Earth Sciences Commons^™

The Jabal Qarah Caves Of The Hofuf Area, Northeastern Saudi Arabia: A Geological Investigation, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Mahbub Hussain, Fadhel Al-Khalifah

Publications and Research

The Jabal Al Qarah Caves, located approximately 13 km east of Al Hofuf, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, are an intricate cave system developed in the calcareous sandstone, marl and clay of the Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene Hofuf Formation. Physiographically, the hill of Jabal Al Qarah is an outlier mesa that is located at the eastern edge of the Shedgum Plateau, the southern extension of the As Summan Plateau, and the larger Syrian Plateau to the north. Based on cave morphology and interpreted evolutionary histoty, the Jabal Al Qarah caves appear to be significantly different from other limestone caves …

Earth News, V30, Fall 2006, Department Of Earth Science, University Of Northern Iowa.

Earth News

Inside this issue:

--- Earth Science Staff Activities
--- Emeritus Faculty/Staff
--- The New Madrid Fault Field Trip
--- Richard Golz Estate Donates Items to Earth Science Department
--- Fall 2006 Quarry Open House Features Dedication
--- Special Alumni Profile - Aaron Spurr
--- Pre-College Students Invade Latham Hall
--- Earth Science Seminar Series
--- Majors in the Earth Science Department
--- Sigma Gamma Epsilon - Gamma Sigma Chapter
--- Student Internships
--- Student Research Presentations
--- Scholarship and Award Recipients
--- The Charles J. Hearst Scholarship
--- 2006 Earth Science Graduates
--- Gifts to the Department of Earth Science …

2004 Jeffress Research Grant Awards

Virginia Journal of Science

List of winners of the 2004 Jeffress Research Grant Awards.

The Microstructure Of Meteoric Ice From Vostok, Antarctica, Rachel Obbard, Ian Baker

Dartmouth Scholarship

The 3623 m long, 5G core collected at Vostok station, Antarctica, contains alternating layers of meteoric ice with two distinctly different microstructures. In this paper, we present the microstructure and impurity content of a number of specimens ranging in depth from 97 to 3416 m, describe in detail the characteristics of the different layers and propose a mechanism for their microstructural development. Digital image analysis, ion chromatography, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to measure texture and the location and type of impurities; electron backscatter diffraction was used to determine crystal orientation. The ice associated with …

A Nd Isotopic Study Of Southern Sourced Waters And Indonesian Throughflow At Intermediate Depths In The Cenozoic Indian Ocean, Ellen E. Martin, Howie Scher

Faculty Publications

We present Nd isotopic data for fossil fish teeth recovered from the past 40 m.y. at ODP Site 757, currentlylocated at 1650m water depth on the Ninetyeast Ridge in the Indian Ocean. Although Site 757 sits in a regionstrongly influenced by weathering inputs from the Himalayas and volcanic inputs from the Indonesian arc, the pattern of Nd isotopic variations does not appear to respond to these potential sources of Nd. Instead, secular variations correlate to changes in the composition of intermediate to deep water masses bathing thesite and circulation patterns in the Indian Ocean. From ~40 to 10 Ma, eNd …

Precarious Rock Methodology For Seismic Hazard: Physical Testing, Numerical Modeling, And Coherence Studies, Rasool Anooshehpoor, James N. Brune, Amy J. Smiecinski, Raymond E. Keeler

Publications (YM)

The precarious rock methodology used for seismic hazard assessment includes location, age dating, field measurements of the quasi-static toppling acceleration of balanced rocks, and study of their dynamic response to realistic strong motion seismograms using numerical modeling. The work scope is contained in the task description issued by the DOE to the Seismology Laboratory of the University of Nevada, Reno and is itemized in section 2.3 below. In addition, measurement of the coherence of seismic energy at high frequencies, critical to the understanding of the variability of high frequency ground motions at the repository level, will be estimated based on …

Waterfowl Management Plan, Lake Restoration Task Force, Wade Worthen, Wes Dripps

Furman Lake Restoration Book Gallery

A six page document submitted by The Lake Restoration Task Force. The document lists the members of the task force, gives an overview of waterfowl overpopulation at the Furman Lake, goals for the future, and the strategy to solve this problem. The document provides a specific implementation plan and concludes with an assessment of the plan.

Imaging Complex Structure In Shallow Seismic-Reflection Data Using Prestack Depth Migration, John H. Bradford, Lee M. Liberty, Mitchell W. Lyle, William P. Clement, Scott Hess

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Prestack depth migration (PSDM) analysis has the potential to significantly improve the accuracy of both shallow seismic reflection images and the measured velocity distributions. In a study designed to image faults in the Alvord Basin, Oregon, at depths from 25–1000 m, PSDM produced a detailed reflection image over the full target depth range. In contrast, poststack time migration produced significant migration artifacts in the upper 100 m that obscured reflection events and limited the structural interpretation in the shallow section. Additionally, an abrupt increase from ~2500 to >3000 m/s in the PSDM velocity model constrained the interpretation of the transition …

Detection Of A Landslide Glide Plane Using Seismic Reflection Methods: Investigation At Little Valley Landslide In Draper, Utah, Brady E. Tingey

Theses and Dissertations

An integration of geological and geophysical techniques has been used to characterize the internal structure of the Little Valley Landslide in Draper, Utah, USA. The Little Valley Landslide is a pre-historic landslide as old as 13ka B.P. It is found to consist of chaotic and disturbed weathered volcanic units derived from Tertiary age volcanics that comprise a great portion of the Wasatch Range. Geotechnical investigations that were integrated with the geophysical results included excavation of trenches and drilling of boreholes. Geophysical methods, in particular high-resolution seismic data, were used to provide a framework for interpreting the geotechnical observations. High-resolution seismic …

Comparison Of Tropospheric Ozone Columns Calculated From Mls, Omi, And Ozonesonde Data, Gary A. Morris, Bojan Bojkov, Mark R. Schoeberl, Amy Wozniak, Jerry Ziemke, Sushil Chandra, Jack Fishman, Ivanka Stajner

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Presentations

This poster shows a comparison of three derived tropospheric ozone residual (TOR) products with integrated tropospheric ozone columns from ozonesonde profile: (1) the method of Ziemke et al. (2006), (2) a modified version of Fishman et al. (2003), and (3) a trajectory mapping approach. In each case, MLS ozone profiles are integrated to the tropopause and subtracted from OMI (TOMS retrieval) total column ozone. The effectiveness of each of these techniques is examined as a function of latitude, time, and geographic region. In general, we find good agreement between the derived products and the ozonesondes, with the Fishman et al. …

Crosshole Radar Tomography In A Fluvial Aquifer Near Boise, Idaho, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

To determine the distribution of heterogeneities in the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer in Boise, ID, we compute tomograms for three adjacent well pairs. The fluvial deposits consist of unconsolidated cobbles and sands. We used a curved-ray, finite-difference approximation to the eikonal equation to generate the forward model. The inversion uses a linearized, iterative scheme to determine the slowness distribution from the first arrival traveltimes. The tomograms consist of a layered zone representing the saturated aquifer. The velocities in this saturated zone range between 0.06 to 0.10 m/ns. We use a variety of methods to assess the reliability of …

Mapped Overland Distance Of Paleotsunami High-Velocity Inundation N Back-Barrier Wetlands Of The Central Cascadia Margin, U.S.A, Robert B. Schlichting, Curt D. Peterson

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Investigations of back-barrier, open-coastal plain settings have been used to establish minimum inundation distances of prehistoric tsunamis produced by great subduction zone earthquakes in the central Cascadia margin. Distinctive sand sheets were characterized at four localities within the central Cascadia margin, a shoreline distance of about 250 km. The sand sheets vary in thickness from 0.2 to 25 cm. They thin in the landward direction and consist of well-sorted beach sand that fines upsection. Many of the sand sheets include capping layers of organic-rich detritus, as well as assimilated mud rip-up clasts and soil litter. Marine diatoms and bromine (i.e., …

Precarious Rock Methodology For Seismic Hazard: Physical Testing, Numerical Modeling And Coherence Studies, Rasool Anooshehpoor, Matthew D. Purvance, James N. Brune, Leiph A. Preston, John G. Anderson, Ken Smith, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report covers the following projects: Shake table tests of precarious rock methodology, field tests of precarious rocks at Yucca Mountain and comparison of the results with PSHA predictions, study of the coherence of the wave field in the ESF, and a limited survey of precarious rocks south of the proposed repository footprint. A series of shake table experiments have been carried out at the University of Nevada, Reno Large Scale Structures Laboratory. The bulk of the experiments involved scaling acceleration time histories (uniaxial forcing) from 0.1g to the point where the objects on the shake table overturned a specified …

Current Status And 25 Year Trends For Soil Acidity, Fertility And Salinity In The Coastal Catchments Of The Peel-Harvey, Robert Summers, David Weaver

All other publications

The current status and trends of soil analyses in the coastal catchment of the Peel Harvey estuary were developed from historical soil data (1982 to 1991) combined with a renewed sampling to greater depth (1 m). This report encompasses the data collected from the first year of the project. Soil phosphorus content was found to be high but has dropped slightly since 1991. Soil pH is very low and is likely to be limiting production but have risen slightly since 1991. Soil potassium content is generally so low that it may be limiting production especially to the west of the …

Mapping Woody Plant Cover In Desert Grasslands Using Canopy Reflectance Modeling And Misr Data, Mark Chopping, Lihong Su, Andrea Laliberte, Albert Rango, Debra P.C. Peters, John V. Martonchik

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A simplified geometric-optical model (SGM) was inverted using red band reflectance data acquired at 275 m in nine viewing angles from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) flown on NASA's Terra satellite, to provide estimates of fractional woody plant cover for large areas (over 3519 km 2) in parts of the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico, USA. The use of the model in these semi-arid environments was enabled by the derivation of a priori estimates of the soil/understory background reflectance response. This was made possible by determining relationships between the kernel weights from a LiSparse-RossThin model adjusted against the same MISR …

Deep-Water Antipatharians: Proxies Of Environmental Change, B. Williams, M.J. Risk, S.W. Ross, K.J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Deep-water (307–697 m) antipatharian (black coral) specimens were collected from the southeastern continental slope of the United States and the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The sclerochronology of the specimens indicates that skeletal growth takes place by formation of concentric coeval layers. We used 210Pb to estimate radial growth rate of two specimens, and to establish that they were several centuries old. Bands were delaminated in KOH and analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Carbon values ranged from _16.4‰ to _15.7‰; the oldest specimen displayed the largest range in values. Nitrogen values ranged from 7.7‰ to 8.6‰. …

Data Report: Dissolved Sulfide Concentration And Sulfur Isotopic Composition Of Sulfide And Sulfate In Pore Waters, Odp Leg 204, Hydrate Ridge And Vicinity, Cascadia Margin, Offshore Oregon, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report dissolved sulfide sulfur concentrations and the sulfur isotopic composition of dissolved sulfate and sulfide in pore waters from sediments collected during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204. Porewater sulfate is depleted rapidly as the depth to the sulfate/methane interface (SMI) occurs between 4.5 and 11 meters below seafloor at flank and basin locations. Dissolved sulfide concentration reaches values as high as 11.3 mM in Hole 1251E. Otherwise, peak sulfide concentrations lie between 3.2 and 6.1 mM and occur immediately above the SMI. The sulfur isotopic composition of interstitial sulfate generally becomes enriched in 34 S with increasing sediment depth. …

Microbial Growth And Biofilm Formation In Geologic Media Is Detected With Complex Conductivity Measurements, Caroline A. Davis, Estella A. Atekwana, Eliot A. Atekwana, Lee D. Slater, Silvia Rossbach, Melanie R. Mormile

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Complex conductivity measurements (0.1-1000 Hz) were obtained from biostimulated sand-packed columns to investigate the effect of microbial growth and biofilm formation on the electrical properties of porous media. Microbial growth was verified by direct microbial counts, pH measurements, and environmental scanning electron microscope imaging. Peaks in imaginary (interfacial) conductivity in the biostimulated columns were coincident with peaks in the microbial cell concentrations extracted from sands. However, the real conductivity component showed no discernible relationship to microbial cell concentration. We suggest that the observed dynamic changes in the imaginary conductivity (σ″) arise from the growth and attachment of microbial cells and …

Significance Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) And Petroleum Biomarker Compounds In Contaminated Passaic River Sediments, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The lower Passaic River (northeastern New Jersey) flows through one of the most densely populated regions of the United States. The area’s long history of industrial activity is reflected in the complex and variable hydrocarbon composition of the river sediments. Sediments from river bottom grab samples at Newark and a 30 cm deep core at Kearny were subjected to thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). This technique offers a practical alternative for rapid, inexpensive analysis, simply employing milligram quantities of dry, disaggregated sediment, avoiding the use of hazardous organic solvents. For each sample, a total of 181 hydrocarbons and organosulfur compounds …

Sinkhole Structure Imaging In Covered Karst Terrain, Sarah E. Kruse, M. Grasmueck, Matthew Weiss, D. Viggiano

Geology Faculty Publications

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and resistivity techniques have been widely used to map the locations of sinkholes in covered karst terrain. To determine whether a sinkhole is a likely preferential conduit for groundwater flow, however, requires higher-resolution imaging than that used in conventional sinkhole mapping surveys. Field observations combined with simulated surveys for a 15-m diameter 3-m deep sinkhole in west-central Florida are used to assess the resolution of GPR and resistivity surveys targeting the semiconfining unit that floors the sinkhole depression. 2D resistivity surveys clearly show the central depression as well as resistivity contrasts between the cover sediments within …

Marine Investigations Of Greece's Santorini Volcanic Field, Haraldur Sigurdsson, Steven Carey, Matina Alexandri, Georges Vougioukalakis, Katherine Croff, Chris Roman, Dimitris Sakellariou, Christos Anagnostou, Grigoris Rousakis, Chrysanti Ioakim, Aleka Goguo, Dionysis Ballas, Thanassis Misaridis, Paraskevi Nomikou

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The most recent major explosive eruption of the Santorini volcano in Greece—around 3600 years before present (B.P.), often referred to as the Minoan eruption—is one of the largest volcanic events known in historical time and has been the subject of intense volcanological and archeological studies [Druitt et al., 1999]. The submarine volcano Kolumbo, located seven kilometers northeast of Santorini and associated with Santorini's tectonic system, erupted explosively in 1650 A.D., resulting in fatalities on the island of Thera [Fouqué, 1879]. A large fraction of the erupted products from the Minoan eruption has been deposited in the …

Maximum A Posteriori Resampling Of Noisy, Spatially Correlated Data, John A. Goff, Chris Jenkins, Brian R. Calder

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

In any geologic application, noisy data are sources of consternation for researchers, inhibiting interpretability and marring images with unsightly and unrealistic artifacts. Filtering is the typical solution to dealing with noisy data. However, filtering commonly suffers from ad hoc (i.e., uncalibrated, ungoverned) application. We present here an alternative to filtering: a newly developed method for correcting noise in data by finding the “best” value given available information. The motivating rationale is that data points that are close to each other in space cannot differ by “too much,” where “too much” is governed by the field covariance. Data with large uncertainties …

Hydrochemistry In An Alpine Karst System, Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks, California, Joel Despain

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study uses high-resolution, long-term conductivity, temperature, discharge, pH, and laboratory data from 2001 through 2003 from an alpine karst spring located at 2,500 m amsl in Sequoia National Park, California to reveal detailed chemical parameters of this karst system. The data show a system with a pronounced spring run-off, extended periods of base flow quiescence, storm responses tied to precipitation as rain or as snowfall, and clear diurnal and seasonal patterns of discharge. pH and spC values show an inverse relationship to discharge and temperature, which are generally in phase. Total inorganic carbon (TIC) and the fraction of mineral-derived …

Strategies For Reducing Mosquito-Borne Disease Vulnerability In Equine Populations: A Kentucky Case Study, Sara Dalton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research examined equine management practices that limit or contribute to the spread of West Nile virus and other mosquito-bome disease. I hypothesize that there is a relationship between equine management practices and outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease in horse populations. Improved and appropriate mosquito habitat management may limit the risk of mosquito-borne disease in humans and horses by helping to lower the mosquito populations. The study goals were to recognize equine management practices and mosquito prevention practices that foster outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease. This study used a questionnaire for county level analysis of equine management practices and the relationship to …

Agriculture Land Suitability Analysis Of Indiana: Integrating Soil, Climate, Topography, And Urban Expansion, Yiran Huang

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was initiated to classify the land suitability of Indiana for agricultural use. It integrates environmental, economic, and social factors to analyze the agricultural land suitability of Indiana. Soil, topography, flood, climate, and urban factors were considered. Soil Rating for Plant Growth (SRPG) was used as a soil index in this model; it is calculated based on the STA TSGO database along with landscape attributes and climate. Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was used as a climate index. Urban areas were defined from Tiger data and a buffer zone was used to estimate future sprawl. GIS overlay was used to …

The Impact Of Acid Mine Drainage On West Little Sugar Creek, Vigo Co., In, Jodie L. Gibson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the degree and extent of contamination in West Little Sugar Creek by analyzing water chemistry in the stream during low and moderate flow conditions. West Little Sugar Creek is located in Vigo County, Indiana and has been severely impacted by AMD discharging from the abandoned Green Valley Mine site. Stream water is commonly acidic (as low as pH 2.4) with elevated concentrations of Fe and Al and elevated trace elements including Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, and others, many of which exceed local and/or national surface water quality standards. Amorphous Fe and Al precipitates also form …

Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study : Modernization Of Fema Flood Hazard Maps, Frank I. González, Eric L. Geist, Costas Synolakis, Diego Rodriguez Arcas, Douglas Bellomo, David Carlton, Thomas Horning, Bruce Jaffe, Jeff Johnson, Utku Kânoğlu, Harold O. Mofjeld, Jean Newman, Thomas Parsons, Robert Peters, Curt D. Peterson, George Priest, Vasily V. Titov, Angie J. Venturato, Joseph Weber, Florence L. Wong, Ahmet Yalçıner

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) guidelines do not currently exist for conducting and incorporating tsunami hazard assessments that reflect the substantial advances in tsunami research achieved in the last two decades; this conclusion is the result of two FEMA-sponsored workshops and the associated Tsunami Focused Study (Chowdhury et al., 2005). Therefore, as part of FEMA's Map Modernization Program, a Tsunami Pilot Study was carried out in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, area to develop an improved Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) methodology and to provide recommendations for improved tsunami hazard assessment guidelines. The Seaside area was chosen because it is typical …

Cold Climate In The Eastern Australian Mid- To Late Permian May Reflect Cold Upwelling Waters, Andrew T. Jones, Tracy D. Frank, Christopher R. Fielding

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A suite of ice-rafted dropstones and glendonites throughout the Permian succession of eastern Australia indicates the cold climate associated with the late Paleozoic ice age persisted longest in this part of Gondwana. Paradoxically, these cold climate indicators are preserved in transgressive and highstand facies and formed at mid to high latitudes at a time when paleofloral and sedimentological data suggest equable onshore environments during the intervening lowstands and temperate conditions at the pole. These apparent inconsistencies suggest that eastern Australia was anomalously cold in the context of post-Sakmarian Gondwanan climates, and the distribution of sedimentary indicators could indicate localized cooling …

Major Land Resource Areas Of Montana, Natural Resources Conservation Service

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Major Land Resource Areas 32, Northern Intermountain Desertic Basins 43A, Northern Rocky Mountains 43B, Central Rocky Mountains 44A, Northern Rocky Mountain Valleys 44B, Central Rocky Mountain Valleys 46, Northern Rocky Mountain Foothills 52, Brown Glaciated Plains 53A, Northern Dark Brown Glaciated Plains 54, Soft Shale Plains 58A, Northern Rolling Plains, Northern Part 58B, Northern Rolling Plains, Southern Part 58C, Northern Rolling Plains, Northeastern Part 58D, Northern Rolling Plains, Eastern Part 60A, Pierre Shale Plains and Badlands 60B, Pierre Shale Plains and Badlands, Northern Part

Evidence Of An Active Enso And Pdq During The Mid-Holocene From A Costa Rican Speleothem, April D. Azouz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the most important source of inter-annual climate variability in the tropics, its Holocene history is poorly understood, particularly in Central America. A high resolution (-3.8 years/sample) paleoclimate record of Central American rainfall variability has been reconstructed from a U /Th-dated stalagmite (7890 to 6490 yrs B.P.) from Costa Rica to constrain the onset and variability of ENSO throughout the Holocene, and to determine its role in generating regional climate anomalies. I suggest drier conditions, forced by El Nino, are represented by higher 5180 values, and are correlative with higher 513C values, indicating that …