Geochemistry Commons^™

Magnetic Properties Of Ilmenite‐Hematite Single Crystals From The Ecstall Pluton Near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Sarah J. Brownlee, Joshua M. Feinberg, Takeshi Kasama, Richard J. Harrison, Gary R. Scott, Paul R. Renne

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Paleomagnetic studies of the 91 Ma Ecstall pluton and other Cretaceous plutons of British Columbia imply large northward tectonic movements (>2000 km) may have occurred during the tectonic evolution of western North America. However, more recent studies have shown that the eastern edge of the Ecstall pluton experienced considerable mineralogical changes as younger Eocene plutons, such as the ∼58 Ma Quottoon Pluton, were emplaced along its margins. We investigated changes in the rock magnetic properties associated with this reheating event by examining isolated grains of intergrown ilmenite and hematite, the primary paleomagnetic recorder in the Ecstall pluton. Measurements of …

Effects Of Weathering On Aromatic Compounds In Beach Tars From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Usa, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Operators aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform lost control of the Macondo No. 1 well about 90 km southwest of the Louisiana coast on April 20, 2010, leading to a catastrophic release of ca. 550 Gg of crude oil over the next 86 days [1]. Oil from the spill soon found its way to nearby coastal areas, leaving tarry deposits on beaches and marshes. Oil was reported on the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama (180 km northeast of the well) on June 5 and the relatively fresh sample discussed herein (GSA) was collected that same day. Oil reached the beach …

The Vinylguaiacol/Indole Or Vgi ("Veggie") Ratio: Assessing Relative Contributions Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Organic Matter To Sediments, Michael A. Kruge, Kevin K. Olsen, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk, Elaine Gomez

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In studies of the organic matter (OM) fraction of marine, estuarine, fluvial, or lacustrine sediments, one of the most fundamental distinctions to be made is that between terrestrial and aquatic OM. To supplement the parameters commonly used for this purpose (e.g., C/N and stable isotope ratios), we proposed the Vinylguaiacol/Indole or VGI ("Veggie") ratio, defined as [vinylguaiacol / (indole + vinylguaiacol)] using data produced by analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of dried, homogenized sediment samples [1]. The ratio employs the peak areas of these two compounds on the mass chromatograms of their molecular ions (m/z 150 and 117, respectively). Major pyrolysis …

Predicted Velocity And Density Structure Of The Exhuming Papua New Guinea Ultrahigh‐Pressure Terrane, Sarah J. Brownlee, Bradley R. Hacker, Matthew Salisbury, Gareth Seward, Timothy A. Little, Suzanne A. Baldwin, Geoffrey A. Abers

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

New electron backscatter diffraction measurements show that the Papua New Guinea (PNG) ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) terrane is dominated by rocks with weakly oriented quartz and feldspar and less abundant strongly oriented hornblende, clinopyroxene, and mica. Velocities measured at high pressures (600 MPa) show that V_P is 5.8–6.3 km/s for gneiss samples, 6.5–7.7 km/s for amphibolite, and 7.7–8.2 km/s for eclogite and V_S is 3.4–3.9 km/s for gneiss, 4.0–4.4 km/s for amphibolite, and 4.5–4.6 km/s for eclogite. Velocities and anisotropies calculated from mineral crystal preferred orientations (CPOs) are equivalent to within 5% of the measured values. The highest seismic anisotropy …

Assessing Ageing At Beaver Reservoir, Northwest Arkansas: Limnological, Geochemical & Paleolimnological Approach, Byron Anthony Winston

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to potable water has been arguably one of the most important requisites for the advancement of human civilization on earth. As a result, man in his infinite wisdom devised the dam and formed reservoirs, (man- made lakes), to exploit water resources at will. In all natural lakes and reservoirs changes occur in the water quality parameters as it relates to chemical nutrients, temperature and turbidity over time. These changes are collectively referred to as "Reservoir Ageing", of which sedimentation and eutrophication are primary. Reservoir Ageing has consequences which adversely affect and defeat many of the intended uses of the …

Solving The Mystery Of The Atacama Nitrate Deposits: The Use Of Stable Oxygen Isotope Analysis And Geochemistry, Ji-Hye Seo

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

The Atacama Desert, Chile, one of the oldest and driest deserts on Earth, is unique because it contains the largest known nitrate deposits in the world. The origin of these nitrate deposits has been a mystery since their discovery in the 1800s. There are two possible sources of natural nitrate: microbiological processes and photochemical reactions. The majority of material on Earth follows mass-dependent fractionation between stable oxygen isotopes with the abundance of ¹⁷Ο (denoted by δ) as half that of ¹⁸O. This relationship is quantified by Δ¹⁷O = δ¹⁷O – ½ δ¹⁸O, …

Evaluation Of The Carbon Budgets In The Forested And Agricultural Soils Of The Semi-Arid Mogollon-Datil Highlands And Rio Grande Basin, Ryan Reeves^, Lixin Jin*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2011

No abstract provided.

Insights Into Chemical Structure Changes Of Kerogen From Bituminous Coal In Response To Dike Intrusions Investigated By Advanced Solid-State 13C Nmr, Yuan Li

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Variations in the chemical structures of kerogens From highly volatile bituminous coal located near two igneous dike intrusions in the Illinois Basin were examined in detail by advanced solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Spectral-editing techniques were used to identify specific functional groups. Direct polarization was used to quantify different functional groups. ¹H-¹³C two- dimensional heteronuclear NMR was used to examine connectivities and proximities, and ¹H-¹³C long-range recoupled dipolar dephasing was used to estimate aromatic cluster sizes. With decreasing distance to dike contacts and increasing thermal maturity (vitrinite reflectance R₀ from …

Environmental History Of A Closed-Basin Lake In The Us Great Plains: Diatom Response To Variations In Groundwater Flow Regimes Over The Last 8500 Cal. Yr Bp, William O. Hobbs, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Jeffery R. Stone, Joseph J. Donovan, Eric C. Grimm, James E. Almendinger

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sediment records from closed-basin lakes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) of North America have contributed significantly to our understanding of regional paleoclimatology. A high-resolution (near decadal) fossil diatom record from Kettle Lake, ND, USA that spans the last 8500 cal. yr BP is interpreted in concert with percent abundance of aragonite in the sediment as an independent proxy of groundwater flow to the lake (and thus lake water level). Kettle Lake has been relatively fresh for the majority of the Holocene, likely because of the coarse substrata and a strong connection to the underlying aquifer. Interpretation of diatom assemblages …

The Nature, Origin And Preservation Of Amide Organic Nitrogen In Organic Matter, Georgina Anne Mckee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Past studies have found much of nonliving sedimentary/aqueous nitrogen-containing organic matter (NCOM) is composed of amides, assumed to be peptides/proteins. Their lability calls into question their survival, and several hypotheses have been suggested to explain this. Using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy I investigated the molecular amide composition in sedimentary/aqueous systems while reassessing their preservation and formation routes.

Development of a suitable methodology is essential for successful NCOM study due to electrospray ionisation source requirements: sediment samples need to be rendered into solution. Based on NMR and FT-ICR-MS analysis, I determined …

Full Conference Program With Abstracts, Jason S. Polk, Leslie A. North

International 2011 Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Modern Weathering On The Geochemistry Of A Marine Permo-Triassic Boundary Section, Jeremy Christopher Williams

Graduate Masters Theses

The Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB) marks the end-Permian extinction, the greatest mass extinction recorded in Earth's history. The Attargoo PTB section located in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India was situated along the north continental margin of Gondwana-land in the Neo-Tethys Ocean during the end-Permian extinction. In Spiti Valley, PTB sections such as Attargoo are exposed by a thin (~ 2cm) ferruginous layer separating the Permian black shale from Triassic Limestone. Studies that have presented geochemical data to support a theory of the end-Permian extinction lack any interpretation of post-depositional effects on Spiti Valley PTB sections. In order to accurately present a …

Determining The Lon-Exchange Mechanism Of Strontium Into A Niobium Doped Titanosilicate, Samantha Jane Kramer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A 25% niobium substituted sitinakite was exchanged with strontium as time resolved X-ray diffraction data was collected. The structural modeling of this data by Rietveld method1 has lead to the determination of the atomic positions of the ions and unit cell parameters as strontium occupancy increases.

The starting material of the exchange experiment is the protonated phase, H2Nb0.67Ti1.33SiO7·1.9 H2O, with space group P42/mcm2,3. Once strontium (Sr2+) enters the unit cell, extra-framework H2O molecules shift to provide the necessary hydration coordination. These new positions of H2O result in a lowering of symmetry to the P-42m space group, and it is thought …

Measuring The Rate Of Garnet Growth: Implications For Rb-Sr Garnet Chronology, Jessica Sousa

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Garnet growth rates have provided valuable information for understanding the rates of tectonometamorphic processes. In theory, during its growth, garnet records the decay of 87Rb within a rock matrix as steadily increasing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from core to rim. By measuring the Sr isotopic zoning within garnet and matrix Rb/Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, the rate of garnet growth can be determined. To test this, we used ID-TIMS to measure Rb-Sr data for five samples from three major orogenic belts: central New England, southernmost Chile, and western Italian Alps. These new data introduce two major difficulties encountered using …

An Analysis Of The Stability And Transport Of Co2 On Mars And Iapetus: Increasing Accuracy Via Experiments And Photometry, David Garrison Blackburn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Volatile transport of carbon dioxide is most relevant on two planetary bodies in our solar system: Mars and Iapetus. We experimentally measured the sublimation rate of CO2 ice under simulated martian conditions and developed a model based on our experimental results. We experimentally verified that solar irradiance is the primary control for the sublimation of CO2 ice on the martian poles with the amount of radiation striking the surface being controlled by variations in the optical depth, ensuring the formation and sublimation of the seasonal cap. Our model, supported by comparison of MGS-MOC and MRO-HiRISE images, shows that ~ 0.4 …

Pleistocene Climate In Alaska From Stable Isotopes In An Ice Wedge, Corinne Y. Griffing

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The CRREL permafrost tunnel offers a unique opportunity to sample ice wedges in a climate-controlled environment, penetrating frozen silts which host massive ground ice that may record Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) and Heinrich Events. Ice wedges in the tunnel have been dated to approximately 36-22 ka (Hamilton et al., 1988), allowing the paleoclimate of the region to be reconstructed during MIS 3, when D-O and Heinrich events were documented in various other records. These climate cycles are rapid climate oscillations that have been recognized in records from the Arctic and subarctic, and suggest that climate can rapidly shift by 10°C over millennial …

Molecular Organic Geochemistry Of The Oil And Source Rocks In Railroad Valley, Eastern Great Basin, Nevada, United States, Laode Ahdyar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A comprehensive geochemical study of oils from Railroad Valley, Nevada and two candidate source rock intervals from the nearby Egan Range, was conducted in order to establish oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations. Analyses consisted of total organic carbon, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and vitrinite reflectance for source rock samples, as well as biomarker, diamondoids, and stable carbon isotope analyses on source rock extracts and oil samples.

Total organic carbon analyses showed high organic content in the Mississippian Chainman Shale. However, outcrop samples of the Paleogene Sheep Pass Formation Member B are organically lean. Strata in both of these units are immature to …

Melt Inclusions In Volcanic Rocks, Kirellos Sefein, Kelly L. Robertson, Adam Simon

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

We studied melt inclusions from Mutnovsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia as part of a larger project designed to contrain the eruptive history of Mutnovsky. Transmitted and reflected light petrographic microscopy was used to characterize melt inclusions in grain mounts of mineral separates, standard 30 micron thin sections, and 200 micron thick sections of the samples from the Mutnovsky. The inclusions were further divided into three main categories: recrystallized, partially recrystallized, and glassy inclusions. After all the melt inclusions have been categorized, they will be analyzed by using LA-ICP-MS to determine their major, minor and trace element compositions.

Evaluation Of The Sensitivity Of Inventory And Monitoring National Parks To Acidification Effects From Atmospheric Sulfur And Nitrogen Deposition, Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn), T. J. Sullivan, T. C. Mcdonnell, G. T. Mcpherson, S. D. Mackey, D. Moore

United States National Park Service: Publications

Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN)

National maps of atmospheric sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions and deposition are provided in Maps A through D as context for subsequent network data presentations. Maps A and B show county level emissions of total S and total N for the year 2002. Maps C and D show total S and total N deposition, again for the year 2002.

There are three parks in the Northern Great Plains Network that are larger than 100 square miles: Badlands (BADL), Missouri (MNRR), and Theodore Roosevelt (THRO). In addition, there are 10 smaller parks.

Total annual S …

Concentration Of Heavy Metals In The Waters And Surface Sediments Of Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky: An Evaluation Of Plausible Sources, Chad Von Gruenigen, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Heavy metal pollution remains a problem in natural waters, particularly for localities near plausible anthropogenic sources. We assayed the level of heavy metals in surface waters and within surface sediments of Wilgreen Lake, whose watershed drains industrial, urban, agricultural, and residential areas near Richmond, Kentucky. We sampled both surface (oxic) and deep waters (anoxic) when the lake was stratified over Summer 2010. Water samples were treated according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols and were digested with trace-metal-grade nitric and hydrochloric acids. Sediment samples were collected with a grab sampler and digested using established EPA procedures with trace-metal-grade nitric …

Patterns Of Heavy Metal Concentration In Core Sediments, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Clint Mcmaine, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Accumulation of heavy metals in ecosystems is a known environmental problem, and several possible industry sources occur within the watershed of Wilgreen Lake, which is fed its two major tributaries, Taylor Fork and Old Town Branch. Elevated levels of cadmium, copper, lead, and nickel were found within the waters of Wilgreen Lake during a preliminary survey in 2007. A possible source of these contaminant occurrences is diffusion from lake sediments, which record past and present activities within their drainage basins.

To obtain a history of anthropogenic practices within the drainage basin, we took 1-meter-long cores of lake sediment in each …

Evaluation Of The Sensitivity Of Inventory And Monitoring National Parks To Nutrient Enrichment Effects From Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn), T. J. Sullivan, T. C. Mcdonnell, G. T. Mcpherson, S. D. Mackey, D. Moore

United States National Park Service: Publications

Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN)

National maps of atmospheric N emissions and deposition are provided in Maps A and B as context for subsequent network data presentations. Map A shows county level emissions of total N for the year 2002. Map B shows total N deposition, again for the year 2002.

There are three parks in the Northern Great Plains Network that are larger than 100 square miles: Badlands (BADL), Missouri (MNRR), and Theodore Roosevelt (THRO). In addition, there are 10 other smaller parks.

Total annual N emissions, by county, are shown in Map C for lands in and surrounding …

Demographic Responses Of Least Terns And Piping Plovers To The 2011 Missouri River Flood—A Large-Scale Case Study, Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, Terry L. Shaffer, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy, Colin M. Dovichin

United States Geological Survey: Publications

2011 led to substantial changes in abundance and distribution of unvegetated sand habitat. This river system is a major component of the breeding range for interior Least terns (Sternula antillarum; “terns”) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; “plovers”), both of which are Federally listed ground-nesting birds that prefer open, unvegetated sand and gravel nesting substrates on sandbars and shorelines. The 2011 flood inundated essentially all tern and plover nesting habitat during 2011, but it had potential to generate post-flood habitat conditions that favored use by terns and plovers in subsequent years. We compared several tern and plover demographic parameters during the …

Variations In Concentrations And Compositions Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Coals Related To The Coal Rank And Origin, Susanne Laumann, Vesna Micic Batka, Michael A. Kruge, Christine Achten, Reinhard Sachsenhofer, Jan Schwarzbauer, Thilo Hofmann

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The release of unburnt coal particles and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may cause adverse impacts on the environment. This study assessed variations in the concentration and composition of PAHs in a set of fifty coal samples from eleven coal basins worldwide. The maximum PAH concentrations at high volatile bituminous rank were recorded in samples from a single basin. Considering the entire sample, the highest PAH concentrations were in fact found outside of this rank range, suggesting that the maceral composition and thus the coal's origin also influenced PAH concentrations. The examination of the PAH compositions revealed that alkylated 2-3 …

Heavy Metals In West Chester, Pa: An Open-Ended, Inquiry-Based Project By Students In Environmental Geochemistry, Cynthia Hall

Gordon Natural Area Soils Studies Documents

No abstract provided.

Early Season Depletion Of Dissolved Iron In The Ross Sea Polynya: Implications For Iron Dynamics On The Antarctic Continental Shelf, Peter N. Sedwick, C. M. Marsay, B. M. Sohst, A. M. Aguilar-Islas, M. C. Lohan, M. C. Long, K. R. Arrigo, R. B. Dunbar, M. A. Saito, W. O. Smith, G. R. Ditullio

OES Faculty Publications

The Ross Sea polynya is among the most productive regions in the Southern Ocean and may constitute a significant oceanic CO₂sink. Based on results from several field studies, this region has been considered seasonally iron limited, whereby a "winter reserve" of dissolved iron (dFe) is progressively depleted during the growing season to low concentrations (~ 0.1 nM) that limit phytoplankton growth in the austral summer (December-February). Here we report new iron data for the Ross Sea polynya during austral summer 2005-2006 (27 December-22 January) and the following austral spring 2006 (16 November-3 December). The summer 2005-2006 data show …

The Impact Of Sulfide Mineral Weathering On The Isotopic Signatures Of Fe And Cu In Metal-Rich Streams, Ana Lourdes Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The oxidative weathering of sulfide minerals, like pyrite, at the Earth's surface controls the formation of acid mine drainage sites as well as the Fe isotope composition of these areas and the main processes taken place. In this study, water and rock samples were collected from acidic drainages (most from abandoned mining sites) from the St. Juan Mountains in Colorado. The water samples were measured in-situ for dissolved oxygen, dissolved Fe(II), pH, and conductivity. Filtered acidified, unfiltered acidified, and Fe-oxide samples were analyzed for their metal concentrations. Ion-exchange chromatography was applied to both water and digested oxide fractions in order …

Geochemistry, Geothermobarometry And Geochronology Of High-Pressure Granulites And Implications For The Exhumation History Of Ultrahigh-Pressure Terranes: Dulan, Western China, Benjamin David Joseph Christensen

All Master's Theses

The Dulan ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks of the North Qaidam terrane, Western China, represent continental crust that has been subducted ~100 km during continental collision. Adjacent granulites representing burial to ~50 km could either be overprinted eclogites or a separate high-pressure-high-temperature (HP-HT) granulite unit. Overprinted eclogites and HP-HT granulites imply different P-T-t paths for UHP rocks. Metamorphic conditions for the granulites are 750–880 °C and 14–17 kbar. Zircon U-Pb geochronology, REE patterns and Ti-in-zircon thermometry indicate an increase in temperature from ~800 °C (449 Ma) to ~900 °C (418 Ma). This temperature increase could explain the presence of granulite leucosomes and …

Dispersion Geochemistry At Different Scales At The Nopal I Deposit, Peña Blanca Uranium District, Chihuahua, Mexico, Katrina Pekar-Carpenter

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Nopal I mine in the Peña Blanca Uranium District, Chihuahua, Mexico is a natural analog for the geologic storage of nuclear waste. This dissertation presents data from two sites within Nopal I: 1) the PB-1 core, which was drilled along the extent of uranium mineralization in the Nopal I mine; and 2) a high-grade stockpile boulder from the mineralized Nopal tuff.

The PB-1 core allowed an investigation into the mineralogical and geochemical changes that are important to research on a nuclear waste repository. Five zones were determined to control these changes: 1) Zone 1, the primary uranium mineralization (quartz-uraninite-pyrite-kaolinite-ilmenite); …

Kinematic And Dynamic Pair Collision Statistics Of Sedimenting Inertial Particles Relevant To Warm Rain Initiation, Bogdan Rosa, Hossein Parishani, Orlando Ayala, Lian-Ping Wang, Wojciech W. Grabowski

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In recent years, direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach has become a reliable tool for studying turbulent collision-coalescence of cloud droplets relevant to warm rain development. It has been shown that small-scale turbulent motion can enhance the collision rate of droplets by either enhancing the relative velocity and collision efficiency or by inertia-induced droplet clustering. A hybrid DNS approach incorporating DNS of air turbulence, disturbance flows due to droplets, and droplet equation of motion has been developed to quantify these effects of air turbulence. Due to the computational complexity of the approach, a major challenge is to increase the range of …