Earth Sciences Commons^™

Investigations Of Geochemical Variations With Depth At The First 15 Drill Sites On Mars Analyzed By The Chemcam Instrument Onboard The Curiosity Rover And Supported By Laboratory Studies And Analog Research At The Valle Grande Paleolake, Valles Caldera, New Mexico, Usa, Ryan S. Jackson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The ChemCam instrument collected a wealth of data during the first 15 drill campaigns and on the distribution of trace elements at Yellowknife Bay, Mars. The drill sites investigation showed that most sites were geochemically homogenous down the depth of the drill hole. Two sites in the Stimson formation contained a vertical gradient of decreasing silica down > 3 cm. This gradient may be the result of groundwater flow and is likely recent, within 2.3 Ma. The trace element research was grounded with an analog study at the Valle Grande paleolake in New Mexico. We observed progressive alteration in the minerology …

A Triple Oxygen Isotope Analysis Of Altered Oceanic Crust And Its Buffering Effect On The Steady State Oxygen Isotope Composition Of Seawater, Jesse P. Mcgunnigle

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The secular chemical marine sediment trend showing an increase in δ¹⁸O over geologic time has traditionally been investigated using δ¹⁸O modelling of ancient ocean compositions, ocean surface temperatures, and sample diagenetic alteration. This study presents a triple oxygen isotope mass balance for the oceans using high precision δ¹⁸O and Δ'¹⁷O measurements of altered oceanic crust. The mass balance model predicts an ice-free seawater with δ¹⁸O = -0.29‰ and Δ’¹⁷O = -0.002‰ with steady state reached at approximately (0.5 to 1)×10⁹ years. Modifications to the hydrothermal alteration and …

Diversity – Independent Factors Predict Elevated Extinction Rates, Dustin Perriguey, Corinne Myers, Jason Moore, Louis Scuderi

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationships between diversity-independent factors (i.e., abiotic, climatic) 2, 5, and 10 Myrs-prior to the most elevated Phanerozoic extinctions. We constructed five abiotic variables from Phanerozoic proxy records1–5 to compare to extinction rates: mean temperature, temperature instability, carbon cycle instability, continental weathering rates, and habitat instability. All three models were statistically significant (P < 0.05) and explained > 70% of the variation in Alroy’s6 three-timer generic extinction rates. However, the 2 Myr-prior model explained the most variance in extinction rates and had the most predictive power, based on adjusted and predictive R2 (~ 72% and 41%, respectively). Carbon …

Microstructural And Microchemical Studies Of Fluid–Chondrule Interactions In A Pristine Cr Carbonaceous Chondrite And Apatite In Martian Nakhlites, Marina Martínez

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

PROJECT 1: Chondrites are the most primitive objects in the solar system, aggregates of the material that formed in the solar protoplanetary disk during the first 1-5 million years of its formation. However, petrographic observations indicate that most chondrites have been modified by secondary processes, including aqueous alteration, thermal metamorphism, and shock. Fortunately, a few chondrites largely escaped these processes and are considered pristine, such as the CR carbonaceous chondrite Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 99177. QUE 99177 is an excellent sample for deciphering information about the reactions that took place between unaltered anhydrous solar nebular components and water under highly …

Microstructural Constraints On The Nebular And Asteroidal Histories Of Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions From Cv3 Chondrites, Shaofan Che

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The petrology and mineralogy of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from CV3 carbonaceous chondrites have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The goal of this dissertation is twofold: (1) to gain new insights into the nebular processes, such as vapor-solid reactions, accretion, transport, that are responsible for the formation of non-igneous CAIs, and (2) to better understand the role of fluid in the secondary alteration of CAIs on the CV3 chondrite parent body. This work represents the first systematic microstructural study of CAIs from CV3 chondrites.

Chapter 2 presents the microstructural observations of primary mineralogies of fine-grained, spinel-rich inclusions (FGIs) from …

Boron Adsorption In Clay Minerals: Implications For Martian Groundwater Chemistry And Prebiotic Processes, Matthew A. Nellessen, Laura Crossey, Patrick J. Gasda, Horton Newsom, Abdulmehdi Ali, Eric J. Peterson, Nina Lanza, Adriana Reyes-Newell, Dorothea Delapp, Chris Yeager, Andrea Labouriau, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel Clegg, Shelbie Legett, Debarati Das

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Boron has been detected on Mars [Gasda et al., 2017, Das et al., 2019, 2020] within calciumsulfate veins found within clay-rich rocks on Mars by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis. Boron plays a vital role in stabilizing ribose on Earth and has been suggested as a key requirement for life [Scorei et al., 2006, 2012; Furukawa et al., 2013, 2017; Becker et al., 2019]. Additionally, boron readily adsorbs to phyllosilicate clay minerals and is often associated with biologic processes in clay soils. The discovery of boron on Mars in proximity to phyllosilicate …

Quaternary Shelf-Slope Development In The Northern Gulf Of Alaska From Combined Geophysical And Geomorphologic Analysis, Wesley A. Clary

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This dissertation follows the hybrid format as defined by the Office of Graduate Studies at the University of New Mexico. The three chapters defined herein were prepared as manuscripts to be submitted for publication in peer reviewed journals in the field of Earth sciences. A version of chapter 1 was published in Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, 2017, Volume 41. Chapter 2 was submitted to Marine Geology in Feb 2020, and is under revision as of this date. A version of chapter 3 will be submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research. In chapter 1, I …

Fluvial Geomorphic And Hydrologic Evolution And Climate Change Resilience In Young Volcanic Landscapes: Rhyolite Plateau And Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Benjamin Newell Burnett

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Quaternary volcanism associated with the last caldera cycle in Yellowstone National Park included emplacement of ash-flow tuffs, massive rhyolite flows ranging from 79 to 484 ka, and valley-filling basalts. This study examines (1) the evolution of spring hydrology with flow age on the Rhyolite Plateau, (2) initial development and evolution of stream networks on the rhyolite flows, and (3) the impact of the 630 ka caldera formation and volcanic flow emplacement on Lamar Valley incision rates.

Integrated stream networks formed within 79 kyr on the Rhyolite Plateau. Incision is focused on steep flow margins and knickpoints and is dependent on …

Neogene Drainage Reversal And Colorado Plateau Uplift In The Salt River Area, Jordan Curtis Anderson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The modern Salt River flows southwest from the Colorado Plateau, through the Arizona Transition Zone and into to the Basin and Range. Rivers in this area flowed northeast during the Paleogene from the Laramide Mogollon Highlands into structural basins of the topographically lower southern Colorado Plateau area. One of these rivers carved the Salt River paleocanyon through a portion of the Mogollon Highlands known as the Apache Uplift to similar depths as the modern Grand Canyon. This study refines the timing of this drainage reversal in the Salt River area by constraining the ages of paleoriver sediments deposited during the …

Triple Oxygen Isotope Composition Of Carbonates, Jordan A.G. Wostbrock

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This dissertation presents a method of analyzing the triple oxygen isotope compositions of carbonates, presents an empirical calibration of the carbonate-water equilibrium fractionation line, presents a triple oxygen isotope equipped fluid-rock mixing model for carbonates to see-through diagenesis, and applies all these findings to ancient carbonate samples. Using modern carbonates and associate water, the following equations are calculated to describe equilibrium triple oxygen isotope fractionation of carbonates:

1000lnalpha¹⁸O_cc-wt=2.84x10⁶/T²-2.96 1),

Theta_cc-wt=-1.39/T+0.5305 2).

Using these fractionation equations provides an extremely useful tool to determine whether a carbonate sample is altered or preserves …

Integrated Studies Of Intracontinental Deformation In The Interior Western Usa, Cretaceous To Recent, Jacob Oliver Thacker

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The advent of plate tectonic theory satisfactorily explained a number of deformation belts around the world. However intracontinental deformation (deformation inboard of a plate margin) remains poorly understood in plate tectonic models. In order to further our understanding of intracontinental tectonics and its effects, this dissertation examines paleotectonic and neotectonic settings within the interior western USA.

Chapter 1 focuses on late Miocene–Recent deformation inboard of the San Andreas plate margin fault and its role on the integration history of the lower Colorado River. The neotectonic analysis included geometric and kinematic fault data collected in key geologic units to characterize the …

Diffuse Flux And Carbon Isotope Composition Of Carbon Dioxide Emitted From Valles Caldera, Yellowstone Caldera, And Southwestern Utah Geothermal Sites, Kristen Rahilly

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has the lowest solubility in silicate melt and is one of the most abundant and earliest degassed species present in volcanic and geothermal systems. A significant quantity of CO₂ is passively degassed through soils in volcanic and geothermal systems, called diffuse degassing. In Chapter 1, I measure the diffuse CO₂ flux over the site of a prospective enhanced geothermal system in southwestern Utah. I conclude that the CO₂ emitted from soils in the enhanced geothermal site is biogenically-sourced. In Chapter 3, I examine the diffuse CO₂ flux from Roosevelt Hot Springs …

Structural And Geochronologic Constraints On The Duration Of The Picuris Orogeny And Demise Of An Orogenic Plateau, Northern Nm, Daniel J. Young

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Metasedimentary and igneous basement rocks in northern New Mexico record episodic pulses of tectonism during cratonic growth from 1.8 to 1.38 Ga. Continued challenges involve parsing the deformational features attributable to the Yavapai Orogeny (1.71-1.68 Ga), Mazatzal orogeny (1.66-1.60 Ga), and Picuris orogeny (1.5-1.38 Ga) in this region and understanding how older structures may have been overprinted and reactivated to explain the observed strain. This paper presents regional cross-sections of the 1.7 Ga Vadito, 1.68 to 1.50 Ga Hondo, and 1.5-1.45 Ga Trampas groups of the Picuris Mountains and Rio Mora areas of northern New Mexico combined with new geochronologic …

Landscape Evolution Of The Southern Colorado Plateau Using Low-Temperature Apatite Thermochronology And Detrital Zircon And Sanidine Provenance Studies, Carmen L. Winn

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Chapter 1: Westernmost Grand Canyon

Conflicting hypotheses about the timing of carving of the Grand Canyon involve either a 70 Ma (“old”) or < 6 Ma (“young”) Grand Canyon. This paper evaluates the controversial westernmost segment of the Grand Canyon where the following lines of published evidence firmly favor a “young” Canyon. 1) North-derived Paleocene Hindu Fanglomerate was deposited across the present track of the westernmost Grand Canyon, which therefore was not present at ~55 Ma. 2) The 19 Ma Separation Point basalt is stranded between high relief side canyons feeding the main stem of the Colorado River and was emplaced before these tributaries and the main canyon were incised. 3) Geomorphic constraints indicate that relief generation in tributaries and on plateaus adjacent to the westernmost Grand Canyon took place after 17 Ma. 4) The late Miocene-Pliocene Muddy Creek Formation constraint shows that no river carrying far-traveled materials exited at the mouth of the Grand Canyon until after 6 Ma.

Interpretations of previously-published low-temperature thermochronologic data conflict with these lines of evidence, but are reconciled in this paper via the integration of three methods of analyses on the same sample: apatite (U-Th)/He ages (AHe), ⁴He/³He thermochronometry (⁴He/³He), and apatite fission-track ages and lengths (AFT). “HeFTy” software was used to generate time-temperature (t-T) paths that predict all new and published ⁴He/³He, AH, and AFT data to within assumed …

Basal Travertine Of The Bouse Formation: Geochemistry, Diagenesis And Implications For The Integration Of The Colorado River, Christina Ferguson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Pliocene Bouse Formation is discontinuously exposed in the lower Colorado River region and is a record of the first arrival of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California 5 million years ago. It consists broadly of a lower carbonate member (travertine, marl, and bioclastic units) and an upper siliciclastic member (claystone, mudstone, and Colorado River sands). This paper focuses on the basal travertine (synonymous with “tufa”) unit of the lower carbonate member. Because of its basal position and its chemical encrustation of pre-Bouse topography, the travertine can offer insight into the earliest depositional settings and may be a …

Interpreting Amalgamation Processes Of A Fluvial Sandstone Of The Nacimiento Formation In The San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Keely Elizabeth Miltenberger

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Outcrop studies of fluvial sand bodies are important for the study of fluid transport and storage capabilities because the deposits are heterogeneous. 3-D photogrammetry was used to evaluate the amalgamation processes of a multi-storey sheet sandstone in the San Juan Basin, NM. The Angel Peak member was deposited in the proximal-medial transition of a distributive fluvial system by a meandering river during the Paleocene. Within the study area, amalgamation occurred by avulsion and reoccupation of channel-belts to produce five storeys of the multi-storey sheet sandstone. Within each storey is evidence of processes that are internal to a channel-belt, such as …

Crustal Structure Beneath The East Coast Magnetic Anomaly From Seismic Refraction Tomography, Collin C. Brandl

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Syn-rift igneous addition is necessary for successful continental breakup. Past investigations of passive margins have focused on strike perpendicular structure, but potential field anomalies indicate that significant crustal variations may be present. Data from 21 ocean bottom seismometers was acquired as part of the Eastern North American Margin Community Seismic Experiment and was used for tomographic inversion to create 2D velocity models of the margin that are representative of crustal structure. Crustal thickness varies along-strike from ~20 km to ~24 km and a high velocity (Vp > 7 km/s) layer is present at the base of the crust above the Moho. …

Eutherian Biogeography During The Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (Paleocene, Earliest Danian): Problems And Potential Solutions, Jason Sterling Silviria

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) is the earliest major North American terrestrial biochron of the Cenozoic era, spanning roughly the first one million years of the Paleogene period (Paleocene epoch, Danian stage; ~66.04-65.12 Ma). It is typified by the explosive ecomorphological diversification of the mammalian clade Eutheria (particularly our subclade, Placentalia), following the annihilation of non-avian dinosaurs and “archaic” mammal groups during the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event. The spatiotemporal mode and tempo of Puercan eutherian diversification has long been the subject of debate, with disagreements over biogeographic zonation. The traditional model – based largely on well-sampled, …

Single Crystal Elasticity Of Hydrous Fe-Bearing Wadsleyite At High-Pressure Condition, Zhiyuan Ren

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The 410-discontinuity separating the uppermost mantle from the transition zone is commonly believed to be caused by the olivine-wadsleyite transformation. However, the velocity change at the 410-discontinuity predicted by the standard pyrolitic model is not completely consistent with the seismic observations, leading to questions about the accuracy of the seismic models, or uncertainties of the mineral physics predictions. More regional seismic observations suggest that the depth, sharpness, and velocity jumps at the 410-discontinuity are different at different places, caused by thermal and/or compositional heterogeneities in the upper mantle. To explain the inconsistencies between the mineral physics and seismic models and …

Evaluating Sources Of Hydrochemical Variability And Mixing In The Upper Gila River, New Mexico, Pavel Vakhlamov

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This study of the upper reaches of the Gila River basin in southwestern New Mexico reveals both spatial and seasonal patterns in physical and hydrochemical parameters. Monsoonal precipitation, temporal variability in water chemistry of streams in the upper Gila watershed is significantly impacted by surface runoff due to variability in landscape cover features, as well as surface area of the catchment. However, during base flow regimes spring inputs are the dominant drivers of solute concentrations and chemical variability.

Geothermal sources play a major role in salinization of the southwestern stream systems. Prolonged water/rock interaction combined with high temperature, pressure result …

Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotopes In Organic Matter From Lake Chalco, Mexico: A Record Of Quaternary Hydrology And Climate Change, Kristin Slezak Pearthree

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Sediment cores from Lake Chalco, central Mexico, were analyzed to reconstruct paleoclimate in the neotropics. This study employs total organic carbon, organic carbon-organic nitrogen ratios, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of organic matter (OM), and lithology to reconstruct changes in lake level and productivity. During Marine Isotope Stage 3 (~42-29 ka) bulk OM d¹³C and d¹⁵N results suggest the lake experienced strong evaporation and high pH due to warm temperatures and moderate precipitation. Large amounts of terrestrial C3 plant matter were deposited during the Last Glacial Maximum (~22-19 ka), suggesting a swampy environment resulting from …

Architecture And Evolution Of The Peace Vallis Distributive Fluvial System, Gale Crater, Mars, Zachary E. Gallegos

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Peace Vallis alluvial fan, located within Gale crater on the planet Mars, is a distributive fluvial system indicating a wet climate in Mars’ past. The Mars Science Laboratory rover instrument ChemCam, with the high-resolution Remote Micro-imager, was utilized to remotely explore the Peace Vallis alluvial fan and surrounding areas area. The Peace Vallis imaging campaigns 1 and 2, led by Dr. Horton Newsom and Zachary Gallegos respectively, acquired 20 distinct rover observations with a total of 243 individual images to investigate the fan. Using visual interpretation of the images and GIS techniques, this study interprets the processes and products …

Constraining The Oxygen Values Of The Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway Using Marine Bivalves, Camille H. Dwyer

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Western Interior Seaway (WIS) remains an oceanographic enigma, including its circulation, similarity to the open ocean, and the fidelity of geochemical proxies to reconstruct paleoenvironments. Across the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian I test whether: 1) the WIS had unique δ¹⁸O_VPDB compared to other marine settings, 2) increasing oceanographic restriction changed the stable isotope composition, and 3) biases, e.g., taxonomy or diagenesis, influenced stable isotope compositions. Results indicate distinct δ¹⁸O_VPDB in the WIS compared to other marine settings. δ¹⁸O_VPDB values were stable through time, suggesting insignificant oceanographic restriction and a …

Natural Salinization Of The Jemez River, New Mexico: An Insight From Trace Element Geochemistry, Jon K. Golla

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Jemez River, a tributary of the Rio Grande in north-central New Mexico, receives thermal water input from the geofluids of the Valles Caldera, an active, high-temperature, liquid-dominated geothermal system. We focus on a ∼50-km portion of the northern Jemez River. This research extends previous decadal work (Crossey et al., in prep., 2013) on major chemistry in the river by characterizing the response of 16 trace elements to geochemical contributions from geothermal waters (McCauley, Spence, Soda Dam, and Jemez Springs springs and San Ysidro mineral waters), an area with copious hydrothermal degassing (Hummingbird), and two major tributaries (Rio San Antonio …

An Estimation Of Lower Tropospheric Mixing Derived From Inverse Modeling Of Boundary Layer Water Vapor Isotopologues On Graciosa Island, Azores, Jacquelyn M. Delp

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Recent studies have shown water vapor isotopologues to be sensitive tracers of mixing processes that govern low-cloud feedback in climate models. In this study, we develop an inverse model (MBL Mix inverse model) that uses one year of isotope and humidity observations from Graciosa Island, Azores to estimate mixing for four seasons. We show the dry end-member of the model, the lower free troposphere (LFT), can be represented using Rayleigh fractionation. Isotope observations from Graciosa Island are compared to other field locations to discuss controls on isotopic variability other than mixing. Output from the MBL Mix inverse model shows the …

Evaluating Future Reservoir Storage In The Rio Grande Using Normalized Climate Projections And A Water Balance Model, Nolan T. Townsend

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

We develop and implement new tools for assessing the future of surface water supplies in downstream reaches of the Rio Grande, for which Elephant Butte Reservoir is the major storage reservoir. First, a normalization procedure is developed to adjust natural Rio Grande streamflows simulated by dynamical models in downstream reaches. The normalization accounts for upstream anthropogenic impairments to flow that are not considered in the model, thereby yielding downstream flows closer to observed values and more appropriate for use in assessments of future flows in downstream reaches. The normalization is applied to assess the potential effects of climate change on …

Early Mississippian Ocean Anoxia Triggering Organic Carbon Burial And Enhancing Late Paleozoic Ice Age Onset: Evidence From Uranium Isotopes Of Marine Limestones, Keyi Cheng

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Early Mississippian (Tournaisian) positive δ¹³C excursion (or TICE) is one of the largest recorded in the Phanerozoic and the organic carbon (OC) burial associated with its development is hypothesized to have driven global cooling and increased glaciation. We are testing the hypothesis that expanded ocean euxinia/anoxia drove widespread OC burial and the TICE and we are testing this hypothesis using uranium isotopes (δ²³⁸U) of Lower Mississippian marine limestones from southern Nevada as a global seawater redox proxy.

δ²³⁸U trends record a prominent mid-Tournaisian negative excursion (~0.30‰ magnitude) lasting ~1 My. The lack of …

An Estimation Of Lower Tropospheric Mixing Derived From Inverse Modeling Of Boundary Layer Water Vapor Isotopologues On Graciosa Island, Azores, Jacquelyn M. Delp

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Recent studies have shown water vapor isotopologues to be sensitive tracers of mixing processes that govern low-cloud feedback in climate models. In this study, we develop an inverse model (MBL Mix inverse model) that uses one year of isotope and humidity observations from Graciosa Island, Azores to estimate mixing for four seasons. We show the dry end-member of the model, the lower free troposphere (LFT), can be represented using Rayleigh fractionation. Isotope observations from Graciosa Island are compared to other field locations to discuss controls on isotopic variability other than mixing. Output from the MBL Mix inverse model shows the …

Observed And Projected Snowmelt Runoff In The Upper Rio Grande In A Changing Climate, Nels R. Bjarke

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

As climate has warmed over the past half century, the strength of the covariance between interannual snowpack and streamflow anomalies in the Rio Grande headwaters has decreased. This change has caused an amplification of errors in seasonal streamflow forecasts using traditional statistical forecasting methods, based on the diminishing correlation between peak snow water equivalent (SWE) and subsequent snowmelt runoff. Therefore, at a time when water resources in south-western North America are becoming scarcer, water supply forecasters need to develop prediction schemes that account for the dynamic nature of the relationship between precipitation, temperature, snowpack and streamflow. We quantify temporal changes …

Melt Inclusions And Their Application - New Perspective On The Subsurface Architecture Of Cerro Negro Volcano, Nicaragua, John M. Hamilton

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Volatiles are the drivers of volcanic eruptions and monitoring and measurement in quiescent times are the key in determining when unrest within a volcanic system is beginning leading to possible cataclysms. Previous studies have focused on direct measurements from volcanic plumes or fumaroles, however, this study proposes the use of melt inclusions from tephra to determine volatile contents from the 1992 eruption of Cerro Negro Volcano, Nicaragua. The analysis of melt inclusions adds a new technique to the volatile analytical toolbox and can help to determine volatile contents from past eruptions and their subsequent evolution within a volcanic system.

Though …