Geochemistry Commons^™

Biogeochemical Cycling In A Headwater Stream And Riparian Zone, A. Capri Gillam

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Several teams of researchers at multiple universities are currently measuring annual and seasonal fluxes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases (nitrous oxide and methane) in riparian wetlands and upland forests in the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF), a subalpine watershed in the Little Belt Mountains, Montana. In the current thesis, the author characterized the geochemistry and stable carbon isotope composition of shallow groundwater, soil water, and stream water in upper Stringer Creek, near sites that are being investigated for gas chemistry and microbial studies. It was hypothesized that if methanogenesis were a dominant process in the riparian wetlands of …

Geochemical Assessment And Separation Of Source Waters In The Upper Boulder River Watershed Near Boulder, Mt, John Anderson

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Environmental samples were collected at three surface water sites between 5/21/2011 and 11/21/2014 along the Upper Boulder River near Boulder Montana. The sites were located at Bernice (within the mountain block), near the High Ore drainage (near the mountain block/basin transition), and at the USGS Gauging Station near Boulder, Montana (within the basin). The parameters measured in the field were SC, temperature, and alkalinity with occasional pH measurements. We collected samples for anions, cations, and stable isotopes in the catchment. We identified endmembers by sampling snow and groundwater and determined from available data an approximate endmember for rain, snow, and …

Driftless Area Karst Of Northwestern Illinois And Its Effects On Groundwater Quality, Samuel V. Panno, Walton R. Kelly

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The bedrock aquifer of the Driftless Area of northwestern Illinois is Ordovician-age Galena Dolomite. Previous work by the authors and others showed that the geology and hydrogeology of this area fall well within the definition of karst. Bedrock in the study area has been shown to be extensively fractured and creviced; karst features in the county are dominated by solution-enlarged crevices from 0.4 inches to 3 feet wide within most road cuts and quarries examined. Other karst features include cover-collapse sinkholes ranging from 3 to 25 feet in diameter overlying Galena Dolomite, karst springs and crevice caves. A preliminary evaluation …

Groundwater Lowering And Stream Incision Rates In The Central Appalachian Mountains Of West Virginia, Usa, Gregory S. Springer, Holly A. Poston, Ben Hardt, Harold D. Rowe

International Journal of Speleology

Surface channel incision rates are of broad geomorphological interest because they set the boundary conditions for landscape change by affecting changes in local relief and hillslope angles. We report groundwater table lowering rates associated with subsurface Buckeye Creek and the surface channel of Spring Creek in southeastern West Virginia, USA. The mountainous watersheds have drainage areas of 14 km² and 171 km², respectively. The lowering rates are derived from U/Th-dating of stalagmites and the paleomagnetostratigraphy of clastic sediments in Buckeye Creek Cave. The oldest stalagmites have a minimum age of 0.54 Ma and we use a minimum …

Range Of Horizontal Transport And Residence Time Of Nitrate In A Mature Karst Vadose Zone, Jiri Kamas, Jiri Bruthans, Helena Vysoka, Miroslav Kovařík

International Journal of Speleology

Nitrate concentrations in drips in Amaterska, Spolecnak, and Holstejnska caves situated below a 25 to 120 m thick vadose zone in the Moravian Karst, Central Europe were studied during several periods from 1992. Each cave runs below a land-use boundary between fertilized lands and forest, which enabled study of the range of horizontal components of nitrate transport in the vadose zone. Parts of the fertilized land were turned into grassland in 1998 and 2003, and the cave drips were sampled both prior and after the changes in land use. The mean residence time of nitrate is - 30 m thick …

Geogram 2014, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Carbon Cycling Dynamics Inferred From Carbon Isotope Sourcing In A Mid-Latitude Karst-Influenced River, Kegan N. Mcclanahan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As ever-increasing levels of carbon dioxide alter the chemistry of the Earth’s atmosphere, understanding the global carbon cycle becomes increasingly important. A particularly important component is the riverine carbon cycle, as rivers are the primary conduits for dissolved inorganic carbon from terrestrial watersheds to ocean basins. Stable carbon isotopes (13C/12C) were collected weekly and input into the mixing model IsoSource to delineate seasonal carbon sourcing along two nested basins in the upper Green River System, Kentucky. In the more siliciclastic upstream catchment, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was primarily derived from soil respiration (34%). Groundwater dissolving carbonate bedrock and carbonate dissolution/precipitation …

Impacts Of Carbonate Mineral Weathering On Hydrochemistry Of The Upper Green River Basin, Kentucky, Laura Leigh Osterhoudt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Kentucky’s Upper Green River Basin has received significant attention due to the area’s high biodiversity and spectacular karst development. While carbonate bedrock is present throughout the watershed, it is more extensive and homogenous along the river between Greensburg and Munfordville than upstream from Greensburg where the geology is more heterogeneous. This research quantitatively evaluated how lithological differences between the two catchment areas impact hydrochemistry and inorganic carbon cycling. This first required correcting catchment boundaries on previous US Geological Survey Hydrologic Unit Maps to account for areas where the boundaries cross sinkhole plains. Basin boundaries using existing Kentucky Division of Water …

Investigating Telogenetic Karst Aquifer Processes And Evolution In South-Central Kentucky, U.S., Using High-Resolution Storm Hydrology And Geochemistry Monitoring, Nicholas Lawhon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recent studies have investigated the hydrological and geochemical characteristics of karst aquifers in different settings; however, telogenetic karst aquifer processes remain poorly understood. In south-central Kentucky, the iconic Lost River Cave and Valley represents a large, complex telogenetic karst drainage basin with a series of discharge points along a collapsed section of the cave. Two Campbell Scientific® CR1000 automated dataloggers were installed at Blue Hole Four, a primary discharge point of the Lost River Karst Aquifer (LRKA). These dataloggers recorded spring discharge, water temperature, specific conductance (SpC), and pH at ten-minute intervals from January to November, 2013. During the year, …

Pore Water Extraction For Unsaturated Zone Isotope Research: An Investigation Using An Immiscible Displacement Fluid And A Centrifuge, Caitlin Burnett Weaver

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Accurate and reliable pore water extraction techniques are important to an array of scientific fields including, but not limited to, hydrogeology, soil science, and paleoenvironmental research. The aim of the current project is to test the applicability of an immiscible displacement extraction technique for stable isotopes of water under a range of textural, hydrologic, and chemical conditions. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to establish the extent to which the proposed method 1) achieves sufficient yield for laboratory isotopic analyses, 2) results in isotopic exchange between water and the displacement fluid, 3) conserves initial isotopic compositions of spike test …

Interpreting The Paleozoogeography And Sea Level History Of Thermally Anomalous Marine Terrace Faunas: A Case Study From The Last Interglacial Complex Of San Clemente Island, California, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, R. Randall Schumann

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Marine invertebrate faunas with mixtures of extralimital southern and extralimital northern faunal elements, called thermally anomalous faunas, have been recognized for more than a century in the Quaternary marine terrace record of the Pacific Coast of North America. Although many mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, no single explanation seems to be applicable to all localities where thermally anomalous faunas have been observed. Here, we describe one such thermally anomalous fossil fauna that was studied on the second emergent marine terrace at Eel Point on San Clemente Island. The Eel Point terrace complex is a composite feature, consisting …

Identifying Sources Of Aeolian Mineral Dust: Present And Past, Daniel R. Muhs, Joseph M. Prospero, Matthew C. Baddock, Thomas E. Gill

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Aeolian mineral dust is an important component of the Earth’s environmental systems, playing roles in the planetary radiation balance, as a source of fertilizer for biota in both terrestrial and marine realms and as an archive for understanding atmospheric circulation and paleoclimate in the geologic past. Crucial to understanding all of these roles of dust is the identification of dust sources. Here we review the methods used to identify dust sources active at present and in the past. Contemporary dust sources, produced by both glaciogenic and non-glaciogenic processes, can be readily identified by the use of Earth-orbiting satellites. These data …

Spectroscopic Characterization Of Dissolved Organic Matter: Insights Into The Linkage Between Sources And Chemical Composition, Xiaoyan Cao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the chemical structure of DOM by advanced solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) techniques, as well as isotopic measurements and UV-visible spectroscopy, to shed light on the linkages between DOM sources and DOM composition. Unique and extensive sets of DOM samples studied here were isolated from various aquatic systems, covering end-member environments in which DOM is considered either microbially derived or terrestrially derived, and areas in which DOM has characteristics intermediate between the two end members. Important insights into specific site-related questions were also gained such as …

Sources Of Co2 Controlling The Carbonate Chemistry Of The Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Bruce Elliott Hatcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Logsdon River is a major, base-level stream within the Turnhole Bend Drainage basin of the Mammoth Cave System. The Logsdon River system has provided a unique opportunity to examine the geochemical evolution of a stream flowing through a major karst conduit that can be traversed for 10 km. This study examines CO₂ inputs at the upstream portion of the river, which provide major control for the river’s hydrochemistry. Samples were collected from the upstream portion of Logsdon River at what is referred to as the S-188 sump and also nearby at Crowbar Dome over the course of 44 weeks …

Hydrogeology And Chemical Characterization Of Hydrocarbon In Domestic Water Wells, Rancho Villa Subdivision, Rogers, Arkansas, Janelle Renee Sherman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project is centered on the Rancho Villa community in Rogers, Arkansas where several residents have had hydrocarbon contamination in their domestic water wells. The goal of this project was to understand the hydrogeology in the study area, characterize the contaminant chemically, and determine the source of the contaminant. The hydrogeology of the area was determined from previous theses. Seventeen samples were taken from the wells in the Rancho Villa community; each sample was analyzed for geochemical parameters and by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) for organic compounds analysis. Four of the 17 samples had a visible non-aqueous layer of hydrocarbon …

Geogram 2013, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Unusual Polygenetic Void And Cave Development In Dolomitized Miocene Chalks On Barbados, West Indies, Jonathan B. Sumrall, John E. Mylroie, Hans G. Machel

International Journal of Speleology

Barbados provides an unusual case of polygenetic cave development within dolomitized chalks and marls of the Miocene Oceanics Group. These diagenetic processes are driven by a succession and interplay of tectonic uplift, fracturing, hypogene fluid injection, overprinting by mixing zone diagenesis, and mechanical and biological erosion in the current littoral zone. The significance of the voids and caves within the chalks on Barbados are: 1) these appear to be the first dissolution caves documented in dolomitized chalk, and 2) these features show a polygenetic origin documenting the diagenetic changes in lithology that allowed the development and preservation of these cave …

Late Holocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction In Barbados, Gilman Reno Ouellette

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Barbados is the easternmost island in the Caribbean region, and is uniquely situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Being an isolated island with a karstified aquifer providing the majority of the nation’s water resources, Barbados has found itself in water scarce situations in recent years. In order to better understand natural shifts in groundwater recharge (which is determined by shifts in precipitation), longer records of precipitation are needed than are available from modern measurements. This study presents a paleoclimate reconstruction for the late Holocene on Barbados using stable and radiogenic isotope ratios in speleothem lamina as proxies. In …

Assessment And Conceptualization Of Groundwater Flow In The Edwards Aquifer Through The Knippa Gap In Uvalde County, Texas, Jennifer Raye Adkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Edwards aquifer is one of the major regional karst aquifers in the United States, with an average withdrawal of 950 million liters per day (L/d). This investigation focuses on the connection between the Uvalde pool and the San Antonio pool of the Edwards aquifer, known as the Knippa Gap, west of the San Antonio metropolitan area in Uvalde County. This is a major zone of recharge to the Edwards aquifer and is approximately 6.4 km wide. The Knippa Gap is bounded by northeast trending faults of the Balcones Fault Zone (BFZ) on the north (specifically the Cooks and Trio …

Water Track Modification Of Soil Ecosystems In The Lake Hoare Basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica, Joseph S. Levy, Andrew G. Fountain, Michael N. Gooseff, John E. Barrett, Robert Vantreese, Kathleen A. Welch, W. Berry Lyons, Uffe N. Nielsen, Diana H. Wall

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water tracks are zones of high soil moisture that route shallow groundwater down-slope, through the active layer and above the ice table. A water track in Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, was analysed for surface hydrogeological, geochemical, and biological characteristics in order to test the hypothesis that water tracks provide spatial structure to Antarctic soil ecosystems by changing the physical conditions in the soil environment within the water tracks from those outside the water tracks. The presence of the water track significantly affected the distribution of biotic and abiotic ecosystem parameters: increasing soil moisture, soil salinity, and soil organic matter …

Assessment Of Coal Geology, Resources, And Reserve Base In The Powder River Basin, Wyoming And Montana, James A. Luppens, David C. Scott, Lee M. Osmonson, Jon E. Haacke, Paul E. Pierce

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated in-place resources of 1.07 trillion short tons of coal in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana. Of that total, with a maximum stripping ratio of 10:1, recoverable coal was 162 billion tons. The estimate of economically recoverable resources was 25 billion tons.

Effects Of Chiloquin Dam On Spawning Distribution And Larval Emigration Of Lost River, Shortnose, And Klamath Largescale Suckers In The Williamson And Sprague Rivers, Oregon, Barbara A. Martin, David A. Hewitt, Craig M. Ellsworth

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Chiloquin Dam was constructed in 1914 on the Sprague River near the town of Chiloquin, Oregon. The dam was identified as a barrier that potentially inhibited or prevented the upstream spawning migrations and other movements of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers, as well as other fish species. In 2002, the Bureau of Reclamation led a working group that examined several alternatives to improve fish passage at Chiloquin Dam. Ultimately it was decided that dam removal was the best alternative and the dam was removed in the summer of 2008. The U.S. …

The Mineral Industry Of Nebraska

United States Geological Survey: Publications

In 2013, the value of the nonfuel mineral production1 in the State of Nebraska was $166 million,2 0.2% of the total U.S. nonfuel mineral production, ranking it 39th in the country. In 2012, the corresponding value was $160 million,2 0.2% of the Nation’s total nonfuel mineral production, ranking it 36th among the 50 States. In 2013, on a per capita basis, nonfuel mineral production in Nebraska in 2013 had a value of $89 compared with the national average of $238. In 2012, the per capita value was $86 compared with the national average of $241. The value of nonfuel mineral …

Geochemical Constraints On Groundwater Recharge In The Royal Slope Area, Grant County, Washington, Zoe Danielle Weis

All Master's Theses

Groundwater, the primary source for potable water in the Columbia Plateau, has experienced significant declines over the past 25 years. Groundwater geochemistry and multivariable statistics were employed to identify and characterize the hydrofacies present, constrain recharge sources, and assess mixing of groundwater in the Royal Slope area of the Columbia Plateau. Geochemical analyses for major ions, stable isotopes, and radiogenic isotopes (14C and tritium) for age dating were performed on groundwater samples collected in 2010 from 24 wells in the study area. The results confirmed that the groundwater evolution in the study area follows the typical Columbia River Basalt Group …

Geogram 2012, David J. Keeling, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Fractures On The Occurrence And Distribution Of Arsenic In The Upper Floridan Aquifer During Aquifer Storage And Recovery, William Charles Hutchings

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is used world-wide to supplement available water supplies by storing surplus water in aquifers and recovering it during periods of drought and increased demand. The use of ASR as an option for increasing available municipal irrigation and fresh water supplies is threatened as a result of the mobilization of arsenic in some aquifers during ASR. Arsenic is liberated from arsenic-bearing sulfide minerals as a result of the mixing of oxidizing injected water with reducing insitu groundwater. Fracture networks can have significant influence on the migration and distribution of arsenic in the Upper Floridan Aquifer …

Evaluating Recharge And Dynamics Of Flow In The Lower Virgin River Basin, Usa: Interpretation Of Hydrochemical And Stable Isotopic Data, Joseph Asante

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Because of the complex geologic setting of the Basin and Range province, groundwater flow systems of the Intermountain basins of the southwestern United States are complex and remain poorly understood. Understanding these flow systems is important for water budgeting on a regional and local scale, and development of robust numerical groundwater models for sustainable water use and protection of water-dependent ecosystems. Although for decades hydrochemistry and isotopes have been used to characterize and trace subsurface water and surface water, effectively interpreting these data are still challenging, which can be attributed to existing subjective grouping of these data and the lack …

Reservoir Potential Of Sands Formed In Glaciomarine Environments: An Analog Study Based On Cenozoic Examples From Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, Christopher R. Fielding, Brian A. Blackstone, Tracy D. Frank, Zi Gui

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This paper provides documentation of unexpectedly high-reservoir-quality glaciomarine sands found in the Cenozoic succession beneath McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, as an analogue study for evaluations of hydrocarbon prospectivity in basins elsewhere. The Oligocene to Lower Miocene succession of the Victoria Land Basin, an extant portion of the West Antarctic Rift System, comprises diamictites, mudrocks, and sandstones with minor conglomerates. These lithologies are arranged in repetitive stacking patterns (cycles), interpreted to record repeated advance and retreat of glaciers into and out of the basin, with attendant eustatic and isostatic effects. Phases of ice retreat within the cycles comprise an array of mudrocks, …

Assessment Of Coal Geology, Resources, And Reserves In The Montana Powder River Basin, Jon E. Haacke, David C. Scott, Lee M. Osmonson, James A. Luppens, Paul E. Pierce, Jay A. Gunderson

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The purpose of this report is to summarize geology, coal resources, and coal reserves in the Montana Powder River Basin (MTPRB) assessment area in southeastern Montana. This report represents the fourth assessment area within the Powder River Basin to be evaluated in the continuing U.S. Geological Survey regional coal assessment program.

There are four active coal mines in the MTPRB assessment area: the Spring Creek and Decker Mines, both near Decker; the Rosebud Mine, near Colstrip; and the Absaloka Mine, west of Colstrip. During 2011, coal production from these four mines totaled approximately 36 million short tons (MST). A fifth …

Gypsum-Carbonate Speleothems From Cueva De Las Espadas (Naica Mine, Mexico): Mineralogy And Palaeohydrogeological Implications, Fernando Gázquez, Jose Maria Calaforra, Paolo Forti, Fernando Rull, Jesús Martínez-Frías

International Journal of Speleology

Some of the most outstanding hypogenic gypsum speleothems worldwide have been recently discovered in the Naica mines. The Cueva de las Espadas (Swords Cave), which lies at 120 m depth, hosts a rare type of speleothem called “espada” (“sword”). This study contributes to the understanding of the mineralogical composition of these singular speleothems, by means of their examination using micro-Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy and EDX microprobe. Our data revealed a complex mineralogy comprising a high-purity selenite core covered by several layers of calcite, aragonite and gypsum. Solid inclusions of polymetallic oxides (Mn-Pb-Zn) and graphite were also detected. The position of …