Earth Sciences Commons^™

Using Wavelet Transforms To Detect Small-Scale Features Within The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Louisiana & Mississippi, Samiha Naseem

LSU Master's Theses

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) is an unconventional play of central Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. Previous studies divide the TMS into an upper low resistivity section and a lower high resistivity section or an upper calcite poor section, middle calcite rich section and a basal siliceous section. On the basis of core, TMS has been found to consist of different facies on very small scales, which are indiscernible from the open-hole wireline logs. Cores are not acquired in each and every well and therefore there is a need of a technique that could detect features hidden in the wireline logs …

In Situ Geochemistry Of Middle Ordovician Dolomites Of The Upper Mississippi Valley: Evaluation Of The Dorag Model And New Implications For Dolomitizing Fluids, John Michael Callen

LSU Master's Theses

The dolomitization and diagenetic history of Ordovician carbonates of southern Wisconsin has been studied for over a century. Previous studies attributed dolomitization to various single or multiple diagenetic factors and environments. The goal of the study was to resolve arguments regarding dolomitization models, including Badiozamani’s often cited but recently questioned mixing zone model, using LA-ICP-MS focusing on REE to determine the nature of dolomitizing fluids. Analysis revealed that particulate material incorporated into the dolomite affected the geochemical results of many of the samples. Integrating geochemical data with petrographic evidence for diagenetic history, the studied Decorah Formation dolomites were assigned to …

An Empirical Estimate Of Post-Lgm Grounding-Event Duration In Eastern Ross Sea: Implications From A Comparison With Constraints From New Radiocarbon Dates, Benjamin Krogmeier

LSU Master's Theses

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) advanced to the outer shelf during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) before beginning a rapid retreat to the inner shelf. In the Whales Deep paleo-ice-stream trough, subsurface and geomorphologic evidence shows that grounding-line retreat was interrupted by at least five pauses in the area between the shelf edge and the middle shelf. During the pauses, an overlapping cluster of backstepped grounding zone wedges (GZWs) was deposited. Each GZW represents a grounding event, i.e., a time interval during which the grounding-line position was relatively stable. Seismic correlation and isopach mapping show that the cluster has …

Study Of Resistivity And Shear Wave Velocity As A Predictive Tool Of Sediment Type In Levee Foundation Soils, Louisiana Gulf Coast Levee System, Derek Stephen Goff

LSU Master's Theses

Geotechnical sediment type of levee foundation soils may be estimated by using cross-plots of shear-wave velocity and electrical resistivity for Louisiana levees. Best-fit polynomial models for estimating soil type in Japanese levees have been created using cross-plots of shear-wave velocity and electrical resistivity. A similar study or model for flood protection structures in the Mississippi River delta plain or other major river delta does not exist. We make the soil-type estimation model more relevant to the foundation soils in the Louisiana Coastal Zone by identifying silt in addition to sand and clay, and eliminating gravel as a dominant soil type. …

Using Tourmaline As An Indicator Of Provenance: Development And Application Of A Statistical Approach Using Random Forests, Erin Lael Walden

LSU Master's Theses

Tourmaline is a petrologic indicator mineral that is the major repository of boron in the earth’s crust. It forms readily when boron is present, accommodating multiple cations and anions with multiple possible substitutions for each site in the crystal structure. It is stable over a wide variety of pressures and temperatures, from near-surface P/T conditions to greater than 950 C and 7 GPa. It records information about conditions of formation, as well as pressure and temperature. Due to its resistance to chemical or physical weathering, and the negligible diffusion of elements in the crystal lattice, information about provenance is preserved. …

Origin Of Late Holocene Strandplains In The Southern Exuma Islands, Bahamas: Progradation, Ephemeral Highstands, And Storminess, Michael Savarese, H. Allen Curran

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Reprinted from: Bosiljka Glumac & Michael Savarese (eds.), Proceedings of the16th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions:San Salvador, Gerace Research Center

Subaerial Seeps On Holocene Carbonate Eolian Strata From Cat Island, Bahamas, Bosiljka Glumac, H. Allen Curran, Sarah Brisson

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Reprinted from: Bosiljka Glumac & Michael Savarese (eds.),Proceedings of the 16th Symposium of the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions: San Salvador, Gerace Research Center

Committing To The Non-Traditional: The Path To The Incorporation Of 3d Models In An Online Journal, Dillon Mark Wackerman, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

Central University Libraries Research

In 2013 Dr. Robert Selden approached the Center for Digital Scholarship (CDS) at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) inquiring about the possibility of including interactive 3D models in a digital collection. Working with Dr. Selden, the CDS found a platform to which these models could be deposited and displayed. Concurrently, the CDS was actively promoting SFA’s institutional repository, SFA ScholarWorks. One guiding idea behind these IR-focused activities was the emphasis of the legitimacy of non-traditional works in respect to SFA ScholarWorks and the academic community as a whole. This idea and acceptance of the non-traditional was maintained as the …

Particulate Inorganic Carbon Flux And Sediment Transport Dynamics In Karst: Significance To Landscape Evolution And The Carbon Cycle., Randall Lee Paylor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research focused on three areas of karst hydrogeology and sediment transport that have been poorly studied in the past: the role of particulate inorganic carbon transport in calculating carbon sink rates in karst; rapid changes in surface vs. subsurface sediment mixing in karst conduits; and comparison of landscape denudation calculations using dissolved carbonate load vs. total dissolved/sediment load. Carbonate bedrock weathering is a significant component of the atmospheric carbon sink. Particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) in bed and suspended sediment load of karst waters is frequently dismissed as insignificant for calculating denudation and carbon transport/sink rates, but PIC flux has not …

Geologic Extremes Of The Nw Himalaya: Investigations Of The Himalayan Ultra-High Pressure And Low Temperature Deformation Histories, Dennis Girard Donaldson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on two extremes of orogenic development in the Himalaya: the timing of early ultra-high pressure related tectonics and the subsequent emplacement of the high grade Greater Himalayan Crystallines. The Himalayan orogeny is one of if not the best example of ongoing collisional systems, marked by the ongoing convergence of the Indian and Asian continents. The presence of coesite in the Tso Morari complex respresents subduction of the Indian continental crust to ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) conditions. However, the timing of UHP metamorphism is debated, creating an uncertainty in the calculation of subduction and exhumation rates. Petrologic and geochronologic analyses …

Synergistic Effects Of Climate Change And Grazing On Net Primary Production Of Mongolian Grasslands, Shree R. S. Dangal, Hanqin Tian, Chaoqun Lu, Shufen Pan, Neil Pederson, Amy Hessl

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In arid and semi-arid regions, grassland degradation has become a major environmental and economic problem, but little information is available on the response of grassland productivity to both climate change and grazing intensity. By developing a grazing module in a process-based ecosystem model, the dynamic land ecosystem model (DLEM), we explore the roles of climate change, elevated CO2, and varying grazing intensities in affecting aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) across different grassland sites in Mongolia. Our results show that both growing season precipitation totals and average temperature exert important controls on annual ANPP across six sites over a precipitation gradient, …

The Changes In Woodlot Land Cover From 1988 To 2006 Within Private/Farmland In Hancock County, Ohio, Louis C. Birchall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The amount of woodlots in Ohio have dramatically decreased since the introduction of settlers into the State. The removal of forest for open space, urban areas, fuel and resources was key to this change. Since the development of the economy to a more service based industry in recent years, woodlots have begun to return in certain areas. This research shows the change in woodlot patterns in Hancock County, Ohio from 1988 to 2006.

The analysis was done by classifying the data into 'woodlot' and 'other land use' by using image segmentation and manual editing processes. Accuracy checks were conducted on …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 41, 2016, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

Application Of Geographical Information Systems To Determine Human Population Impact On Water Resources Of Yellow Springs, Ohio, And The Use Of Lidar Intensities In Land Use Classification, Gregory Geise

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of the following studies were to investigate natural and human influences on several spatial and temporal aspects of a local and regional environment. The decreasing discharge rate of the ground water supplied Yellow Spring may be caused by the increase in population of the nearby Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Periodic measurements of Yellow Spring's discharge rate compared to changes in the town's population showed an inverse relationship, where spring discharge declined as population grew. A sharp decrease in discharge occurred during a period when the spring's facade was modified and an airport was built partially overlying the …

Remobilization Of Cobalt, Copper, Nickel, Lead, And Zinc In A Riparian Wetland Model, Richard Glenn Dolly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The mobility of chemically persistent metals in riparian wetland systems that could have a detrimental impact on the environment is an area of active research. This study utilized a physical model consisting of open water and wetland cells designed to simulate a natural riparian wetland to examine the mobility of five metals. The objective of the study was to determine if riparian wetlands have the potential to serve as permanent sinks for metals, or if they only serve as temporary sinks and with time metals could be remobilized and released. Specifically, this study examined the long-term behavior of Co, Cu, …

Temporal Variations Of Streamflow In A Mid-Latitude Eurasian Steppe Watershed In The Past Half Century, Xixi Wang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous studies either did not identify abrupt change or identified such change but did not exclude it from the detection of trend in streamflow. As a result, an overall downward trend might be erroneously detected as an upward trend because of abrupt increase, while an overall upward trend could be faked as a downward trend due to abrupt decrease. The objectives of this study were to: (1) present a methodology to analyze trend in streamflow in the presence of abrupt change; and (2) use this methodology to detect trend and extreme occurrence of streamflow in the Upper Balagaer River watershed, …

Optical Properties And Bioavailability Of Dissolved Organic Matter Along A Flow-Path Continuum From Soil Pore Waters To The Kolyma River Mainstem, East Siberia, Karen E. Frey, William V. Sobczak, Paul J. Mann, Robert M. Holmes

Geography

The Kolyma River in northeast Siberia is among the six largest Arctic rivers and drains a region underlain by vast deposits of Holocene-aged peat and Pleistocene-aged loess known as yedoma, most of which is currently stored in ice-rich permafrost throughout the region. These peat and yedoma deposits are important sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to inland waters that in turn play a significant role in the transport and ultimate remineralization of organic carbon to CO2 and CH4 along the terrestrial flow-path continuum. The turnover and fate of terrigenous DOM during offshore transport largely depends upon the composition and amount …

Response Of Antarctic Cryoconite Microbial Communities To Light, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Jemma L. Wadham, Martyn Tranter, Rupert Perkins, Alistair Morgan, Christopher J. Williamson, Andrew G. Fountain, Sean Fitzsimons, Ashley Dubnick

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbial communities on polar glacier surfaces are found dispersed on the ice surface, or concentrated in cryoconite holes and cryolakes, which are accumulations of debris covered by a layer of ice for some or all of the year. The ice lid limits the penetration of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) to the sediment layer, since the ice attenuates up to 99% of incoming radiation. This suite of field and laboratory experiments demonstrates that PAR is an important control on primary production in cryoconite and cryolake ecosystems. Increased light intensity increased efficiency of primary production in controlled laboratory incubations of debris from …

Azimuthal Anisotropy Beneath North Central Africa From Shear Wave Splitting Analysis, Awad Abdussalam Henish Lemnifi

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study represents the first multi-station investigation of azimuthal anisotropy beneath the interior of north central Africa, including Libya and adjacent regions, using shear wave splitting (SWS) analysis. Data used in the study include recently available broadband seismic data obtained from 15 stations managed by the Libyan Center for Remote Sensing and Space Science, and those from five other stations at which data are publicly accessible. A total of 583 pairs of high-quality SWS measurements utilizing the PKS, SKKS, and SKS phases demonstrate primarily N-S fast orientations with an average splitting delay time of approximately 1.2 s. An absence of …

Assessment Of Highway Condition Using Combined Geophysical Surveys, Abdallah Alhadi Dera

Doctoral Dissertations

"Four pavement sections were investigated using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and Ultrasonic Surface Wave (USW). The objective of this research was to compare the effectiveness of two non-destructive geophysical tools, GPR and the PSPA, in assessing the condition of the pavements, composed of different construction materials. The GPR data were acquired using a 1.5 GHz antenna along five traverses spaced at two ft. intervals approximately 1000 ft. long. On the other hand, the PSPA data were acquired at the stations spaced at 1000 ft. along the five GPR traverses. Core samples were collected at each site to constrain the interpretation …

Methodology Investigations For Shear Wave Splitting Analysis, Fansheng Kong

Doctoral Dissertations

"Over the past several decades, shear wave splitting analyses have been increasingly utilized to delineate mantle structure and probe mantle dynamics. However, the reported splitting parameters (fast polarization orientations and splitting times) are frequently inconsistent among different studies, partially due to the different techniques used to estimate the splitting parameters. Here the study conduct research on methodology investigations for shear wave splitting analysis, which are composed of two sub-topics, i.e., a systematic comparison of the transverse minimization (TM) and the splitting intensity (SI) techniques and applicability of the multiple-event stacking technique (MES). Numerical experiments are conducted using both synthetic and …

Stratigraphy And Extent Of The Pearl-Ashmore Aquifer, Mchenry County, Il, Usa, Drew C. Carlock, Jason F. Thomason, David H. Malone, Eric W. Peterson

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Quaternary glacial till, outwash, lake sediments, and loess compose the surficial deposits of McHenry County, Illinois. Much of the landscape of McHenry County were formed by at least three separate advances of the Harvard Sublobe of the Wisconsin Episode Lake Michigan Lobe, which was part of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. This project focuses on the delineation of the stratigraphy and extent of the Pearl-Ashmore Aquifer. The Pearl-Ashmore Aquifer is the combination of the proglacial outwash of the Wisconsin Episode Ashmore Tongue of the Henry Formation and the youngest outwash associated with the Illinois Episode, which is the Pearl Formation. A …

Land Use Regulation And Access To Amenities: Exploring Spatial Equity Using Gis, Robert B. Thompson

Theses

No abstract provided.

Satellite-Based Global Volcanic So2 Emissions And Sulfate Direct Radiative Forcing During 2005–2012, Cui Ge, Jun Wang, Simon Carn, Kai Yang, Paul Ginox, Nickolay Krotkov

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

An 8 year volcanic SO₂ emission inventory for 2005–2012 is obtained based on satellite measurements of SO₂ from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) and ancillary information from the Global Volcanism Program. It includes contributions from global volcanic eruptions and from eight persistently degassing volcanoes in the tropics. It shows significant differences in the estimate of SO₂ amount and injection height for medium to large volcanic eruptions as compared to the counterparts in the existing volcanic SO₂ database. Emissions from Nyamuragira (DR Congo) in November 2006 and Grímsvötn (Iceland) in May 2011 that were not included in the …

Convergent Evolution In Tooth Morphology Of Filter Feeding Lamniform Sharks, Michaela Grace Mitchell

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) are two species of filter feeding sharks, both belonging to the order Lamniformes. There are two conflicting hypotheses regarding the origins of filter feeding in Lamniform sharks; that there is a single origin of filter feeding within Lamniformes, or conversely, the filter feeding adaptations have been developed independently due to different ancestral conditions. Evidence obtained from several studies strongly supports the latter hypothesis. Because evidence suggests that C. maximus and M. pelagios have developed their filter feeding adaptations independently, we expect to see convergent evolution taking place within these two …

Spatial Variation In Tooth Shape Of Miocene Populations Of Carcharocles Megalodon Across Ocean Basins, Maxwell John Bertsos

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The extinct Lamniform species, Carcharocles megalodon, were some of the most geographically widespread apex predators in the fossil record. However, whether this cosmopolitan distribution was related to population level differences is unknown. The objective of this study is to assess whether variation in tooth morphology coincided with geographic dispersal. The underlying hypothesis is that variation in an aspect of functional morphology, such as tooth shape, suggests some level of population structuring. Detecting this relationship could potentially provide a mechanism that links population to functional relationships inherent in tooth morphology that may reflect period differences in ocean basins. This would offer …

Power Distribution And Probabilistic Forecasting Of Economic Loss And Fatalities Due To Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, And Floods In The United States, Scott Edward Baker

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, the size of natural disaster events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods is measured in terms of wind speed (m/sec), energy released (ergs), or discharge (m3/sec). Economic loss and fatalities from natural disasters result from the intersection of the human infrastructure and population with the natural event. This study investigates the size versus cumulative number distribution of individual natural disaster events in the United States. Economic losses are adjusted for inflation to 2014 United States Dollars (USD). The cumulative number divided by the time over which the data ranges is the basis for making probabilistic forecasts in terms …

Seismic Reflection Profiling Near Middletown, Ohio And Interpretation Of Precambrian Deformational Settings, David Joseph Peterman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The reprocessing of four vibroseis seismic reflection lines at the AK Steel facility in Middletown, Ohio, provides new insight on the age, deposition, and structural deformation of the pre-Mount Simon sedimentary sequence below Butler and Warren Counties. Processing was focused on the pre-Mt. Simon reflections to reveal gently west-southwest dipping reflectors that make a slight angular unconformity with the overlying Paleozoic sedimentary strata. This pre-Mount Simon sedimentary sequence has been encountered in several wells from western Ohio, Indiana, and northern Kentucky and has been identified as the Middle Run Formation. Examination of the weak and discontinuous seismic character of the …

Temporal Variation Of Mercury In Effluent From Two Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants In Southwest Ohio, Heather Brittany Perusini

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that, once converted to methylmercury by microorganisms, bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs and poses a health risk to wildlife and humans who eat fish. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a source of Hg to surface waters, but little is known about the temporal variability of Hg concentrations in effluent and efflux to aquatic systems. I quantified the concentration of Hg in effluent from the City of Dayton (Ohio) and Ford Road (Xenia, Ohio) WWTPs and examined temporal variability over monthly and hourly time scales as well as efficiency of Hg removal. Over a 13-month …

Influence Of The Weathered Layer On Retrieving Body Wave Using Passive Siesmic Interferometry, Boming Wu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Passive seismic interferometry (SI) is an increasingly popular seismic method due to its cost-efficient advantage because it does not need an active source. Techniques in using SI to retrieve surface waves are relatively well established, but using SI to retrieve body waves is still under development by many authors. These geophysicists have proved that many factors, such as average duration of the natural sources, the number of natural sources that occurred during recording time, source distribution, etc., influence the quality of body waves retrieved. In this research, I focus on how to make use of the attenuation property of weathered …