformation processes that have shaped the Basin and Range observed today. In general, geophysical surveys reveal a significant contrast in crustal structure between the Basin and Range and it's transition into the Colorado Plateau.

The debate about the origin of the Basin and Range has underscored the need for additional geophysical constraints. Thus in this study, a regional analysis of lithospheric structure in the region of southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona that includes the Basin and Rangesouthwestern …

Contributions From Mafic Alkaline Magmas To The Bingham Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit, Utah, U.S.A., Daniel T. Maughan

Theses and Dissertations

The Bingham porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Utah, may only be world-class because of substantial contributions of sulfur and metals from mafic alkaline magma to an otherwise unremarkable calc-alkaline system. Volcanic mafic alkaline rocks in the district are enriched in Cr, Ni, and Ba as well as ore-related constituents of Cu, Au, platinum group elements (PGE) and S. The bulk of the volcanic section that is comagmatic with ore-related porphyries is dacitic to trachytic in composition, but has inherited the geochemical signature of high Cr, Ni, and Ba from magma mixing with the mafic alkaline rocks. The volcanic section that most closely …

Dynamical Sedimentary Models Of Shallow Marine Environments, Yong Zhang

OES Theses and Dissertations

This treatise represents a contribution of quantitative, dynamical sedimentary modeling to the analytical understanding of sedimentary processes in shallow marine environments. The dynamical sedimentary models in this treatise numerically simulate the sedimentary processes from an event time scale, based on the fundamental physics of sediment dynamics in coastal and shelf depositional environments, to a longer, facies time scale. The simulated geologic processes serve to the illustrate shoreface equilibrium profile, shelf storm bed generation, and the shelf sedimentary facies system.

This treatise presents a nearshore profile evolution model for the abandoned Huanghe Delta, a two-dimensional storm deposition model, and a sedimentary …

In Situ Biosurfactant Production At Carson City Park, Michigan, Andrew J. Hudak

Masters Theses

Crude oil refining operations conducted by the Crystal Refining Company in Carson City, Michigan have led to the contamination of the soil and groundwater at Carson City Park with petroleum hydrocarbons. In situ biosurfactant production, occurring as a result of the biodegradation activities of hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms, was investigated.

Background hydrogeological and biogeochemical data were collected from the groundwater from thirteen monitoring wells at Carson City Park. Further analysis included the identification of biosurfactant producing microorganisms and biosurfactants present in the soil and groundwater.

Results showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was producing both monorhamnolipids and dirhamnolipids (glycolipid biosurfactants) in the contaminated …

The Geochemistry Of A Leaf Composting Leachate Plume, Asylum Lake, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Eric G. Steeves

Masters Theses

Since the implementation of legislation that bans yard waste from landfills, there has been a need to characterize the impact that large scale composting has on groundwater quality. Allen (1993) and Weaver (1995) have attempted to characterize a leaf composting leachate plume located at the WMU-Asylum Lake Well Field #2 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Allen was not able to base any conclusions on geochemical results and Weaver delineated the plume using fewer monitoring wells than are now available.

The data from twenty-one monitoring wells indicates that local groundwater is being impacted by the large-scale composting operation. The plume is characterized by …

Structural And Geochemical Analyses Of Disseminated-Gold Deposits, Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge District, Nevada: Insights Into Fault-Zone Architecture And Its Effect On Mineralization, K. Jill Hammond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Structural and geochemical analyses of the Top and Casino deposits, Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge district, Nevada, were conducted to determine how structures affected gold deposition in Carlin-type deposit s. We also examined how permeability changed over time in a fault that cuts siltstone-dominated sedimentary rocks. The association of gold and related arsenic with faults at the margins of a Jurassic pluton and sedimentary rocks suggests that ore fluids migrated along faults and fracture s. Permeability of the faults changed over time within the Casino deposit, where the ore-controlling fault was a distributed conduit in the early stages of mineralization but a …

Structural Analysis And A Kink Band Model For The Formation Of The Gemini Fault Zone, An Exhumed Left-Lateral Strike Slip Fault Zone In The Central Sierra Nevada, California, Matthew A. Pachell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The structure and regional tectonic setting of an exhumed, 9.3-km long, left-lateral strike-slip fault zone eludicates processes of growth, linkage, and termination for strike-slip fault zones in granitic rocks. The Gemini fault zone is composed of three steeply dipping, southwest-striking, noncoplanar segments that nucleated and grew along preexisting joints. The fault zone has a maximum slip of 131 m and is an example of a segmented, hard-linked fault zone in which geometrical complexities of the faults and compositional variations of protolith and host rock resulted in nonuniform slip orientations, complex interactions at fault segments, and an asymmetric slip-distance profile. Regional …

Controls On Channel Organization And Morphology In A Glaciated Basin In The Uinta Mountains, Utah, Betty E. Paepke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The organization and morphology of Middle Fork Sheep Creek and South Fork Sheep Creek, two mountain streams in the upper Sheep Creek basin, are controlled by the spatial distribution of glacial moraines. Both channels are organized into a reoccurring sequence of steep-gradient reaches changing downstream to low-gradient reaches. Steep-gradient reaches are located where the channels flow through moraine s. Low-gradient reaches are located in meadows downstream of the steep-gradient reaches and immediately upstream of the next moraine. Knickpoints in the longitudinal profiles of both streams coincide with the location of moraines.

Large boulder s, beyond the size transportable by the …

The Efficacy Of Plant Residue Degradation Products On Phosphorus, Iron, Iodine, And Fluorine Bioavailability To Plants, Cheryl L. Mackowiak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plant and animal wastes degrade in soils to form relatively stable humified compounds, which form ion complexes that affect the bioavailability of elements in the soil solution. Hydroponic studies with wheat and rice were conducted to characterize the effect of humic acid (HA) on phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), fluorine (F), and iodine (I) bioavailability. Ferrihydrite [Fe(OH)₃] precipitation was greater on root surfaces without HA or synthetic chelates. Oxides such as ferrihydrite strongly adsorb P and provide exchange sites for metals. HA reduced this precipitate and increased P and Fe uptake.

Humic acid had no effect on F toxicity …

Subaerial Paleokarst In The Upper Pennington Formation (Upper Mississippian) Limestones At Leatherwood Ford, Big South Fork, Tennessee, Sara Elizabeth Humbert

Masters Theses

The uppermost Pennington Formation (Mississippian - latest Chesterian) consists of limestone deposits, which, in some areas, contain evidence of paleokarst. A 100 m long continuous outcrop of the upper Pennington Formation was studied at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, in Scott County, Tennessee, using both field and petrographic methods, in order to test the hypothesis that the paleokarst is of subaerial origin.

The upper Pennington limestone section was subdivided into 4 depositional units, interpreted as recording sea-level change through the end of the Mississippian. Although there was an overall regression toward the end of the Mississippian, changes …

Sediment Characteristics Around The Kenyon Island Group, Great Sacandaga Lake (Ny): Economic Potential Of Dredging And Land Reclamation, Arthur M. Ambrosino

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Kenyon Island Group lies within the Great Sacandaga Lake's largest and most unnavigable shallow water shoal. The shoal measures approximately 5.0 mi². The Kenyon Islands, including Mead and Deer Islands, occupy approximately 3/4 mi² during the months of annual high lake level. During the late shallow water season of 1998, a NE to SW diagonal transect of nine core samples were collected by a Geoprobe coring device, with recoveries between 8' and 16' deep sections. In this study these cores were used to identify the stratigraphy, classify the sediment grain sizes, evaluate the abundance of economic …

Modeling Of Critically-Stratified Gravity Flows: Application To The Eel River Continental Shelf, Northern California, Malcolm E. Scully

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

An analytical and numerical model are presented and applied to predict gravitydriven transport and deposition of fluid mud layers that form within the wave boundary layer on the continental shelf off the Eel River in northern California. Observations indicate that following floods of the Eel River down-slope transport of fluid mud trapped within the wave boundary layer is the dominant across-shelf transport mechanism. The models are based upon the assumption that following significant floods, an abundant supply of easily suspended fine sediment is delivered to the coastal ocean, allowing a negative feedback mechanism to maintain the near-bed Richardson number at …

Constraining The Crystallization And Post-Crystallization History Of The Wallamatogus Pluton, Maine, Using Compositional Data From Garnet, Biotite And Muscovite, Joy Kathleen Drake

Masters Theses

"The Wallamatogus Pluton, Maine, exhibits systematic variation in grain size, mineralogy, and phenocryst abundance (alkali-feldspar) from the margin to the center of the pluton. Three facies are recognized: 1) outermost, seriate, coarse-grained (Owe), 2) porphyritic medium- to fine-grained (Dwp ), 3) innermost, fine-grained equigranular (Dwf). These facies are concentrically arranged and their contacts are gradational. Muscovite and biotite occur in all facies; the outer two facies contain garnet, and tourmaline. Muscovite and biotite grains within micaceous enclaves compositionally overlap primary muscovite, suggesting that they are early-crystallized accumulations. Muscovite in multiphase clusters and secondary muscovite compositionally overlap, suggesting formation during post-crystallization …

Lithospheric Flexure Of The Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota, Erica M. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Devils Lake is the largest lake in a chain of approximately 20 interconnected lakes in east central North Dakota. The Devils Lake drainage basin of approximately 8,600 km2, lies in a bowl sculpted by glaciation; thus it is closed and receives and loses water only through precipitation and evapotranspiration. Since 1940, the lake level has risen 14.4 m due to increased precipitation. Geological data show that in the past 10,000 years the lake has alternately dried up and filled due to climate fluctuations (Murphy et al., 1997). During this time it has reached its spill elevation of 444. 7 m …

Flow Through Well Screens As A Function Of Pump Intake Location, Kristjan F. Bekker

Theses and Dissertations

Greater well efficiency and lower production costs may result from a knowledge of water flow through well screens. Current practice generally locates the intake of a pump in the cased section of the well above the screen. This work shows that placing the pump within the screen will increase well efficiency and therefore lower energy cost. This work also shows a correlation of increased well efficiency with respect to larger sand size, larger screen slot size, and lower flow rates.

A semicircular model based on the radial symmetry of a well and screen was used to simulate water flow from …

Application Of Orthogonal Polynomials To Geostatistics, Ainslie Chapman

Theses : Honours

Geostatistics is a field of study that deals with spatially dependent attributes. As information regarding these attributes is usually only available at sample locations, estimates must be made at unsampled locations. Sample data are usually measured on point support within the study region, however in reality decisions are based on small blocks and not on points. A change-of-support model is required to obtain the theoretical distribution of block values given the sample point values. Estimates arc then made for a collection of blocks, referred to as a panel. Kriging is a generic term adopted by geostatisticians for a family of …

Post-Glacial Sedimentation In A River -Dominated Epicontinental Shelf: The Yellow Sea Example, Jing-Pu Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The North Yellow Sea (NYS) and South Yellow Sea (SYS), stretching from the Bohai Sea in the north to the East China Sea (ECS) in the south, represents an end member of modern epicontinental seas. Because of its shallow depths, the Yellow Sea was entirely exposed subaerially during the last glacial maximum. The new post-glacial sea-level curve derived from an extensive local dataset shows a series of rapid flooding events (12--45 mm/y), separated by a series of slow rises (2--6 mm/y). By about 15 ka, sea level had reached -100 m, and seawater entered the SYS. A rapid rise during …

A Pebble Count Comparison And Rock Magnetism Provenance Study Of Sumas Outwash, Jeff Laub

WWU Graduate School Collection

The Sumas Stade, the last of the Fraser Glaciation advances, occurred between 12,000 and 10,000 ¹⁴C years B.P. This study combines previous mapping (Easterbrook, 1976; Haugerud, written communication, 1999) with three new tests to establish a chronology for events of the Sumas Stade. Comparison of compositions of pebbles from Sumas outwash using multivariate statistics such as hierarchical clustering and k-means clustering revealed three major groups of late Sumas outwash and one earlier deposit. Magnetic susceptibility and Curie temperature analysis determined a general British Columbia provenance for the Sumas outwash. Flow direction measurements substantiated this determination. Taken together, these tests …

Petrology And Geochemistry Of Mafic Lavas Near Glacier Peak, North Cascades, Washington, Dylan D. (Dylan Douglas) Taylor

WWU Graduate School Collection

Major element, trace element, and mineral compositions have been determined for four Quaternary mafic monogenetic cinder cones and flows south of Glacier Peak, a dacitic stratovolcano in the northern Cascade arc. The flows are the Whitechuck basalt, and the basaltic andesites of Indian Pass, Lightning Creek, and Dishpan Gap. Whitechuck has high concentrations of AI₂O₃ (≥ 18 wt.%) and low concentrations of K₂O (≤ 0.45 wt.%) and shares similar trace element characteristics with high alumina olivine tholeiites reported in the central and southern Cascades. The three basaltic andesites are calc-alkaline. Indian Pass and Lighting Creek …

Changes In Mirror Lake, Northwestern Washington, As A Result Of The Diversion Of Water From The Nooksack River, Karel Tracy

WWU Graduate School Collection

Mirror Lake, a small lake in northwest Washington, has been used as a settling pond for water diverted from the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River since 1962. In this thesis, I combine bathymetric data and sediment sampling to document the changes in sedimentation that have resulted from this diversion, and compare these results to a previous study conducted in 1991.

To document the change in the bathymetry of Mirror Lake since 1991, I surveyed the lake in the summer of 2000 using a theodolite and sonar depth gauge. I compared a contour map generated from this survey to the …

Late Pleistocene Littoral Deposits In The Deming Sand At Bellingham Bay, Washington, And Their Implications For Relative Sea Level Changes, Stacy J. (Stacy Joanna) Weber

WWU Graduate School Collection

Recent mass wasting of sea cliffs along Bellingham Bay in Northwest Washington has exposed late Pleistocene littoral deposits in the Deming sand, which is underlain by Kulshan glaciomarine drift (gmd) and overlain by Bellingham glaciomarine drift (Easterbrook 1963). Marine shells in the Kulshan gmd were dated at 12,210 ± 80 ¹⁴C-yrs B. P. and marine shells in the Deming sand were dated at 11,760 ± 85 and 11,685 ± 85 ¹⁴C-yrs B. P. Marine shells in the Bellingham gmd were dated at 12,150 + 210 ¹⁴C-yrs B. P.

Fossiliferous Kulshan glaciomarine drift is overlain by 11.5 m …

Geology Of The Cooper Mountain Pluton, North Cascade Mountains, Washington Based On Magnetic Fabrics, Magnetic Remanence And Petrography, Tammy C. Fawcett

WWU Graduate School Collection

A study of the 48 Ma Cooper Mountain pluton (CMP) in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington using anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) defined the orientation of magnetic fabrics. Fabrics in limited areas at the margins of the CMP tend to be parallel to the pluton margin and are therefore interpreted to be emplacement-related. The fabrics in the interior of the body, throughout the bulk of the pluton, are discordant with respect to the NW pluton margin. The fabric is manifest by NW-striking, moderately to steeply dipping foliation and NW-SE trending, moderately to shallowly plunging lineation, approximately parallel to regional …

Palaeoecology Of The Middle Cambrian Raymond Quarry Fauna, Burgess Shale, British Columbia, Matthew Galen Devereux

Digitized Theses

An assemblage if over 9000 systematically collected fossils from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale was analyzed in order to resolve the palaeoecology. Sediment and fossil evidence both show that the constituent fauna was largely autochthonous. The 'standing crop' of organisms preserved with each burial event was affected by variable taphonomic factors both laterally and temporally, but information loss appears to have been minimized. An autecological review of the trophic nucleus provides new insights with regard to behavior of the organisms, including life habits and feeding strategies. Unlike their modern representatives, priapulid worms (or at least Ottoia) appear to have …

Laboratory Denitrification Using Sediments From The Elk Valley Aquifer, Alison E. Kammer

Theses and Dissertations

An experiment was conducted to determine if a decrease in the content of sulfides related to denitrification could be measured in the laboratory using sediments of the Elk Valley Aquifer in eastern North Dakota. The experiment entailed analyzing sediments for sulfides and solid organic carbon and isolating them in sample containers with a nitrate solution to determine if a measurable decrease in these components could be observed.

Previous denitrification studies in the Elk Valley Aquifer showed an increase in sulfate in conjunction with a decrease in the concentration of nitrate. Sulfate is a by product of autotrophic denitrification where sulfide …