Earth Sciences Commons^™

Late Holocene Paleoflood Hydrology Of The Snake River In The Lower Hells Canyon, Idaho, Kent C. Allen

All Master's Theses

The Snake River watershed spans a large geographic region from the Rocky Mountains to the inland Pacific Northwest, and a comprehensive paleoflood chronology on the mainstem of the river is key to identifying the frequency and magnitude of large prehistoric floods within the region. We examined and compared four sites of slackwater deposits along a 20-km reach of the Lower Hells Canyon on the Snake River, Idaho. The sites contain evidence of up to 34 paleofloods within the last 1700 years. Stratigraphic breaks, soils, and in-situ plant or archaeological materials demarcate distinct layers that represent discrete paleoflood events. Radiocarbon dates …

Microseismic Evidence For Bookshelf Faulting In Western Montana, Ellen Mcgough Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

One of the most seismically active regions in the western United States, far from any major plate boundary, is the Intermountain Seismic Belt (ISB). On 6 July 2017, a M5.8 earthquake occurred 11 km southeast of Lincoln, Montana within the ISB. This was the largest earthquake to occur in the state of Montana since the 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthquake. Data from the University of Montana Seismic Network (UMSN), the Montana Regional Seismic Network (MRSN), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) were used to investigate the aftershock sequences following the M5.8 Lincoln event. We have manually picked P- and …

Sedimentological, Architectural, And Paleoenvironmental Analysis Of The Fluvial Upper Devonian Catskill Formation, North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Matylda Zaklicki

Honors Theses

During the Late Devonian time period, sediments eroded from the Acadian mountains were transported westward and deposited in fluvial environments, but the morphology of the rivers, avulsion style, and controls on basin infilling remain unclear. This study assesses the sedimentology, channel geometry, stratigraphic architecture, and avulsion style of the paleochannels and floodplains of the uppermost 80 meters of the Catskill Formation near Blossburg, Pennsylvania, using field-based lithofacies observations, high-resolution panoramic photographs, and terrestrial lidar scanning.

Upper Catskill Formation strata at Blossburg Middle consist of sandy channel and muddy floodplain deposits. Floodplain deposits were categorized into either proximal floodplain deposits or …

Crystalline Architecture And Stratigraphy Of Coral Skeletal Density Banding: A Geobiological Record Of Changing Coral Reef Ecology, Kyle Fouke

Honors Theses

Coral skeletal density banding (CSDB), composed of alternating high density band (HDB) and low density band (LDB) layers that comprise the CaCO₃ (aragonite) skeleton of scleractinian corals, are used as chronometers for global paleoclimatic reconstructions of sea surface temperature (SST). Scleractinian coral skeletons have been intensively studied for centuries with detail analysis of the macro- and microscale skeletal structure to establish taxonomic and evolutionary relationships of coral species, mechanisms of biomineralization, and seafloor physical, chemical and biological alteration (diagenesis) of the skeleton. This study is the first to determine the crystalline architecture of HDBs and CSDB stratigraphic …

Fluvial Sedimentology And Architecture Of Two Latest Devonian Lower Huntley Mountain Formation Outcrops, North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Evan W. Filion

Honors Theses

Thick successions of river deposits accumulated in the north-central Pennsylvania region of the Appalachian foreland basin during Late Devonian time (~380-360 Ma). The properties and morphologies of these paleorivers are not well characterized. Latest Devonian tectonic, climatic, and eustatic controls on river dynamics and basin infilling also remain unclear. This study assesses the sedimentology, facies architecture, paleochannel depths, and grain size of a 133 m thick section of fluvial strata exposed across two outcrops, Blossburg South (older) and Blossburg West (younger), mapped as lower Huntley Mountain Formation near Blossburg, Pennsylvania. Field-based lithofacies observations, high-resolution panoramic photography, terrestrial lidar scanning, and …

Joint Modeling Of Rayleigh Wave Dispersion And H/V Spectral Ratio Using Pareto-Basedmultiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization, Ersi̇n Büyük, Ekrem Zor, Abdullah Karaman

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Estimating the shear wave velocity and thickness of geologic units in a sedimentary structure is important for quantifying the local site effect caused by an earthquake. Inversion of the Rayleigh wave dispersion alone is sensitive to the absolute average shear wave velocity, while the H/V spectral ratio is sensitive to velocity contrasts. The solution of these models in a joint system using conventional inversion techniques suffers from difficulties while evaluating partial derivatives, dependencies to the initial model that is sometimes difficult to estimate, and trapping at a local minimum. Herein, a joint model using the Pareto optimality technique with multiobjective …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Between Land Use And Water Quality In Kittitas County, Wa, Lindsay Schulz

All Master's Theses

Water in Kittitas County is extremely valuable since it supports farming, recreation, and cultural activities, as well as environmental processes and a diversity of biological life while providing many ecosystem services. However, land conversions required by agricultural and urban land uses can negatively impact water quality and the biological function of the stream. I studied how forested, agricultural, and urban land use affect six streams. Fourteen sites were sampled, once each in July, August, and September 2019. Land use was calculated as a percentage of forested, agricultural, and urban land use within a 100-m buffer of the stream, upstream of …

Glaciernet: A Deep-Learning Approach For Debris-Covered Glacier Mapping, Zhiyuan Xie, Umesh K. Haritashya, Vijayan K. Asari, Brennan W. Young, Michael P. Bishop, Jeffrey S. Kargel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Rising global temperatures over the past decades is directly affecting glacier dynamics. To understand glacier fluctuations and document regional glacier-state trends, glacier-boundary detection is necessary. Debris-covered glacier (DCG) mapping, however, is notoriously difficult using conventional geospatial technology methods. Therefore, in this research for automated DCG mapping, we evaluate the utility of a convolutional neural network (CNN), which is a deep learning feed-forward neural network. The CNN inputs include Landsat satellite images, an Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) digital elevation model (DEM) and DEM-derived land-surface parameters. Our CNN based deep-learning approach named GlacierNet was designed by appropriately choosing the type, number …

The Limits Of Lead (Pb) Phytoextraction And Possibilities Of Phytostabilization In Contaminated Soil: A Critical Review, Sara Perl Egendorf, Peter M. Groffman, Gerry Moore, Zhongqi Cheng

Advanced Science Research Center

This review article focuses on lead (Pb), one of the most ubiquitous and harmful toxicants found in soil. Our objective is to address misconceptions regarding the ability of plants to uptake Pb through their roots and translocate it to above-ground tissues, and their ability to act as hyperaccumulators and thereby phytoextract Pb. In accordance with a number of cited definitions, we suggest that species capable of Pb phytoextraction can be rated with the following three criteria: (1) root uptake above a nominal threshold of 1,000 mg Pb/kg, (2) bioconcentration factor (BCF or shoot/soil concentration) >1, and (3) translocation factor (TF …

Towards Geostatistical Learning For The Geosciences: A Case Study In Improving The Spatial Awareness Of Spectral Clustering, Hassan Talebi, L. J. M. Peeters, Ute Mueller, R. Tolosana-Delgado, K. G. Van Den Boogaart

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The particularities of geosystems and geoscience data must be understood before any development or implementation of statistical learning algorithms. Without such knowledge, the predictions and inferences may not be accurate and physically consistent. Accuracy, transparency and interpretability, credibility, and physical realism are minimum criteria for statistical learning algorithms when applied to the geosciences. This study briefly reviews several characteristics of geoscience data and challenges for novel statistical learning algorithms. A novel spatial spectral clustering approach is introduced to illustrate how statistical learners can be adapted for modelling geoscience data. The spatial awareness and physical realism of the spectral clustering are …

Evaluating Cmip6 Model Fidelity At Simulating Non-Gaussian Temperature Distribution Tails, Arielle J. Catalano, Paul Loikith, J. David Neelin

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Under global warming, changes in extreme temperatures will manifest in more complex ways in locations where temperature distribution tails deviate from Gaussian. Confidence in global climate model (GCM) projections of temperature extremes and associated impacts therefore relies on the realism of simulated temperature distribution tail behavior under current climate conditions. This study evaluates the ability of the latest state-of-the-art ensemble of GCMs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase six (CMIP6), to capture historical global surface temperature distribution tail shape in hemispheric winter and summer seasons. Comparisons with a global reanalysis product reveal strong agreement on coherent spatial patterns of …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 45, 2020, Department Of Geography, Geology, And The Environment

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Exploring The Origins Of Secondary Growth – Two Lower Devonian (Emsian) Euphyllophytes From Gaspé, Canada, And Their Implications For The Evolution Of Secondary Growth, Kelly C. Pfeiler

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Secondary growth from a vascular cambium has a deep fossil record among euphyllophytes, with the earliest occurrence dated to 407 Ma. To date, Armoricaphyton and Franhueberia represent the only instances of secondary growth formally documented in the Early Devonian. Secondary growth diversified rapidly and was present in all major euphyllophyte lineages by the Middle Devonian. Here, I describe two new Early Devonian euphyllophytes exhibiting secondary growth, from the Emsian (c. 400-395 Ma) Battery Point Formation (Québec, Canada): Gmujij tetraxylopteroides gen. et sp. nov. and Perplexa praestigians gen et sp. nov. Both these plants possess mesarch actinosteles with Psilophyton-type …

Age-Specific And Species-Specific Tree Response To Seasonal Drought In Tropical Dry Forests, Emily A. Santos

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Millions of people live in or depend on ecoregions dominated by Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs), but due to their high accessibility, convenient topography and mild climate conditions their distribution is fragmented with less than 10% of their original extent remaining in many countries. Despite the vast ecosystem services provided by TDFs, including vital water resources in water limited environments, ecohydrological research in this biome has been limited to a small number of short-term investigations. Similar to worldwide trends, the TDF surrounding Bahía de Caráquez (Bahía), Ecuador, has been severely deforested over the past 400 years. The land use history in …

Geologic Map Of The Greater Portland Metropolitan Area And Surrounding Region, Oregon And Washington, Ray E. Wells, Ralph Haugerud, Alan Niem, Wendy A. Niem, Russell Evarts, J. E. O’Connor, Ian Madin, Marvin Beeson, Multiple Additional Authors

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This geologic map encompasses the greater Portland metropolitan area (the metro area), an urbanized region astride the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in Oregon and Washington. The metro area includes the Portland-VancouverHillsboro metropolitan area, defined by the U.S. Census as the 23rd largest such area in the U.S., having a population of more than 2.2 million people (https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/026/508.php). The map area extends beyond the urbanized core to include outlying towns and cities and the bounding fault zones that separate the metro area from the adjacent Coast Range and Cascade Range (or Cascades; figs. 1, 2, and 3). The …

A Machine Learning And Data-Driven Prediction And Inversion Of Reservoir Brittleness From Geophysical Logs And Seismic Signals: A Case Study In Southwest Pennsylvania, Central Appalachian Basin, Tobi Micheal Ore

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In unconventional reservoir sweet-spot identification, brittleness is an important parameter that is used as an easiness measure of production from low permeability reservoirs. In shaly reservoirs, production is realized from hydraulic fracturing, which depends on how brittle the rock is–as it opens natural fractures and also creates new fractures. A measure of brittleness, brittleness index, is obtained through elastic properties of the rock. In practice, problems arise using this method to predict brittleness because of the limited availability of elastic logs.

To address this issue, machine learning techniques are adopted to predict brittleness at well locations from readily available geophysical …

Physical And Chemical Properties Of Clastic Sediments From Two Caves In The Northern Karst Region Of Puerto Rico, Autum R. Downey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Geochemical properties and organic characteristics are essential to understanding the general depositional dynamics of a cave. Most work on clastic cave sediments focuses on physical properties of sediments. Little work has been done on bulk organic matter and geochemical properties.

This project reports physical and geochemical characterization of cave sediments from two caves in the northern karst region of Puerto Rico: El Tallonal Cave and Cueva Clara. Core and grab samples were collected and analyzed for particle size, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, organic matter characteristics using fluorescence spectroscopy, and major and minor elements using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The sediments …

Investigating Effects Of Carbonate Minerals On Shale- Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Interactions In The Marcellus Shale, Brennan Matthew Ferguson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Natural gas extracted from tight shale formations, such as the Marcellus Shale, represent an important and developing front in energy exploration. By fracturing these formations using pressurized fracturing fluid, previously unobtainable hydrocarbon reserves may be tapped. While pursuing this resource hydraulic fracturing operations leave chemically complex fluids in the shale formation for at least two weeks. This provides a substantial opportunity for the hydraulic fracturing fluid (HFF) to react with the shale formation at reservoir temperature and pressure. In this study, we investigated the effects of the carbonates on shale-HFF reactions with a focus on the Marcellus Shale. We determined …

Relating Recharge Mechanisms To Chemical Changes In An Updip Appalachian Coal Mine Discharge: A Case Study From Lambert Run, West Virginia, Matthew Lewis Bell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Impaired drainage from active and abandoned mines degrades the water quality of receiving streams and aquifers. Coal mine drainage (CMD) has been studied for decades in Appalachia, but unknowns and uncertainties are still present, including the influence of mine hydrogeology on the outflow chemistry of above-drainage mines. To evaluate the influence of recharge type on above-drainage mine chemistry, samples were collected every two weeks at a CMD outflow treatment system in Harrison County, West Virginia.

Samples were collected to measure geochemical changes taking place in the mine workings and along the flowpath of the passive treatment system. Samples were divided …

Evolution Of Extreme Continental Saline Environments: A Sedimentological Investigation Of Permo-Triassic Redbeds And Evaporites In Northern Ireland And Kansas, Anna Sofia S. Andeskie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Permo-Triassic was a time of extreme environments, unusually warm and arid climates, and biotic crises. This study investigates Pangean environments and climate leading to extreme acid saline lake systems represented by the Permian Nippewalla Group of Kansas and the Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group of Northern Ireland. Sedimentological observations of the underlying rocks, the Permian Hutchinson Salt Member of Kansas and the Permian Belfast Harbour Evaporite Formation of Northern Ireland, help to understand trends in environmental and climatic conditions leading to these extreme environments. This dissertation also refines the geographic extent of extreme acid saline lake and groundwater systems through …

Paleoecological Successions From Shallow-Marine Depositional Environments In Upper Silurian Carbonate Rocks Of Blair County, Pennsylvania, Shadya El-Ashkar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Studies of paleoenvironment and paleoecology are important for investigating relationships between the different environmental and biological variables that influenced biodiversification patterns during the Silurian Period. The mixed carbonate and siliciclastic rocks of the Bloomsburg and Mifflintown Formations in central Pennsylvania represent transitions between carbonate ramp and deltaic settings. The goal of this study was to assess changes in depositional environment and paleoecology of an undescribed Bloomsburg/Mifflintown locality in Bellwood, Pennsylvania. In central Pennsylvania, the interfingered relationship of mixed carbonate and siliciclastic mudstones of the Mifflintown Formation with red fine-grained sandstones and shales of the Bloomsburg Formation presented challenges for deciphering …

Knickzones In Southwest Pennsylvania Streams Indicate Accelerated Pleistocene Landscape Evolution, Mark D. Swift

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A set of 22 southwestern Pennsylvania streams flowing into the Monongahela and Ohio rivers with drainage areas ranging from 8 km² to >512 km² exhibit knickzones, when compared to Mackin’s (1948) idealized graded stream profile. Watersheds delineated from LiDAR-derived 1 m DEMs were processed using Esri’s ArcGIS for Desktop 10.6 to extract stream elevation data used to create stream profiles. These data were exported to MS Excel, where gradients were calculated and compared. This study used a new methodology in which gradient was calculated using incremental measurement distances (d) at every meter along the length of …

Leaf Angle And Leaf Stomata Responses To Experimental Drought In Quercus Velutina And Acer Saccharum, Brittany Nichole Casey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The possibility of increased severity and frequency of drought conditions, as a result of global climate variability, greatly complicates our ability to forecast future forest functions such as productivity and carbon sequestration. Assessing how tree species vary in their response to drought can aid in predicting the impact on forest ecosystems as a whole. Throughfall exclusion (TfE) experiments are potentially useful tools to simulate realistic drought conditions within intact forest ecosystems. We employed a TfE experiment during the 2018 growing season within the WV Land Trust’s Elizabeth’s Woods Nature Preserve, near Morgantown, WV, to assess the leaf angle and leaf …

Process Based Analysis Of Fluvial Stratigraphic Record: Middle Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation, North-Central Wv, Oluwasegun O. Abatan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fluvial deposits represent some of the best hydrocarbon reservoirs, but the quality of fluvial reservoirs varies depending on the reservoir architecture, which is controlled by allogenic and autogenic processes. Allogenic controls, including paleoclimate, tectonics, and glacio-eustasy, have long been debated as dominant controls in the deposition of fluvial strata. However, recent research has questioned the validity of this cyclicity and may indicate major influence from autogenic controls. To further investigate allogenic controls on stratal order, I analyzed the facies architecture, geomorphology, paleohydrology, and the stratigraphic framework of the Middle Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation (MPAF), a fluvial depositional system in the Appalachian …

Household Water Security: An Analysis Of Water Affect In The Context Of Hydraulic Fracturing In West Virginia, Appalachia, Bethani Turley, Martina Angela Caretta

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Hydraulic fracturing has been booming in the last decade in the United States. While natural gas extraction and production has improved the national energy security, it has raised questions around the water security of those communities where extraction is taking place. Both scientists and residents are concerned about hydraulic fracturing’s impacts on surface- and groundwater, especially regarding how hydraulic fracturing impacts residents’ access to safe household well water. In the past decade, the Marcellus Shale has been developed in Northwestern West Virginia, yet the human geography dimensions of oil and gas extraction in West Virginia remain to be investigated. This …

Larger-Scale Ocean-Atmospheric Patterns Drive Synergistic Variability And World-Wide Volatility Of Wheat Yields, Ehsan Najafi, Indrani Pal, Reza Khanbilvardi

Advanced Science Research Center

Diagnosing potential predictability of global crop yields in the near term is of utmost importance for ensuring food supply and preventing socio-economic consequences. Previous studies suggest that a substantial proportion of global wheat yield variability depends on local climate and larger-scale ocean-atmospheric patterns. The science is however at its infancy to address whether synergistic variability and volatility (major departure from the normal) of multi-national crop yields can be potentially predicted by larger-scale climate drivers. Here, using observed data on wheat yields for 85 producing countries and climate variability from 1961–2013, we diagnose that wheat yields vary synergistically across key producing …

The Role Of Warm, Dry Summers And Variation In Snowpack On Phytoplankton Dynamics In Mountain Lakes, Isabella A. Olesky, Whitney S. Beck, Roderick W. Lammers, Cara E. Steger, Codie Wilson, Kyle R. Christianson, Kim Vincent, Gunnar Forrest Johnson, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Jill S. Baron

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change is altering biogeochemical, metabolic, and ecological functions in lakes across the globe. Historically, mountain lakes in temperate regions have been unproductive because of brief ice-free seasons, a snowmelt-driven hydrograph, cold temperatures, and steep topography with low vegetation and soil cover. We tested the relative importance of winter and summer weather, watershed characteristics, and water chemistry as drivers of phytoplankton dynamics. Using boosted regression tree models for 28 mountain lakes in Colorado, we examined regional, intraseasonal, and interannual drivers of variability in chlorophyll a as a proxy for lake phytoplankton. Phytoplankton biomass was inversely related to the maximum snow …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Forestry, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment …

Paleohydrology And Machine-Assisted Estimation Of Paleogeomorphology Of Fluvial Channels Of The Lower Middle Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation, Birch River, Wv, Oluwasegun O. Abatan, Amy Weislogel

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Rivers transport sediments in a source to sink system while responding to allogenic controls of the depositional system. Stacked fluvial sandstones of the Middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian Stage, ∼310–306 Ma) Allegheny Formation (MPAF) exposed at Birch River, West Virginia exhibit change in sedimentary structure and depositional style, reflecting changes in allogenic behavior. Paleohydrologic and numerical analysis were used to quantify geomorphological and paleohydrologic variations reflected by MPAF fluvial deposits with the goal of understanding the controls on resulting fluvial sandstone architecture in these different systems. Channel body geometry, sedimentary structures, and sandstone grain size distribution were used to reconstruct the paleoslope …

The Transition From Planar To En Echelon Morphology In A Single Vein In Shale: Insights From X-Ray Computed Tomography Scanning, Graham Dm Andrews, Sarah R. Brown, Johnathan Moore, Dustin Crandall, Paige Mackey

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

En echelon fractures and veins are among the most common and distinctive geological structures, yet their three-dimensional forms and relationships to surrounding structures are commonly unclear. X-ray computed tomography (CT) offers an unrivaled ability to examine structures within rocks in three dimensions, and it is applied here to a sample of drill core from the Marcellus Shale of southwestern Pennsylvania (USA). CT images yield qualitative and quantitative data on the transition from a pyrite-rich planar vein to an en echelon veinlet array, and on the heterogeneity of veinlets within the array. Using a combination of three- and two-dimensional images, geometric …