Earth Sciences Commons^™

Applications Of A New Geodata Crawler For Landscape Ecology: From Mapping Natural Stream Hydrology To Monitoring Endangered Beetles, Douglas Ryan Leasure

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An investigation of endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) ecology led to development of a Geodata Crawler with applications in eco-hydrology. Geodata Crawler includes a national GIS (geospatial information systems) database with layers that quantify climate, land cover, soils, human development, and other attributes of the biosphere. For user-locations in the continental United States, Geodata Crawler can rapidly tabulate site-specific statistics within automatically delineated sample areas: points, site radii, watersheds, and riparian zones, among others. Geodata Crawler supported a multi-scale analysis of N. americanus habitat at a military installation in western Arkansas to produce a Landsat-based monitoring tool. Royle's N-mixture …

Switchgrass Cultivar, Harvest Frequency, Fertilizer Source, And Irrigation Effects On Near-Surface Soil Properties In West-Central Arkansas, Alayna A. Jacobs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has been identified as a model bioenergy feedstock crop and is expected to become an important feedstock for future renewable fuel generation. Agronomic management combinations that maximize monoculture switchgrass yield are generally well understood; however, little is known about corresponding effects of differing switchgrass management combinations on near-surface soil properties. The objective of this research was to determine the residual near-surface soil property effects of three years (2008 to 2011) of consistent management combinations to maximize switchgrass biomass production, including cultivar (‘Alamo’ and ‘Cave-in-Rock’), harvest frequency (1-cut and 2-cut systems per year), fertilizer source (poultry …

Alkaline Hydrolyzable-Nitrogen, Seeding Date, And Clay-Fixed Ammonium As Potential Indicators Of Rice Response To Nitrogen Fertilization In Arkansas, Anthony Michael Fulford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several potential indicators of rice (Oryza sativa L.) response to nitrogen (N) fertilization include the soils alkaline hydrolyzableN (AHN) concentration, seeding date, and the soils clayfixed NH₄N content. Three studies were conducted to: (1) correlate AHN, determined using Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT) or Nitrogen Soil Test for Rice (NSTaR), to plant parameters of interest and develop a fertilizer N rate calibration curve capable of predicting the 95% relative grain yield (RGY) fertilizer N rate for rice grown on clayey soils; (2) evaluate the influence of seeding date and N fertilization on rice plant growth and grain …

Increased Effluent Dosage Effects On Septic System Absorption-Field Products Of Differing Architecture Types, Andrew Richard Gibbons

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nationwide, approximately 20% of all homes use an on-site septic system as a form of household wastewater treatment. Since karst features are prevalent throughout the Ozark Highlands region of Northwest Arkansas, surface and groundwater resources are susceptible to contamination. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of soil condition (i.e., wet and dry) and absorption-field-product architecture type [i.e., chamber, gravel-less-pipe (GLP), polystyrene-aggregate (PSA), and pipe-and-aggregate (PA)] on in-product solution storage and biomat thickness in a profile-limited soil, and to identify the long-term acceptance rate (LTAR) of each product. During Phase I of this study (i.e., March …

Are Concentration-Discharge Relations Influenced By Water Sample Collection Methods?, William M. Welch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two primary methods of stream water sampling, the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) equal-width increment (EWI) and point samples (PS) from vertical centroid of flow (VCF) were compared at three river sites, the White River near Fayetteville, Richland Creek at Goshen, and War Eagle Creek near Hindsville. A little over three years of concentration data, which was paired with corresponding instantaneous discharge values (http://ar.water.usgs.gov/), was gathered separately at each site by the Arkansas Water Resource Center (AWRC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate how concentration is related to discharge when water samples …

Identification Of Groundwater Sources For Municipal Wells Using Geochemical Data On The Platte Alluvial Aquifer And Underlying Limestone At The Lincoln Water Well Field Near Ashland Nebraska, Juanita Cruz Torres

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Alluvial aquifer systems where pumping of municipal wells induces recharge from the adjacent river are the primary source of water for many cities. The city of Lincoln, NE has a primary water source in an alluvial aquifer adjacent to the Platte River. The Lincoln Water System manages the stream/aquifer system by using integrated models for a better understanding during periods of high stress such as a drought. The integrated models set the limestone aquifer as an impermeable boundary to understand the alluvial aquifer system without having a secondary water source. The limestone aquifer is permeable and the purpose of this …

Developing And Testing A Greenness-Duration Method For Mapping Irrigated Areas: A Case Study In The Snake River Plain, Blaine C. Dawson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has raised concerns about the interplay between agricultural productivity, water demand, and water availability in semi-arid to arid regions of the world. As these regions cover nearly 41% of the Earth’s surface and are home to more than 38% of the total global population of 6.5 billion, it is important to understand the implications of changes to water use and water availability on the civilizations and industries that rely upon already scarce water resources. Currently, irrigated agriculture is the dominant water user in these regions and is estimated to consume approximately 80% of the world’s diverted freshwater resources. …

Development And Application Of Tools For Avalanche Forecasting, Avalanche Detection, And Snowpack Characterization, Scott Christopher Havens

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Avalanche formation is a complex interaction between the snowpack, weather, and terrain. However, detailed observations typically can only be made at a single point and must be extrapolated over the slope or regional scale. This study aims to provide avalanche forecasters with tools to evaluate the snowpack, avalanche hazard, and avalanche occurrence when manual observations are not feasible.

Avalanches that occur within the new storm snow are a prevalent problem for the avalanche forecasters with the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) along Highway 21. We have implemented a real time SNOw Slope Stability (SNOSS) model that provides an index to the …

Normal Fault Block Or Giant Landslide? Baldy Block, Wasatch Range, Utah, Eric R. Meyer

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the interplay between surficial and tectonic processes in the development of Utah's Wasatch Range is vital to evaluating geologic hazards along the Wasatch Front. Baldy is a large (6.125 km3) block of limestone and sandstone structurally overlying shale on the western flank of Mount Timpanogos. It has been mapped as a downdropped normal fault block of Permian units, but no other trace of such a fault exists along the range. The Baldy block structurally overlies the weak Manning Canyon shale, which has produced a regional geomorphology replete with faceted spurs, landslide scarps and deposits. Structural, bio- and litho-stratigrahic mapping …

An Lntegrated Approach (Remote Sensing, Gls, Engineering, Datamining) For Modeling, Assessing And Mitigating Slope Stability Hazards In Mountainous Environments, Racha El Kadiri

Dissertations

Mountainous areas are quite often subjected to hazards related to their steep relief and intense precipitation events. These hazards (e.g., debris flows, mudflows, rockfalls) pose serious threats to settlements and structures that support transportation, agriculture, tourism, and other economic activities.

This study applies and develops a wide range of methodologies and tools that take advantage of readily available remote-sensing datasets, geographic information system technologies, and artificial intelligence techniques. The developed approaches allow the characterization of both spatial and temporal conditions that controlled mass movement occurrences and use these characteristics to model and mitigate future occurrences. The Jazan area in the …

Groundwater Trend Analysis And Salinity Risk Assessment For The South-West Agricultural Region Of Western Australia, 2007–12, G Paul Raper, Russell Speed, John Andrew Simons, A L. Killen, Andrew Blake, A T. Ryder, Rosemary H. Smith, Grantley Stainer, L Bourke

Resource management technical reports

Dryland salinity is a hydrologically driven land degradation hazard in the south-west agricultural region of Western Australia (WA). Shallow-rooted annual crops and pastures transpire significantly less water than the native vegetation they replaced, leading to an increase in recharge, rising groundwater levels and the development of shallow watertables in areas where often none existed previously. Rising groundwater levels mobilise soluble salts, naturally stored at high concentrations in the regolith. These salts can be concentrated in the root zone of vegetation by evapotranspiration.

Qualitative Comparison Of Offset Surfaces Between The Central And Eastern Garlock Fault, Thomas M. Crane

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Garlock Fault consists of three distinct segments, known as western, central, and eastern, together reaching approximately 260 km from the San Andreas Fault to the southern end of Death Valley. Although published slip rates are available along the western and central Garlock Fault segments, little is currently known of the Garlock Fault earthquake history or slip rate farther east. Using LiDAR and satellite imagery, the central and eastern Garlock Fault segments were analyzed for visibly offset, fault-adjacent, geomorphic surfaces that may potentially be used for estimating slip rate. Qualitative methods of assessing preserved alluvial surface maturity were adapted and …

The 1852 Banda Arc Mega-Thrust Earthquake And Tsunami In Indonesia, Tsz Man Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

In 1852, a five-minute long earthquake hit the Banda Arc region that was felt over most of Indonesia. It caused uplift of new islands and sent a tsunami across the Banda Sea that reached a height of 8 meters at Banda Neira and was also registered at Ambon, Saparua and other islands. Records of the 1852 earthquake at multiple locations provide the constraints needed to reconstruct the disastrous event through earthquake intensity analysis and numerical modeling of the tsunami. Using tsunami heights and arrival times as the major constraints, best fit numerical models of the tsunami were constructed using Clawpack. …

Compositional Analysis Of Three Clay Artifact Collections From The Southwestern United States, Kathleen R. Kirkham

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed ways compositional analysis, facilitated by portable X-ray fluorescence technology (PXRF), can be applied in the museum setting to resolve provenance issues and other collections management questions. A major segment of the study evaluated PXRF as a non-invasive geochemical analysis technique to address concerns about whether the resolution of results is sufficient to draw meaningful conclusions. Compositional analysis, mainly facilitated by PXRF, was successfully applied to three clay artifact collections from the southwestern United States. Pottery sherds from Fourmile Ruin were analyzed using PXRF and compared to analyses from invasive wavelength-dispersive XRF and X-ray diffraction techniques. Expanding the …

Toward Understanding The Thermodynamics And Mechanisms Of Actinide Sorption Reactions, Shanna Estes

All Dissertations

The environmental fate of actinides is greatly influenced by interfacial reactions, including sorption onto solid surfaces. Because changes in the primary hydration sphere of the actinide are expected to greatly influence the thermodynamics (i.e., reaction enthalpy and entropy) of these reactions, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may provide insight into actinide sorption mechanisms. Additionally, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may enhance the ability to model or predict these reactions in environmental or engineered systems where variable or elevated temperatures are expected. However, few researchers have studied actinide sorption thermodynamics. Therefore, this research examined the thermodynamics of Eu(III) (a trivalent actinide analog), Th(IV), …

Short-Term Effects Of Poultry Litter Or Woodchip Biochar Amendment In A Temperate Zone Agronomic System, Katy Elizabeth Brantley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biochar, a charcoal product produced by the anaerobic thermal decomposition of biomass, can provide agronomic benefits when soil applied. However, research is lacking in temperate region soils investigating specific biochar products and their effects on agronomically important crops. A greenhouse study utilizing poultry litter biochar and a field study utilizing pine woodchip biochar were conducted to observe the effects of biochar application to Northwest Arkansas soils on corn growth and nutrient availability. A third experiment investigated poultry litter and pine woodchip biochar influences on soil water retention. In all three experiments, biochar was applied at three rates (0, 5, and …

Gis Framework For Spatiotemporal Mapping Of Urban Flooding And Analyze Watershed Hydrological Response To Land Cover Change, Sayed Joinal Hossain Abedin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Urban flooding is a manmade disaster, and a recurrent problem in cities around the globe. Increased surface imperviousness due to urbanization along with inadequate drainage infrastructure system are the chief culprits for urban flooding. Flooding in an urban area brings about severe economic, structural, and environmental damages, and can be associated with casualties too. In order to evade flooding, an efficient flood model is imperative to study current flooding, and analyze flooding behavior to urban surface characteristics.

This research aims to develop a framework using Geographic Information System (GIS) to perform modeling and mapping of flood spatiotemporal variation in urban …

Ore Classification And Breccia Formation In The 144 Zone Gold Deposit: A Chemical Replacement Model, Bare Mountain Range, Nevada, William Thomas Fischer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The 144 Zone is an oxidized, breccia-hosted, disseminated gold deposit that formed along the contact between Early Cambrian Carrara Formation limestone and overlying Bonanza King Formation dolomite within the Bare Mountain range in southern Nevada. Gold mineralization occurs within a breccia body that contains a variety of breccia types. Research goals of this project included classifying clay, oxide and other minerals as well as breccia types to identify the habits of gold mineralization and the minerals associated with gold. Research was also aimed at determining the paragenesis of Au mineralization and brecciation in the 144 Zone. Underground mapping provided spatial …

Subalklaine Volcanism In The Eastern Basin And Range Province: Examples From The Miocene Mccullough Range Volcanic Field And The Pliocene To Holocene Black Rock Desert Volcanic Field, Racheal Leighann Johnsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation is composed of three papers that apply geologic mapping, whole rock geochemical and isotopic analysis, and mineral chemistry to describe two large, long-lived (~6 million years), and compositionally heterogeneous volcanic fields and posit sources of the rock types present in each. These fields are the McCullough Range in southern Nevada, which was a locus of volcanic activity from ~19 - 12 Ma and the Black Rock Desert volcanic field in west-central Utah, which began forming at ~6 Ma and is still active today, with the most recent eruption occurring ~720 years ago.

Chapter Two is composed of a …

Thermal Impacts Of Salt On Sandstones And Mudstones In The Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, Brett Perry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In order to assess the impact of salt structures on paleotemperatures in adjacent sedimentary rocks, a field based study which quantified thermally driven diagenetic products as a function of distance from salt was undertaken. Several salt diapirs are now exposed at the surface of the Earth within the Lusitanian Basin and offered a unique opportunity to document paleothermal anomalies by studying thermally controlled diagenesis in adjacent, exposed Upper Jurassic rocks. Four transects were chosen within Upper Jurassic rocks that contained both sandstones and mudstones. Quartz cementation and albitization of feldspars, both of which are thermally driven processes, were quantified in …

New Early Miocene 40ar/39ar Ages For Nakwai, Northwest Kenya, Africa, And Paleontological Analysis Of Meroehyrax Kyongoi Dentition, Dawn Elena Reynoso

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nakwai is a fossiliferous region in the Turkana Basin of northwestern Kenya. Until recently the only ages for the Nakwai formation were based on biostratigraphic correlation with Losodok; a late Oligocene site located to the north of Nakwai. The new 40Ar/39Ar ages in this study range from 23 Ma to 15 Ma and constrain the upper portions of the Nakwai section to the early Miocene. These ages make it the only securely dated fossil locality in the region that represents the earliest Miocene; all of the other early Miocene fossil localities date back to ~20 Ma or younger. The time …

Identification Of Long Term Changes And Evaluation Of The Relationships Among Streamflow Variability And Oceanic-Atmospheric Indices, Soumya Sagarika

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To examine the effects of climate variability on streamflow, this thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the streamflow variability of the continental United States and its association with oceanic-atmospheric indices. First, the presence of trends with consideration of short term and long term persistence followed by shifts over the past years in the continental U.S. streamflow were analyzed by using the non-parametric tests: Mann Kendall and Pettitt. Second, the spatio-temporal relationships between seasonal streamflow variability of continental U.S. and sea surface temperatures (SST) and 500 mbar geopotential height (Z500) of the Pacific and Atlantic were established using the singular valued …

Estimating Aquifer Characteristics And Identification Of A Sub-Basin For Artificial Storage And Recovery, Northeastern Ivanpah Valley, Nevada, Nikolas James Taranik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The identification of a structurally controlled sub-basin with impediments to groundwater flow within Southern Nevada could provide a favorable area for artificial recharge and storage of native or imported water, extending the water supply of Southern Nevada. For this purpose, the area of northeastern Ivanpah Valley was investigated to determine the ability of the aquifer to accept and recover stored water, if acceptable water quality existed in the potential sub-basin storage area, and if structural controls impeded and isolated groundwater flow. The results found evidence the proposed sub-basin is structurally isolated by the McCullough, Roach, and Stateline Faults, which was …

Hydrogeology Of Pumice-Hosted Fens In The Winema-Fremont National Forest, Oregon, Usa, Michael L. Cummings, Jonathan Michael Weatherford, Leslie A. Mowbray

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Subaerial fallout from the Holocene eruption of Mount Mazama in the Oregon Cascade Range was deposited upon relatively low permeability volcanic and volcaniclastic bedrock and regolith. In the Walker Rim study area, erosion by ephemeral streams shortly after the eruption disrupted the lateral continuity of the 270 to 300 cm-thick pumice deposit. Co-evolution of the surface- and ground-water systems in a low-relief, low-slope landscape allowed diffuse groundwater discharge from the banks of the evolving stream system. Accumulation of organic material from groundwater dependent ecosystems at these sites of discharge allowed peat deposits to form on gently sloping erosion surfaces cut …

Spring Thaw Ionic Pulses Boost Nutrient Availability And Microbial Growth In Entombed Antarctic Dry Valley Cryoconite Holes, Jon Telling, Alexandre M. Anesio, Martyn Tranter, Andrew G. Fountain, Thomas H. Nylen, Jon Hawkings, Virendra B. Singh, Preeti Kaur, Michaela Musilova, Jemma L. Wadham

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The seasonal melting of ice entombed cryoconite holes on McMurdo Dry Valley glaciers provides oases for life in the harsh environmental conditions of the polar desert where surface air temperatures only occasionally exceed 0°C during the Austral summer. Here we follow temporal changes in cryoconite hole biogeochemistry on Canada Glacier from fully frozen conditions through the initial stages of spring thaw toward fully melted holes. The cryoconite holes had a mean isolation age from the glacial drainage system of 3.4 years, with an increasing mass of aqueous nutrients (dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus) with longer isolation age. During …

Transformation Of Uranium In A Geological Environment, Derrell Hood

All Theses

Incorporation of uranium into iron oxide minerals is a promising mechanism for the environmental immobilization of U(VI). In this study, synthesized hematite was doped with uranium and analyzed with SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, and ICP-MS. The results of this analysis strongly indicate uranium incorporation into the mineral, as well as the possible presence of a co-precipitated uranium mineral clarkeite. Preliminary results also shows an increase in the amount of uranium associated with the hematite particles as a function of mineral aging. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) was used to induce and characterize electrochemical changes of uranium in the doped hematite system; these changes …

Determination Of Radon Gas And Respirable Ore Dust Concentrations In The Underground Merelani Tanzanite Mines, Evarist M. Kahuluda, Ismael N. Makundi

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study has estimated the concentrations of radon gas and respirable ore dust in the Merelani underground tanzanite mines. Two different portable monitors were used to measure the radon gas and respirable ore dust concentrations, respectively. The mean radon gas concentrations (disintegrations per second per cubic meter) ranged from 40.1 Bq/m3 to 4.2 x 103 Bq/m3 with the geometric mean of 118.4 Bq/m3 which is below the ICRP workplace guidance level of 500 - 1500 Bq/m3. The estimated mean annual effective dose (D) was 1.6 mSv which is significantly lower than the external exposure annual effective dose of 20 mSv …

Analysis Of Body Shapes Among Barbus Trimaculatus, Barbus Paludinosus And Barbus Jacksonii (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) From Malagarasi And Pangani River Basins Based On Geometric Morphometric Method, Chacha J. Mwita, B.G. Kamugisha

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study analyzed variability in body shapes among the small Barbus species of the family Cyprinidae currently occurring in the Malagarasi and Pangani River basins years after uplift of the east African topology. Fish specimens were collected from Songati, Muumbara and Nyamagoma within the Malagarasi River basin; Hale and Pangani fall located on Pangani River. It was found that although the landmarks were placed at the same anatomical regions, significant body shapes variations existed. The relative warps analysis for Barbus trimaculatus and Barbus jacksonii populations from Malagarasi and Pangani wetlands revealed intra-locality variations as for populations from other African countries. …

Turbidity-Based Sediment Monitoring In Northern Thailand: Hysteresis, Variability, And Uncertainty, Shawn G. Benner, Spencer H. Wood

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Annual total suspended solid (TSS) loads in the Mae Sa River in northern Thailand, determined with an automated, turbidity-based monitoring approach, were approximately 62,000, 33,000, and 14,000 Mg during the three years of observation. These loads were equivalent to basin yields of 839 (603-1170), 445 (217-462), and 192 (108-222) Mg km^-2 for the 74.16-km² catchment during 2006, 2007, and 2008, respectively. The yearly uncertainty ranges indicate our loads may be underestimated by 38-43% or overestimated by 28-33%. In determining the annual loads, discharge (Q) and turbidity (T) values were compared against 333 hand-sampled total suspended solid concentrations (TSS) …

Linking Land Use And Water Quality Changes In Lake Maumelle Through Benthic Sediment, Dawn Marie Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Lake Maumelle is a reservoir in Pulaski County, Arkansas that was finished in 1958 for the purpose of supplying potable water to Little Rock and surrounding areas. It is an oligotrophic, monomictic lake with a generously forested watershed. There has been an increase of urbanization in the watershed which may influence the water quality. This research examines the reservoir's sensitivity to land use/land cover change for the lake by analyzing the benthic sediment. By using multidisciplinary methods, cores were examined using mass accumulation rates, grain size analysis, elemental analysis, phase identification, and diatom identification. Those results were then compared to …