Earth Sciences Commons^™

Identifying Co2 Sequestration Opportunities, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about CO₂ data organization and gathering to develop promising CO₂ sequestration opportunities within the PCOR Partnership region. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Active-Passive Array Surface Wave Inversion And Comparison To Borehole Logs In Southeast Missouri, Alexei A. Malovichko, Neil Lennart Anderson, Dmitriy A. Malovichko, Denis Yu Shylakov, Pavel G. Butirin

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In May 2002, both active- and passive-source surface wave data were acquired using 4-channel arrays at six selected bridge sites in southeast Missouri. Processing of acquired data (increase of signal-to-noise ratio, estimation of phase velocities) was carried out and dispersion curves of Rayleigh wave phase velocities were constructed. Each fundamental mode dispersion curve was then inverted by linearised optimization to a layered shear-wave velocity profile to depths of up to 60 m. The estimated shear-wave velocity profiles were compared to other geotechnical data that had been previously acquired at each test site for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) including …

Modeling Tephra Sedimentation From A Ruapehu Weak Plume Eruption, Costanza Bonadonna, J. C. Phillips, B. F. Houghton

Geology Faculty Publications

We present a two-dimensional model for sedimentation of well-mixed weak plumes, accounting for lateral spreading of the cloud, downwind advection, increase of volumetric flux in the rising stage, and particle transport during fallout. The 17 June 1996 subplinian eruption of Ruapehu produced a bent-over plume that rose to a height of 8.5 km in a wind field with an average velocity of 24 m s⁻¹ and generated a narrow deposit on land extending up to 200 km from vent. The sedimentation from the Ruapehu plume was dominated by coarse ash, with all the blocks and most of the lapilli …

A Tale Of Three Sisters: Reconstructing The Holocene Glacial History And Paleoclimate Record At Three Sisters Volcanoes, Oregon, United States, Shaun Andrew Marcott

Dissertations and Theses

At least four glacial stands occurred since 6.5 ka B.P. based on moraines located on the eastern flanks of the Three Sisters Volcanoes and the northern flanks of Broken Top Mountain in the Central Oregon Cascades. The youngest of these advances was the Little Ice Age (LIA) glaciation, which reached its maximum advance 150-200 yrs. B.P. and is defined by the large sharp crested and unvegetated moraines adjacent to the modern glaciers. In isolated locations less than 100 m downslope from these moraines, a second set of sparsely vegetated lateral moraines marks the Late-Neoglacial stand of the glaciers between 2.1 …

Piecing Together The Triassic/Jurassic Stratigraphy Along The South Flank Of The Uinta Mountains, Northeast Utah: A Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Bell Springs Member Of The Nugget Sandstone, Paul H. Jensen Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Nomenclature for the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic strata along the south flank of the Uinta Mountains has been somewhat confusing because of the position of the study area between southern Wyoming, where one set of names is used, and central/southern Utah where a different set of formation names is used. The Nugget Sandstone or Glen Canyon Sandstone of the eastern Uinta Mountains overlies the Upper Triassic Popo Agie or Chinle Formation. The nature of the contact between these two formations is unclear both in stratigraphic location and conformability. The Chinle Formation consists, in ascending order, of the Gartra Member, …

Variation In Glacier Length And Ice Volume Of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, In Response To Climate Change, 1910–2003, Keith A. Brugger, Kurt A. Refsnider, Matthew F. Whitehill

Geology Publications

Historical records, photographs, maps and measurements were used to determine changes in the length, geometry and volume of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, in response to a warming that occurred early in the 20th century.

Potential Impacts Of Climate Change On Agricultural Land Use Suitability : Wheat, Dennis Van Gool, Luke Vernon

Resource management technical reports

This publication considers the impact of climate change on wheat crops. While a model was first used, it was only partially validated against real data, hence the model is now used as a decision support system that allows people with crop, land resource and climate knowledge to determine potential impacts of climate change on crop growth and production in Western Australia.

The Impacts Of Sprawl On Biodiversity: The Ant Fauna Of The Lower Florida Keys, Elizabeth A. Forys, Craig R. Allen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sprawling development can affect species composition by increasing the rate of invasion by non-native species, and decreasing the persistence of native species. This paper briefly reviews the scientific literature on the impacts of sprawl on biological diversity, with specific emphasis on the influence of sprawl on non-native species richness. We then explore the relationship between sprawl and biodiversity using a data set of ant species collected from 46 habitat patches located in the increasingly suburbanized Florida Keys, USA. We quantified sprawl as the proximity of roads and amount of development surrounding a habitat patch. Using bait transects, we identified 24 …

A Geodetic Investigation Of Ground Deformation At Yucca Mountain, Southern Nevada, Emma Mccaughey

Publications (YM)

The data from 28 continuous BARGEN GPS stations in the Yucca Mountain region were processed for January 2000 to June 2004. The data have been processed independently using both the GIPSY and GAMIT software packages for quality assurance purposes, yielding an RMS of velocity differences between the solutions of 0.06 mm/yr for the east and 0.10 mm/yr for the north. The velocity solution for the local Yucca Mountain network has a relatively smooth signal showing NW-trending rightlateral shear. The magnitude of the velocity contrast across the local network, from east to west, is 0.95 ± 0.04 mm/yr. The GPS results …

Age And Quality Of Ground Water And Sources Of Nitrogen In The Surficial Aquifers In Pumpkin Creek Valley, Western Nebraska, 2000, G. V. Steele, J. C. Cannia, S. S. Sibray, V. L. Mcguire

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Ground water is the source of drinking water for the residents of Pumpkin Creek Valley, western Nebraska. In this largely agricultural area, shallow aquifers potentially are susceptible to nitrate contamination. During the last 10 years, ground-water levels in the North Platte Natural Resources District have declined and contamination has become a major problem for the district. In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey and the North Platte Natural Resources District began a cooperative study to determine the age and quality of the ground water and the sources of nitrogen in the aquifers in Pumpkin Creek Valley.

Water samples were collected from …

Investigating Nickel Partitioning In A Contaminant Aquifer, Suama Ndengu

Masters Theses

Improved prediction of the transport and bioavailability of metals in contaminated sediments demands a better quantitative understanding of how metals partition between aqueous solutions and mineral phases. This research examines the partitioning of nickel in a contaminated aquifer from Grand Rapids, Ml. Contaminated aquifer sediments were examined using the five step Tessier et al. (1979) operationally defined sequential extraction procedure to determine the solid phase distribution of nickel in the aquifer sediments. Models used to guide remediation efforts at the contaminated site assume that Ni behavior can be predicted based on Ni adsorption onto ferrihydrite (HFO). Although sequential extraction results …

Factors Affecting Songbird Nest Survival And Brood Parasitism In The Rainwater Basin Region Of Nebraska, Max Post Van Der Burg

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

No abstract provided.

Initial Borehole Accelerometer Array Observations Near The North Portal Of The Esf, David Von Seggern, James N. Brune, Joe Litehiser, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report addresses observed ground motions at the site of the proposed surface facilities associated with the designated repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In 2003 an accelerometer array was installed at three boreholes on the pad of the north portal of the ESF (Exploratory Studies Facility) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, by the Nevada Seismological Laboratory (NSL). These boreholes, roughly 150 m apart and initially used for extensive geological and geophysical surveys, were ideal locations to measure the subsurface ground motions at the proposed site of surface facilities such as the Waste Handling Building. Such measurements will …

Resistivity, Induced Polarization, And Spontaneous Potential Study Of Part Of The Calvin 28 Oil Field, Cass County Michigan, Eric M. Larsen

Masters Theses

Some hydrocarbon reservoirs have a documented reducing chimney, extending upward to the surface due to diffusion of hydrocarbon volatiles. This effect reportedly reduces the iron in the soil to magnetite and precipitates fine-grained pyrite if there is sufficient sulfur in the system. This study was conducted to test the detectability of the hypothetical chimney, using electrical geophysics in an environment of relatively recent glacial cover, known depth to an underlying petroleum reservoir, and known faulting.

The Calvin 28 oil field, in Cass County Michigan, is a middle Devonian domal field where reservoir rocks are draped over the central uplift block …

Reply To Comment By Sushil K. Singh On "A Concept Of Maximum Stream Depletion Rate For Leaky Aquifers In Alluvial Valleys", Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Vitaly A. Zlotnik's reply to the comment by Sushil K. Singh on Zlotnik's "A concept of maximum stream depletion rate for leaky aquifers in alluvial valleys."

Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Production In Strongly Forced, Low-Instability Convective Lines Associated With Damaging Wind, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke, David M. Schultz, Robert H. Johns, Jeffry S. Evans, John E. Hales

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

During 9–11 November 1998 and 9–10 March 2002, two similar convective lines moved across the central and eastern United States. Both convective lines initiated over the southern plains along strong surface-based cold fronts in moderately unstable environments. Both lines were initially associated with cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning, as detected by the National Lightning Detection Network, and both events met the criteria to be classified as derechos, producing swaths of widespread damaging wind. After moving into areas of marginal, if any, instability over the upper Midwest, CG lightning production ceased or nearly ceased, although the damaging winds continued. The 9 March 2002 …

Diagnosing And Ameliorating Problem Soils : Decision Tree On How To Diagnose And Ameliorate Problem Soils, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Agriculture reports

Most cropping paddocks in Western Australia have lower yielding areas within paddocks that perform poorly in most years. If the agronomy and management are good, the poor yields are usually due to soil-related problems. Some of these problems can be corrected or reduced by adopting certain proven practices. However, it is important to identify and quantify the problem so that decisions can be made on whether amelioration is possible and economically feasible. The objective is to provide a simploe decision tool for farmers and advisers to use in identifying and quantifying soil problems in agricultural soils in Western Australia. It …

Distribution Patterns Of Lentic-Breeding Amphibians In Relation To Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure In Western North America, Michael J. Adams, Blake R. Hossack, Roland A. Knapp, Paul Stephen Corn, Stephen A. Diamond, Peter C. Trenham, Dan B. Fagre

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An increase in ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation has been posited to be a potential factor in the decline of some amphibian population. This hypothesis has received support from laboratory and field experiments showing that current levels of UV-B can cause embryo mortality in some species, but little research has addressed whether UV-B is influencing the distribution of amphibian populations. We compared patterns of amphibian presence to sitespecific estimates of UV-B dose at 683 ponds and lakes in Glacier, Olympic, and Sequoia–Kings Canyon National Parks. All three parks are located in western North America, a region with a concentration of documented amphibian …

Estimated Ultraviolet Radiation Doses In Wetlands In Six National Parks, Stephen A. Diamond, Peter C. Trenham, Michael J. Adams, Blake R. Hossack, Roland A. Knapp, Stacey L. Stark, David Bradford, P. Stephen Corn, Ken Czarnowski, Paul D. Brooks, Dan Fagre, Bob Breen, Naomi E. Detenbeck, Kathy Tonnessen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–320-nm wavelengths) doses were estimated for 1024 wetlands in six national parks: Acadia (Acadia), Glacier (Glacier), Great Smoky Mountains (Smoky), Olympic (Olympic), Rocky Mountain (Rocky), and Sequoia/ Kings Canyon (Sequoia). Estimates were made using ground-based UV-B data (Brewer spectrophotometers), solar radiation models, GIS tools, field characterization of vegetative features, and quantification of DOC concentration and spectral absorbance. UV-B dose estimates were made for the summer solstice, at a depth of 1 cm in each wetland. The mean dose across all wetlands and parks was 19.3 W-h m^-2 (range of 3.4–32.1 W-h m^-2). The mean …

Elevation, Longitudinal Profile, And Schmidt Hammer Analysis Of Strath Terraces Through Capitol Reef National Park, Utah: Bedrock Channel Response To Climate Forcing?, James L. Eddleman

Theses and Dissertations

Elevation, longitudinal profile, and Schmidt hammer data indicate that strath terraces (specifically the lower elevation terraces) mapped in the Fremont River drainage of Capitol Reef National Park are correlative to the terraces of the smaller Pleasant Creek drainage located approximately ten miles to the south. This correlation suggests that drainage development in this area of the Colorado Plateau was strongly dependent upon a regional-scale forcing mechanism (e.g. climate) rather than strictly independent basin-scale processes. Elevations of mapped strath terraces and their associated black volcanic boulder deposits were calculated from geologic maps, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), and Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles of …

Effects Of Hurricane Fault Architecture On Groundwater Flow In The Timpoweap Canyon Of Southwestern, Utah, Sarah J. Dutson

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogeologically important features of fault zones include undamaged country rock, the damage zone, and the core zone. Fault cores generally have low porosity and permeability, and often act as a barrier to groundwater flow. The damage zone, by contrast, consists of small faults and fracture networks, which can act as conduits. Timpoweap Canyon near Hurricane, Utah has superb exposures of the fault core and damage zone of the Hurricane Fault. Also within the canyon, springs discharge from the damage zone into the Virgin River, providing an ideal natural laboratory for the study of groundwater discharge from a fault zone. The …

Holocene Hydrologic Variation At Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru, And Its Relationship To North Atlantic Climate Variation, P. A. Baker, Sherilyn C. Fritz, J. Garland, E. Ekdahl

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A growing number of sites in the Northern Hemisphere show centennial- to millennial-scale climate variation that has been correlated with change in solar variability or with change in North Atlantic circulation. However, it is unclear how (or whether) these oscillations in the climate system are manifest in the Southern Hemisphere because of a lack of sites with suitably high sampling resolution. In this paper, we reconstruct the lake-level history of Lake Titicaca, using the carbon isotopic content of sedimentary organic matter, to evaluate centennial-to millennial-scale precipitation variation and its phasing relative to sites in the Northern Hemisphere. The pattern and …

Gps Velocity Field In The Transition From Subduction To Collision Of The Eastern Sunda And Banda Arcs, Indonesia, Hendro Nugroho

Theses and Dissertations

Campaign GPS measurements during 2001-2003 in the transition between subduction and collision of the Banda arc reveal how strain is partitioned away from the trench and distributed to other parts of the arc-trench system. Genrich, et. al. (1996) conducted a GPS campaign (1992-1994) throughout the Eastern Sunda and Banda arcs that demonstrated partial accretion of the arc to the Australian plate. We reoccupied many of the sites from this earlier study and 7 additional stations, 3 of which are new benchmarks. Our study shortened many baselines and extended the observation epoch to ten years for many key stations. The resulting …

Long-Term Surface Uplift History Of The Active Banda Arc-Continent Collision: Depth And Age Analysis Of Foraminifera From Rote And Savu Islands, Indonesia, Nova Roosmawati

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of foraminifera for synorogenic pelagic units of Rote and Savu Islands, Indonesia, reveals high rates of surface uplift in the past 1.5 Ma of the incipient Banda arc-continent collision. Paleodepth estimates are derived from benthonic forams and ages from planktonic forams. But estimates are complicated, however, by abundant reworking; yet several distinctive species have been found. Synorogenic deposits in western Rote yield forams of biozone Neogene (N) 18 and depths from 5000-5700 meters at the base of the section, and 3600 meters at the top of the section. Eastern Rote yields forams of N 19/20 - N 22 and …

Beginnings Of Range Management: Albert F. Potter, First Chief Of Grazing, U.S. Forest Service, And Photographic Comparison Of His 1902 Forest Reserve Survey In Utah With Conditions 100 Year Later, David A. Prevedel, Curtis M. Johnson

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

The period from 1880 to 1900 is regarded as the period of “spoilation” of western rangelands. In Albert Potters own words, “Quick profits and fortunes lead to speculation and incredible numbers of stock were placed upon the range. Cowman was arrayed against sheep man, big owners against small, and might ruled more often than right.” The Government took no action until 1891 when the Creative Act established the Forest Reserve system under the Interior Department’s General Land Office (GLO). Lacking authority and undermined by political appointees, the GLO foundered until the reserves were transferred to the Bureau of Forestry in …

Water Quality Trading: What Can We Learn From 10 Years Of Wetland Mitigation Banking?, Eric Raffini, Morgan Robertson

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

In 2003 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its Water Quality Trading Policy. Water quality trading allows facilities facing high pollution-control costs to meet their regulatory requirements by purchasing environmentally equivalent or superior pollution reductions from another source, often at a lower cost. The policy, which hopes to achieve "water quality and environmental benefits greater than would otherwise be achieved under more traditional regulatory approaches," established the ground rules for trading and encourages states, interstate agencies, and tribes to develop and implement water quality trading programs for nutrients, sediments, and other pollutants. The policy generated controversy among some stakeholder groups; …

Statistical Analysis Of Rock Fabrics, Boris Avdeev

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

The main goal of the work is to present new procedures for statistical analysis of fabric data for structural geology. After an introduction to the problems of orientation analysis, discussion of different types of the orientation data and a brief review of the existing techniques and statistics for the orientation data, a comprehensive discussion of several proposed methods is given. The first part of the methodology chapter states a general model in terms of a structural frame and introduces some notation. The second part is a detailed description of a pooled estimator, which is intended to assess a structural frame …

A Late Devonian Isoetalean Lycopsid, Otzinachsonia Beerboweri Gen. Et Sp Nov., From North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Walter L. Cressler, H W. Pfefferkorn

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Lake Whatcom Water Quality Model, Chris Berger

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A water quality model of Lake Whatcom, Washington was developed as part of a Total Maximum Daily Load Study for the Washington Department of Ecology. Lake Whatcom is a large natural lake which is listed on the 1998 Washington State 303(d) list of waterbodies which do not meet the criterion for dissolved oxygen. Located next to the city of Bellingham, it is approximately 10 miles long and has a surface area of approximately 5000 acres and a maximum depth of over 100 meters. Eutrophication processes in the lake have been accelerated in recent years perhaps by the availability of nutrients …

Upper Spokane River Model In Idaho: Boundary Conditions And Model Setup And Calibration For 2001 And 2004, Robert Leslie Annear, Scott A. Wells, Chris Berger

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a result of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of the Spokane River in Washington, a hydrodynamic and water quality model for the Spokane River was developed by Portland State University (PSU) for the Corps of Engineers and the Washington Department of Ecology from the Washington-Idaho state line to the outlet of Long Lake.

An earlier study of the Spokane River was undertaken by Limno-Tech (2001a, 2001b) for the domain shown in Figure 3. Limno-Tech used an earlier version of CE-QUAL-W2, Version 2, for the Reservoir portion of the Spokane River from Post Falls Dam to Coeur d’Alene …