Earth Sciences Commons^™

Hydrologic Pathways Of A Northern Hardwood Catchment In The Great Lakes Basin Using End Member Mixing Analysis, Cory C. Burkwald

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study investigated the seasonality of hydrologic pathways, the role of wetlands in streamflow generation, and how hydrologic pathways affect the export of nutrients by streamflow in the Sturgeon River using endmember mixing analysis. The results indicated that streamflow consists of three main components: shallow subsurface water from wetland soils, shallow groundwater, and surface runoff from precipitation. Snowmelt plays a dominating role in regulating stream water chemistry (~80% volume at peak) during the snowmelt season and likely also after that. Wetland soils store snowmelt, together with rainwater though the fraction is unknown, and then gradually release through summer in the …

Characterization Of Geuda Sapphires From Sri Lanka, Hussain Akiff Mohamed Faleel

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Geuda sapphire samples from the Kataragama and Ratnapura deposits in Sri Lanka were classified into milky, silky, and diesel varieties. Each sample was sliced into two pieces and subjected to two different heat treatments. The first slice was heated to 1750°C in a gas furnace using LPG, creating an oxygen-reduced environment, while the second slice was annealed at 1650°C in an electric furnace under oxidizing condition. Both heating methods produced similar results for the milky and diesel geuda varieties. However, in the silky geuda, which contained needle-like ilmenite inclusions, the gas furnace under oxygen-reduced conditions yielded more pronounced effects. In …

Trace And Rare Earth Elements Analysis Of Oligocene And Miocene Diamictites In The Cape Roberts Project, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Celina Flores Garza

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is a major contributor to global sea level rise, yet its origin and dynamics are poorly known. The geochemistry of 35 diamictite samples from the CRP-1 and CPR-2A cores recovered by the Cape Roberts Drilling Project in the Ross Sea, Antarctica is evaluated to understand glacial sedimentation and flow paths during the Oligocene and Miocene, a period of warmer than present climate in the past. The major hypothesis to be tested is if the early Miocene ice sheet advance was the first major West Antarctic ice advance in the Ross Sea. The provenance of older …

Storm-Generated Molluscan Thanatocoenosis Along A Carbonate Paleoshoreline: Southern Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas, Ilya Val Buynevich, Michael Savarese, H. Allen Curran, Tara Ingalsbe

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Concentrations of large mollusc shells in coastal deposits provide important information about the local malacofauna and potential transport agents, including extreme events [1-4]. Such accumulations are common in the rock record [5,6], with Quaternary examples serving as good time-averaged examples by combining aspects of both the modern biocoenoses and the fossil record. Death assemblages of local organisms (thanatocoenosis) and their preserved record (taphocoenosis) in carbonate settings, where granulometric spectrum may be very limited (e.g., ooilitic sand), can serve as important paleo-environmental indicators, especially when considered in combination with primary sedimentary structures (in outcrops or geophysical images) and in situ biogenic …

A New Method To Invert For Interseismic Deep Slip Along Closely Spaced Faults Using Surface Velocities And Subsurface Stressing-Rate Tensors, Hanna Elston, Michele Cooke, John Loveless, Scott Marshall

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Inversions of interseismic geodetic surface velocities often cannot uniquely resolve the three-dimensional slip-rate distribution along closely spaced faults. Microseismic focal mechanisms reveal stress information at depth and may provide additional constraints for inversions that estimate slip rates. Here, we present a new inverse approach that utilizes both surface velocities and subsurface stressing-rate tensors to constrain interseismic slip rates and activity of closely spaced faults. We assess the ability of the inverse approach to recover slip rate distributions from stressing-rate tensors and surface velocities generated by two forward models: (a) a single strike-slip fault model and (b) a complex southern San …

Diagenesis And Quartz Grain Provenance Of The Turner Sandstone, Carson Lee Broaddus

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Provenance analysis of sedimentary rocks is an essential tool for basin analysis and paleogeographic reconstructions. Numerous tools and analytical methods have been developed over the years to investigate the source of detrital constituents in sedimentary rocks. The Late Cretaceous (Turonian) Turner Sandstone in the eastern Powder River Basin (PRB), WY, and the time equivalent Frontier Formation in the western PRB are commonly described as the remnants of a marginal marine depositional system. However, contradictory evidence exists about the source of those deposits. Here, I present results from a comprehensive scanning electron microscope panchromatic cathodoluminescence (SEM-PCL) analysis of >1200 individual sand-sized …

Paragenesis Of The Austin Chalk Formation In Southwest Texas, Mitchell C. Sherry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Presented in this study is a detailed investigation of the paragenesis and diagenetic processes of the Austin Chalk Formation in southwest Texas, utilizing a combination of core-based, petrographic, mineralogic, SEM, and geochemical based analyses. This study is conducted on a single whole rock core from an oil and gas producing well in Webb County, Texas. At this distal shelf location within the Maverick Basin, the Austin Chalk Formation consists of foraminiferal wackestones, siliceous wackestones, foraminiferal mudstones, bentonites, and foraminiferal packstone facies. These facies were deposited below wave base through pelagic, hemipelagic, and gravity driven processes. Petrographic and SEM analyses reveal …

A Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum Model To Simulate Seedling Response To Water Stress, Michael Kurt Kendree Jr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Most current ecohydrologic models simplify the hydraulics that are at play in plant-water relationships by assuming that the water content within the plant is static. In reality, plants have a relative water content that varies with time in response to environmental stresses. To some extent, variations in plant relative water content are regulated by changes in the osmotic potential of water within plant cells, which contributes to the resilience of plants during periods of water shortage. We present a model that simulates plant water transport and storage within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. The model incorporates the role of osmotic regulation in …

From Creek To Ditch And Back Again: The History And Future Of Pattee Creek, Missoula, Montana, Carver Edward Butterfield

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pattee Creek was once a free-flowing stream that meandered across the Missoula Valley, but has been channelized, piped, and degraded by logging, mining, agriculture, and urbanization. This thesis used a mixed-method approach to examine the impact of human activities on the Pattee Creek watershed. Beginning with a historical overview, the story of how the creek has been utilized and why it was buried was told. An analysis of historical photos from 1937 to 2019 revealed drastic changes in the land cover of the watershed and the channel of lower Pattee Creek. Developed land increased dramatically, while open land decreased and …

Temporal And Spatial Connectivity And The Impacts Of Hydropower In The Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, Serena Lynn Butler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tropical regions hold untapped hydropower potential, but dam construction often adversely impacts multiple dimensions of connectivity in river systems, rigorous evaluation of which is often lacking. This study investigates temporal and spatial dimensions of longitudinal and lateral connectivity in the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, a region with ongoing and planned hydropower projects. Limited in-situ monitoring data is a common challenge in tropical rivers. To address this, we utilized satellite imagery from Landsat (via Google Earth Engine) and Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) data. We examined alterations in the flow regime over time and relative to dam construction. We also …

Building Detailed And Accurate Whole-Plant Concepts: A Morphometrics-Informed Reconstruction Of A Zosterophyll From The Lower Devonian Of Wyoming, Samar R. El-Abdallah

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The fragmentary state of plant fossils and the modular organization of plants make whole-plant reconstructions of fossil species desirable and feasible. Such reconstructions are key for integrating fossil species in systematic studies. The ca. 410 Ma Beartooth Butte Formation of Wyoming (USA) hosts the only rich Early Devonian plant assemblages in western North America, which fills a major gap in the phytogeography of this interval. I construct a whole-plant concept for a new zosterophyll from the Beartooth Butte Formation based on a detailed morphometric study. More than 600 fragments of the new zosterophyll were observed and 200 of those were …

Ontogenetically Driven Changes In The Endocranial Anatomy Of Maiasaura Peeblesorum And Its Implications For Sensory Functions, Emma Puetz

Masters Theses

"Hadrosaurids exhibited extreme morphological diversity and behavioral characteristics that can be compared with other, closely related members of Dinosauria – particularly through the study of neuroanatomy. X-ray CT generated endocrania of the Late Cretaceous saurolophine hadrosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum, known as the “good mother” dinosaur, offers a unique opportunity to compare complex ecological behaviors between non-avian dinosaurs and their modern archosaur relatives. The 3D reconstruction software ORS Dragonfly provided linear and volumetric measurements taken from the digital cranial endocast and endosseous labyrinths of three ontogenetically varied M. peeblesorum specimens from the Two Medicine Formation in Montana that were used to …

Geology Of The Bishop 7.5-Minute Quadrangle And Geophysical Modeling To Constrain Syndepositional Deformation Of The Black Warrior Foreland Basin, Joseph Edward Lane

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Black Warrior basin is a foreland basin formed by the Ouachita–Appalachian orogeny during the late Paleozoic Era. Mississippian strata record the transition from the carbonate platform within the Tuscumbia Limestone to the clastic-rich units within the overlying Pride Mountain Formation and Hartselle Sandstone. The western and southern-most fringes of the Black Warrior basin are covered by thin, post orogenic Cretaceous sediments of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Geological mapping of the Bishop 7.5-Minute quadrangle revealed subtle deformation in Mississippian strata in the form of gentle folds (

Evaluating The Risk Posed By Gadolinium In The Grand River Watershed, Johann Memmel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Gadolinium (Gd) is a rare earth element (REE), primarily used in contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with additional applications in metallurgy, phosphors, neutron shielding, and other niche applications. Both Gd and Gd-based contrast agents (GBCAs, the form used for MRIs) have been detected downstream of wastewater effluent discharges and there is currently little research into the risk this poses to aquatic ecosystems. This study investigated the potential environmental risks of Gd and GBCAs using the Grand River watershed (GRW) in southwestern Ontario as a model ecosystem due to it containing a variety of land uses (urban, industrial, agricultural) …

Rates And Patterns Of Permafrost Thaw Induced Landcover Change At Scotty Creek, Canada, Mason Dominico

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the peatland-dominated regions of discontinuous permafrost in northwestern Canada, permafrost thaw is altering landscapes at rates without precedent in the historical record. The present study uses a combination of remote sensing and ground based methods to examine the rates and patterns of permafrost thaw and how such thaw is changing the form and function of the landscape. The area within a 4 km2 area of interest underlain by permafrost decreased from 51% in 1977 to 43% in 2010, and to 40% in 2018, indicating an increase in the permafrost thaw rate from 0.24% yr-1 between 1977 and 2010, and …

Origin Of Carbonate Mud Mounds In Southwestern Missouri, Jared Mcavoy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Small carbonate mud mounds are found in Lower Mississippian strata of southwestern Missouri. These compare favorably with larger mounds, known as Waulsortian mounds, located in the Meuse River valley of southern Belgium. The origin of Waulsortian and similar mounds is unknown, but they commonly are interpreted as accumulations of mud, where the presence of biological organisms responsible for supposed bio-construction remains uncertain. Alternative hypotheses are that these may have been non-cohesive slump or cohesive slide masses. Multiple techniques, including δ13C and δ18O isotopic analyses and unmanned aerial vehicle photography, were used to determine the most feasible working hypothesis. Determining the …

Bank Erosion Dynamics In Response To Anthropogenic Disturbances In The Cuivre River Watershed Of Missouri, Usa, Nathan Douglas Sines

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Riverbank erosion is increasingly recognized as a pressing issue exacerbated by human activities. The Cuivre River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, located in northeast Missouri, has limited documentation on bank erosion, with the most recent study conducted in the early 1990s. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the stream bank erosion dynamics from 1816 to 2015. The objectives are to: (i) understand the channel width dynamics for 1816 to 1994 ii) determine the sediment erosion and deposition volume along the riverbank in the period of 1994 to 2015. iii) identify the anthropogenic disturbances particularly land use …

Relationship Between Hotspot And Geography – Meteorology Factors In Thailand And Neighboring Countries, Thanchanok Ngernted

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Air pollution is a critical issue in many countries and has become a significant problem in Southeast Asia. Wildfires, agricultural burning, and biomass burning are major sources of pollution emissions. This study aims to analyze hotspot activity and study the relationship between hotspots and geographic-meteorological factors in Thailand and neighboring countries. MODIS hotspot data were analyzed using the frequency-magnitude distribution (FMD) and geography-meteorology factors. The results indicate that areas with high hotspot activity were mainly found in northwestern to eastern Cambodia and northern Laos. Additionally, northern Laos and some pockets in Myanmar showed high hotspot intensity, capable of generating a …

Environmental Reconstruction In Nong Thale Pron, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Kanokpon Surijamorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Climate change is one of the major factors influencing environmental changes. The study of proxies from geological records can extend climate data into the past, enabling the reconstruction of past environmental changes. This study collected sediment cores from three points at the deepest part of Nong Thale Pron, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. The sediment core NTP-CP6 was selected for analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), radiocarbon dating, grain size analysis, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, stable carbon isotopes, and n-alkanes. During the Last Glacial Maximum (21–19 ka BP), dry conditions were caused by a strong northeast monsoon and the exposure of …

Debris Flow And Flood Susceptibility Assessment In Phang-Nga Province, Southern Thailand, Aksara Kulsilarak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Phang-nga, a province in Southern Thailand, is highly susceptible to geohazards such as debris flows and flooding, both of which pose significant risks to human life and property. Two major topographic factors contribute to the potential for debris flow: i) steep mountain slopes and ii) the presence of multiple mountain-front outlets. This study presents the creation of susceptibility maps for debris flow and flood hazards in Phang-nga, using the Frequency Ratio (FR) method. The analysis classified the region into five susceptibility levels: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high, based on natural break classification. For debris flow, moderate susceptibility …

Development Of A Forest Fire Detection Device Based On Agent-Based Simulation, Teerapat Tappanom

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study had three main objectives: to identify the factors influencing forest fire spread, to design and develop a forest fire spread model, and to design and develop a forest fire detection device. The researcher utilized scatter plots, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis based on climatic data collected from the Chiang Mai Meteorological Station between 1998 and 2021 to investigate the parameters affecting fire spread. A forest fire spread model was developed using an Agent-Based Model (ABM) in AnyLogic 8.8.3 Personal Learning Edition to estimate the burned area under different scenarios with wind directions set to the north …

Stakeholder Information Interdependence Mapping For Area-Business Continuity Management: A Case Study Of Flood In Industrial Areas In Thailand, Penpitcha Arayachookiat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The great flood of 2011 in Thailand significantly disrupted supply chains and caused substantial economic damage. The concept of Area-Business Continuity Management (Area-BCM) was developed. This concept aims to enable vulnerable areas to maintain operations during crises. This research focuses on understanding the information interdependence among stakeholders involved in Area-BCM. Its objective is to develop an information interdependence map for Area-BCM, using a case study of flood events in three industrial areas in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. The study employed a qualitative research approach, collecting and analyzing data through in-depth interviews with various stakeholders. The data analyzed was then …

Investigating The Roles Of Plants, Fungi, And Biocrusts In Nutrient Movement Within Dryland Ecosystems, Catherine E. Cort

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In dryland ecosystems, plant productivity and microbial decomposition are often separated in space and time due to the asynchronous availability of soil moisture and organic matter inputs. It has been proposed that fungi play a key functional role in connecting these cycles by facilitating movement of water, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) through a network of shared hyphae between plant roots and biological soil crust (biocrust) communities at the soil surface. This connection, also known as the â??fungal loop,â?? effectively re-couples processes of nutrient release and uptake between primary producers and minimizes ecosystem N losses due to leaching, erosion, and …

Estimating Soil Texture By Hand, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Estimating or measuring soil texture provides valuable information about soil properties affecting crop and pasture growth. Soil texture affects the movement and availability of air, nutrients, and water in soil. A simple and quick measure of soil texture is the way a soil feels when manipulated by hand.

The department recommends laboratory testing of soil texture (and other factors) for all critical soil uses, including farm dam construction and claying.

An Early Byzantine Ecclesiastical Complex At Ashdod-Yam: Correlating Geophysical Prospection With Excavated Remains, Yaniv Darvasi, Alexander Fantalkin, Paul Brindza, Amotz Agnon

Physics Faculty Publications

In this study we show the successful deployment of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) together with Electrical Resistivity Surveys (ERS) in guiding the archeological excavations at Ashdod-Yam (southern coast of Israel). This approach enabled the precise identification of excavation targets relating to an Early Byzantine ecclesiastical complex located in a residential neighborhood of the modern city of Ashdod. Applied over the course of five years, the combined use of GPR and ERS, interspersed with phases of archeological excavation, not only facilitated an efficient exploration but also ensured the preservation of valuable historical structures. The geophysical data, corroborated by drone images of …

Small-Strain Site Response Of Soft Soils In The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Region Of California Conditioned On Vₛ₃₀ And Mhvsr, Tristan E. Buckreis, Jonathan P. Stewart, Scott J. Brandenberg, Pengfei Wang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Sites located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region of California typically have peaty-organic soils near the ground surface, which are characteristically soft, with shear wave velocities as low as 30 m/s. These unusually soft geotechnical conditions, which are outside the range of applicability of existing ergodic site amplification models, can be anticipated to produce significant site effects during earthquake shaking. We evaluate site response for 36 seismic stations in the Delta region using non-ergodic methods with low-amplitude ground motion data. We model first-order site effects using a period-dependent relation conditioned on the 30 m time-averaged shear wave velocity (V …

Contribution Of High Turbidity To Tidal Dynamics In A Curved Channel In Zhoushan Islands, China, Li Li, Fangzhou Shen, Zhiguo He, Gangfeng Ma, Jiachen Wang, Kailong Huangfu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The curved tidal channel, Luotou Deep-water Navigational Channel, is the main channel of the Ningbo Zhoushan Port, which is ranked first in the world. Tidal dynamics in the channel are spatially and temporally asymmetric. In this study, the three-dimensional tidal dynamics in the channel were analyzed using field data and simulated using FVCOM. The results show that the tides in the channel flood/ebb along the northern/southern bank near the bottom/surface layer and these asymmetries are due to the imbalanced Coriolis force, centrifugal force, sea-level gradient, and density gradient. Residual current velocity peaks (0.7 m/s) in the middle of the channel …

Investigating The Viability Of Low Frequency Mhvsr Estimates Using Deep Shear Wave Velocity Profile, T. Mai, C. C. Nweke, P. Wang, F. J. Ornelas

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Site response describes the alterations of seismic energy due to its interaction with subsurface geological interfaces and structures, which is usually estimated by one dimensional (1D) ground response analysis (GRA). However, 1D GRA requires subsurface information (e.g., shear wave velocity profile), which makes it not widely applicable, particularly for the sites where subsurface information is unavailable. Alternatively, the microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (mHVSR) from three-component recordings of ambient noise on the ground surface is easily measured and is believed to have the potential for site response prediction (the peaks in mHVSR are strongly associated with the site resonant frequencies). However,the …

Factors Affecting Electrocoagulation Process For Different Water Types: A Review, Shahad Fadhil Abed Al-Rubaye, Naseer A. Alhaboubi, Aiman H. Al-Allaq

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Raw water must meet specific physical, chemical, and biological requirements to be suitable for drinking. There are various techniques available for treating wastewater, and aside from conventional methods that involve chemicals, electrocoagulation is an efficient and advanced approach. Electrocoagulation has proven effective in treating many pollutants, including bacteria, viruses, iron, fluoride, sulfate, boron, hardness, and turbidity. Total suspended solids, organic and inorganic materials, chemical oxygen demand COD, biochemical oxygen demand BOD, and color. It finds extensive application in treating different types of water and wastewater due to its exceptional ability to remove diverse contaminants. Recently, electrocoagulation has garnered significant attention …

Permafrost Carbon: Progress On Understanding Stocks And Fluxes Across Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems, Claire C. Treat, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Eleanor Burke, Lori Bruhwiler, Abhishek Chatterjee, Joshua B. Fisher, Josh Hashemi, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Brendan M. Rogers, Sebastian Westermann, Jennifer D. Watts, Elena Blanc-Betes, Matthias Fuchs, Stefan Kruse, Avni Malhotra, Kimberley Miner, Jens Strauss, Amanda Armstrong, Howard E. Epstein, Bradley Gay, Mathias Goeckede, Aram Kalhori, Dan Kou, Charles E. Miller, Susan M. Natali, Youmi Oh, Sarah Shakil, Oliver Sonnentag, Ruth K. Varner, Scott Zolkos, Edward A.G. Schuur, Gustaf Hugelius

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Significant progress in permafrost carbon science made over the past decades include the identification of vast permafrost carbon stocks, the development of new pan-Arctic permafrost maps, an increase in terrestrial measurement sites for CO₂ and methane fluxes, and important factors affecting carbon cycling, including vegetation changes, periods of soil freezing and thawing, wildfire, and other disturbance events. Process-based modeling studies now include key elements of permafrost carbon cycling and advances in statistical modeling and inverse modeling enhance understanding of permafrost region C budgets. By combining existing data syntheses and model outputs, the permafrost region is likely a wetland methane …