Earth Sciences Commons^™

Geogram 2008, David J. Keeling, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Water Quality Impacts From Agricultural Land Use In Karst Drainage Basins Of Sw Kentucky And Sw China, Chris Groves, Ted Baker

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes, and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into karst subsurface fluvial systems are often very similar to the concentrations surfacing at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be given to water quality impacts …

Controls On Longitudinal Profiles In Headwater Rivers Of The Waipaoa Basin, North Island, New Zealand, David M. Livingston

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The longitudinal profiles of the adjacent Mangatu and Upper Waipaoa Rivers, of the Waipaoa basin of the North Island of New Zealand, differ in their form despite their similarity in size and that they flow over comparable bedrock. AdditionaJly, both basins have experienced an increase in sediment supply following deforestation during the 19th and 20th centuries. This research addresses how the deviations in the long profiles of the Mangatu and Upper Waipaoa Rivers have arisen and what effect the increased sediment loading has had on their form. Using methods similar to those of Hack (1957), who found that in same …

Geomorphology Of The Southernmost Longitudinal Valley Fault: Implications For Evolution Of The Active Suture Of Eastern Taiwan, J. Bruce H. Shyu, Kerry Sieh, Yue-Gau Chen, Ray Y. Chuang, Yu Wang, Ling-Ho Chung

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

In order to understand fully the deformational patterns of the Longitudinal Valley fault system, a major structure along the eastern suture of Taiwan, we mapped geomorphic features near the southern end of the Longitudinal Valley, where many well‐developed fluvial landforms record deformation along multiple strands of the fault. Our analysis shows that the Longitudinal Valley fault there comprises two major strands. The Luyeh strand, on the west, has predominantly reverse motion. The Peinan strand, on the east, has a significant left‐lateral component. Between the two strands, late Quaternary fluvial sediments and surfaces exhibit progressive deformation. The Luyeh strand dies out …

Pamphlet To Accompany Geologic Map Gmc-34: Geologic Map Of The O’Neill 1º X 2º Quadrangle, Nebraska, With Configuration Maps Of Surfaces Of Formations, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Michael R. Voorhies, E. Jane Voorhies, H. E. Lagarry, C. L. Timperley, M. E. Perkins

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

This map is necessarily generalized. It is based primarily on data from 7.5’ surficial geologic quadrangle maps of the map area prepared by the authors principally from 1991 to 2000, from Voorhies (unpublished data, 1974), as well as data from test-hole drilling done across the quadrangle by the Conservation and Survey Division, University of Nebraska, and its cooperators over many years since the 1930s. For more detailed information, consult the geologic data files of the Conservation and Survey Division, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The quadrangle is mostly covered by vegetation and Holocene sediments. Limited good exposures of …

Middle Crustal Ductile Deformation Patterns In Southern Tibet: Insights From Vorticity Studies In Mabja Dome, Jackie Langille

All Master's Theses

Mabja Dome, southern Tibet, exposes mid-crustal rocks proposed to have originated from a southward flowing mid-crustal channel. Kinematic, mean kinematic vorticity (Wm), and metamorphic petrography analyses on these mid-crustal rocks were performed to test this hypothesis. Kinematic indicators show a transition with structural depth from top-north and top-south shear to solely top-south shear. Along the northernmost transects, Wm in schists and orthogneisses range from 0.52–0.84 (63–36% pure shear). Wm for quartzites ranges from 0.9–0.99 (27–1% pure shear). Deformation temperatures increase from ~450 °C in the chloritoid-zone to ~700 °C in the sillimanite-zone and were recorded between ~35–16 Ma. These patterns …

Petrogenetic Processes Characterizing The Mount Bachelor, Oregon Magmatic System: Open- Versus Closed-System Processes, Sara Elizabeth Johnson

All Master's Theses

Mount Bachelor volcanic chain (MBVC), located in central Oregon, is one of the larger basalt and basaltic-andesite edifices in central Oregon. Preliminary studies have defined how eruptions have changed composition with time, but a detailed assessment of magma chamber processes has not been conducted. To gain a more thorough understanding of the magmatic processes that have contributed to the observed compositional evolution, this study focuses on one of four eruptive episodes, specifically episode III, the most voluminous episode of the four. Magmatic processes are assessed by focusing on both whole-rock and single crystal data.

The geochemistry and textural diversity of …

Comparison Of Landslides And Their Related Outburst Flood Deposits, Owyhee River, Southeastern Oregon, Shannon Marian Othus

All Master's Theses

Numerous landslides have entered the Owyhee River canyon north of Rome, Oregon. As the river flows through different lithologic units, the style of mass wasting changes from large slump events and small rock falls to large earthflows. The change in mechanism of mass wasting from upstream to downstream seems to depend on several factors: (1) the ratio of the basalt cap to the exposed underlying sediments, (2) the composition of underlying sediments, (3) the canyon geometry, and (4) the extent and frequency of mass wasting. All three mechanisms of mass wasting have the ability to block the river channel and …

The Global Stratotype Section And Point (Gssp) For The Base Of The Katian Stage Of The Upper Ordovician Series At Black Knob Ridge, Southeastern Oklahoma, Usa, Daniel Goldman, Stephen A. Leslie, Jaak Nõlvak, Seth Young, Stig M. Bergström, Warren D. Huff

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

The International Subcomission on Ordovician Stratigraphy (ISOS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) recently defined the base of the global Upper Ordovician Series to be at the first appearance datum (FAD) of the graptolite species Nemagraptus gracilis in the Fågelsång GSSP in southern Sweden. This designation recognized the tremendous utility for global correlation of the first appearance of a cosmopolitan taxon that occurs within a consistent succession of other first appearance datums (e.g., Finney and Bergström, 1986; Bergström et al., 2000). Current efforts by the ISOS have focused on subdividing the Upper Ordovician into three stages and choosing appropriate …

An Update On Groundwater Conditions At The Site Of The York College Cuny Campus In Southeastern Queens County, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Zarine Ali, Edward A. Molteni

Publications and Research

The wells operated by the Jamaica Water Supply Company in Queens represent the only large scale utilization of groundwater for public water supply in New York City in recent years. These wells were shut down, for the most part, beginning in 1996. Since that time, water table elevations in the area, which had been drawn down by the withdrawal activity of the Jamaica Water Supply Company, have risen significantly causing some high groundwater problems, including flooding of basements. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has held public hearings on a contemplated resumption of ground water withdrawal in …

Geogram 2007, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Contact Metamorphism In The Malashan Dome, North Himalayan Gneiss Domes, Southern Tibet: An Example Of Shallow Extensional Tectonics In The Tethys Himalaya, Tetsuo Kawakami, Mutsuki Aoya, Simon Wallis, Jeffrey Lee, Kentaro Terada, Yu Wang, Matt Heizler

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Combined petrographic, structural and geochronological study of the Malashan dome, one of the North Himalayan gneiss domes, reveals that it is cored by a Miocene granite, the Malashan granite, that intruded into the Jurassic sedimentary rocks of Tethys Himalaya. Two other granites in the area are referred to as the Paiku and Cuobu granites. New zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and muscovite and biotite ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating show that the Paiku granite was emplaced during 22.2–16.2 Ma (average 19.3 ± 3.9 Ma) and cooled rapidly to 350–400 °C at around 15.9 Ma. Whole-rock granite chemistry suggests the original granitic magma …

Gis Aided Archaeological Research Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas With Focus On The Landscape And River Crossings Along El Camino Carretera., Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Many generations of indigenous pathways through the forests of eastern Texas have their origins obscured in antiquity. Utilized by early European explorers, these pathways became modified through heavy use and the expansions and improvements needed to accommodate easy passage of European horses and carts and finally the heavy wagons of Anglo-American settlers. The first road through Texas, El Camino Real de Los Tejas, utilized portions of these early trails.

El Camino Carretera (known as the cart road) is an early segment of El Camino Real de los Tejas that crossed the Sabine River at the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. …

Episodic Tremor And Slip In The Pacific Northwest, Kenneth C. Creager, Timothy I. Melbourne

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Every 14 months the Pacific Northwest experiences slow slip on a fault that is the equivalent of about a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. While a typical earthquake of this magnitude happens in less than 10 seconds, the duration of these slip events is two to several weeks. The most recent event occurred from January 14 through February 1, 2007.

Late Pleistocene Climate Variability And Chemical Weathering In The Goriganga, Higher Central Himalaya, North India, Steven Paul Beukema

Dissertations

Relict lacustrine deposits in the Higher Central Himalaya, India, provide a rich repository of paleoclimate information for the period 16 ka to 11 ka. Stable isotope analysis of deposits near the village of Burfu shows the hydrologic balance between glacial meltwater and monsoon precipitation as source waters for the lake. During the period from 15.5 ka to 14 ka the Burfu lake was largely fed by melting glaciers. A warming event correlated to glacial Meltwater Pulse 1a indicates a sudden increase in carbonate weathering in the region accompanied by a gradual decrease in the ratio of glacial meltwater/monsoon precipitation feeding …

Evidence For Prehistoric Coseismic Folding Along The Tsaotun Segment Of The Chelungpu Fault Near Nan-Tou, Taiwan, Ashley R. Streig, Charles M. Rubin, Wen-Shan Chen, Long-Shen Lee, Stephen C. Thompson, Chris Madden, Shih-Ting Lu

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Taiwan's 1999 M_w 7.6 earthquake generated over 85 km surface rupture along the Chelungpu thrust fault. Paleoseismic studies at the Shi‐Jia site near Nantou city, reveal folding as the predominant form of deformation. Stratigraphic relations across the 1999 fold scarp show the style and degree of deformation caused by the penultimate event is similar to observed 1999 deformation. A boring transect across the fold scarp provides additional evidence of an earlier earthquake. Investigations at the Shi‐Jia site revealed three prehistoric events; accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon ages indicate that the penultimate earthquake occurred between 1160 and 1440 A.D. Paleoseismic …

The Impact Of Receiver Aperture Design And Telescope Properties On Lidar Signal-To-Noise Ratio Improvements, Yasser Hassebo, Khaled El Sayed

Publications and Research

Range and sensitivities of lidar measurements in daylight are limited by sky background noise power (BGP). This is particularly important for Raman lidar techniques where the Raman backscattered signal is relatively weak. This often restricts Raman lidar measurements to nighttime where BGP is absent. The background noise elimination is particularly important in daytime measurements in case where full overlap between laser beam and receiver telescope field-of-view (FOV) is necessary. Results of numerical simulations for a vertically pointing Lidar show that significant improvements in Lidar signal to noise ratio (SNR) can be obtained, by minimizing the detected sky BGP. This can …

Dundy County Test Hole Logs, Duane A. Eversoll

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Concentrations Of Metals In Aquatic Invertebrates From The Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, Christopher J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh, John M. Besser, Thomas W. May

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report summarizes the findings of a study conducted as a pilot for part of a park-wide monitoring program being developed for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) of southeastern Missouri. The objective was to evaluate using crayfish (Orconectes spp.) and Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) for monitoring concentrations of metals associated with lead-zinc mining. Lead-zinc mining presently (2007) occurs near the ONSR and additional mining has been proposed. Three composite samples of each type (crayfish and Asian clam), each comprising ten animals of approximately the same size, were collected during late summer and early fall of 2005 …

Late Cretaceous To Paleocene Metamorphism And Magmatism In The Funeral Mountains Metamorphic Core Complex, Death Valley, California, Chris G. Mattinson, Joseph P. Colgan, James R. Metcalf, Elizabeth L. Miller, Joseph L. Wooden

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Amphibolite-facies Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks below the low-angle Cenozoic Boundary Canyon Detachment record deep crustal processes related to Mesozoic crustal thickening and subsequent extension. A 91.5 ± 1.4 Ma Th-Pb SHRIMP-RG (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) monazite age from garnet-kyanite-staurolite schist constrains the age of prograde metamorphism in the lower plate. Between the Boundary Canyon Detachment and the structurally deeper, subparallel Monarch Spring fault, prograde metamorphic fabrics are overprinted by a pervasive greenschist-facies retrogression, high-strain subhorizontal mylonitic foliation, and a prominent WNW-ESE stretching lineation parallel to corrugations on the Boundary Canyon Detachment. Granitic pegmatite dikes are deformed, rotated into parallelism, and …

Paleoflood Record Reconstruction At An Archaeological Site On The Owyhee River, Southeastern Oregon, Stephanie Louise Vandal

All Master's Theses

The magnitude and frequency of late Holocene floods on the Owyhee River in southeastern Oregon were reconstructed from fine-grained flood deposits at three sites in the river canyon. The stratigraphy at the Birch Creek study site (BCSS) preserves a record of seven to nine large floods from the last 2800 years. Two additional study sites, the Iron Gate and Waterwheel, within a 5-km reach of the BCSS, showed 18-26 floods from the late Holocene to 1993 A.D. and 17-22 floods from 8600 B.P. to 1993 A.D., respectively. Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System modeling of the 1993 flood and several paleofloods …

High- And Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphism In The North Qaidam And South Altyn Terranes, Western China, Chris G. Mattinson, C. A. Menold, Jian-Xin Zhang, D. K. Bird

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The North Qaidam and South Altyn terranes extend approximately 1000 km across the northern Tibetan Plateau, and five localities preserve evidence of Early Paleozoic high-pressure (HP) or ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism, including the presence of coesite, coesite pseudomorphs, and diamond. A review of the geology, petrology, and geochronology collected over the past 10 years since these localities were discovered supports a correlation of the North Qaidam and South Altyn terranes, offset 350-400 km across the Altyn Tagh fault. Geochronology interpreted to reflect eclogite-facies metamorphism yields ages between 500 and 420 Ma; detailed geochronology from one locality supports a protracted (tens of …

Late Holocene Uplift Of The Chihshang Segment Of The Longitudinal Valley Fault At Fuli, Eastern Taiwan, Brian Thomas Gray

All Master's Theses

Uplifted Holocene strath terraces of the Bieh River drainage, eastern Taiwan, were analyzed in order to determine millennial-scale uplift and horizontal shortening rates of the Longitudinal Valley fault. Detrital charcoal fragments collected from three terraces within the Bieh River drainage yield ages between 1395 and 555 cal. yr B.P, suggesting an average uplift rate of 11.3 ± 3.6 mm yr^-1 for the last 1400 cal. yr B.P. The average horizontal shortening rate of 19.7 ± 9.5 mm yr^-1 was within error of present-day conventional geodetic measurements, but near the lower limit of the geodetic measurements. This suggests that …

Observation Of Microslip Dynamics At High-Speed Microcontacts, Brian Borovsky, Adam M. Booth, Erin Manlove

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The high-speed tribological properties of microscale contacts are studied using an indenter probe and quartz crystal microbalance. Elastic and dissipative shear forces are monitored as a function of contact radius for sapphire/gold interfaces with an adsorbed octadecanethiol monolayer. We observe shear force transitions understood as taking the interface from slipping to stuck conditions. We relate this behavior to the presence of interfacial microslip. Dynamic modeling shows that our observations are consistent with an interface that, when sliding, experiences full slip during half of each cycle. We discuss the implications for this technique as a sensitive probe of sliding friction.

Water Resources And Geologic Field Trip In York And Seward Counties, Nebraska, Michael J. Jess, Mark Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Provenance Of A Garnet-Rich Beach Placer Deposit, Montauk Point, Long Island, Ny, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Zarine Ali, Olalekan Jemilugba

Publications and Research

Garnet and magnetite rich sand, also enriched in monazite and zircon, has been observed and sampled near Montauk Point, Long Island. The sediment is derived from the glacial till and stratified drift of the Ronkonkoma Moraine by mechanical weathering and erosion due to wave action at Montauk Point, the headland on the eastern tip of Long Island. Sand sized sediment is moved westward along the southern shore of Long Island by longshore transport. The garnet and magnetite components of this sediment are significantly denser than the quartzo-feldspathic components. This allows for hydraulic segregation of these components, by wave action, …

Geogram 2006, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

The Jabal Qarah Caves Of The Hofuf Area, Northeastern Saudi Arabia: A Geological Investigation, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Mahbub Hussain, Fadhel Al-Khalifah

Publications and Research

The Jabal Al Qarah Caves, located approximately 13 km east of Al Hofuf, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, are an intricate cave system developed in the calcareous sandstone, marl and clay of the Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene Hofuf Formation. Physiographically, the hill of Jabal Al Qarah is an outlier mesa that is located at the eastern edge of the Shedgum Plateau, the southern extension of the As Summan Plateau, and the larger Syrian Plateau to the north. Based on cave morphology and interpreted evolutionary histoty, the Jabal Al Qarah caves appear to be significantly different from other limestone caves …

Major Land Resource Areas Of Montana, Natural Resources Conservation Service

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Major Land Resource Areas 32, Northern Intermountain Desertic Basins 43A, Northern Rocky Mountains 43B, Central Rocky Mountains 44A, Northern Rocky Mountain Valleys 44B, Central Rocky Mountain Valleys 46, Northern Rocky Mountain Foothills 52, Brown Glaciated Plains 53A, Northern Dark Brown Glaciated Plains 54, Soft Shale Plains 58A, Northern Rolling Plains, Northern Part 58B, Northern Rolling Plains, Southern Part 58C, Northern Rolling Plains, Northeastern Part 58D, Northern Rolling Plains, Eastern Part 60A, Pierre Shale Plains and Badlands 60B, Pierre Shale Plains and Badlands, Northern Part

Did The Pre-1980 Use Of Instream Structures Improve Streams? A Reanalysis Of Historic Data, Douglas M. Thompson

Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics Faculty Publications

In the 1930s, after only three years of scientific investigation at the University of Michigan Institute for Fisheries Research, cheap labor and government-sponsored conservation projects spearheaded by the Civilian Conservation Corps allowed the widespread adoption of in-stream structures throughout the United States. From the 1940s through the 1970s, designs of in-stream structures remained essentially unchanged, and their use continued. Despite a large investment in the construction of in-stream structures over these four decades, very few studies were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of the structures on the channel and its aquatic populations. The studies that were undertaken to evaluate the …