Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geologic Characterization Of The Nonconformity Interface Using Outcrop And Drillcore Analogs: Implications For Injection-Induced Seismicity, Kayla Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Starting around 2009, a greater number of earthquakes than anticipated have occurred in the midcontinent region of the United States. These earthquakes have been linked to increased rates and volumes of wastewater injection at several km’s depth into the Earth’s crust near a contact between crystalline metamorphic or igneous rock and overlying sedimentary rock, known as a nonconformity. While much is known about why these new earthquakes occur, comparatively little is known about the physical and chemical rock properties because the nonconformity contact is primarily buried under km’s of sedimentary rock in the midcontinent region. These rock properties are important …

Visualizing Effects Of Changing Base Level On Tributary Resources In Lake Powell Reservoir, Madeline Friend

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Lake Powell reservoir is the second-largest reservoir in the United States. As climate change reduces watershed runoff in the Colorado River Basin, questions arise about the management and even existence of Lake Powell. If lake levels continue to drop, what will the emerging canyon look like and what value will we assign it? Lake Powell traps all incoming fine sediment from the Colorado River, the San Juan River, and many smaller tributaries. What is the fate of this sediment under falling reservoir levels and how will it influence other resources? To support a robust public discourse, we provide an immersive …

Understanding The Late Mesoproterozoic Earth System From The Oldest Strata In Grand Canyon: C-Isotope Stratigraphy And Facies Analysis Of The 1254 Ma Bass Formation, Grand Canyon Supergroup, Az., Usa, Erin C. Lathrop

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rocks provide insight into ancient times before complex animals existed. The oldest sedimentary rocks in Grand Canyon (the Bass Formation) allow us to glimpse into what things might have been like over a billion years ago. These rocks record the time known as the Mesoproterozoic Era (1.6 to 1.0 billion years ago), otherwise known as the ‘boring billion’. These rocks are thought to be the right age to indicate the end of an oddly stable world when continents were quiet and life was calm, yet they predate younger rocks that record extreme events. The Bass Formation, some of the only …

Apathy And Concern Over The Future Habitability Of Earth: An Introductory College Assignment Of Forecasting Co2 In The Earth’S Atmosphere, Benjamin J. Burger

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Non-science, first year regional undergraduate students from rural Utah communities participated in an online introductory geology course and were asked to forecast the rise of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere. The majority of students predicted catastrophic rise to 5,000-ppm sometime over the next 3,100 years, resulting in an atmosphere nearly uninhabitable to human life. However, the level of concern the students exhibited in their answers was not directly proportional with their timing in their forecasted rise of CO₂. This study showcases the importance of presenting students with actual data and using data to develop student forecasted models. …

The Mh-2 Core From Project Hotspot: Description, Geologic Interpretation, And Significance To Geothermal Exploration In The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho, Jerome A. Varriale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Harnessing the earth’s natural heat generation as an energy resource has seen increased interest in recent history. While geothermal energy is a sustainable, low-carbon emitting, and viable source of energy in certain regions, large upfront risks, including costs of exploration and deep well drilling, have kept private sector investment at bay. Lowering the risks to capital investment that are inherent to subsurface exploration can help to assuage investors and bring this well-known energy-generating technology to the masses.

A blind potential geothermal system was encountered while drilling the MH2 science drill hole, on Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The MH-2 …

In Situ Stress And Geology From The Mh-2 Borehole, Mountain Home, Idaho: Implications For Geothermal Exploration From Fractures, Rock Properties, And Geomechanics, James Andrew Kessler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geothermal energy is being explored as a supplement to traditional fossil fuel resources to meet growing energy demand and reduce carbon emissions. Geothermal energy plants harvest heat stored in the Earth’s subsurface by bringing high temperature fluids to the surface and generating steam to produce electricity. Development of geothermal resources is often inhibited by large upfront risk and expense. Successful mitigation of those costs and risks begins with efficient characterization of the resource before development. A typically successful geothermal reservoir consists of a fractured reservoir that conducts hydrothermal fluids and a cap rock seal to limit convective heat loss through …

Fault And Fluid Interactions In The Elsinore Fault-West Salton Detachment Fault Damage Zones, Agua Caliente County Park, California, Rebekah Erin Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study area provides a unique opportunity to study the intersection of the Elsinore and West Salton detachment faults in southern California, effusing warm springs, and alteration products in the midst of the fault intersection. Structural mapping and compiling previous maps supply an interpretation of the fault zone geometries within the Tierra Blanca Mountains. Geochemical analysis of the crystalline basement and altered protolith help determine the effects of faulting and fluid flow in the study area. In the Tierra Blanca Mountains, the Elsinore strike-slip fault system transitions from the double-stranded Julian segment and Earthquake Valley fault in the northwest, to …

The Influence Of Geology And Other Environmental Factors On Stream Water Chemistry And Benthic Invertebrate Assemblages, John R. Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Determining if a stream has been degraded by human activities requires knowing what that stream’s natural water quality and freshwater species composition would likely be without any alteration. However stream natural conditions vary greatly from stream to stream, making predicting natural conditions difficult. To determine natural stream conditions, I developed models to predict natural stream water chemistry at individual streams across the western USA. Specifically, the models predict a stream’s electrical conductivity (a measure of the amount of solids dissolved in water), acid neutralization capacity, and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sulfate, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen. These models predict chemistry …

Does The Southern Farmington Canyon Complex Record A Late Archean/Early Proterozoic Accretionary Complex?, Kyle C. Andreasen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Farmington Canyon Complex, situated along the Wasatch front in northern Utah, has been the target for many studies. The FCC has been interpreted to be a passive margin sedimentary wedge. Previous studies have yielded isotopic ages that broadly support an Archean age of formation, and a prominent mid-proterozoic amphibolite grade metamorphic event.

Based on this study, a new interpretation for the FCC is presented. Field relations and whole-rock geochemistry as well as recent advances in understanding Archean crustal processes have resulted in the FCC to be considered as an accretionary complex that formed along the SW margin of the …

Geology Of The Deseret Peak East 7.5' Quadrangle, Tooele County, Utah, And Impacts For Hydrology Of The Region, Torrey J. Copfer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detailed geologic mapping of the Deseret Peak East 7.5' Quadrangle yields new interpretations regarding the stratigraphy of the Oquirrh Basin, fault and fold geometry, and structural evolution of the region. The Stansbury Range consists of the north-south-trending Deseret anticline. Basal Mississippian units rest unconformably on Cambrian beds in the central part of the range. Paleozoic uplift, Mesozoic contraction, and Cenozoic extension have created a series of broad folds, large thrust faults, and several normal faults.

The area is dominated by bedrock springs, with the presence of abundant and thick Quaternary deposits unrelated to Pleistocene glaciation, burying drainages, and mantling hillslopes. …

Quaternary Geology And Landscape Evolution Of Eastern Grand Canyon, Arizona, Matt D. Anders

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tectonics and drainage evolution are controlling overall landscape incision in eastern Grand Canyon. Superimposed on downcutting are dynamic responses of hillslopes, tributary streams, and the Colorado River to glacial-interglacial climate cycles. Five tributary stream fill terraces have been identified, and luminescence dating indicates aggradation was occurring 50- 34 ka {S3), 12-7 ka (S2), and 5-3.5 ka (S1). Seven Colorado River fill terraces have been identified, and luminescence and U-series dating indicate deposition was occurring 343-322 ka (M5), 151-118 ka (M4), and 71-64 ka (M3).

Aggradation by the Colorado River in eastern Grand Canyon begins during glacial advances and continues into …

Geology Of The Cuesta Ridge Ophiolite Remnant Near San Luis Obispo, California: Evidence For The Tectonic Setting And Origin Of The Coast Range Ophiolite, Cameron A. Snow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Cuesta Ridge ophiolite is one of the best-preserved remnants of mid-Jurassic ophiolite in California. Geologic mapping and petrologic studies show that it comprises (1) harzburgite mantle tectonite, (2) dunite-rich mantle transition zone (MTZ), (3) wehrlite and pyroxenite, (4) isotropic gabbro, (5) sheeted dike/sill complex, (6) volcanic rocks (7) late-stage dikes and flows, and (8) tuffaceous radiolarian chert.

The sheeted dike/sill complex is dominated by quartz diorite, with significant modal quartz and hornblende. The volcanic section is dominated by arc tholeiite and boninitic lavas. Boninites, with high MgO, Cr, and Ni comprise 40% of the volcanic rocks. Latestage dikes and …

Geology Of The Oquirrh Mountains, Utah, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The Oquirrh Mountains are located in north-central Utah, immediately south of the Great Salt Lake, in the easternmost part of the Basin and Range physiographic province. The range consists of northerly-trending aligned peaks 56 kilometers long flanked on the west by Tooele and Rush Valleys and on the east by Jordan and Cedar Valleys. The range hosts several of the more prominent base- and precious-metal and desseminated-gold mining areas in the western United States. The 130-year old Bingham porphyry copper mining district, which is of world-class magnitude in the central part of the range, is still active. The Mercur mining …

Late Quaternary Glacial Geology, Shoreline Morphology, And Tephrochronology Of The Lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake Area, Southwestern Alaska, Karen B. Stilwell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study focuses on the late-Wisconsin Brooks Lake glaciation, lake-level fluctuations, and volcanic deposits in the lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake area on the northern Alaska Peninsula, southwestern Alaska. The Brooks Lake glaciation consists of five stades, from youngest to oldest: Kvichak, Iliamna, Newhalen, Iliuk, and Ukak. This thesis reassigns the type Mak Hill moraine to a pre-late-Wisconsin glaciation, and considers the moraine enclosing Naknek Lake an early-late-Wisconsin deposit correlative to either the Kvichak stade, lliamna stade, or both. The presence in the Iliamna Lake valley, and the absence in the Naknek Lake valley of a two-fold earliest-late-Wisconsin Kvichak/Iliamna glacial sequence suggest that …

Surficial Geology Of The Smithfield Quadrangle, Cache County, Utah, Michael V. Lowe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Smithfield 7.5' quadrangle is located about 13.8 kilometers (8.6 miles) south of the Utah-Idaho State Line and occupies the central portion of the eastern side of Cache Valley, Utah. The mapped area contains more than 55 square miles. The Bear River Range on the eastern side of the quadrangle contains stratigraphic units ranging from Precambrian to Quaternary age. Cache Valley contains deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age. Quaternary units in the Smithfield quadrangle are subdivided into thirty-two map units based on age and genesis. Five ages of Quaternary units are identified, and these units are assigned to one of …

Geology And Mining Industry Of The Tintic District, Utah, George Warren Tower, Jr., George Otis Smith

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The field work upon which this report is based was begun in July, 1897, and continued without interruption until December of the same year. The area studied is approximated 15 miles square and contains 234 square miles. The topographic maps, which are two in number, were prepared under the direction of Mr. R. U. Goode, Mr. S. S. Gannett doing the triangulation and Messrs. Marshall and Griswold the topography in the fall of 1896 and summer of 1897. The mapping is done on two scales; the larger area, approximately 15 miles square, is mapped on a scale of 1:62,500. This …

Mineralogy And Petrology Of Lava Flows (Tertiary-Quaternary) In Southeastern Idaho And At Black Mountain, Rich County, Utah, Barbara J. Puchy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lava flows of Tertiary-Quaternary age occur in Enoch Valley, Upper Valley, and Slug Valley in southeastern Idaho. The basalts in Upper Valley and Enoch Valley contain olivine (Fo₆₉ to Fo₃₇), plagioclase (An₆₂ to An₃₉), augite and Fe-Ti oxides. The lava in Slug Valley lacks plagioclase, but contains sanidine (Or₇₀ to Or₅₆) with a trace of biotite and amphibole, and thus, has been termed alkali trachyte.

Black Mountain, on the eastern side of Bear Lake, northeastern Utah, is capped by basalt. Minerals present include olivine (Fo₈₃ to Fo₇₂), plagioclase …

Geologic Map And Coal Sections Of The Red Point Quadrangle, Eugene G. Elllis, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Joseph R. Frank

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Red Point quadrangle, in Emery County in central Utah, was mapped in 1979 as a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's progress to evaluate lands in the public domain for potential coal leasing. Mapping was done using U.S. Forest Service color aerial photographs at a scale of 1:15,640 and U.S. Geological Survey black-and-white aerial photographs at a scale of 1:30,000. The quadrangle was mapped previously by Spicker (1931) at a scale of 1:62,500.

Geology, Characteristics, And Resource Potential Of The Low Temperature Geothermal System Near Midway, Wasatch County, Utah, James F. Kohler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent awareness of the finite nature of fossil-fuel resources has resulted in an increased interest in alternate sources of energy such as geothermal. To evaluate the geothermal energy potential of the hot-springs system near Midway, Wasatch Co., Utah, consideration was given to heat flow, water chemistry, and structural controls.

Abnormal heat flow was indicated qualitatively by snow-melt patterns and quantitatively by heat-flow measurements that were obtained from two of four temperature-gradient wells drilled in the area. These measurements indicated that the area north of the town of Midway is characterized by heat flow equal to 321.75 mW/m², which …

Hydrothermal Alteration At The Roosevelt Hot Springs Thermal Area, Utah: Petrographic Characterization Of The Alteration To 2 Kilometers Depth, J. M. Ballantyne, W. T. Parry

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Hydrothermal alteration in drill cuttings from Thermal Power drillhole 14-2, Roosevelt Hot Springs Thermal area, has been studied petrographically. The hole is sited in alluvium approximately 1.6 km southeast of the old Resort and was rotary drilled to a depth of 1866.0 m. The exact hole location is 2310 FNL, 350 FWL, Sec. 2, Twp 27S, Rge 9W, elevation 1908.5 m. Core was extracted from 792.5 to 795.5 m. Thin sections were made from samples 15.2 m intervals of drill cuttings collected at 1.5 or 3.0 m intervals during drilling. Thin sections were made of 1.5 or 3.0 m intervals …

Quaternary Rhyolite From The Mineral Mountains, Utah, U.S.A., S. H. Evans, Jr., W. P. Nash, University Of Utah, Department Of Geology And Geophysics

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

A suite of silicic volcanic rocks is associated with the Roosevelt Hot Springs geothermal area in southwestern Utah. The volcanic sequence includes Tertiary rhyolite 8 m.y. old and obsidian, ash and rhyolite of Quaternary age. The Quaternary lavas are characterized by high silica content (76.5% SiO2) and total alkalies in excess of 9 percent. Obsidians commonly contain greater amounts of flourine than water. Two older flows (0.8 m.y.) can be distinguished from younger dome and pyroclastic material (approximately 0.5 m.y.) by subtle differences in their chemistry. The mineralogy of the rhyolites consists of alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and small amounts of …

Synecology And Faunal Succession Of The Upper Mississippian Great Blue Limestone, Bear River Range And Wellsville Mountain, North-Central Utah, Alan P. Sweide

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The late Mississippian Great Blue Limestone was studied at four locations around Cache Valley, Utah. One location was at Dry Lake in the Pisgah Hills to the west of Cache Valley. Three locations were in the Bear River Range to the east of Cache Valley. From north to south the locations are: 1) Beirdneau Peak, 2) Logan Peak, and 3) the ridge to the north of East Fork Canyon. The Dry Lake location represents the upper, middle, and some of the lower part of the section. The base of the section is covered. Locations in the Bear River Range represent …

Structural Geology Of The Southern Part Of Elkhorn Mountain, Bannock Range, Idaho, George A. De Vries

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The area of southern Elkhorn Mountain, a previously unmapped area, is located north of Malad City, Idaho, in the Bannock Range. The mapped area is within the Basin and Range province. The mapped area measures 5.9 miles in the north-south direction and approximately 8.8 miles in the east-west direction.

The oldest stratigraphic unit, in the mapped area, is the Ute Formation of Middle Cambrian age. Other units of Cambrian age, in ascending order, are: Blacksmith Formation, Bloomington Formation, Nounan Formation, and St. Charles Formation. The units of Ordovician age are the Garden City and the Swan Peak Formations. The youngest …

Structural Geology Of Cutler Dam Quadrangle And Northern Part Of Honeyville Quadrangle, Utah, Douglas A. Sprinkel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area is located in the north-central part of Utah. The northern part of the mapped area is located in the Basin and Range province and the southern part of the mapped area is located in the Middle Rocky Mountain province. The north-south and east-west dimensions of the mapped area are 11.1 miles and 5.1 miles, respectively.

Paleozoic rocks are exposed in Bear River Narrows, in Cache Butte Divide, and in the Wellsville Mountains. Paleozoic strata, in Bear River Narrows, dip west. The Ordovician Swan Peak Formation crops out in the eastern part of Bear River Narrows. It is …

Dikes Of The Clear Creek Area, Wasatch Plateau, Utah, William Dennis Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The area, covered by this report, includes about 108 square miles in the northeastern part of the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah. Clear Creek, Utah, is near the center of the area.

Stratigraphy of the area is characterized by 18,000 to 20,000 feet of sedimentary rocks above the Precambrian basement. The oldest exposed stratigraphic unit is the 11ancos Formation of late Cretaceous age; the youngest exposed stratigraphic unit is the North Horn Formation of Cretaceous-Tertiary age. The sedimentary rocks are mainly sandstone, shale, and coal. Sandstone and shale are the most abundant.

Structure of the area is characterized by folds …

Geology Of Southern Part Of The James Peak Quadrangle, Utah, Jan G. Blau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area, in north-central Utah, is centered about 22.6 miles south of Logan, Utah. It measures about 3.8 miles in the north-south direction and 6.6 miles in the east-west direction. Stratigraphic units of Precambrian and Cambrian age underline most of the area. The Precambrian units are as follows: (1) Maple Canyon Formation, (2) Kelley Canyon Formation, (3) Orthoquartzite unit, (4) Argillite unit, (5) Mutual Formation, and (6) Volcanic unit. The Brigham Formation, which overlies the Precambrian volcanic unit, is probably of Cambrian age; however, the lower part may be Precambrian. The overlying Cambrian carbonate unit is not differentiated. The …

Petrology Of The Upper Nounan - Worm Creek Sequence, Upper Cambrian Nounan And St. Charles Formations, Southeast Idaho, Lillian Donley Wakeley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The upper member of the Nounan Formation and the Worm Creek Member of the St. Charles Formation, both late Cambrian in age, were studied in the Bear River Range and the Fish Creek Range in southeast Idaho. Lithology and sedimentary structures of these units were compared with characteristics of similar modern sediments and ancient rocks, to determine the environments of deposition and effects of diagenesis for the interval studied.

On the basis of widely traced marker horizons, the two-member interval is divided into three parts, with parts 1 and 2 comprising the upper member of the Nounan Formation, and part …

Structural Geology Of Eastern Part Of Richmond And Western Part Of Naomi Park Quadrangles, Utah-Idaho, Arthur J. Mendenhall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area, which includes the eastern part of the Richmond and the western part of the Naomi Peak quadrangles, Utah-Idaho, is located in the central part of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho. It is located along the eastern side of Cache Valley and western side of the Bear River Range. Cache Valley is in the Basin and Range province and the Bear River Range is in the Middle Rocky Mountain province. The mapped area is about 8.6 miles long, in the north-south direction, and 7.8 miles long, in the east-west direction.

The Mutual Formation of Precambrian age is the …

Structural Geology Of The Southern Part Of Clarkston Mountain, Malad Range, Utah, Wayland E. Gray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area, in north-central Utah, is located west of Clarkston, Utah. It includes the southern part of Clarkston Mountain and part of the Junction Hills, which extend southward from Clarkston Mountain. The area is represented on the southeastern part of the Portage quadrangle, Utah-Idaho, and the southwestern part of the Clarkston quadrangle, Utah-Idaho. It measures about 8.3 miles in the east-west direction and 4.0 miles in the north-south direction.

The southern part of Clarkston Mountain consists of stratigraphic units that range in age from Cambrian to Silurian. The Nounan Formation of Cambrian age is the oldest. The St. Charles …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Part Of Clarkston Mountain, Malad Range, Utah-Idaho, Steven Mark Burton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The northern part of Clarkston Mountain, in northern Utah and southern Idaho, is located about 23 miles northwest of Logan, Utah. It extends across the Malad Range from Malad Valley on the west to Cache Valley on the east. The mapped area measures 4.8 miles in the north-south direction and 6.8 miles in the east-west direction.

The Brigham Formation of Cambrian age is the oldest exposed stratigraphic unit. It consists mainly of quartzite. Younger Cambrian units include the Langston, Ute, Blacksmith, Bloomington, Nounan, and St. Charles Formations. The Garden City Formation of Ordovician age is the youngest Paleozoic unit. The …