Earth Sciences Commons^™

The Magmatic History Of An Aubrite Parent Asteroid: Evidence From Igneous Clasts And Trace Elements, Maya Monica Wheelock

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Norton County aubrite contains numerous igneous-textured clasts that survived severe brecciation. These clasts were studied in order to obtain information about the suite of original igneous lithologies that crystallized on an aubrite parent body. The majority of igneous clasts are pyroxenites (enstatite, with minor diopside, +/- forsterite) and orthopyroxenites (enstatite, +/- forsterite). Phase relations and textural evidence are consistent with formation from a nearly pure enstatite magma body or magma ocean, at (or near) the surface of the parent body.

A new sulfide-dominated lithology was identified in Norton County. The sulfide portion is dominated by coarse-grained oldhamite (CaS) containing rounded …

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …

Kings Park Soil Survey, J A. Bessell-Browne

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Geology Newsletter- 1990, Department Of Geology

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol.1, No. 15

• Institute for Water Sciences
• Ground-Water Education in Michigan
• Core Research Lab
• Awards and Scholarships
• Geology/ Earth Science Club
• Faculty News
• News from the Service Staff
• 1990 Speakers Program
• Geology Development and Scholarship Donations
• Alumni/ Friends/ Former Faculty Notes
• Donations

Groundwater Levels In Nebraska, 1989, Michael J. Ellis, Gregory V. Steele, Perry B. Wigley

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

A Report On Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs In Nebraska, Their Biology, Behavior, Ecology, Management, And Responses To A Visual Barrier Fence, Nancy S. Foster

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I examined the effects of a visual barrier fence, which had a see-through visibility of 600/0, on the foraging, vigilance, and aggressive behaviors of adult female black-tailed prairie dogs from June through August 1990 in central Nebraska. I also examined changes in their home ranges and use of an area in response to this fence. Prairie dogs prefer an open view of their surroundings. Therefore, I expected animals near a visual barrier to spend more time in vigilance and aggression, and less time foraging. Adult female prairie dogs exposed to the visual barrier devoted more time to foraging and less …

Horticultural Capability Study Of Soils Adjacent To Plantations At Carnarvon, Western Australia, M R. Wells, J A. Bessell-Browne

Resource management technical reports

A detailed soil survey and horticultural capability assessment was undertaken over 1,804 ha of land adjacent to existing plantations on levees of the Gascoyne River near Carnarvon. The study provides mapped land resource data and advice in relation to land management and the possibility of further land release for horticulture. In the assessment of horticultural capability primary consideration has been given to the risk of erosion during flood events, to salinity, and to soil drainage conditions.

Cambrian-Early Ordovician Sequence Stratigraphy And Mount Simon Sandstone Petrology-Michigan Basin, Jeffrey T. Cottingham

Masters Theses

Michigan subsurface correlation is complicated in the Cambrian-Early Ordovician section due to limited availability of rock data. Core and cuttings examination demonstrate that similar stratigraphic sequences exist between the Michigan Basin and surrounding regions. Lithofacies in Wisconsin outcrop are similar to their basinal counterparts, and are correlated on the basis of sediment types, sedimentary structures, and the sequence stratigraphic concept.

The Mount Simon Sandstone in Michigan correlates with that observed in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Isopach data throughout the Midwest indicate a single depocenter in Northeastern Illinois. Sedimentary structures and lithology indicate a subtidal environment that may be a progradational …

Reservoir Geology Of The Dundee Limestone, West Branch Field, Michigan, Brendan Ciaran Curran

Masters Theses

West Branch field is a low-relief, NW-SE-trending anticline near the center o f the Michigan basin. Since 1934, the Dundee Limestone (Middle Devonian) has produced over 12 million barrels of oil from this field. From core studies, six depositional facies types were recognized in the Dundee. These are dominated by bioclastic carbonate sand facies deposited in normal-marine shelf settings. Although burial cements have occluded some porosity, carbonate sand facies have retained significant primary interparticle porosity and are the most important reservoir rocks. Micritic facies with restricted faunal assemblages are present at the top of the Dundee. The top 10 to …

A Hydrogeological And Hydrogeochemical Investigation Of Groundwater At A Landfill For Sludge From The Kalamazoo Wastewater Treatment Plant, Richard Howard Christensen

Masters Theses

Major cations and anions were analyzed to determine groundwater chemistry at a site used for the disposal of municipal sludge in the late 1960s and contaminated Portage Creek sedimem dredged in the late 1970s. The disposal site consists of five unlined basins constructed over 50 to 100 feet of stratified sand and gravel outwash underlain by silt and clay. Groundwater in the outwash is unconfined and flows from east to west. A groundwater divide in the center of the site produces local divergent flow to the northwest and southwest. Measurements of chemical constituents indicate that three factors influence groundwater chemistry …

Spatial And Temporal Variations Of Synthetic Organic Compounds In The Contaminant Plume Emanating From The Kl Landfill, Lynn Diane Broede

Masters Theses

Thirty-one synthetic organic compounds have been detected in samples collected from the KL Landfill contaminant plume from March, 1980 to March, 1986. Two groups of organic compounds have been delineated based on their occurrence, concentrations, and persistence throughout the 7-year monitoring period.

Changes in plume geometry and concentration have been studied relative to time, and concentration variations have been related to selected inorganic plume parameters, distance from the landfill, and precipitation. The spatial and temporal distribution of the organic compounds are attributed to biodegradation, three biotransformation sequences, physical properties of the organics and other factors. Three abbreviated anaerobic biotransformation sequences …

Hydrogeology And Hydrogeochemistry Of The Shallow Alluvial Aquifer Zone, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Harry Stephen Wild Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, the shallow alluvial aquifer zone is a possible source of contamination to the principal alluvial aquifers that provide 30% of the public drinking water supply for the valley. Development of the principal aquifers has lowered pressure head in the principal aquifers and created the potential for downward seepage from the shallow aquifer zone. This study was undertaken to characterize the hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of the shallow alluvial aquifer zone and to compare the hydrogeochemistry of the shallow and principal alluvial aquifer zones.

A 37 well shallow ground water monitoring network was established and water-level, water-quality, …

Geochemistry Of Metal Segregation In Aubrites, And The Origin Of Their Metallic Phases, Ignacio Casanova

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

In this work, I have carried out a petrographic and geochemical study of the metallic particles present in aubrites with the aim of constraining ideas about their origin and evolution. The extremely low oxygen fugacities under which enstatite meteorites formed (e.g. Larimer and Buseck, 1974; Fogel et al., 1989) and their consequent unique composition make interpretations difficult due to the lack of experimental data on highly reducing systems. I have tried to overcome the paucity of experimental data by using a theoretical thermodynamic approach to study the significance of such unique compositions based on three main themes: (1) the …

Compositional Diversity Of Late Cenozoic Basalts In A Transect Across The Southern Washington Cascades: Implications For Subduction Zone Magmatism, W. P. Leeman, Diane R. Smith, W. Hildreth, Z. Palacz, N. Rogers

Earth and Environmental Geosciences Faculty Research

Major volcanoes of the Southern Washington Cascades (SWC) include the large Quaternary stratovolcanoes of Mount St. Helens (MSH) and Mount Adams (MA) and the Indian Heaven (IH) and Simcoe Mountain (SIM) volcanic fields. There are significant differences among these volcanic centers in terms of their composition and evolutionary history. The stratovolcanoes consist largely of andesitic to dacitic lavas and pyroclastics with minor basalt flows. IH consists dominantly of basaltic with minor andesite lavas, all erupted from monogenetic rift and cinder cone vents. SIM has a poorly exposed andesite to rhyolite core but mainly consists of basaltic lavas erupted from numerous …

Implications Of Thermal Events On Thrust Emplacement Sequence In The Appalachian Fold And Thrust Belt: Some New Vitrinite Reflectance Data, Sharon E. Lewis, James C. Hower

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

Interpretation of existing geothermometry data combined with new vitrinite reflectance data, within the framework of a detailed composite tectonic setting, elucidates the evolution of structural sequencing of thrust sheets during the Alleghanian event in the Valley and Ridge Province in Virginia. That the Pulaski thrust sheet preceded the Saltville thrust sheet in the emplacement sequence, and that both reached thermal maxima prior to, or during, respective emplacement may be inferred from vitrinite and other geothermometry data. In contrast, the Narrows and St. Clair thrust sheets probably each attained their thermal maximum after emplacement. New vitrinite reflectance data are consistent with …

Cinder Cone Clustering In The Transmexican Volcanic Belt: Implications For Structural And Petrologic Models, Charles B. Connor

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Cinder cone distributions have most often been characterized using univariate statistics. Here a new technique to volcano distribution studies, cluster analysis, is applied to cinder cone distribution in the central TransMexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). A total of 1016 cinder cones are identified over an area of approximately 60,000 km2. Application of cluster analysis reveals structure in cinder cone distribution. Using a search radius parameter of 16 km, 75% of the cinder cones within the central TMVB are found within eight clusters of 45–159 cones each. These clusters are each 2000 to 5000 km2 in area. Only 22 cones are found …

Hydrology Of A Large, Closed Arid Watershed As A Basis For Paleohydrological And Paleoclimatological Studies In The Mojave River Drainage System, Southern California, Yehouda Enzel

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

A physical link between anomalous, present-day atmospheric circulation patterns over the North Pa1cific Ocean, extreme storms in southern California, the largest floods of record and lake stands in the Mojave River watershed in the Mojave Desert is demonstrated by analyzing hydrologic and climatic data. This link is then used as a modem analog to interpret hydroclimatic conditions during the latest Quaternary recorded in lake deposits in the Silver Lake playa, the terminal basin of the of the Mojave River.

The Mojave River filters out small to medium floods by discharge loss through infiltration into the alluvial aquifer and allows only …

Ua77/1 Alumni, Wku Alumni Relations

WKU Administration Documents

WKU's alumni magazine. Contents:

• Dancing on Walls - Governor's Scholars Program
• An Anniversary Gift - Preston Health & Activities Center
• 1990 Alumni Annual Student Phonathon
• A Sturdy Individualist - Virginia Woods
• Turn Your Radio On - WKYU-FM
• Competitive Edge - Miss Kentucky, Miss Western
• Excitement! - 1990 Homecoming
• Mammoth Cave is a Cool Spot in a Hot Summer

Earth News, Fall 1990, Department Of Earth Science, University Of Northern Iowa.

Earth News

Inside this issue:

--- Year in Review
--- Faculty News
--- Department of Earth Science Seminar Series Spring/Fall 1990
--- UNI Astronomy Programs Continue to Serve the Public
--- UNI Student Accepted as LPI Intern
--- Earth Science Update
--- Department of Earth Science Recognition Dinner April 29, 1990
--- Latham Hall Scrapbook
--- News from Alumni
--- Seasons Greetings from the Department of Earth Science

Oil And Gas Developments In North Mid-Continent In 1989., Shirley E. Paul, Bruce W. Netzler, Raymond R. Burchett, Paul H. Roberts, Robert Peters, Donivan L. Gordon, John H. Mossler

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Hydrogeology And Water Budget Analysis Of Two Interdunal Ponds Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, Dare County, North Carolina, Richard A. Hisert

OES Theses and Dissertations

Ground-water-fed interdunal ponds in Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve lose as much as 7600 m³ yr^-1 of water through evaporation. This withdrawal of groundwater is sufficient to significantly alter flow patterns through the surficial aquifer on Bodie Island, N.C. Statistical analyses of evaporation estimates derived by various methods indicate a weak correlation, (r²=0.4-0.5) between pan evaporation data from Aurora, N.C. and pond evaporation at Nags Head Woods calculated by water budget analyses.

Results of stratigraphic and pedologic analyses in and around the ponds indicate that the ponds formed after development of multiple generations of dunes. This …

Trace Metals And Pyrite In Sediments Of Chesapeake Bay, Robert S. Kluckhohn

OES Theses and Dissertations

The formation and cycling of iron sulfides within anoxic sediments can affect the cycling of trace metals. The sediments at station CB-27 (near Annapolis, Maryland) in Chesapeake Bay were rich in FeS (39% of TS), low in greigite (3.6% of TS), and has a relatively constant pyrite concentration (50 - 60% of TS) with depth. The percent composition of total metals in pyrite were 25.7% cu, 11.8% Zn, 15.8% Fe, and non-detectable to 2.1% Cd. At Station CB- 28 (near the Choptank River), the sediments were low in FeS (1.7% of TS), richer in greigite (up to 14% of TS), …

Alternative Usages Of Wetlands Other Than Conventional Farming In Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, And Nebraska, Ellen Leventhal, Hubert H. Humphrey

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Conversion of wetlands in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska into agricultural dry lands in the past several decades has occurred as a means to obtain profit from what landowners would otherwise consider unprofitable land. This activity has resulted in substantial losses of wetlands valued for their unique ability to mitigate flood and storm damage, control erosion, discharge and recharge groundwater, improve water quality, and support a wide diversity of fish, wildlife, and vegetation.

Utilizing fish, wildlife, and vegetation from wetlands for profit is a way for wetland owners to recognize the value their wetlands add to their property. Landowners then …

Recent Secular Variations In The Extent Of Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover, David A. Robinson, Kenneth F. Dewey

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Northern hemisphere snow cover during 1988 and 1989 was at its lowest extent since the advent of reliable satellite snow-cover monitoring 1972; running some 8-10% below the eighteen-year annual mean of 25.7 million km² . Monthly minima for the period of record occurred six times during these two years. In general, the last nine years of the satellite record had less extensive cover than the 1972-80 interval. Negative anomalies during the 1980s were largest over Eurasia in all seasons, and in the Spring over North America. Hemispheric seasonal means for the most recent nine years were 3.7% to 8.4% …

Postulated Evolution Of Platte River And Related Drainages, V. L. Souders, J. B. Swinehart, V. H. Dreeszen

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Vertebrate Paleontology Of The Koum Basin, Northern Cameroon, And Archosaurian Paleobiogeography In The Early Cretaceous, John Deforest Congleton Jr.

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The Koum basin is located in West Africa and is a half­graben filled with Cretaceous and younger sediments. It formed in response to tectonic stresses that preceded the development of the Benue trough and the final connection of the North and South Atlantic Oceans. The Cretaceous sediments, up to 3000 meters thick, represent lacustrine, fluvial, and alluvial fan deposits, and suggest an axially­drained half-graben sedimentation model.

Archosaur fossils recovered from the eastern Koum basin include the teeth of two terrestrial crocodylians (cf. Araripesuchus wegeneri and cf. Sebecosuchia) teeth of sauropod and two kinds of theropod dinosaurs (cf. Spinosauridae and Theropoda …

Hydrology And Sedimentology Of Dynamic Rill Networks Volume I: Erosion Model For Dynamic Rill Networks, Daniel E. Storm, Billy J. Barfield, Lindell E. Ormsbee

KWRRI Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Metal Speciation And Immobilization Reactions Affecting The True Efficiency Of Artificial Wetlands To Treat Acid Mine Drainage, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Y. L. Thompson

KWRRI Research Reports

The ability of constructed wetlands to lower total metal concentrations and organically complex metals in acid mine drainage (AMD) was investigated under greenhouse and field conditions. In the greenhouse study, Typha plants grown in six different substrates received simulated acid mine drainage of low metal load for five months. Most effluents, especially those from ground flows, showed significant decreases in acidity and metal concentrations. The pine needle and hay substrates most effectively reduced acidity and total Al levels. Effluents from these substrates contained 80% less total Al than respective influents. Organically complexed Al levels were independent of matrix and varied …

Toward Better Minimum Tillage For South-Coastal Sandplain Soils, W L. Crabtree

Resource management technical reports

Seventeen farmers compared their conventional cropping practices with some form of minimum tillage cropping. The minimum tilled crops yielded 21 percent less grain than the conventionally sown crops. The reasons for these decreased yields were in most cases related to inexperienced management. The minimum tilled treatments usually had very poor weed kill strategies which often resulted in large weeds at sowing, very cloddy seed-beds, and numerous insects in the young crops.

Eolian Sand Deposits In Maine, Joshua Katz

Maine Collection

Eolian Sand Deposits in Maine

by Joshua Katz - Timson, Schepps & Peters, Inc., Hallowell, Maine

Planning Report No.91, August 1990.

"A report prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Program, State Planning Office."

Contents: List of Figures / List of Maps and Tables / Acknowledgements / Introduction / Inland Eolian Sand Deposits / Research Methods / Rating Methods / Significant Criteria / Summary of Results / Significant Eolian Deposits in Maine / Site Descriptions / Recommendations / Glossary / References Cited