Earth Sciences Commons^™

Modeling Soil Organic Carbon In Select Soils Of Southeastern South Dakota, Shaina Westhoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil organic matter (SOM) is composed of living biomass, dead plant and animal residues, and humus. Humus is a class of complex, organic molecules that are largely responsible for improving soil water holding capacity, nutrient mineralization, nutrient storage, and other critical soil functions. Soil organic carbon (SOC) accounts for approximately 60 percent of SOM and thus SOC is recognized as a strong indicator of soil health. Land use changes and intense cultivation of arable soils in the United States over the past century have led to large decreases in SOM. The objective of this research was to develop a multiple …

40ar-39ar Geochronology And Petrogenesis Of Postcollisional Trachytic Volcanism Along The İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture Zone (Ne, Turkey), Gönenç Göçmengi̇l, Zeki̇ye Karacik, Şengül Can Genç, Mehmet Zeki̇ Bi̇llor

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The obliteration of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean and collision of the microplates along the northern part of Turkey led to the development of the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone (IAESZ). After the collision of Pontides with the Central-Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) in the Paleocene, a new phase of extension and volcanism concomitantly developed along the northern (Almus; Pontides) and southern (Yıldızeli; CACC) sides and along the IAESZ during the Middle Eocene time interval. The first products of the Middle Eocene volcanism in these areas are represented by calc-alkaline to alkaline (basic-intermediate) volcanic and volcanoclastic units together with late-stage trachytic dikes, plugs, and stocks. …

Reconstructing The Sedimentary Evolution Of The Miocene Aksu Basin Based On Fan Delta Development (Eastern Mediterranean-Turkey), Serkan Üner, Erman Özsayin, Ramazan Kadi̇r Di̇ri̇k, Tahsi̇n Atti̇la Çi̇ner, Mustafa Karabiyikoğlu

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Aksu Basin in southern Turkey is dominantly represented by an alluvial fan and five fan deltas (FDs) developed along the tectonically controlled margins of the basin during the Miocene. Four alternating compressional and tensional tectonic phases have influenced the basin since its formation. Strong tectonic movements caused high sedimentation rates and progradation of large debris-flow and mass-flow dominated FDs. Here we describe two FDs (the Karadağ and Kargı FDs) in detail. The Karadağ FD began to develop under the control of a compressional regime and continued the evolution under a tensional regime. The same tensional regime caused the separation …

Triassic-Jurassic Arc Magmatism In The Pontides As Revealed By The U-Pb Detrital Zircon Ages In The Jurassic Sandstones Of Northeastern Turkey, Remzi̇ye Akdoğan, Aral I. Okay, István Dunkl

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Eastern Pontides were located at the southern active margin of Laurasia during Mesozoic time. Jurassic volcaniclastic sediments and volcanic rocks of the Pontides represent products of the arc magmatism above a north-dipping subduction zone. Despite the wide distribution of the Jurassic volcaniclastic/volcanic succession, the precise age of the Jurassic volcaniclastic sequence and that of the synsedimentary magmatism are poorly constrained. Here we present U-Pb detrital zircon ages from two Jurassic sandstones belonging to the Şenköy Formation of the Eastern Pontides. One sample is taken from the base of the Şenköy Formation unconformably overlying the late Carboniferous Gümüşhane granite. The …

Morphotectonic Analysis Of The East Anatolian Fault, Turkey, Abdelrahman Khalifa, Zi̇yadi̇n Çakir, Lewis Owen, Şi̇nasi̇ Kaya

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The East Anatolian Fault (EAF) is a morphologically distinct and seismically active left-lateral strike-slip fault that extends for ~400 km and forms the Arabian/Anatolian plate boundary in southeastern Turkey. The EAF together with its conjugate fault, the North Anatolian Fault, help accommodate the westward escape of the Anatolian plate from the Arabian/Eurasian collision zone. Morphotectonic features along the EAF provide insights into the nature of landscape development and aid in understanding variations in tectonic activity and fault evolution. Several geomorphic indices, namely stream length-gradient index, mountain-front sinuosity, valley width to valley height ratio, basin asymmetry factor, and drainage density, and …

Early Pliocene Molluscs From The Easternmost Mediterranean Region (Se Turkey): Biostratigraphic, Ecostratigraphic, And Palaeobiogeographic Implications, Yeşi̇m Büyükmeri̇ç, Erdoğan Teki̇n, Erdal İbrahi̇m Herece, Koray Sözeri̇, Ni̇hal Akca, Baki̇ Erdoğan Varol

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The mollusc faunas from Pliocene deposits of the Hatay-İskenderun region were investigated at nine localities and complemented with three localities from earlier studies. The Pliocene units were deposited in three adjacent subbasins, Hatay-Samandağ (HS), Altınözü-Babatorun (AB), and İskenderun-Arsuz (İA); the first two are also known as the Hatay Graben. Basin configurations and shape, environmental evolution, and faunal compositions were affected by differential tectonic histories since the Late Miocene. In total 162 species (94 gastropod, 61 bivalve, and 7 scaphopod) are recorded, 80 of which are recorded for the first time from the region. The occurrence of tropical stenohaline benthic taxa …

Cathodoluminescence, Fluid Inclusions, And Trace Element Data For The Syntaxial Quartz Cementation In The Sandstones Of The Ora Formation, Northern Iraq, Muhamed F. Omer, Henrik Friis

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Quartz cements of the quartz arenitic sandstones from the Chalky Nasara and Ora sections of the (Devonian-Carboniferous) Ora Formation in northern Iraq have been studied. A combination of hot cathodoluminescence, LA-ICP-MS, and fluid inclusion microthermometry revealed three syntaxial quartz cement generations (Q1, Q2, and Q3). The early Q1 cementation has gray to slightly brown luminescences, postdated compaction, and reduced intergranular porosity associated with illite formed during eogenesis. Q2 is characterized by dark brown luminescence overgrowths and is more voluminous in the thinly bedded sandstones than in the thickly bedded sandstones filling most of the remaining pore space during mesogenesis. Q3 …

Biostratigraphic Analysis Across The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary In The Southern Hellenic Thrace Basin (Lemnos Island, North Aegean Sea), Sofia Kostopoulou, Angelos Maravelis, Avraam Zelilidis

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The time interval of the sedimentation in the southern Hellenic Thrace Basin (Lemnos Island, northeast Aegean Sea) was studied, based on the qualitative analysis of calcareous nannoplankton and quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera. The samples were collected from 4 different stratigraphic sections (Ifestia, Panagia, Kaspaka, and Kaminia). The biostratigraphic analyses on both calcareous nannoplankton and planktonic foraminifera reveal an age of Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (Priabonian-Rupelian). In particular, the Eocene-Oligocene boundary is recorded at the lower part of the turbiditic system, in the Ifestia section. The present study offers the first taxonomic analysis of planktonic foraminifera of this age in the …

Geochemistry And Source Characteristics Of Dehsard Mafic Volcanic Rocks In The Southeast Of The Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone, Iran: Implications For The Evolution Of The Neo-Tethys Ocean, Mohammadali Nazemei, Mohsen Arvin, Sara Dargahi

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Dehsard mafic volcanic rocks crop out in the southeastern Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (SSZ), composed primarily of basalts and basaltic andesite with subordinate dolerite. They are influenced to some degree by hydrothermal alteration under zeolite-greenschist facies. Using fairly immobile trace elements, the mafic volcanic rocks show subalkaline (tholeiitic) affinities. They commonly have similar designs with somewhat strong enrichment in light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs; e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti) and nearly flat heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns. The negligible or absence of negative Eu …

Metamorphism, Magmatism, And Exhumation History Of The Tavşanlı Zone, Nw Turkey: New Petrological Constraints, Şenel Özdamar, Gürsel Sunal, Muhterem Demi̇roğlu, Cenk Yaltirak, Mehmet Zeki̇ Bi̇llor, Stoyan Georgiev, Willis Hames, Istvan Dunkl, Hali̇l Can Aydin

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Tavşanlı Zone (TZ) is a high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphic belt representing subduction and exhumation between the Sakarya Zone and the Afyon-Bolkardağ Zone in western Anatolia. This paper provides new and precise geological data including whole-rock and mineral chemistry, phengite 40Ar/39Ar ages, zircon laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb, and apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronological information for a region of the Sivrihisar metamorphic complex that has been less studied than other regions of the TZ. This region comprises Permo-Carboniferous metamorphic units, Eocene granodiorite and microgranodiorite, terrestrial clastics, and Holocene alluvium. The mineral assemblage of the granite-gneiss contains quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, microcline, muscovite, and rare biotite and …

Calc-Alkaline Magmatism Associated With Salt Diapirs In The Shurab And Garmsarback-Arc Areas (Central Basin, Iran): Magma Genesis And Tectonic Implications, Somayeh Falahaty, Mortaza Sharifi, Moussa Noghreyan, Homayon Safaei, Mohammad Ali Makizadeh

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Medium- and high-K calc-alkaline magmatism of the Shurab (southeast Qom city) and Garmsar (northwest Garmsar city) areas occurred within the Lower Red Formation in the Central Basin behind the Urumieh-Dokthar Magmatic Arc. In terms of whole-rock geochemical analyses and in agreement with the petrographic features, all representative samples of the Shurab area are classified into three groups: group 1 with mainly intergranular texture comprises basalt/trachybasalt, while groups 2 and 3 with trachytic and porphyritic textures, respectively, have basaltic trachyandesite composition. The overall major constituents are plagioclase with composition in the range from An49Ab23 to An75Ab47, clinopyroxene with composition in the …

What Is The Reason For The High Bouguer Gravity Anomaly At Çumra, Konya(Central Anatolia)?, Nedi̇m Gökhan Aydin, Turgay İşseven

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Bouguer gravity anomaly map of Turkey shows relatively high values around the Çumra region, Konya. This area has a flat topography and a thick cover of sediments despite being seated on a suture zone formed between Anatolide and Tauride Platforms after the Neo-Tethys Ocean closed. High Bouguer gravity anomalies indicate an anomalous mass excess buried under the flat topography. In the present study, the gravity anomaly is studied using several analysis and processing methods in order to understand and infer its possible sources. Spectral analysis of the anomaly showed that the mass should be buried at a depth of …

Petrogenesis, Geochemistry, And Tectonic Setting Of A Basaltic Body Within Thegercus Formation Of Northern Iraq: First Record For Eocene Anorogenic Volcanicactivity In The Region, Yawooz A. Kettanah, Adnan H. Bamarni

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

An abnormally odd and rare occurrence of a basaltic body has been discovered in the middle of the Gercus Formation within the large, double-plunging NW-SE trending Bekhair Anticline to the north of Duhok city, northern Iraq. This is the first discovery of such a volcanic body within the widely exposed Gercus Formation in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, and western Iran. This volcanic body, named by the authors the Gercus Basalt, has a long tabular/lenticular shape with a total length of ~4.5 km and a thickness ranging between 1 to 16 m. It is exposed on both limbs of the anticline …

Kentucky Soil Atlas, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Usda Natural Resources And Conservation Service

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Book Gallery

From preface:

Kentucky has a diverse array of geologic, topographic, physiographic, ecological, and aquatic features that have contributed to the development and present characteristics and productivity of the soils in the state. This Soil Atlas has been prepared as an aid to further the knowledge of soils in our state and provide a basic exposure of Kentucky’s soil resources to educators, students, natural resource planners, policy makers, citizens and visitors. The objective of the publication is to present the prominent characteristics of representative soils and how they may affect soil use and management. The Atlas is meant to give a …

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Newport 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Matthew Massey, Antonia E. Bottoms, Maxwell L. Hammond Iii

Contract Reports--KGS

The Newport 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic province (McFarlan, 1943) in the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area of northern Kentucky and includes parts of Kenton and Campbell Counties. Topography is characterized by a relatively broad expanse of upland with moderate relief that is bounded by the Ohio River Valley, Licking River Valley, and Fourmile Creek. Gibbons (1973) mapped the bedrock geology of this quadrangle, which was later digitized by Sparks (2002). The entire quadrangle is underlain by horizontal Ordovician limestone and shale, consisting of the Point Pleasant Formation, Kope Formation, Fairview Formation, Bellevue Tongue of the Grant …

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Patriot 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Maxwell L. Hammond Iii, Antonia E. Bottoms, Steven L. Martin

Contract Reports--KGS

The Patriot 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in Boone, Gallatin, and Grant Counties of northern Kentucky in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic province (McFarlan, 1943). Broad to narrow ridges, steep hillsides, and the Ohio River Valley characterize the topography of the quadrangle. The Ohio River has been made navigable by a series of high-level dams, and the Markland Locks and Dam controls the river level in this area (Ray, 1974). The bedrock geology, originally mapped by Swadley (1969), consists, from oldest to youngest, of the Point Pleasant Formation, the Kope Formation, the Fairview Formation, the Bellevue Tongue of the Grant Lake Limestone, …

Ground Motions Induced By The March 11, 2018, Implosion Of The Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, Kentucky, N. Seth Carpenter, Michael J. Lynch, Brandon C. Nuttall, Zhenming Wang, Andrew S. Holcomb

Report of Investigations--KGS

The demolition by implosion of the Capital Plaza Tower in downtown Frankfort provided an opportunity to record seismic waves from a known source of seismic energy in order to observe local ground-motion amplification and resonance within the underlying unconsolidated sediment. The Kentucky Geological Survey deployed three strong-motion accelerographs at approximately equal distances around the tower to record ground motions induced by its collapse. The KGS instruments were installed at sites with different underlying geology: one on bedrock and two on Kentucky River Valley unconsolidated sediments.

Using images captured by a high-speed video camera, with timing synchronized with the clock of …

Calcic Paleosols In A Stratigraphic Context From Quaggasfontein, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Correlations In The Wapadsberg Pass Area And Implications For Late Permian Climate, Kaci B. Kus

Honors Theses

The Karoo Basin, South Africa, contains a reportedly continuous stratigraphic record spanning the terrestrial vertebrate extinction event equated with the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) in the marine record. The current hypothesis links this major loss in biodiversity and vertebrate turnover to a global change in climate towards aridification. Rapid climate change is interpreted to be reflected in continental rocks by a changeover from (1) greenish (Permian) to reddish (Triassic) mudrock, (2) a transition in the river architectures from meandering to braided regimes, and (3) wetland to calcic-bearing paleosols. Here, we present geochemical results on a 1.3-meter calcic paleoVertisol interval found ~34 …

Stable Bromine Isotope Signature Of Bromoform From Enzymatic And Abiotic Formation Pathways And Its Application In Identifying Sources Of Environmental Bromoform In The Damariscotta River, Chengyang Wang

Honors Theses

Bromoform is a major source of atmospheric bromine. Most bromoform is produced by marine organisms including macroalgae and phytoplankton, using the enzyme bromoperoxidase (BPO). Bromoform can also be a byproduct of industrial processes such as water disinfection. Identifying sources of environmental bromoform is still a challenge. A novel technique of using quadrupole mass spectrometry coupled to a gas chromatography (GCqMS) was developed and optimized for Br isotope analyses. The study shows that GCqMS in single ion monitoring (SIM) mode can measure 81Br with precision of around ±0.7‰ (60pmol bromoform injected). This study aims to investigate stable Br isotopes of bromoform …

Giant Plagioclase In The Steens Basalt, Se Oregon: Cumulate Entrainment Revealed By Textural And In Situ Chemical Analysis, Conner H. Toth

All Master's Theses

Many of the lava flows comprising the Steens Basalt in SE Oregon, the oldest and most mafic formation of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), contain exceptionally large (up to 5 cm) and abundant (up to 40 modal %) plagioclase crystals. This thesis presents a model for giant plagioclase formation in a complex system that integrates petrographic and in situ plagioclase compositional analyses with whole-rock data and computational modeling to explain systematic textural and chemical differences between plagioclase of the lower and upper Steens Basalt sub-sections. Lower Steens plagioclase are typically more chemically homogenous than upper Steens plagioclase and exhibit …

Spatial Feedback As A Mechanism To Improve Topographic Map Literacy Using The Augmented Reality Sandbox, Justin Wayne Moore

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Topographic maps represent three-dimensional (3D) terrain using a system of two-dimensional (2D) symbols. To facilitate students’ understanding of topographic maps, the Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox reads the elevation of actual sand and projects elevation information onto the sand’s surface (e.g., contour lines). Although over 600 institutions have built AR Sandboxes to help people interpret topographic maps, classroom studies using the AR Sandbox have not found significant gains on topographic map assessments. The present study is a 22 design testing the affordances of the AR Sandbox in a one on one, laboratory setting. In the first level of the study, participants …

Evolution Of The Modern Baboon (Papio Hamadryas): A Reassessment Of The African Plio-Pleistocene Record, Christopher C. Gilbert, Stephen R. Frost, Kelsey D. Pugh, Monya Anderson, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

Baboons ( Papio hamadryas) are among the most successful extant primates, with a minimum of six distinctive forms throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, their presence in the fossil record is unclear. Three early fossil taxa are generally recognized, all from South Africa: Papio izodi , Papio robinsoni and Papio angusticeps. Because of their derived appearance, P. angusticeps and P. robinsoni have sometimes been considered subspecies of P. hamadryas and have been used as biochronological markers for the Plio- Pleistocene hominin sites where they are found.

We reexamined fossil Papio forms from across Africa with an emphasis on their distinguishing features and …

Nevada Desert Dust With Heavy Metals Suppresses Igm Antibody Production, Deborah E. Keil, Brenda J. Buck, Dirk Goossens, Brett Mclaurin, Lacey Murphy, Mallory Leetham-Spencer, Yuanxin Teng, James E. Pollard, Russell Gerads, Jamie C. Dewitt

Geoscience Faculty Research

Systemic health effects from exposure to a complex natural dust containing heavy metals from the Nellis Dunes Recreation Area (NDRA) near Las Vegas, NV, were evaluated. Several toxicological parameters were examined following lung exposure to emissive dust from three geologic sediment types heavily used for recreational off-road activities: yellow sand very rich in arsenic (termed CBN 5); a shallow cover of loose dune sand overlying a gravelly subsoil bordering dune fields (termed CBN 6); and brown claystone and siltstone (termed CBN 7). Adult female B6C3F1 mice were exposed by oropharyngeal administration to these three types of geogenic dusts at 0.01–100 …

Impacts Of Diverse Crop Rotations And Integrated Crop-Livestock System On Soil Quality In South Dakota, Atilla Polat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Crop diversification can be beneficial in improving soil quality parameters. Diverse crop rotations and integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS), are two examples of crop diversification used in this study to assess soil quality. The objectives of this study were to: (i) assess the impacts of diverse rotations on soil quality parameters, and (ii) assess the impacts of low and high stocking density on soil quality parameters. Both of the studies were conducted separately and are presented as two different chapters. To accomplish objective (i), a long-term experiment was selected which was established near Brookings, South Dakota, USA at USDA-ARS lab in …

The Origin Of Dark Mats At The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45pi408) Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Sean Stcherbinine

All Master's Theses

The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site is a precontact archaeological site located in the upland forest soils of Mount Rainier National Park. Site stratigraphy is complicated, consisting of tephra deposits from mostly known origins that are intercalated with dark sediments of unknown origin, referred to here as dark mats. Precontact occupation has been split previously into two components based on the ambiguous depositional history of the dark mats, notably their unknown parent material, depositional environment, and relationship with adjacent tephra strata. Stratigraphic samples from excavation units, features, and one off-site excavation unit was used to investigate these data gaps. Grain …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Biochar For Treating Wsu Parking Lot Runoff, Alan-Christian Thomas

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Various pollutants including pesticides, herbicides, automotive fluids, and excess nutrients from fertilizers are found in high concentrations in urban runoff. There are many technologies that can be used to control and redirect the water flow such as retention basins, constructed wetlands, and rain gardens; however, these methods are specifically focused on controlling water and not necessarily the nutrients and contaminants in the water. There has recently been an increased interest in the potential for using additional materials (e.g., compost, charcoal) to enhance the pollution treatment ability by either adding them to the soil or by engineering prefilters to remove pollutants …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Bioswales In Southeast Michigan, Grace Crowe

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Bioswales are modern storm water management structures that utilize biological components in a traditional wale to more effectively filter out contaminants. Because of its modern nature the installation and management practices for bioswales is still developing. Perfecting the practices surrounding bioswales in southeast Michigan environment can aid in the advancement of green infrastructure in the state. Wayne State installed a bioswale in one its parking lots in New Center with the help of the Detroit Biodiversity Network (DBN). We wanted to monitor the progression of this existing bioswale throughout the year, observing the system components effecting overall bioswale performance. The …

Geochronological And Geochemical Constraints On The Origin Of The Cartoogechaye Terrane, Western North Carolina: Implications For The Late Precambrian To Early Paleozoic Evolution Of The Eastern Laurentian Margin, Kevin B. Walsh Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Cartoogechaye terrane (CT) is an enigmatic migmatite terrane within the Central Blue Ridge province of the southern Appalachians. Previous work identified exotic Pb isotope compositions within the CT (Quinn, 2012). More recent studies that mapped the extent of potentially exotic metaigneous lithologies yield U-Pb zircon ages consistent with a native Laurentian margin metasedimentary origin (Larkin, 2016). This study focused on the possible extent of similar lithologies in the Clyde quadrangle and provides further constraints on the crustal affinity of the CT. The Clyde quadrangle consists of four distinct lithologic packages: the CT, Ashe metamorphic suite, Great Smoky Group, and …

Detecting Irrigated Field From Remotely Sensed Images, Jenny Wood

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Climate Change On The Quelccaya Ice Cap, Central Andes, And Its Relationship With The Large-Scale Circulation, Christian Pedro Yarleque Galvez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Glaciated areas over the central Andes are highly sensitive to atmospheric forcings, as demonstrated by their current accelerated retreat in response to global warming. The present Thesis is focused on quantifying and assessing future climate change impacts over Quelccaya ice cap (QIC), the world-largest tropical ice body, which is considered as a representative case of the tropical Andean cryosphere. I focused my study on characterizing large-scale forcing and future changes of precipitation and temperature, since they represent the most important variables for accumulation and ablation processes in glaciated mountain regions. In my research I developed tools to overcome the lack …