Geology Commons^™

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Geol 106: Environmental Geology—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Leilani Arthurs

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The Peer Review of Teaching (PRT) program provides faculty members the environment, support, structure, and time to carefully think about how they teach a particular course. PRT benchmark portfolios are prepared as a part of this program to assist faculty members in reflecting on and documenting their instructional practices and the potential impact they have on student learning.

This benchmark portfolio targets the Spring 2013 semester of GEOL 106: Environmental Geology. It documents the course objectives that provided the foundation for the instructional approach, the course-level learning goals that defined what students should be able to do by the end …

A History Of Place: Using Phytolith Analysis To Discern Holocene Vegetation Change On Sanak Island, Western Gulf Of Alaska, Cricket C. Wilbur

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated a terrestrial climate proxy, phytoliths, as a complimentary approach to documenting the dynamics of present and past vegetation on Sanak Island, the largest island in a small island group in the eastern Aleutian archipelago, and as a new basis by which to interpret Holocene environmental variability in Alaska. A phytolith reference collection was established from 59 selected plant species of maritime tundra belonging to 27 families. The grass species and a sedge species produced abundant phytolith forms whereas the majority of dicotyledons in this study were trace producers of phytoliths. A paleoenvironmental reconstruction from fossil phytoliths recovered …

Geomorphologic Evolution Of A Rapidly Deteriorating Barrier Island System With Multiple Sediment Sources: Eastern Isles Dernieres, Louisiana, 1887 To 2006, Benjamin T. Kirkland

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Trinity, East, and Wine Islands make up the eastern half of the Isles Dernieres barrier arc in south-central Louisiana. Formed following the abandonment of the Lafourche delta complex, subsidence and storm erosion have led to rapid deterioration of the system. Since 1887, the land area of the islands has decreased seventy-seven percent, and the gulf shoreline has retreated landward more than a kilometer. Wave ravinement on the shoreface of the islands is responsible for the most sediment loss; liberated sediment travels longshore to tidal inlets. The dominant ebb tidal currents then transport the sediment to where it is deposited in …

Chemical Contaminants As Stratigraphic Markers For The Anthropocene, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Thousands and even millions of years from now, widespread anthropogenic contaminants in sediments would likely persist, incorporated into the geological record. They would inadvertently preserve evidence of our present era (informally designated as the Anthropocene Epoch) characterized by large human populations engaged in intensive industrial and agricultural activities.

Hypothetical geologists in the distant future would likely find unusually high concentrations of a wide variety of contaminants at stratigraphic levels corresponding to our present time, analogous to the iridium anomaly marking the bolide impact event at the close of the Cretaceous Period. These would include both organic and inorganic substances, such …

Autumn Migration Of Mississippi Flyway Mallards As Determined By Satellite Telemetry, David George G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used satellite telemetry to study autumn migration timing, routes, stopover duration, and final destinations of mallards Anas platyrhynchos captured the previous spring in Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Of those mallards that still had functioning transmitters on September 15 (n = 55), the average date when autumn migration began was October 23 (SE = 2.62 d; range = September 17–December 7). For those mallards that stopped for .1 d during migration, the average stopover length was 15.4 d (SE = 1.47 d). Ten mallards migrated nonstop to wintering sites. The eastern Dakotas were a heavily utilized stopover area. The …

An Estimate Of Groundwater Recharge In The Nabogo River Basin, Ghana Using Water Table Fluctuation Method And Chloride Mass Balance, Melanie Lynn Krautstrunk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Cambrian-Precambrian fractured sandstone aquifer in the Nabogo River Basin in the Sahelian Northern Region in Ghana is one of the most important sources for fresh water supply for the local rural communities there. Recent population growth and commercial agricultural interests in this region could have an impact on this critical water resource. Groundwater recharge estimates are determined in this study using the Water Table Fluctuation Method and Chloride Mass Balance and can be applied to future sustainability studies of the region's water resources. Recharge estimates of the Water Table Fluctuation Method are in a range of 10-143 mm/yr or …

Catching Air - Those Magnificent Jumping Suwannee Sturgeons, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

It starts deep at the bottom of the dark silent river, three to four powerful tail beats and three sharp acoustic clicks. Then, a sudden upturn of the body and the fish explodes upward, 100 pounds going vertical, catching air, lots of air. A good jump can power a big fish, six to nine feet into the air. You have to be quick to get a photo, hang time is only about a second, but an accomplished jump by a big old Suwannee River Gulf Sturgeon is impressive; a magnificent display of power. The exit is almost vertical. The tail …

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Groundwater Quality Assessment From Domestic Water Wells In The Fayetteville Shale Gas Play Area In Central Arkansas, Anna Marie Nottmeier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study establishes a spatially distributed domestic water well groundwater quality data set, throughout the Fayetteville Shale Gas Play (FSGP) in central Arkansas. The data set facilitates characterization of the geology and groundwater quality across the study area, benefits residents who may have concerns about the potential impacts on their well water quality, and provides a groundwater quality basis to which complaints can be compared and resolved. The assessment included: research of the study area, site reconnaissance, water sampling and collection, interviews with owners of the property, analytical analysis, Quality Assurance and Quality Control, and groundwater data interpretation.

The study …

Introducing Geoscience Students To Numerical Modeling Of Volcanic Hazards: The Example Of Tephra2 On Vhub.Org, Leah M. Courtland, Charles Connor, Laura Connor, Costanza Bonadonna

Numeracy

The Tephra2 numerical model for tephra fallout from explosive volcanic eruptions is specifically designed to enable students to probe ideas in model literacy, including code validation and verification, the role of simplifying assumptions, and the concepts of uncertainty and forecasting. This numerical model is implemented on the VHub.org website, a venture in cyberinfrastructure that brings together volcanological models and educational materials. The VHub.org resource provides students with the ability to explore and execute sophisticated numerical models like Tephra2. We present a strategy for using this model to introduce university students to key concepts in the use and evaluation of Tephra2 …

Plains Co2 Reduction (Pcor) Partnership Atlas, Wesley D. Peck, Tera D. Buckley, Earl P. Battle, Megan M. Grove, Joyce M. Riske, Charles D. Gorecki, Edward N. Steadman, John A. Harju

EERC Maps and Infographics

The Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Atlas provides a regional profile of CO₂ sources and potential CO₂ storage locations across the PCOR Partnership region. The fourth edition provides an update-to-date look at PCOR Partnership activities, including regional characterization and full-scale demonstration activities. Additional background information on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is included to give a better understanding of how CCUS addresses concerns about climate change while allowing future energy needs to be met.

Sedimentology And Geochronology Of Holocene Paleochannel Features In The Lower Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Kathryn G. De Rego, C. Russell Stafford, Mark Cantin

Symposium 2012

Rivers condition human settlement strategy by determining both the location of aquatic resources and the stability of the landscape. Therefore, understanding where the river was and how quickly it migrated in the past aids in predicting buried site potential. This study investigates the sedimentology and geochronology of paleochannel deposits along the Lower Ohio River floodplain. A series of low, wide swales are prominent features in a series of bottoms in a ~40 km section of the river valley downstream from the Falls of the Ohio. Previous studies in Knob Creek Bottom indicate that one of these paleochannel swales was active …

Atmospheric Circulation Change In The Central Himalayas Indicated By A High-Resolution Ice Core Deuterium Excess Record, Hongxi Pang, Shugui Hou, Susan Kaspari, Paul Mayewski, Douglas Introne, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Jean Jouzel, Zhenchao Li, Yuanqing He, Sungmin Hong, Dahe Qin

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Continuous measurements of both δD and δ18O were performed along a 108.8 m ice core recovered from the East Rongbuk Glacier on the northeast saddle of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) (28.03° N, 86.96° E, 6518 m above sea level) in September 2002. They provide the first high-resolution historical record of deuterium excess (d) in the central Himalayas. In this paper, we focus on d variability from 1951 to 2001 and its relationship with large scale atmospheric circulation. The d record exhibits significant seasonal variations, with low values in summer and high values in winter, reflecting the atmospheric circulation shift between winter …

Plankton Evolution Driven By Paleoceanographic Change: Prediscosphaera From The Mid-Cretaceous In The Western North Atlantic, Kristen L. Mitchell

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

Well-preserved nannofossil assemblages in late Albian and Cenomanian hemipelagic sections from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 171B preserve a record of the early history and adaptive radiation of the calcareous nannofossil genus Prediscosphaera. There was a significant rise in the abundance of the genus (from an average of 2% in the early late Albian to about 6% in the latest Albian and Cenomanian. This rise, and other shorter term pulses of increased generic abundance, corresponds to black shale deposition episodes. Twelve distinct morphotypes that were derived from the long-ranging Prediscosphera columnata and Prediscosphaera spinosa, are recognized and differentiated …

Feeding Habitats Of The Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser Oxyrinchus Desotoi, In The Suwannee And Yellow Rivers, Florida, As Identified By Multiple Stable Isotope Analyses, Kenneth J. Sulak, J. J. Berg, M. Randall

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Stable ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ³⁴S isotopes were analyzed to define the feeding habitats of Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee and Yellow River populations. For the majority (93.9%) of Suwannee sub adults and adults, 13C and 34S signatures indicate use of nearshore marine waters as primary winter feeding habitat, probably due to the limiting size of the Suwannee Sound estuary. In the Yellow River population, 13C isotope signatures indicate that adults remain primarily within Pensacola Bay estuary to feed in winter, rather than immigrating to the open Gulf of Mexico. A minor Suwannee River subset (6% of …

Heterogeneous Detection Probabilities For Imperiled Missouri River Fishes: Implications For Large-River Monitoring Programs, Joshua T. Schloesser, Craig P. Paukert, Wyatt J. Doyle, Tracy D. Hill, Kirk D. Steffensen, Vince H. Travnichek

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Occupancy modeling was used to determine (1) if detection probabilities (p) for 7 regionally imperiled Missouri River fishes (Scaphirhynchus albus, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, Cycleptus elongatus, Sander canadensis, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, Macrhybopsis gelida, and Macrhybopsis meeki) differed among gear types (i.e. stationary gill nets, drifted trammel nets, and otter trawls), and (2) how detection probabilities were affected by habitat (i.e. pool, bar, and open water), longitudinal position (five 189 to 367 rkm long segments), sampling year (2003 to 2006), and season (July 1 to October 30 and October 31 to June 30). Adult, large-bodied fishes were …

Habitat And Prey Availability Attributes Associated With Juvenile And Early Adult Pallid Sturgeon Occurrence In The Missouri River, Usa, Bryan D. Spindler, Steven R. Chipps, Robert A. Klumb, Brian D. S. Graeb, Michael C. Wimberly

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus is a federally endangered species native to the Missouri and lower Mississippi Rivers, USA. As part of recovery efforts, over 360 000 pallid sturgeon have been stocked into the Missouri River since 1994, and a standardized, long-term monitoring program was initiated in 2003. Understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of juvenile and early adult pallid sturgeon (fork length <720 mm, age <10 yr) is an important goal of the monitoring and recovery programs. In this study, we collected information on habitat characteristics and prey availability from the upper Missouri River along the Nebraska-South Dakota border and compared these attributes between capture (present) and non-capture (absent) locations (N = 59). To evaluate the relative influence of habitat and prey availability on pallid sturgeon occurrence, we examined several candidate models using an informationtheoretic approach. A prey availability model had the most support and included site-specific information on Diptera and Ephemeroptera abundance. A habitat-based model showed that juveniles and early adults were found in relatively deeper water and avoided areas where bottom velocities were greater than 1.2 m s−1. Although not as well supported as the prey-effects model (evidence ratio = 6.4), habitat features also provided a plausible model for predicting occurrence. The models developed here could be used to evaluate pallid sturgeon habitat potential in the Missouri River basin and help guide future monitoring and conservation management of this endangered species.

Strategies For Wildlife Disease Surveillance, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, Scott D. Wright

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Epidemiologic surveillance is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the "ongoing systematic and continuous collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data': The objective of surveillance is to generate data for rapid response to the detection of a disease of concern to apply prevention, control, or eradication measures as well as to evaluate such interventions. This is distinct from disease monitoring, which usually does not involve a particular response to disease detection.

Surveillance for wildlife diseases has increased in importance due to the emergence and re-emergence of wildlife diseases that are threats to human, animal, and …

Sea-Level History Of Past Interglacial Periods From Uranium-Series Dating Of Corals, Curaçao, Leeward Antilles Islands, Daniel R. Muhs, John M. Pandolfi, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Curaçao has reef terraces with the potential to provide sea-level histories of interglacial periods. Ages of the Hato (upper) unit of the “Lower Terrace” indicate that this reef dates to the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.5. On Curaçao, this high sea stand lasted at least 8000 yr (~126 to ~118 ka). Elevations and age of this reef show that late Quaternary uplift rates on Curaçao are low, 0.026–0.054 m/ka, consistent with its tectonic setting. Ages of ~200 ka for corals from the older Cortalein unit of the Lower Terrace correlate this reef to MIS 7, with paleo-sea …

Soil Genesis On The Island Of Bermuda In The Quaternary: The Importance Of African Dust Transport And Deposition, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Joseph M. Prospero, Gary Skipp, Stanley R. Herwitz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The origin of terra rossa, red or reddish-brown, clay-rich soils overlying high-purity carbonate substrates, has intrigued geologists and pedologists for decades. Terra rossa soils can form from accumulation of insoluble residues during dissolution of the host limestones, addition of volcanic ash, or addition of externally derived, long-range-transported (LRT) aeolian particles. We studied soils and paleosols on high-purity, carbonate aeolianites of Quaternary age on Bermuda, where terra rossa origins have been debated for more than a century. Potential soil parent materials on this island include sand-sized fragments of local volcanic bedrock, the LRT, fine-grained (µm) component of distal loess from the …

East Versus West: Organic Contaminant Differences In Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) Eggs From South Carolina, Usa And The Gulf Of California, Mexico, Stacy S. Vander Pol, Daniel W. Anderson, Patrick G.R. Jodice, Joyce E. Stuckey

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were listed as endangered in the United States in 1970, largely due to reproductive failure and mortality caused by organochlorine contaminants, such as DDT. The southeast population, P.o. carolinensis, was delisted in 1985, while the west coast population, P.o. californicus, was not delisted until 2009. As fish-eating coastal seabirds, brown pelicans may serve as a biomonitors. Organic contaminants were examined in brown pelican eggs collected from the Gulf of California in 2004 and South Carolina in 2005 using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Contaminants were compared using all individual data as well as …

Strontium Isotope Systematics Of Mixing Groundwater And Oil-Field Brine At Goose Lake In Northeastern Montana, Usa, Zell E. Peterman, Joanna N. Thamke, Kiyoto Futa, Todd M. Preston

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Groundwater, surface water, and soil in the Goose Lake oil field in northeastern Montana have been affected by Cl^- rich oil-field brines during long-term petroleum production. Ongoing multidisciplinary geochemical and geophysical studies have identified the degree and local extent of interaction between brine and groundwater. Fourteen samples representing groundwater, surface water, and brine were collected for Sr isotope analyses to evaluate the usefulness of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in detecting small amounts of brine. Differences in Sr concentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr are optimal at this site for the experiment. Strontium concentrations range from 0.13 to 36.9 mg/L, …

Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics …

Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Gary M. Tabor, Emily Almberg, Leslie Bienen, Peter J. Hudson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The International Panel on Climate Change has made an unequivocal case that the earth's climate is changing in profound ways, and that human activities are contributing significantly to climate disruption (IPCC 2007). The weight of evidence demonstrates warming global temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and increasing climate variability, with more extreme events. Thus, the physical underpinnings of ecology are changing, with pervasive effects on disease dynamics. Interactions among environment, hosts, and pathogens drive disease processes, and climate change will influence every interaction in this triad, directly and indirectly.

Wildlife Toxicology: Environmental Contaminants And Their National And International Regulation, K. Christiana Grim, Anne Fairbrother, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Wildlife toxicology is the study of potentially harmful effects of toxic agents in wild animals, focusing on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Fish and aquatic invertebrates are not usually included as part of wildlife toxicology since they fall within the field of aquatic toxicology, but collectively both disciplines often provide inSight into one another and both are integral parts of ecotoxicology (Hoffman et al. 2003). It entails monitoring, hypothesis testing, forensics, and risk assessment; encompasses molecular through ecosystem responses and various research venues (laboratory, mesocosm, field); and has been shaped by chemical use and misuse, ecological mishaps, and biomedical research. …

Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces, Barbara A. Wolfe, Roberto F. Aguilar, A. Alonso Aguirre, Glenn H. Olsen, Evan S. Blumer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The rate of species loss today is approaching catastrophic levels. Scientists project that over the next two decades, more than 1 million species of plants and animals will become extinct. E.O. Wilson has estimated that "the rate ofloss may exceed 50,000 a year, 137 a day ... this rate, while horrendous, is actually the minimal estimate, based on the species/area relationship alone" (Kellert and Wilson 1993, p. 16; Aguirre 2009). Ever-expanding communities, strained natural resources, changes in land use, and other anthropogenic drivers are compromising ecosystems and rapidly changing the landscape and the availability of "wild" spaces.

Agricultural Drought Monitoring In Kenya Using Evapotranspiration Derived From Remote Sensing And Reanalysis Data, Michael T. Marshall, Christopher Funk, Joel Michaelsen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

More than half of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1.25 per day, and nearly 30% do not receive sufficient nourishment to maintain daily health (UN, 2009a). These figures are expected to rise as a result of the recent global financial crisis that has led to an increase in food prices. Food for Peace (FFP), the program that administers more than 85% of U.S. international food aid, recently reported that the seven largest recipient countries of food aid worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa (FFP, 2010). In Kenya, the fifth largest recipient of food aid from FFP …

Hurricane Disturbance And Recovery Of Energy Balance, Co2 Fluxes And Canopy Structure In A Mangrove Forest Of The Florida Everglades, Jordan G. Barr, Vic Engel, Thomas J. Smith, José D. Fuentes

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangrove forest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to −50 cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO₂ from …

Model Ordinance For Development On Karst In Kentucky: Guidance For Construction On Karst Terrain And The Reduction Of Property Damage And Threat To Human Health Resulting From Karst Geologic Hazard, James C. Currens

Information Circular--KGS

I have dealt with hundreds of incidents of karst-related geohazards; some have caused major damage to buildings and infrastructure. Although cases are largely limited to the ground surface being made unusable, a significant number of structures are damaged by karst flooding or cover collapse each year, which is devastating to families who have lost their homes. Most of these events should never have happened, because the karst hazard could have been avoided by selecting a better building site or designing the building to withstand the damage from the hazard. Furthermore, most of the planning authorities I have had experience with …