Earth Sciences Commons^™

Late Quaternary Faulting History Of The Carrizal And Related Faults, La Paz Region, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Paul J. Umhoefer, Sara J. Maloney, Beverly Buchanan, J. Ramón Arrowsmith, Genaro Martinez-Gutiérrez, Graham Kent, Neal Driscoll, Alistair Harding, Darrell Kaufman, Tammy M. Rittenour

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The southwest margin of the Gulf of California has an array of active normal faults despite this being an oblique-divergent plate boundary with spreading centers that localized deformation along the plate boundary 2–3 million years ago. The Carrizal and Centenario faults form the western border fault of the Gulf of California marginal fault system within and south of La Paz Bay, and ∼20–30 km west of the capital city of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Geologic and geomorphic mapping, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) geochronology, and paleoseismic investigations onshore, compressed high-intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) profiling offshore, and analysis of uplifted …

Dust Mediated Transfer Of Phosphorus To Alpine Lake Ecosystems Of The Wind River Range, Wyoming, Usa, Janice Brahney, Ashley P. Ballantyne, P. Kociolek, Sarah A. Spaulding, Megan Otu, T. Porwoll, Jason C. Neff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Alpine lakes receive a large fraction of their nutrients from atmospheric sources and are consequently sensitive to variations in both the amount and chemistry of atmospheric deposition. In this study we explored the spatial changes in lake water chemistry and biology along a gradient of dust deposition in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. Regional differences were explored using the variation in bulk deposition, lake water, sediment, and bedrock geochemistry and catchment characteristics. Dust deposition rates in the Southwestern region averaged 3.34 g m−2 year−1, approximately three times higher than deposition rates in the Northwestern region (average 1.06 g m−2 year−1). …

The Kimama Core: A 6.4 Ma Record Of Volcanism, Sedimentation, And Magma Petrogenesis On The Axial Volcanic High, Snake River Plain, Id, Katherine Elizabeth Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snake River Plain (SRP) is one of the best-preserved examples of continental hotspot volcanis, with a continuous record of volcanism that extends over 16 Ma to the present. Yellowstone-Snake River Plain records the migration of plume-tail volcanism from inception at the Bruneau-Jarbridge caldera complex at 12.6 Ma to its present locus, under the Yellowstone Plateau.

Records kept by the Snake River Plain volcanic actions include rhyolite lavas and ignimbritesm minor coeval basalts, and an overlying veneer of younger basalts. The central SRP has received comparatively little attention in the past. The Kimama core hole was drilled as part of …

Fault And Fluid Interactions In The Elsinore Fault-West Salton Detachment Fault Damage Zones, Agua Caliente County Park, California, Rebekah Erin Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study area provides a unique opportunity to study the intersection of the Elsinore and West Salton detachment faults in southern California, effusing warm springs, and alteration products in the midst of the fault intersection. Structural mapping and compiling previous maps supply an interpretation of the fault zone geometries within the Tierra Blanca Mountains. Geochemical analysis of the crystalline basement and altered protolith help determine the effects of faulting and fluid flow in the study area. In the Tierra Blanca Mountains, the Elsinore strike-slip fault system transitions from the double-stranded Julian segment and Earthquake Valley fault in the northwest, to …

Hot Faults:Iridescent Slip Surfaces With Metallic Luster Document High-Temperature Ancientseismicity In The Wasatch Fault Zone, Ut, Usa, James P. Evans, Mitchell R. Prante, Susanne U. Janecke, Alexis K. Ault, Dennis L. Newell

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We document new geological indicators of ancient seismicity in the form of highly reflective, iridescent, hematite-coated fault surfaces. Small faults that cut the Paleoproterozoic Farmington Canyon Complex in the footwall damage zone of the Brigham City segment of the Wasatch fault (Utah, USA) are smooth to striated surfaces, tens of square centimeters to 30 m2 in area. The dull-rusty to high-metallic luster and moderate- to high-gloss surfaces exhibit multicolored elliptical iridescent patches ∼0.5–3 cm across. Preexisting hematite crystals were deformed during slip on 1–200-mm-thick slip surfaces. Textural observations, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron backscattered diffraction analysis, surface metrology, and …

A Petrographic Analysis Of The Relationship Between Porosity And Organic Matter In The Permian Phosphoria Formation Of Northeastern Utah, Larry Tackett

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

The Permian Phosphoria Formation is a reservoir for oil and gas in the western United States, as well as a major source of phosphate. This study examined the relationship between phosphate richness and porosity exhibited in the formation. Petrographic analysis was carried out on rock samples collected from the Phosphoria (Park City) Formation located north of Vernal, Utah, on the southern flank of the Uinta Mountains.

The analysis demonstrated an inverse relationship between organic richness and porosity in the Phosphoria Formation. Porosity is controlled by lithology, amount of cementation, weathering, and amount of fecal pellets, which are the source of …

Linking Montane Soil Moisture Measurements To Evapotranspiration Using Inverse Numerical Modeling, Ling Lv

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture play important roles in annual water delivered from snowpack to reservoirs, lakes and streams. Indeed, ET and soil moisture are key factors dictating the performance of the regional climate models in the intermountain west (IMW) of the USA. Water resources management and climate modeling require accurate prediction of ET and areal soil moisture for reliable estimates of ongoing and future water needs. This research has examined ways to estimate ET from four common vegetation types in the IMW (aspen, conifer, grass and sage) using local soil moisture measurements from an advanced instrumentation network located in …

Landscape Evolution Of The Needles Fault Zone, Utah, Investigated Through Chronostratigraphic And Terrain Analyses, Faye L. Geiger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arcing eastward from the deep gorge of Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River is a series of aligned valleys (graben) and ridges (horst). This unusual landscape has formed as subsurface salt deforms toward the river and dissolves away, causing the overlying rocks to fault, slide, and subside. Geologists have long been interested in this actively evolving area they call the Needles fault zone, because understanding its mechanics and origin may shed light on how faults work in general and similar, yet inaccessible places like offshore rift zones or even the surface of the Moon. Despite this interest, the timing and …

In Situ Stress And Geology From The Mh-2 Borehole, Mountain Home, Idaho: Implications For Geothermal Exploration From Fractures, Rock Properties, And Geomechanics, James Andrew Kessler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geothermal energy is being explored as a supplement to traditional fossil fuel resources to meet growing energy demand and reduce carbon emissions. Geothermal energy plants harvest heat stored in the Earth’s subsurface by bringing high temperature fluids to the surface and generating steam to produce electricity. Development of geothermal resources is often inhibited by large upfront risk and expense. Successful mitigation of those costs and risks begins with efficient characterization of the resource before development. A typically successful geothermal reservoir consists of a fractured reservoir that conducts hydrothermal fluids and a cap rock seal to limit convective heat loss through …

Rock Strength Of Caprock Seal Lithologies: Evidence For Past Seal Failure, Migration Of Fluids And The Analysis Of The Reservoir Seal Interface In Outcrop And The Subsurface, Elizabeth Sandra Petrie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Scientists have proposed that in order to avoid damaging climate change further accumulations of anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) must be limited. One of several proposed techniques for reducing the amount CO₂ reaching the atmosphere is carbon capture and storage (CCS). This emerging technology stores CO₂ Emissions captured from large point sources (i.e. power plants or industrial facilities), in deep geologic formations, including depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and saline aquifers. For successful CCS design, implementation and appropriate site selection and subsurface trapping mechanisms must be ensured over the 100's to 1000's of year timescale.

A key component …

Molecular Systematics, Historical Biogeography, And Evolution Of Spider Wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Juanita Rodriguez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study of the diversity and classification of any group of organisms provides a foundation for further scientific studies in ecology, evolution, and conservation. Insects are among the most diverse organisms that inhabit the planet, but knowledge of their diversity and classification is still limited. One understudied group of insects is spider wasps. These are solitary parasitoids that use one spider to lay a single egg. There are approximately 5,000 described species, and many more to be described. Unfortunately, fewer than 10 scientists worldwide study these insects. One reason the group has not been very well studied is the difficulty …

Mesoscale Deformational Features Near Outcrop Analogs Of A Reservoir-Seal Interface: Implications For Seal Failure, Santiago L. Flores

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The boundary that separates reservoir rocks from caprock seals is generally considered a flow barrier for reservoir fluids. Buoyant fluids do no flow through the caprocks because they have low permeability and molecular forces at the base of the caprock resist upward flow. Deformation at the reservoir/caprock boundary may include fractures that increase permeability and lessen the effect of the molecular forces.

The injection and storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in porous sandstone with effective top seals below earth’s surface is a possible solution for reducing the amount of human-created CO₂ in the atmosphere. Uplift and erosion …

Soil Water Flux Estimates From Streaming Potential And Penta-Needle Heat Pulse Probe Measurements, Pawel J. Szafruga

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Growing populations, coupled with climate change and resource depletion, have heightened concern about water management. The growing need to better manage agricultural systems, including irrigation and fertilizer application, as well the lasting consequences of excess application of nitrogen and other nutrients, could be remedied with an improved method to monitor soil water movement. Despite huge technological advances, a tool to measure soil water flow at the low rates found in the field has not been developed. Current methods lack the precision to provide the needed accuracy to fully understand soil-water dynamics, as well as the ability to provide instantaneous information. …

A 576-Year Weber River Streamflow Reconstruction From Tree Rings For Water Resource Risk Assessment In The Wasatch Front, Utah, Matthew F. Bekker, R. Justin Derose, Brendan Buckley, Roger Kjelgren, Nathan S. Gill

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

We present a 576-year tree-ring-based reconstruction of streamflow for northern Utah's Weber River that exhibits considerable interannual and decadal-scale variability. While the 20th Century instrumental period includes several extreme individual dry years, it was the century with the fewest such years of the entire reconstruction. Extended droughts were more severe in duration, magnitude, and intensity prior to the instrumental record, including the most protracted drought of the record, which spanned 16 years from 1703 to 1718. Extreme wet years and periods are also a regular feature of the reconstruction. A strong early 17th Century pluvial exceeds the early 20th Century …

Tree-Ring Reconstruction Of The Level Of Great Salt Lake, Usa, R. Justin Derose, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Brendan M. Buckley, Matthew F. Bekker

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

Utah’s Great Salt Lake (GSL) is a closed-basin remnant of the larger Pleistocene-age Lake Bonneville. The modern instrumental record of the GSL-level (i.e. elevation) change is strongly modulated by Pacific Ocean coupled ocean/atmospheric oscillations at low frequency, and therefore reflects the decadalscale wet/dry cycles that characterize the region. A within-basin network of seven tree-ring chronologies was developed to reconstruct the GSL water year (September–August) level, based upon the instrumental record of GSL level from 1876 to 2005. The result was a 576-year reconstruction of the GSL level that extends from 1429 to 2005; all calibration-verification tests commonly used in dendroclimatology …

Diversion(S) Of The Lower Bear River In Gem Valley, Southeast Idaho, By A Tectono-Volcanic Valve, Susanne U. Jänecke, Robert Q. Oaks Jr.

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The lower Bear River of Utah and Idaho was once a tributary of the Snake River that flowed along the NE edge of the Great Basin. Similar biological communities in the upper Bear and Snake Rivers attest to this phase of its history. Basalt flows in Gem Valley, Idaho, diverted the lower Bear River southward into the Bonneville Basin during the late Pleistocene [1] [2] [3]. However, there is no consensus about the timing, location, and mechanism of this major diversion [4] [5]. Landscape and image analysis reveals previously unmapped active normal faults and characterizes Late Pleistocene to Holocene(?) volcanic …

Warming, Soil Moisture, And Loss Of Snow Increase Bromus Tectorum’S Population Growth Rate, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Climate change threatens to exacerbate the impacts of invasive species. In temperate ecosystems, direct effects of warming may be compounded by dramatic reductions in winter snow cover. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is arguably the most destructive biological invader in basins of the North American Intermountain West, and warming could increase its performance through direct effects on demographic rates or through indirect effects mediated by loss of snow. We conducted a two-year experimental manipulation of temperature and snow pack to test whether 1) warming increases cheatgrass population growth rate and 2) reduced snow cover contributes to cheatgrass’ positive response to …

Could The 2012 Drought In Central U. S. Have Been Anticipated?, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Danny Barandiaran, Kyle Hilburn, Paul Houser

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

This paper summarizes research related to the 2012 record drought in the central United States conducted by members of the NEWS (NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Energy and Water cycle Study) Working Group. Past drought patterns were analyzed for signal coherency with latest drought and the contribution of long-term trends in the Great Plains low-level jet, an important regional circulation feature of the spring rainy season in the Great Plains. Long-term changes in the seasonal transition from rainy spring into dry summer were also examined. Potential external forcing from radiative processes, soil-air interactions, and ocean teleconnections were assessed as …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow, Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We created six new tree‐ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas‐fir collected within the Logan …

Alluvial Geochronology And Watershed Analysis Of The Golo River, Northeastern Corsica, France, Emilee M. Skyles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Golo River in Corsica, France, is a short, steep river (~95 km, 2706 m relief) in the Western Mediterranean with formerly glaciated headwaters. The small size and location of the Golo River make this system ideal for observing the influence of climate and sea-level change on river dynamics over the 100,000 years. A rapidly advancing dating technique, optically stimulated luminescence, was utilized to determine the timing of these river deposits on the coastal plain in order to frame them in the context of previous glacial and interglacial episodes. Climate fluctuations in the headwaters supplied the vast majority of sediment …

Methylmercury Fate In The Hypersaline Environment Of The Great Salt Lake: A Critical Review Of Current Knowledge, Danielle Barandiaran

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

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a highly potent neurotoxic form of the environmental pollutant Mercury (Hg). The processes that are responsible for the conversion of Hg to MeHg are known to be both biotic and abiotic in freshwater systems. Although MeHg contamination is well documented in Great Salt Lake (GSL), the conversion of Hg into MeHg is not well-understood in saline environments much less in hypersaline waters such as GSL. The GSL is a broad, shallow high altitude (1280 m above sea level) lake that is exposed to large amounts of ultraviolet radiation and evaporation, which lead to great volatilization losses of …

Limits Of Luminescence Dating: An Update Regarding Quartz Of The Southern Alps Of New Zealand And The Olympic Mountains, Washington, Usa, Cianna E. Wyshnytzky, Tammy M. Rittenour

Graduate Student Posters

Late Pleistocene glacial sediments from the South Fork Hoh River valley in the Olympic Mountains, Washington, USA and the Lake Hawea valley in the Southern Alps, New Zealand were dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on quartz and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) on feldspar sand from 2011-2013. High sediment supply (typical of glacial environments), short transport distances, and sediment newly eroded from bedrock sources were expected to pose problems for luminescence dating in these locations. Samples were collected from a variety of depositional environments and inferred distances from the ice-front to assess how luminescence signals may vary due to these …

Rapid River Incision Across An Inactive Fault - Implications For Patterns Of Erosion And Deformation In The Central Colorado Plateau, Joel L. Pederson, Neil Burnside, Zoe Shipton, Tammy M. Rittenour

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The Colorado Plateau presents a contrast between deep and seemingly recent erosion and apparently only mild late Cenozoic tectonic activity. Researchers have recently proposed multiple sources of epeirogenic uplift and intriguing patterns of differential incision, yet little or no quantitative constraints exist in the heart of the plateau to test these ideas. Here, we use both optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and uranium-series dating to delimit the record of fluvial strath terraces at Crystal Geyser in southeastern Utah, where the Little Grand Wash fault crosses the Green River in the broad Mancos Shale badlands of the central plateau. Results indicate there …

Phanerozoic Surface History Of The Slavecraton, Alexis K. Ault, Rebecca M. Flowers, Samuel A. Bowring

Geosciences Faculty Publications

New apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometry data and key geologic constraints from Slave craton kimberlites are used to develop a model for the Phanerozoic burial, unroofing, and hypsometric history of the northwestern Canadian shield. AHe dates range from 210 ± 13 to 382 ± 79 Ma, are older in the eastern Slave craton and decrease westward, and resolve the spatial extent, thickness, and history of now-denuded sedimentary units. Results indicate Paleozoic heating to temperatures ≥85–90°C, suggesting regional burial beneath ≥2.8 km of strata while the region was at sea level, followed by the westward migration of unroofing across the craton. This …

Paleoseismology Of The Southern Panamint Valley Fault: Implications For Regional Earthquake Occurrence And Seismic Hazard In Southern California, Lee J. Mcauliffe, James F. Dolan, Eric Kirby, Chris Rollins, Ben Haravitch, Steve Alm, Tammy M. Rittenour

Geosciences Faculty Publications

[1] Paleoseismologic data from the southern Panamint Valley fault (PVF) reveal evidence of at least four surface ruptures during late Holocene time (0.33–0.48 ka, 0.9–3.0 ka, 3.3–3.6 ka, and >4.1 ka). These paleo‐earthquake ages indicate that the southern PVF has ruptured at least once and possibly twice during the ongoing (≤1.5 ka) seismic cluster in the Mojave section of the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ). The most recent event (MRE) on the PVF is also similar in age to the 1872 Owens Valley earthquake and the geomorphically youthful MRE on the Death Valley fault. The timing of the three oldest …

Mechanisms Of Vegetation-Induced Channel Narrowing On An Unregulated Canyon-Bound River, Rebecca Blanche Manners

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The accurate prediction of river channel width remains a fundamental area of investigation in the field of geomorphology. River managers and scientists are interested in understanding how a channel will respond to environmental perturbations such as altered runoff patterns from climate change, a new dam, or a pulse of sediment from a landslide. Increasingly, studies that focus on this question acknowledge the importance of accounting for the vegetation that lines the river banks. For this dissertation, I strove to identify some of the primary ways by which vegetation affects channel width.

At a fundamental level, vegetation influences the size of …

Two Scenes From Utah's Stratigraphic Record: Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth, Before And After, Dawn Schmidli Hayes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research is focused on rock units deposited in northern Utah before and after global glacial events of unprecedented magnitude, commonly referred to as
“Snowball Earth” glaciations. The rock units deposited prior to the beginning of these glaciations (~770 to 740 million years ago) include the Uinta Mountain Group in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. Rock units deposited after the glaciations (either ~665 or ~635 million years ago) include parts of the Kelley Canyon Formation on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. These rocks, deposited in shallow ocean environments, record the history of life and ocean chemistry just before and after …

Formation, Deformation, And Incision Of Colorado River Terraces Upstream Of Moab, Utah, Andrew P. Jochems

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The history of rivers is laid down as sediment in all landscapes, typically as a function of climate, geologic structures, and/or changes in sea level. When a river abandons its floodplain, this sediment collectively constitutes a landform called a fluvial terrace. Terraces are used to unlock prior characteristics of a river flowing through a given area at both local and regional scales. Dating terrace sediment allows comparison to known changes in climate and geologic deformation, two significant controls on the hydraulics of rivers and the deposition of their sediment loads.

The importance of terraces lies in their utility as markers …

Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Morphodynamic Signatures Of Braiding Mechanisms As Expressed Through Change In Sediment Storage In A Gravel-Bed River, Joseph Michael Wheaton, James Brasington, Stephen Darby, Alan Kasprak, David Sear, Damiá Vericat

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

[1] Previous flume-based research on braided channels has revealed four classic mechanisms that produce braiding: central bar development, chute cutoff, lobe dissection, and transverse bar conversion. The importance of these braiding mechanisms relative to other morphodynamic mechanisms in shaping braided rivers has not yet been investigated in the field. Here we exploit repeat topographic surveys of the braided River Feshie (UK) to explore the morphodynamic signatures of different mechanisms of change in sediment storage. Our results indicate that, when combined, the four classic braiding mechanisms do indeed account for the majority of volumetric change in storage in the study reach …