Earth Sciences Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Expression Of Vegetation And Atmospheric Variability From Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Bat Guano In The Southern United States, Christopher M. Wurster, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Michael I. Bird

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Stable isotopes of faeces contain information related to the animals feeding ecology. The use of stable isotope values from subfossil faeces as a palaeoenvironmental indicator depends on how faithfully the animal records their local environment. Here we present insectivorous bat guano δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values from a precipitation gradient across the southern United States and northern Mexico to compare with local vegetation and climate. We find δ¹³C values to be an excellent predictor of expected C₄/CAM vegetation, indicating that the bats are non-selective in their diet. Moreover, we find bat guano δ …

The Non-Synchronous Response To Rabots Glaciar And Storglaciaren, Northern Sweden, To Recent Climate Change: A Comparative Study, Keith A. Brugger

Geology Publications

Rabots Glaciar and Storglaciaren, two small valley glaciers in the Swedish Arctic, have not behaved synchronously in response to recent climate change. Both glaciers advanced late in the 19th century and then began to retreat in response to an approximately 1 degree C warming that occurred around 1910. By the mid-1980s the terminus and volume of Storglaciaren had essentially stabilized, so it may have completed its response to the earlier warming. In contrast, ongoing thinning and retreat of Rabots Glaciar are substantial and suggest its response time is considerably longer. A time-dependent numerical model was used to investigate each glacier’s …

Rock Glaciers In Central Colorado, U.S.A., As Indicators Of Holocene Climate Change, Kurt A. Refsnider, Keith A. Brugger

Geology Publications

We measured thalli diameters of the lichen Rhizocarpon subgenus Rhizocarpon on 48 individual lobes of 18 rock glaciers and rock glacier complexes in the Elk Mountains and Sawatch Range of central Colorado. Cumulative probability distribution and K-means clustering analyses were used to separate lichen thalli measurements into statistically-distinct groups, each interpreted as representing a discrete episode of rock glacier activity driven by an interval of cooler climate. Lichen ages for these episodes were assigned using a growth curve developed for Rhizocarpon geographicum in the nearby Front Range. An early Neoglacial episode, ca. 3080 yr BP, is correlative to other glacial …

Furman Lake Bathymetry Map, Wade Worthen

Furman Lake Restoration Book Gallery

Aerial view of the Furman Lake showing the depth of the water.

The Abundance Of Different Dragonfly Species At Furman Lake - 2007, Wade Worthen

Furman Lake Restoration Book Gallery

A line graph showing the abundance of fifteen different species of dragonflies spotted over a five month period at Furman Lake in 2007.

Quantifying Hydrologic Fluxes To A Small Impounded Piedmont Lake, Greenville, South Carolina, Cameron Moore

Furman Lake Restoration Book Gallery

A presentation with text, charts, and images showing research gathered over a three month period in 2007 measuring the water flowing into and out of the Furman Lake. The research is pertinent to the Furman Lake Restoration Project as it will help assess the condition of the lake and plan for the future.

1991: Pinatubo Eruption, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Date: June 12-16, 1991

Place: Luzon, Philippines

Result: About 350 dead (mostly from collapsed roofs); extensive damage to homes, bridges, irrigation-canal dikes, and cropland; 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide spewed into the stratosphere up to an elevation of 15.5 miles

Prior to the 1991 eruption, Pinatubo had the appearance of a steep, domelike spheroid that rose about 2,297 feet (700 meters) above a gently sloping apron made of pyroclastic and epiclastic materials. Such a volcano belongs to the class of stratocones, of which such 803 well-known exemplars as Fuji and Mayon are considerably larger than Pinatubo. The extensive pyroclastic …

Physical Property And Chemical Characteristics Of Surface Sediment Grab Samples From Narragansett Bay And The Providence And Seekonk Rivers, D. W. Murray, W L. Prell, C E. Rincon, E Saarman

Narragansett Bay Collection

This document contains data tables, maps, plots, and documentation on Brown

University’s Narragansett Bay Sediment Project compiled by David W. Murray, Brown

University, for the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission with

support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data were compiled and

analyzed as part of a New England pilot project exploring the development of a

biological condition gradient applicable to estuarine systems.

I Sinkholes Nella Letteratura Scientifica Internazionale: Una Breve Rassegna, Con Particulare Riferimento Agli Stati Uniti D'America, Lee J. Florea, Mario Parise

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Fenomeni di sinkholes sono diffusi in moltissimi paesi del mondo, in ambiti geologici e morfologici alquanto differenziati, e coinvolgono svariate litologie, sia nelle successioni di copertura che in quelle direttamente affioranti alla superficie. Il presente contributo intende fornire una breve rassegna, certamente non esaustiva, sullo stato dell’arte delle ricerche relative ai sinkholes in ambito internazionale. Esso consiste in una descrizione della più aggiornata e diffusa classificazione dei sinkholes e, a seguire, in descrizioni delle più tipiche casistiche di sinkholes nei vari paesi. Tra questi, viene dato particolare risalto agli Stati Uniti d’America (e, più in particolare, alla Florida), dove le …

The Yellowstone Hotspot, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, And Human Geography, Kenneth L. Pierce, Don G. Despain, Lisa A. Morgan, John M. Good

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Active geologic processes associated with the Yellowstone hotspot are fundamental in shaping the landscapes of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE), a high volcanic plateau flanked by a crescent of still higher mountainous terrain. The processes associated with the Yellowstone hotspot are volcanism, faulting, and uplift and are observed in the geology at the surface. We attribute the driving forces responsible for the northeastward progression of these processes to a thermal plume rising through the Earth’s mantle into the base of the southwest-moving North American plate. This progression began 16 million years ago (Ma) near the Nevada-Oregon border and arrived at …

Dendroarchaeology Of The Salt Lake Tabernacle, Utah, Matthew F. Bekker, David M. Heath

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

We examined tree rings from Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) timbers in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, constructed from 1863–1867 in Salt Lake City, Utah. A seismic upgrade to the Tabernacle initiated in 2005 required the replacement of wooden timbers with steel beams. Our objectives were to 1) determine cutting dates for the timbers to identify logs that may have been salvaged from previous structures, and consequently would have greater historical significance, 2) identify the species and provenance of the timbers, and 3) develop a chronology that could extend or strengthen the existing tree-ring record for environmental and …

International, Cooperative Research In The Apuseni Mountains Of Western Romania, Lee J. Florea, Bogdan P. Onac

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

In May of 2006, nine American scientists and cavers from the Karst Research Group at the University of South Florida traveled to western Romania to attend and present at an international conference on records of climate change in caves in the historic Roman town of Baile Hurculane. The conference, co-sponsored by the “Emil Racoviţă” Speleological Institute of Romania and the Karst Waters Institute, drew more than 100 experts in the field of climate change and karst, and was a wonderful time spent alongside the thermal springs and Austro-Hungarian bathhouses nestled within the massive limestone canyon of the Cerna River.

Following …

Sinkhole Distribution Based On Pre-Development Mapping In Urbanized Pinellas County, Florida, Usa, Robert Brinkmann, Kelly Wilson, Nichole Elko, Larry D. Seale, Lee J. Florea, H L. Vacher

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Locating sinkholes in Pinellas County, Florida, is confounded by the presence of a cover of Quaternary sediments that mute the surface appearance of these sinkholes. As a first step in addressing the sinkhole hazard in the county, we analysed aerial photographs from 1926 and 1995 that covered the entire county. We digitized all identifiable sinkholes in each set of photographs in a GIS (Geographical Information System) using a set of criteria established to differentiate between karst depressions and depressions resulting from other geological processes. The 1926 photographs, although of low quality, helped to establish a baseline prior to urbanization. The …

Loess Deposits, Origins And Properties, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is an eolian (windblown) sediment that is an important archive of Quaternary climate changes. It may provide one of the most complete terrestrial records of interglacial–glacial cycles. Loess is unusual as a record of Quaternary climate change because it is one of the few sediments that is deposited directly from the atmosphere. Thus, it is a geologic deposit that contains a record of atmospheric circulation and can be used to reconstruct synoptic-scale paleoclimatology. Loess is also unusual in that it can be dated directly using ‘trapped electron’ or luminescence methods that require only the sediment itself. Commonly, loess deposits …

Impact Of More Intensive Grazing On Nitrogen And Phosphorus In Shallow Aquifers Of The Southern Perth Basin, D L. Bennett, Patrick Donnelly, Peter J. Tille

Resource management technical reports

This study reports on the nutrient content, pH and salinity of groundwater samples collected from the watertable and within the Superficial and the upper Leederville Aquifers from the Southern Perth Basin, south of Pinjarra, Western Australia. Sampling was undertaken to determine the impact of intensification of broadscale grazing on groundwater nutrients in the area.

Groundwater Quality In Kentucky: Atrazine, Bart Davidson, R. Stephen Fisher

Information Circular--KGS

Atrazine is an organic herbicide used for selective control of broadleaf and grassy weeds in crops such as corn, soybeans, sorghum, sugarcane, macadamia nuts, pineapples, pine trees, grasslands, and roses. Atrazine does not harm the crops, which can absorb and metabolize the herbicide, thereby removing the toxins. It controls targeted plants by inhibiting photosynthesis (Wilkes University Center for Environmental Quality, 2003). Atrazine is a white, odorless, crystalline powder that dissolves readily in water and does not occur naturally. It is widely used because of its low cost and ability to reduce crop losses from weed interference.

The Cohesive Element Approach To Dynamic Fragmentation: The Question Of Energy Convergence, J F. Monlinari, G Gazonas, R Raghupathy, A Rusinek, F Zhou

United States Army: Publications

The cohesive element approach is getting increasingly popular for simulations in which a large amount of cracking occurs. Naturally, a robust representation of fragmentation mechanics is contingent to an accurate description of dissipative mechanisms in form of cracking and branching. A number of cohesive law models have been proposed over the years and these can be divided into two categories: cohesive laws that are initially rigid and cohesive laws that have an initial elastic slope. This paper focuses on the initially rigid cohesive law, which is shown to successfully capture crack branching mechanisms in simulations. The paper addresses the issue …

Boyup Brook - Upper Warren Area : Catchment Appraisal 2007/ Prepared By The South West Arm Region Appraisal Team., Henry Brockman

Resource management technical reports

The aim of this Resource Management Technical Report is to assess the current extent of salinity and other natural resource degradation issues in the Boyup Brook - Upper Warren area and provide landholders with the best current management options to address natural resource management issues and enhance sustainable agricultural production.

Potential Capture Of Surface Run-Off For Reliable Water Supplies In The 500-825 Mm Rainfall Zone Of South Western Australia, D L. Bennett, Peter J. Tille, Ned Stephenson, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

West Midlands Region Catchment Appraisal 2007, Angela Stuart-Street, Northern Agricultural Region Catchment Appraisal Team

Resource management technical reports

Annual run-off likely to occur was calculated for farm-scale catchments within the 500-825 millimetre rainfall zone of the South West Catchment Council [Western Australia] area. When compared with historical flow measurements, this method was found to be accurate (or conservative) in 85% of all measured years, indicating its usefulness for predicting reliable annual flows.

The Floor Of Yellowstone Lake Is Anything But Quiet—New Discoveries From High-Resolution Sonar Imaging, Seismic- Reflection Profiling, And Submersible Studies, Lisa A. Morgan, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Kenneth L. Pierce, David A. Lovalvo, Gregory K. Lee, Michael W. Webring, William J. Stephenson, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stephen S. Harlan, Boris Schulze, Carol A. Finn

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Discoveries from multibeam sonar mapping and seis-mic-reflection surveys of Yellowstone Lake provide new insight into the recent geologic forces that have shaped a large lake at the active front of the Yellowstone hot spot, a region strongly affected by young (<2 >m.y.), large-volume (>100–1,000s km3) silicic volcanism, active tectonism, and accompanying uplift.

Specifically, our mapping has identified the extent of postcaldera-collapse volcanism and active hydrothermal processes occurring above a large magma chamber beneath the lake floor. Multiple advances and recessions of thick glacial ice have overlapped volcanic and hydrothermal activity leaving a lake basin that has been shaped predominantly …

Enhancing The Detection And Classification Of Coral Reef And Associated Benthic Habitats: A Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Approach, Deepak R. Mishra, Sunil Narumalani, Donald Rundquist, Merlin P. Lawson, R. Perk

Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies: Publications

Coral reefs and associated benthic habitats are heterogeneous in nature. A remote sensor designed to discriminate these environments requires a high number of narrow, properly placed bands which are not currently available in existing satellite sensors. Optical hyperspectral sensors mounted on aerial platforms seem to be appropriate for overcoming the lack of both high spectral and spatial resolution of satellite sensors. This research presents results of an innovative coral reef application by such a sensor. Using hyperspectral Airborne Imaging Spectroradiometer for Applications (AISA) Eagle data, the approach presented solves the confounding influence of water column attenuation on substrate reflectance on …

Hydrogeologic Setting And Ground-Water Flow Simulations Of The Eastern High Plains Regional Study Area, Nebraska, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Turco

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants to public-supply wells was evaluated in a part of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The aquifer in the Eastern High Plains regional study area is composed of Quaternary alluvial deposits typical of the High Plains aquifer in eastern Nebraska and Kansas, is an important water source for agricultural irrigation and public water supply, and is susceptible and vulnerable to contamination. A six-layer, steady-state ground-water flow model of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, was constructed and calibrated to average …

Land Capability Potential Index (Lcpi) For The Lower Missouri River Valley, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Joanna M. Reuter

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) was developed to serve as a relatively coarse-scale index to delineate broad land capability classes in the valley of the Lower Missouri River. The index integrates fundamental factors that determine suitability of land for various uses, and may provide a useful mechanism to guide land-management decisions. The LCPI was constructed from integration of hydrology, hydraulics, land-surface elevations, and soil permeability (or saturated hydraulic conductivity) datasets for an area of the Lower Missouri River, river miles 423-670. The LCPI estimates relative wetness based on intersecting water-surface elevations, interpolated from measurements or calculated from hydraulic models, …

Movement Of A Large Landslide Block Dated By Tree-Ring Analysis, Tower Falls Area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Paul E. Carrara

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Tree-ring analysis can be a valuable tool to date geomorphic events in regions lacking long historical records. In this study, the latest detectable movement of a section of a large landslide block in the Tower Falls area of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, is dated by tree-ring analysis of Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) damaged by the event. The movement tilted many of the trees and damaged their root systems. Thirteen old, tilted Douglas fir trees, at three sites, were sampled within the section of the landslide block that moved during the life of these trees. In …

Environmental Geochemistry In Yellowstone National Park—Natural And Anthropogenic Anomalies And Their Potential Impact On The Environment, Maurice A. Chaffee, Robert R. Carlson, Harley D. King

United States Geological Survey: Publications

In cooperation with the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a stream-sediment-based environmental geochemical study in and near Yellowstone National Park (the Park). The main goals of the study were to (1) determine background concentrations for as many as 49 elements in samples of rock and stream sediment, (2) establish a geochemical baseline during the 1990s for future reference, (3) identify the source(s) of anomalies for selected elements, and (4) identify potential chemical impacts on the Park environment, especially on wildlife.

Two areas of the Park containing identified environmental geochemical problems were selected for detailed study: (1) an …

Geochemical Data For Selected Rivers, Lake Waters, Hydrothermal Vents, And Subaerial Geysers In Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming And Vicinity, 1996–2004, Pamela A. Gemery-Hill, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Gregory K. Lee

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Analyses of more than 400 water samples collected from creeks and rivers draining into Yellowstone Lake, hydrothermal vents and water-column profiles within Yellowstone Lake, and subaerial hot springs and geysers throughout Yellowstone National Park (the Park) are reported. The samples were collected from 1996 to 2004. All of the water samples were collected and analyzed as part of the USGS Mineral Resources Program Project, Integrated Geoscience Studies of the Greater Yellowstone Area. Goals of this study are to provide state-of-the-art chemical determinations of more than 45 elements and species to help understand the influences of hydrothermal processes within Yellowstone National …

Spectral Analysis Of Absorption Features For Mapping Vegetation Cover And Microbial Communities In Yellowstone National Park Using Aviris Data, Raymond F. Kokaly, Don G. Despain, Roger N. Clark, K. Eric Livo

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report summarizes the application of imaging spectroscopy to the study of biotic components of Yellowstone National Park ecosystems. Maps of vegetation cover and hot-spring microorganisms were generated using spectral-feature analysis of data from the airborne visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS). AVIRIS data were calibrated to surface reflectance using a radiative-transfer model and a ground-calibration target. A spectral library of canopy-reflectance signatures was created by averaging pixels of reflectance data over known occurrences of 27 vegetation cover types in Yellowstone. Distributions of these vegetation types were determined by comparing absorption features of the vegetation in the spectral library with …

Reconnaissance Study Of Pleistocene Lake And Fluvial Deposits In And Near Ancestral Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, J. D. Love, John M. Good, D. G. Browne

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Seven sequences of Pleistocene strata, five of them predominantly lacustrine, are described from outcrops north of Yellowstone Lake. These are (1) Turbid Lake sequence, 30–50 feet of white pumiceous claystone and tuff with carbonaceous partings and a distinctive compositional pattern of excesses and deficiencies of many elements; (2) Yellowstone Falls sequence, 75 feet or more of varved white claystone and tuff containing pollen and diatoms, overlain by gray conglomerate and sandstone; (3) Hayden Valley sequence, 200 feet or more of gray and white silt and claystone containing sparse diatoms; (4) Alum Creek sequence, 30 feet or more of bedded sand …

Postglacial Inflation-Deflation Cycles, Tilting, And Faulting In The Yellowstone Caldera Based On Yellowstone Lake Shorelines, Kenneth L. Pierce, Kenneth P. Cannon, Grant A. Meyer, Matthew J. Trebesch, Raymond D. Watts

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The Yellowstone caldera, like many other late Quaternary calderas of the world, exhibits dramatic unrest. Between 1923 and 1985, the center of the Yellowstone caldera rose nearly 1 m along an axis between its two resurgent domes (Pelton and Smith, 1979; Dzurisin and Yamashita, 1987). From 1985 until 1995–1996, the caldera subsided at about 2 cm/yr (Dzurisin and others, 1990). More recent radar-interferometry studies show renewed inflation of the northeastern resurgent dome between 1995 and 1996; this inflation migrated to the southwestern resurgent dome from 1996 to 1997 (Wicks and others, 1998).

We extend this record back in time using …