Earth Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Low-Temperature Geothermal Potential In North-Central Box Elder County, Utah, Matthew C. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to continue the assessment of low-temperature geothermal resources in Utah started by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. The area of interest with in this report is north-central Box Elder County, Utah. Exploration techniques used included chemical analyses of water from wells and springs, temperature surveys, and temperature-depth measurements in unused wells within the study area. The highest water temperatures (31, 30, and 29°C) recorded in this research were located in three separate geographic regions, suggesting that no single warm water occurrence dominates the study area.

Total dissolved solid (TDS) concentrations ranged from 294 …

Structure And Petrology Of Tertiary Volcanic Rocks In Parts Of Toms Cabin Spring And Lucin Nw Quadrangles (Box Elder Co.), Utah, Bruce Edward Scarbrough

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of late Tertiary rhyolitic and dacitic flows, domes, and minor pyroclastic rocks form an elongate volanic mass along the northwestern Utah-northeastern Nevada border. The structure of the flow banding and the linear arrangement of vents indicate that the mass represents a multi-sourced extrusive complex which erupted through many fissure-type conduits. A 39 km² area at the southern end of the mass was studied in detail in order to gain a better understanding of the eruptive nature and history of these Tertiary volcanic rocks. Age dating reveals that volcanism in the study area was episodic, and covered a …

Petrology Of The Middle Jurassic Twin Creek Limestone, Lincoln And Sublette Counties, Southwestern Wyoming, David R. Raubvogel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Twin Creek Limestone of Middle Jurassic age was studied in the Tunp, Salt River, and Wyoming Ranges in southwestern Wyoming. Modern carbonate environments and their ancient analogs were compared with information obtained from field study and petrographic analysis of samples of the Twin Creek Limestone in order to delineate environments of deposition, paleogeography, and diagenetic history.

Six major lithofacies were recognized: (1) carbonate mudstone; (2) carbonate mudstone breccia; (3) fossiliferous wackestone; (4) packstone-grainstone; (5) terrigenous mudstone; and (6) sandstone. These lithofacies were deposited in a variety of environments, including outer shelf platforms (carbonate mudstone and fossiliferous wackestone), oolitic sand …

Flood Insurance Study, City Of Logan, Utah, Cache County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

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

This Flood Insurance Study investigates the existence and severity of flood hazards in the City of Logan, Cache County, Utah, and aids in the administration of the National Flood Insurance act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. This study will be used to convert Logan to the regular program of flood insurance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Local and regional planners will use this study in their efforts to promote sound flood plain management.

Prehistory Of Long Valley, Idaho, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Archaeology/Anthropology

This thesis deals with a group of artifact collections gathered by local amateurs from a series of sites along the western shoreline of Cascade Reservoir. This study uses these artifacts as a basis to put together a preliminary view of Long Valley prehistory. Outlines of the basic artifact types are formulated and placed into a chronology based upon typological comparisons and obsidian hydration. Previous archaeological work, the ethnohistory, and local geology of the valley are discussed and related ot the sites, used in this study, in order to determine their patterns and characteristics. From these efforts directions for further research …

Field Tests Of Elk/Timber Coordination Guidelines, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

During the summers of 1980 and 1981, field validation tests were conducted in 11 different areas in Montana and northern Idaho. The objectives of this research were (1) to evaluate several common methods of determining cover/forage ratios, (2) to evaluate several different road-influence models, and (3) to determine the combination of cover/forage function and road model that best describes actual elk selection among different available habitats.

Crop-Tree Thinning A 50-Year-Old Western Larch Stand: 25-Year Results, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This paper describes study results after 25 years of crop-tree thinning in a western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) pole stand in western Montana. Five 1/2-acre plots were established in the Petty Creek drainage, Lolo National Forest, at an elevation of 4,200 feet above sea level. Western larch site index of the study area was 52 feet at 50 years. The stand was 50 years old when the study began in 1949. Two plots were thinned by the D+4 Rule, two by the Crown Rule, and one was left unthinned as a control. After 25 years, periodic diameter, basal area, and …

The Sleeping Child Burn - 21 Years Of Postfire Change, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

In early August 1961, more than 26,000 acres (10,500 ha) of upper montane and subalpine forest on the Bitterroot National Forest burned in a lightning-caused wildfire. At the time, the Sleeping Child Burn represented the single largest forest fire in the Northern Rocky Mountains in more than 20 years. Historically, large wildfires have not been uncommon in this region: but after two decades of successful forest fire suppression, the Sleeping Child was treated as an event almost without precedent. Not only was reseeding and rehabilitation an immediate concern, a substantial effort was invested in attempting to return the burned area …

Tree Diameter Measurements At English And Metric Standard Heights: A Comparison, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

The impact of measuring trees at 1.3 m versus 1.37 m heights above ground line was analyzed. The results indicate that the difference in diameter measurement taken at the two points averages around 1 percent. An equation for converting from English diameter at breast height to the metric equivalent of 1.3 m is presented.

Effect Of Small Aspen Clearcuts On Water Yield And Water Quality, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Streamflow and water quality were monitored in a paired watershed study involving the removal of 20 percent of the aspen (on 13 percent of the area) in five small clearcuts from a 217-acre (88-ha) catchment. There were no significant changes in peak flow, timing, or annual yield during the 4 years of posttreatment monitoring. Significant changes in pH, calcium, magnesium, and nitrates in the snowmelt streamflow from ephemeral subdrainages occurred the second year after cutting. At least some of the differences were attributed to the chemistry of the 1976-77 snowfall, which was also significantly different from snow sampled in the …

United States Department Of The Interior Geological Survey, Utah, Basic Data For Thermal Springs And Wells As Recorded In Geotherm, James D. Bliss

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

No abstract provided.

Accidental Releases Of Sour Gas From Wells And Collection Pipelines In The Overthrust Belt: Calculating And Assessing Potential Health And Environmental Risks, D. W. Layton, R. T. Cederwall, Y. E. Ricker, J. H. Shinn, K. D. O'Banion

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

Parts of the Overthrust Belt of western Wyoming and adjoining areas in Utah and Idaho contain geologic formations with significant accumulations of oil and natural gas. Some of these formations, though, yield gas that is contaminated with toxic hydrogen sulfide. As a consequence, the development of these so-called sour-gas reservoirs requires special safety procedures and technologies in order to prevent accidental releases of gas to the atmosphere that could cause adverse occupational and public health effects. To improve the analysis and assessment of wells and collection pipelines completed on lands leased from the Federal Government, the Minerals Management Service, Onshore …

Interagency Hazard Mitigation: 90-Day Post Flood Recovery Progress Report, Hazard Mitigation Team (Utah)

Elusive Documents

As a result of an extended period of abnormally high precipitation, prolonged snow melt, and subsequent high water tales, Utahns, in 1983 suffered from landslides, debris flows, flooding, and a dam failure. On April 30, 1983, the President determined the Spanish Fork slide-dam and Thistle flood covering Utah, Carbon, and Emery Counties was of sufficient seventy and magnitude to issue a Major Disaster Declaration under Public Law 93-288. The incident period was not closed until July 1, 1983. By the time all flooding had ceased, nineteen additional counties (over 75% of Utah) had been included in the Declaration.

Understory Vegetation Inventory: An Efficient Procedure, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

The Understory Vegetation Inventory Procedure used on Forest Survey plots provides some basic information about the plant community that, when combined with other information, can be used for wildlife habitat and forage evaluation, grazing use potential, potential climax and seral stage of vegetation, and estimation of land productivity in terms of biomass.

Evaluating Nonindustrial Private Landowners For Forestry Assistance Programs: A Logistic Regression Approach, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

As budgets in forest management agencies become more restrictive, cost-effective programs become more important. This paper describes a quantitative tool for setting priorities for the forestry assistance program administered by the Montana Division of Forestry. Logistic regression was used to better identify the type of forest owners to which assistance should be directed. (In logistic regression, the dependent variable is a probability that a certain event or activity will occur.) Data supporting model development were obtained from a questionnaire survey of forest landowners in the western portion of Montana. Four models were developed that pertain to past use of technical …

Histological Differentiation Among Abiotic Causes Of Conifer Needle Necrosis, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Symptoms induced by phytotoxic gases within conifer needles can be differentiated histologically from those caused by other abiotic agents including winter drying, drought, and salt. However, it is not possible to differentiate among symptoms caused by hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, ethyl mercaptan, and hydrogen sulfide. Phytotoxic gases cause hypertrophy and hyperplasia of vascular parenchyma, endodermis collapse, and intense vascular staining. The other abiotic agents induce mesophyll collapse with little or no observable effects on vascular tissues. Histological analyses should be useful in diagnosis of air pollution-induced injury and damage in coniferous forests.

Preliminary Geologic Map Of The Beaver Lake Mountains Quadrangle, Beaver And Millard Counties, Utah, United States Geological Survey

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

Preliminary geologic map of the Beaver Lake Mountains quadrangle. This map is preliminay and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature.

Preliminary Surficial Geologic Map Of The Fisher Valley-Professor Valley Area, Southeastern Utah, United States Geological Survey

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

Preliminary surficial geologic map of the Fisher Valley-Professor Valley Area, Southeastern Utah.

Ground Water In The Southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah And Colorado, United States Geological Survey

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

The potential for developing oil-shale resources in the southeastern Uinta Basin of Utah and Colorado has created the need for information on the quantity and quality of water available in the area. This report describes the availability and chemical quality of ground water, which might provide a source or supplement of water supply for an oil-shale industry.

Ground-Water Hydrology And Projected Effects Of Ground-Water Withdrawals In The Sevier Desert, Utah, United States Geological Survey

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

The principal ground-water reservoir in the Sevier Desert is the unconsolidated basin fill. The fill has been divided generally into aquifers and confining beds, although there are no clearcut boundaries between these units--the primary aquifers are the shallow and deep artesian aquifers. Recharge to the ground-water reservoir is by infiltration of precipitation; seepage from streams, canals, reservoirs, and unconsumed irrigation water; and subsurface inflow from consolidated rocks in mountain areas and from adjoining areas. discharge is by wells, springs, seepage to the Sevier River, evapotranspiration, and subsurface outflow to adjoining areas.

Coal Hydrology Bibliography, United States Bureau Of Land Management

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

In compiling this bibliography, Geological Survey publication lists, existing Geological Survey bibliographies, and the Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC) data base were searched for pertinent Geological Survey publications that contained information relevant to the hydrology of a coal area. The WRSIC abstracts were used unedited as received from the WRSIC data base. Also included are reports of the Energy Mineral Rehabilitation Inventory and Analysis (EMRIA) program, coal leasing environmental impact statements and environmental analysis reports, and Bureau of Land Management land-use planning documents containing information about coal hydrology. Only those documents authored by either the Geological Survey or the …

Production And Product Recovery For Complete Tree Utilization In The Northern Rockies, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

In this study, a whole-tree harvesting system designed to produce logs and chips was evaluated on four sites, each with a different silvicultural prescription. The system consisted of: feller-bunchers, grapple-equipped rubber-tired skidders, a tree processor, a whole-tree chipper, and a hydraulic log loader. Production rates for the overall system and for its various components were developed with time-motion study techniques. Variation in productivity between study areas was analyzed with respect to stand and site characteristics.

Winter Injury Of Sagebrush And Other Wildland Shrubs In The Western United States, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

The objective of this paper is to briefly review winter injury of plants and shrubs in particular, document the observed winter injury of 1976-77, and correlate the occurrence with weather records.

Estimating The Rate And Amount Of Tree Loss From Mountain Pine Beetle Infestations, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Because of recurrent depredations by the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine, managers have less than a 50 percent chance of growing lodgepole pine to 16-inch diameters in most stands. This paper describes a Rate of Loss Model that estimates the amount of tree and volume loss per year and the longevity of the infestation, and shows how the model can be incorporated into forest planning. The model assumes optimum conditions for the life of an epidemic. However, actual field conditions can cause beetle populations to deviate from predictions causing a bit of overestimation, which is not considered serious in …

Llaffs - A Lightning-Locating And Fire-Forecasting System, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This publication contains programs and documentation to implement an algorithm for calculating lightning fire probability. This calculation is based on a model originally developed for the National Fire-Danger Rating System. The model algorithm estimates the probability that a lightning discharge from cloud to ground will ignite a fire in fuels at the ground terminus of the lightning. Probability is estimated using variables that are measures of the fuel state and type, rain, and lightning. Details of the model can be found in Fuquay and others (1979), Latham (1979), and Fuquay (1980).

Salvage And Thinning Operations In Second-Growth Ponderosa Pine Stands, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This report describes and discusses a harvesting system made up of commercially available equipment and modified farm tractors that has been successfully used to salvage and thin second-growth ponderosa pine stands. Commercial equipment consisted of fellerbunchers, a skidder, and a chipper. Farm tractors were equipped with grapples and metal reinforcings to adapt them to forest use.

Fireline Production: A Conceptual Model, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

This report describes a conceptual model that provides a framework for the components of fireline production. Other conceptual or operational fire-related models may be linked with this production model. Major components and relationships are diagramed.

The Effects Of Ultraviolet-B Radiation On Plant Competition In Terrestrial Ecosystems, Warren G. Gold, Martyn M. Caldwell

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Evidence regarding the interaction of ultraviolet-B radiation and plant competition in terrestrial ecosystems is examined. The competitive interactions of some species pairs were affected even by ambient solar UV-B radiation when compared to control pairs grown without UV-B. Also, the total shoot biomass of these species pairs was depressed under ambient UV-B. Relatively large increases in UV-B radiation altered the competitive interactions of some species pairs grown in pots under field conditions, but did not affect the total shoot biomass production of those pairs. Recent field experiments have examined the competitive interactions of wheat and wild oat under a simulated …

Evaluation Of Low-Temperature Geothermal Potential In Cache Valley, Utah, Janet L. De Vries

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

The purpose of this research was to continue the assessment of the low-temperature geothermal resources of Cache Valley, Utah initiated by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contract DE-AS07-77ET 28393. Field work consisted of locating 90 wells and springs throughout the study area, collecting water samples for later laboratory analyses, and field measurement of pH, temperature, bicarbonate alkalinity, and electrical conductivity. Na+, K+, Ca+2, Mg+2, SiO2, Fe, SO4-2, C1-, F-, and total dissolved solids were determined in the laboratory. Temperature profiles were measured in 12 additional, unused wells. Thermal gradients calculated from the profiles …

Southeastern Utah Nuclear Waste Transportation Study, Bechtel Group Inc.

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

This report is published as a product of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program. The objective of this program is the development of terminal waste storage facilities in deep stable geologic formations for high-level nuclear waste, including spent fuel elements from commercial power reactors and transuranic nuclear waste for which the Federal Government is responsible.

The initial purpose of this study was to analyze and compare possible transport modes and corridors connecting each of four candidate sites in Utah with existing rail lines of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RG) or the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe …