Earth Sciences Commons^™

Variation In Tussock Architecture Of The Invasive Cordgrass Spartina Densiflora Along The Pacific Coast Of North America, Jesus M. Castillo, Brenda J. Grewall, Andrea Pickart, Enrique Figueroa, Mark D. Sytsma

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Some introduced species spread rapidly beyond their native range and into novel habitats mediated by a high degree of phenotypic plasticity and/or rapid evolutionary responses. In this context, clonality has been described as a significant factor contributing to invasiveness. We studied the abiotic environment and the responses of different tussock architecture traits of the invasive cordgrass Spartina densiflora Brongn. (Poaceae). A common garden experiment and field studies of S. densiflora in salt marshes across a wide latitudinal gradient from California (USA) to British Columbia (Canada) provided a model system for an integrated study of the potential mechanisms underlying the response …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 12, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 12, 2016 (7/12/16) 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.

Three-Dimensional Geological Model Of Quaternary Sediments In Walworth County, Wisconsin, Usa, Jodi Lau, Jason F. Thomason, David H. Malone, Eric W. Peterson

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

A three-dimensional (3D) geologic model was developed for Quaternary deposits in southern Walworth County, WI using Petrel, a software package primarily designed for use in the energy industry. The purpose of this research was to better delineate and characterize the shallow glacial deposits, which include multiple shallow sand and gravel aquifers. The 3D model of Walworth County was constructed using datasets such as the U.S. Geological Survey 30 m digital elevation model (DEM) of land surface, published maps of the regional surficial geology and bedrock topography, and a database of water-well records. Using 3D visualization and interpretation tools, more than …

A Survey Of Weed Varieties In Samanabad, Lahore, Sadaf Nazir, Beenish Zia Butt, Anjum Navid

Journal of Bioresource Management

A weed is an herbaceous plant that grows as a wild plant, and is considered a hindrance in the growth of preferred vegetation or cumbering the ground, and has no value for beauty or use. However, some weeds have roles in medicine, ecology and many other fields. A survey was conducted in Lahore to observe the weed varieties present in the area of Samanabad. The present study was carried out in May and June 2014.The primary purpose of the study was to gain knowledge about the availability of the total number of species present in this area. We also assessed …

Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities, Soil Carbon And Nitrogen Storage Under Nitrogen Fertilization: A Meta-Analysis, Siyang Jian, Jianwei Li, Ji Chen, Gangsheng Wang, Melanie A. Mayes, Kudjo E. Dzantor, Dafeng Hui, Yiqi Luo

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Nitrogen (N) fertilization affects the rate of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition by regulating extracellular enzyme activities (EEA). Extracellular enzymes have not been represented in global biogeochemical models. Understanding the relationships among EEA and SOC, soil N (TN), and soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) under N fertilization would enable modeling of the influence of EEA on SOC decomposition. Based on 65 published studies, we synthesized the activities of α-1,4-glucosidase (AG), β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-d-cellobiosidase (CBH), β-1,4-xylosidase (BX), β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG), leucine amino peptidase (LAP), urease (UREA), acid phosphatase (AP), phenol oxidase (PHO), and peroxidase (PEO) in response to N fertilization. The proxy …

On A Desert Island With Unit Sticks, Continued Fractions And Lagrange, Victor J. Ricchezza, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

GLY 4866, Computational Geology, provides an opportunity, welcomed by our faculty, to teach quantitative literacy to geology majors at USF. The course continues to evolve although the second author has been teaching it for some 20 years. This paper describes our experiences with a new lab activity that we are developing on the core issue of measurement and units. The activity is inspired by a passage in the 2008 publication of lectures that Joseph Louis Lagrange delivered at the Ecole Normale in 1795. The activity envisions that young scientists are faced with the need to determine the dimensions of a …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 5, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 5, 2016 (7/5/16) 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.

Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of The Cretaceous Mowry Shale In The Northern Bighorn Basin Of Wyoming: Implications For Unconventional Resource Exploration And Development, Jordan M. Bremer

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

The Mowry Shale (Albian-Cenomanian) is an extensive mudrock dominated unit historically believed to represent a single, long-term deep water sequence within the Western Cordilleran Foreland Basin of North America. While the Mowry Shale has received study for almost a century, detailed stratigraphic context is still lacking. Such an understanding will be required as the formation is increasingly explored as an unconventional resource play.

This study examines the stratigraphy of the interval between the Muddy sandstone and the Frontier Formation, focusing on the Mowry Shale both at outcrop and in the subsurface of the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming. Detailed measured …

Devonian Hydrocarbon Production In South Central Kentucky: A Gis Study, Andrew David Reeder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Historically, Devonian Corniferous hydrocarbon production in south-central Kentucky has been a major contributor to the total hydrocarbon resources within Butler, Edmonson, and Warren counties. The Corniferous adds to the already large hydrocarbon totals produced from the Illinois Basin; however, this hydrocarbon contribution does not come without major pitfalls and inconsistencies. The south-central Kentucky Devonian Corniferous rocks comprise a diverse and complex hydrocarbon system made up of multiple migration pathways, trapping mechanisms, and seals. The multiple Corniferous units all derive production from the same source rock: the New Albany Shale.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) containing data on surface elevations, structure …

Linking In-Situ Data With Remote Sensing To Analyze Tropical Glacier Stability And Retreat In The Cordillera Blanca, Peru, Chandler H. Santos

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Glaciers are a major source of freshwater around the world, but they are melting at an increased rate due to atmospheric warming resulting from anthropogenic climate change. In addition to temperature increases, light-absorbing particulates on glaciers also are contributing to glacial melt. This research examines how black carbon, released into the air through partial combustion of biofuels, is affecting the surface albedo of glaciers. I also delineate possible sources of black carbon in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru. Ground data were collected each year from 2011 to 2013 during the local dry season. Effective black carbon (eBC) values were …

Karst Landscape Influence On The Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere, Zachary S. Sullivan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst landscapes cover approximately 20% of the ice-free land area worldwide. The soluble nature of the bedrock within a karst landscape allows for the formation of caverns, joints, fissures, sinkholes, and underground streams, which affect the hydrological behavior of the region. Currently, the Noah Land-Surface Model (Noah- LSM), coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, does not provide a representation of the physical behavior of a karst terrain. Previous research has attempted to model karst behavior through soil moisture and land cover/land use changes to determine the influence this unique landscape may have on atmospheric phenomenon. This highlights …

The Role Of Diagenesis In Reservoir Development Of The Big Clifty (Jackson) Sandstone In South-Central Kentucky, Kort H. Butler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Big Clifty is a Chesterian-age Mississippian sandstone member of the Golconda Formation that extends from south-central Kentucky into adjacent Illinois and Indiana. Asphaltic deposits and conventional petroleum plays are distributed along the Pennyrile Fault System and Plateau in the southeastern portion of the Illinois basin. In south-central Kentucky anomalous oil-saturation geometries are observed in cored sections of the Big Clifty from wells in Warren and Butler counties along the margin of the Pennyrile Plateau. Petrographic study of the cores has revealed several diagenetic processes that have contributed to, or are directly responsible for, the anomalous oil saturation geometries and …

Evaluating The Influences Of Karst Hydrogeology On Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms In Kentucky Lakes, Robert T. Schaefer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A problem exists in Nolin River Lake and Rough River Lake in Kentucky, due to the increasing prevalence of cyanobacterial-based harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) and the threats they pose to local communities. These lakes were developed as artificial reservoirs from embankment. Further complicating the issue, the lakes are located within a heavily karstified region and there exists no plan or method currently for monitoring or managing CyanoHABs in a karst region with regard to groundwater inputs to the lake systems or their tributaries. A mixture of techniques and analysis methods was used to determine the best way to monitor and …

Drougthscape, Summer 2016, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

NDMC adds two employees

Second quarter drought summary: Drought slowly spreading

Second quarter drought impacts: Drought intensifies across US

First comprehensive drought

indices guidebook released

Drought Impact Reporter updates increase usability

Create a custom DIR view

Drought center co-leads MENA region project

McCook, Nebraska, tackles drought resilience

Arizona groups improve public lands drought planning

NDMC founder Don Wilhite retires

2015 Gsa International Distinguished Lecturer Tours Key Locations In Central And South America, Lisa L. Ely

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

As the International Lecturer from North America, I visited 11 destinations in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The tour was designed to include locations where the topic of my presentation, “Following in the Footsteps of Darwin:
Combining Geological and Historical Evidence to Assess Earthquakes and Tsunami Hazards,” would have direct relevance.

Determining Groundwater Sources And Ages Via Isotope Geochemistry In Big Sky, Montana, Thomson Connie

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Big Sky ski resort area in southwestern Montana is experiencing exponential growth in both development and population. Concerns have arisen over the quantity of good-quality groundwater in the region, and whether there is a large enough reserve to support the growing demand. In light of already-documented water-level decreases, and domestic wells needing to be deepened or replaced, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) enlisted the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology's Ground Water Investigation Program to perform an assessment of groundwater availability and quality in the region, and define groundwater supply sources.

The geology in the …

Reexamination Of Ore-Forming Processes In The Emery Mining District, Powell Co., Montana, Jarred Zimmerman

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The present investigation was undertaken in collaboration with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to re-evaluate the Emery district using modern methods of ore deposit study including fluid inclusions, stable isotopes, and mineral geochemistry. Results from this thesis will be an aid in reassessing the potential of the Boulder Batholith and surrounding geologic units to host large, undiscovered precious and/or base metal deposits. The Emery (aka Zosell) district was mined from the late 1800s until the early 1950s. Mineralized quartz veins are hosted by basaltic andesite flows of the late Cretaceous Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics (EMV). Two sets of veins …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2016, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Jamie Lahowetz, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Research update......................2

Product highlight....................3

Partnership spotlight.............3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

High-Input Management Systems Effect On Soybean Seed Yield, Yield Components, And Economic Break-Even Probabilities, John M. Orlowski, Bryson J. Haverkamp, Randall G. Laurenz, David A. Marburger, Eric W. Wilson, Shaun N. Casteel, Shawn P. Conley, Seth L. Naeve, Emerson D. Nafziger, Kraig L. Roozeboom, William J. Ross, Kurt D. Thelen, Chad Lee

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Elevated soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] prices have spurred interest in maximizing soybean seed yield and has led growers to increase the number of inputs in their production systems. However, little information exists about the effects of high-input management on soybean yield and profitability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of individual inputs, as well as combinations of inputs marketed to protect or increase soybean seed yield, yield components, and economic break-even probabilities. Studies were established in nine states and three soybean growing regions (North, Central, and South) between 2012 and 2014. In each site-year …

Dental Microwear Variation In Teleoceras Fossiger (Rhinocerotidae) From The Miocene (Hemphillian) Of Kansas, With Consideration Of Masticatory Processes And Enamel Microstructure, Kelsie Abrams

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Dental microwear analysis is the study of microscopic features on the surfaces of teeth, and is used to reconstruct and analyze diet in extinct and extant animals. Microwear analysis on ungulates is typically conducted on the paracone or protoconid of the second molar, as these cusps are usually the first point of contact between upper and lower teeth during the chewing stroke. However, the exact method of mastication varies in different groups of ungulates, and the influence of mastication on the location and production of microwear features has been studied very little. Additionally, the role of highly specialized enamel microstructure …

Santonian–Campanian Calcareous Nannofossil Paleobiogeography, Brandi R. Moore

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

Calcareous nannofossil abundance data from 11 DSDP/ODP sites were analyzed by multivariate methods to assess the paleoceanographic change that is associated with the Santonian-Campanian boundary transition. Data were divided into Santonian or Campanian age groups based on the presence or absence of the lower Campanian nannofossil species, Aspidolithus parcus parcus. All assemblages are dominated by Watznaueria barnesiae, Micula decussata, and Prediscosphaera intercisa. Analyses determined that the relative abundance of M. decussata generally reflects a change in temperature, with a preference for cool water. Prediscosphaera intercisa appears to have had an inverse abundance relationship with M. decussata, suggesting that …

Reconstructing The Paleoecology And Biogeography Of Rhinoceroses (Mammalia: Rhinocerotidae) In The Great Plains Of North America, Leading Up To Their Extinction In The Early Pliocene, Bian Wang

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

Members of the family Rhinocerotidae first appeared in the middle Eocene and were one of most successful mammal groups of the Oligocene and Miocene in North America. Their extinction in the early Pliocene has been attributed to several causes, including cooling climate, an expansion of C₄ grasslands, and faunal turnover favoring high-crowned, open habitat-adapted mammalian taxa. This study tests whether the extinction of North American rhinoceroses in the Great Plains was abrupt or gradual by examining changes in their paleogeographic distribution in a series of time-slices through the Barstovian, Clarendonian, and Hemphillian North American land-mammal ages. It further examines …

Discipline-Based Planetary Education Research And Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Mars, Filis Coba

Physics Theses & Dissertations

This thesis originates from the testing and implementation of an IRB-approved interactive animation designed to help students understand what causes The Reasons For The Seasons (RFTS) on Earth. Results from the testing indicated a small improvement in student understanding after exposure to the animation. Next, using the 3-D mapping tool Google Earth, students explored seasons and other planetary features on Mercury, Venus, the Moon and Mars through IRB-approved interactive tours which were developed and tested for astronomy education. Results from the tests indicated that there were statistically significant learning gains (p-value < 0.05) after students interacted with the tours compared to those who did not. The development of the tours inspired a geophysics study of the possibility of former plate motion (or plate tectonics) on Mars. A 2-D finite element convection model for the mantle of Mars was designed and solved using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1, to investigate whether or not thermal gradients in a Mars-sized planet could cause vigorous upper mantle convection, consistent with plate tectonic processes. Results from this project indicated that stable convection could occur in the interior of a Mars-like planet assuming the presence of sufficiently high thermal gradients at about 0.8 times the mantle temperature of Earth. The convective patterns resembled hot upwelling and cool downwelling which may be similar to subduction-like features. Furthermore, increasing the temperature of the hot boundaries resulted in faster, more rigorous convective motions and a hotter average temperature.

Capillary Pressure – Saturation Relationships For Gas Shales Measured Using A Water Activity Meter, B. Donnelly, E. Perfect, L. D. Mckay, P. J. Lemiszki, V. H. Distefano, L. M. Anovitz, J. Mcfarlane, R. E. Hale, Chu-Lin Cheng

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Hydraulic fracturing of gas shale formations involves pumping a large volume of fracking fluid into a hydrocarbon reservoir to fracture the rock and thus increase its permeability. The majority of the fracking fluid introduced is never recovered and the fate of this lost fluid, often called “leak off,” has become the source of much debate. Information on the capillary pressure – saturation relationship for each wetting phase is needed to simulate leak off using numerical reservoir models. The petroleum industry commonly employs air – water capillary pressure – saturation curves to predict these relationships for mixed wet reservoirs. Traditional methods …

Global Land Surface Emissivity Estimation From Amsr2 Observations, Satya Prakash, Hamid Norouzi, Marzieh Azarderakhsh, Reginald Blake, Kibrewossen Tesfagiorgis

Publications and Research

A reliable estimate of emissivity is critical for a wide range of applications for the atmosphere, the biosphere, the lithosphere, the cryosphere, and the hydrosphere. This study uses three years (August 2012 – July 2015) of data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR2) sensor that is onboard the Global Change Observation Mission 1st Water (GCOM-W1) satellite to explore estimates of instantaneous global land emissivity. A method is adopted to remove the known inconsistency in penetration depths between microwave brightness temperatures and infrared-based ancillary data that could cause differences between day and night emissivity estimates. After removing the diurnal atmospheric …

Assessment Of Indoor And Outdoor Pm Species At Schools And Residences In A High-Altitude Ecuadorian Urban Center, Amit U. Raysoni, Rodrigo X. Armijos, M. Margaret Weigel, Teresa Montoya, Patricia Eschanique, Marcia Racines, Wen-Whai Li

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

An air monitoring campaign to assess children’s environmental exposures in schools and residences, both indoors and outdoors, was conducted in 2010 in three low-income neighborhoods in Z1(north), Z2(central), and Z3(southeast) zones of Quito, Ecuador - a major urban center of 2.2 million inhabitants situated 2850 meters above sea level in a narrow mountainous basin. Z1 zone, located in northern Quito, historically experienced emissions from quarries and moderate traffic. Z2 zone was influenced by heavy traffic in contrast to Z3 zone which experienced low traffic densities. Weekly averages of PM samples were collected at schools (one in each zone) and residences …

Reevaluating The Geologic Formations Of The Upper Coastal Plain In Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Bradley Aaron Fitzwater

OES Theses and Dissertations

Data from a new geological map of the Patrick, S.C. 7.5 minute quadrangle (1:24,000) and detailed descriptions of two cores collected nearby (Middendorf and Cheraw, S.C.) permit improved interpretation of the geology of this portion of the Carolina Sandhills. Geologic mapping incorporated analyses of outcrops with LiDAR data, soil survey maps, ground-penetrating radar transects, and hand auger borings. Micro- and macrofossil identification and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating provided age control.

Four distinct mappable units occur throughout the Patrick quadrangle. Resting unconformably on schist of the Paleozoic Persimmons Fork Formation, the Cretaceous Middendorf Formation is more than 85.3 m thick and …

Pumping Tests, La Grange Region, Western Australia, Groundwater Consulting Services

Natural resources commissioned reports

Groundwater Consulting Services was contracted to collate and analyse pumping test information from four sites in the La Grange region, near Broome. Two of the pumping tests were conducted by Groundwater Consulting Services and two pumping tests were conducted by Kimberley Water Pty Ltd under instruction from the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

The major objective of the work was to provide aquifer hydraulic data to be used as input into a numerical model being developed by the Department of Agriculture and Food. A secondary objective was to provide irrigation water supply development advice for potential irrigation projects. …

Applying Newton’S Law Of Cooling When The Target Keeps Changing Temperature, Such As In Stratospheric Ballooning Missions, James Flaten, Kaye Smith, Erick Agrimson

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Newton’s Law of Cooling describes how a “small” system, such as a thermometer, comes to thermal equilibrium with a “large” system, such as its environment, as a function of time. It is typically applied when the environment is in thermal equilibrium and the conditions are such that the thermal decay time for the thermometer is a constant. Neither of these conditions are met when measuring environmental (i.e. atmospheric) temperature using a thermometer mounted in a payload lofted into the stratosphere under weather balloons. In this situation the thermometer is in motion so it encounters layer after layer of atmosphere which …

Costimulation Of Soil Glycosidase Activity And Soil Respiration By Nitrogen Addition, Ji Chen, Yiqi Luo, Jianwei Li, Xuhui Zhou, Junji Cao, Rui-Wu Wang, Yunqiang Wang, Shelby Shelton, Zhao Jin, Laura M. Walker, Zhaozhong Feng, Shuli Niu, Wenting Feng, Siyang Jian, Lingyan Zhou

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Unprecedented levels of nitrogen (N) have been deposited in ecosystems over the past century, which is expected to have cascading effects on microbially mediated soil respiration (SR). Extracellular enzymes play critical roles on the degradation of soil organic matter, and measurements of their activities are potentially useful indicators of SR. The links between soil extracellular enzymatic activities (EEAs) and SR under N addition, however, have not been established. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis from 62 publications to synthesize the responses of soil EEAs and SR to elevated N. Nitrogen addition significantly increased glycosidase activity (GA) by 13.0%, α-1,4-glucosidase (AG) by …