Earth Sciences Commons^™

Mountain-Block Recharge To The Cache Valley Principal Aquifer And Geochemical Controls On Groundwater Movement In Alpine Karst, Skyler J. Sorsby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Groundwater is documented to flow through solution-widened fractures and bedding planes in limestone and dolostone units in low-relief topography. This enhancement, or karstification, is much harder to study in alpine environments like the Bear River Range of northern Utah. This is problematic, due to the fact that the Bear River Range karst aquifer system supplies the City of Logan with a large quantity of water at Dewitt Spring. Furthermore, the karst aquifer sustains the Logan River for much of the year, and may allow groundwater to flow directly in the subsurface to the Cache Valley principal aquifer system.

Flow measurements …

Structural Control Of Thermal Fluid Circulation And Geochemistry In A Flat-Slab Subduction Zone, Peru, Brandt E. Scott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hot spring geochemistry from the Peruvian Andes provide insight on how faults, or fractures in the Earth's crust, are capable of influencing fluid circulation. Faults can either promote or inhibit fluid flow and the goal of this study is test the role of a major fault, such as the Cordillera Blanca detachment, as a channel for transporting deep fluids to the surface. Hot springs are abundant in the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash ranges in Peru, and several springs issue along the Cordillera Blanca detachment, making this region an ideal setting for our study. To test the role of the Cordillera …

Ediacaran Depositional Age And Subsequent Fluid-Rock Interactions In The Mutual And Browns Hole Formations Of Northern Utah, Ashley W. Provow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Constraining the depositional age of Neoproterozoic stratigraphy in western North America has implications for correlating global glaciation and tectonic events. The depositional ages of the Neoproterozoic Mutual and Browns Hole formations of northern Utah are controlled by two conflicting datapoints. However, new U-Pb geochronological data from 95 detrital apatite grains refines the maximum depositional age of the volcanic member of the Browns Hole Formation to 613 ± 12 Ma (2σ). This places new restrictions on the time available for the deposition of underlying units. Due to debate regarding the age models for underlying stratigraphy, two scenarios for sediment accumulation rates …

Assessing Paleoenvironmental And Geomorphic Variability In Relationship To Paleoindian Site Burial; Centennial Valley, Montana, Hillary A. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wave action along the shores of Lima Reservoir in Centennial Valley, Montana is actively eroding the southern margins of three neighboring Paleoindian sites. Despite ostensible similarity among the sites, major site formation differences are apparent in exposed sediments. Shoreline cutbank exposures one-to-five meters high connect the sites and reveal a complicated geomorphic history. Although each site contains artifact evidence of terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene occupations, Paleoindian components at these three localities occur in very different contexts: one is buried, while the other two are apparent surface scatters. This raise the question of why sites of the same age are in both …

Micro- To Macro-Scale Structural And Lithological Architecture Of Basal Nonconformities: Implications For Fluid Flow And Injection Induced Seismicity, Garth Hesseltine

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rising incidents of earthquakes caused by human activity in the United States, known as induced earthquakes, is a growing concern. Induced earthquakes may occur when fluid and/or wastewater is injected several kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface into sedimentary rocks. Fluids and pressures can migrate from the sedimentary rocks, which are typically friendlier to fluid flow, into underlying less friendlier crystalline rocks along fluid pathways weakening and possibly reactivating preexisting faults. Understanding potential fluid pathways and/or barriers from the sedimentary rocks to crystalline rocks is crucial. I investigate the structure, composition, and heterogeneity of rocks near the contact between the sedimentary …

Analysis Of Small Faults In A Sandstone Reservoir Analog, San Rafael Desert: Implications For Fluid Flow At The Reservoir-Scale, Leslie Noël Clayton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We examined small-displacement faults in the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone adjacent to the Iron Wash Fault, central Utah east of the San Rafael Swell, in order to describe the nature and timing of past fluid movement and deformation in the Entrada Sandstone. Using field studies, microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis, we identified mineralized fractures and cementation features in association with deformation bands and fractures at the interface of the Earthy and Slick Rock Members of the Entrada Sandstone.

Where the faults cross the Earthy-Slick Rock Member interface, deformation band faults in the Slick Rock Member become opening-mode fractures in the Earthy …

Phosphorus Rate Effects With And Without Avail® On Dryland Winter Wheat In An Eroded Calcareous Soil, Ryan C. Hodges

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soluble phosphorus fertilizer is bound in the soil rapidly after application in soils high in calcium. A fertilizer additive known as AVAIL® (J.R. Simplot Company) is purported to keep applied phosphorus fertilizer more available to plants by binding to soil minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron, thereby reducing phosphorus binding. This could prove useful due to the attraction of AVAIL® with cations such as Ca²⁺, but is fairly unstudied for dryland wheat production on alkaline, calcium-rich soils. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of low-rate fertilizer treatments with AVAIL® on dryland small grain …

Usu Student Group Wins 3rd Place In National Stormwater Challenge, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a group of students from USU have won 3rd place in their annual Campus RainWorks Challenge. The group competed against 39 other teams from across the nation with their submission in the Demonstration Project category.

Eva Nieminski Uwrl Outstanding Alumni Spotlight, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Each month the UWRL takes a moment to highlight a UWRL student, alumni, or staff, that has gone above and beyond in their research field and achievements. This month we are highlighting Eva Nieminski, a UWRL alumni known for her water quality research and extended service to the state of Utah.

Increased Variability Of Thailand's Chao Phraya River Peak Season Flow And Its Association With Enso Variability: Evidence From Tree Ring Δ18O, Chenxi Xu, Brendan M. Buckley, Parichart Promchote, S.-Y. Simon Wang, Nathsuda Pumijumnong, Wenling An, Masaki Sano, Takeshi Nakatsuka, Zhengtang Guo

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

We present a statistically robust reconstruction of Thailand's Chao Phraya River peak season streamflow (CPRPF) that spans the 202 years from 1804 to 2005 CE. Our reconstruction is based on tree ring δ¹⁸O series derived from three Pinus merkusii sites from Laos and Thailand. The regional δ¹⁸O index accounts for 57% of the observed variance of CPRPF. Spatial correlation and 21‐year running correlation analyses reveal that CPRPF is greatly influenced by regional precipitation variations associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Periods of enhanced and reduced ENSO activity are associated with strong and weak ENSO‐streamflow correlation, …

Dr. Jeff Horsburgh Announces Water Visualization Competition Winners, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Utah Water Research Lab Faculty Dr. Jeff Horsburgh, an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University, recently issued a challenge to USU students called the Cyberinfrastructure for Intelligent Water Supply (CIWS) Data Visualization Challenge. Beginning in December of 2018, and ending March 1^st 2019, the goal was to have students develop a visualization of high resolution water use data. These visualizations were focused on creating displays that would be helpful for either water users or water providers.

Hemp Research Underway At Utah State University, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Scientists at Utah State University are studying cultivation practices to optimize the yield and quality of hemp for botanical medicines.

Relative Salt Tolerance Of Seven Japanese Spirea Cultivars, Yuxiang Wang, Liqin Li, Youping Sun, Xin Dai

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Spirea (Spiraea sp.) plants are commonly used in landscapes in Utah and the intermountain western United States. The relative salt tolerance of seven japanese spirea (Spiraea japonica) cultivars (Galen, Minspi, NCSX1, NCSX2, SMNSJMFP, Tracy, and Yan) were evaluated in a greenhouse. Plants were irrigated with a nutrient solution with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 dSmL1 (control) or saline solutions with an EC of 3.0 or 6.0 dSmL1 once per week for 8 weeks. At 8 weeks after the initiation of treatment, all japanese spirea cultivars irrigated with saline solution with an EC of 3.0 dSmL1 still exhibited good or …

Ascending The Data Usability Gap In Mountainous Regions Through Scientist-Stakeholder Co-Production, Alan Rhoades

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

Water Challenges In The Lower Colorado River Basin And The Drought Contingency Plan, Sharon Megdal

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

Water Management In The West—A Federal Perspective, Brent Esplin

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

Harmful Algae Blooms In Utah, Scott Daly

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

An Update On Water Legislation From The 2019 Utah Legislative Session, Tim Hawkes

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

Spring Runoff Conference 2019: Water Challenges In The West, Spring Runoff Conference

Spring Runoff Conference

The Spring Runoff Conference, hosted by the USU Water Initiative, is held annually on the campus of Utah State University. The conference provides a forum for interdisciplinary sharing and exchange of ideas on water-related issues in Utah and the lntermountain Region

Ground, Proximal, And Satellite Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture, Ebrahim Babaeian, Morteza Sadeghi, Scott B. Jones, Carsten Montzka, Harry Vereecken, Markus Tuller

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Soil moisture (SM) is a key hydrologic state variable that is of significant importance for numerous Earth and environmental science applications that directly impact the global environment and human society. Potential applications include, but are not limited to, forecasting of weather and climate variability; prediction and monitoring of drought conditions; management and allocation of water resources; agricultural plant production and alleviation of famine; prevention of natural disasters such as wild fires, landslides, floods, and dust storms; or monitoring of ecosystem response to climate change. Because of the importance and wide‐ranging applicability of highly variable spatial and temporal SM information that …

Mahyar Aboutalebi Uwrl Outstanding Student Spotlight, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Each month, the UWRL takes the opportunity to recognize a student, alumni, or staff member who displays extraordinary passion dedication and leadership.

Volcanic Stratigraphy And Age Model Of The Kimama Deep Borehole (Project Hotspot): Evidence For 5.8 Million Years Of Continuous Basalt Volcanism, Central Snake River Plain, Idaho, Katherine E. Potter, Duane E. Champion, Robert A. Duncan, John W. Shervais

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The Snake River Plain of central Idaho represents the world’s best example of a mantle hotspot track impinging upon continental crust and provides a record of bimodal volcanism extending over 12 Ma to the present. Project Hotspot recovered almost 2 km of continuous drill core from the Kimama borehole, located in central Idaho on the axial volcanic zone. The Kimama drill core represents the most complete record of mafic volcanism along the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain hotspot track.

A total of 432 basalt flow units, representing 183 basalt flows, 78 basalt flow groups, and 34 super groups, along with 42 sediment …

Aggieair Partners With Udwr, Forest Service, And Gtac To Aid In Recovery Of Fishlake Streams, Aggieair

News

AggieAir recently partnered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Forest Service Fishlake National Forest, and Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) to aid in the assessment and recovery of three streams within the Fishlake National Forest. These three streams, Seven Mile Creek, Lake Creek, and lower Fish Creek, have known water quality and fishery issues from past grazing, forest fires, and water management.

Usu Drones To Pave Way For More Drone Services In The Future, Mike Anderson

News

Having drones deliver your Amazon packages, or even take you to work, may seem like science fiction — but they could be just a couple of many services of the future.

Pantropical Climate Interactions, Wenju Cai, Lixin Wu, Matthieu Lengaigne, Tim Li, Shayne Mcgregor, Jong-Seong Kug, Jin-Yi Yu, Malte F. Stuecker, Agus Santoso, Xichen Li, Yoo-Geun Ham, Yoshimitsu Chikamoto, Benjamin Ng, Michael J. Mcphaden, Yan Du, Et Al.

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which originates in the Pacific, is the strongest and most well-known mode of tropical climate variability. Its reach is global, and it can force climate variations of the tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans by perturbing the global atmospheric circulation. Less appreciated is how the tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans affect the Pacific. Especially noteworthy is the multidecadal Atlantic warming that began in the late 1990s, because recent research suggests that it has influenced Indo-Pacific climate, the character of the ENSO cycle, and the hiatus in global surface warming. Discovery of these pantropical interactions provides a …

Uwrl Faculty Member Randy Martin Gives First Usu Research Landscapes Lecture, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

On February 26th, Dr. Randy Martin, a Utah Water Research Laboratory faculty member and Associate Research Professor in the USU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, gave Utah State University’s first Research Landscapes lecture in Salt Lake City.

Pace And Process Of Active Folding And Fluvial Incision Across The Kantishna Hills Anticline, Central Alaska, A. M. Bender, R. O. Lease, P. J. Haeussler, Tammy M. Rittenour, L. B. Corbett, P. R. Bierman, M. W. Caffee

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Rates of northern Alaska Range thrust system deformation are poorly constrained. Shortening at the system's west end is focused on the Kantishna Hills anticline. Where the McKinley River cuts across the anticline, the landscape records both Late Pleistocene deformation and climatic change. New optically stimulated luminescence and cosmogenic 10Be depth profile dates of three McKinley River terrace levels (~22, ~18, and ~14–9 ka) match independently determined ages of local glacial maxima, consistent with climate‐driven terrace formation. Terrace ages quantify rates of differential bedrock incision, uplift, and shortening based on fault depth inferred from microseismicity. Differential rock uplift and incision (≤1.4 …

Examination Of The Climate Factors That Reduced Wheat Yield In Northwest India During The 2000s, Avik Mukherjee, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Parichart Promchote

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

In India, a significant reduction of wheat yield would cause a widespread impact on food security for 1.35 billion people. The two highest wheat producing states, Punjab and Haryana in northern India, experienced a prolonged period of anomalously low wheat yield during 2002–2010. The extent of climate variability and change in influencing this prolonged reduction in wheat yield was examined. Daily air temperature (T_max and T_ave) was used to calculate the number of days above optimum temperature and growing degree days (GDD) anomaly. Two drought indices, the standard precipitation and evapotranspiration index and the radiation-based precipitation index, …

Karl Christensen Awarded Awwa Intermountain Section Scholarship, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

USU/UWRL graduate student Karl Christensen was recently awarded this year’s Graduate Science and Engineering Scholarship from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Intermountain Section. The scholarship was created “to encourage science education and training related to the field of conservation, water quality, supply, resources, reuse or treatment.”

Ayman Nassar Receives Awwa Intermountain Section Scholarship, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) Intermountain Section has selected USU/UWRL graduate student Ayman Nassar to receive this year’s Eva Nieminski Honorary Graduate Science Engineering Scholarship. The scholarship was created “to encourage science education and training related to the field of conservation, water quality, supply, resources, reuse or treatment."