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Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Reproducibility Of Soil Moisture Ensembles When Representing Soil Parameter Uncertainty Using A Latin Hypercube-Based Approach With Correlation Control, Alejandro N. Flores, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras Apr 2010

Reproducibility Of Soil Moisture Ensembles When Representing Soil Parameter Uncertainty Using A Latin Hypercube-Based Approach With Correlation Control, Alejandro N. Flores, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Representation of model input uncertainty is critical in ensemble‐based data assimilation. Monte Carlo sampling of model inputs produces uncertainty in the hydrologic state through the model dynamics. Small Monte Carlo ensemble sizes are desirable because of model complexity and dimensionality but potentially lead to sampling errors and correspondingly poor representation of probabilistic structure of the hydrologic state. We compare two techniques to sample soil hydraulic and thermal properties (SHTPs): (1) Latin Hypercube (LH) based sampling with correlation control and (2) random sampling from SHTP marginal distributions. A hydrology model is used to project SHTP uncertainty onto the soil moisture state …


High-Precision U-Pb Zircon Age Calibration Of The Global Carboniferous Time Scale And Milankovitch Band Cyclicity In The Donets Basin, Eastern Ukraine, Vladimir I. Davydov, James L. Crowley, Mark D. Schmitz, Vladislav I. Poletaev Feb 2010

High-Precision U-Pb Zircon Age Calibration Of The Global Carboniferous Time Scale And Milankovitch Band Cyclicity In The Donets Basin, Eastern Ukraine, Vladimir I. Davydov, James L. Crowley, Mark D. Schmitz, Vladislav I. Poletaev

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-precision ID-TIMS U-Pb zircon ages for 12 interstratified tuffs and tonsteins are used to radiometrically calibrate the detailed lithostratigraphic, cyclostratigraphic, and biostratigraphic framework of the Carboniferous Donets Basin of eastern Europe. Chemical abrasion of zircons, use of the internationally calibrated EARTHTIME mixed U-Pb isotope dilution tracer, and improved mass spectrometry guided by detailed error analysis have resulted in an age resolution of


Modeling Soil Depth From Topographic And Land Cover Attributes, Teklu K. Tesfa, David G. Tarboton, David G. Chandler, James P. Mcnamara Oct 2009

Modeling Soil Depth From Topographic And Land Cover Attributes, Teklu K. Tesfa, David G. Tarboton, David G. Chandler, James P. Mcnamara

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil depth is an important input parameter in hydrological and ecological modeling. Presently, the soil depth data available in national soil databases (STATSGO and SSURGO) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are provided as averages within generalized land units (map units). Spatial uncertainty within these units limits their applicability for distributed modeling in complex terrain. This work reports statistical models for prediction of soil depth in a semiarid mountainous watershed that are based upon the relationship between soil depth and topographic and land cover attributes. Soil depth was surveyed by driving a rod into the ground until refusal at locations …


Estimating Debye Parameters From Gpr Reflection Data Using Spectral Ratios, John H. Bradford Sep 2009

Estimating Debye Parameters From Gpr Reflection Data Using Spectral Ratios, John H. Bradford

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the GPR frequency range, electromagnetic wave attenuation is largely controlled by dielectric relaxation processes. A primary relaxation commonly occurs in the 10 – 100 MHz range for many earth materials in which the GPR signal propagates effectively. This relaxation leads to strong nonlinearity in the frequency dependent attenuation and occurs in a frequency range that is often used for groundwater investigations. This non-linearity complicates data analysis but also may provide additional material property information. I investigate inversion for Debye relaxation parameters directly from GPR reflection data, including increasing the bandwidth of the signal by summing the response from 25 …


Improved Confidence In (U-Th)/He Thermochronology Using The Laser Microprobe: An Example From A Pleistocene Leucogranite, Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, J. W. Boyce, K. V. Hodges, D. King, James L. Crowley, M. Jercinovic, N. Chatterjee, S. A. Bowring, M. Searle Sep 2009

Improved Confidence In (U-Th)/He Thermochronology Using The Laser Microprobe: An Example From A Pleistocene Leucogranite, Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, J. W. Boyce, K. V. Hodges, D. King, James L. Crowley, M. Jercinovic, N. Chatterjee, S. A. Bowring, M. Searle

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The newly developed laser microprobe (U-Th)/He thermochronometer permits, for the first time, the ability to generate precise (U-Th)/He cooling ages for even very young (Ma) samples with a spatial resolution on the order of tens of micrometers. This makes it possible to test the reproducibility of independent (U-Th)/He age determinations within individual crystals, further increasing the reliability of the method. As an example, we apply it here to a Pleistocene granite from Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, where previous constraints on the thermal history are consistent with rapid exhumation and cooling. Twenty-one (U-Th)/He dates determined on two monazite crystals from a single …


Impact Of Hillslope-Scale Organization Of Topography, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, And Vegetation On Modeling Surface Microwave Radiation Emission, Alejandro N. Flores, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras Aug 2009

Impact Of Hillslope-Scale Organization Of Topography, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, And Vegetation On Modeling Surface Microwave Radiation Emission, Alejandro N. Flores, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microwave radiometry will emerge as an important tool for global remote sensing of near-surface soil moisture in the coming decade. In this modeling study, we find that hillslopescale topography (tens of meters) influences microwave brightness temperatures in a way that produces bias at coarser scales (kilometers). The physics underlying soil moisture remote sensing suggests that the effects of topography on brightness temperature observations are twofold: 1) the spatial distribution of vegetation, moisture, and surface and canopy temperature depends on topography and 2) topography determines the incidence angle and polarization rotation that the observing sensor makes with the local land surface. …


Experimental Evidence Of Non-Linear Dissipation Using Acoustic Micro-Lapses, G. Quiroga-Goode, K. Van Wijk Jan 2009

Experimental Evidence Of Non-Linear Dissipation Using Acoustic Micro-Lapses, G. Quiroga-Goode, K. Van Wijk

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Non-linear material behaviour is observed experimentally in a laboratory using a new method called Acoustic Micro-Lapses (AML). In this approach, the shooting of two waves is synchronised in a way that the second wave (TW) is to sense the fluctuations in material stiffness induced by the first (PW). The tests include four samples; twenty trials are performed for each sample by increasing time-delays between the waves. The recorded waves are decoupled and compared to determine spectral differences by computing a quantity proportional to the energy difference as function of the increasing time delay (). For a tight sandstone and aluminium …


Models Of Garnet Differential Geochronology, Matthew J. Kohn Jan 2009

Models Of Garnet Differential Geochronology, Matthew J. Kohn

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rayleigh distillation models are developed to describe theoretical growth zoning of Lu, Hf, Rb, Sr, Sm and Nd in typical garnet crystals from metapelites and metabasites. Effects of diffusion limited transport within the matrix and intracrystalline diffusion are also considered qualitatively. Theoretical zoning profiles show strong depletions of Lu in garnet rims compared to cores, but virtually invariant Hf, Rb, Sr, Sm, and Nd profiles, generally consistent with natural profiles for Lu and Hf and previously published models. Theoretical isochron diagrams for Lu-Hf exhibit distinctive arcuate distributions and high MSWD’s consistent both with Himalayan data, and with expectations that garnet …


Correction Of Electronic Record For Weighing Bucket Precipitation Gauge Measurements, Anurag Nayak, David G. Chandler, Danny Marks, James P. Mcnamara, Mark Seyfried Dec 2008

Correction Of Electronic Record For Weighing Bucket Precipitation Gauge Measurements, Anurag Nayak, David G. Chandler, Danny Marks, James P. Mcnamara, Mark Seyfried

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Electronic sensors generate valuable streams of forcing and validation data for hydrologic models but are often subject to noise which must be removed as part of model input and testing database development. We developed an automated precipitation correction program (APCP) for weighing bucket precipitation gauge records, which are subject to several types of mechanical and electronic noise and discontinuities, including gauge maintenance, missing data, wind vibration, and sensor drift. Corrected cumulative water year precipitation from APCP did not exhibit an error bias and matched measured water year total precipitation within 2.1% for 58 station years tested. Removal of low-amplitude periodic …


Assessing Inheritance Of Zircon And Monazite In Granitic Rocks From The Monashee Complex, Canadian Cordillera, James Crowley, R. L. Brown, F. Gervais, H. D. Gibson Nov 2008

Assessing Inheritance Of Zircon And Monazite In Granitic Rocks From The Monashee Complex, Canadian Cordillera, James Crowley, R. L. Brown, F. Gervais, H. D. Gibson

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zircon and monazite from granitic sheets and dikes in the Monashee complex, Canadian Cordillera, were investigated to determine whether igneous crystallization occurred at 1.9 Ga or 50 Ma with 1.9 Ga inherited zircon and monazite. Four of the five samples are weakly deformed to undeformed, despite occurring in a gneiss dome at the structurally deepest exposed level of the orogen that elsewhere was strongly deformed and partly melted at 50 Ma. Based on U-(Th)-Pb dates from zircon and monazite, field relationships, and mineral composition and zoning, we conclude that the granitic rocks crystallized at 1.9 Ga and were metamorphosed at …


Floodplain Deposits, Channel Changes And Riverbank Stratigraphy Of The Mekong River Area At The 14th-Century City Of Chiang Saen, Northern Thailand., Spencer H. Wood, Alan D. Ziegler, Tharaporn Bundarnsin Oct 2008

Floodplain Deposits, Channel Changes And Riverbank Stratigraphy Of The Mekong River Area At The 14th-Century City Of Chiang Saen, Northern Thailand., Spencer H. Wood, Alan D. Ziegler, Tharaporn Bundarnsin

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Riverbank stratigraphy and paleochannel patterns of the Mekong River at Chiang Saen provide a geoarchaeological framework to explore for evidence of Neolithic, Bronze-age, AD 5th Century Yonok and AD 14-16th Century Lan Na Cultures. Typical bank stratigraphy charted on the Thailand side is imbricate cobble gravel overlain by 5-10 m of reddish-brown sandy silt. The silt section is composed chiefly of ½ to 2-m thick layers of massive silt without paleosols interpreted as near-channel floodplain and gently-inclined levee deposits laid down by episodic, infrequent, large floods. The surface soil is dark-brown clay loam (La Na time. Brick ruins of 14-16th …


Floodplain Sediment From A 100-Year-Recurrence Flood In 2005 Of The Ping River In Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, A. D. Ziegler Jul 2008

Floodplain Sediment From A 100-Year-Recurrence Flood In 2005 Of The Ping River In Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, A. D. Ziegler

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The tropical storm, floodwater, and the floodplain-sediment layer of a 100-year recurrence flood are examined to better understand characteristics of large monsoon floods on medium-sized rivers in northern Thailand. Storms producing large floods in northern Thailand occur early or late in the summer rainy season (May–October). These storms are associated with tropical depressions evolving from typhoons in the South China Sea that travel westward across the Indochina Peninsula. In late September, 2005, the tropical depression from Typhoon Damrey swept across northern Thailand delivering 100–200 mm/day at stations in mountainous areas. Peak flow from the 6355-km2 drainage area of the …


Hyporheic Exchange And Water Chemistry Of Two Arctic Tundra Streams Of Contrasting Geomorphology, Morgan J. Greenwald, William B. Bowden, Michael N. Gooseff, Jay P. Zarnetske, James P. Mcnamara, John H. Bradford, Troy R. Brosten Jun 2008

Hyporheic Exchange And Water Chemistry Of Two Arctic Tundra Streams Of Contrasting Geomorphology, Morgan J. Greenwald, William B. Bowden, Michael N. Gooseff, Jay P. Zarnetske, James P. Mcnamara, John H. Bradford, Troy R. Brosten

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The North Slope of Alaska’s Brooks Range is underlain by continuous permafrost, but an active layer of thawed sediments develops at the tundra surface and beneath streambeds during the summer, facilitating hyporheic exchange. Our goal was to understand how active layer extent and stream geomorphology influence hyporheic exchange and nutrient chemistry. We studied two arctic tundra streams of contrasting geomorphology: a high-gradient, alluvial stream with riffle-pool sequences and a low-gradient, peat-bottomed stream with large deep pools connected by deep runs. Hyporheic exchange occurred to ~50 cm beneath the alluvial streambed and to only ~15 cm beneath the peat streambed. The …


Comparison Of Instantaneous And Constant-Rate Stream Tracer Experiments Through Parametric Analysis Of Residence Time Distributions, Robert A. Payn, Michael N. Gooseff, David A. Benson, Olaf A. Cirpka, Jay P. Zarnetske, W. Breck Bowden, James P. Mcnamara, John H. Bradford Jun 2008

Comparison Of Instantaneous And Constant-Rate Stream Tracer Experiments Through Parametric Analysis Of Residence Time Distributions, Robert A. Payn, Michael N. Gooseff, David A. Benson, Olaf A. Cirpka, Jay P. Zarnetske, W. Breck Bowden, James P. Mcnamara, John H. Bradford

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Artificial tracers are frequently employed to characterize solute residence times in stream systems and infer the nature of water retention. When the duration of tracer application is different between experiments, tracer breakthrough curves at downstream locations are difficult to compare directly. We explore methods for deriving stream solute residence time distributions (RTD) from tracer test data, allowing direct, non-parametric comparison of results from experiments of different durations. Paired short- and long-duration field experiments were performed using instantaneous and constant-rate tracer releases, respectively. The experiments were conducted in two study reaches that were morphologically distinct in channel structure and substrate size. …


Application Of Time-Lapse Ert Imaging To Watershed Characterization, Carlyle R. Miller, Partha S. Routh, Troy R. Brosten, James P. Mcnamara May 2008

Application Of Time-Lapse Ert Imaging To Watershed Characterization, Carlyle R. Miller, Partha S. Routh, Troy R. Brosten, James P. Mcnamara

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has many practical applications to the study of subsurface properties and processes. When inverting time-lapse ERT data, it is useful to proceed beyond straightforward inversion of data differences and take advantage of the time-lapse nature of the data. We assess various approaches for inverting and interpreting time-lapse ERT data and determine that two approaches work well. The first approach is model subtraction after separate inversion of the data from two time periods, and the second approach is to use the inverted model from a base data set as the reference model or prior information for …


Issues During The Inversion Of Crosshole Radar Data: Can We Have Confidence In The Outcome?, William P. Clement Dec 2006

Issues During The Inversion Of Crosshole Radar Data: Can We Have Confidence In The Outcome?, William P. Clement

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

One method of assessing the confidence in modeled features is to compare the results from different inversion schemes. I use synthetic traveltimes calculated from a model of an unconfined aquifer to determine the reliability of crosshole tomography. I compare the inverted models from straight and curved ray approximations to wave propagation. I investigate the effects of added random noise, regularization, the starting model, and the reference model on the curved ray inversion method. I also investigate the effects of different grid sizes for the forward model and of limited ray coverage through the earth model. Understanding the effects of these …


Crosshole Radar Tomography In A Fluvial Aquifer Near Boise, Idaho, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash Sep 2006

Crosshole Radar Tomography In A Fluvial Aquifer Near Boise, Idaho, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

To determine the distribution of heterogeneities in the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer in Boise, ID, we compute tomograms for three adjacent well pairs. The fluvial deposits consist of unconsolidated cobbles and sands. We used a curved-ray, finite-difference approximation to the eikonal equation to generate the forward model. The inversion uses a linearized, iterative scheme to determine the slowness distribution from the first arrival traveltimes. The tomograms consist of a layered zone representing the saturated aquifer. The velocities in this saturated zone range between 0.06 to 0.10 m/ns. We use a variety of methods to assess the reliability of …


Reflectivity Modeling Of A Ground-Penetrating-Radar Profile Of A Saturated Fluvial Formation, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll May 2006

Reflectivity Modeling Of A Ground-Penetrating-Radar Profile Of A Saturated Fluvial Formation, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Major horizons in radar reflection profiles may correlate with contacts between stratigraphic units or with structural breaks such as fault surfaces. Minor reflections may be caused by clutter or, in some cases, may indicate material properties or structure within stratigraphic units. In this study, we examine the physical basis for major and minor reflections observed in a shallow, unconfined, fluvial aquifer near Boise, Idaho, U. S. A. We compare a 2D profile from a surface ground-penetrating-radar reflection transect with the 1D modeled reflection profiles at three wells adjacent to the surface-reflection profile. The 1D models are based on dielectric constant …


Traveltime Inversion Of Vertical Radar Profiles, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll May 2006

Traveltime Inversion Of Vertical Radar Profiles, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traveltimes of direct arrivals in vertical radar profiles (VRPs) are tomographically inverted to estimate the earth’s electromagnetic (EM) velocity between a surface transmitter and a downhole receiver. We determine the 1D interval velocity model that best fits the first-arrival traveltimes by using a weighted, damped, least-squares inversion scheme. We assess the accuracy of the velocity model using synthetic traveltimes from a known velocity-distribution model simulating an unconfined aquifer. The inverted velocity profile closely matched the velocity profile of the input model in the synthetic examples. Using vertical radar profile data from an unconfined aquifer near Boise, Idaho, we inverted traveltimes …


Image Interpretation Using Appraisal Analysis, Partha S. Routh, Carlyle R. Miller Apr 2006

Image Interpretation Using Appraisal Analysis, Partha S. Routh, Carlyle R. Miller

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In geophysical inversion, a significant effort is invested to obtain images of the Earth from finite data. The first step is to obtain an image i.e. solve the inverse problem. This step alone provides significant challenges that are not addressed inthis paper. The next step is to interpret the image in terms of specific questions. For example, what can we say about the average value of a physical property within a certain region of the model? What scale information can we resolve from the data? These questions are problem dependent and may require that inversion be carried out several times …


Vsp Traveltime Inversion: Near-Surface Issues, Geoff J. M. Moret, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash Mar 2004

Vsp Traveltime Inversion: Near-Surface Issues, Geoff J. M. Moret, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

P-wave velocity information obtained from vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) can be useful in imaging subsurface structure, either by directly detecting changes in the subsurface or as an aid to the interpretation of seismic reflection data. In the shallow subsurface, P-wave velocity can change by nearly an order of magnitude over a short distance, so curved rays are needed to accurately model VSP traveltimes. We used a curved-ray inversion to estimate the velocity profile and the discrepancy principle to estimate the data noise level and to choose the optimum regularization parameter. The curved-ray routine performed better than a straight-ray inversion for …


Mae Sae Basin And Wiang Nong Lom: Radiocarbon Dating And Relation To The Active Strike-Slip Mae Chan Fault, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Fongsaward S. Singharajwarapan, Tharaporn Bundarnsin, Eric Rothwell Jan 2004

Mae Sae Basin And Wiang Nong Lom: Radiocarbon Dating And Relation To The Active Strike-Slip Mae Chan Fault, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Fongsaward S. Singharajwarapan, Tharaporn Bundarnsin, Eric Rothwell

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Mai Sai basin and the Wiang Nong Lom swamp lie north of, and adjacent to, the northeast-trending Mae Chan fault, which is a left -lateral strike-slip fault in northernmost Thailand. The sediment in the Mae Sai basin is about 600 meters thick. The Mae Sai basin has an anticlinal fold below a 390-meter depth. This fold is buried by broadly downwarped sediment. In the Wiang Nong Lom swamp, sediment is about 170 meters thick. Radiocarbon ages from a 2.7-meter auger hole at Ko Mae Mai in the Wiang Nong Lom swamp show that 0.5 meter of sediment accumulated in …


Terminal Moraine Remnants Of The Trail Creek Glacier Northeast Of Sun Valley, Idaho, Eric L. Rothwell, Spencer H. Wood Jan 2004

Terminal Moraine Remnants Of The Trail Creek Glacier Northeast Of Sun Valley, Idaho, Eric L. Rothwell, Spencer H. Wood

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This optional excursion is 8 miles on paved road from the center of Ketchum (Main Street and Sun Valley Road traffic light), northeast through Sun Valley along the Trail Creek Road (fig. 1). A short walk of 10 minutes takes you to the crests of two moraines of very different ages. Here we view and discuss calcareous soils developed into the deposits, the pretty weathering-rinds developed on the sandstone cobbles, and ages of Pinedale and Bull Lake advances. During the Quaternary, an extensive system of mountain glaciers accumulated in the Pioneer and Boulder Mountains and flowed down valleys emanating from …


Geology Across And Under The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho: Owyhee Mountains To The Boise Foothills, Spencer H. Wood Jan 2004

Geology Across And Under The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho: Owyhee Mountains To The Boise Foothills, Spencer H. Wood

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This 1-day field trip is a transect across the western Snake River Plain (fig. 1). The western plain is a continental- rift structure, 300 km long and 70 km wide. It is bounded and internally faulted by northwest-trending normal faults. The western Snake River Plain has a different orientation and structure than the eastern plain. The eastern plain is a curious downwarp related to magmatism and extension along the track of the Yellowstone hot spot (fig. 2). The faulted basin of the western plain began forming about 12 m.y. ago, and much of the relief was completed by 9 Ma. …


Fire And Ice In Central Idaho: Modern And Holocene Fires, Debris Flows, And Climate In The Payette River Basin, And Quaternary And Glacial Geology In The Sawtooth Mountains, Jennifer L. Pierce, Grant A. Meyer, Glenn D. Thackray, Spencer H. Wood, Kari Lundeen, Jennifer A. Borgert, Eric Rothwell Jan 2004

Fire And Ice In Central Idaho: Modern And Holocene Fires, Debris Flows, And Climate In The Payette River Basin, And Quaternary And Glacial Geology In The Sawtooth Mountains, Jennifer L. Pierce, Grant A. Meyer, Glenn D. Thackray, Spencer H. Wood, Kari Lundeen, Jennifer A. Borgert, Eric Rothwell

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This 2-day trip will highlight recent fire and storm-related debris flows in the Payette River region, Holocene records of fires and fire-related sedimentation events preserved in alluvial fan stratigraphic sequences, and geomorphology and geology of alpine glaciations in the spectacular Sawtooth Mountains and Stanley Basin of central Idaho. Storm events and associated scour following recent fires in the South Fork Payette basin have exposed Holocene fire-related debris-flow deposits, flood sediments, and other alluvial fan-building deposits that yield insights into Holocene environmental change. Moraine characteristics and sediment cores from the southeastern Sawtooth Mountains and Stanley Basin provide evidence of late Pleistocene …


Recent Paleoseismic Investigations In Northern And Western Thailand, Clark H. Fenton, Punya Charusiri, Spencer H. Wood Oct 2003

Recent Paleoseismic Investigations In Northern And Western Thailand, Clark H. Fenton, Punya Charusiri, Spencer H. Wood

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent paleoseismic investigations have identified a number of active faults in Northern and Western Thailand. Northern Thailand is an intraplate basin and range province, comprised of north-south-trending Cenozoic intermontane grabens and half grabens, bounded by north- to northwest-striking normal to normal-oblique faults and northeast-striking left-lateral strike-slip faults. The basin-bounding normal faults are marked by steep, linear range fronts with triangular facets and wineglass canyons and have slip rates of 0.1 to 0.8 mm/yr. Based on limited data, the average vertical displacement-per-event is about 1.0 to 1.5 m. These faults are characterized by recurrence intervals of thousands to tens of thousands …


Tracer/Time-Lapse Radar Imaging Test At The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll, David W. Hyndman, Tom Clemo, Edward C. Reboulet, Elisabeth M. Hausrath Jan 2003

Tracer/Time-Lapse Radar Imaging Test At The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll, David W. Hyndman, Tom Clemo, Edward C. Reboulet, Elisabeth M. Hausrath

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

A combined tracer and time-lapse radar imaging experiment was conducted in the unconfined coarse fluvial aquifer at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site in August, 2001. Two tracers (bromide and uranine) were injected to form a plume over a 4-m interval that spanned the contact between hydrostratigraphic units with contrasting permeability. The tracer plume traveled 6.9 m to well B6, passing through well A1 instrumented with 20 sampling zones over a 5-m interval that spanned the injection interval. Radar tomographic data were collected periodically on cross-sectional and longitudinal planes, two of which passed through well A1 for quantitative calibration of radar …


Borehole Radar Attenuation-Difference Tomography During The Tracer/Time-Lapse Test At The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Sarah E. Goldstein, Tim C. Johnson, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash, William P. Clement Jan 2003

Borehole Radar Attenuation-Difference Tomography During The Tracer/Time-Lapse Test At The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Sarah E. Goldstein, Tim C. Johnson, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash, William P. Clement

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

A tracer test and time-lapse radar imaging experiment was conducted at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site to investigate the utility of crosswell radar in imaging an electrically conductive tracer plume. A multilevel water sampling system down gradient from the tracer injection well and in the radar imaging plane was used to collect detailed, 1-dimensional, fluid electrical conductivity data during the tracer test. We compare the spatial and temporal position and concentration variations of the plume as indicated by the fluid conductivity data to those suggested by radar level run attenuation differences, shot-receiver attenuation difference crossplots, and an attenuation-difference tomogram. We …


Geologic And Tectonic History Of The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho And Oregon, Spencer H. Wood, Drew M. Clemens Jan 2002

Geologic And Tectonic History Of The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho And Oregon, Spencer H. Wood, Drew M. Clemens

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The western Snake River Plain is a Neogene-aged intracontinental rift basin, about 70 km wide and 300 km long, trending northwest across the southern Idaho batholith. Its southeastern end merges with the northeast-trending eastern plain, a structural downwarp associated with extension along the track of the Yellowstone hot spot. Orientation of the western plain rift is parallel to several regional northwest-trending crustal discontinuities, such as the Olympic-Wallowa lineament and the Brothers fault zone, suggesting that the rift failed along zones of lithospheric weakness, as the lithosphere was softened by the passing hot spot. Crustal refraction data and gravity show that …


Vertical Variation In Groundwater Chemistry Inferred From Fluid Specific-Conductance Well Logging Of The Snake River Plain Basalt Aquifer, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Southeastern Idaho, Spencer H. Wood, William Bennecke Jan 1994

Vertical Variation In Groundwater Chemistry Inferred From Fluid Specific-Conductance Well Logging Of The Snake River Plain Basalt Aquifer, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Southeastern Idaho, Spencer H. Wood, William Bennecke

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Well logging of electrical fluid specific conductance (Cs) shows that permeable zones yielding ground water to intrawell flows and the water columns in some wells at INEL have highly different chemistry, with as much as a two-fold variation in Cs). This suggests that dedicated pump sampling of ground water in the aquifer may not be representative of the chemistry of the waste plumes migrating southwest of the nuclear facilities. Natural background Cs in basalt-aquifer ground water of this part of the Snake River Plain aquifer is less than 325µS/cm (microSiemans/cm), and total dissolved solids in …