Earth Sciences Commons^™

Depositional And Stratigraphic Significance Of Marine, Green-Clay, Mineral Facies In The Lower-Middle Mississippian Borden And Fort Payne Formations, Western Appalachian And Eastern Illinois Basins, Kentucky, Devi Bhagabati Prasad Udgata

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Detailed study of strata associated with the glauconite-rich Floyds Knob Bed in the western Appalachian and eastern Illinois basins have corroborated previous interpretations that the unit is a widespread, largely synchronous marker horizon. However, in some areas there are multiple glauconite beds; in others a distinct bed is lacking, but the glauconite is dispersed throughout many beds, forming an interval rather than a distinct bed. In Kentucky and adjacent states, the Floyds Knob interval, in upper parts of the Lower-Middle Mississippian Borden-Grainger delta sequence and in lower parts of the Fort Payne carbonate sequence, was deposited at the end of …

Bedrock Geology And Tectonic Evolution Of The Western Central Maine Zone, South Central Massachusetts, Thomas Bradley Walker

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Bedrock geology of the East Brookfield quadrangle (EBQ), based on new 1:24000 scale mapping, consists of an interfolded sequence of Rangeley Fm. and Paxton Fm. metasediments, intruded by Early Mississippian tonalitic to granitic orthogneisses and underlain in the western half by folded orthogneisses of unknown age. Pervasive flattening strains have created planar, generally NNE-SSW striking and consistent moderately west dipping foliations. Generally strike-parallel stretching lineations and boudinage structures, with rarer dip parallel stretching lineations, reflect extrusion of CMZ metasediments and orthogneisses with a flattening component. Mapping in the EBQ demonstrates that a transition between deformational mechanisms of the southern Central …

Geology Of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Matthew M. Crawford, Hanna Hunsberger

Map and Chart--KGS

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is located in parts of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The park was authorized by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 11, 1940, and is now the largest historical park in the National Park System. It contains 24,000 acres along Cumberland Mountain near Ewing, Va., proceeding southwest toward Fern Lake in Tennessee, a distance of approximately 20 miles. The average width of the park is only 1.6 miles.

The park hosts a distinctive range of geologic processes and features. Unique structural geology, caves and karst, surface and groundwater erosion, and mass wasting are just a few of …

Kentucky Landscapes Through Geologic Time, Daniel I. Carey

Map and Chart--KGS

We now understand that the earth’s crust is broken up into a number of plates, some of continental size, and that these plates have been moving— centimeters a year—throughout geologic history, driven by the internal heat of the earth. This movement creates our mountain chains, earthquakes, geologic faults, and volcanoes. The theory of plate tectonics (from the Greek, tektonikos: pertaining to building) attempts to describe the process and helps explain the geology of Kentucky.

The geologic story of the rocks that form Kentucky’s landscape began a half billion years ago when the area was covered by water. Deposits of sand, …

Chemical Evolution And Residence Time Of Groundwater In The Wilcox Aquifer Of The Northern Gulf Coastal Plain, Estifanos Haile

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This study aims to integrate groundwater geochemistry and mathematical modeling to determine the dominant geochemical processes and groundwater residence time within the Wilcox aquifer in the northern Gulf Coastal Plain. Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for major ion chemistry, stable isotopes (¹⁸O, ²H, and ¹³C), and radioisotope ³⁶Cl content. Geochemical modeling enabled the identification of major sources and sinks of solutes in the aquifer. A two-dimensional, finite-difference, numerical model was used to determine the deep groundwater flow rate and transport of ³⁶Cl in the aquifer. Major ion chemistry shows a chromatographic pattern along …

Arsenic Heterogeneity In Aquifer Sediments From West Bengal, India, Emily Eastridge

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Multiple studies in the Bengal basin have shown that elevated As in groundwater coincides with reduced, relatively dark sediments of Himalayan provenance. In West Bengal state (India), As concentrations > 10 μg/L tend to occur east of the River Bhagirathi-Hoogly, the main distributary of the Ganges. Associations among sediment chemistry and mineralogy for four cores from either side of the Bhagirathi-Hoogly (cores 1 and 2 to the east, 3 and 4 to the west) in Murshidabad district were investigated. Ten sediment samples were collected from each boring at various depths to a maximum of 38 to 43 m. Sediment chemistry was …

Locating Hot Spots Of Fecal Pollution In An Urban Watershed Of Central Kentucky Using Bacteroides 16s Rrna Markers, Tricia L. Coakley

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The field of molecular fecal source tracking in the water environment has developed rapidly since the first PCR assays for general and host-­‐specific Bacteroides 16s rRNA markers were published. Numerous host-­‐specific molecular markers and PCR assays have been developed, adding greater specificity, sensitivity and quantitative methods to the array of options. The public demand for readying methods for transfer to the commercial lab, so that they may be used to generate data for public utilities, citizen action groups and regulatory agencies, has fueled the development of an entire new research community. These methods, however plentiful, have not found community agreement …

Structural Evolution Of An Intracratonic Rift System; Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, And Rome Trough Of Kentucky, Usa, John Bibb Hickman Jr.

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

As indicated by drilling and geophysical data, the Mississippi Valley Graben, the Rough Creek Graben, together with the Rome Trough of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, are fault-bounded graben structures filled with as much as 27,000 feet of Early to Middle Cambrian sediments. Detailed regional mapping of Cambrian and younger strata within and surrounding these structures indicates that they formed contemporaneously. The proximity of these structures suggests they developed within the same regional stress fields and tectonic environments. These three structures are mechanically and kinematically connected, and formed part of a single continent-scale rift system produced during the breakup of …

Petrologic, Geochemical, And Geochronologic Constraints On The Tectonic Evolution Of The Southern Appalachian Orogen, Blue Ridge Province Of Western North Carolina, Eric Douglas Anderson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Blue Ridge Province of western North Carolina contains a wide variety of metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary rocks that record the tectonic effects of Precambrian and Paleozoic orogenic cycles. Tectonic interpretations of the events that led to the present configuration are varied and often conflicting. This investigation examines metamorphosed mafic rocks that are widely interpreted to have formed during the closure of ocean basins. Metabasites, and specifically eclogites, have a tendency to mark tectonic sutures and frequently preserve pressure (P), temperature (T), and age data (t) that can be gleaned from mineral equilibria and U-Pb isotopic compositions. As such, the …

Fate Of Stable Isotope Label During Predation Of 15N-Tagged Wild-Type Escherichia Coli By Protozoa, Ashley M. Barton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Currently, bacterial movement in karst aquifers is not well understood. Use of stable isotopes to label non-pathogenic Escherichia coli as a particulate groundwater tracer in karst systems has been examined in previous studies. Loss of the stable isotope signal is anticipated in traces greater than 500 m in length. Potential loss of ¹⁵N due to predation by protozoa was examined. Filter-sterilized water from Royal Spring in Georgetown, Kentucky, was inoculated with a mixture of either Tetrahymena pyriformis or Colpoda steinii and ¹⁵N-enriched E. coli and stored in the dark at 14°C. Samples were analyzed for their nitrogen isotope …

Conceptualizing And Improving Red Wine Grape Cultivars Grown In Kentucky, Matthew Simson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Wine sensory attributes are associated with quality of wines. Cabernet Franc did not possess good coloration of its wine. Therefore, in the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons, studies including the sampling of four red wine grape cultivars from the end of flowering throughout the rest of the season and applying treatments to Cabernet Franc grapevines at veraison were commenced to address suitability and color enhancement, respectively. The study examining Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, and Norton looked at sampling their grapes at two-week intervals from times post-flowering to understand the demands of each cultivar during key stages of berry development, …

A Classification Of Lower Paleozoic Carbonate-Bearing Rocks For Geotechnical Applications, Bethany L. Overfield

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

An empirically-based classification of lower Paleozoic carbonate-bearing rocks was created for field-based geotechnical applications. Geotechnical parameters were subsequently correlated to that classification. Seven hundred seventy-seven samples were used as the basis for the classification. Thirteen categories based on visual and tactile properties and a hydrochloric acid test were created. Samples were from central, north-central, and south-central Kentucky and represented the majority of Ordovician exposures in the state, and some Mississippian exposures. Few Silurian and Devonian units were included in the sample set. Geotechnical parameters, including density as well as elastic constants (shear and compression wave velocities, Poisson’s ratio, Young’s modulus, …

Photo Highlights Of The 30th Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, Kentucky Alfalfa Conference

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

How We Produce & Market Alfalfa Hay, Clayton Geralds

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Growing Alfalfa For Wildlife, Don Ball

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa has long been recognized as a superb forage crop, which is why it is widely grown for dairy cattle, horses, sheep, and many other types of domesticated forage-consuming animals. Reasons for its popularity include wide adaptation, excellent nutritive value, good yield potential, perennial growth habit, a long growing season, and the fact that (in association with Rhizobium bacteria) it is a nitrogen-fixing legume that does not require periodic applications of nitrogen fertilizer.

Alfalfa Varieties For The Future, Joe Bouton

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

When breeding tomorrow’s alfalfa varieties, most groups employ a model of combining traditional plant breeding with biotechnology tools in order to incorporate useful traits. In this model, the conventional variety development process will be the method of choice for most traits where breeders have traditionally made progress such as adaptation, heading date, disease and insect resistance, general persistence conditions such as grazing and traffic tolerance, and even yield. It has been very successful in adding economic value to the forage and livestock operations of many producers (Bouton 2007). These traditionally developed varieties will also be used as the germplasm platform …

Do's And Don'ts In Grazing Alfalfa, Ken Johnson

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

I want to discuss some of the issues in a talk I presented nearly twenty years ago. At that point we had been grazing Alfalfa about eight years and made some general remarks about the concerns I had at the time. I will look at these as presented then and how the thoughts may have changed.

Is There A Benefit To Alfalfa Balage?, Gary Bates

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Making hay in the mid-South has always been a difficult process. High humidity and rainfall often make drying a long, tedious, if not impossible proposition. Over the last few years there has been an increased interest in making round bale silage, or balage, from forage crops. Fermenting alfalfa for storage has several advantages and disadvantages over regular haymaking systems.

Alfalfa Hay For Horses, Robert Coleman

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

When horse owners consider hay for their animals, a number of criteria are generally considered. Of major importance is the hay must be free of mold and dust. It needs to contain nutrients needed by the horse and it must be palatable. If these criteria are met, the type of hay should not matter. However, that is not the case with many horse owners. When discussing the selection of hay, many owners first consider the type of hay. Can it be alfalfa or should it be a grass or how about a mix of grass and a legume. If a …

Value Of Alfalfa In Rotation, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

There are about 23 million acres of alfalfa in the US. Alfalfa plus other hay is the most valuable crop in the US, behind only corn and soybeans. In Kentucky alfalfa is planted on over 300,000 acres and is an economically important crop for beef and dairy farmers, cash hay producers, and provides tremendous benefits for subsequent crops. There are also many non-agricultural benefits to alfalfa.

Advances In Alfalfa Seed Coatings, Bill Talley

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The volume of alfalfa being sold as coated seed has been in the growth mode for several years. This growth is being fueled by greater acceptance from the producer, as well as the many value added components that are now labeled and being offered as seed treatments. Originally seed coatings were looked at as a better way to deliver rhizobia to insure plant nodulation. This is still one goal, but many more value added components are now labeled that offer better plant protection, increased water absorption, enhanced germination, and micro-nutrient availability, as well as insect and parasite control. Another area …

Kentucky Alfalfa Conference Reflections After 30 Years, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This event today marks the 30th consecutive year we have come together for a full day’s conference featuring "Alfalfa - Queen of the Forages" as the theme and focal point. Only one other state (California) in the U.S. has such an annual event.

Foreword And Recipients Of Kentucky Alfalfa Awards [2010], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Sources And Occurrences Of Nonpoint-Source Chemicals In Groundwater, Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky: Data Report, E. Glynn Beck

Information Circular--KGS

Groundwater from the Jackson Purchase Region was sampled to investigate possible contamination by nonpoint-source chemicals. Conclusions drawn from the resulting data and methodology can be found in “Sources and Occurrences of Nonpoint-Source Chemicals in Groundwater, Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky,” Kentucky Geological Survey Report of Investigations 22 (series 12), by R.S. Fisher and E.G. Beck.

Assessment Of Row Crop, Alfalfa, And Pasture Field Practices On Groundwater Quality In An Upland Bedrock Setting, Henderson County, Kentucky: Report Of Soil- And Water-Quality Data, E. Glynn Beck, James S. Dinger, John H. Grove, Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw

Information Circular--KGS

An assessment of how present agricultural practices have influenced shallow groundwater and soil quality was conducted on a 540-acre farm in north-central Henderson County. Groundwater- and soil-quality data were collected from row crop (corn and soybean), alfalfa, and pasture fields. In addition to the field settings, groundwater and soil data were collected from the existing farmyard and an abandoned feedlot. Groundwater samples were analyzed for pH, specific conductance, temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, metals, anions, nutrients, herbicides, and various isotopes. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, bioavailable phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, organic matter, total nitrogen, and inorganic nitrogen (nitrate-N). Soil- and …

Ground Motion For The Maximum Credible Earthquake In Kentucky, Zhenming Wang

Report of Investigations--KGS

Although they are not frequent, earthquakes occur in and around Kentucky and pose certain hazards. Assessing seismic hazards is challenging, however, because of a lack of observations. The best estimates of ground motions that could be expected if the maximum credible earthquake occurs in or around Kentucky are depicted in maps showing peak ground acceleration and short-period (0.2 second) and long-period (1.0 second) response accelerations with 5 percent critical damping on hard rock. Another consideration for seismic safety is that the maximum credible earthquake has a long recurrenece interval, from 500 to 1,000 years in the New Madrid Seismic Zone …

Soil Water And Crop Growth Processes In A Farmer's Field, Susmitha Surendran Nambuthiri

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The study was aimed to provide information on local biomass development during crop growth using ground based optical sensors and to incorporate the local crop status to a crop growth simulation model to improve understanding on inherent variability of crop field. The experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field located near Princeton in Caldwell County, Western Kentucky. Data collection on soil, crop and weather variables was carried out in the farm from 2006 December to 2008 October. During this period corn (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum sp) were grown in the field. A 450 m …

Palinspastic Reconstruction Around A Thrust Belt Recess: An Example From The Appalachian Thrust Belt In Northwestern Georgia, Brian Stephen Cook

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In a well-defined subrecess in the Appalachian thrust belt in northwestern Georgia, two distinct regional strike directions intersect at approximately 50°. Fault intersections and interference folds enable tracing of both structural strikes. Around the subrecess, tectonically thickened weak stratigraphic layers—shales of the Cambrian Conasauga Formation—accommodated ductile deformation associated with the folding and faulting of the overlying Cambrian–Ordovician regional competent layer. The structures in the competent layer are analogous to those over ductile duplexes (mushwads) documented along strike to the southwest in Alabama.

The intersection and fold interference exemplify a long-standing problem in volume balancing of palinspastic reconstructions of sinuous thrust …

Effect Of Low And High- Kinetic Energy Wetting On Quality Of Sediment Produced By Interrill Erosion, Eduardo Abel Rienzi

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Raindrop kinetic energy and sheet flow can disintegrate aggregates during interrill erosion, a process responsible for non point source pollution. Also, the dissolution process during aggregate wetting can affect interrill erosion. These factors can be responsible for changes in particle size distribution in the sediment, especially when different tillage systems are compared. The effect of soil tillage and management on soil properties is not uniform, which determine a wide range of runoff and sediment delivery rate. Variety in these rates can be associated with pore functions and their interactions with aggregate stability. One of the objectives of this study was …

Characterization Of Soil Carbon Stabilization In Long-Term Row-Cropped Agro-Ecosystems, Soraya Patricia Alvarado-Ochoa

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a dynamic soil property, sensitive and responsive to many factors. The possibility of increasing soil carbon (C) sequestration by changing land use and management practices has been of great interest recently due to concerns with global changes in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) balance. Nonetheless, as a result of the complex dynamics of SOM, there is still the need for SOM characterization procedures capable of monitoring SOM stabilization, taking into account all the factors involved.

This study characterized SOM stabilization as affected by management practices in three long-term field experiments, considering physical, chemical …