Earth Sciences Commons^™

Native Vegetation On Farms Survey 1996 : A Survey Of Farmers Attitudes To Native Vegetation And Landcare In The Wheatbelt Of Western Australia, Suzanne Jenkins

Resource management technical reports

The Native Vegetation on Farms survey 1996 was performed to assess the attitudes of farmers to a number of issues related to existing native vegetation on farmland, the replanting of vegetation on farms and land degradation. Research has shown that it is important for a proportion of all farmland to have some native vegetation for ecological stability, to regulate hydrological processes and for long-term sustainability of farm production.

Channel Narrowing Of The Green River Near Green River, Utah: History, Rates, And Processes Of Narrowing, Tyler M. Allread

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous scientific research has documented channel narrowing on the Green River near Green River, Utah, but the exact timing, rates, and causal mechanisms of that narrowing have been the source of disagreement in the scientific literature. This thesis demonstrates that the Green River has narrowed in two separate periods during the last 100 years. The narrowing is driven primarily by changes in the hydrologic regime and not by the invasion of saltcedar. The channel narrowed between 1930 and 1938, when a shift from wetter than normal conditions to a period of draught led to a reduction in river discharge. Channel …

Modelling Vegetation Cover Types Using Multiseasonal Remotely Sensed Data To Compare Ecotones At Multiple Spatial And Spectral Resolutions, Kimberly Patraw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Army National Guard Bureau has implemented a cooperative project with Utah State University to help with the use, display, and evaluation of environmental data for maintaining land condition. Camp Grayling, Michigan, is comprised of deciduous and evergreen forest types. Use of remote sensing for classification has been limited in this region due to the difficulty of species-level classification using single-date remote-sensing techniques. Also, remote sensing has traditionally focused on mapping homogenous zones rather than vegetation boundaries, while one of the concerns for land managers is the nature of vegetation edges (ecotones).

This study analyzed each season and band from …

A Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer: Ammonium-Loaded Clinoptilolite, T. Scott Perrin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crops grown in sandy soils require frequent irrigation. As a result, nitrogen (N) fertilizers. such as ammonium sulfate((NH₄)₂SO₄), are leached from the rooting zone of crops. This loss of N increases N fertilizer use and the potential for nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination of water. Ammonium-loaded clinoptilolite (NH₄⁺-Cp) may reduce this N leaching, increase N fertilizer use-efficiency, and prevent NO₃- contamination of water while sustaining normal crop growth.

The potential of NH₄⁺-Cp as a N fertilizer was assessed in three leaching experiments without plants and …

Average Steady Nonuniform Flow In Stratified Formations, Peter Indelman, Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A mathematical model of average nonuniform flow in heterogeneous stratified media is developed. The averaged Darcy's law is obtained by deriving the analytical expression of the effective conductivity tensor for media with small heterogeneities. The fundamental solution of the average flow equation (mean Green function) corresponding to the flow toward a single point source of deterministic discharge is derived. The mean head distribution is calculated for a fully penetrating well, for a finite length well in an infinite domain, and for a dipole well. The concept of equivalent conductivity is defined for use in identifying the formation conductivity properties. The …

Identification Of Belowground Woody Structures Using Molecular Biomarkers, Benny R. Bobowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Within the last two decades substantial progress has been made in understanding seed bank dynamics and the contribution of the soil seed bank to a post-disturbance plant community. There has been relatively little progress, however, in understanding perennial bud bank dynamics and the contribution of the soil bud bank to secondary succession. This lack of information is due primarily to the inability to reliably identify roots, rhizomes, and lignotubers that lie dormant beneath the soil surface. This scientific investigation, therefore, addressed the issue of identification of belowground woody structures.

The first objective was to develop a methodology that utilizes molecular …

Distribution Of Heavy Metals And Trace Elements In Soils Of Southwest Oregon, Rafiqul Alam Khandoker

Dissertations and Theses

Soil samples from 118 sites on 71 geologic units in southwest Oregon were collected and analyzed to determine the background concentrations of metals in soils of the region. Sites were chosen in areas that were relatively undisturbed by human activities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved total-recoverable method was used to recover metals from samples for analysis. The twenty six metals analyzed were: Ag, AI, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Tl, V and Zn.

The Klamath Mountains followed by the Coast Range contain the …

Hydrologic Budget Analysis And Numerical Simulations Of Groundwater Flow In Los Alamos Canyon Near Los Alamos, New Mexico, Robert Norman Gray

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

A hydrologic budget analysis for the Los Alamos Canyon watershed was prepared including annual budgets for the 1993, 1994, and 1995 water years and detailed budget calculations for the upper basin and middle/upper canyon areas covering nine separate stress periods from 7/10/94 to 11/2/95 corresponding to varying alluvial aquifer behaviors. Data sources included daily measurements of precipitation and snowpack depths, streamflow discharge, and latent heat energy flux from which evapotranspiration rates were determined. Average annual precipitation rates over the watershed varied from ~23 to ~31 inches during the analyzed periods. The annual evapotranspiration component was determined to represent between ~ …

The Terraces Of Cochiti Canyon: Soil Development And Relation To Tectonism In The Pajarito Fault Zone, Scott Benjamin Aby

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The history of motion on splays of the Pajarito Fault Zone in the area of Cochiti Canyon in the Jemez Mountains is examined using morphometric techniques and investigations of river terrace soils and deformation. Hypsometry, sinuosity and long-profile analysis all suggest that the main splay of the Pajarito Fault has been active in the late Pleistocene and possibly Holocene, but no calibration is available that numerically constrains this activity. Terraces were mapped and correlated based on soil development and landscape position, Correlation revealed the presence of three strath terraces between 87 and 18 .5 meters above present grade and one …

Evaluation Of Deep, Open Drains In The North Stirling Area, R Ferdowsian, A T. Ryder, J Kelly

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Thermal Characterization Of Ground And Surface Waters At The Upjohn Company's Portage Road Manufacturing Facility, William K. Hunsberger

Masters Theses

This study focused on thermal characteristics of the ground water and recharged surface water at The Upjohn Company's (now Pharmacia and Upjohn) Portage Road manufacturing facility. Major objectives were: (a) a compilation and graphical evaluation of historical lower aquifer ground water temperatures; (b) estimates of thermal energy introduced into the ground water system through recharge from Upjohn Pond, and predictions of future production well discharge temperatures; (c) an evaluation of hydraulic conductivity related to changes in water density and viscosity influenced by variable temperature; and (d) the stratigraphy beneath Upjohn Pond.

Records reveal increasing ground water temperatures through time in …

Reconstruction Of Wetland Hydrology Dynamics Using Tree Rings, Allan P. Hascall Iii

Dissertations

Increment core samples were collected and examined to test the hypothesis that the history of punctuated or intermediate-term changes in wetland soil-moisture conditions can be reconstructed from the annual growth-ring record of trees. The hypothesis is based on plant physiological principles that indicate a relationship between water surplus stress and impaired physiological activity that could lead to reduced growth.

Sampling sites were selected for their ostensible historic hydrologic variability and the availability of documentation of hydrologic disturbances. A conceptual model was developed by which trees were sampled along a hydrotopographic gradient for comparison of radial stem growth in uplands versus …

Potential Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs In Latvia, Santis Limezs

Masters Theses

The Baltic state of Latvia, produces no natural gas; all natural gas consumed is imported. In order to address future gas needs in Latvia, this study was undertaken to provide geological background and select sites with the best gas storage potential and reduce costs of more detailed field analyses in the next phase of gas storage development. Russia is the sole natural gas supplier and delivers the gas to Latvia via transmission pipelines. The Inchukalns underground gas storage field is the only underground gas storage field in the Baltic states. Although this structure accommodates current needs, projections show additional storage …

Well Screen Characteristics Which Constrain Hydraulic Conductivity Calculated From Slug Tests, Christopher G. Amore

Masters Theses

With the growing concern over ground water protection and waste water management, interest in the use of slug tests to characterize hydraulic properties of aquifers has increased. While slug tests offer an inexpensive alternative to pump tests, problems arise with collection of the tests and the interpretation of the results. Field tests and mathematical studies show that both positive and negative biases of formation properties have been obtained. The resulting errors can be traced to improper analytical techniques, incorrect assumptions of well configuration and aquifer properties, poor well installation and data gathering. Most of these problems can be corrected by …

Biostratigraphic Analysis Of Southern Florida's Plio-Pleistocene Shell Beds, Dalton L. Rasmussen

OES Theses and Dissertations

Four molluscan assemblage zones in southern Florida corresponding to the Pinecrest Sand Member of the Tamiami Formation, and the Caloosahatchee, Bermont and Fort Thompson shell beds were identified following quantitative and qualitative analyses of the fossil molluscan fauna. Twenty-eight bulk sediment samples collected from 16 localities across southern Florida were processed for fossil material, and yielded nearly 60,000 specimens belonging to 311 species. A Q-mode cluster analysis compared sediment samples on the basis of 188 species whose abundances had been converted to binary presence-absence form. The cluster analysis was run four times using the Jaccard and Dice similarity coefficients as …

Rates, Timing, And Cyclicity Of Holocene Eolian Activity In North-Central United States: Evidence From Varved Lake Sediments, Walter E. Dean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Most of the sediment components that accumulated in Elk Lake, northwestern Minnesota, during the Holocene are autochthonous or biogenic, delivered to the sediment-water interface on a seasonal schedule, preserved in distinct annual laminae (varves). The main allochthonous component is detrital clastic material, as measured by bulk-sediment concentrations of aluminum, sodium, potassium, titanium, and quartz, that enters the lake mostly as eolian dust. The eolian clastic influx to Elk Lake was considerably greater during the mid-Holocene (8–4 ka) than it has been for the past 4000 yr, when periods of increased eolian activity correspond to the time of the Little Ice …

Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 1996, Wayne E. Sabbe

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Ice Transport In The Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Using Detrital Fe Oxide Grain Composition, Duan Li

OES Theses and Dissertations

Nine Fe oxide mineral types (45pm-250pm) separated from 54 glacial and glaciomarine sediment samples from the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) of Canada were analyzed for 12 elements by electron microprobe to determine the dispersal patterns of ice rafted debris in this area. Both cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis (DFA) on the chemical compositions were used to match each detrital Fe oxide grain to a source The entire QEI area can be subdivided into eight unique areas based on the elemental composition of the Fe oxide minerals. These subdivisions are similar to the source areas based on the assemblage of …

Elevation As A Control Of Boulder Stream Formation In The Blue Ridge Province Of Virginia, Marc D. Zamkotowicz

OES Theses and Dissertations

Within four study areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, boulder streams formed by periglacial processes carpet the bottoms of most high-altitude first-order valleys. The geomorphic indicators of periglacial formation in these long, linear accumulations of bouldery colluvium - the presence of vertical clasts, gradational upper contacts with talus deposits, confinement within valleys, and hump-like cross sectional profiles - were present in all areas mapped and in most individual boulder streams. The minimum critical elevation for boulder stream formation increases from north to south across Virginia, from 150 m in elevation in northern Virginia to 1500 m in southwestern …

The Effects Of Organic Matter Rich Topsoil On The Germination Growth And Metal Uptake Of Corn (Zea Mays) Grown In Flue Dust Contaminated Soil, Christopher Allen Impellitteri

OES Theses and Dissertations

The large biomass of corn (Zea mays) and promising results from a previous experiment (Chlopecka and Adriano, 1995) concerning metal uptake by corn indicate that corn may be a good candidate for phytoremediation of trace metal contaminated soil. Appling soil (acid, thermic, typic paleudult) was treated with increasing levels of a metal rich flue dust based on Zn concentration (0, 150, 300, 600, 1200, and 2400 mg/kg). Four replicates at each Zn treatment level were either limed to pH 6.3-6.5 and covered with a two inch thick layer of organic matter rich topsoil (OM), unlimed and covered with …

40Ar/39 Ar Geochronology Of The Lowland Creek Volcanic Field And Its Temporal Relations With Other Eocene Volcanic Areas, Vladimir Olegovich Ispolatov

OES Theses and Dissertations

Exposures of the Eocene Lowland Creek Volcanics (LCV) cover an area of 2000 km² in southwestern Montana, and consist of basal elastic deposits, felsic tuffs, and felsic and intermediate lavas with an aggregate thickness of about 2 km. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates show that volcanic activity lasted for at least 4.2 million years (52.7- 48.5 Ma), or even longer (4.5-4.7 million years: from 53.0-53.2 Ma to 48.5 Ma). During evolution of the volcanic field, early explosive volcanism was gradually replaced by extrusive activity. During the transition period (52.7-51.5 Ma), the two volcanic styles coexisted.

The evolution of …

Middle Shoreface Intervals: Evidence Of Barred Nearshore Systems In He Stratigraphic Record, James V. Gravette

OES Theses and Dissertations

An interpretation for middle shoreface (MSF) intervals was developed by comparing MSF intervals from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Blackhawk Formation, east-central Utah, with conceptual models proposed for modern nearshore areas. Specifically, MSF intervals identified within the Sunnyside Member were compared with MSF intervals identified within the Spring Canyon (Kamola and Van Wagoner, 1995) and the Aberdeen (Kamola, unpublished data) members.

A comparison of MSF interval data revealed that MSF intervals occur stratigraphically between upper and lower shore face deposits, disrupting the standard vertical succession for nearshore marine deposits (consisting of offshore, lower shore face, upper shore face, and foreshore deposits). …

A Soil-Canopy-Atmosphere Model For Use In Satellite Microwave Remote Sensing, Venkataraman Lakshmi, Eric F. Wood, Bhaskar J. Choudhury

Faculty Publications

Regional and global scale studies of land-surface-atmosphere interactions require the use of observations for calibration and validation. In situ field observations are not representative of the distributed nature of land surface characteristics, and large-scale field experiments are expensive undertakings. In light of these requirements and shortcomings, satellite observations serve our purposes adequately. The use of satellite data in land surface modeling requires developing a hydrological model with a thin upper layer to be compatible with the nature of the satellite observations and that would evaluate the soil moisture and soil temperature of a thin layer close to the surface. This …

The Geodetic Signature Of The M8.0 Oct. 9, 1995, Jalisco Subduction Earthquake, Timothy I. Melbourne, I. Carmichael, C. Demets, K. Hudnut, O. Sanchez, J. Stock, G. Suarez, F. Webb

Faculty Scholarship for the Cascadia Hazards Institute

The October, 1995 Mw 8.0 Jalisco subduction earthquake has provided a thorough geodetic observation of the coseismic subduction process. An 11 station regional GPS network located directly onshore of the rupture demonstrates consistent vertical subsidence verified by tide gauge data and southwest-directed extension, with measured displacements reaching 1 meter. Unusually shallow and non-uniform faulting is required to explain the displacements. We determine that up to 5 meters of slip occurred within the upper 15 km of the thrust fault zone and 2 meters possibly as shallow as 8 km, and that slip was likely distributed in two main patches. The …

Kilauea Volcano Provides Hot Seismic Data For Joint Japanese-U.S. Experiment, Stephen R. Mcnutt, Y. Ida, B. A. Chouet, P. Okubo, J. Oikawa, G. Saccorotti

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

A team of 25 researchers from the United States, Japan, and Italy joined the staff of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) from January 8 through February 9, 1996, to make the most detailed seismic recordings on Kilauea Volcano ever. One-hundred-sixteen portable seismographs were installed in and near Kilauea Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as a joint Japanese-U.S. research project to record volcanic earthquakes and tremor. The importance of these events has long been recognized, but their origin remains poorly understood due to inadequate network coverage and limitations of the analog instrumentation used in the past.

On February 1, a …

Salinity And Hydrology Of The Wamballup Swamp Catchment, R Ferdowsian, A T. Ryder

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Investigations On The Effect Of Grazing Intensity On The Transfer Of Radionuclides To Cow's Milk, G. Voight, C. Schotola, N. M.J. Crout, J. Absalom

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

No abstract provided.

A Gps Estimate Of Relative Motion Between North And South America, Timothy H. Dixon, Ailin Mao

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

GPS velocity data are used to estimate the Euler vector describing rigid body motion of North America relative to South America. Assuming the boundary between the North and South American plates is located near the Fifteen Twenty fracture zone in the equatorial Atlantic, the Euler vector predicts extension across the Royal Trough up to 1 mm/yr, and convergence across the Barracuda Ridge at about 2 mm/yr, in agreement with geological estimates averaged over tens of millions of years. Further west, convergence between North and South America at rates up to 8 mm/yr may contribute to deformation of the Caribbean plate …

Enclaves In The Cadillac Mountain Granite (Coastal Maine): Samples Of Hybrid Magma From The Base Of The Chamber, R. A. Wiebe, Diane R. Smith, M. Sturm, E. M. King, M. S. Seckler

Earth and Environmental Geosciences Faculty Research

The Cadillac Mountain intrusive complex is dominated by the Cadillac Mountain granite and a 2–3 km thick section of interlayered gabbroic, dioritic and granitic rocks which occurs near the base of the granite. The layered rocks record hundreds of injections of basaltic magma that ponded on the chamber floor and variably interacted with the overlying silicic magma. Magmatic enclaves, ranging in composition from 55 to 78 wt % SiO₂, are abundant in granite above the layered mafic rocks. The most mafic enclaves are highly enriched in incompatible elements and depleted in compatible elements. Their compositions can be best …

Bulletin 4333 - Furrow Sowing On Water Repellent Soils, Paul Blackwell, Grant Morrow

Bulletins 4000 -

This Bulletin discusses the benefits that furrow sowing brings to crop growth and production on water repellent sand, based on research and farm observations in Western Australian. By understanding the benefits and risks of several key processes, producers can better evaluate the potential role of furrow sowing in combating water repellency. This is true whether one is using direct drilling, no-till (narrow points or discs) or zero till (single, double or triple disc openers) methods.