Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Identifying The Isotopic Signature Of Lake-Effect Precipitation In Shallow Groundwater, Andrew Brown

Honors Projects

Three different stable isotopes of water occur in nature, with the majority of water on Earth containing the oxygen isotope 16O. These isotopes have slightly differing physical and chemical properties. H2O with heavier oxygen isotopes should theoretically precipitate earlier than lighter isotope H2O, meaning this natural process should allow for the observation of the magnitude of effects of lake-effect precipitation on the basis of water isotope differences. Furthermore, it may allow for better understanding of the significance lake-effect precipitation plays in recharging shallow aquifers. In this study, patterns of lake-effect precipitation from Lake Michigan were observed in a collection of …

Geo 100: Environmental Geology Oer Curation, Chealsye Bowley

Curated OER Collections

This OER curation is an annotated bibliography of prospective OER for the GVSU course GEO 100: Environmental Geology.

2021 Grand River Water Quality, Allison Romanski, Madeleine Lang

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

2021 Grand River Water Quality Sampling

The goals of this research project were to collect repeat samples at designated reaches and under different flow conditions along the Grand River, sample the entire Grand River over a short period of time, collaborate with wastewater treatment plant labs and technicians to analyze water samples, and to calculate a Water Quality Index (WQI) for samples collected.

Seven different reaches were sampled and over 120 samples were collected between May 7th and August 12th of 2021. Water samples were collected and analyzed for nitrate, total phosphate, ammonium, chloride, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand , …

Last Interglacial Climate From Dendostrea Frons Oysters, Verrill Island, Bermuda, Lillian Minnebo

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The Bermuda Islands preserve carbonates recording many past changes in sea level, including multiple warm and cool geologic intervals. Several localities expose shell-rich deposits from the Last Interglacial (~125,000 years ago), a time broadly similar to climate today that can potentially serve as an analog for future conditions. Here, we use δ18O analyses of fossil mollusks to estimate past temperatures and seasonality and compare our data with those from other species.

Eight Dendostrea frons oysters were sampled along their growth axes to reconstruct seasonal temperature curves. We report a mean δ18O value of -0.51 ± 0.17‰, corresponding to a temperature …

Quantifying Water Content In Olivine From North Carolina Dunites Using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Thomas Byars

Student Scholars Day Posters

The focus of this study is to quantify the water content in grains of the mineral olivine collected from the Buck Creek Ultramafic Suite–a fragment of ancient ocean crust emplaced into the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. Previous work on these samples includes Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis. EBSD data can constrain temperature and stress conditions of olivine deformation under different levels of hydration. The water in olivine was analyzed using a Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. The olivine grains are doubly polished in preparation for FTIR analysis. The machine scans the …

Measuring Streambank Erosion: A Comparison Of Erosion Pins, Total Station, And Terrestrial Laser Scanner, Daniel T. L. Myers, Richard R. Rediske, James N. Mcnair

Funded Articles

Streambank erosion is diffcult to quantify; models and field methods are needed to assess this important sediment source to streams. Our objectives were to (1) evaluate and compare three techniques for quantifying streambank erosion: erosion pins, total station, and laser scanning, (2) spatially assess streambank erosion rates in the Indian Mill Creek watershed of Michigan, USA, and (3) relate results with modeling of nonpoint source pollution. We found large absolute and relative errors between the different measurement techniques. However, we were unable to determine any statistically significant differences between techniques and only observed a correlation between total station and laser …

Does The Mg/Ca In Foraminifera Tests Provide A Reliable Temperature Proxy?, Sarah Clark, Figen Mekik

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The Mg/Ca in foraminifera shells is commonly used as a proxy to estimate ocean temperatures in Earth’s past. However, studies have shown that both dissolution and salinity influence the Mg/Ca in shells of tropical foraminifera, which can cause paleotemperature estimates to be inaccurate. We measured Mg/Ca in shells of Globigernoides ruber and Globigerinoides sacculifer from core tops in the eastern equatorial Pacific. We compared our results with global core top data, which paleotemperature equations have been calibrated and published. We find that Mg/Ca values range greatly at the same surface ocean temperature. We also find that salinity and dissolution do …

Evaluation Of Spring Flow, Bacterial Contamination, And Distribution Of Fresh Water Resources In The Vicinity Of Verrettes, Haiti, Peter Wampler, Andrew Sisson

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of fresh water springs used as the primary source of potable water in rural Haiti. Field data was collected during the summer of 2008 near Verrettes, Haiti, approximately 120 km north of Port au Prince. GPS locations of 29 springs were recorded within the 87 sq km study area. Two water samples at each spring were taken for bacterial analysis: one sample was submitted to a local hospital and a duplicate sample was cultured using Coliscan© Easygel© Kits. Both capped and uncapped springs were sampled to determine whether capping …