Earth Sciences Commons^™

Appendix 1. Testing The Influence Of Management Regime And Year On Vegetation Structure Variables On Two Grass Types On Federal Lands Managed Under An Adaptive-Management Framework By The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service In North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, And Montana, 2011–13, J.J Gannon, T.L. Shaffer, C.T. Moore

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Generalized linear mixed model (assuming a beta distribution with a logit link) testing the influence of management regime and year on mean bare-ground cover (percent) on two grass types on Federal lands managed under an adaptive-management framework by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Gannon and others, 2013) in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, 2011–13.

Environmental Forensics Study Of Crude Oil And Petroleum Product Spills In Coastal And Oilfield Settings: Combined Insights From Conventional Gc-Ms, Thermodesorption-Gc-Ms And Pyrolysis-Gc-Ms, Michael A. Kruge, José Luis Gallego, Azucena Lara-Gonzalo, Noemi Esquinas

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A representative set of five oil spill samples from four different regions displayed different product characteristics and different levels of weathering. Three of them were taken along shorelines affected by marine oil spill events, viz., Aboño and Prestige (Spain) and Deepwater Horizon (USA) and the other two were taken at inland oil spill sites (Angola and Kuwait). A multi-faceted environmental forensics approach revealed key molecular features. In addition to the conventional GC/MS analysis of saturated and aromatic fractions, the polar fractions also were analyzed, revealing a complex series of linear alkanones in those oil samples particularly enriched in aliphatics. Thermodesorption-GC-MS …

Stable Bromine Isotope Signature Of Bromoform From Enzymatic And Abiotic Formation Pathways And Its Application In Identifying Sources Of Environmental Bromoform In The Damariscotta River, Chengyang Wang

Honors Theses

Bromoform is a major source of atmospheric bromine. Most bromoform is produced by marine organisms including macroalgae and phytoplankton, using the enzyme bromoperoxidase (BPO). Bromoform can also be a byproduct of industrial processes such as water disinfection. Identifying sources of environmental bromoform is still a challenge. A novel technique of using quadrupole mass spectrometry coupled to a gas chromatography (GCqMS) was developed and optimized for Br isotope analyses. The study shows that GCqMS in single ion monitoring (SIM) mode can measure 81Br with precision of around ±0.7‰ (60pmol bromoform injected). This study aims to investigate stable Br isotopes of bromoform …

Giant Plagioclase In The Steens Basalt, Se Oregon: Cumulate Entrainment Revealed By Textural And In Situ Chemical Analysis, Conner H. Toth

All Master's Theses

Many of the lava flows comprising the Steens Basalt in SE Oregon, the oldest and most mafic formation of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), contain exceptionally large (up to 5 cm) and abundant (up to 40 modal %) plagioclase crystals. This thesis presents a model for giant plagioclase formation in a complex system that integrates petrographic and in situ plagioclase compositional analyses with whole-rock data and computational modeling to explain systematic textural and chemical differences between plagioclase of the lower and upper Steens Basalt sub-sections. Lower Steens plagioclase are typically more chemically homogenous than upper Steens plagioclase and exhibit …

The Origin Of Dark Mats At The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45pi408) Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Sean Stcherbinine

All Master's Theses

The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site is a precontact archaeological site located in the upland forest soils of Mount Rainier National Park. Site stratigraphy is complicated, consisting of tephra deposits from mostly known origins that are intercalated with dark sediments of unknown origin, referred to here as dark mats. Precontact occupation has been split previously into two components based on the ambiguous depositional history of the dark mats, notably their unknown parent material, depositional environment, and relationship with adjacent tephra strata. Stratigraphic samples from excavation units, features, and one off-site excavation unit was used to investigate these data gaps. Grain …

Assessing The Impact Of The Conservation Reserve Program On Honey Bee Health, Otto, C.R.V., O'Dell, S., Bryant, R.B., Euliss, N.H., Bush

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Insect pollinators are critically important for maintaining U.S. food production and ecosystem health. The upper Midwest is home to more than 40 percent of all U.S. honey bee colonies and is considered by many beekeepers to be America’s last beekeeping refuge. Beekeepers come to this region because their honey bees require high-quality grassland and bee-friendly agricultural crops to make honey and to improve bee health. Agricultural grassland, such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), support flowers that provide bees with the pollen and nectar they need. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. …

Adaptive Management In Native Grasslands Managed By The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service—Implications For Grassland Birds, Lawrence D. Igl, Welsey E. Newton, Todd A. Grant, Cami S. Dixon

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Burning and grazing are natural processes in native prairies that also serve as important tools in grassland management to conserve plant diversity, to limit encroachment of woody and invasive plants, and to maintain or improve prairies. Native prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Prairie Pothole Region of the northern Great Plains have been extensively invaded by nonnative, cool-season species of grasses. These invasions were believed to reflect a common management history of long-term rest and little or no defoliation by natural processes (burning and grazing). To address the challenges associated with these invasive species, …

Environmental Monitoring And Peat Assessment Using Multivariate Analysis Of Regional-Scale Geochemical Data, Jennifer M. Mckinley, Eric Grunsky, Ute Mueller

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A compositional multivariate approach was used to analyse regional-scale soil geochemical data obtained as part of the Tellus Project generated by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. The multi-element total concentration data presented comprise X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of 6862 rural soil samples collected at 20-cm depth on a non-aligned grid at one site per 2km2" role="presentation">2km2. Censored data were imputed using published detection limits. Each soil sample site was assigned to the regional geology map, resulting in spatial data for one categorical variable and 35 continuous variables comprised of individual and amalgamated elements. This paper examines the extent …

Stratigraphy And Organic Geochemistry Reveal Patterns Of Late Quaternary Paleo-Productivity At Mono Lake, California, Bailee Nicole Hodelka

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Mono Lake (CA) is a hydrologically closed lacustrine basin well-known for its paleo-shorelines, which record fluctuations in water level for the last deglacial and late Holocene. Mono Lake is a sentinel of California’s water supply, situated in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range whose snowpack is a vital source of freshwater for urban and agricultural districts to the west and south. Recent droughts, floods, and wildfires show that California is threatened by climate change, but how these changes impact and get recorded by Mono Lake sediments remains poorly known. Here, we use a new radiocarbon-dated deepwater …

A Multi-Indicator Approach To Understanding The Diagenesis Of Carbonates In Pennsylvanian Mudrocks Of The Midland Basin, Alex J. Reis

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Late Pennsylvanian was a time of frequent, rapid glacioeustatic sea-level changes. These changes were recorded in the Wolfcamp D Formation of the Midland Basin as a series of cyclothems similar to those studied in the Midcontinent region (e.g., Algeo and Heckel, 2008). This study focuses on identifying the mechanisms and controls on carbonate deposition and diagenesis through the Upper Pennsylvanian Wolfcamp D Formation and evaluating the potential for these layers to be stratigraphically significant. A stepwise progression of diagenetic processes was identified through the use of δ¹³C_carb and δ¹⁸O_carb, bulk geochemical and …

Abandoned Mine Land Impacts On Tributaries In The Upper Yakima River Watershed, Eastern Cascades, Washington, Scott Kugel

All Master's Theses

Effluent from abandoned mine lands (AMLs) in several drainages in Washington’s Eastern Cascades flows into the Yakima River. Similar sites in Idaho and Colorado are known producers of heavy metals and acid mine drainage. I determined the effects of nine AMLs on water quality in four tributaries to the Yakima River. Archival work was conducted to determine sites that were mined and contained a mill. Each site was characterized by physical features. Water and sediment samples were collected above, at, and below each AML. Samples were analyzed for pH and heavy metal content, and evaluated to determine if the AMLs …

Quantifying Crustal Assimilation In Historical To Recent (1329-2005) Lavas At Mt. Etna, Italy: Insights From Thermodynamic Modeling, Marie Takach

All Master's Theses

The nearly continuous volcanic eruption record at Mt. Etna dating back approximately 700 years provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the geochemical evolution of a highly active volcano. Of particular interest is elucidating the cause of a selective enrichment in alkali elements (K, Rb, Cs) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. This alkali enrichment trend, which began in the 17^th century and accelerated after 1971, was accompanied by an increase in the volume, frequency, and explosivity of eruptions. To explain this enrichment, two major arguments are invoked: (1) crustal contributions (e.g., assimilation of the sedimentary basement), and (2) changes in …

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Surface Water Quality In Relation To Marcellus Shale Gas Development In The Northern Panhandle Of West Virginia, Rachel Yesenchak

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pre-existing water chemistry data available from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection were used to examine temporal changes in surface water quality related to the onset of Marcellus Shale gas drilling activity in the state of West Virginia. Drilling is concentrated in the northwestern portion of the state. Watersheds were delineated for twelve discrete stream sampling locations in the Upper Ohio-Wheeling HUC-8 sub-basin, where shale gas drilling is prevalent. Kruskal-Wallis tests were deployed to compare pre- and post-drilling concentrations of conductivity, chloride, and total suspended solids for each location. Increased concentrations of these parameters are associated with surface water …

Tuhualite In A Peralkaline Rhyolitic Ignimbrite From Pantelleria, Italy, Boguslaw Baginski, Ray Macdonald, John C. White, Lidia Jezak

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

An occurrence of the rare mineral tuhualite (NaFe3+Fe2+Si6O15) is reported in a peralkaline rhyolitic ignimbrite from the 11 island of Pantelleria, Italy. The mineral formed during devitrification of glassy fiamme and varies in form from anhedral plates to 12 perfect euhedral in open vesicles. There is significant replacement of Fe2+ by Mn (FMQ in the presence of a 14 hydrous fluid.

Occupational Seasonality And Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction At Quebrada Jaguay 280, Stephanie Melissa Gruver

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Quebrada Jaguay 280 (QJ-280) is one of the oldest maritime archaeological sites in the New World. Previous excavations of the southern Peruvian coastal site have dated occupation from ~13,000-8,000 cal yr BP. These excavations also determined that the occupants of the site used preferential maritime resource procurement strategies and had an interzonal connection to the highlands. In 2017 a new excavation was conducted at QJ-280 and the remains of the marine mollusk Mesodesma donacium were recovered. Geochemical examinations on the shell remains informed on the occupational seasonality of the site and reconstructed sea surface temperatures experienced off the coast of …

Trace Element And Isotopic Fingerprinting Of Olivine Phenocrysts As Recorders Of Magmatic Processes In The Golden Trout Volcanic Field, Kern Plateau, Ca, Mark E. Szymanski

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Quaternary mafic volcanism in the western Basin and Range and in the southeastern Sierra Nevada is largely controlled by extensional stresses that promote magma generation through decompression melting of the lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle. Where volcanism occurs in the Sierra Nevada, like at the Golden Trout Volcanic Field GTVF), the eruption rate, number of vents, and eruption volume is an order of magnitude less than at neighboring Basin and Range volcanic fields such as the Big Pine Volcanic Field (BPVF). To determine the factors that cause these differences in adjacent and contemporaneous volcanic fields, I sampled rocks from both fields …

Evidence For Ephemeral Middle Eocene To Early Oligocene Greenland Glacial Ice And Pan-Arctic Sea Ice, Aradhna Tripati, Dennis Darby

OES Faculty Publications

Earth's modern climate is defined by the presence of ice at both poles, but that ice is now disappearing. Therefore understanding the origin and causes of polar ice stability is more critical than ever. Here we provide novel geochemical data that constrain past dynamics of glacial ice on Greenland and Arctic sea ice. Based on accurate source determinations of individual ice-rafted Fe-oxide grains, we find evidence for episodic glaciation of distinct source regions on Greenland as far-ranging as ~68°N and ~80°N synchronous with ice-rafting from circum-Arctic sources, beginning in the middle Eocene. Glacial intervals broadly coincide with reduced CO_{2 …}

Photochemical Cycling Of Reactive Oxygen Species In Hydrothermal Systems: Impacts On Biosignature Preservation, Megan A. Mave

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Life originated on early Earth, despite harsh, highly reducing conditions. Life may have also emerged on early Mars, when conditions on the two planets were similar (i.e. before atmosphere loss and desiccation). NASA’s 2020 Mars rover mission aims to identify biosignatures (i.e. evidence of life) in early Martian deposits. Potential exploration sites include extinct hydrothermal springs, due to their high habitability and preservation potential. This study aims to better understand biosignature preservation in hydrothermal systems analogous to those on early Mars (i.e. reducing and Fe-rich).

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules formed primarily by photochemical reactions. ROS are …

Using Multiple Environmental Tracers To Investigate The Relative Role Of Soil And Deep Groundwater In Stream Water Generation For A Snow-Dominated Headwater Catchment, Isabellah V. Von Trapp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this study, seasonal fluctuation of environmental tracers in stream flow, soil water, and deep bedrock groundwater were used to constrain the role of deep bedrock groundwater in streamflow generation for a mountainous headwater catchment. Synoptic measurements of stream discharge, ²²²Rn, specific conductivity and major ion concentrations were measured throughout the water year over a 5 km reach of Cap Wallace Creek in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Montana, U.S.A. with the intention of understanding groundwater – surface water interactions across spatial and temporal scales. Stage measurements were continually recorded at seven stilling well locations along the reach. Discharge measurements …

Trace Metal And Metalloid Behavior In The Submicron Scale Components Of Coal Fly Ashes: Insights From Combined Microscopic And Microbiological Studies, Matthew Costa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For over a century, coal has been used worldwide to meet ever-growing energy demands. Coal combustion accounts for over 30% of electricity generation in the United States. In the U.S., coal combustion produces annually over 100 million tons of coal combustion products (CCPs) of which only 30% are used in beneficial and economic ways. One of the primary CCPs from coal-burning power plants is fly ash, typically fine-sized and enriched in many trace elements (e.g., arsenic, chromium, lead, and vanadium). When disposed in the environment, fly ash may release significant concentrations of trace elements into surrounding ecosystems and induce toxicity …

Geostatistical And Geospatial Distribution Of Multiple Metallic Elements In Agricultural Regions Of The Mid-Continental Usa, Najwah Alssaeidi Ahmed Almesleh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Regional geochemical mapping constitute the chemistry of the surface of the earth in a large scale and relatively low sample density. It is widely accepted scientific activity and man uses some cases to identify contamination. In the present study, data present in national geochemical survey database was used to investigate the chemical loading loading of the agricultural soil. In the mid-continent region of the United States. Several traditional parameters were used mainly the enrichment factor (EF), and geoaccumulation index (I geo). Total chemical influence (TCI) maps were used to guide sampling. In addition, regional trace element chemistry of bedrock was …

A Combined Field, Experimental And Modeling Approach To Understand The Impacts Of Flood Irrigation On Pedogenic Caco3 And Co2 Dynamics In Drylands, Anna Cristina Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Soil salinization is a global problem affecting 10% of agricultural soils, particularly in irrigated arid-lands. This study investigated salt loading through flood-irrigation, particularly of calcite (CaCO3) salt in the southwest of the United States. To evaluate the impact that flood-irrigation has on CaCO3 buildup and its effect on C-cycling, a natural soil and two agricultural soils were sampled: a pecan orchard and an alfalfa field in the El Paso, TX region. Agricultural soils in this study are flood irrigated by the Rio Grande river and by ground waters in its absence, both of which are oversaturated with calcite.

To trace …

Evaluation Of The Community Multiscale Air Quality Model For Simulating Winter Ozone Formation In The Uinta Basin, Rebecca Matichuk, Gail Tonnesen, Deborah Luecken, Rob Gillam, Sergey L. Napelenok, Kirk R. Baker, Donna Schwede, Ben Murphy, Detlev Helmig, Seth N. Lyman, Shawn Roselle

Bingham Research Center

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models were used to simulate a 10 day high-ozone episode observed during the 2013 Uinta Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS). The baseline model had a large negative bias when compared to ozone (O₃) and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements across the basin. Contrary to other wintertime Uinta Basin studies, predicted nitrogen oxides (NO_x) were typically low compared to measurements. Increases to oil and gas VOC emissions resulted in O₃ predictions closer to observations, and nighttime O₃ improved when reducing the deposition velocity …

Abiotic- And Biotic-Formation Of Manganese Oxides And Their Fate In Environmental Systems, Haesung Jung

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Manganese (hydr)oxide (Mn (hydr)oxide) minerals are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments. These minerals have high surface areas and are highly sorptive and redox active. From decades of accumulated knowledge about natural redox cycling, we have found that Mn (hydr)oxides play critical roles as electron donors and acceptors in elemental geochemical cycling and biological metabolisms in nature. Thus, Mn (hydr)oxides have garnered increasing interest to understand natural systems. Considering the variety of redox reactions with Mn (hydr)oxides in nature, it is also expected that there should be diverse pathways to form Mn (hydr)oxides through abiotic and biotic processes. Previous studies …

Phosphate Speleothems In Caves Developed In Iron Ores And Laterites Of The Carajás Mineral Province (Brazil) And A New Occurrence Of Spheniscidite, Alan R.L. Albuquerque, Rômulo S. Angélica, Daniele F. Gonçalves, Simone P.A. Paz

International Journal of Speleology

The Carajás Mineral Province has one of the largest concentrations of caves in Brazil, and its iron ore is among the country’s main exports. As a result of iron ore intense extraction, new environmental policies have been implemented. In an attempt to balance economic activity and environmental conservation, an inventory and a relevance-based classification of caves were implemented in 2008 as criteria for environmental licensing of mining ventures. This implementation motivated the present study of phosphate speleothems in Carajás’ caves developed in ferriferous rocks. The objectives of this study are to describe the phosphate minerals and their formation processes based …

Geophysical Delineation Of Megaporosity And Fluid Migration Pathways For Geohazard Characterization Within The Delaware Basin, Culberson County, Texas, Jonathan David Woodard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Differential dissolution of gypsum karst within the Delaware Basin poses a significant threat to infrastructure that society depends on. The study area is located in Culberson County, Texas and traverses a distance of approximately 54 kilometers along RM 652 within the Gypsum Plain which is situated on the northern margin of the Chihuahua Desert and includes outcrops of Castile and Rustler strata that host karst geohazards. Regions of karst geohazard potential have been physically surveyed proximal to the study area in evaporites throughout the Castile Formation outcrop; minimal hazards, in comparison to the Castile Formation, have been documented in …

A Geochemical Investigation And Comparison Between Organic-Rich Black Shales And Mississippi Valley-Type Pb-Zn Ores In The Southern Ozarks Region, Bryan Michael Bottoms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits are base metal sulfide deposits that are important economic sources of both Pb and Zn, accounting for 24% of the global Pb and Zn reserves. They are found all over the world, often hosted in platform carbonates on the flanks of sedimentary basins, and often in proximity to hydrocarbons. They are epigenetic, not related to igneous activity, and thought to be sourced from low temperature, highly saline basinal brines that are expelled from sedimentary basins during compaction and/or in conjunction with an orogenic event. The basinal lithologies responsible for providing the metals for the ores are …

Provenance Analysis Of The Grover Gravel Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Petrology And Heavy Mineral Analysis, Grant Spoering

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Grover Gravel in the St. Louis, Missouri area contains a mix of chert, quartzite, jasper, and ironstone in clast sizes ranging up to 60 cm. The gravel varies in thickness from a veneer to over 30 feet and rests on upland surfaces at elevations sometimes exceeding 300 feet above the floors of major valleys. A pre-Pleistocene age generally has been proposed or assumed for the gravel, which classically has been interpreted to be a meandering-stream deposit atop an extensive flat upland surface, which was subsequently eroded and dissected by rejuvenated streams. However, large quartzite boulders in the gravel also …

Cave Monitoring In The Béke And Baradla Caves (Northeastern Hungary): Implications For The Conditions For The Formation Cave Carbonates, György Czuppon, Attila Demény, Szabolcs Leél-Őssy, Mihály Óvari, Mihály Molnár, József Stieber, Klaudia Kiss, Krisztina Kármán, Gergely Surányi, László Haszpra

International Journal of Speleology

In order to use speleothems in the reconstruction of past climate and environmental changes it is necessary to understand the environmental and hydrological processes that determine the physico-chemical conditions of carbonate precipitation and hence speleothem formation. Therefore, in this study an extended monitoring program was conducted in the Béke and Baradla caves located in the Aggtelek region (Northeastern Hungary). The studied caves are rich in speleothem and flowstone occurrences with great potential for paleoclimatology studies. The monitoring activity included measurements of atmospheric and cave temperatures, CO₂ concentration in cave air, as well as chemical and isotopic compositions of water …

U–Pb Dating Of Cave Spar: A New Shallow Crust Landscape Evolution Tool, D. D. Decker, V. J. Ployak, Y. Asmeron, Matthew Lachniet

Geoscience Faculty Research

In carbonate terranes, rocks types that provide apatite are not available to effectively use apatite fission track (AFT) or (U/Th)‐He chronometry (AHe). Here we suggest that calcite cave spar can be an effective chronometer and complimentary to AFT and AHe thermochronometers in carbonate regions such as our study area, the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico, and west Texas. Our measured depth of cave spar deposition is 500 ± 250 m beneath the regional water table, formed at temperatures of 40° to 80°C, indicating that these caves and their spar crystals form near the supercritical CO2‐subcritical CO2 boundary where we …