Earth Sciences Commons^™

Stratigraphy, Geochronology, And Tectonics Of The Salt Lake Formation (Tertiary) Of Southern Cache Valley, Utah, Kristine A. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study synthesizes the deposition and tectonic evolution of the Tertiary deposits in southern Cache Valley, a narrow, north-trending valley in the northeastern Basin-and- Range Province. The surrounding mountains consist of Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Southern Cache Valley is an east-tilted half-graben. The oldest Tertiary sediments are on the west side of the basin, and the overall dip is to the east.

The Late Miocene to Early Pliocene Salt Lake Formation (Tsl) accumulated above the thin (to absent) Early to Middle Eocene Wasatch Formation (Tw) and the newly identified Fowkes and Norwood Tuff equivalents (Tfn; late Middle Eocene to …

Geomorphology Of The Green River In Dinosaur National Monument, Paul E. Grams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Longitudinal profile, channel cross-section geometry, and depositional patterns of the Green River in its course through the eastern Uinta Mountains are each strongly influenced by river-level geology and tributary sediment delivery processes. We surveyed channel cross sections at 1-km intervals, mapped surficial geology, and measured size and characteristics of bed material in order to evaluate the geomorphic organization of the 70- km study reach. Canyon reaches that are of high gradient and narrow channel geometry are associated with the most resistant lithologies exposed at river level and the most frequent occurrences of tributary debris fans. Meandering reaches that are characterized …

Geochemical, Petrologic, And Structural Characterization At Multiple Scales Of Deformation Associated With The Punchbowl Fault, Southern California, Steven E. Schulz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three traverses across the exhumed trace of the Punchbowl fault zone in the Pelona Schist, southern California, were examined at the millimeter to kilometer scales to determine the morphology, deformation mechanisms, and geochemistry of the fault zone in schistose rocks. The Pelona Schist is predominantly a quartz-albite-muscovite-actinolite schist with associated minor metabasalts. The Punchbowl fault zone, which is exhumed 2-4 km, has 44 km of right lateral slip, and is composed of a fault core enveloped by a damaged zone.

The fault core is a region of extreme slip localization that records most fault displacement. Deformation in the fault core …

Cenozoic Tectonic And Paleogeographic Evolution Of The Horse Prairie Half-Graben, Southwest Montana, Colby J. Vandenburg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Horse Prairie basin (HPB) of southwestern Montana is a complex, east dipping half-graben that contains three angular unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary lacustrine, paludal, and fluvial sediments overlying middle Eocene volcanic rocks. The basin is near the eastern edge of the Cordilleran thrust belt, and represents the western half of a larger Paleogene rift basin. Geologic mapping within the Everson Creek and Bannock Pass 7.5 minute quadrangles indicates that five temporally and geometrically distinct episodes of extension characterize the late Mesozoic (?) to Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the upper HPB.

The first episode of extension occurred prior to emplacement of …

A Hydrogeochemical Study Of The Evolution Of The Headwaters Of The Bear River In The Uinta Mountains, Utah, Michael F. Leschin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The headwaters of the Bear River in the Uinta Mountains of Utah provide a good setting in which to examine the influence of geological materials on stream chemistry. Ionic contributions to the stream-water from soils, vegetation, and the atmosphere generally are sparse enough that they do not mask the geologic contributions. Samples from 37 sites on the four major headwater streams and several minor tributaries were examined geochemically. Data derived from the samples allowed the construction of a hydrogeochemical weathering model specific to the study area. A significant feature of this model is that carbonic acid is the dominant chemical …

A Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer: Ammonium-Loaded Clinoptilolite, T. Scott Perrin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crops grown in sandy soils require frequent irrigation. As a result, nitrogen (N) fertilizers. such as ammonium sulfate((NH₄)₂SO₄), are leached from the rooting zone of crops. This loss of N increases N fertilizer use and the potential for nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination of water. Ammonium-loaded clinoptilolite (NH₄⁺-Cp) may reduce this N leaching, increase N fertilizer use-efficiency, and prevent NO₃- contamination of water while sustaining normal crop growth.

The potential of NH₄⁺-Cp as a N fertilizer was assessed in three leaching experiments without plants and …

Investigations On The Effect Of Grazing Intensity On The Transfer Of Radionuclides To Cow's Milk, G. Voight, C. Schotola, N. M.J. Crout, J. Absalom

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Old Growth Ponderosa Pine And Western Larch Stand Structures: Influences Of Pre-1900 Fires And Fire Exclusion, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Presents detailed age structure for two western larch stands that historically experienced frequent fires. Compares age structures of eleven ponderosa pine and western larch stands representing a broad range of sites that had frequent fires. Interprets causal factors possibly linked to variations in stand age structures.

Forest Resource Statistics For Northern Utah, 1993, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

About 5.2 million acres, or 25 percent, of northern Utah is forested. Fifty-two percent of this forest area is capable of producing commercial wood products and is classified as timberland. Forty-eight percent is classified as woodland, primarily pinyon-juniper. The predominant forest types on the timberland are aspen, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and spruce-fir. The National Forest System manages 70 percent of the timberland; 23 percent is under private ownership, and 7 percent is under other public ownership (local, State, and other Federal). Thirteen percent of the timberland is withdrawn from commercial timber production and is in a reserved status. Most reserved …

Physical, Chemical, And Biological Data For Detailed Study Of Irrigation Drainage In The San Juan Area, New Mexico, 1993-94, With Supplemental Data, 1991-95, United States Geological Survey

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Investigators collected water, bottom-sediment, soil, and biological samples at more than 50 sites in the San Juan River area during 1993-94. Sample sites included (1) sites located within Department of the Interior irrigation project service areas, or areas that receive drainage from irrigation projects; (2) reference sites for comparison with irrigation project sites; and (3) sites located within the reach of the San Juan River from Navajo Dam to 10 miles downstream from the dam.

Logging Utilization - Utah, 1993, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Data collected on 20 logging operations in Utah in 1993 provided board-foot and cubic-foot conversion factors of log scale and factors to apply to harvest volume estimates to obtain removals estimates. The components of timber products and removals, obtained by application of these factors to the 1992 Utah timber harvest, are included. Additional findings, presented in table form, are the diameter distribution of trees removed from growing stock per thousand cubic ft of products and the volume of logging residue in pieces 6 ft and longer as a proportion of product volume. Survey methods and estimates of data reliability are …

Utah Timber Production And Mill Residue, 1992, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Utah's timber production in 1992 was 13.3 million cubic feet (63.7 million board feet, Scribner rule), up 9 percent from 1974. Sawlog production was 10.2 million cubic feet (52.5 million board feet). House log volume was 1.6 million cubic feet (8.2 million board feet). Lodgepole pine comprised 48 percent, Uintah County 29 percent, and National Forest lands 78 percent of the harvest. Mill residue volume was 7 million cubic feet, 82 percent of which was used, most for fencing, firewood, animal bedding, or industrial plant fuel.

Pre-Late-Wisconsin Glacial History Of The Naknek River Valley, Southwestern Alaska, Caleb H. Thompson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The lower Naknek River in southwestern Alaska dissects thick (~20m) exposures of Pleistocene glaciogenic sediments. The stratigraphy of the deposits and their physical, geochemical, mineralogical, and geochronological properties were studies to determine the number and timing of glacial advances represented. Multivariate data reduction methods (cluster and principal component analyses) were applied to the data to differentiate diamicton beds. The results show a clear separation of drift of the lower Naknek River valley from drift of northern Bristol Bay and from younger, moraine-comprising drift up valley. Within the Naknek River valley, however, there is no stratigraphic trend to the clusterings. The …

Paleoenvironmental And Stratigraphic Interpretation Of The Middle Cambrian Ute Formation, Northern Utah, Keith E. Eagan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Cambrian Ute Formation includes some 200 m of cyclically alternating carbonates and mud rocks. These are arranged in eight to nine, meter-scale, shallowing-upwards packages, representing deposition under predominantly subtidal conditions. The packages consist of vertical sequences of shale, silty limestone, oncolitic packstone, and oolitic grainstone that exhibit little variance in this general pattern. Small-scale unconformities separate the packages. The inferred depositional environment consists of an intrashelf basin that has a peritidal platform near its margins. The craton, which supplied most of the terrigenous sediment, was situated to the south (Cambrian orientation), and located near the equator. One cycle …

Structural Analysis Of The Mitten Park Reverse Fault And Related Deformation In Dinosaur National Monument, Northwestern Colorado And Northeastern Utah, Clint M. Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An integrated field and structural analysis of the Mitten Park fault-fold structure, northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, examines its structural origin. The Mitten Park structure is a modified fault-propagation-fold. This new model incorporates faulting, folding, and fracturing in one deformational event to produce the Mitten Park fault and associated monocline.

The largest structure in the study area is the Mitten Park fault and associated monocline. The Mitten Park fault has approximately 127 meters (415 feet) of net slip, strikes S28°W and dips 55°WNW. In the footwall, net shortening was accommodated by reverse and normal faulting. Faulting was the result of …

Hydrochemical Definition Of Ground Water And Surface Water, With An Emphasis On The Origin Of The Ground-Water Salinity In Southern Juab Valley, Juab County, Utah, Heidi K. Hadley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of a U.S. Geological Survey study in Juab Valley in central Utah from 1991 to 1994, the chemistry of ground - and surface -water samples was determined. Total dissolved solids in the ground water of southern Juab Valley have historically been higher, in general, than ground water in other areas of Utah. Total dissolved solids for ground-water samples from this study ranged from 623 to 3,980 milligrams/liter. High-sulfate chemical data of previous studies suggested that the major source of ground-water salinity is the dissolution of gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate ) from the Arapien Shale. Sulfur-34 to sulfur-32 isotopic …

Aminostratigraphy Of Thatcher Basin, Se Idaho: Reassessment Of Pleistocene Lakes, Amy Hochberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Quaternary geologic history of Lake Thatcher, southeastern Idaho, is pivotal in determining when the Bear River carved its through-flowing channel into the Bonneville Basin. Bright's reconstruction of the history of Lake Thatcher was based on ¹⁴C dates that are now known to be inaccurate. Lava Creek B ash found interbedded with lacustrine sediment suggests that Thatcher Basin contained a lake well before Bright's original estimate of 34 ka.

D/L ratios, which measure the extent of racemization in fossil gastropods, in conjunction with paleosols and tephra, were used to correlate between four localities across Thatcher Basin to reassess lake-level …

The Effect Of Salinity Level Upon The Yield, Root Growth, And Water Extraction Of Contrasting Rooting Subpopulations Of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa) Under Conditions Of Zero Leaching, Laura A. Vincent

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A major problem in irrigated agriculture in the Western U.S. is the gradual accumulation of salinity in the plant root zone. These nonuniformly saline soils contain increasing amounts of salinity with depth, and salt accumulation is accelerated in situations where leaching is minimized. Root growth and thus plant yield is limited in these soils due to decreased water uptake. We studied the root growth of two subpopulations of alfalfa differing in their ability to produce fibrous roots to determine if altering root morphology would increase plant yield and water extraction, in an irrigated saline soil.

Soil profiles for a control …

Long-Term Surveillance Plan For The South Clive Disposal Site, Clive, Utah, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Fire-Bgc -- A Mechanistic Ecological Process Model For Simulating Fire Succession On Coniferous Forest Landscapes Of The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

An ecological process model of vegetation dynamics mechanistically simulates long-term stand dynamics on coniferous landscapes of the Northern Rocky Mountains. This model is used to investigate and evaluate cumulative effects of various fire regimes, including prescribed burning and fire exclusion, on the vegetation and fuel complex of a simulation landscape composed of many stands. Detailed documentation of the model FIRE-BGC (a FIRE BioGeoChemical succession model) with complete discussion of all model parameters is followed with results of an application of the FIRE-BGC to a whitebark pine landscape in the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex. Simulation results of several management scenarios are …

Flood Insurance Study, City Of Farmington, Utah, Davis County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study report revises and updates a previous Flood Insurance Study/Flood Insurance Rate Map for the City of Farmington, Davis County, Utah. This information will be used by the City of Farmington to update existing floodplain regulations as part of the regular phase of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The information will also be used by local and regional planners to further promote sound land use and floodplain development.

Flood Insurance Study, Town Of Wendover, Utah, Tooele County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study revises and updates a previous Flood Insurance Study/Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Town of Wendover, Tooele County, Utah. This information will be used by the Town of Wendover to update existing floodplain regulations as part of the Regular Phase of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The information will also be used by local and regional planners to further promote sound land use and floodplain development.

Geologic Map Of The Logan Quadrangle, Cache County, Utah, James P. Evans, James P. Mccalpin, David C. Holmes

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Lake Fertilization As A Tool To Assist In The Recovery Of The Snake River Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus Nerka), Howard P. Gross

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I analyzed lake fertilization (with nitrogen and phosphorus) as a tool to assist in the recovery of the Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the oligotrophic Sawtooth Valley Lakes in southcentral Idaho. These analyses involved monitoring, manipulating, and modelling several aspects of the lakes' primary producer, nutrient, and light parameters.

In Pettit Lake, I evaluated the effects of metalimnetic and epilimnetic fertilization in 330-m³ mesocosms. The metalimnetic treatment was equal to or more effective than the epilimnetic treatment in increasing chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biovolume, and primary productivity, yet caused smaller changes in periphyton growth and …

The Quaternary Geology Of The Eastern Side Of The Greys River Valley And The Neotectonics Of The Greys River Fault In Western Wyoming, L. C. Allen Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Greys River fault is the easternmost active normal fault associated with Basin and Range extension in the lntermountain seismic belt. It is a north-south trending normal fault, located in the Sevier-age fold and thrust belt of western Wyoming, and bounds the west side of the Wyoming Range. The fault is at least 54 km long, and juxtaposes Permo-Pennsylvanian Wells Formation against various Triassic formations. Throw ranges from 100-1000 m. Seismic reflection data suggest that the Greys River fault is a listric normal fault that soles into the Darby thrust at depth. The fault offsets late Quaternary deposits on the …

Groundwater And Surface-Water Interactions Along Lower Medano Creek, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado, Gregg L. Hadlock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objectives of this investigation are as follows: 1) review the existing hydrogeologic data for the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes Monument, and Medano Creek; 2) review the surface-water data that have been collected on Medano Creek; 3) collect or review previously collected water-level data obtained in the area of lower Medano Creek and correlate them with the surface-water data; 4) conduct constant-head permeameter tests on sand samples collected near the ground surface along lower Medano Creek; 5) produce a conceptual model of lower Medano Creek; and 6) produce a numerical model of lower Medano Creek that will …

Late Quaternary Glacial Geology, Shoreline Morphology, And Tephrochronology Of The Lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake Area, Southwestern Alaska, Karen B. Stilwell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study focuses on the late-Wisconsin Brooks Lake glaciation, lake-level fluctuations, and volcanic deposits in the lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake area on the northern Alaska Peninsula, southwestern Alaska. The Brooks Lake glaciation consists of five stades, from youngest to oldest: Kvichak, Iliamna, Newhalen, Iliuk, and Ukak. This thesis reassigns the type Mak Hill moraine to a pre-late-Wisconsin glaciation, and considers the moraine enclosing Naknek Lake an early-late-Wisconsin deposit correlative to either the Kvichak stade, lliamna stade, or both. The presence in the Iliamna Lake valley, and the absence in the Naknek Lake valley of a two-fold earliest-late-Wisconsin Kvichak/Iliamna glacial sequence suggest that …

Analysis Of Perched Groundwater Bodies Beneath The Radioactive Waste Management Complex At The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Alan V. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The migration of radionuclides and volatile chemicals through a thick sequence of unsaturated basalts and sedimentary interbeds has been documented in the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The three mechanisms by which this migration may have occurred are seasonal infiltration from the ground surface within the SDA; flood events in 1962, 1969, and 1982; and the lateral movement of water from the spreading areas located nearby. It is currently thought that the contaminants migrated through the unsaturated sediments and basalt flows during the three flood events.

Transducers …

Federal Commodity Programs And Returns To Irrigation In The West, Marcel P. Aillery, Economic Research Service, Natural Resources And Environment Division

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This report examines the impact of Federal commodity programs on returns to irrigation in the western United States. Returns to irrigation are defined as average returns to land, management, fixed capital, and water (above variable water cost), net of returns to dryland crop alternatives. Commodity market returns and program revenues per unit of applied irrigation water are estimated by field crop and subregion. Two representative study years - 1984 and 1987 - highlight the effect of differing commodity prices and program support levels under extreme market conditions. Aggregate returns to irrigation in western field-crop production were fairly constant over the …

Flood Insurance Study, Town Of Joseph, Utah, Sevier County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study revises and updates a previous flood Insurance Rate Map for the Town of Joseph, Utah. This information will be used by the Town to update existing floodplain regulations as part of the Regular Phase of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The information will also be used by local and regional planners to further promote sound land use and floodplain development.