Earth Sciences Commons^™

Crustal Architecture Of The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Through Geochemical Investigation Of Crustal Sill And Shallow Subvolcanic Xenoliths, Douglas James Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snake River Plain (SRP) in southern Idaho is one of the most well-preserved examples of continent-hotspot interaction available today. Geophysical studies have imaged a feature ~10 km thick at the base of the upper crust. This feature, termed the “mid-crustal sill complex” is likely a layered mafic intrusion. The study of layered mafic intrusions is important because it provides a link between deep plutonic processes and shallow volcanic processes. Investigation of the mid crustal sill complex will provide better understanding of the evolutionary process of SRP basalts.

This thesis investigates three xenoliths sampled from the Kimama drill core collected …

The Mh-2 Core From Project Hotspot: Description, Geologic Interpretation, And Significance To Geothermal Exploration In The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho, Jerome A. Varriale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Harnessing the earth’s natural heat generation as an energy resource has seen increased interest in recent history. While geothermal energy is a sustainable, low-carbon emitting, and viable source of energy in certain regions, large upfront risks, including costs of exploration and deep well drilling, have kept private sector investment at bay. Lowering the risks to capital investment that are inherent to subsurface exploration can help to assuage investors and bring this well-known energy-generating technology to the masses.

A blind potential geothermal system was encountered while drilling the MH2 science drill hole, on Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The MH-2 …

The Influence Of Small Displacement Faults On Seal Integrity And Lateral Movement Of Fluids, Eric A. Rasmusson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As groundwater, liquid and gas hydrocarbons, or CO₂ fluids move through the subsurface, faults can act as pathways or barriers to flow. Recent studies also show that when a fault juxtaposes high permeability sandstone against a low permeability shale, the corner at the sandstone-shale interface and the fault can become a site of high pressure that may fracture the seal and allow fluids to escape. This can have negative implications for industries dependent on the quality of that seal, for example, petroleum, CO₂ sequestration, waste fluid injection, and nuclear waste storage industries.

We examined five small-scale faults in …

Confirmation Of A New Geometric And Kinematic Model Of The San Andreas Fault At Its Southern Tip, Durmid Hill, Southern California, Daniel K. Markowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explains the origin of the deforming structures between the San Andreas fault and the Salton Sea within the Salton Trough in Southern California. ShakeOut simulations and other studies model shaking resulting from a large rupture on the San Andreas fault. These models simulate a start at the southern fault tip of the San Andreas fault that propagates to the northwest. A secondary strand of the San Andreas fault called the East Shoreline fault is located at the southern tip of the San Andreas fault near the shoreline of the Salton Sea. Between the East Shoreline fault zone and …

Structural And Lithological Influences On The Tony Grove Alpine Karst System, Bear River Range, North-Central Utah, Kirsten Bahr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Caves are access points into the subsurface for humans, water, and, in many cases, contaminants. Many caves are connected via a series of conduits that carry water from one cave to another and, eventually, to a spring. However, because most of these conduits are inaccessible, it is difficult to determine the pathway groundwater takes on its way to the spring. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of folds, fractures, and rock type upon the formation and orientation of cave passages as well as groundwater flow patterns in the Tony Grove alpine karst system.

Although water …

Usu Engineering Team Wins Annual Wea Student Design Competition For 2015, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

A team of USU civil engineering students emerged as the winners at the annual Water and Environment Federation of Utah (WEAU) Student Design Competition on Friday, April 29^th in St. George, Utah, but they can’t rest easy yet. The WEAU win also allows them the opportunity to represent the State of Utah in the national WEFTEC 2016 competition in New Orleans in September.

Systematic Patterning Of Sediments In French Polynesian Coral Reef Systems, Andrew Calhoun

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Through a discipline termed “comparative sedimentology”, modern carbonate depositional environments have been used extensively as analogs to aid in the interpretation of equivalent fossil systems. Using field samples, GIS and remote sensing data for three isolated carbonate platforms in the Pacific, this thesis seeks to examine relationships between grain texture and grain type and their environment of deposition. The motivation is to highlight relationships that have the potential to better understand facies relations on carbonate platforms, and thereby reduce uncertainty and increase accuracy of subsurface exploration. The results of this study show that on Raivavae, Tubuai, and Bora Bora: French …

Hydrogeological Conceptual Model Of La Villa River Watershed, Republic Of Panama, Maria G. Castrellon Romero

Honors Scholar Theses

Groundwater in Panama is a valuable and poorly understood resource. Its exploitation has increased 75% in the past decade, reaching a total value of 700,000 m³/day or 185 million gallons per day (MGD). Climate change has caused a lengthening of the dry season, which has reduced precipitation and streamflow, resulting in surface water scarcity during this period. Nevertheless, it has not been possible to determine the extent to which groundwater sources have been affected by these factors since systematic monitoring of groundwater levels has not been implemented in Panama. With support from National Institution of Drinking Water Supply …

Inferences Of Subglacial Processes Under The West Antarctic Ice Sheet From Grain Surface Textures, Aspen Wheeler '16

IMSAloquium Student Investigation Showcase

Subglacial sediment transport under Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica is inferred using samples collected from Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) and two sites at a location called “UpB”. The surface features on quartz grains between 125 and 1000 micrometers were described using a Scanning Electron Microscope. Mahaney’s Atlas of Sand Grain Surface Textures and Applications (2002) was used to uniformly and unbiasedly categorize surface features from SLW and UpB, for different grain sizes and depths in cores collected from subglacial till. Data showed three groups that can be used to delineate phases of the subglacial sediment. Phase one is shown …

Comparing Biodiversity Of Silurian Reefs In Illinois And Wisconsin Using Museum Collections And Unbiased Bulk Samples, Walker Weyland '17

IMSAloquium Student Investigation Showcase

Silurian (Wenlock) fossil reefs from the Racine Formation in Illinois measure over 100 meters tall and draping flanks beds extend over a mile. Biodiversity studies of reefs in Southeastern Wisconsin reveal complex, diverse communities with over 191 species. We hypothesized that the larger reefs reflect a more optimal environment and may have had higher diversity than reefs in Wisconsin. We compared diversity between the reefs using, identified fossils from the Field Museum, which were collected in Herscer, Romeo, Thornton, Bridgeport, and Hawthorn. Then we compared the results with those from Watkin’s (1997) counts, collected from Horlick, Ives, Franklin, and Francy …

Dendrochronological Analysis Of The Barr House

Historic Structures

Dating historical structures using dendrochronology. The Historical Structures collection consists of reports that are the result of dendochronological analysis of timbers from structures in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Contributors: Wiesenberg, Nicholas

Uwrl Faculty Members Recognized At College Of Engineering Awards, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Congratulations to several of our UWRL faculty members for their excellent work and dedication! The following were awarded at the 2016 College of Engineering Faculty Awards:

Drought Forecasting Isn't Just About Water- To Get Smart We Need Health And Financial Data Too, Neville Crossman, Ian Overton, Jamie Hannaford, Kerstin Stahl, Kevin Collins, Mark D. Svoboda, Mike Acreman, Nicole Wall

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The Millennium Drought taught Australians many lessons about living under extremely dry conditions – not just about how to conserve water, but also about human suffering.

In a drought, farmers find it more difficult to make an income, leading to mental health problems and raising the rate of male suicides. In the city, the impact is felt through water restrictions and more expensive infrastructure.

With very dry conditions returning to Tasmania, central Queensland and western Victoria, are we better prepared for the next big drought?

This is an issue not just for Australia, but across the world, from California, to …

Understanding The Surface Induced Phosphorylation Of Prebiotic Molecules By Schreibersite, Danna Qasim

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

The study of the surface of a meteoritic mineral, schreibersite (Fe,Ni)₃P, was investigated to provide insight into the role of the mineral’s surface in aqueous-phase phosphorylation reactions. The optimization of a custom-designed ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) apparatus and Fe₂NiP (schreibersite) surface was performed to permit surface science analysis. The bare surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which showed some oxidation and segregation of phosphorous within the near-surface region. The interaction and/or reaction of water (H₂O), methanol (CH₃OH), formic acid …

Geogenic Cadmium Pollution And Potential Health Risks, With Emphasis On Black Shale, Yizhang Liu, Tangfu Xiao, Robert Perkins, Jianming Zhu, Zhengjie Zhu, Yan Xiong, Zengping Ning

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential trace element that is toxic to humans. Previous studies of Cd in the environment have primarily focused on pollution resulted from anthropogenic sources, but little is known on naturally occurring sources of Cd. This paper aims to review the geochemical distribution of geogenic Cd and associated environmental risk. The source, accumulation, mobility, transportation, and health risk of Cd are discussed in a geo-environmental perspective, with an emphasis on black shale soils. Cadmium generally occurs in sulfides in black shale, and is easily released when exposed to oxygen and water. Leaching of these rocks tends to …

Upper Albian To Lower Cenomanian Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy Of The Proto-North Atlantic, Shamar Chin

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

Lower Cenomanian calcareous nannofossil assemblages from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 137 and 547 in the proto-North Atlantic Ocean were analyzed quantitatively to examine the fidelity of the widely used CC and UC calcareous nannofossil Zonal schemes. Datasets from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) holes 1050C and 1052E (Blake Nose) and Tanzania Drilling Project (TDP) Site 24 were integrated into this dataset. Four biozones spanning the upper Albian through middle Cenomanian were determined using the method of unitary associations (UA). Data were also used from these sequences to generate a ranking and scaling (RASC) optimum sequence. A new reliability index …

Evaluation Of Groundwater Quality In Paleozoic Aquifers Using Gis Techniques, Central Texas, Garrett R. Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lab analyses of groundwater chemistry from monitoring wells completed in the Paleozoic Aquifers surrounding the Llano Uplift of Central Texas has been recorded and made available to the public through the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). This study evaluated the results of these data dating back to the 1940s to determine changes over time, the dynamics of the hydrologic system, and the locations where hydraulic connectivity is most probable. The initial results established two distinct hydrologic systems that required the separation of the northern from the southern region. The northern sub-region (NSR) contains the largest expanse of continuity of both …

Reducing Nitrate Pollution By Redirecting Farm Runoff Into The Subsurface Of An Herbaceous Riparian Buffer Zone., Tamru Girma Taye

Theses and Dissertations

In areas dominated by agricultural land use, excess nitrate is one of the leading contributors to water pollution. Tile drains, installed to drain crop root zones for maximum yield, fast track the introduction of nitrate-laden water into a nearby stream. Due to the risks elevated levels of nitrate pose to an ecosystem and its inhabitants, the following project explores a method of reducing nitrate pollution. One that can do it as close to the source of the pollution as possible.

A tile draining a 60acre farm in central Illinois was redirected to discharge its contents through subsurface flow into an …

Constraining Neogene Temperature And Precipitation Histories In The Central Great Plains Using The Fossil Record Of Alligator, Evan Whiting

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

Most amphibians and reptiles (excluding birds) are poikilothermic; their internal body temperature varies with that of their external environment. This makes them useful as climate proxies, especially when linked to geographic distributions of ambient climate. I evaluate the utility of the extant crocodylian genus Alligator as a paleoclimate proxy for the Central Great Plains (CGP) using species distribution modeling. Alligator is a readily identifiable taxon with a good CGP fossil record during the Neogene (~23–2.6 Ma). Alligator first appeared in the CGP in the late Eocene (~37 Ma), was absent during most of the Oligocene, reappeared in the early Miocene …

Undergraduate Research Projects Help Promote Diversity In The Geosciences, De'etra Young, Shannon R. Trimboli, Rick S. Toomey, Thomas Byl

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Citizen Science At Mammoth Cave National Park: Integrating Research And Education, Shannon R. Trimboli

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Modeling Activity Of The Indiana Bat (Myotis Sodalis) At Mammoth Cave National Park Using Remotely-Sensed Descriptors Of Forest Canopy Conditions, Luke E. Dodd, N, S. Skowronski, M. B. Dickinson, L. K. Rieske, M. J. Lacki

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Dye Studies To Evaluate The Spill Response System For Mammoth Cave National Park, Jetara Brown, Thomas Byl, Rick S. Toomey, Lonnie Sharpe Jr.

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource Condition Assessment For Mammoth Cave National Park, Cate Webb, Chris Groves, Katie Algeo

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

The Max Kämper Map Of Mammoth Cave: An Nps Centennial Restoration, Tres Seymour

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

What Data Analytics Can Do For You!, Leyla Zhuhadar, J. Kirk Atkinson, Albert Meier, Ouida Meier

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Use Of Multiphysics Simulation To Model Environmental Conditions Associated With Bat Hibernacula Including Preliminary Indication Of Impacts On Saltpeter Vats In Mammoth Cave, Aaron Bird, Rick Olson, Rick Toomey, Aaron Addison, Rachel Bosch

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Faulting On Past And Present Hydrogeology In Long Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park, Rick Olson, Rick S. Toomey

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of The Reverse Flow Patterns Of River Styx In Mammoth Cave, Kentucky: 2009-2012, Shannon R. Trimboli, Kim Weber, Susan Ryan, Rick S. Toomey

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Measurement Of Inorganic Carbon Fluxes From Large River Basins In South Central Kentucky Karst, Connor Salley, Chris Groves

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.