Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ice Transport In The Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Using Detrital Fe Oxide Grain Composition, Duan Li

OES Theses and Dissertations

Nine Fe oxide mineral types (45pm-250pm) separated from 54 glacial and glaciomarine sediment samples from the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) of Canada were analyzed for 12 elements by electron microprobe to determine the dispersal patterns of ice rafted debris in this area. Both cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis (DFA) on the chemical compositions were used to match each detrital Fe oxide grain to a source The entire QEI area can be subdivided into eight unique areas based on the elemental composition of the Fe oxide minerals. These subdivisions are similar to the source areas based on the assemblage of …

Identification And Quantitation Of Volatile Amines In Chesapeake Bay Sediments, Neeraja Y. Krishna

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Sediments from different parts of the Chesapeake Bay were analyzed to determine the presence of volatile amines. A HF-HCl extraction method was used to extract both exchangeable and fixed amines from the sediments and a purge-and-trap technique was used to concentrate the amines. Following derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA), the HFBA-amines were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and with mass spectrometric detection. One primary amine, i-amylamine with a concentration ranging from 0. 78 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty seven samples collected on three different dates in 1993. Another primary amine, 2-methylbutylamine with a concentration ranging from 0.18 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty three samples collected on three different dates in 1993. A secondary amine, diethylamine was detected but could not be quantified in a total of seven samples collected in September 1993. The concentrations of these amines varied with location in the Bay, depth in the sediment, and time of year the sediments were collected. The origin of i-amylamine and 2-methylbutylamine might be from the biological decarboxylation of amino acids leucine and isoleucine, respectively. The origin of diethylamine is unknown.

The Role Of Longshore Sediment Transport In The Loss Of Fill Material From An Estuarine Groin System, R. Neville Reynolds

OES Theses and Dissertations

The influence of shoreline structures on longshore sediment transport and the evolution of a stable beach planform was investigated at Willoughby Spit, Virginia following the placement of 410,590 cubic meters of beach fill within a groin system. Shoreline changes and wave conditions in a single groin compartment, and the growth rate of a downdrift terminal spit were monitored during 1985 and 1986. Short term fluctuations in the shoreline position within the groin compartment suggested an episodic westerly movement of sediment through the groin system. Primary sediment moving events were associated with northerly winds which produced waves up to 50 cm …

Identification And Quantitation Of Volatile Amines In Marine Sediments, Chuen Mei Huang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Pore waters which were taken from sediments of the Chesapeake Bay were analyzed to determine the presence of volatile amines. A purge-and-trap technique was used to concentrate the amines. Then, following derivatization with heptaflourobutyric anhydride, the HFBA-amines were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and with mass spectrometric detection. One secondary amine, diethylamine with a concentration of 0.3-0.6 uM, was found in a total of three pore water samples from cores collected on two different dates. A primary amine, sec-butylamine with a concentration of O. 05 AIM, was also found in one of these same samples. Another primary …

Depositional Environments Of Late Precambrian Sediments From Liberia, Sierra Leone, And Senegal, West Africa, Alfred W. Magee Iii

OES Theses and Dissertations

Field and hand sample descriptions were supplemented with petrographic and textural analyses derived from thin sections, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine environments of deposition for the late Precambrian Gibi Mountain Formation, Liberia, Tabe

Formation, Sierra Leone, and the basal Mali Group, Senegal, West Africa.

The Gibi Mountain Formation consists of a glaciomarine tillite, marine laminites with dropgrains, and shallow water arkoses. A shale facies remains unresolved in origin.

The Tabe Formation is composed of three members: Tibai, Dodo, and Taban. The Tibai Member contains a glaciomarine tillite deposited in a shallow shelf marine environment, marine laminites, and shallow …

A Method For Determining Creosote Contamination Of Sediment From The Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Va, Elizabeth G. Merrill

OES Theses and Dissertations

Hydrocarbon input sources to the Elizabeth River were investigated. Carbonized coal products (creosote, coal tar, and roof tar), petroleum products (Kuwait Crude Oil, No. 2 Fuel Oil, and a fuel oil spill sample) and soot (woodstove and diesel engine) have unique hydrocarbon distributions. Elizabeth River sediment hydrocarbon distributions indicate that they are contaminated with both carbonized coal and petroleum products. Using a simple two member mixing model, greater than 65 percent of Elizabeth River sediments' resolved aromatic compounds were determined to originate from carbonized coal products. These aromatic hydrocarbons include the EPA priority pollutant polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons which are known …

Some Effects Of The Polychaete Nereis Succinea Frey And Leukart 1847 On The Distribution Of Copper Cadmium And Zinc In Sediments And Water, Gabriela Kitzig August

OES Theses and Dissertations

Two laboratory experiments, each lasting 216 hours, were conducted in order to determine the effects of a burrowing polychaete, Nereis succinea Frey and Leukart, 1847, on the distribution of copper, cadmium, and zinc in sediments and water in environmentally controlled microcosms. Dissolved metal concentrations in microcosms containing worms (experimental) decreased more rapidly than in microcosms without worms (controls). From 72 hours to 216 hours, suspended metal concentrations in experimental microcosms increased while concentrations in controls remained relatively constant. Sediment cadmium concentrations in experimental microcosms increased more over time than in controls. Polychaetes accumulated significant amounts of all three metals. These …

Analysis Of Heavy Minerals In Arenaceous Lutites From The Northern Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean, Kim Zauderer

OES Theses and Dissertations

Heavy minerals from arenaceous lutites in three widely spaced cores from the northern Canada Basin were analyzed for the first time to determine the provenance of these sediments. The abundant minerals (sp. gr. == 2.70) in decreasing order for most samples were detrital carbonate, micas, clinoamphibole, clinopyroxene, garnet, epidote, tourmaline, and chlorite. The majority of pyroxene grains were etched. Sedimentary sources dominated and metamorphic and igneous sources were important but secondary. The northern Canada Arctic Archipelago and northern Greenland is proposed as the provenance for the heavy minerals in the arenaceous lutites for at least the past three million years. …

The Distribution Of Cesium-137, Copper, Lead And Zinc In Various Sedimentary Environments Of The James River Estuary, Virginia, Colin Stevenson Moy

OES Theses and Dissertations

Ten grab samples and eight cores were obtained within a short stretch of the James River estuary. The distribution of CU, Pb, Zn, Cs-137, organic carbon (TOC) and fine-grained sediments in various depositional environments were examined. Within the past quarter of a century, these measured parameters have been accumulating preferentially in the low energy environment (Burwell Bay). The inventory of Cs-137 in the cores was linearly related to the inventory of heavy metals and TOC. The concentrations of Cs-137 in the surface sediments vary linearly to those of the other parameters suggesting that Cs-137 may be used as a tracer …

The Distribution Of Several Metals And Cation Exchange Capacity In Sediment Fractions From An Artificial And Natural Marsh, James River, Virginia, William Nivens

OES Theses and Dissertations

In order to examine the mechanisms by which Fe, Mn, Ca, Zn, Cu, Ni and Pb are bound in sediments, a sequential selective extraction procedure was employed on sediment samples collected at an experimental dredge disposal marsh and a neighboring natural marsh located near Windmill Point, James River, Va. The metal concentrations were determined in six phases, interstitial water, exchangeable, easily reducible (oxides of Mn), organic, moderately, reducible (oxides of Fe), and residual fractions. In addition, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the sediments was determined as well as the actual role of organics and colloidal iron coatings as they …

Sediment Interstitial Dissolved Mercury And Carbon Relationships In An Artificial And Natural Marsh, James River, Virginia, Apostolos Katsaounis

OES Theses and Dissertations

Thirty six sediment cores were collected during August, 1976 and January, 1977 in order to examine the relationships between dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved mercury in the interstitial water of two marshes located near Windmill Point, James River, 16 km downstream from Hopewell, Virginia. The Windmill Point marsh development site is a dredged material disposal island in the James River. The reference marsh which does not contain dredged material, is located 2.3 km upstream at Ducking Stool Point.

The concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved mercury showed no significant difference between the two marshes. Trends in the …

Control Of Clay Mineral Distribution By Estuarine Circulation, James River Estuary, Virginia, Jean-Pierre Feuillet

OES Theses and Dissertations

A study was performed on the clay minerals of the James River estuary, Virginia, to determine the predominant factors that influence clay mineral distribution in the estuary. The factors of differential settling, flocculation, and diagenesis show minor or no effects on distribution, while estuarine circulation exerts the strongest influence upon the clay mineral distribution.

There are two clay suites in the James River estuary. The upper James River clay suite is a kaolinite, dioctahedral vermiculite, and mixed-layer suite, with kaolinite being the major mineral. The lower Chesapeake Bay clay suite is an illite, chlorite, and montmorillonite suite, with illite being …

Dynamics And Sedimentology Of Inner Middle Ground - Nine Foot Shoal, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Mitchell Alan Granat

OES Theses and Dissertations

The historical, hydrodynamic, and sedimentological development of Inner Middle Ground - Nine Foot Shoal indicates that it is presently in quasi-equilibrium with mutually evasive ebb and flood tidal currents. Bathymetric comparisons among six surveys taken during the past 122 years depict development of the shoal from two linear sand bodies to its present double parabolic morphology. Circulation paths are proposed for each survey.

Information from eight current meter stations on and adjacent to Inner Middle Ground - Nine Foot Shoal were used to determine near-surface and near-bottom tidal current asymmetries and directions. The concepts of bathymetrically diverted currents and mutual …

Grain Size Reconnaissance Of The Virginia-North Carolina Inner Shelf Analysis By Settling Technique, Robert Bailey Sanford Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

The 2-fold purpose of this study is to calibrate a Rapid Sediment Analyzer and to use it to aid in the determination of the genesis of sediment on the inner continental shelf between Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras. Rapid Sediment Analyzer calibration was conducted by comparison of sieving and settling results of similar sands.

The study area was divided into sediment provinces by both a qualitative procedure (grain size and topography) and a quantitatively procedure (factor-vector analysis). Qualitative provinces are beach and surf, upper shore face, lower shore face, sea floor, and terminal shoals. The berm fines from each terminal …