Earth Sciences Commons^™

Pariette Wetlands Water, Sediment And Plant Total Selenium Concentration, Colleen P. Jones, Paul R. Grossl, Astrid R. Jacobson

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We measured total Selenium in plants from July through November of 2012 and in water, macroinvertebrates, plants, and sediments from July of 2014 from Pariette Wetlands, Utah, U.S.A. to test for spatial, temporal, plant species and plant tissue distribution of Selenium.

Late Pleistocene Piedmont Records In The Grand Staircase Region, Southern Utah, Alexander K. Short

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Today the climate in the southwestern United States is arid, characterized by desert landscapes and habitats, periods of drought, and arroyo streams that frequently fill with, and erode, through fine riverbed sediments. A series of cliffs and benches rising from the Grand Canyon to the southern plateaus of Utah, known as the Grand Staircase - home to Kodachrome Basin State Park, Bryce Canyon, are a classical example of this environment as we know it today. However, a record spanning the past 300 thousand years is preserved on the steps of the staircase indicating periods in the past where the climate …

Bedrock Geology Map Of The Naomi Peak 7.5' Quadangle, Cache County, Utah And Novel Age Constraints On Its Cambrian Strata, Hannah R. Cothren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geologists use various “rock-clocks” in order to interpret the timing and tempo of events in Earth’s history. These include global geochemical events in the oceans (chemostratigraphy), the evolution of certain fossil species (trilobite biostratigraphy), and the radiogenic decay of uranium to lead in certain mineral such as zircon (U-Pb geochronology). Integrating these methods in the stratigraphic record in one location can provide a well-constrained timeline for a select part of the Geologic, or Deep Time, record. This technique is especially important in the Cambrian Period (538.8 to 486.9 million years; Ma), which sets the stage for life today with the …

Pleistocene Deposits Of Lower Wahweap Creek And Its Tributaries, Southern Utah, Noah Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The famous landscapes of the Colorado Plateau have been created over millions of years, primarily by erosive forces of wind and water. Interruptions in the long-term erosion of the landscape occur when streams gain more sediment than they can transport, which causes deposition along channels and floodplains. The resulting sequences of terrace deposits are used by geologists to study when and how river systems have evolved.

Mammoth bones were recently discovered in stream deposits along Wahweap Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River in southern Utah. Previous work indicates that the deposits pre-date the last ice age, making it one …

Investigating The Use Of Quartz Luminescence And Rock-Color Alteration To Characterize Wildfire Exposure; Applied To The 2020 Mangum Fire, Kaibab Plateau, Arizona, April I. Phinney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildfires appear to be increasing in size, severity, and frequency. Land managers need information on past wildfire behavior to make effective and adaptive land management plans. However, there are only a few techniques and data sources that provide information on past fire heating. This study aims to provide new methods to equip managers with a more robust understanding of historic and modern fire behavior. Fire behavior is assessed using novel methods that can assess soil and rock response to past wildfire heat exposure.

This study examined samples from the 2020 Mangum Fire, in northern Arizona. Sediment and rock were gathered …

Regolith And Host Rock Influences On Co2 Leakage: Active Source Seismic Profiling Across The Little Grand Wash Fault, Utah, Lee M. Liberty, Jonathan Yelton, Elin Skurtveit, Alvar Braathen, Ivar Midtkandal, James P. Evans

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Understanding carbon dioxide (CO₂) reservoir to surface migration is crucial to successful carbon capture and sequestration approaches; especially fault/reservoir interactions under injection pressure. Through seismic imaging, we explore regolith and shallow stratigraphy across the Little Grand Wash fault. The presence of natural CO₂ seeps, travertine and tufa deposits confirm modern and ancient fault-controlled CO₂ leakage. We consider this an analogue for a long-failed sequestration site. We estimate bulk porosity and fracture density for host rock, regolith, and fault zone from petrophysical relationships. When combined with existing geochemical and geological data, we characterize a 60 m wide …

Evaluation Of The Geothermal Potential Of The Camas Prairie, South-Central Idaho, Connor J. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The area studied in this thesis was assessed based on the analysis of a water sample collected from the exploratory well USU Camas-1. The water sample was characterized and compared to other water samples collected and analyzed during a previous phase of this project according to its water chemistry.

Lithologic, geophysical, and temperature logs were also used to assess the study area. The depth sensitive data was analyzed to determine the characteristics of the formation as they relate to the favorable parameters of a geothermal resource, those being permeability of the subsurface, heat, and the presence of a clay seal. …

Natural And Experimental Slow Slip Observed Along Shallow Hematite Faults, Alexandra A. Dimonte

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fault slip relieves stress in the shallow crust by slipping suddenly during earthquakes, but some faults also slip slowly in between earthquakes. Exhumed faults, brought up to the Earth’s surface from depth, preserve a record of fault processes and slip rates informed by fault rock structures, textures, and chemistry. Hematite, a common iron oxide mineral that precipitates on fault surfaces, exhibits crystal textures that potentially indicate past slip rate. Hematite can be dated using the radioisotopic system of (U-Th)/He thermochronometry, which constrains the time when He is trapped within a crystal, a process that is a function of temperature. Exhumed …

Holocene Chronostratigraphy Of Dune Fields In Southern Utah: Geomorphic Record Of Past Aridity In The Central Colorado Plateau, Harriet S. Cornachione

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The southwestern United States is characterized by dry climate, and droughts are common. The region is currently in an extreme drought that began in 2000 CE and has lasted longer than any previous drought in at least 500 years. Models predict greater future climate extremes under human-caused climate change. Understanding of the natural range of climate variability is important to put these changes in context. Sedimentary archives of past sand dune activity can help extend the available instrumental observations (last century) and tree-ring records (last millennium).

Sand dunes are landforms that are sensitive to aridity and decreased vegetation cover. They …

Urban Soil Chemical And Nutrient Management Issues Facing Emerging Small Grower Enterprises In Utah, Frank E. Oliver

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Knowledge of both soil quality and contamination has become increasingly important with the growth of urban agriculture in Utah and the United States as whole. Land is also a common limiting factor in urban agriculture, so it is important to maximize yield and net returns. In order to meet these demands, three studies were conducted across key urban agriculture sites along the Wasatch Front: 1) an urban soil survey to assess soil contamination, 2) an urban soil survey to evaluate macronutrient and salinity levels, and 3) a nitrogen fertilizer management trial for dahlia (Dahlia pinnata), a cut flower …

Shallow Composition And Structure Of The San Gabriel Fault, California In Drill Core And Geophysical Logs: Implications For Fault Slip And Energetics, Kaitlyn A. Crouch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthquakes are the sudden and intensive release of energy due to slip along faults. This energy may be felt on the Earth’s surface and may cause displacement of the Earth’s crust (seismic slip). As an earthquake ruptures, rocks in and around the fault are damaged and altered. When a fault displaces without earthquakes, it is referred to as aseismic creep. Faults may experience both seismic slip and aseismic creep throughout their cycles. In order to better model earthquake hazards and understand the cause of seismic slip versus aseismic creep in the shallow crust, we need to characterize the properties of …

Fingerprinting Paleo-Groundwater Sources Using Stable Oxygen And Iron Isotopes Of Iron Oxide Concretions From The "Boiler Room", Moab Area, Utah, Connor Frederickson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Isotopes are naturally occurring atoms of an element that vary in the number of neutrons present in their nuclei, resulting in different atomic masses. The most common stable isotopes of oxygen are oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) and oxygen-16 (¹⁶O). Geochemical processes, such as the formation of a solid mineral from dissolved elements in a fluid, can result in preferential concentration of one isotope over the other in a process known as fractionation. By measuring the ratio of ¹⁸O and ¹⁶O in solid minerals and using known fractionation values, the isotopic ratio of the fluid from which …

Isotopic Analysis Of Hydrous Phenocrysts In Lava Flows Of The Peruvian Altiplano Plateau: Testing For A Subduction Signature, Alyssa Schiwal

Student Research Symposium

The process of flat-slab subduction introduces fluids directly into the overlaying lithosphere, leaving behind a unique stable isotope and trace element signature to the surrounding crust/mantle. Fluid alteration of the deep lithosphere can help explain geologic processes that are observed at the surface, such as patterns of crustal deformation (mountain building) and volcanism. The young high-K mafic volcanic rocks found in the Altiplano region of Southern Peru are derived from the melting of an altered mantle source. By analyzing the hydrogen stable isotopes as well as the trace elements of these volcanic rocks we can locate the water source associated …

Detecting Climate Change In Trilobite Time, Michelle Norman

Student Research Symposium

Trilobites are a signature marine fossil of the Cambrian explosion, which took place about 500 Ma (million years ago). By studying these fossiliferous rocks (limestone), we can get an understanding of ecological and environmental change. In fact, we can detect the ancient carbon cycle by measuring stable carbon isotopes in these limestone samples. By studying the carbon environment the trilobites lived in and which trilobite species evolve or go extinct, we can learn more about ancient climate events and constrain them to a certain period of time based off the age of radioactive zircons we find in sandy material around …

The Mechanics Of Initiation And Development Of Thrust Faults And Thrust Ramps, Sarah S. Wigginton, Elizabeth S. Petrie, James P. Evans

Geosciences Faculty Publications

This study integrates the results of numerical modeling analyses based on outcrop studies and structural kinematic restorations to evaluate the mechanics of thrust fault initiation and development in mechanically layered sedimentary rocks. A field-based reconstruction of a mesoscopic thrust fault at Ketobe Knob in central Utah provides evidence of thrust ramp nucleation in competent units, and fault propagation upward and downward into weaker units at both fault tips. We investigate the effects of mechanical stratigraphy on stress heterogeneity, rupture direction, fold formation, and fault geometry motivated by the geometry of the Ketobe Knob thrust fault in central Utah; the finite …

The Economic Contribution Of Utah's Energy And Mining Industries, Tanner J. Mccarty, Zuyi Wang, Man-Keun Kim, James Evans

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Utah’s abundant energy and mineral resources are used to heat homes, drive industry, and keep the lights on. Effectively managing these energy and mineral resources and their associated supply chains requires knowledge of their economic value and how they currently contribute to Utah’s economy. This report calculates the total economic contribution of Utah’s energy and mining industries for 2019 and 2020. Each industry makes substantial contributions to Utah’s gross domestic product, employment, and tax base. Table 1 displays each industry’s economic contribution to Utah’s economy.

Collectively, these industries contributed over 10% to Utah's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), supported over …

Art As An Educator, Kylie Hansen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

When looking at art, eyes are often drawn to the foreground of the canvas, which can leave out many details and not tell the whole story a painting has to offer. The process of analyzing and looking deeper into works of art would be common in a perfect world; its lessons can be universal. Everyone should study art because it increases skills that can be used for many things. Art can reframe views of the world as well as condition the mind to look past quick judgments. Art teaches one to slow down and analyze situations before acting and may …

Lithological And Geochemical Characterization Of Ramp Sediments And A Depositional Model Of The Ordovicain Garden City Formation, Northeastern Utah, Kenneth W. Kehoe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Ordovician Garden City Formation is a mostly marine limestone rock formation deposited in what is known today as the Northern Utah Basin in North America ~485.5 million years ago. Previous research on the Pogonip Group, a time equivalent rock formation located in the Ibex Basin south of the Northern Utah Basin, has identified nine cycles of sea-level fall and rise. However, these nine sea-level cycles have proven difficult to identify within the Garden City Formation due to the limited contrast between rock types within the rock formation. Previous research on the Garden City has approximated these sea-level cycles through …

Redefining The Age Of The Lower Colorado River, Southwestern United States: Forum Reply, R. S. Crow, J. Schwing, K. E. Karlstrom, M. Heizler, P. A. Pearthree, P. K. House, S. Dulin, Susanne U. Jänecke, M. Stelten, L. J. Crossey

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Simulating The Storm Environment Responsible For Nepal's First Observed Tornado, Jonathan David Douglas Meyer, Binod Pokharel, Robert R. Gillies

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

A high-resolution numerical forecast model was used to simulate the meteorological conditions leading up to the March 31st, 2019 severe weather event that produced Nepal's first-ever observed tornado. The sparse meteorologic observations in the region capturing the storm environment limit the ability to anticipate another similar situation should the particular set of conditions present themselves again. This study presents a multifaced view of the storm environment through 1) a synoptic perspective provided by the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) reanalysis dataset and 2) a trio of progressively higher resolution one-way nested simulations (12 km–4km–1km) driven by GDAS boundary conditions to …

Moderate Plant–Soil Feedbacks Have Small Effects On The Biodiversity–Productivity Relationship: A Field Experiment, Josephine Grenzer, Andrew Kulmatiski, Leslie Forero, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Jeanette Norton

Wildland Resources Student Research

Plant–soil feedback (PSF) has gained attention as a mechanism promoting plant growth and coexistence. However, most PSF research has measured monoculture growth in greenhouse conditions. Translating PSFs into effects on plant growth in field communities remains an important frontier for PSF research. Using a 4-year, factorial field experiment in Jena, Germany, we measured the growth of nine grassland species on soils conditioned by each of the target species (i.e., 72 PSFs). Plant community models were parameterized with or without these PSF effects, and model predictions were compared to plant biomass production in diversity–productivity experiments. Plants created soils that changed subsequent …

Collaborative Research: Deciphering The Role Of Extreme Rainstorms And Hydroclimatic Regime On Arid Escarpment Retreat And Sub-Cliff Slope Evolution, Joel Pederson

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Geologic Characterization Of The Nonconformity Interface Using Outcrop And Drillcore Analogs: Implications For Injection-Induced Seismicity, Kayla Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Starting around 2009, a greater number of earthquakes than anticipated have occurred in the midcontinent region of the United States. These earthquakes have been linked to increased rates and volumes of wastewater injection at several km’s depth into the Earth’s crust near a contact between crystalline metamorphic or igneous rock and overlying sedimentary rock, known as a nonconformity. While much is known about why these new earthquakes occur, comparatively little is known about the physical and chemical rock properties because the nonconformity contact is primarily buried under km’s of sedimentary rock in the midcontinent region. These rock properties are important …

Constraining Deformation Mechanisms Of Fault Damage Zones: A Case Study Of The Shallow San Andreas Fault At Elizabeth Lake, Southern California., Caroline Studnicky

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthquakes nucleate at depth and rupture along the fault plane up to the Earth’s surface releasing seismic energy as the fault propagates. This energy creates the shaking we feel on the surface. Some faults do not rupture and create shaking but deform slowly and smoothly accommodating fault slip over extended time periods. This process is referred to as aseismic slip or creep. Whether a fault ruptures or creeps depends on the properties of the rocks through which the fault plane extends. In order to model seismic hazards correctly, we need to characterize the composition, deformation structures, and alteration materials of …

Multi-Proxy Approach To Robustly Capture Earthquake Temperature Rise At The Punchbowl Fault, California, Emma M. Armstrong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthquakes produce heat along a fault surface from friction created as two blocks of rock move past each other. The amount of heat generated depends on a variety of factors, including rock type, stresses, and thickness of the fault zone. Identifying evidence for and quantifying this earthquake (coseismic) temperature rise are essential for identifying past earthquakes in the rock record. Indirect methods, such as textures and geochemical signatures that change with temperature, can serve as paleothermometers. Here we compare two paleothermometers, biomarkers and thermochronometry, from two transects across the Punchbowl fault (PF), California. The PF is an ancient fault strand …

Nitrogen Fertilizer Showed Little Effect On First- And Second-Year Corn Yield And Quality Following Alfalfa, Bailey Brent Shaffer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Silage corn (Zea mays L.) following alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a common crop rotation in Utah and southern Idaho. This is done, in part, to take advantage of residual nitrogen (N) fixed by bacteria that work in symbiosis with the roots of alfalfa. After alfalfa is terminated, much of the N that was fixed by the plant is released into the soil and becomes available for use by the rotational crop. This reduces the amount of N fertilizer that growers need to apply. The Utah Fertilizer Guide currently recommends an N credit to a rotational crop following …

Exploring Questions Of Tectonic Geomorphology In The Bear River Range, Utah Using Terrain Analysis And Reconstruction, Edward M. Grasinger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Despite a long tradition of geologic studies in the region surrounding Utah State University, there remain unexplored questions and unutilized approaches for understanding the landscape evolution of the Bear River Range. A large-scale reconstruction of the East Cache fault system can be useful in estimating the total displacement of the fault, its geologic longevity, and total energy involved. Likewise, an analysis of reach-scale features of the Logan River can explore how tectonics and bedrock type affect the patterns and history of the river. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software is useful in reconstructing, visualizing, and measuring such geomorphological features and changes …

Collaborative Research: A Fossil Ecosystem Under The Ice: Deciphering The Glacial And Vegetation History Of Nothwest Greenland Using Long Lost Camp Century Basal Sediment, Tammy M. Rittenour

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Plant-Soil Feedbacks Help Explain Biodiversity-Productivity Relationships, Leslie E. Forero, Andrew Kulmatiski, Josephine Grenzer, Jeanette M. Norton

Wildland Resources Student Research

Species-rich plant communities can produce twice as much aboveground biomass as monocultures, but the mechanisms remain unresolved. We tested whether plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) can help explain these biodiversity-productivity relationships. Using a 16-species, factorial field experiment we found that plants created soils that changed subsequent plant growth by 27% and that this effect increased over time. When incorporated into simulation models, these PSFs improved predictions of plant community growth and explained 14% of overyielding. Here we show quantitative, field-based evidence that diversity maintains productivity by suppressing plant disease. Though this effect alone was modest, it helps constrain the role of factors, …

Digital Appendix Of Masters Thesis "Constraining Deformation Mechanisms Of Damage Zones: A Case Study Of The Shallow San Andreas Fault At Elizabeth Lake, Southern California, James P. Evans, Caroline Studnicky

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We performed macroscopic, optical petrographic, scanning electron microscopy, and geochemical analyses on rock core acquired across the San Andreas Fault at Elizabeth Lake, California, in order to understand the distribution and accommodation of fault-related slip and energy within the shallow damage zone of this continental scale strike-slip fault. We characterized the deformation structures, alteration textures, and elemental variabilities to constrain the properties of the uppermost ~2 km fault-related damage zone at this site. We identified evidence for coseismic slip in the form of pulverized rocks, injection veins, clay-clast aggregates, and pseudotachylyte, and aseismic slip through calcite twins, dilatant vein fills, …