Earth Sciences Commons^™

Pleistocene Bats (Late Irvingtonian And Late Rancholabrean) From Nuckolls And Sherman Counties, Nebraska, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Richard George Corner

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

We document rare finds of fossil bats from two localities representing the Pleistocene epoch in southern and central Nebraska, Albert Ahrens locality (No-104, late Irvingtonian age, Middle Pleistocene), Nuckolls County, and Litchfield (Sm-102, late Rancholabrean age, latest Pleistocene), Sherman County. The Albert Ahrens local fauna with strong boreal influence has produced two bats, Lasiurus cf. borealis and Cf. Myotis sp. The Litchfield local fauna, also showing a strong boreal influence, has yielded two bats, Eptesicus fuscus and Cf. Myotis, among a diverse Pleistocene fauna of small vertebrates and a pollen record indicating a boreal mixed conifer and deciduous woodland, …

Roadway Floods And Their Associated Weather-Related Conditions: New Insights Using Cars 511 Data For State And Federal Highways In Nebraska, Usa, Logan R. Bundy, Mark Anderson, Clinton M. Rowe, Rezaul Mamood

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study examined roadway flooding event data provided by the Nebraska Department of Transportation via the Condition Acquisition Reporting System (CARS) 511 archive (2016–2021). With these data, a novel analysis was completed to further the understanding of where, when, and why (meteorologically) roadway flooding occurs on Nebraska state and federal highways. In the study period, 298 roadway floods occurred, with an annual median of 16 per year. There was a greater risk for roadway floods to transpire more frequently in eastern Nebraska, which was attributed to the spatial climatology of heavy rainfall and the higher density of roadways and rivers. …

Examining The Corn Seedling Emergence–Temperature Relationship For Recent Hybrids: Insights From Experimental Studies, Sahila Beegum, Charles Hunt Walne, Krishna N. Reddy, Vangimalla Reddy, Kambham Raja Reddy

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Corn seedling emergence is a critical factor affecting crop yields. Accurately predicting emergence is crucial for precise crop growth and development simulation in process-based crop models. While various experimental studies have investigated the relationship between corn seedling emergence and temperature, there remains a scarcity of studies focused on newer corn hybrids. In the present study, statistical models (linear and quadratic functional relationships) are developed based on the seedling emergence of ten current corn hybrids, considering soil and air temperatures as influencing factors. The data used for model development are obtained from controlled soil plant atmospheric research chamber experiments focused on …

Water Chemistry Variability In Peacock Springs Cave System And Spring Basin: Impacts On Continuous Monitoring Of Karst Aquifers, Mahnoor Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) is a highly transmissive and heterogeneous karst aquifer that makes it acutely susceptible to pollution. Rapid and extensive water quality changes in nutrients at springs draining the UFA have prompted intensive monitoring at several priority springs, including continuous and discrete water quality sampling. Springs, however, are a discrete discharge point of an often-expansive phreatic cave network that can intersect different land uses and thus drain distinct geographic areas of a springshed. The extensive network contains convergent passages from deep and shallow aquifer regions and may contribute to varying water chemistry across passages resulting in water …

Assessment Of Viability Of Coal Mines In Tanzania For Extraction Of Rare Earth Elements, Juma Sija, Mohamed Mazunga

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study aimed at determining the concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) in coal and coal fly ash (CFA) from three coal mines in Tanzania: Kiwira, Ngaka and Rukwa. The goal was to assess if these resources could be commercially viable for extracting REEs. Coal and CFA samples were analysed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The total concentrations of REEs in the coal samples ranged from 89.48 parts per million (ppm) to 196.30 ppm, while in CFA samples, ranged from 362.55 ppm to 475.77 ppm. Computed percentage of critical REEs (REYdef, …

Modelling And Forecasting Claim Payments Of Tanzania National Health Insurance Fund, Imani Kapungu, Emmanuel Evarest, Nyimvua Shaban, Andongwisye J. Mwakisisile

Tanzania Journal of Science

The expenses of medical services are increasing across the globe. As a result, pressure is placed on government and insurance companies’ budgets. The amounts of money collected are not enough to cover the claim payments. Therefore, it threatens the sustainability of the health insurance companies due to the mismatch of income and expenditures. This study aimed to model and forecast claim payments for the national health insurance fund (NHIF) in Tanzania. The claim payment data for the period of 2001–2021 from NHIF were used in building the ARIMA model. It was proven that ARIMA (0, 2, 2) is the most …

Analysis Of Wastewater Samples To Explore Community Substance Use In The United States: Pilot Correlative And Machine Learning Study, Marie A. Severson, Sathaporn Onanong, Alexandra Dolezal, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Lisa M. Mcfadden

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Background: Substance use disorder and associated deaths have increased in the United States, but methods for detecting and monitoring substance use using rapid and unbiased techniques are lacking. Wastewater-based surveillance is a cost-effective method for monitoring community drug use. However, the examination of the results often focuses on descriptive analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore community substance use in the United States by analyzing wastewater samples. Geographic differences and commonalities of substance use were explored.

Methods: Wastewater was sampled across the United States (n=12). Selected drugs with misuse potential, prescriptions, and over-the-counter drugs …

Labile Dissolved Nickel (Ni) Concentrations In The North Pacific, Calyn M. Crawford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nickel (Ni) is an important micronutrient for phytoplankton and bacteria that serves as a required co-factor in several metalloenzymes. Despite these known biological uses, total dissolved Ni concentrations remain elevated in global surface waters, in contrast to the surface depletion commonly observed for macronutrients and other nutrient-type trace elements. A prevailing hypothesis for the muted depletion of dissolved Ni concentrations in surface waters is that dissolved Ni in seawater is not in a bioavailable form. The chemical lability of Ni in seawater provides insight into Ni speciation and bioavailability, but few measurements have been made in the open ocean to …

Understanding Controls On Spring Hydrographs In An Eogenetic Karst Aquifer In North-Central Florida, Ryan Almeqhem

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida has one of the largest karst aquifers in the United States, with a significant portion of its water resources originating from the eogenetic karst system in north central Florida. Despite the importance of this system, eogenetic karst still needs to be studied compared to telogenetic karst. The hydrological behavior of karst aquifers is complex, with numerous factors influencing the timing, magnitude, and shape of spring hydrographs. One hypothesis, by Florea and Vacher (2006), suggests that matrix permeability is the primary control of spring hydrographs in karst systems. However, this thesis challenges this hypothesis by presenting evidence that the recharge …

Mining Multibeam Transit Data For Deep Ocean Polymetallic Nodules: Case Study In Se Pacific Ocean, Mark E. Mussett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Occurrences of nodules on the seafloor represent benthic habitats and present potential deposits of economically important metals. Better understanding their extent throughout Earth’s oceans will aid in resource management and determining different factors which influence their formative factors and respective local characteristics. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, along with auxiliary data suggest an area of seafloor near the Foundation Seamount chain in the southern Pacific Ocean, centered around -36.84° latitude, -119.75° longitude, contains a previously uncharted polymetallic nodule occurrence. Our analysis of Simrad EM12 DUAL (12 kHz) multibeam data, collected during a 1997 transit, shows an area of strong backscatter …

Review Of Harmful Algal Bloom Effects On Birds With Implications For Avian Wildlife In The Chesapeake Bay Region, Barnett A. Rattner, Catherine E. Wazniak, Julia S. Lankton, Peter C. Mcgowan, Serguei V. Drovetski, Todd A. Egerton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Chesapeake Bay, along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America, is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical habitat for wildlife. In contrast to point and non-point source release of pesticides, metals, and industrial, personal care and household use chemicals on biota in this watershed, there has only been scant attention to potential exposure and effects of algal toxins on wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay region. As background, we first review the scientific literature on algal toxins and harmful algal bloom (HAB) events in various regions of the world that principally affected birds, and to a lesser …

Investigating The Occurrence Of Blizzard Events Over The Contiguous United States Using Observations And Climate Projections, Ahmani Browne, Liang Chen

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Over previous decades, the United States has been plagued by severe winter storms or blizzards, which caused millions of dollars in damages. However, the historical trend of blizzard events and the possible impacts of future global climate change on blizzard occurrences remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed historical blizzard occurrences using the observed storm event database, which shows that the Northern Plains, such as North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, had the most blizzard activities over the past 25 years. No significant trend in blizzard occurrence is found in those regions. When considering blizzards as compound events of strong …

A New Physics-Informed Method For The Fracability Evaluation Of Shale Oil Reservoirs, Li Yuwei, Li Zijian, Shao Lifei, Tian Fuchun, Tang Jizhou

Coal Geology & Exploration

The accurate evaluation of reservoir fracability is an essential prerequisite for the fracturing design and post-fracturing productivity evaluation of reservoirs. Rock mechanical parameters have been applied to the fracability evaluation of shales presently, exhibiting great field application performance. Accordingly, it is crucial to obtain accurate rock mechanical parameters. This study developed a physics-informed neural network (PINN) model. Driven by data and physical information, the PINN model can accurately predict rock mechanical parameters using only a small amount of data. To verify its performance, the PINN model was compared with the artificial neural network, random forest, and XGBoost models. The comparison …

An Attention Mechanism-Based Cnn-Bilstm Real-Time Transient Electromagnetic Method, Gu Yao, Xie Haijun, Zhou Zipeng, Li Lu

Coal Geology & Exploration

The one-dimensional transient electromagnetic (TEM) method is time-consuming and suffers other drawbacks such as difficult parameter adjustment and heavy dependence on the initial model. Therefore, this study proposed a real-time TEM inversion method—the Attention mechanism-based convolutional neural network (CNN) - bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) (AC-BiLSTM). By fully utilizing the time difference, the AC-BiLSTM performed model training in non-observation time and the real-time inversion of the collected data in observation time. With the measured data mixed with a certain proportion of data obtained from forward modeling as the dataset, the sampling time and apparent resistivity as the input features in …

Research Progress Of Rotary Steerable System And Its Control Methods, Li Wei, Mou Lei, Zhou Xiancheng, Tan Xianhui, Fu Quan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Rotary steerable system is a shining pearl in directional drilling technology and an important technical means to realize the low-cost and efficient development of oil and gas resources. First of all, the basic structure of the rotary steerable system was introduced. According to the different steering modes and bias effects, the rotary steerable system is divided into five categories: static push-the-bit type, dynamic push-the-bit type, static pointing type, dynamic point-the-bit type and mixed type, for which the steering principle was analyzed one by one. Secondly, according to the research and application of rotary steerable system technology at home and abroad, …

Table Of Contents, The Editors

Coal Geology & Exploration

No abstract provided.

Gas Expansion Energy Of Coals With Different Metamorphic Degrees: Evolutionary Characteristics And Their Implications For The Outburst Prediction, Liu Gaofeng, Li Baolin, Zhang Zhen, Liu Huan, Guan Wenbo, Si Nian

Coal Geology & Exploration

To achieve an elevated accuracy in the prediction of coal and gas outbursts, this study conducted mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) tests and isotherm adsorption experiments on selected six coal samples with different metamorphic degrees. Furthermore, it calculated the gas expansion energy of coals and analyzed the evolutionary characteristics of the gas expansion energy of coals with different metamorphic degrees, as well as their relationships with the prediction indices of coal and gas outbursts. The results of this study are as follows: (1) The differences in the pore structures and adsorptivity of coals with different metamorphic degrees led to different …

Water-Blocking Performance Of Laterite In Weak Deposition Areas Of Neogene Baode Formation And Its Significance Of Resource Exploitation, Zeng Yifan, Bao Han, Wu Qiang, Meng Shihao, Hua Zhaolai, Miao Yanping, Zhang Ye, Bu Wenyang

Coal Geology & Exploration

The in-depth study on the water-blocking performance of laterite in the weak deposition areas of the key aquiclude is of significant importance for mine production safety and ecological water resource protection. Specifically, the borehole data were re-optimized based on the regional sedimentary characteristics, the thickness distribution pattern of laterite deposit in Yushen mining area was studied, and the micro-engineering characteristics and control factors related to the water-blocking performance of laterite were explored. The results show that the deposition thickness of laterite gradually increases from northwest to southeast, the distribution of laterite becomes extremely uneven with the evolution of rivers, and …

Prediction Of Rockburst Intensity Grade Based On Convolutional Neural Network, Li Kangnan, Wu Yaqin, Du Feng, Zhang Xiang, Wang Yiqiao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Rockburst is one of the urgent problems to be addressed in the process of deep resource extraction. In order to predict the rockburst disasters safely and efficiently, a rockburst intensity grade prediction model (MICE-CNN) based on the Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was proposed. Specifically, a predictive indicator system was established based on the main influencing factors and the acquisition conditions of rockburst. A total of 120 sets of raw data from rockburst cases were collected, with the outliers processed by pauta criterion. Then, the missing data were interpolated with the four interpolation models …

Status And Development Of Intelligent Drilling Tools For Coal Mine, Gao Xiaoliang

Coal Geology & Exploration

As an important part of intelligent drilling, the intelligence of drilling tool system plays a crucial role in the intelligent development of coal mine underground drilling. In order to deeply explore the development direction of intelligent drilling tools, the research results and technical characteristics of intelligent drilling tools in coal mines were systematically sorted out from the aspects of directional drilling tools, measurement while drilling (MWD) system, intelligent drilling pipes and drill bits with reference to the experience in development of oil and gas industry, and the existing shortcomings were also summarized. It is pointed out that screw motor is …

Methods For Estimating Carbon Emissions From Coals In Underground Mines: A Case Study Of The Western Fukang Mining Area, Peng Rendong, Wei Bo, Li Xin, Zhang Ji, Zhang Zizhao, Wang Bo, Zhang Na, Cui Deguang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Carbon emissions have come into sharp focus of human society. The carbon emissions from coals rank as the most predominant part of China’s total carbon emissions. Presently, there is no available study on the accurate calculation of carbon emissions from coals in typical underground mines in Xinjiang, with the CH₄ emission even overlooked. This study centers on the carbon emissions from coals in underground mines in the western Fukang mining area. As per the occurrence laws of CH₄ and CO₂ in coal seams, as well as coal mining plans, this study classified the sources of carbon emissions …

A Method For Identifying Faults Within Mining Faces Based On Spatial Statistics, Feng Yajie, Wen Guangchao, Wu Bingjie, Hu Zudong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Minor faults within mining faces of coal mines severely affect gas drainage and coal seam mining. Accurately identifying parameters such as positions, throws, and attitudes of these faults is of great significance for the safe production of coal mines. To effectively reduce gas emissions, prevent gas explosions, and exploit and utilize gas resources, many gas drainage holes have been drilled during the construction of coal mines, providing favorable engineering conditions for identifying minor faults within coal seams. Compared with the conventional fault identification methods, which rely on the expertise of geologists, the identification model based on mathematical statistics and space …

An Improved Automated Testing Model For Maceral Groups In Coals Based On Deeplabv3+, Hu Jinwei, Xi Zhenghao, Xu Guozhong, Li Zhongfeng, Liu Xiang

Coal Geology & Exploration

The identification of maceral groups in coals plays a critical role in analyzing the chemical properties of coals. However, manual identification is laborious and requires high expertise. Existing computer-assisted identification methods, mostly adopting deep learning-based semantic segmentation models, fail to accurately identify maceral groups in coals due to complex compositions of microscopic coal images and the presence of transitional components. Therefore, this study proposed an improved DeeplabV3+ semantic segmentation model integrating the Swin Transformer backbone network and the SkNet. First, to deal with the challenge of feature extraction caused by the intertwined maceral groups and the presence of transitional components …

Discovery And Generation Mechanisms Of Epigenetic Biogenic H2S From Coal Seams In The Fukang Block, Southern Junggar Basin, China, Yan Peipei, Su Xianbo, Zou Chenglong, Zhao Weizhong, Wang Lufei, Fu Haijiao

Coal Geology & Exploration

In the Fukang block located in the eastern part of the southern Junggar Basin, coalbed methane (CBM) from CBM wells exhibits a gradually increasing H₂S concentration in the process of CBM production via water drainage, severely threatening production safety. Based on the CBM exploration and extraction data, as well as the anaerobic fermentation experiments, this study preliminarily investigated the causes of abnormal H₂S concentrations during the CBM production in the Fukang block. As indicated by the gas content test in the CBM exploration stage, the original CBM showed a low H₂S concentration of only …

Pfc Numerical Analysis On Crack Initiation Mechanism Of Fracture Grouting In Top Of Ordovician Limestone, Liu Zhaoxing, Zhang Qi

Coal Geology & Exploration

The advanced regional grouting is an effective means to prevent and control the water hazard of limestone in coal seam floor, and the fracture grouting projects is a key link to determine the effect of the grouting in floor against water hazard. However, due to the unclear understanding of the fracture initiation mechanism of the injected limestone stratum, the grouting pressure, grout water-cement ratio and other grouting parameters in the process of fracture grouting are not effectively controlled. Thus, it is difficult to guarantee the grouting effect. In order to solve the above problems, numerical simulation calculation was conducted for …

Water Inrush Mechanism Of Coal Mine Shaft Fracture Under Fluid-Solid Coupling, Xue Weipei, Shen Lei, Yao Zhishu, Cheng Hua, Rong Chuanxin

Coal Geology & Exploration

The occurrence of coal mine shaft fractures and water inrush accidents is alarmingly frequent, endangering the lives of underground personnel and compromising mine safety. To comprehend the influence of confined groundwater in the process of shaft fracture and the formation mechanism of water inrush channels, a model test was devised using similarity theory and coupled fluid-solid numerical simulation technology. The findings reveal that direct contact between the shaft lining and pressurized water hinders the development of load-bearing and deformation capacities. This is specifically evidenced by the premature appearance of the yield point, a reduction in peak strength and strain, and …

Zoned Prediction Of Water Inflow After Dewatering Of Working Face Based On Waterrichness Zoning Of Aquifer, Yang Lei, Lei Fangchao, Hou Enke, Lu Bo, Feng Dong, Zhao Kaixing

Coal Geology & Exploration

As the weathered bedrock and burned rock aquifers seriously threaten the production safety of mines in the Jurassic coalfield of northern Shaanxi Province, accurate prediction of their waterrichness and water inflow at the working face is of great significance for water control in mines. Aiming at the weathered bedrock and burned rock aquifers with close hydraulic connection, the area where working face 15217 of Shaanxi Hongliulin Coal Mine is located was taken as the study area. Meanwhile, the aquifer thickness, lithological combination index, index of rock burning and weathering degree and core recovery was taken as the evaluation indexes. The …

Numerical Model Of Two-Region Flow By Constant-Head Pumping In An Unconfined Aquifer, Shi Pengyu, Zong Yijie, Teng Kaiqing, Liu Jianjun, Xiao Liang

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to reveal the mechanism of two-region Darcian and non-Darcian flow induced by constant-head pumping tests in unconfined aquifers, a numerical model of well flow by constant-head pumping underground based on finite difference solution was proposed. In the model, it is assumed that the aquifer is divided into two regions according to the pumping flow characteristics: the finite non-Darcian flow region near the pumping well and the semi-infinite Darcian flow region far away from the pumping well. Specifically, the flow regime in the non-Darcian flow region was simulated by the Izbash’s equation, and the reliability of the proposed solution …

Study On Mesoscopic Failure Characteristics Of Layered Red Shale, Ma Zhenqian, Zhou Lang, Zuo Yujun, Zhang Jimin, Zou Yihuai, Cao Yunqin

Coal Geology & Exploration

To study the mesoscopic failure characteristics of the layered red shale, uniaxial mechanical experiments were carried out by applying DSTD-1000 electro-hydraulic servo rigid pressure on the red shale with different bedding angles. Meanwhile, SEM and XRD experiments were implemented on debris to obtain its mechanical parameters, failure characteristics, microstructure, and relative content of components. Based on this, models of the red shale with different bedding angles were constructed using the discrete element PFC^3D for the uniaxial compression experiments to study the mesoscopic failure characteristics of red shale. The results show that: (1) When the bedding angle θ=30°, 45°, …

Numerical Simulations And Wavefield Analysis Of In-Seam Wave Advance Detection In Viscoelastic Media, He Dixiu, Ji Guangzhong, Jiao Wenjie, Zhang Yawei, Yu Kun

Coal Geology & Exploration

In-seam waves are commonly applied to the advance detection of hidden faults in front of mining faces. However, coal seams, which have viscoelasticity actually, imposing absorptive and attenuation effects on in-seam waves. To investigate the wave field characteristics and propagation patterns of in-seam waves in viscoelastic coal seam media, this study built a three-dimensional geological model of coal measures with faults based on Kelvin-Voigt’s first-order velocity-stress equation. Using this equation, three-dimensional finite-difference numerical simulation was carried out. The results indicate that (1) for reflected in-seam waves in viscoelastic media, which exhibit high energy attenuation, their propagation and attenuation characteristics are …