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Geology Newsletter- 1981, Department Of Geology

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 1 No. 6

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An Analysis Of Nitrate Concentrations In The Ground-Water Of Antwerp Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, John Emil Klanke

Masters Theses

Private wells were tested for nitrate during the spring of 1979 throughout sections of Antwerp Township, Van Buren County, southwestern Michigan (sections 1-5, 7-22, 24-26, 28-31, 33-36). Water samples were collected from 159 private wells and analyzed for nitrate. Nitrate concentrations ranged from less than 1 mg/1 NO₃-N to 14.6 mg/1 NO₃-N. Seven wells were found to have nitrate concentrations equaling or exceeding the National Interim Primary Drinking Water Standard of 10 mg/1 NO₃-N. Nitrate concentrations were related to age of septic system, well depth below static water level, land use, and soil type. …

Structural Analysis Of Precambrian Metasedimentary Rocks Of The Swede Gulch Formation, Nahant, South Dakota, Richard G. Cookman

Masters Theses

Precambrian X tectonites deformed between thermal domes in the northern Black Hills 1.7 B.Y.B.P. display variably trending isoclinal folds cross-cut by southeast trending slip-folds developed in discrete shear zones. Eugeosynclinal sedimentary rocks consisting of shale, quartzarenite , sublitharenite, and graywacke were metamorphosed to phyllite, quartzite, and metagraywacke during two syntectonic phases and one post-tectonic phase. The earliest syntectonic metamorphism was associated with development of isoclinal folds and may have produced amphibolite or greenschist facies. It was succeeded by retrograde metamorphism of greenschist facies syntectonic with and post-tectonic to development of southeast trending folds.

Mica, chlorite, iron oxides, and graphite are …

Petrology Of Fluvial And Shoreline Sands In A Modern Arc-Trench Gap, Guatemala, James Robert Bartel

Masters Theses

Petrographic studies of modern sands, derived from areas with known source rocks, climate, relief, environments of deposition, and tectonic setting, are essential for compiling compositional models for ancient sandstones. The Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala is terminated 25-60 km inland by the steep slopes of a row of active Quaternary volcanic and granitic rocks.

Sands being deposited on the coastal plain by the Rio Nahulate, which drains the older volcanic and granitic terrane, show significant compositional differences with those supplied by the Rio Samala, which drains an area dominated by active volcanism: Q₉F₃₅L₅₆ vs. Q …

A Study Of The Films Produced By The Aluminum/Water Reaction Using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, Reed L. Shilts

Masters Theses

This work compares the action of pure water to various aqueous electrolytes on aluminum surface film formation at about 100°C. The electrolytes were pure water with various inhibitor ions added. The ions were nitrate, tungstate, borate, molybdate, silicate, phosphate, a mixture of nitrate and molybdate, and a mixture of silicate and molybdate. The investigative technique was Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) using 2 MeV alpha particles with an annular detector set at 180 degrees for maximum elemental resolution. RBS was chosen for this investigation because it offers in an easily interpretable manner a relatively fast and semi-quantitative method of analysis of …

A Geochemical Study Of The Sudbury Breccia, Kevin M. Prochaska

Masters Theses

The origin of the Sudbury Breccia surrounding the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, Canada has long been debated. The breccia has been described both as an igneous injection and as an abraded country rock formed by attrition in place.

A geochemical analysis of selected elements in matrix and clast samples from the breccia revealed distinct differences between the two sample groups. Matrix samples were lower in silicon and higher in heavy elements than the clasts. Matrix and clasts were comparable in light elements.

The results of the analysis favor an igneous process. Petrographic observations and structural evidence support this idea. The …

Dolomitization Of The Brassfield Formation (Lower Silurian) In Adams County, Ohio, Lisa L. Varga

Masters Theses

The Lower Silurian Brassfield Formation which outcrops in the Tri-state area of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky is a transgressive sequence consisting of a series of interbedded shales, limestones and dolostones. Evidence from depositional environments, petrography and spatial relationships of dolomitized and undolomitized rock suggests dolomitization in southwestern Ohio was a two-stage process. Initial dolomitization was restricted to the basal Belfast Member and probably occurred penecontemporaneously on small supratidal islands in a manner analagous to that which occurs in the modern sabkha environment of the Persian Gulf. Regional dolomitization was a later diagenetic event related to the formation of a fresh-seawater …

Detector Geometry For Cascade Photon Experiments, Roger Minoru Munechika

Masters Theses

An observation of cascading optical photons can be used to determine an absolute excitation cross section for the intermediate state without the need of standard lamp calibration. In order to reduce the data an angular correlation function and an angular distribution function must be known. These functions depend on the alignment of the upper excited state and the polarization of the light emitted in the lower part of the cascade. However, at certain angles of observation the values of the required functions are known regardless of the alignment or polarization. A computer search is done to find these angles for …

The Hydrologic Factors That Control Carbonate Hardness In Kalamazoo County Lakes, Southwestern Michigan, Linda Brittain Fenner

Masters Theses

The range and distribution of carbonate hardness in Kalamazoo County lakes were determined and hydrologic factors thought to control hardness were evaluated. Surface-water samples were collected from thirty- five randomly selected lakes in October, 1980. Carbonate hardness ranged from 16 to 244 mg/1 with 61 percent above 120 mg/1. Ten hydrologic variables were analyzed with respect to lake hardness. Lakes with a surface-water inlet were a ll hard (greater than 180 mg/1) and lakes at least two meters higher than the approximate ground-water table were all relatively soft (less than 100 mg/1). No direct correlations were found between the other …

A Computer-Assisted Instructional System And Its Application To A Course On Computer Structures And Hardware, Tahir Mufti

Masters Theses

Computer-Assisted Instruction is a powerful tool which is fast becoming an integral part of the instructional system in schools.

The objective of this study is to review the techniques used to provide Computer-Assisted Instruction and to present such an instructional system called LEARN which is general enough to be applied towards the teaching of any subject. Also included are notes on the application of the LEARN system to a subject entitled "Computer Structures and Hardware".

The Petrology And Geochemistry Of Keweenawan Diabase Dikes In Ontonagon, Gogebic, Iron And Dickinson Counties, Michigan, James J. Hahnenberg

Masters Theses

Petrographic and chemical studies of Keeweenawan-age diabase dikes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula show two major groupings, Porcupine Mountain dikes and Lower Keweenawan dikes consist of two major rock types, fine-grained smaller dikes and the coarse-grained central portions of larger dikes. Major minerals are subophitic plagioclase and pyroxene. The rocks, as compared to the "average" basalts, are low in Al₂0₃, high in Ti0₂, K₂0, P₂0₅ and contain moderate amounts of Fe0_t. They are classified as quartz tholeiites. Several parental magma sources that would account for these and other …

The Creation Of Holograms Utilizing Fiber Optics, Abdul Rahim Omar

Masters Theses

Holography involves the interference of two light beams, namely a reference beam and an object beam. Instead of the conventional method using beam splitters and mirrors to direct the light path, fiber optic bundles are used and high quality holograms have been produced. When fiber optic bundles are used, a spatial filter is not needed to produce a "clean" beam of light for the reference beam. Fiber optic bundles also provide greater flexibility of illumination for the object beam and/or fir the reference beam. Also, it is easier to illuminate the object from many directions. Finally, the distance from the …

The Menu Formation In A Computerized Nutrition System, Kathleen Ann Kostrzewa

Masters Theses

The creation of a diet is a complex process which involves analysis of a number of critical variables. Due to present technology, computers can be used effectively in menu planning and recipe analysis.

The objective of this study is the utilization of the computer to test the major criteria which must be met in order to produce a diet which meets nutritional, cost, and acceptability requirements. In this thesis, the design and implementation of a computerized menu planning system known as the Nutritional Data Base System is presented.

U-Pb Systematics And Ages Of Rocks From The Zone Of Cataclasis, Bitterroot Dome, Southwestern Montana, Edward Charles Arruda

Masters Theses

The eastern flank of the Bitterroot range, western Montana, consists of a 100 km-long zone of cataclasis which dips to the east. Zircons in sheared granitic plutons from three localities within this zone were dated using U-Pb methods. These zircons, which consist of anhedral cores and euhedral overgrowths, yield concordia lower-intercept ages of 48-52 million years before the present, dates which likely represent crystallization ages of the plutons. Shearing which affected these plutons, therefore, is significantly younger than the 72-76 million year age assigned for eastward movement of the Sapphire tectonic block whose detachment zone has been interpreted as the …

Storm-Sewer Input Of Heavy Metals Into An Urban Lake Environment, George A. Duba

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure the concentration of lead, cadmium, zinc and copper in runoff entering an urban lake ecosystem and to measure the distribution of these metals in selected tropic levels of the lake.

Fisk Lake was chosen as the study site and is located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Samples were collected of stormwater, rainwater and lakewater together with substrate, aquatic macrophytes Peltandra virginica, chironomid larvae, Chironomidae, snails Physa, and eight species of fish, Ictalurus nebulosus, Esox lucius, Lepomis gibbosus, L. macrochirus, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, Micropterus salmoides, Catostomus commersoni, and Perca flavescens. All samples were collected …