Earth Sciences Commons^™

Hydrology Of The Springs, Seeps, And Fens At The Nature Conservancy's Pigeon Point Preserve, Ransom County, North Dakota, Corey W. Askin

Theses and Dissertations

Pigeon Point lies along the Sheyenne River in the west-central part of the Sheyenne Delta Aquifer, southeastern North Dakota. Groundwater discharges along a north-facing bluff at Pigeon Point and forms springs, seeps, and fens 'hosting atypical boreal species. The Nature Conservancy owns 231 ha at Pigeon Point, a tract that also includes the largest and least disturbed spring-fed stream in the region as well as some of the finest riparian forest in the state. In response to possible future groundwater diversion, the objectives of this study are: 1) to characterize the Sheyenne Delta Aquifer up-gradient from Pigeon Point, 2) to …

Hydrogeologic Model Of A Leachate Plume In An Unconfined Coastal Plain Aquifer And Chemical Transport Mechanisms Of Metals And Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids, Thomas Lindblad

Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater contamination is of increasing environmental concern as many aquifers across the globe have experienced a decrease in water quality in recent time. The growth of the world's population over the last couple of decades has caused a dramatic increase in the rate of groundwater use. One potential source of groundwater contamination is waste material in landfills. The 1 st Division Road Sanitary landfill at Fort Benning Military Reservation was studied to evaluate the potential effect on local groundwater and a leachate plume was recognized using data from 16 groundwater monitoring wells located around the facility. The study site is …

Pluton Zonation Unveiled By Gamma-Ray Spectrometry And Magnetic Susceptibility; A Case Study Of The Sheeprock Granite, Western, Utah, Paul D. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

A radiometric survey of the zoned 21 Ma, A-type Sheeprock granite, western Utah, combined with measurements of magnetic susceptibility and field observations were analyzed using a geographic information system. The intrusion spans 25 square km and is roughly eliptical in shape with its long axis trending northwest. Concentration maps (composed of more than 500 survey stations) of eU, eTh, texture, magnetic susceptibility, color, and joint density help to constrain magmatic and post-magmatic processes related to its chemical and physical zonation. Uranium ranges from 3.9 to 26.9 ppm (mean 12.7) and thorium from 1.7 to 125.7 ppm (mean 45.5). Similarities in …

A Cost Effective Approach To Taxonomic Resolution For Bioassessment And Monitoring Programs In The State Of Georgia, Jodi Alene Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The Georgia Ecoregions Reference Sites Project has developed biological criteria for streams in Georgia according to the Rapid Bioassessment Protocols For Wadeable Streams and Rivers. Streams will ultimately be classified into categories of impairment so that management decisions can be made in accordance with the Clean Water Act. A cost-effective approach to accomplish mandates set forth by the Clean Water Act must be employed, as state budgets are limited. One means of examining costs is to assess taxonomic resolution. Taxonomic resolution not only assesses the sensitivity of biocriteria, it also allows one to make recommendations to state agencies regarding the …

Platinum Group Element Mineralization In "Ballrooms" Of The J-M Reef Of The Stillwater Complex, Montana, Matthew P. Harper

Theses and Dissertations

The J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex, Montana (a large layered mafic intrusion), is one of the highest grade platinum group element (PGE) deposits known in the world, producing primarily palladium and platinum in a 3.4:1 ratio. "Ballrooms" of the Stillwater Complex are anomalously wide areas within or stratigraphically below the J-M Reef that host platinum group element mineralization. Ballrooms have two typical morphologies (type 1 and type 2); the first is an abrupt thickening of the mineralization that extends below the Reef Package and the second is a gentle widening of the Reef Package and associated reef mineralization to …

The Impact Of Urbanization On Macroinvertebrate Communities Of Creeks Within Western Georgia, Jeniffer Susan Lang

Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization is a major cause of stream impairment in the United States, altering stream ecological integrity in a variety of ways. While control of point source pollution has largely improved over the last twenty years, the control of non-point source pollution has proved to be more of a challenge. Urbanization in the area surrounding streams has been linked with elevated levels of sediment, heavy metals, organic matter, and nutrients within streams, as well as with other negative effects. Examining the macroinvertebrate communities within streams has proven to be an effective indicator of the effects of urbanization on water quality. This …

Terrestrial Movements And Habitat Use Of Gopher Frogs (Rana Capito) At Fort Benning, Georgia, Jonathan H. Neufeldt

Theses and Dissertations

Gopher frogs (Rana capito) were radio-tracked between the 2000 and 2001 breeding seasons to study their terrestrial movements and habitat use in a longleaf pine- sandhill area on the Fort Benning Military Reservation, Georgia. The telemetry research was conducted in response to the need for biological data concerning gopher frog terrestrial habits. Ultimately the data could aid biologists and land managers in describing critical habitat and the development of a management or recovery plan. Twelve gopher frogs were caught at a herpetofaunal array surrounding two neighboring breeding ponds during a post breeding migration, implanted with miniature transmitters, released and radio-tracked …

Modeling The Hydrogeochemistry Of Denitrification In The Elk Valley Aquifer, Paul A. Skubinna

Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate (NO₃¯) in groundwater has become an important tissue in the last few decades. It is known to cause methemoglobinemia, commonly known as “blue baby syndrome,” and is suspected of being a carcinogen. The most common sources for dissolved NO₃¯ in shallow groundwater include excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers, misuse of septic systems, improper disposal of domestic wastewater or sludge, and livestock waste.

Denitrification is the most effective sink for NO₃¯. The Elk Valley aquifer (EVA) of eastern North Dakota is known to support denitrification. The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of the geochemical processes …

Discontinuities In The Icebox Formation (Ordovician), Williston Basin, North Dakota And Montana, Aaron J. Ulishney

Theses and Dissertations

The Ordovician Winnipeg Group is composed of three formations; in ascending order, the Black Island Formation, the Icebox Formation, and the Roughlock Formation. The Icebox Formation is largely composed of shale. This work shows that discontinuities and coarser facies exist within the Icebox Formation and that they are traceable throughout the subsurface of North Dakota and eastern Montana. This work also illustrates possible sea-level changes during the deposition of the Icebox Formation along with probable source areas providing detrital sediments into the study area.

Gamma-ray wireline logs were used to distinguish the formations of the Winnipeg Group from each other, …

Design And Evaluation Of A Modified In Situ Mesocosm To Study Denitrification In The Karlsruhe Aquifer, Jason M. Warne

Theses and Dissertations

To simplify the in situ mesocosm (ISM) design given in Schlag (1999), a modified ISM was designed and built in which a 6-inch long sand point replaces three 16-inch diameter screens. The modified design also includes an optional submersible pump mounted on top of the ISM chamber, making it capable of applications at depths greater than those attainable using a peristaltic pump from the ground surface. Two ISMs, one the original design (0-ISM) and the other the modified design (M-ISM) with an optional submersible pump, were installed in the Karlsruhe aquifer, near Minot, ND, in late June, 2003. Tracer tests …

A Boundary Element Method For Thermo-Poroelasticity With Applications In Rock Mechanics, Qiang Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Coupled thermal and poromechanical processes play an important role in many geomechanics problems, such as borehole stability analysis and studies of initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures. Thermal effects, as well as hydraulic effects, can greatly change the stresses and pore pressure fields around an underground opening. This is due to the fact that thermal loading induces a volumetric deformation because of thermal expansion/contraction of both the pore fluid and the rock solid. Volumetric expansion can result in significant pressurization of the pore fluid. In order to take into account the influence of temperature gradients on pore pressure and stresses, …

Delineation Of Mass Movement Prone Areas By Landsat 7 And Digitial Image Processing, Shiloh Marie Howland

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of whether Landsat 7 data could be used to delineate areas prone to mass movement, particularly debris flows and landslides, was examined using three techniques: change detection in NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), change detection in band 5, and the tasseled cap transformation. These techniques were applied to areas that had recently experienced mass movement: Layton, Davis County and Alpine, Spanish Fork Canyon and Santaquin, Utah County. No distinctive spectral characteristics were found with any of these techniques with two possible explanations: 1. That despite improved spatial resolution in Landat 7 over its predecessors and improved digital image …

Effect Of Heavy Metals On Bacteria, Elena Vratonjic

Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metals have become devastating environmental contaminants due to their widespread use in the manufacture of electronics, plastics, batteries and dyes. The discharge of heavy metals into the environment has caused concern about their effects on the ecosystem. Many metals are essential for growth in small amounts. However, at higher concentrations heavy metals are toxic because they bind to organic compounds. This accounts for their effects on some important parts of the cell structure, like their ability to denature protein molecules. The initial objective of this study was to find out the growth rate of E.coli and M.roseus in the …

Characterization Of Environmentally Friendly Polymers: Amylopectin And Its Blends, Mohammad Osman Melibari

Theses and Dissertations

Biodegradable polymers are desirable for a variety of applications, such as in packaging, agriculture, and medicine. Its biological degradation by microorganisms accelerated the interest in biodegradable polymers during the last decades. Within this group of innovative environmentally friendly biodegradable polymers, starch or Amylpectin plays a predominant role, due to their potential biodegradability. This research was attempted to characterize Amylopectin to obtain its physio-chemical properties. In addition, characterizations were extended to include blends of Amylopectin and biodegradable diluents. Blends of Amylopectin with biodegradable diluents including Polycaprolactone, Poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide), and Poly(3- hydroxybutyric acid) were prepared. The physical properties and the thermodynamic characteristics of …

Effect Of Geochemical Processes And Environment On The Spatial Pattern Of Selenium In Soil, Surface Water, And Groundwater At The Hovland Ranch, Central South Dakota, Salah U. Sharif

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this paper is to test and review some of the published hypotheses as that may relate to selenium geochemistry in soil and water system at the Hovland Ranch, Haakon County, South Dakota. Representative samples were collected from soil, water, and soil moisture in the field. Preparation of samples and chemical analysis were done in the Water Quality Laboratory, Dept. of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of North Dakota and Human Nutrition Research Center Lab, USDA/ARS, Grand Forks, North Dakota. The analysis results were statistically analyzed to find correlation between the occurrence of selenium and other associated chemical …

Development Of A Regional Curve To Relate Discharge And Drainage Area To Hydraulic Geometry For The Red River Of The North Basin, Melanie H. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Restoration of riparian corridors and stream channels is important for many reasons, including preserving water quality, maintaining channel stability and controlling floods. Regional hydraulic geometry curves allow estimation of stable hydraulic geometry relationships that are necessary to engineer successful restoration projects. These curves can also be used to approximate discharge data for ungaged streams with lmown hydraulic geometry and drainage area. Hydraulic geometry data were collected in the field for twenty-five stream gage sites in the Red River of the North Basin. Recurrence intervals for bankfull ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 years, with an average recurrence interval of 1.4. Discharge …

Determining The Mobility Of Metals Through Coal Combustion Byproducts In Surface Impoundments By Analyzing Leachate From Modified Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Tests, Michael Joseph Trofinoff

Theses and Dissertations

Surface impoundments are used extensively throughout the utility industry to store the combustion byproducts, or ash, from coal-fired generating facilities. Following combustion, the metals, naturally contained within coal at low concentrations, may become highly concentrated within the ash. These combustion byproducts are then piped out in a water-ash slurry to the surface impoundments where the ash weathers to- a clay- like substance after approximately 10 years. It is feared that these metals that are contained within the ash could possibly leach into the ground and contaminate the local groundwater. Utilizing a open column percolation test to determine the hydraulic conductivity …

Availability Of Organochlorides And Accumulation In Populations Of Tadarida Brasiliensis (Free-Tailed Bat) And Eptesicus Fuscus (Big Brown Bat), Michelle Lee Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Organochlorides were historically effective in controlling a wide range of pests. However, organochlorides have proved to present many problems to the health and welfare of other organisms. Due to these problems, especially declines in wildlife populations, organochlorides were restricted in the 1970's and a majority of them were banned in the mid to late 1980's. The effects of organochlorides on bats such as Tadarida brasiliensis and Eptesicus fuscus have been intensively studied. The effects can range from problems with reproduction to mortality. My analysis of populations of T. brasiliensis and E. fuscus showed that organochlorides are still present in the …

Using The Index Of Biotic Integrity Of Fish Communities To Evaluate Habitat Quality In Middle Chattahoochee River Tributaries, Theodor W. Roever

Theses and Dissertations

An ichthyological survey was conducted within the lower Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain physiographic regions of the middle Chattahoochee River drainage basin between August 1998 and September 2000. Sampling was conducted by Columbus State University (CSU) under contract to Columbus Water Works for the purpose of obtaining biological measurements of watershed health. Objectives of the survey were the establishment of a data baseline of IBI scores for this ecoregion and to ascertain if there was a correlation between the IBI score and human influence. The thesis to be tested is: 'Fish community IBI scores of different watersheds within the Middle …

Land Usage Impacts On Springhead Salamander Populations, At Callaway Extended Properties, Harris County, Georgia, Neil Allen Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Recent scientific studies have indicated that anrphibian populations appear to be declining in many areas of the world or exhibiting local population fluctuations. Some of the reasons given for this population decline are associated with land usage, and the negative biological impacts of many forms of land management practices. A study was conducted at the Callaway Gardens Extended Properties in Pine Mountain Georgia which compared the local aquatic salamander populations of five spring -fed streams in the Cason J. Callaway Memorial Forest, and five spring-fed streams in the Lower Valley Area. Using a cat ch-per-unit -effort sampling methodology, a comparison …

Using Gis And Land Use Data To Select Candidate Reference Sites For Stream Bioassessment, John Robert Olson

Theses and Dissertations

GIS was used to select candidate reference sites in Georgia to characterize the reference condition by sub-ecoregion for a rapid bioassessment of streams statewide. Instead of relying on best professional judgment or previous knowledge of a limited number of sites, we performed an objective evaluation of cumulative impact on all catchments using land use data sets. These included road and impoundment data from DLGs and Multi-Resolution Land use Consortium data. Land use impairment was measured as percentages of forest, urban, pasture, row crops, and barren area for both the entire catchment and for 10, 40, and 130-m riparian buffers, road …

A High Resolution Gravity Survey Of The Lake St. Martin Impact Structure, Manitoba, Canada, Christina Davids

Theses and Dissertations

There are roughly 160 known impact craters listed in the Cratering Database (Earth Impact Database, 2002) of these approximately 20% are buried structures. Geophysical methods of investigation are used to study buried impact structures and add to the growing knowledge base of crater properties. Approximately three to five craters are discovered each year, some of which may be identified through gravity anomalies. A high-resolution gravity survey of the Lake St. Martin impact structure, southern Manitoba, Canada, was conducted to further interpret the structure's gravity anomaly. Previous studies have suggested two different crater diameters for Lake St. Martin, one of 23-km …

The Distribution Of Macroinvertebrates Along The Impounded Middle Chattahoochee River, Page Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This project was part of a series of investigations designed by the Columbus (Georgia) Water Works to evaluate composition of the macroinvertebrate fauna of the mainstem of the middle Chattahoochee River, as well as its tributaries. An additional objective of the survey was to characterize impacts of storm events on urban streams and the mainstem of the Chattahoochee River. This portion of the study was designed to assess composition of benthic communites of an urbanized river in which flow regime is altered by a series of impoundments. Nine dams currently regulate flow of the mainstem of the middle reach of …

Impact Of A Historical Translocation On Populations Of White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus Virginianus, Nathan Kendall Boddie

Theses and Dissertations

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to study the impact of a historical translocation event on populations of white-tailed deer in Georgia. The technique may also serve as a model by which management practices for other rare species can be studied. Populations from an original translocation source in Wisconsin, another Wisconsin population, and three populations in Georgia were sampled during management hunts. RAPD PCR was used to produce a genetic fingerprint for individuals of each population. Resulting band data were analyzed using PHYLIP genetic analysis software. A consensus tree of 100 bootstrapped replicates showed significant similarity between Georgia …

Contributions From Mafic Alkaline Magmas To The Bingham Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit, Utah, U.S.A., Daniel T. Maughan

Theses and Dissertations

The Bingham porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Utah, may only be world-class because of substantial contributions of sulfur and metals from mafic alkaline magma to an otherwise unremarkable calc-alkaline system. Volcanic mafic alkaline rocks in the district are enriched in Cr, Ni, and Ba as well as ore-related constituents of Cu, Au, platinum group elements (PGE) and S. The bulk of the volcanic section that is comagmatic with ore-related porphyries is dacitic to trachytic in composition, but has inherited the geochemical signature of high Cr, Ni, and Ba from magma mixing with the mafic alkaline rocks. The volcanic section that most closely …

Efficiency Of The Inorganic Fertilization In The Cultivation Of Alfalfa (Medicated Sativa L) And Whitewashing For The Correction Of The Ph Of The Soil, Alex Gonzalo Bravo Morocho

Theses and Dissertations

In our country the necessity to offer new alternatives for the agricultural sector is high-priority especially for the lucern cultivation that every day is surface cultivated especially in the Chimborazo province increases; for what is of our interest to establish the answer from the cultivation to the inorganic fertilization and liming for the flora pH correction, for this way to obtain better yields and for consequence to improve the economic conditions of the farmers. With the result that the titled investigation: Efficiency of the Inorganic Fertilization in the Alfalfa Cultivation (Medicago sativa L) and Liming for the Correction of the …

Laboratory Denitrification Using Sediments From The Elk Valley Aquifer, Alison E. Kammer

Theses and Dissertations

An experiment was conducted to determine if a decrease in the content of sulfides related to denitrification could be measured in the laboratory using sediments of the Elk Valley Aquifer in eastern North Dakota. The experiment entailed analyzing sediments for sulfides and solid organic carbon and isolating them in sample containers with a nitrate solution to determine if a measurable decrease in these components could be observed.

Previous denitrification studies in the Elk Valley Aquifer showed an increase in sulfate in conjunction with a decrease in the concentration of nitrate. Sulfate is a by product of autotrophic denitrification where sulfide …

Lithospheric Flexure Of The Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota, Erica M. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Devils Lake is the largest lake in a chain of approximately 20 interconnected lakes in east central North Dakota. The Devils Lake drainage basin of approximately 8,600 km2, lies in a bowl sculpted by glaciation; thus it is closed and receives and loses water only through precipitation and evapotranspiration. Since 1940, the lake level has risen 14.4 m due to increased precipitation. Geological data show that in the past 10,000 years the lake has alternately dried up and filled due to climate fluctuations (Murphy et al., 1997). During this time it has reached its spill elevation of 444. 7 m …

Flow Through Well Screens As A Function Of Pump Intake Location, Kristjan F. Bekker

Theses and Dissertations

Greater well efficiency and lower production costs may result from a knowledge of water flow through well screens. Current practice generally locates the intake of a pump in the cased section of the well above the screen. This work shows that placing the pump within the screen will increase well efficiency and therefore lower energy cost. This work also shows a correlation of increased well efficiency with respect to larger sand size, larger screen slot size, and lower flow rates.

A semicircular model based on the radial symmetry of a well and screen was used to simulate water flow from …

Testing Of The New Usgs K Index Algorithm At Bear Lake Observatory, Ariel O. Acebal

Theses and Dissertations

The K index was developed by Bartels in 1939 as an estimate of the level of geomagnetic activity caused by the Sun. This index was computed manually every three hours at geomagnetic observatories using the magnetic traces of the surface planetary magnetic field. In 1991, the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy approved four additional methods to compute the K index; all of them were computer algorithms. One of the approved methods, the Wilson code, recently underwent some modifications. The new algorithm is now part of a Windows-based computer program being developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). After …