Earth Sciences Commons^™

Early Permian Conodont Fauna And Stratigraphy Of The Garden Valley Formation, Eureka County, Nevada, Bruce R. Wardlaw, Dora M. Gallegos, Valery V. Chernykh, Walter S. Snyder

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The lower part of the Garden Valley Formation yields two distinct conodont faunas. One of late Asselian age dominated by Mesogondolella and Streptognathodus and one of Artinskian age dominated by Sweetognathus with Mesogondolella. The Asselian fauna contains the same species as those found in the type area of the Asselian in the southern Urals including Mesogondolella dentiseparata, described for the first time outside of the Urals. Apparatuses for Sweetognathus whitei, Diplognathodus stevensi, and Idioprioniodus sp. are described. The Garden Valley Formation represents a marine pro-delta basin and platform, and marine and shore fan delta complex deposition. …

Dynamic Triggering In The Coso Geothermal Field, 2004-2013, Richard A. Alfaro-Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We take advantage of EarthScope’s USArray Transportable Array (TA), regional seismic networks to investigate 154 M ≥ 7 earthquakes over a ten-year period (2004- 2013), in search of remotely triggered seismicity within the continental United States. We conduct an automated search to detect high frequency signals (which may indicate triggering of small local earthquakes) using a time window of 5 hours before and after each mainshock. The automated detection applies a short-term average (STA) to long-term-average (LTA) algorithms, to create a catalogue of detections. Using the catalog we search for an increase in detection rates after each main-shock. Sharp increases …

Crustal Structure Beneath The Eastern Nepal Himalayas And Southern Tibet From Receiver Function Analysis, Arjun Sharma Neupane

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Himalayas are the results of continental collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate and serve as a natural site to study the physical causes and process of mountain building. The crustal structure beneath the Himalayas has been subject to numerous geophysical studies and the variation in the velocity structure across the Himalayan region suggests significant differences in the crustal structure between the southern and northern portion in that region. In this research, a P receiver function analysis has been conducted on data collected for 14 years (2000-2014) from 211 different stations in Eastern Nepal and Southern Tibet, …

Magmatic Plumbing At Lucky Strike Volcano Based On Olivine-Hosted Melt Inclusion Compositions, V. D. Wanless, A. M. Shaw, M. D. Behn, S. A. Soule, J. Escartín, C. Hamelin

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Here we present volatile, major, and trace element concentrations of 64 olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Lucky Strike segment on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Lucky Strike is one of two locations where a crustal melt lens has been seismically imaged on a slow-spreading ridge. Vapor-saturation pressures, calculated from CO₂ and H₂O contents of Lucky Strike melt inclusions, range from approximately 300-3000 bars, corresponding to depths of 0.5-9.9 km below the seafloor. Approximately 50% of the melt inclusions record crystallization depths of 3-4 km, corresponding to the seismically imaged melt lens depth, while an additional ∼35% crystallize at depths …

Comparison Of The Ground-Motion Attenuation Relationship Between The Wenchuan, China, Area And The Central And Eastern United States, Jiwei Feng, Zhenming Wang, Edward W. Woolery, Shanyou Li

Report of Investigations--KGS

An M_w-7.9 earthquake occurred in Wenchuan, China, in 2008, along the Longmenshan Fault, which is located on the western border of the South China stable continental region. A detailed comparison of the Wenchuan ground-motion attenuation relationships with the relationships for the central and eastern United States (also a stable continental region) showed that the ground-motion prediction equation for the Wenchuan area is similar to those for the central and eastern United States. Thus, the strong-motion records from the Wenchuan earthquake can be used for constraining the ground-motion prediction equation and engineering analysis for the central and eastern United …

Shear Wave Splitting Analysis Beneath Tien Shan: Geodynamic Implications Of Complex Anisotropy, Solomon Gerra Cherie

Doctoral Dissertations

"In spite of numerous studies, the mechanisms for the crustal shortening, mountain formation and associated tectonism leading to complex or simply seismic anisotropy formation beneath the Tien Shan Orogenic Belt is still debated. The most popular hypotheses suggested for the existence of seismic anisotropy are small-scale mantle convection, regional scale resistive basal shear and APM induced asthenospheric flow. Here, we used shear-wave splitting (SWS) measurements with good azimuthal coverage to provide additional constraints on the various models proposed by previous studies. One of the most effective approaches utilized to constrain convective mantle flow patterns is the splitting of P-to-S converted …

Origin And Stratigraphic Architecture Of The Middle Permian Lower And Upper Quanzijie Low-Order Cycles, Bogda Mountains, Nw China, Jonathan Obrist-Farner

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study is carried out in the Bogda Mountains, NW China, and aims to provide a detailed sedimentary, stratigraphic, environmental, and paleoclimatic reconstruction in the paleo-mid-latitude along the east coast of Pangea. The Middle Permian lower and upper Quanzijie low-order cycles (QZJ LCs) provide a nearly complete sedimentary record in an area were little is known. In the first part of this work, the previously-established QZJ LC is divided into two LCs on the basis of regional stratigraphic correlation and major changes in depositional environments and tectonic and climatic processes. The newly-established lower QZJ LC is mainly composed of meandering …

Keflavík On Hegranes: Cemetery Excavation—Interim Report2015, Guðný Zoega, Douglas J. Bolender, Brian N. Damiata, John M. Steinberg

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

The summer of 2015 was the first of three planned years of excavations at the early Christian cemetery at farm Keflavík on Hegranes in the region of Skagafjörður, North Iceland. The excavation is the third phase of Skagfirska kirkjurannsóknin (Skagafjörður Church Project) and is a collective effort of the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum and the Fiske Center of the University of MassachusettsBoston. The collective project goes by the name Skagafjörður Church and Settlement Survey (SCASS). The excavation season started on the 6thof July and finished on the 14thof August. The first two weeks were spent cleaning the surface and removing a …

Field Measurements For Remote Sensing Of The Cryosphere, Hans-Peter Marshall, Robert L. Hawley, Marco Tedesco

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Remote sensing observations of the cryosphere, like any other target of interest, require ground-based measurements for both calibration and validation, as inversion algorithms are usually underdetermined and uncertainties in the retrieval are needed for application. Field-based observations are performed in selected representative locations, and typically involve both direct in situ measurements of the physical properties of interest, as well as ground-based remote sensing techniques.

New state-of-the-art modern techniques for measuring physical properties rapidly and at high spatial resolution have recently given us a new view of spatiotemporal variability. These are important, as large variability at scales below the typical footprint …

Seismological Investigation Of The Okavango Rift, Botswana, Youqiang Yu

Doctoral Dissertations

The mechanisms of rifting have been intensively investigated using geological and geophysical techniques beneath mature rift zones. However, current understanding on the earliest stages of rifting is seriously limited. Here we employ recently archived data from 17 broadband seismic stations traversing northern Botswana to conduct the first shear wave splitting and mantle transition zone (MTZ) studies within the Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ). The ORZ is an incipient continental rift situated at the terminal of the southwestern branch of the East African Rift System. The resulting normal MTZ thickness and consistently rift-parallel fast polarizations imply an absence of significant thermal anomalies …

Seismic Structural Investigation And Reservoir Characterization Of The Moki Formation In Maar Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, Mohammed Dhaifallah M Alotaibi

Masters Theses

"The Maari Field is a large oil field located in the southern part of the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. The field is bounded by two major structures, the Eastern Mobile Belt and Western Stable Platform. The Maari Field produces 40,000 BOPD (Barrels of Oil per Day) from five wells from reservoirs in the Moki Formation. The Miocene Moki Formation was deposited as part of the Wai-iti Group and consists of sandstone interbedded with siltstone and claystone. The sandstone of the Moki Formation is characterized by a submarine fan. It is distributed along the southern and central Taranaki shelf. Three-dimensional seismic …

Fault Interpretation And Reservoir Characterization Of The Farewell Formation Within Kerry Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, Waleed Deefallah M Alotaby

Masters Theses

"The Kerry Field, located in the southern offshore Taranaki Basin, is a large liquid-rich gas accumulation with a thin (20 m) oil rim. The field was discovered by the New Zealand Oil & Gas in 1986 (well Kupe South-1). The gas and oil are trapped within a 9.2 km² fault-dependent three-way dip closure in the Paleocene Farewell Formation reservoir. Pressure, volume, and temperature (PVT) data indicate that the gas and oil columns in the field are in equilibrium with one another and are saturated at current reservoir conditions.

The Farewell Formation is the uppermost formation of the Kapuni Group …

A Geochemical Investigation Of Co₂ Sequestration And Site Characterization At Two Missouri Locations, Robert Allen Swain

Masters Theses

"The feasibility of sequestering CO₂ in saline aquifers of Lamotte Formation sandstone was investigated at wells located near Thomas Hill power plant, Moberly, MO and Sioux City Power Plant in Florissant, MO. Governing factors of using aquifers for CO₂ disposal include water salinity, potential for carbonic acid buffering, rate of precipitation of carbonate minerals following CO₂ introduction into the host aquifer, and the integrity of the Davis and Derby-DoeRun shale as a trap rock to prevent migration of the CO₂ phase and carbonic acid into the overlying potable Ozark Aquifer.

Both in situ and laboratory methods …

Assessing The Relative Mobility Of Submarine Landslides From Deposit Morphology And Physical Properties: An Example From Kumano Basin, Nankai Trough, Offshore Japan, Zachary T. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

A prominent landslide deposit in the Slope Basin seaward of the Megasplay Fault in the Nankai Trough was emplaced by a high-mobility landslide based on analysis of physical properties and seismic geomorphology. Slide acceleration is a critical variable that determines amplitude of slide-generated tsunami but is many times a variable with large uncertainty. In recent controlled laboratory experiments, the ratio of the shear stress to yield strength (defined as the Flow Factor) controls a wide spectrum of mass movement styles from slow, retrogressive failure to rapid, liquefied flows. Here, we apply this laboratory Flow Factor approach to a natural landslide …

Finding Mars Paleopoles From Magnetization Edge Effects To Determine The History Of Mars’ Core Dynamo, Melissa Lynn Ditty

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This is a new method of determining magnetization strength, direction, and paleopole location from magnetic anomalies across edges of the equatorial band of magnetic sources on Mars. Different assumed locations of paleopoles result in different inducing field directions in the vicinity of an edge. Thus, with different paleopoles, the resulting magnetic fields from the edges of magnetic sources are different, and correlate differently with the observed fields. Best correlating observed and computed magnetic edge effect fields yield the potential paleopoles. The total gradient (TG) of the z-component magnetic field was used to identify the edges of magnetization boundaries. Three edge …

Geologic Map Of The Welcome Quadrangle And An Adjacent Part Of The Wells Quadrangle, Elko County, Nevada, Allen J. Mcgrew, Arthur W. Snoke

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Located in central Elko County, the Welcome and adjacent part of the Wells quadrangles expose a remarkable array of critical relationships for understanding the geologic history of the State of Nevada and the interior of the southwestern U.S. Cordillera. Covering the northern end of the East Humboldt Range and adjacent Clover Valley and Clover Hill, this map includes the northern terminus of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex. The oldest rocks in the State of Nevada (the gneiss complex of Angel Lake), and Nevada’s only exposures of Archean rock, form the core of a multikilometer scale, southward-closing recumbent …

Palynological Interpretations Of Deep Sea Drilling Projects Cores In The Gulf Of Mexico And Bahamian Platform, Adam Patrick Barron

Masters Theses

"One hundred drill core samples were from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 94, 98, and 540 were investigated for their palynological contents (pollen, spores, acritarchs, dinoflagellate cysts, and dispersed organic matter) to infer the paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic history of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamian Platform during the middle Eocene to middle Miocene interval. At Sites 94 and 540, abundant dinoflagellate cysts (chiefly Operculodinium centrocarpum, Lingulodinium machaerophorum, Impagidinium sp., Nematosphaeropsis sp., and Spiniferites spp.) were used as paleoenvironmental indicators. Two alternating palynofacies assemblages were identified from dispersed organic matter analysis: terrestrially influenced assemblage A and marine dominated assemblage …

Pressure-Temperature-Time Constraints For Exhumation Of Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Rocks, North Qaidam Terrane, Western China, Brittany Kristine Fagin

All Master's Theses

Ultrahigh-pressure rocks of a Paleozoic continental suture zone are exposed in the southeastern North Qaidam terrane (Dulan region). Garnetite sample D119 contains minor Czo+Qtz+Chl+Ttn; rutile inclusions in titanite suggest that titanite replaced rutile during decompression. Pressure-temperature estimates of sample D119 are 16.1-18.4 kbar and 485-520 °C. Sample D130B is a mafic band in calc-silicate gneiss, with garnet porphyroblasts in a fine-grained Hbl-Cpx-Pl-Qtz symplectite that is interpreted as former omphacite. D130B symplectite pressure-temperature estimates are 7.7-9.4 kbar and 623-708 °C. Titanite U-Pb ages of 419.7±3.1 Ma and 415.9±4.2 Ma are interpreted to date retrogression of D119 and D130B, respectively. Average exhumation …

Ground-Coupled Air Waves: A Seismological Case Study Of The Explosion Quakes Of The 2007 Eruption Of Pavlof Volcano, Alaska, Cassandra Marie Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An abnormally high number of explosion quakes were noted during the monitoring effort for the 2007 eruption of Pavlof Volcano on the Alaskan Peninsula. In this study we manually counted the explosion quakes from their characteristic ground-coupled air waves. This study makes an effort at better quantifying the number of explosion quakes and how the characteristic ground-coupled air waves are affected by wind direction and wind speed. Additionally this study investigates how the ground coupled air waves might be used in a monitoring or analysis effort by calculating energy release and gas mass release. Over 3.2x10⁴ quakes were recorded. …

Glaciological Applications Of Terrestrial Radar Interferometry, Denis Voytenko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial Radar Interferometry (TRI) is a relatively new ground-based technique that combines the precision and spatial resolution of satellite interferometry with the temporal resolution of GPS. Although TRI has been applied to a variety of fields including bridge and landslide monitoring, it is ideal for studies of the highly-dynamic terminal zones of marine-terminating glaciers, some of which are known to have variable velocities related to calving and/or ocean-forced melting. My TRI instrument is the Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer, which operates at 17.2 GHz (1.74 cm wavelength), has two receiving antennas for DEM (digital elevation model) generation, and images the scenes …

Characterization Of Seismicity At Volcán Barú, Panama: May 2013 Through April 2014, Chet J. Hopp

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Volcán Barú, in the western province of Chiriquí, is Panama's youngest and most active volcano. Although Barú has experienced no historic eruptions there have been four eruptive episodes in the last 1600 years, the most recent occurring 400-500 years ago (Sherrod et al., 2007). In addition, there have been four reported earthquake swarms in the last 100 years. The most recent swarm occurred in May of 2006, prompting a USGS hazard assessment (Sherrod et al., 2007). In order to characterize local seismicity and provide a reference for future monitoring efforts, we established a seismic network that operated from May 2013 …

Lithospheric Structure And Stress Field Orientations In The Northern Libya And East-Central Mediterranean Region, Abdusalam Ali Agail

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is a combination of three studies including tomography using surface wave group velocities, stress orientations from focal mechanisms, and receiver functions. The study area covers northern Libya and the east central Mediterranean region. I utilized new data from the Libyan National Seismic Network to better understand the crustal thickness and stress orientation of northern Libya as well as the east central Mediterranean region. In the first study, I conducted surface wave group velocity tomography implementing the Gaussian beam method for obtaining 2-D velocity variations assuming an isotropic model. I constructed surface wave group velocity maps over a range …

A Tectonic Analysis On The Central Region Of The Himalaya Collision Zone Using Double Difference Tomography, Chanel Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Himalaya mountain range remains the only place on Earth undergoing continuous effects from the continental-continental collision between India and Asia. Because of this, the Himalayas have been subjected to extensive deformation and transpression, and contain five major shear zones. Extensive seismic analysis of the region, however, is lacking due to sparse seismograph coverage and complexity of the crustal structure. I examined seismic event data from two temporary seismic networks deployed in the central Himalaya, the HIMNT deployment from 2001-2003, and the Bhutan deployment from 2002-2003. Using this data I develop a 3-D earth model for the region using double-difference …

Development Of 3-D Shear Wave Models Using A Multi-Objective Optimization Scheme, Lennox Emmanuel Thompson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Evidence of geologic activity still occurring in Rio Grande Rift (RGR) includes quaternary faulting, seismicity, and widening at a small rate. We map the crustal thickness and seismic velocity ratio to create crustal model cross sections that highlights the regional extension of the Southern Rio Grande Rift (SRGR). Specifically, we compute receiver functions and receiver function stacks for 147 USArray and previously collected data, and interpolate the crustal and velocity results using a kriging interpolation scheme. By incorporating gravity, magnetics, receiver functions, velocity models, and the interpretation of seismic reflection/refraction data, we produce a constrained crustal model that characterizes the …

Optimization Schemes For The Inversion Of Bouguer Gravity Anomalies, Azucena Zamora

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Data sets obtained from measurable physical properties of the Earth structure have helped advance the understanding of its tectonic and structural processes and constitute key elements for resource prospecting. 2-Dimensional (2-D) and 3-D models obtained from the inversion of geophysical data sets are widely used to represent the structural composition of the Earth based on physical properties such as density, seismic wave velocities, magnetic susceptibility, conductivity, and resistivity. The inversion of each one of these data sets provides structural models whose consistency depends on the data collection process, methodology, and overall assumptions made in their individual mathematical processes. Although sampling …

Theoretical Foundation Of Cyclostationary Eof Analysis For Geophysical And Climatic Variables: Concepts And Examples, Kwang-Yul Kim, Benjamin Hamlington, Hanna Na

CCPO Publications

Natural variability is an essential component of observations of all geophysical and climate variables. In principal component analysis (PCA), also called empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, a set of orthogonal eigenfunctions is found from a spatial covariance function. These empirical basis functions often lend useful insights into physical processes in the data and serve as a useful tool for developing statistical methods. The underlying assumption in PCA is the stationarity of the data analyzed; that is, the covariance function does not depend on the origin of time. The stationarity assumption is often not justifiable for geophysical and climate variables even …

Identification And Quantification Of Diffuse Fresh Submarine Groundwater Discharge Via Airborne Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing, Joseph T. Tamborski, A Deanne Rogers, Henry J. Bokuniewicz, J Kirk Cochran, Caitlin R. Young

Department of Geosciences Faculty Publications

Airborne thermal infrared (TIR) overflights were combined with shoreline radionuclide surveys to investigate submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) along the north shore of Long Island, NY between June 2013 and September 2014. Regression equations developed for three distinct geomorphological environments suggest a positive linear relationship between the rate of diffuse SGD and the spatial extent of the observed coastal TIR anomalies; such a relationship provides quantitative evidence of the ability to use TIR remote sensing as a tool to remotely identify and measure SGD. Landsat TIR scenes were unable to resolve any of the 18 TIR anomalies identified during the various …

Morphological, Structural, And Spectral Characteristics Of Amorphous Iron Sulfates, Elizabeth Sklute, Heidi Jensen, Deanne Rogers, Richard Reeder

Department of Geosciences Faculty Publications

Current or past brine hydrologic activity on Mars may provide suitable conditions for the formation of amorphous ferric sulfates. Once formed, these phases would likely be stable under current Martian conditions, particularly at low- to mid-latitudes. Therefore, we consider amorphous iron sulfates (AIS) as possible components of Martian surface materials. Laboratory AIS were created through multiple synthesis routes and characterized with total X-ray scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, visible/near-infrared (VNIR), thermal infrared (TIR), and Mössbauer techniques. We synthesized amorphous ferric sulfates (Fe(III)2(SO4)3 · ~ 6–8H2O) from sulfate-saturated fluids via vacuum dehydration or exposure to low relative humidity (

Feldspathic Rocks On Mars: Compositional Constraints From Infrared Spectroscopy And Possible Formation Mechanisms, Deanne Rogers, Hanna Nekvasil

Department of Geosciences Faculty Publications

Rare feldspar-dominated surfaces on Mars were previously reported based on near-infrared (NIR) spectral data and were interpreted to consist of anorthosite or felsic rocks. Using thermal infrared (TIR) data over the feldspar detections with the largest areal extent in Nili Patera and Noachis Terra, we rule out felsic interpretations. Basaltic or anorthositic compositions are consistent with TIR measurements, but the geologic contexts for these regions do not support a plutonic origin. Laboratory NIR spectral measurements demonstrate that large plagioclase crystals (>~840 μm) can be detected in mixtures with as much as 50 vol % mafics, which is higher than …

Geophysical Explorations On And Near The Ismenion Hill, Thebes, Greece, 2011, Robert W. Jacob, Stephanie Larson, Kevin Daly, Emily Bitely

Faculty Journal Articles

Το άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζει τις πρώτες κοινές έρευνες στη Θήβα, στην περιοχή του ναού του Απόλλωνος Ισμηνίου, που κρίθηκαν επιβεβλημένες, πριν από την υποβολή μιας ολοκληρωμένης και τεκμηριωμένης πρότασης Συνεργασίας, για τη διενέργεια εργασιών πεδίου και πιό συγκεκριμένα ανασκαφών. Οι έρευνες αυτές έλαβαν χώρα το καλοκαίρι του 2011, μετά από ευγενική πρόσκληση του Διευθυντή τότε ένατης Εφορείας, Καθηγητή κυρίου Βασίλειου Αραβαντινού, που χρονολογείται το 2010. Σκοπός μας ήταν ωα αναλάβουμε μαζί την προσπάυεια διερεύνησης τοπογραφικών και αρχαιολογικών ζητημάτων, σχετικών με την παλαιά ανασκαφή του Ισμηνίου και τη νεώτερη του Ηρακλείου των Θηβών.