Earth Sciences Commons^™

Stratigraphic Characterization And Depositional History Of The Barnett Shale Within The Fort Worth Basin In Denton County, Texas, Matthew Loren Cope

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Barnett shale, located in the Fort Worth Basin, is a geologic unit that has undergone extensive study and currently holds great economic importance. It contains well-known stratigraphy, but still holds questions with regard to the specific stratigraphic variation over much of its area. Denton County contains a large geographic area of the Barnett shale, and holds many answers to the varying stratigraphy of the Barnett shale, as well as an explanation into its depositional history. The investigation involved the use of two cross sections utilizing 32 and 26 wells respectively in the western region of Denton County, Texas. From …

Methane Emissions From Direct-Seeded, Delayed-Flood Rice Grown On A Clay Soil, Alden Daniel Smartt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the production of methane (CH4) under flooded-soil conditions, rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation is a major contributor to agricultural CH4 emissions. Studies examining CH4 emissions from rice have only recently been initiated in Arkansas and no data have been collected from rice produced on clay soils in Arkansas. Therefore, research was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Keiser, Arkansas to examine the factors affecting CH4 emissions from rice produced on a Sharkey clay (very-fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Epiaquerts). The objectives of this study were to determine: 1) the effect of vegetation …

Terrestrial Impacts Of The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province On Western Pangea, Todd Kenneth Knobbe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Earth's climate is predominantly controlled by the fluctuation of greenhouse gases, specifically CO2 and CH4, over geologic time. The late Triassic is a period of abrupt climate change that has been associated with a disruption to the global carbon cycle due the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Evidence has shown that this global carbon cycle perturbation may be the culprit for the end-Triassic extinction. The Whitmore Point Member of the Moenave Formation is a lacustrine deposit with a disputed age of either late Triassic or early Jurassic and currently no absolute dating techniques can be applied to …

Petrology And Weathering Environment Of Sub-Unconformity Limestone Unit: The Kessler Limestone Member Of The Bloyd Formation, Morrowan (Pennsylvanian) Northwest Arkansas, Thomas Daniels Dolan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In northwest Arkansas the thin, widespread Pennsylvanian Kessler Limestone of the Bloyd Formation is exposed in numerous locations. Comparison of various exposures shows the Kessler is heterogeneous in thickness and lithology. Thickening of the Kessler occurs southward into the Arkoma Basin where the interval has been commonly used as a horizon for natural gas exploration. The Kessler Limestone is underlain by the Dye Shale Member of the Bloyd Formation and overlain by the Trace Creek Shale of the Atoka Formation. The contact between the Kessler Limestone Member and the Trace Creek is a regional unconformity in the midcontinent, marked by …

An Investigation Of 3d Seismic Deep Basement Events In Osage County, Oklahoma, Kevin Matthew Liner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep basement events seen in 3D seismic surveys located in Osage County, Oklahoma can be observed and may have affect overlying sedimentary formations. The 3D surveys used in this study are on the Chautauqua platform about fifty miles northwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stratigraphy of the work area spans base of the Permian to Precambrian formations, with basement depth averaging around 5000 ft in the area of the 3D seismic surveys. Cores spanning Precambrian to Pennsylvanian were examined in the area of the 3D seismic surveys. Hydrothermal minerals were observed in Mississippian age cores. The basement events where tracked using OpendTect …

Effects Of Landscape Disturbances On Autotrophic Processes Within Arkansas Ozark Streams, Bradley J. Austin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Land-use change is one of the most widespread human impacts and can influence abiotic and biotic processes within surrounding streams. For example, streams in agricultural and urban watersheds receive greater light and nutrient inputs that can promote increased algal growth and primary production. Natural gas (NG) infrastructure development, a recent land use change in many regions, may also stimulate forested stream primary production, by reducing forest cover and increasing sediments and nutrient transport. I sampled streams across a NG activity gradient for algal biomass and gross primary production (GPP) to assess potential effects of this emerging land-use type. Algal biomass …

Source Constraints Of Ore Metals In Mississippi Valley-Type Deposits In Central And Eastern Tennessee Using Pb Isotopes, Austin Moyers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) Central and East Tennessee (TN) Districts contain economically significant lead-zinc deposits that occur in the Early Ordovician carbonates of the Knox Group. Although both districts share similar host rock, have similar temperatures of formation, and typically fill open spaces of collapse breccias or replace their host carbonates, previous studies may suggest that these ores did not form from the same mineralizing fluids and may have different Pb sources. Nu Plasma MC-ICP-MS Pb isotopic analyses on sulfides from Central and East TN were conducted and the metal sources evaluated. Results were plotted on covariation diagrams with respect …

Characterization Of Uv-Quenching Dissolved Organic Matter In Landfill Leachate, Alicja Trzopek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Discharge of landfill leachate to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) is a common and preferred practice in the United States. Namely, the leachate is mixed with municipal wastewater prior to traditional secondary wastewater treatment, including physical screening, primary settling, aerobic biological degradation, secondary settling and disinfection. Recently, ultraviolet (UV) light has been increasingly applied as a disinfection method at POTWs as an alternative for traditional chlorination, because the latter can produce unwanted disinfection byproducts. However, high strength dissolved organic matter (DOM) in leachate significantly increase the UV absorbing properties of the mixed wastewater at POTWs and decrease the disinfection efficiency …

Assessing And Mapping Vulnerability And Risk Perceptions To Groundwater Arsenic Contamination : Towards Developing Sustainable Arsenic Mitigation Models, Sushant Kumar Singh

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study focuses on the arsenic-affected rural communities in Bihar located within the mid-Gangetic Plain in India. A random stratified sampling method is applied to survey 340 households in three villages (Suarmarwa, Rampur Diara, and Bhawani Tola), through a structured questionnaire. A reliable arsenic field testing kit is used to analyze the drinking water sources in the field, followed by a confirmatory test of a subset of water samples through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The study has two major goals: 1) Develop sustainable arsenic-mitigation models; and 2) Create a “composite vulnerability index,” and present the information as a map for use …

Assessing The Flood Mitigation Potential Of Water Resource Reservoirs, Matthew M. Del Ciello

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The ability of drinking water reservoirs to retain a large amount of runoff during a storm event may allow them to be used as flood mitigation infrastructure. These types of reservoirs are not typically considered for flood mitigation because they are primarily thought of as a resource for drinking water, irrigation, or recreation. Flood mitigation is a secondary or tertiary use. But conscripting them for flood mitigation creates a flexible water resource system and may provide a simpler and more inexpensive solution to flooding than alternative methods since nothing new would need to be constructed.

The process of determining the …

The Relationship Between Extracellular Enzyme Activities, Heavy Metals And Particle Size In Soil, Diane Frances Hagmann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The overall goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between nutrient cycling and heavy metals in soil. Extracellular enzyme activities were measured as a representation of nutrient cycling in soils collected from a heavy-metal contaminated area where four study sites lie along a gradient of increasing metal load. The site, which was previously a rail yard, is located in Liberty State Park (LSP) in Jersey City, NJ that was closed to the public about 40 years ago and remains closed. My hypothesis is that heavy metal contamination impacts the microbial communities in the soil and therefore the extent …

Using Kriging, Cokriging, And Gis To Visualize Fe And Mn In Groundwater, Crystal Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For aesthetic, economic, and health-related reasons, allowable concentrations of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) found present in drinking water are 0.3 mg/L and 0.05 mg/L, respectively. Water samples taken from private drinking wells in the rural communities within Buncombe County, North Carolina contain amounts of these metals in concentrations higher than the suggested limits. This study focused on bedrock geology, elevation, saprolite thickness, and well depth to determine factors affecting Fe and Mn. Using ArcGIS 10.2, spatial trends in Fe and Mn concentrations ranges were visualized, and estimates of the metal concentrations were interpolated to unmonitored areas. Results from this …

Org Or Inorg? Atmospheric Carbon Controls That Initiated The Late Paleozoic Ice Age 326mya, Paco Defrancis

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) was a major global icehouse that initiated in the Mississippian (326 million years ago; ma) and lasted through the Early Permian (267ma). An ice sheet nucleated in southern Gondwana near the South Pole, which either paleogeography (positioning of paleocontinents) or atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas CO2 controlled. In this paper I accept recent findings that prove atmospheric pCO2 and not paleogeography forced global cooling that resulted in the nucleation of Gondwanan ice sheets that defined the LPIA. There remains no broad consensus of what caused pCO2 lowering in the Mississippian. Organic carbon found …

Mapping Regional Inundation With Spaceborne L-Band Sar, Bruce Chapman, Kyle Macdonald, Masanobu Shimada, Ake Rosenqvist, Ronny Schroeder, Laura Hess

Publications and Research

Shortly after the launch of ALOS PALSAR L-band SAR by the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA), a program to develop an Earth Science Data Record (ESDR) for inundated wetlands was funded by NASA. Using established methodologies, extensive multi-temporal L-band ALOS ScanSAR data acquired bi-monthly by the PALSAR instrument onboard ALOS were used to classify the inundation state for South America for delivery as a component of this Inundated Wetlands ESDR (IW-ESDR) and in collaboration with JAXA’s ALOS Kyoto and Carbon Initiative science programme. We describe these methodologies and the final classification of the inundation state, then compared this with results …

Utilizing Remote Sensing Imagery To Monitor Vegetation Change Within World Heritage Sites, Mimi Eve Hatzis

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

World Heritage sites provide a glimpse into the stories and civilizations of the past. There are currently 1007 unique World Heritage properties with 779 being classified as cultural sites, 197 as natural sites, and 31 falling into the categories of both cultural and natural sites (UNESCO & World Heritage Centre, 1992-2015). However, of these 1007 World Heritage sites, at least 46 are categorized as in danger and this number continues to grow. These unique and irreplaceable sites are exceptional because of their universality. Consequently, since World Heritage sites belong to all the people of the world and provide inspiration …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 28, 2015, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 28, 2015 (4/28/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Deposition And Characteristics Of West Bay Sediment In The Mississippi River Delta, And The Effects Of Polymers On Sediment Erodibility, Patrick Robichaux

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Probabilistic Precipitation Estimation With A Satellite Product, Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Jeeban Panthi, Tarendra Lakhankar, Ajay K. Jha

Publications and Research

Satellite-based precipitation products have been shown to represent precipitation well over Nepal at monthly resolution, compared to ground-based stations. Here, we extend our analysis to the daily and subdaily timescales, which are relevant for mapping the hazards caused by storms as well as drought. We compared the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT product with individual stations and with the gridded APHRODITE product to evaluate its ability to retrieve different precipitation intensities. We find that 3B42RT, which is freely available in near real time, has reasonable correspondence with ground-based precipitation products on a daily timescale; rank …

Deep Groundwater And Potential Subsurface Habitats Beneath An Antarctic Dry Valley, J. A. Mikucki, E. Auken, S. Tulaczyk, R. A. Virginia, C. Schamper, K. I. Sørensen, P. T. Doran, H. Dugan, N Foley

Dartmouth Scholarship

The occurrence of groundwater in Antarctica, particularly in the ice-free regions and along the coastal margins is poorly understood. Here we use an airborne transient electromagnetic (AEM) sensor to produce extensive imagery of resistivity beneath Taylor Valley. Regional- scale zones of low subsurface resistivity were detected that are inconsistent with the high resistivity of glacier ice or dry permafrost in this region. We interpret these results as an indication that liquid, with sufficiently high solute content, exists at temperatures well below freezing and considered within the range suitable for microbial life. These inferred brines are widespread within permafrost and extend …

Identification Of Potential Vertical Gas Migration Pathways Above Gas Storage Reservoirs, Eric W. Peterson, Lauren I. Martin, David H. Malone

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Natural gas is stored underground in geologic structures throughout the United States. However, complexities associated with these geologic structures may provide vertical pathways for gas migration, and thus gas loss. Possible upward migration (loss) of natural gas in an underground gas storage field in Illinois stimulated this investigation that aims to identify potential migration pathways. Spatial analysis of volume of shale (Vsh) and formation porosity (n) values were conducted in conjunction with high-resolution shallow seismic surveys to identify potential vertical pathways. Surficial gas accumulations within glacial deposits were confirmed by the seismic surveys. These gas pockets accumulated by migration along …

Fault Zone Hydrogeology In Crystalline And Sedimentary Aquifers In Arid Regions: Remote Sensing, Hydrological And Geoloectrical Methods, Lamees M. Mohamed

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

An integrated study was conducted using remote sensing, hydrological and geophysical methods to investigate the role of structural elements in controlling the groundwater accumulation and flow in fractured basement complex. This research shows that the structural elements as fault and shear zones could act as a conduit or a barrier for the groundwater depending on the direction of these elements with the groundwater flow. Similar findings are observed in Central Sinai as it was found in Southern Sinai. These findings will help in more understanding of the fractured basement aquifers.

Geochemical Investigation Of The Origin Of The Back Forty Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit In Menominee County, Michigan, Joyashish Thakurta, Anthony Boxleiter

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposits constitute one of the world’s greatest sources of copper, zinc, lead, silver, gold, and a wide range of by-products including tin, cadmium, antimony, and bismuth (Kearney, 2003). The metals we mine on earth from ore-bearing deposits, such as VMS deposits, are vital to everyday life from the vehicles we drive to the homes we build. The first step involved in unlocking the value of metal on earth begins with geologic exploration to locate these deposits within the earth. This begins with field work conducted by geologists involving mapping, rock sampling and analysis.

Chile’S Calbuco Volcano Erupts Without Warning. What Can We Expect Next?, Brittany Brand

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Around 5:00 pm local time on April 22, scientists at Southern Andean Volcano Observatory in Chile began picking up volcanic earthquakes at the Calbuco volcano. A disturbingly short 60 minutes later, the volcano was in full eruption, producing an impressive column of ash extending to more than 49,000 feet into the sky. Ash primarily drifted north and northeast of the volcano, covering towns below in a layer of fine ash. Observatory scientists quickly called for an evacuation zone of 12.5 miles.

A Study Of Thunderstorm Microphysical Properties And Lightning Flash Counts Associated With Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes, D. E. Barnes, Michael E. Splitt, Joseph R. Dwyer, Steven M. Lazarus, David M. Smith, Hamid K. Rassoul

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The terrestrial gamma ray flash (TGF) is an emission of highly energetic radiation produced by or at least in close association with lightning. Previous investigations attempted to isolate the production mechanisms and production altitude(s) of TGFs as well as macrophysical characteristics, while thunderstorm microphysical characteristics were largely ignored. This investigation into thunderstorms and their hydrometeor and flash characteristics utilize temporal and spatial coincident satellite passes between the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission to determine the bulk (or footprint) microphysical properties of two types of study events, the thunderstorm complexes which are associated …

Revisiting Tired Old Fields With New Technologies: Three Dimensional Modeling And Structural Analysis Of The Dudley Pool Oil Reservoir, Edgar County, Il, Jordan M. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the Dudley Pool oil reservoir, a small, mature oil field, using geologic and geophysical data. The research focused on three-dimensional subsurface modeling of stratigraphy, structure, and porosity, to establish a more thorough understanding of oil occurrence at the Dudley Pool. An emphasis was placed on calculations of potential recoverable oil in order to determine implications on future production possibilities. This thesis also discusses the efficacy of three-dimensional modeling as an effective tool for evaluating, and potentially modifying, production efforts in mature petroleum fields with limited and/or poor-quality data. The modeling and …

Influence Of Road Salt Deicers On Anaerobic Respiration And Metal Speciation In Soils, Danielle Dupuis

Honors Theses

Road salt deicers, especially NaCl and CaCl₂, are used throughout the world on paved areas during the winter. Previous studies suggest that road salt deicers can alter the biogeochemistry of sediment located near roadways and influence the mobility of heavy metals. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of CaCl₂ on wetland soil biogeochemistry, especially trace metal speciation. Sediment cores were collected in the fall from a freshwater wetland near an urban kettle lake (Asylum Lake, Kalamazoo, MI) and incubated for 100 days in deionized water (control), 5 g/L of CaCl₂, or …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 21, 2015, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 21, 2015 (4/21/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Reconstructing The Geologic History Of The House Mountain Metamorphic Complex (Southern Idaho) Through Zircon Age And Geochemical Analysis, Eli Andersen, Mark Schmitz

College of Arts and Sciences Presentations

Zircons from quartzo-feldspathic gneiss within the Precambrian (>725 Ma) siliciclastics of the House Mountain Metamorphic Complex of southwestern Idaho were studied to determine its origin and evolution. Cathodoluminescence imaging of internal zoning due to growth and recrystallization of zircon, along with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICPMS) analysis of these zircons, reveal a complex history of metamorphism at House Mountain. Primary igneous crystallization in the orthogneiss occurred near 130 Ma. Convoluted regions of the zircons have ages ranging from 130 to 85 Ma. These younger ages are hypothesized to be related to lead loss and new crystal …

Zircon Chemistry In A Gabbro Pluton At House Mountain, Idaho, Danielle Terhaar, Mark Schmitz

College of Arts and Sciences Presentations

An Eocene (ca 45 million year old) gabbro pluton near House Mountain in southwest Idaho provides an opportunity to explore how the conditions of crystallization are recorded in zircon chemistry. Zircon is a zirconium silicate mineral present in trace amounts in magmas, which is capable of incorporating large, highly charged elements (e.g. transition metals, actinides, lanthanides) that do not easily substitute into other minerals. Variations in these elements can be used to track magma evolution. For example, the titanium concentration is related to the temperature at which zircon crystallizes from the magma; rare earth elements (REE) and the relative …

Reconstructing Paleoenvironments Of The Plio-Pleistocene Tamiami Formation Of Florida With Benthic Foraminifera, Heather Bender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is general agreement that a range of paleodepths and environments are represented in the individual shell units of the middle Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene Tamiami Formation of southwest Florida, but maximum depths remain poorly constrained. Here, benthic Foraminifera abundances are used as a paleoenvironmental proxy to compare the upper Tamiami from quarries in Sarasota, Florida to Recent modern coastal, bay, and reef habitats of Florida, the Grand Cayman Islands, and Puerto Rico, ranging in depth from 0 to 55 meters. I used: (1) ordination techniques, including detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and cluster analysis, to compare upper Tamiami foraminiferal assemblages …