Earth Sciences Commons^™

The Subterranean Fauna Of A Biodiversity Hotspot Region - Portugal: An Overview And Its Conservation, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira, Paulo A.V. Borges, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur R.M. Serrano, Pedro Oromí

International Journal of Speleology

An overview of the obligate hypogean fauna in Portugal (including Azores and Madeira archipelagos) is provided, with a list of obligated cave-dwelling species and subspecies, and a general perspective about its conservation. All the available literature on subterranean Biology of Portugal since the first written record in 1870 until today has been revised. A total of 43 troglobiont and 67 stygobiont species and subspecies from 12 orders have been described so far in these areas, included in the so-called Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity. The subterranean fauna in Portugal has been considered moderately poor with some endemic relicts and it remains …

Speleothems In The Dry Cave Parts Of The Gamslöcher-Kolowrat Cave, Untersberg Near Salzburg (Austria), Anna Bieniok, Georg Zagler, Uwe Brendel, Franz Neubauer

International Journal of Speleology

New, remarkably dry parts of the Gamslöcher-Kolowrat Cave at 728 to 853 m depth have been explored in the Untersberg near Salzburg in Austria. This region is called the Desert, its greatest cavity is called the White Hall. The new cave part is characterized by various white speleothems. The predominant ones are snow-like calcite powder with an extremely low density, and fine gypsum needles. Gypsum also occurs in the form of balls stuck to vertical walls. In addition, fluorescent hydromagnesite crusts, Mg₅(CO₃)₄(OH)₂·4H₂O, as well as the sodium sulfate mineral mirabilite …

First Year Sedimentological Characteristics And Morphological Evolution Of An Artificial Berm At Fort Myers Beach, Florida, Katherine Brutsche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dredging is often conducted to maintain authorized depths in coastal navigation channels. Placement of dredged sediment in the form of nearshore berms is becoming an increasingly popular option for disposal. Compared to direct beach placement, nearshore berms have fewer environmental impacts such as shore birds and turtle nesting, and have more lenient sediment compatibility restrictions. Understanding the potential morphological and sedimentological evolution is crucial to the design of a nearshore berm. Furthermore, the artificial perturbation generated by the berm installation provides a unique opportunity to understand the equilibrium process of coastal morphodynamics.

Matanzas Pass and Bowditch Point, located on the …

Palaeoclimatic Significance Of Perennial Ice Accumulations In Caves: An Example From Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania, Aurel Persoiu Tiritu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotopes in ice cores drilled in the polar and high-mountain region have been used intensively to reconstruct past climatic changes and atmospheric dynamics. However, no similar studies have been conducted on perennial ice accumulations in caves due to a limited understanding of the links between the external and cave environments, and the way in which the climatic signal can be recorded by the cave ice.

In this thesis, we successfully designed and build a research methodology for the reconstruction of past climatic changes based on perennial ice accumulation in caves, using as example the Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania. The …

A Sedimentary Record Of Regional Land-Use And Climate Change In The Manatee River, Manatee County, Florida, Patrick Schwing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Manatee River Watershed (Manatee County, FL) has experienced heavy anthropogenic development over the last 100 years and was relatively pristine previous to this development. The population growth within the watershed has surpassed the national trends and has doubled in the last 30 years. The heavy anthropogenic development has led to depletion in natural resources, nutrient loading, coastal erosion, and increased pollution. This study constructs records of sedimentological processes to compare the pre-development records to the past 100 years of anthropogenic development. The first portion of this study identifies specific changes in sedimentation attributed to anthropogenic activity in the Manatee …

Estimating Groundwater Discharge In The Oligohaline Ecotone Of The Everglades Using Temperature As A Tracer And Variable-Density Groundwater Models, Victora Spence

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent research suggests that brackish, marine-derived groundwater up-wells in the oligohaline ecotone of the coastal Everglades, bringing with it phosphorus to an otherwise phosphorus-poor environment. The purpose of this study is to estimate the rates and timing of the groundwater discharge by using variable-density groundwater models constructed, calibrated, and validated with field measurements of hydraulic head and surface and subsurface temperature. Modeled groundwater discharge rates ranged from 5.4E-04 mm/day in August to -1.3E-03 mm/day in June for Shark Slough and 4.8E-01 mm/day in June to -1.4E-01 mm/day in January for Taylor Slough, where positive values imply groundwater discharge and negative …

The Search For The Missing Mantles Of Differentiated Asteroids: Evidence From Taxonomic A-Class Asteroids And Olivine-Dominated Achondrite Meteorites, Michael Peter Lucas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The apparent rarity of taxonomic A-class asteroids poses a significant paradox for understanding asteroid differentiation and the dynamical evolution of the early solar system. Based on results from asteroid taxonomic surveys, and on the abundances and mineralogy of different achondrite meteorites, it appears that olivine-dominated mantle remnants are missing from both the asteroid population and in meteorite collections. Several scenarios to explain this paradox have been proposed: (1) olivine mantle material has been stripped away by collisions and only remains as small fragments (< ~5 km), (2) A-class asteroids are abundant but have been altered in some way masking their presence, or (3) differentiated asteroids did not form thick olivine-rich mantles.

We have approached these questions through the collection of taxonomic and observational data on known A-class …

Impacts Of Artificial Reefs On Surrounding Ecosystems, Sarine Manoukian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Artificial reefs are becoming a popular biological and management component in shallow water environments characterized by soft seabed, representing both important marine habitats and tools to manage coastal fisheries and resources. An artificial reef in the marine environment acts as an open system with exchange of material and energy, altering the physical and biological characteristics of the surrounding area. Reef stability will depend on the balance of scour, settlement, and burial resulting from ocean conditions over time. Because of the unstable nature of sediments, they require a detailed and systematic investigation.

Acoustic systems like high-frequency multibeam sonar are efficient tools …

Seasonal Changes In The Sinking Particulate Flux And In The Nitrogen Cycle Within The Euphotic And Twilight Zones Of The Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, Enrique Montes-Herrera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the effects of seasonal variability on the geochemistry of sinking pthesiss and on the nitrogen cycle of the Cariaco Basin. Pthesis fluxes were measured at the base of the euphotic zone (the depth of 1% of photosynthetically active radiation - PAR) with drifting sediment traps during months of upwelling and non-upwelling regimes from March 2007 to November 2009. Flux estimates were analyzed in the context of seasonal variations in sea surface temperature, primary productivity, and chlorophyll a concentrations using data generated by the CARIACO Time-series Program as well as satellite data. Additionally, nine years (1996-2000 and 2004-2007) …

Eogenetic Caves In Conglomerate: An Example From Udin Boršt, Slovenia, Matej Lipar, Mateja Ferk

International Journal of Speleology

Udin Boršt is a karstified terrace of carbonate rock, which is of fluvioglacial origin, and is situated in the north-western part of Slovenia. There are 15 registered caves, which have been interpreted as caves in conglomerate, while karst of Udin Boršt itself was interpreted as conglomerate karst, shallow karst or isolated karst. In this article, caves in Udin Boršt have been interpreted as eogenetic caves. Based on porosity and bedding material, different types of caves and cave passages have developed. Four general types of eogenetic caves found in Udin Boršt are; linear stream caves, shelter caves, breakdown caves and vadose …

A New Foodweb Based On Microbes In Calcitic Caves: The Cansiliella (Beetles) Case In Northern Italy, Maurizio G. Paoletti, Mattia Beggio, Angelo Leandro Dreon, Alberto Pamio, Tiziano Gomiero, Mauro Brilli, Luca Dorigo, Giuseppe Concheri, Andrea Squartini, Annette Summers Engel

International Journal of Speleology

The troglobitic beetle, Cansiliella servadeii percolating water on moonmilk, a speleothem formation in Grotta della Foos, Italy. Results from analyses of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen suggest that acquires and assimilates dissolved allochthonous organic carbon, inorganic nitrogen, and possibly phosphorus and other nutrients from the microbial fauna associated with moonmilk.

Minerogenetic Mechanisms Occurring In The Cave Environment: An Overview, Bogdan P. Onac, Paolo Forti

International Journal of Speleology

Perhaps man’s first motivation to explore caves, beyond using them as shelter, was the search for substances that were not available elsewhere: most of them were minerals. However, for a long time it was believed that the cave environment was not very interesting from the mineralogical point of view. This was due to the fact that most cave deposits are normally composed of a single compound: calcium carbonate. Therefore, the systematic study of cave mineralogy is of only recent origin. However, although only a limited number of natural cavities have been investigated in detail, about 350 cave minerals have already …

Black Mn-Fe Crusts As Markers Of Abrupt Palaeoenvironmental Changes In El Soplao Cave (Cantabria, Spain), Fernando Gázquez, Jose Maria Calaforra, Paolo Forti

International Journal of Speleology

Peculiar iron and manganese deposits coating walls, floors and ceilings of many galleries are one of the special features of the El Soplao Cave (Cantabria, Spain). These speleothems appear to have been deposited over wall clay deposits, as well as forming part of flowstones. Structure of crusts is essentially amorphous but several manganese and iron oxides were identified like goethite and birnessite, though all occur with a low degree of crystallinity. In the outer layer of the crusts, alteration iron minerals appear that derive from previous minerals in a process probably mediated by microorganisms. EDX microanalyses report fairly high values …

Mineralogy Of Iza Cave (Rodnei Mountains, N. Romania), Tudor Tămaş, Ferenc Kristály, Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

International Journal of Speleology

The secondary minerals from Iza Cave result from the interactions of karst water and/or cave atmosphere over a variety of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The cave passages expose at various extents Eocene limestones and conglomerates, Oligocene black shales, Upper Precambrian micaschists, marble and dolomitic marble and associated ore deposits.

Twelve secondary minerals identified in the cave (carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, oxides and hydroxides, and silicates) are presented in this study. Calcite, aragonite, gypsum, brushite and hydroxylapatite are the components of common speleothems in the limestone, dolomite and conglomerate areas of the cave. Ankerite crusts are related to areas with pyrite mineralization …

A Comparative Integrated Geophysical Study Of Horseshoe Chimney Cave, Colorado Bend State Park, Texas, Wesley A. Brown, Kevin W. Stafford, Mindy Shaw-Faulkner, Andy Grubbs

International Journal of Speleology

An integrated geophysical study was performed over a known cave in Colorado Bend State Park (CBSP), Texas, where shallow karst features are common within the Ellenberger Limestone. Geophysical survey such as microgravity, ground penetrating radar (GPR), direct current (DC) resistivity, capacitively coupled (CC) resistivity, induced polarization (IP) and ground conductivity (GC) measurements were performed in an effort to distinguish which geophysical method worked most effectively and efficiently in detecting the presence of subsurface voids, caves and collapsed features. Horseshoe Chimney Cave (HCC), which is part of a larger network of cave systems, provides a good control environment for this research. …

Uis Mapping Grades, Ph. Häuselmann

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Jo De Waele

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Morphological Specification Of Chinianella Scheympflugi Hofmann, 1994, A Late Jurassic (?Earliest Cretaceous) Dasycladalean Alga Of The Western Tethyan Domain, Felix Schlagintweit

Studia UBB Geologia

The dasycladalean alga Chinianella? scheympflugi was described by Hofmann (1994) from the Tithonian of the Ernstbrunn Limestone of Lower Austria. This alga, so far unreported besides its type-locality, is reported from the Late Jurassic of Poland, the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria, Crimea (Ukraine), and Greece (Parnassos Zone). Facies are well-agitated outer platform habitats (peri-reefal and back-reefal facies). The cylindrical thallus consists of three parts: a sterile Salpingoporella-like basal part (stalk), a fertile Chinianella-type main portion and a short sterile top part. The transition from the stalk to the main thallus portion is well marked and abrupt. The stratigraphic range …

Modern Variation In Predation Intensity: Constraints On Assessing Predator-Prey Relationships In Paleoecologic Reconstructions, James Funderburk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The complex interaction between predators and their prey is rarely preserved in the fossil record. However, predation of marine mollusks by drilling gastropods leaves a diagnostic hole in the shell of the prey, possibly allowing for quantitative analysis of this ecological interaction. Drilling frequency, as measured in marine mollusks both in the Modern and fossil record, has been heralded as a potential opportunity to quantify these ecological interactions and use these values in the testing of hypotheses.

This study employed the collection, tallying, and analysis of bulk samples derived from shelly deposits on 45 Modern beaches along the contiguous coast …

A Tremor And Slip Event On The Cocos‐Caribbean Subduction Zone As Measured By A Global Positioning System (Gps) And Seismic Network On The Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, Kimberly Outerbridge, Timothy H. Dixon, Susan Y. Schwartz, Jacob I. Walter, Marino Protti, Victor Gonzalez, J. Biggs, Martin Thorwart, Wolfgang Rabbel

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

In May 2007 a network of global positioning systems (GPS) and seismic stations on the Nicoya Peninsula, of northern Costa Rica, recorded a slow-slip event accompanied by seismic tremor. The close proximity of the Nicoya Peninsula to the seismogenic part of the Cocos-Caribbean subduction plate boundary makes it a good location to study such events. Several centimeters of southwest motion were recorded by the GPS stations over a period of several days to several weeks, and the seismic stations recorded three distinct episodes of tremor during the same time span. Inversion of the surface displacement data for the depth and …

In Memoriam

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

New Observations On Permocalculus Gosaviensis Schlagintweit, 1991 (Calcareous Alga) From The Upper Cretaceous Of The Northern Calcareous Alps (Gosau Group, Austria), Felix Schlagintweit

Studia UBB Geologia

New thin-sections from the Upper Cretaceous Gosau Group of Brandenberg, Tyrol, Austria, yielded well-preserved specimens of the calcareous alga Permocalculus gosaviensis Schlagintweit. Microfacies are foraminiferal-algal wackestones; stratigraphy is Upper Turonian (?Lower Coniacian). It is shown that the original description was based on oblique sections leading to the incorrect assumption of a piriform segment morphology. Instead, P. gosaviensis is a representative of Permocalculus of the group with constrictions/swellings along the segments (waxing-and-waning type). Permocalculus nikolapantici Radoičić from the Upper Turonian of Serbia is considered a junior synonym of Permocalculus gosaviensis Schlagintweit.

Polito- A New Open-Source, Platform Independent Software For Generating High-Quality Lithostratigraphic Columns, Ciprian C. Stremtan, Alexandru Tudor

Studia UBB Geologia

POLITO is a free, open-source, and platform-independent software which can automatically generate lithostratigraphic columns from field data. Its simple and easy to use interface allows users to manipulate large datasets and create high-quality graphical outputs, either in editable vector or raster format, or as PDF files. POLITO uses USGS standard lithology patterns and can be downloaded from its Sourceforge project page (http://sourceforge.net/projects/polito/).

Past Surface Conditions And Speleogenesis As Inferred From Cave Sediments In The Great Cave Of Șălitrari Mountain (Sw Romania), Cristina M. Pușcaș, Ciprian C. Stremtan, Ferenc Kristály

Studia UBB Geologia

Abstract In one of the passages in the Great Cave of Șălitrari Mountain the floor is completely covered by an alluvial deposit at least 6 m in thickness, ranging from boulders, and cobbles, to sand and clay, topped by a layer of dry bat guano. Sediment and mineral samples collected from six profiles underwent broad analyses to determine their petrological and mineralogical makeup, grain-size distribution, and paleoclimatic significance. The complicated facies alternation suggests frequent changes in the former stream’s hydrological parameters, with frequent flooding, leading to the hypothesis that the climate was somewhat wetter than today. Both the mineralogical composition …

Mineralogy Of Speleothems From Four Caves In The Purcăreţ - Boiu Mare Plateau And The Baia Mare Depression (Nw Romania), Tudor Tamas, Razvan Ungureanu

Studia UBB Geologia

The Purcăreţ - Boiu Mare Plateau and the southern edge of the Baia Mare Depression, in Sălaj and Maramureş Counties, NW Romania, host over 200 caves located in limestones ranging in age from Upper Eocene to Badenian. The carbonate rocks are interposed with non-karst rocks consisting of shales, sandstones and marls. Four caves hosted by limestones of different lithologies have been investigated for secondary minerals in the composition of their speleothems. Calcite, gypsum, goethite, jarosite, brushite, hydroxylapatite and taranakite were found in the composition of crusts, crystals, aggregates and earthy masses. The mineral association was characterized by means of X-ray …

New Data On Facies Development And Micropaleontology Of The Eastern Margin Of The Getic Carbonate Platform (South Carpathians, Romania): Case Study Of Mateiaş Limestone, Ioan I. Bucur, Daniela Beles, Emanoil Sasaran, Constantin Balica

Studia UBB Geologia

Mateiaş Limestone represents a lithostratigraphic unit included in the Braşov Series, which is a component of the eastern end of the Getic Nappes’ cover (the Getic carbonate platform). The study of the Mateiaş Limestone in Hulei-Mateiaş-Măgura area has evidenced three main facies, and five microfacies types. The Kimmeridgian (possibly also Early Tithonian) age of the Mateiaş Limestone has been assigned based on a microfossil association identified in thin sections. The regional framework, as well as their sedimentological and micropaleontological features point to the deposition of these limestones on shelf margin and slope environments; the succession in the studied area corresponds …

Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Foraminifera From Štramberk-Type Limestones, Polish Outer Carpathians, Daria Ivanova, Boguslaw Kolodziej

Studia UBB Geologia

Foraminifera studies were carried out on the Štramberk-type limestones which occur as pebbles to small boulders (exotics) within the uppermost Jurassic–Palaeogene flysch deposits of the Polish Outer Carpathians. The studies were focused on foraminifera from (1) reef and peri-reef facies, and (2) lagoonal algal-foraminiferal facies. The paper deals with 34 species (including 8 in open nomenclature) representing 30 genera, 22 families, 14 superfamilies, 11 suborders, and 7 orders. A more precise age determination has been obtained for 30 exotics, representing a Tithonian (mostly) to Valanginian age. Foraminiferal assemblages from at least two exotics suggest a Valanginian age as indicated by …

Variable-Density Flow Models Of Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Landforms In Response To Climate Change Induced Sea Level Rise And A Chapter On Time-Frequency Analysis Of Ground Penetrating Radar Signals, Swagata Guha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Populations residing on and near the world’s coasts have become increasingly dependent on coastal groundwater for their supply of freshwater. Under the conditions of predicted climate changes, the expected rise in global sea level can adversely affect the quality and quantity of freshwater resources in coastal areas as a result of saltwater intrusion.

In this study, a suite of two- and three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow models of major coastal landforms (e.g. deltas, estuaries and small islands) has been constructed to assess the effects of sea level rise (SLR), using different SLR rates of 0.5 m, 1m and 1.5 m over …

Ground Surface Deformation Patterns, Magma Supply, And Magma Storage At Okmok Volcano, Alaska, From Insar Analysis: 1. Inter-Eruption Deformation, 1997-2008, Zhong Lu, Daniel Dzurisin, Juliet Biggs, Charles Wicks Jr., Stephen R. Mcnutt

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Starting soon after the 1997 eruption at Okmok volcano and continuing until the start of the 2008 eruption, magma accumulated in a storage zone centered ∼3.5 km beneath the caldera floor at a rate that varied with time. A Mogi-type point pressure source or finite sphere with a radius of 1 km provides an adequate fit to the deformation field portrayed in time-sequential interferometric synthetic aperture radar images. From the end of the 1997 eruption through summer 2004, magma storage increased by 3.2–4.5 × 10⁷ m³, which corresponds to 75–85% of the magma volume erupted in 1997. …

In Memoriam

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.