Geology Commons^™

North Central Region Soil Survey Conference Field Tour

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Quantifying Pedogenic Carbon Content Within The Boise River Terraces Using Pressurized Calcimetry, Dawn Jarrels, Annika Quick, Jennifer L. Pierce

College of Arts and Sciences Poster Presentations

Soil carbon is the third largest carbon pool within the global carbon cycle; however, soil carbon amounts are not well quantified, and exchange rates of soil carbon are not well understood. Soil carbon can be divided into organic carbon and inorganic carbon, where inorganic carbon (pedogenic carbonate) is precipitated during soil formation and accumulates over time in semi-arid and arid environments. Calcic soils within the semiarid regions of the Boise Valley result from active pedogenic accumulation of secondary CaCO₃ resulting in prominent 'caliche' layers in soils formed on many of the Boise River terraces. The larger goals of this …

Ancient Cataclysmic Floods In The Pacific Northwest: Ancestors To The Missoula Floods, Erica Medley

Dissertations and Theses

Ancient Cataclysmic Floods were the Ice Age Floods that left erosional and depositional features and preceded the Missoula Floods (15-18,000 ka) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (Allen et al., 2009). All previously studied ancient sites were visited (14) and new sites (11) were found; four Missoula Flood quarries were also visited; a total of 29 sites were studied in this thesis. The use of calcrete paleosols to provide relative age dates for flood deposits was analyzed in this thesis. Missoula Flood gravel pits were sampled in order to examine the degree of calcrete development in flood deposits …

Soil Mapping On A Swanton Pacific Ranch Rangeland, Thomas N. Witman

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Knowledge of soils has become very important in most land based enterprises. The understanding of soils is necessary for all different types of land management projects. The USDA mapped all of the soils in the United States starting in the late 1950’s to provide the necessary information. However because the mappers often times had to map entire counties in short amounts of time ,did not have modern technology, and had rather a vague operating procedure, there was no way to be accurate on the small scaled. To solve this problem I evaluated Dr. Ron Taskey’s landscape hierarchy, a method that …

Three-Dimensional Hydrostratigraphy Of The Platte River Valley Near Ashland, Nebraska: Results From Helicopter Electromagnetic (Hem) Mapping In The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (Enwra), P. R. Hanson, Jesse T. Korus, Dana Divine

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Role Of Organic Matter Accumulation On Delta Evolution, Jorge Lorenzo Trueba, Vaughan Voller, Chris Paola, Robert Twilley, Azure Bevington

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We explore the role of plant matter accumulation in the sediment column in determining the response of fluvial-deltas to base-level rise and simple subsidence profiles. Making the assumption that delta building processes operate to preserve the geometry of the delta plain, we model organic sedimentation in terms of the plant matter accumulation and accommodation (space made for sediment deposition) rates. A spatial integration of the organic sedimentation, added to the known river sediment input, leads to a model of delta evolution that estimates the fraction of organic sediments preserved in the delta. The model predicts that the maximum organic fraction …

Three-Dimensional Hydrostratigraphy Of The Sprague, Nebraska Area: Results From Helicopter Electromagnetic (Hem) Mapping For The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (Enwra), Dana Divine, Jesse T. Korus

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Four Water-Bearing Zones Of The Glacierized Basin In Meltwater Runoff Modeling, Umesh K. Haritashya

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Meltwater runoff modeling from glacierized basins needs several input data, including total meltwater contributing area. This study utilizes optical remote sensing data to assess glacierized basins in the central Himalayas where snow and glaciers contribute substantially to the water resources. Result shows that there are four main water-bearing zones in the basin: (a) dry snow, (b) wet snow, (c) exposed glacial ice, and (d) debris-covered glacial ice, and it is possible to differentiate and map these zones and their spatio-temporal variations from satellite sensor data. These zones can then be incorporated in meltwater runoff modeling as separate entities because they …

Guidebook To The Geology Of The Platte River Valley Between Duncan And Schuyler, Nebraska, P.R. Hanson, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Aaron R. Young, Dana Divine, Jesse T. Korus Dr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Platte River is considered to be a classic example of a braided stream, that is, a comparatively shallow stream with a high width:depth ratio.

Three Geologic Cross Sections Across Portions Of Eastern Nebraska Showing Quaternary Lithologic Units And Stratigraphy Of Uppermost Bedrock, Jesse T. Korus, Dana Divine, P. R. Hanson, J. S. Dillon

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2011, Jesse T. Korus Dr., Mark E. Burbach, Leslie M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2012, A. R. Young, M. E. Burbach, J. T. Korus, L. M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Provenance And Geological Significance Of Red Mud And Other Clastic Sediments Of The Mugnano Cave (Montagnola Senese, Italy), Francesco Iacoviello, Ivan Martini

International Journal of Speleology

The Mugnano cave is characterized by a thick clastic sedimentary fill showing a great variability of sedimentary facies, ranging from clay to coarse-grained sand deposits. This paper deals with combined sedimentological and mineralogical (XRD and SEM) studies of these sediments and bedrock insoluble residues in order to understand the origin and geological significance of cave deposits, with particular attention to red mud sediments, often considered as the residue of host rock dissolution. Three different sedimentary facies were recognized: i) YS, yellow sand with occasionally shell fragments, testifying the arrival of sediments from the surrounding landscape; ii) RS, red laminated mud; …

Vulnerability Of High Latitude Soil Organic Carbon In North America To Disturbance, Guido Grosse, Jennifer Harden, Merritt Turetsky, David A. Mcguire, Philip Camill, Charles Tarnocai, Steve Frolking, Edward A.G. Schuur, Torre Jorgenson, Sergei Marchenko, Vladimir Romanovsky, Kimberly P. Wickland, Nancy H. F. French, Mark Waldrop, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Robert G. Striegl

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

This synthesis addresses the vulnerability of the North American high-latitude soil organic carbon (SOC) pool to climate change. Disturbances caused by climate warming in arctic, subarctic, and boreal environments can result in significant redistribution of C among major reservoirs with potential global impacts. We divide the current northern high-latitude SOC pools into (1) near-surface soils where SOC is affected by seasonal freeze-thaw processes and changes in moisture status, and (2) deeper permafrost and peatland strata down to several tens of meters depth where SOC is usually not affected by short-term changes. We address key factors (permafrost, vegetation, hydrology, paleoenvironmental history) …

Land Systems Of The Kimberley Region, Western Australia, A L. Payne, N Schoknecht

Technical Bulletins

The Land Systems of the Kimberley Region Report describes and maps the landscapes, soils and vegetation of the Kimberley region. This report is a consolidation of surveys carried out by different organisations, across different areas of the Kimberley, since the 1940s. The Kimberley region, as defined in this bulletin, covers 330 070km². The report categorises the Kimberley region into 111 land systems. Under each land system, the report identifies the vulnerabilities of those areas, and provides recommendations on how to achieve sustainable use. The report also publishes pasture types for the entire region and the grazing potential for each pasture, …

Post-Fire Near-Surface Runoff From Small-Scale Rainfall Simulations, Santa Cruz Mountains, Michael Founds

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The influence of environmental variables on the runoff response to a fire is poorly understood. Small-scale rainfall simulation was used to study the factors impacting near-surface runoff following the Lockheed Fire, which occurred on August 12, 2009. A variable speed rainfall simulator was used to rain on 15 different test plots at an average rate of 50mmh^-1. Variables of burn severity, time following the fire, soil parent material, vegetation type, and presence of a duff layer were all analyzed using the ratio of runoff to rainfall. The difference in-between burned sites and similar control sites were 19±6%. Only …

Geogram 2011, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

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.

Extent Of Gully Erosion In An Agricultural Field In Northeastern Nebraska At Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West In Cedar County, Crystal Starkel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

My thesis project examined a gully within Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West. This gully has been noticed for five years and has grown substantially in those five years. The extent and causes of gully erosion were examined by considering the soil, the climate, the land management history, by measuring the gully physically, by using GIS, and by using an economic support tool was estimate soil loss. Appropriate recommendations were developed to reduce gully erosion.

Serpentinite Weathering And Implications For Mars, Valerie Tu, Julie Baumeister, Rodney Metcalf, A. Olsen, Elisabeth Hausrath

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

In the search for life on Mars near-surface soil environments may be important habitats for life accessible to future missions. Serpentinite rocks have been documented on Mars, as well as other clay minerals including smectite and kaolinites. Previous studies of soils formed on serpentinites on Earth have documented the formation of extensive clays. Serpentinites are additionally of interest as habitats for life such as methanogens. Here we examine weathering of serpentinites from bedrock to soil surface, as a potential route for the formation of clay minerals on Mars from abundant ultramafic minerals. We additionally test for the presence of Fe-oxidizing …

Secondary Minerals From Extrapedogenic Per Latus Acidic Weathering Environments At Geomorphic Edges, Eastern Nebraska, Usa, Robert Matthew Joeckel, K.D. Wally, B.J. Ang Clement, P.R. Hanson, J.S. Dillon, S.K. Wilson

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Acidic weathering of the sulfidic Upper Cretaceous Carlile and Pierre Shales in Nebraska has led to the precipitation of the Al sulfate–hydroxide minerals aluminite, alunite, “basaluminite”/felsöbányaite (e.g.,), the aluminum hydroxides gibbsite and bayerite, and the rare Al phosphate hydroxide vashegyite. Kaolinite has also been produced as a result of this acidic weathering. These minerals do not appear as neoformed constituents in any extant soils in the region, and their existence underscores the ability of pyrite oxidation to produce major changes in mineralogy on a Holocene to Recent time scale. Jarosite, hydronium jarosite, gypsum, halotrichite, and melanterite also appear as secondary …

Distribution And Properties Of Vesicular Horizons In The Western United States, Judith K. Turk, Robert C. Graham

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Vesicular horizons are thin (usuallycm) surface or near-surface horizons characterized by the predominance of vesicular porosity. Th ey are widespread in arid and semiarid lands, occurring on every continent and covering 156,000 km2 of the western United States. Vesicular horizons have critical implications for management due to their role in controlling surface hydrology and dust mobilization. Th is study evaluates the distribution and varia-tion in expression of vesicular horizons across the western United States using the soil databases available from the USDA. A vesicular horizon index (VHI) that incorporates vesicular horizon thickness and the size and quantity of vesicular pores …

Encyclopedia Of Snow, Ice And Glaciers, Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

The objective of this encyclopedia is to present the current state of scientific understanding of various aspects of earth’s cryosphere – snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, ice shelves, sea ice, river and lake ice, and permafrost – and their related interdisciplinary connections under one umbrella. Therefore, every effort has been made to provide a comprehensive coverage of cryosphere by including a broad array of topics, such as the atmospheric processes responsible for snow formation; snowfall observations; snow cover and snow surveys; transformation of snow to ice and changes in their properties; classification of ice and glaciers and their worldwide …

Timing, Distribution, Amount, And Style Of Cenozoic Extension In The Northern Great Basin, Christopher D. Henry, Allen J. Mcgrew, Joseph P. Colgan, Arthur W. Snoke, Matthew E. Brueseke

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

This field trip examines contrasting lines of evidence bearing on the timing and structural style of Cenozoic (and perhaps late Mesozoic) extensional deformation in northeastern Nevada. Studies of metamorphic core complexes in this region report extension beginning in the early Cenozoic or even Late Cretaceous, peaking in the Eocene and Oligocene, and being largely over before the onset of “modern” Basin and Range extension in the middle Miocene. In contrast, studies based on low- temperature thermochronology and geologic mapping of Eocene and Miocene volcanic and sedimentary deposits report only minor, localized extension in the Eocene, no extension at all in …

Annual Outflow And Annual Inflow Of Water From/To Nebraska, 1950- 2010, Susan Olafsen-Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Reference List For Describing Cuttings And Cores Of Sediments And Sedimentary Rocks In Nebraska, J. T. Korus, Robert Matthew Joeckel, P. R. Hanson, J. W. Goeke, S. O. Lackey, M. B. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Annual Outflow Of Water From Nebraska, 1950 - 2010, S. Olafsen-Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Geogram 2010, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Phyllosilicate Mineralogy, 40ar/39ar Geochronology, And Genesis Of Petrocalcic Soils In The Southwest U.S.A., Colin R. Robins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Obtaining isotope ages for arid soils and paleosols, including carbonate-cemented (calcic and petrocalcic) horizons, constitutes a significant challenge for soil scientists, geomorphologists, and stratigraphers. Carbonate-cemented soils foster diverse suites of authigenic minerals with exciting potential for geochronology, however, this potential has not been realized. This dissertation describes the timing of pedogenic palygorskite and sepiolite crystallization in extremely old, extant petrocalcic soils of the southwest U.S.A., and assumes that these fibrous, high-magnesium phyllosilicates contain sufficient lattice-bound K to warrant vacuum-encapsulated 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. This three-part study evaluated the (1) selective extraction, (2) 40Ar/39Ar analysis, and (3) pedogenesis of palygorskite and sepiolite.

Effects …