Earth Sciences Commons^™

Cal Poly's Eswcc Teaches The Next Generation Of Soil Scientists, M. Perry, C. Appel

Earth and Soil Sciences

Since 1992, members of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Earth, Soil, and Water Conservation Club (ESWCC), sponsored by the MESA Agricultural Initiative, have volunteered their time and expertise to educate middle-school students in soil science. ESWCC members assemble soil testing kits containing three soils, pH testing materials, and instructions for analyzing soil pore space, water infiltration rates, and soil texture by “feel”. The kits help over 200 California teachers convey the importance of soil science through simple physical and chemical procedures that provide a deeper understanding of soil. ESWCC members train teachers to run classroom experiments and to relate soil …

Geosciences Newsletter- 2003, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 1, No. 28

• Dear Alumni and Friends
• Faculty News
• Department News
• Awards and Graduations
• Alumni News
• Field Trips
• Donations

Sorption Of Phosphorus By Soils : How It Is Measured In Western Australia, Michael D A Bolland, D G. Allen, N J. Barrow

Bulletins 4000 -

Most soils used for agriculture in Western Australia had insufficient indigenous native phosphorus P for the introduced agricultural plant species used in the region so fertiliser P had to be applied. This bulletin covers how water-soluble P WSP fertilisers are made, and how the P in the fertilisers dissolves and reacts with soil in the year of application and in the years after application, how soils sorb P and procedures and soil tests used to estimate the capacity of soils to sorb P.

Using Cesium 137 To Understand Recent In Cave Sedimentation In The Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska, William Curry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Removal of vegetation and subsequent erosion in karst regions such as central Kentucky or southeastern Alaska often leads to increased sedimentation in karst features such as caves and dolines. This sedimentation can impact the ground water by altering flow paths and the bio-geochemistry of the karst aquifer itself. Various methodologies have been used to obtain quantitative erosion and sedimentation rates for surface areas in karst and non-karst settings, but few quantitative studies have taken place in caves. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of timber harvesting and development upon the caves and karst of southeastern Alaska …

Groundwater Investigation On Victoria Location 8565, East Binnu, Russell John Speed

Resource management technical reports

Describes a drilling investigation undertaken for the East Binnu area within Victoria location 8565, Western Australia. Groundwater monitoring bores were installed to assess the risk of dryland salinity developing if after clearance of native vegetation, the area is used to grow annual crops and pastures. The investigation confirmed that the risk of further salinity development in this location is extreme.

Sulfide Mineralization In Deep-Water Marine Sediments Related To Methane Transport, Methane Consumption, And Methane Gas Hydrates, Matthew K. Thompson, Walter S. Borowski, Charles K. Paull, William Ussler Iii

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Patterns of sulfide sulfur concentration and sulfur isotopic composition (d³⁴S) are perhaps related to upward methane transport, especially in sediments underlain by methane gas hydrate deposits. Increased methane delivery augments the affect of anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) occurring at the sulfate-methane interface (SMI). Sulfate and methane co-consumption results in production of dissolved sulfide at the interface that is eventually sequestered within sulfide minerals (elemental sulfur, iron monosulfide, pyrite).

We examine the sediments of two piston cores collected over the Blake Ridge gas hydrate deposits (offshore southeastern North America) by extracting total sedimentary sulfide using chromium reduction. We use …

Mantle Layering Across Central South America, Kelly H. Liu, Stephen S. Gao, Paul G. Silver, Yongkai K. Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Imaging of seismic velocity discontinuities along a 3000 km profile across central South America at 20°S suggests that the depth variations of the 410-km (d410) and 660-km (d660) discontinuities are closely associated with the high-velocity Nazca slab and juxtaposed low-velocity oceanic mantle beneath the slab. The mantle transition zone thickness ranges from 220 km in the oceanic mantle to 270 km in a 600-km-wide area occupied by the deflected Nazca slab. The slab deflection has also been suggested by previous studies of seismic tomography and seismicity. This 50 km difference in the thickness corresponds to a lateral temperature variation of …

Field-Scale Estimation Of Volumetric Water Content Using Ground-Penetrating Radar Ground Wave Techniques, Katherine R. Grote, Susan Sharpless Hubbard, Yoram N. Rubin

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) ground wave techniques were applied to estimate soil water content in the uppermost ∼10 cm of a 3 acre California vineyard several times over 1 year. We collected densely spaced GPR travel time measurements using 900 and 450 MHz antennas and analyzed these data to estimate water content. The spatial distribution of water content across the vineyard did not change significantly with time, although the absolute water content values varied seasonally and with irrigation. The GPR estimates of water content were compared to gravimetric water content, time domain reflectometry, and soil texture measurements. The comparisons of GPR-derived …

Ancient Maize From Chacoan Great Houses: Where Was It Grown?, Larry Benson, Linda Cordell, Kirk Vincent, Howard E. Taylor, John Stein, G. Lang Farmer, U.S. Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In this article, we compare chemical (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and elemental) analyses of archaeological maize from dated contexts within Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, to potential agricultural sites on the periphery of the San Juan Basin. The oldest maize analyzed from Pueblo Bonito probably was grown in an area located 80 km to the west at the base of the Chuska Mountains. The youngest maize came from the San Juan or Animas river floodplains 90 km to the north. This article demonstrates that maize, a dietary staple of southwestern Native Americans, was transported over considerable distances in …

Late-Holocene Lake-Level Variation In West Greenland, Frank A. Aebly, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Situated between the North Atlantic and the Greenland ice sheet, the thousands of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of West Greenland (67°N) present excellent targets for paleoclimate studies. Paleoshorelines surrounding multiple closed-basin lakes in this area record fluctuations in lake level since deglaciation. Shorelines along two of these lakes, Hundeso and Lake E, were surveyed and trenched to reconstruct the history of lake-level change. The stratigraphies of the trenches were described, and a chronology has been developed using radiocarbon dating of organic material. Preliminary results indicate a highly variable hydrologic regime throughout the late Holocene.

Hundeso had high-stand lake levels …

Redox Scale For Assigning An Oxidizing/Reducing Potential To Groundwater: Method Development And Initial Results, Julie Bertoia, Vernon Hodge, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report outlines the progress on Task 33 of the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Cooperative Agreement with the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN). The task is titled "The Experimental Determination of a "Redox Scale" for Assigning an Oxidizing/Reducing Potential to Groundwater from Wells in the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program: A Scale for Predicting the Solubility and Mobility of Elements Commonly Found in Nuclear Wastes". The purpose of the research was to determine the concentrations of the various electrochemical oxidation states or redox species of eleven elements in groundwater samples collected from the Nye County …

Integrated Hydrologic And Hydrochemical Observations Of Hidden Creek Lake Jökulhlaups, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, Suzanne P. Anderson, Joseph S. Walder, Robert S. Anderson, Erin R. Kraal, Michelle Cunico, Andrew G. Fountain, Dennis C. Trabant

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hidden Creek Lake (HCL), an ice-marginal lake impounded by Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, fills annually to ~20 to 30 x ~10⁶ m³ and then drains subglacially within 2 to 3 days. During the 1999 and 2000 jökulhlaups, we carried out a series of planned observations around the lake and in the Kennicott River, which drains the glacier. Approximately 20% of the lake volume was contained within a subglacial water ‘‘wedge’’ beneath the ice dam. The entire volume of the lake drains through the wedge; hydraulic head loss through this constriction may be responsible for the fairly symmetrical shape of …

Final Report On Task 12: Southern Great Basin Seismic Network Operations, James N. Brune, David Von Seggern, Ken Smith, Glenn Biasi

Publications (YM)

The Nevada Seismological Laboratory began seismic monitoring operations under the DOE-UCCSN Cooperative Agreement on 11/01/1999. This final report summarizes our activities and studies made in the four years up to 09/30/2003. Previously, NSL operated under the M&O for the Yucca Mountain Project from October 1995 through September 1999 and under the U. S. Geological Survey from October 1992 through September 1995. For purposes of this report, earthquakes occurring in the years FY1998 and FY1999 were analyzed in the first two years of the NSL’s involvement with the Cooperative Agreement, and they will be treated here, along with the data in …

Task 10: Support To The Regional Model, Irene Farnham

Publications (YM)

The Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (HRC) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has analyzed approximately 200 groundwater samples for over 60 trace elements and major solutes over the past ten years. These samples represent groundwaters from the Nevada Test Site, Amargosa Valley, the Spring Mountains, Death Valley, Ash Meadows, Pahranagat Valley, and Oasis Valley. The preparation of a data base containing all of these data is near completion and will be submitted to DOE upon its completion. Data verification is in progress. In addition, many multivariate analyses were performed to characterize the trace element compositions in …

Chemical Analyses For Alcove 8 Niche 3 Tracer Studies, Irene Farnham, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report details the activities performed under Task 35 of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) Cooperative Agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE). Task 35, titled "Chemical Analyses for Alcove 8 / Niche 3 Tracer Studies", provided for the development of analytical procedures and the analysis of samples from the first phase of tracer testing at Alcove 8 / Niche 3 in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF). Two conservative tracers (bromide and pentafluorobenzoic acid) and three FD&C dye tracers (FD&C Blue #1, FD&C Yellow #5, and FD&C Red #40) were analyzed in the seepage samples …

Runoff And Sediment Losses From Annual And Unusual Storm Events From The Alto Experimental Watersheds, Texas: 23 Years After Silvicultural Treatments, Matthew W. Mcbroom, R Scott Beasley, Mingteh Chang, Brian Gowin, George G. Ice

Faculty Publications

Evaluating the potential impacts of intensive silvicultural practices on water quality is critical for establishing the long-term sustainability of contemporary forest management practices. From 1979 to 1985, a study involving nine small (~2.5 ha) forested watersheds was conducted near Alto, Texas in the upper western Gulf-Coastal Plain to evaluate the impacts then-current silvicultural practices on water quality. In the years following the study, silvicultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) including Streamside Management Zones (SMZs) and other erosion control practices evolved and questions arose about the applicability of earlier results to current practices. In 1999, these same watersheds were reinstrumented to evaluate …

Geogram 2003, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Moore River : Catchment Appraisal 2003, A Alderman, M Clarke, Natural Heritage Trust (Australia), Moore River Catchment Support Team (Wa)

Resource management technical reports

Using the Rapid Catchment Appraisal process, this report summarises current information for the Moore River catchment, Western Australia. The headwaters of the Moore River commence in Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu shires and drain southwards through Moora.

Applications Of Remote Sensing And Gis To The Studies Of Groundwater–Lake Interactions In The Nebraska Sandhills, Evgueni N. Tcherepanov

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

No abstract provided.

Longbase Laser Strainmeter Measurements From The South Ramp Of The Yucca Mountain Facility, Frank K. Wyatt, Duncan C. Agnew, James N. Brune, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

Under subcontract (DOE/UCCSN DE-FC28-98NV12081, Task 7) from the Seismological Laboratory of the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has designed, installed, and operated a laser strainmeter (LSM) in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This instrument provides precise deformation monitoring of the (proposed) repository block. This document describes the history of the installation, outlines the principles of operation of the system, documents the integral recording and control system and file formats used, and provides information on how QA has been implemented, with the aim of being a self-contained description which could be used …

Ground Water Level Measurements In Selected Boreholes Near The Site Of The Proposed Repository, H. Scott Page, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

Analysis of twenty years of ground water level monitoring data by the Department of Energy on the boreholes comprising the periodic network near Yucca Mountain indicate that overall, such levels have been remarkably stable. Continuing this program of longterm monitoring, the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (HRC) has acquired quarterly data on water levels from the same network between July 2001 and June 2003. Analysis of selected 2002 quarterly ground water level data collected by the HRC using manual and electronic techniques on boreholes in the volcanic flow system aquifer appears …

Miscellaneous Publication 26/2003 - Benefit -Cost Analysis Of Soil Acidity Research Development And Extension In Western Australia, 1992-93 To 2001-02, Michael O'Connell, Chris Gazey

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

The program of publicly funded soil acidity RD&E' conducted in Western Australia from 1992-93 to 2001-02 is expected to deliver benefits to the farm sector over future years. Benefit-cost analysis indicates that these industry benefits should outweigh the public cost of the RD&E several times over.

Using a 20-year analysis period, the RD&E is estimated to have a net present value (NPV) of $84 million, and a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 5.8. Extending the analysis to 30 years results in an NPV of $135 million and a BCR of 8.7. These large returns are due to a combination of factors: …

Seismogenic Zone Structure Of The Southern Middle America Trench, Costa Rica, H. R. Deshon, S. Y. Schwartz, S. L. Bilek, L. M. Dorman, V. Gonzalez, J. M. Protti, E. R. Flueh, Timothy H. Dixon

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The shallow seismogenic portion of subduction zones generates damaging large and great earthquakes. This study provides structural constraints on the seismogenic zone of the Middle America Trench offshore central Costa Rica and insights into the physical and mechanical characteristics controlling seismogenesis. We have located ∼300 events that occurred following the M_W 6.9, 20 August 1999, Quepos, Costa Rica, underthrusting earthquake using a three-dimensional velocity model and arrival time data recorded by a temporary local network of land and ocean bottom seismometers. We use aftershock locations to define the geometry and characteristics of the seismogenic zone in this region. These …

Academic Specialties In U.S. Are Shifting; Hiring Of Women Geoscientists Is Stagnating, Mary Anne Holmes, Suzanne O'Connell, Connie Frey, Lois K. Ongley

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Women have been receiving a greater proportion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the geosciences over the last 10 years, reaching near 40% in 2000 (latest data available), while receiving only 28% of the Ph.D.s that year. Women are now only 20% of assistant professors at Ph.D.-granting institutions, a proportion that has not changed in the last four years. As part of a larger study to find what key barriers continue to prevent larger numbers of women geoscientists from becoming academics, data have been compiled from the National Science Board [NSB, 2002], and the American Geological Instititute's (AGI) Directory …

Fault Creep And Microseismicity On The Hayward Fault, California: Implications For Asperity Size, Christina R. Gans, Kevin P. Furlong, Rocco Malservisi

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The Hayward fault is documented to undergo significant creep, with some patches accommodating 50% or more of the long‐term fault displacement. In spite of this, the fault has also experienced moderate to large earthquakes. By comparing the patterns of microseismicity observed on the fault with models of fault zone creep, we can investigate the long‐term displacement/deformation history of the fault in terms of the relative roles of aseismic creep, fault slip accommodated through microseismicity, and strain accumulation (slip deficit). We find that microseismicity on the Hayward fault produces a negligible percentage of the seismic moment dissipated on the fault. Combining …

Earth News, V27, Fall 2003, Department Of Earth Science, University Of Northern Iowa.

Earth News

Inside this issue:

--- Earth Science Staff Activities
--- Earth Science Majors
--- 2002 Earth Science Graduates
--- Student Internships
--- Student Research Presentations
--- STORM Project Team
--- Earth Science Seminar Series
--- Sigma Gamma Epsilon - Gamma Sigma Chapter
--- Gifts to the Department of Earth Science
--- 2003-2004 Scholarship and Award Recipients
--- Spring Break 2003 Field Course: Geology and Natural History of Big Bend National Park
--- Earth Science Alumni News

Dissolved Humic Substances: Characterization Of Their Sorption Onto Iron Hydroxide Aluminum Hydroxide Kaolinite And Smectite, Sarah E. Diebel

OES Theses and Dissertations

Humic (HA) and fulvic (FA) acids participate in many geochemical processes and the mechanisms of their sorption to colloidal surfaces are numerous, indicating these substances are complex and heterogeneous. The current study focuses on the interactions of the Fe hydroxide (FE), Al hydroxide, Kaolinite (KA) and Smectite (SM) and these naturally occurring organic acids using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and DOC analysis at pH 4. FTIR was used for the initial functional group characterization, as well as the comparison of before and after adsorption spectra of the HA and FA. DOC examined the amounts of HA and FA adsorbed …

Sedimentary Aggregates In The Peoria Loess Of Nebraska, Usa, Joseph A. Mason, Peter M. Jacobs, Richard S. B. Greene

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Loess grain size data used to infer transport direction or wind strength are generally derived from vigorously disaggregated samples. However, these data may not adequately represent the effective particle size distribution during loess transport, if the transported dust contained aggregates of fine-grained material. Thin sections of minimally altered C and BC horizons in the late Pleistocene Peoria Loess of Nebraska, USA, indicate the presence of aggregates with diameters of 30–1000 Am. The larger aggregates (>250 μm) are unlikely to have been transported, and are interpreted as the result of soil faunal activity and other pedogenic processes after deposition. Aggregates …

Late Quaternary Lake-Level Changes Constrained By Radiocarbon And Stable Isotope Studies On Sediment Cores From Lake Titicaca, South America, Harold D. Rowe, Thomas P. Guilderson, Robert B. Dunbar, John R. Southon, Geoffrey O. Seltzer, David A. Mucciarone, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Paul A. Baker

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We present and compare AMS-¹⁴C geochronologies for sediment cores recovered from Lake Titicaca, South America. Radiocarbon dates from three core sites constrain the timing of late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in the Central Andes and highlight the site-specific factors that limit the radiocarbon geochronometer. With the exception of mid-Holocene sediments, all cores are generally devoid of macrophyte fragments, thus bulk organic fractions are used to build core chronologies. Comparisons of radiocarbon results for chemically defined fractions (bulk decalcified, humate, humin) suggest that ages derived from all fractions are generally coherent in the post-13,500 yr BP time interval. In the …