Speleogenesis Of Critchfield Bat Caves And Associated Hydrogeology Of The Northern Edwards Aquifer, Williamson County, Texas, Ashley N. Landers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Karst development in the Edwards Aquifer has been significantly studied in the San Antonio and Barton Spring Segments; however, karst development remains poorly studied in the Northern Segment. Detailed characterization of the Northern Segment is vital for future water conservation because of increasing urban sprawl along the Interstate 35 corridor. The Northern Segment of the Edwards Aquifer consists of Lower Cretaceous strata of the Comanche Peak, Edwards, and Georgetown formations. The stratigraphy is dominated by Edwards Limestone as it is the only formation that crops out in the study area.

Karst, stratigraphic, GIS, and geochemical studies were conducted to evaluate …

Paragenesis And Geochemistry Of The Calvert Tungsten Skarn Deposit, Pioneer Mountains, Montana, Joshua Messenger

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Calvert tungsten skarn deposit is located in the northern extent of the West Pioneer Mountains, approximately 40 miles southwest of Butte, Montana. The orebody was a significant tungsten producer from 1956-1957 and 1960-1962 during which time the mine produced a total of approximately 113,000 tons of ore averaging 1.10% WO₃. The mine has a measured reserve of 128,000 tons at 1.10% WO₃. The scheelite-bearing deposit occurs within skarn developed in the Pennsylvanian Amsden Formation near or in contact with a satellite pluton of the Late Cretaceous Pioneer Batholith.

Mineral paragenetic studies reveal at least three …

Mineralogy And Environmental Geochemistry Of Slag In Lower Area One, Butte, Montana, Jenna Kaplan

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Butte, Montana is the host to a Cu-Mo porphyry deposit and has been a location of mining interest since 1864. Once copper ore is removed from this deposit it goes through a smelting process. Copper smelting processes consist of roasting, smelting, concentrating, and fire refining. During smelting, metals are separated from the waste, or gangue material. Slag is the waste material from these processes. Non-ferrous slag, such as a copper ore, removes iron and silica from the original ore. There is much interest in slag postproduction for there is often still a significant weight percent of metals trapped within a …

Natural Acid Rock Drainage And Ferricrete Deposit Chemistry Of The Judith Mountains, Montana, Sara Edinberg

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Judith Mountains are a low-elevation “island” mountain range in east-central Montana composed of a series of laccoliths and stocks cut by coarse-grained alkali granite and tinguaite dikes. The geology of the Judith Mountains in the vicinity of Red Mountain and Judith Peak, two of the tallest mountains in the range, is conducive to the creation of headwater streams that are naturally acidic. Extensive limonite staining on Red Mountain attests to the widespread presence of disseminated pyrite in hydrothermally altered porphyry rock. However, no major historical mining operations are known to the area. The acidic streams undergo neutralization in pH …

Geochemical And Petrological Characterizations Of Peridotite And Related Rocks In Marquette County, Michigan, Andrew Lloyd Sasso

Masters Theses

This study characterizes the following rock units in Marquette County, Michigan in terms of geochemistry and petrology: (1) Presque Isle Peridotite, (2) Deer Lake Peridotite, (3) Yellowdog Peridotite, and (4) Black Rock Point Gabbro. Analyses were conducted to determine if any petrological or geochemical relationships exist between these units, and to assess the potential of these units to host magmatic sulfide deposits.

The generated data and chosen geotectonic proxies indicate that Black Rock Point Gabbro and Deer Lake Peridotite crystallized from unrelated magmas, probably during the formation of the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone (2.7-1.85 Ga). No evidence was found which …

Geochemical And Petrological Studies On The Origin Of Nickel-Copper Sulfide Mineralization At The Eagle Lntrusion In Marquette County, Michigan, Benjamin Davis Hinks

Masters Theses

The Eagle magmatic intrusion is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Marquette County. It hosts a high grade magmatic nickel-copper sulfide ore deposit. Country rocks surrounding the Eagle intrusion are metamorphosed slate and greywacke of the Proterozoic Michigamme Formation and Archean granite-gneiss. The aim of this thesis is to characterize the magmatic sulfide mineral deposit at Eagle and to establish its relationship to the surrounding host rocks of the Baraga Basin area.

The Eagle East intrusion is located 600 meters east of the Eagle intrusion. These two intrusions are similar in composition and sulfide mineralization. Sulfide textural domains …

Geochemical Investigation Of Anomalous Arsenic Enrichment In The Santiago Peak Volcanics Of Southern California, Elizabeth C. Johnston

Theses

Arsenic (As) is enriched in the Santiago Peak Volcanics (SPV) that crop out at Black Mountain Open Space Park in San Diego, CA. Thus, the Black Mountain SPV present an excellent opportunity to investigate As enrichment in ancient volcanic arc systems as a result of deep earth subduction zone processes. Through targeted field study of this unit, we aim to (1) confirm the volcanic arc provenance of rocks cropping out at Black Mountain, (2) investigate As enrichment in relation to volcanic arc processes, and (3) propose a model for As occurrence in the SPV. Our findings indicate Black Mountain SPV …

A Trace Metal Content Database Of Cave Sediments Of Midcontinent U.S.A., Matthew Dale Smith

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The midcontinent of the United States has thousands of documented caves. These caves contain cave sediments, which are the accumulation of biological, geological, and anthropological debris. At this time there is no known database for trace metals of cave sediments of the midcontinent United States. Considering that caves host a wide variety of life, it is important to create a database to examine potential effects of trace metals on cave systems. In order to develop this baseline, 14 caves were sampled from across the midcontinent. Caves were selected based on geologic and hydrologic attributes. The sediments were analyzed for the …

National Evaluation For Development And Exploration Potential Of Mineral Commodities In Produced Waters, Stephanie Ray

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated a geochemical database consisting of data for approximately 160,000 produced waters samples, primarily from petroleum and geothermal reservoirs. Using major and trace elements from conventional and unconventional well types from the database, this Thesis provides a comprehensive, national evaluation for mineral commodity potential in produced waters. Produced waters contain virtually every naturally occurring element and can range in salinity to several times that of seawater. Despite the typical outlook to view produced waters as a waste, they have potential for natural resource development.

This Thesis provides, for each mineral commodity found in the produced …

Geochemistry Of The Metavolcanic Rocks From The Çangaldağ Complex In The Central Pontides: Implications For The Middle Jurassic Arc-Back-Arc System In The Neotethyan Intra-Pontide Ocean, Okay Çi̇men, Mehmet Cemal Göncüoğlu, Kaan Sayit

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Çangaldağ Complex in northern central Turkey is one of the main tectonic units of the Central Pontide Structural Complex that represents the remains of the poorly known Intra-Pontide branch of the Neotethys. It comprises low-grade metamorphic rocks of intrusive, extrusive, and volcaniclastic origin displaying a wide range of felsic to mafic compositions. Petrographically the complex consists of basalts-andesites-rhyodacites and tuffs with minor amount of gabbros and diabases. On the basis of geochemistry, the Çangaldağ samples are of subalkaline character and represented by both primitive and evolved members. All rock types are variably depleted in Nb compared to LREEs, similar …

Geochemistry Of Proterozoic Clastic Rocks Of The Kerur Formation Of Kaladgi-Badami Basin, North Karnataka, South India: Implications For Paleoweathering And Provenance, Ariputhiran Ramachandran, Jayagopal Madhavaraju, Sooriamuthu Ramasamy, Yong Il Lee, Sesha Rao, David Lalhmingliana Chawngthu, Kasilingam Velmurugan

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) studies have been conducted on the Proterozoic clastic rocks of the Kerur Formation of the Kaladgi-Badami Basin, South India, to determine their paleoweathering conditions and provenance characteristics. Geochemically, these sedimentary rocks are classified as quartz arenite, arkose, litharenite, and sublitharenite. The chemical index of alteration values and the A-CN-K diagram suggest that the clastics rocks in this study underwent moderate to intensive weathering. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns with light REE enrichment, flat heavy REE, and a negative Eu anomaly also attribute felsic source-rock to sedimentary rocks of the Kerur Formation. In addition, Eu/Eu* (~0.77), …

Organic Geochemistry And Element Distribution In Coals Formed In Eocene Lagoon Facies From The Eastern Black Sea Region, Ne Turkey, Çi̇ğdem Saydam Eker, İbrahi̇m Akpinar, Ferkan Si̇pahi̇

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The amount and type, the inorganic element content, and the maturity of organic materials of Eocene coals, shaly coals, and coaly shales exposed in the Gümüşhane and Bayburt districts of the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey were investigated. The depositional environments and hydrocarbon potentials were also interpreted. The total organic carbon concentrations in the studied samples ranged from 0.50% to 63.08%. The samples from Özyurt, Kayadibi, and Tarhanas contained types II and III kerogen, and those from Sökmen and Manas contained type III kerogen. The samples contained Co, Cs, Ga, Hf, Th, U, Y, Mo, Be, Cd, Sb, and …

Clay Mineralogy And Geochemistry Of Three Offshore Wells In The Southwestern Black Sea, Northern Turkey: The Effect Of Burial Diagenesis On The Conversion Of Smectite To Illite, Yi̇nal Neşes Huvaj, Warren D. Huff

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The conversion of smectite to illite has long been studied by numerous researchers because of its importance as a diagenetic metric. Interpreting the pressure, temperature, and age of the sequences in which this conversion occurs provides the possibility to identify the historical maturation parameters of hydrocarbon sources. The Black Sea Basin is known to be an area that can provide source rocks for oil and gas production. The purpose of this study was to determine the clay minerals and their abundances, to establish a stratigraphic correlation among three wells, which is useful to select specific stratigraphic horizons for hydrocarbon exploration, …

Comparison Between Natural Radioactivity Levels Andgeochemistry Of Some Granitoids In Western Turkey, Si̇bel Tatar Erkül, Süleyman Fati̇h Özmen, Fuat Erkül, İsmai̇l Boztosun

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Granitoids commonly include K-feldspar, biotite and zircon, apatite, titanite, allanite, and xenotime crystals, which are known to contain common radioactive elements. Radioactive isotopes of 40K, 238U, and 232Th can be harmful to human health with increasing dosage and their quantification should be well defined to assess the suitability of wall-rock granitoids for indoor and outdoor purposes. In this study, it is aimed to correlate the possible relationship between concentrations of natural radionuclides and SiO2, Na2O, K2O, and CaO together with elements U, Th, Zr, Y, Ba, Rb, and Sr to provide a basic approach to the compatibility of geochemical data …

Geochemistry And C, O, And Sr Isotope Composition Of The Föderata Group Metacarbonates (Southern Veporicum, Western Carpathians, Slovakia):Constraints On The Nature Of Protolith And Its Depositional Environment, Marek Vdacny, Peter Ruzicka, Anna Vozarova

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Major, trace, and rare earth element as well as C, O, and Sr isotope geochemistry is used to provide new insights into the characteristics and depositional environment of the protolith of the Föderata Group metacarbonates in the southern Veporicum cover sequence (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). The metacarbonates are characterized by high LOI and CaO and by small contents of various insoluble components. Among the trace elements investigated, only As, Ba, Co, Cu, Hg, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sr, Th, U, Y, Zn, and Zr display concentrations beyond their detection limits. The metacarbonates are strongly depleted in Rb, Ba, Th, Nb, …

Metamorphic Conditions Of Aluminous Gneisses In The Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex, Idaho, Usa: Implications For The Middle-Lower Crust, Eleanor Wesley-Anne Smith

LSU Master's Theses

The Sawtooth Complex (SMC) of central Idaho contains metasedimentary units that elucidate the pressure-temperature conditions and potentially, the evolution of Precambrian crust in the northwestern United States. Petrographic analysis, whole rock geochemistry, and geothermobarometry combined with thermodynamic phase equilibrium modeling record a regional metamorphic pathway for SMC aluminous gneisses characterized by burial to middle-lower crustal levels with at least two deformational events, followed by a retrograde overprint. P-T conditions are generally consistent with the peak assemblage of SMC aluminous gneisses of bt + grt + sil + ilm + zrn + mnz ± pl ± qtz ± kfs ± ap …

In Situ Geochemistry Of Middle Ordovician Dolomites Of The Upper Mississippi Valley: Evaluation Of The Dorag Model And New Implications For Dolomitizing Fluids, John Michael Callen

LSU Master's Theses

The dolomitization and diagenetic history of Ordovician carbonates of southern Wisconsin has been studied for over a century. Previous studies attributed dolomitization to various single or multiple diagenetic factors and environments. The goal of the study was to resolve arguments regarding dolomitization models, including Badiozamani’s often cited but recently questioned mixing zone model, using LA-ICP-MS focusing on REE to determine the nature of dolomitizing fluids. Analysis revealed that particulate material incorporated into the dolomite affected the geochemical results of many of the samples. Integrating geochemical data with petrographic evidence for diagenetic history, the studied Decorah Formation dolomites were assigned to …

Rhyolite And Trachyte Formation At Lake City Caldera: Insight From Quantitative Textural And Geochemical Analyses, Jordan Lubbers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Lake City Caldera (22.93 ± 0.02 Ma) is the youngest of 15 Tertiary calderas found within the Southern Rocky Mountain Volcanic Field (SRMVF). Extreme topographical relief of the area reveals the three dimensional exposure of a complex, high-k calc-alkaline, magmatic system, which provides us with the opportunity to study, in detail, how large silicic magmas evolve in the subsurface. The Lake City igneous system is comprised of two major units: a resurgent syenite intrusion and the Sunshine Peak Tuff (Lower, Middle, and Upper). Bulk-rock analyses indicate that the Lower and Middle Sunshine Peak tuff are crystal poor and rhyolitic in …

Geochemistry Of Upper Cretaceous Sediments Of Bozeş Formation (Apuseni Mts., Romania) – Provenance Implications, Luminiţa Zaharia, Romona Bălc, Cosmin C. Stremţan, Adriana Socaciu

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

A whole-rock geochemical study was carried out on sandstones from the Upper Cretaceous Bozeş Formation in the southeastern part of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania) in order to constrain their provenance and depositional setting. The geochemical results were compared and integrated with previously reported provenance indicators, such as framework composition and heavy mineral assemblages. The chemical composition is similar for all samples investigated, with limited ranges for both major oxides and trace elements. The sandstones are potassic (Na₂O/K₂O < 1) and can be classified mainly as arenites with a few greywackes. Their immature to relatively mature character is revealed by the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios, ranging between 3.90 and 11.25, as well as their high Sr/Rb ratios. The …

The Role Of Organic Matter In The Surface Chemistry Of Arsenic Compounds On Iron−(Oxyhydr)Oxides Studied By Atr-Ftir, Arthur Situm

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The interaction of organic matter with the interfaces of active soil components such as iron oxides is ubiquitous within soil environments. The presence of organics at these interfaces may have implications for other soil constituents whose mobility is controlled by their ability to bind to active soil components. Most of the studies performed to date which look at these interactions are bulk/batch studies performed ex-situ. Attenuated total internal reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was utilized within this work to study interactions between select model organics (citrate, oxalate and pyrocatechol) and iron−(oxyhydr)oxides, as well as their effect on the surface …

Avon Alkaline Igneous Province, Missouri: Characterization Of Subcontinental Mantle Source And Evolution Via Chemical Analysis Of Olivine, Zachary William Freeman

Masters Theses

"This article presents the crystallization age of, and composition of olivine phenocrysts within an alnoite of, the Avon Alkaline Igneous Province (AAIP) of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. The AAIP is an ultramafic igneous province consisting of approx. 80 known intrusives of diverse lithology and texture. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹ Ar geochronology indicates an emplacement age of 386 +/- 1 Ma, which establishes the AAIP as the only known Devonian-age ultramafic igneous body in the Midwestern U.S. Study of the AAIP provides a unique opportunity to characterize the Devonian-age subcontinental mantle and the processes that generated the suite of ultramafic rocks present …

Geochemical Evidence For Seasonal Controls On The Transportation Of Holocene Loess, Matanuska Valley, Southern Alaska, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Gary Skipp, John P. Mcgeehin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is a widespread Quaternary deposit in Alaska and loess accretion occurs today in some regions, such as the Matanuska Valley. The source of loess in the Matanuska Valley has been debated for more than seven decades, with the Knik River and the Matanuska River, both to the east, being the leading candidates and the Susitna River, to the west, as a less favorable source. We report here new stratigraphic, mineralogic, and geochemical data that test the competing hypotheses of these river sources. Loess thickness data are consistent with previous studies that show that a source or sources lay to …

Enriched Continental Flood Basalts From Depleted Mantle Melts: Modeling The Lithospheric Contamination Of Karoo Lavas From Antarctica, Jussi S. Heinonen, Arto V. Luttinen, Wendy A. Bohrson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Continental flood basalts (CFBs) represent large-scale melting events in the Earth’s upper mantle and show considerable geochemical heterogeneity that is typically linked to substantial contribution from underlying continental lithosphere. Large-scale partial melting of the cold subcontinental lithospheric mantle and the large amounts of crustal contamination suggested by traditional binary mixing or assimilation-fractional crystallization models are difficult to reconcile with the thermal and compositional characteristics of continental lithosphere, however. The well-exposed CFBs of Vestfjella, western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, belong to the Jurassic Karoo large igneous province and provide a prime locality to quantify mass contributions of lithospheric and sublithospheric sources …

Exploring, Exploiting And Evolving Diversity Of Aquatic Ecosystem Models: A Community Perspective, Annette B.G. Janssen, George B. Arhonditsis, Arthur Beusen, Karsten Bolding, Louise Bruce, Jorn Bruggeman, Raoul-Marie Couture, Andrea S. Downing, J. Alex Elliott, Marieke A. Frassl, Gideon Gal, Daan J. Gerla, Matthew R. Hipsey, Fenjuan Hu, Stephen C. Ives, Jan H. Janse, Erik Jeppesen, Klaus D. Jöhnk, David Kneis, Xiangzhen Kong, Jan J. Kuiper, Moritz K. Lehmann, Carsten Lemmen, Deniz Özkundakci, Thomas Petzoldt, Karsten Rinke, Barbara J. Robson, René Sachse, Sebastiaan A. Schep, Martin Schmid, Huub Scholten, Sven Teurlincx, Dennis Trolle, Tineke A. Troost, Anne A. Van Dam, Luuk P.A. Van Gerven, Mariska Weijerman, Scott A. Wells, Wolf M. Mooij

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Here, we present a community perspective on how to explore, exploit and evolve the diversity in aquatic ecosystem models. These models play an important role in understanding the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, filling in observation gaps and developing effective strategies for water quality management. In this spirit, numerous models have been developed since the 1970s. We set off to explore model diversity by making an inventory among 42 aquatic ecosystem modellers, by categorizing the resulting set of models and by analysing them for diversity. We then focus on how to exploit model diversity by comparing and combining different aspects of …

Predictive Modeling Of Terrestrial Radiation Exposure From Geologic Materials, Daniel A. Haber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Aerial gamma ray surveys are an important tool for national security, scientific, and industrial interests in determining locations of both anthropogenic and natural sources of radioactivity. There is a relationship between radioactivity and geology and in the past this relationship has been used to predict geology from an aerial survey. The purpose of this project

is to develop a method to predict the radiologic exposure rate of the geologic materials in an area by creating a model using geologic data, images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), geochemical data, and pre-existing low spatial resolution aerial surveys …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Aqueous Geochemistry Of Chlorine Salts: Application To Stability And Habitability Of Liquid Brines On Mars, Amira Elsenousy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The WCL (Wet Chemistry Lab) instrument on board the Mars’s Phoenix Lander has identified the soluble ionic composition of the soil at the landing site. Two important ions were detected at the landing site; perchlorates (ClO4-) with a concentration of ~ 2.4 wt% and chlorides (Cl-) with a concentration of 0.54 wt%. Between chloride and perchlorate ions three other oxidized ions exist and called chlorine ions: hypochlorite ClO - (ox. state +1), chlorite ClO2- (ox. state +3) and chlorate ClO3- (ox. state +5). These oxidized ions might be existed as intermediate species on the surface of Mars but remained undetected. …

Hornbrook Formation, Oregon And California: A Sedimentary Record Of The Late Cretaceous Sierran Magmatic Flare-Up Event, Kathleen D. Surpless

Earth and Environmental Geosciences Faculty Research

Early Late Cretaceous time was characterized by a major magmatic flare-up event in the Sierra Nevada batholith and early phases of magmatism in the Idaho batholith, but the sedimentary record of this voluminous magmatism in the U.S. Cordillera is considerably less conspicuous. New detrital zircon U-Pb ages from the Hornbrook Formation in southern Oregon and northern California reveal a significant and sustained influx of 100–85 Ma detrital zircons into the broader Hornbrook region beginning ca. 90 Ma. Detrital zircon ages and hafnium isotopic compositions, combined with whole-rock geochemistry, suggest that sediment was largely derived from the Sierra Nevada, requiring uplift …

8000 Years Of Environmental Evolution Of Barrier–Lagoon Systems Emplaced In Coastal Embayments (Nw Iberia), Rita González-Villanueva, Marta Pérez-Arlucea, Susana Costas, Roberto Bao, Xose L. Otero, Ronald J. Goble

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The rocky and indented coast of NW Iberia is characterized by the presence of highly valuable and vulnerable, small and shallow barrier– lagoon systems structurally controlled. The case study was selected to analyse barrier–lagoon evolution based on detailed sedimentary architecture, chronology, geochemical and biological proxies. The main objective is to test the hypothesis of structural control and the significance at regional scale of any highenergy event recorded. This work is also aimed at identifying general patterns and conceptualizing the formation and evolution of this type of coastal systems. The results allowed us to establish a conceptual model of Holocene evolution …

Interannual And Subdecadal Variability In The Nutrient Geochemistry Of The Cariaco Basin, Mary I. Scranton, Gordon T. Taylor, Robert Thunell, Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson, Frank Muller-Karger, Kent Fanning, Laura Lorenzoni, Enrique Montes, Ramon Varela, Yrene Astor

Faculty Publications

The CARIACO Ocean Time Series program has made monthly measurements of oxygen, nutrients, and carbon system parameters (∑CO2, alkalinity, pH) in the Cariaco Basin since 1996. At the same time, sediment traps have collected settling particles at four to five depths ranging from 150 to 1,200 m. The depth of the transition from oxic to anoxic conditions has fluctuated dramatically over the time series due to changes in the occurrence of Caribbean water intrusions into the deep basin. Nutrient concentrations in the deep basin have increased steadily with time in a proportion reflective of the elemental ratios in the settling …

Metal Mobilization In Groundwater, Bauxite, Ar, Steven Alexander Hamlin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Wilcox Aquifer of Bauxite, AR contains bauxite ore deposits that may contribute heavy metals to groundwater. Twenty-four wells were sampled for aluminum, iron, manganese, zinc, lead, barium, nitrate, sulfate, sodium, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, chloride, pH, total organic carbon, and total dissolved solids. A Wilcoxon Rank-Sum compared the similarity of the three geographic areas covered in the study. All parameters for wells in Bauxite and Sardis failed to reject the null hypothesis, signifying that wells all occupy the Saline Formation. 2/3rds of the parameters from BFI261 and the Bauxite region did not agree, suggesting the two areas do not occupy …