Geology Commons^™

Fluid Inclusion Study Of Selected Calcite Associated With Native Copper, Quincy Mine, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, David Kelly

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw Peninsula is famous for hosting the largest accumulation of native copper anywhere in the world. Previous studies have looked for the fluids responsible for creating the native copper deposits but were unable to conclusively demonstrate that fluid inclusions can provide valuable insight into the hydrothermal/metamorphogenic fluids responsible for these unique deposits.

This report focused on fluid inclusions from calcite precipitated during the native copper mineralizing event. Calcite crystals with inclusions of native copper growing into vugs from a single location, the Quincy Mine, were hypothesized to have a higher chance to be undisturbed by seismic events that would …

Quantifying Water Recharge And Water Use In Hand Dug Wells: A Case Study Of Thiawor, Senegal, West Africa, Celine Carus

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

For many rural communities in Senegal, water is an essential life-giving need received only through a network of hand dug wells. Increasing rainfall variability in the Sahel has driven greater water insecurity for those communities that rely on rain-irrigated systems for agriculture. This study investigates the retrieval, purposes, and quantities of seasonal water usage on a small domestic scale, as well as an analysis of perceived water availability in the wells during the rainy season. Additionally, using a combination of interview data and pumping test data obtained from the village wells, water usage and estimated daily needs are calculated and …

Landslides Near Enguri Dam (Caucasus, Georgia) And Possible Seismotectonic Effects, Alessandro Tibaldi, Paolo Oppizzi, John S. Gierke, Thomas Oommen, Nino Tsereteli, Zurab Gogoladze

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

The Enguri dam and water reservoir, nested in the southwestern Caucasus (Republic of Georgia), are surrounded by steep mountain slopes. At a distance of 2.5 km from the dam, a mountain ridge along the reservoir is affected by active deformations with a double vergence. The western slope, directly facing the reservoir, has deformations that affect a subaerial area of 1.2 km². The head scarp affects the Jvari–Khaishi–Mestia main road with offsets of man-made features that indicate slip rates of 2–9 cm yr⁻¹. Static, pseudostatic and Newmark analyses, based on field and seismological data, suggest different unstable …

The Origin Of An Archean Batholith In Michigan’S Upper Peninsula, Brandi Petryk

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Southern Complex is part of the Archean Superior Province in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and includes a batholithic sized body of Archean high-K megacrystic granitoid rocks informally called the Bell Creek granite. U-Pb zircon ages of the granitoid from previous studies suggest an emplacement age of ~2.6 Ga (Tinkham, 1997). Based on those ages the Bell Creek granite formed around the Archean-Proterozoic transition. This transition is a crucial time period in Earth’s history for crustal growth because of the onset of subduction and increased sedimentary environments at the end of the Archean (Taylor and McLennan, 1995). In this …

Paleomagnetic Investigation Of Igneous Rocks Deformed By The Keweenaw Fault In The Northwestern Keweenaw Peninsula., Daniel Trekas

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

One of the most prominent structural features associated with the ~1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift (MCR) system is the >350 km long Keweenaw Fault that bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula, separating the MCR-related Portage Lake Volcanics (PLV) and the younger Jacobsville Sandstone (JS). The fault trend is NE-NNE over most of its length, but changes to an easterly direction along the shore of Bête Grise Bay near the end of the peninsula. Conventionally, the Keweenaw Fault has been considered to be a continuous reverse (dip-slip) fault formed by inversion of an original rift-bounding normal fault during the Grenville Orogeny. However, recent mapping …

Keweenaw Fault Geometry And Slip Kinematics - Bête Grise Bay, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, Colin Tyrrell

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw Fault (KF) has been interpreted as a rift-bounding normal fault along the southern margin of the Midcontinent Rift System; later inverted into a reverse fault by a tectonic compression event. The fault trends NNE to NE for most of its trace but curves clockwise to ESE along the Bête Grise Bay area in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. U.S. Geological Survey maps depict the KF along Bête Grise Bay as a continuous thrust that follows a sinuous contact between Portage Lake Volcanics (PLV) and Jacobsville Sandstone (JS). New fieldwork reveals a left-stepping en echelon system of ESE-trending faults connected by …

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Hydrothermal Minerals And Sources Of Hydrothermal Fluids Inferred From Light Stable Isotopes, Keweenaw Peninsula Native Copper District, Michigan, Thomas Bodden

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Hydrothermal native copper deposits are hosted by Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift-filling volcanic and sedimentary rocks in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. The genesis of the native copper deposits has been a point of interest since their discovery. Native copper and associated mineral assemblages vary temporally and spatially. A refined mineral paragenesis is presented and used as the basis to spatially compare mineral assemblages as it is essential that spatial comparison involve only minerals that are temporally/genetically, related to each other. The main-stage minerals associated with precipitation of native copper are spatially zoned. The higher-grade zones correspond to the area of native copper deposits …

Linking Historical, Field, And Satellite Data To Determine The Relationship Between Gas Emissions And Vegetation Change In The Puhimau Geothermal Area East Rift Zone Kilauea, Hawaii, Christie Torres Rosa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Puhimau geothermal area, located near the summit of the Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has been suggested to represent a ‘window’ into the East Rift Zone. The quantification of CO₂ and H₂S soil gas emissions improves our understanding of its gas emission mode- including total emission and spatial distribution and contribute to a more accurate estimation of total CO₂ and H₂S in the thermal area – and how these gas emissions relate to observed vegetation health from satellite data. The total emission of CO₂ and H₂S was interpolated by the sequential Gaussian …

Application Of A Distributed Hydrologic Model For The Analysis Of Land Use Change In Kedougou, Senegal, Francisco Perez

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

West Africa has experienced extensive land use/land cover (LULC) change since the Sahel drought of the 1970s and 80s. Demographic changes, rapid urbanization, and other anthropogenic impacts on land cover in West Africa have potentially altered hydrological regimes. This work was undertaken while I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kedougou region of Senegal, an area that has experienced significant and rapid infrastructural improvements and urbanization since the early 2000s. The Gambia River flows near Kedougou, where flooding is an extensive problem, making access and livelihood practices difficult during the rainy season. Changes in climate and land use …

Monitoring The Impact Of Groundwater Pumping On Infrastructure Using Geographic Information System (Gis) And Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (Psi), Kirsten Deprekel, El Hachemi Bouali, Thomas Oommen

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Transportation infrastructure is critical for the advancement of society. Bridges are vital for an efficient transportation network. Bridges across the world undergo variable deformation/displacement due to the Earth’s dynamic processes. This displacement is caused by ground motion, which occurs from many natural and anthropogenic events. Events causing deformation include temperature fluctuation, subsidence, landslides, earthquakes, water/sea level variation, subsurface resource extraction, etc. Continual deformation may cause bridge failure, putting civilians at risk, if not managed properly. Monitoring bridge displacement, large and small, provides evidence of the state and health of the bridge. Traditionally, bridge monitoring has been executed through on-site surveys. …

Lucius Lee Hubbard, One Of The Copper Country's Greatest Mineral Collectors (1849–1933), Christopher J. Stefano, William B. Barr Jr.

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Publications

No abstract provided.

Editorial For Special Issue “Geochemistry And Mineralogy Of Hydrothermal Metallic Mineral Deposits”, Theodore J. Bornhorst

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Special Issue of Minerals on Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Hydrothermal Metallic Mineral Deposits presents the results of diverse geochemical and mineralogical research from across the globe. It is aimed to demonstrate that geochemical and mineralogical variation, both within and among hydrothermal ore deposits can be applied to genetic models, to exploration and drilling programs, and more. The eight contributions reflect a wide range of deposits, as well as different types of geochemical and mineralogical research applied to them. While most of these studies are focused on gaining a better understanding of deposit genesis, the results have a far greater …

Disaster Risk In The Lake Nyos Area, Cameroon: Effects Of The Gas Hazard And Socially Produced Vulnerability, Mary Witucki

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts depend on comprehensive risk assessments that consider potential hazard events and social vulnerability. The Lake Nyos Disaster (LND) caused the deaths of about 1,700 people, forced another 4,000 people from their homes, and left survivors more vulnerable to future hazards. There is considerable research on the gas hazard and some work on local vulnerability; however studies rarely consider both aspects of disaster risk (DR). This study addresses both the hazard and vulnerability and uses several qualitative and quantitative methods which have never been applied to LND survivor vulnerability or gas hazard. Interviews, participant observation, …

Analyzing The Life-Cycle Of Unstable Slopes Using Applied Remote Sensing Within An Asset Management Framework, El Hachemi Y. Bouali

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An asset management framework provides a methodology for monitoring and maintaining assets, which include anthropogenic infrastructure (e.g., dams, embankments, and retaining structures) and natural geological features (e.g., soil and rock slopes). It is imperative that these assets operate efficiently, effectively, safely, and at a high standard since many assets are located along transportation corridors (highways, railways, and waterways) and can cause severe damage if compromised. Assets built on or around regions prone to natural hazards are at an increased risk of deterioration and failure. The objective of this study is to utilize remote sensing techniques such as InSAR, LiDAR, and …

Ground Deformation Studies And Evacuation Behavior During Eruptions At Guatemalan Volcanoes, Hans Lechner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Volcanic eruptions can be an especially problematic hazard when considering the uncertainty in eruption timing and magnitude coupled with challenges associated with delivering warnings to remote areas and facilitating effective evacuations. The hazards presented by Guatemala’s active volcanoes demand enhanced monitoring capabilities and instrumentation infrastructure. Strengthening the link between the physical and social sciences should lead to more accurate, reliable, and timely hazard information to the people living in proximity to the volcano and facilitate rational decisions and actions that reduce their level of risk. While there is no one single technique that can provide unambiguous diagnostics about the timing, …

Climate, Wildfire, And Erosion Ensemble Foretells More Sediment In Western Usa Watersheds, John B. Sankey, Jason Kreitler, Todd J. Hawbaker, Jason L. Mcvay, Mary Ellen Miller, Erich R. Mueller, Nicole M. Vaillant, Scott E. Lowe, Temuulen T. Sankey

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

The area burned annually by wildfires is expected to increase worldwide due to climate change. Burned areas increase soil erosion rates within watersheds, which can increase sedimentation in downstream rivers and reservoirs. However, which watersheds will be impacted by future wildfires is largely unknown. Using an ensemble of climate, fire, and erosion models, we show that postfire sedimentation is projected to increase for nearly nine tenths of watersheds by >10% and for more than one third of watersheds by >100% by the 2041 to 2050 decade in the western USA. The projected increases are statistically significant for more than eight …

Reference Data Set Of Volcanic Ash Physicochemical And Optical Properties, A. Vogel, S. Diplas, A. J. Durant, A. S. Azar, M. F. Sunding, William I. Rose, A. Sytchkova, C. Bonadonna, K. Krüger, A. Stohl

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Uncertainty in the physicochemical and optical properties of volcanic ash particles creates errors in the detection and modeling of volcanic ash clouds and in quantification of their potential impacts. In this study, we provide a data set that describes the physicochemical and optical properties of a representative selection of volcanic ash samples from nine different volcanic eruptions covering a wide range of silica contents (50–80 wt % SiO₂). We measured and calculated parameters describing the physical (size distribution, complex shape, and dense-rock equivalent mass density), chemical (bulk and surface composition), and optical (complex refractive index from ultraviolet to …

Discovery And Geology Of The Guinness World Record Lake Copper, Lake Superior, Michigan, Theodore J. Bornhorst, Robert Barron

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing A Gis Tool For Infinite Slope Stability Analysis (Gis-Tissa), Jonathon Sanders

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Probabilistic Infinite Slope Analysis model (PISA-m) is a widely used computer program that uses infinite slope equations to calculate the spatially varying Factor of Safety of slopes. ESRI’s ArcGIS software and accompanying geoprocessing tools have become a mainstay in spatial data processing, and received full support for Python with the release of version 10. With many of the geoprocessing tools now available as a Python function, the software can be used for physics-based spatial landslide hazard analysis. A model that mimics PISA-m and its processing of normally distributed soil properties was created using the Python utility as a tool …

Rock Magnetic Investigation Of The Michigan Basin Soils And Sediments Overlying The Oil-Bearing Silurian Pinnacle Reefs, Jake Tresnak

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A relationship between the hydrocarbon migration and magnetic properties of near-surface sediments was investigated from several hundreds of samples collected over the hydrocarbon-bearing Silurian pinnacle reef belt of the Michigan Basin. The collected samples were investigated using several rock magnetic methods and optical microscopy. The investigation has not revealed a straightforward relationship between the magnetic susceptibility and hydrocarbon reservoirs within the reef belt; both anomalously high and low susceptibility values were observed. The elevated values are associated with newly formed magnetite in the form of spheroidal grains produced by hydrocarbon-related diagenesis while the extremely low susceptibilities may reflect dissolution of …

Using Lidar To Map The Geology And Morphology Of Alluvial Fans: Salton Sea Area, California, Eric Alexander Macleod

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The main result of this study has been to show that detailed maps of the geology and morphology of alluvial fans can be generated from high spatial resolution (1-meter) DEM’s (Digital Elevation Models) obtained from LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. DEMs with spatial resolutions of 1-meter, 10-meters and 30-meters were all examined but it was determined that only the 1-meter LiDAR data had sufficient spatial resolution to produce satisfactory maps of the geology and morphology. A case study on an alluvial fan in the Santa Rosa mountains northeast of the Salton Sea (California) showed that 1-meter spatial resolution LiDAR …

Experimental Study Of The Flow Of Ferrofluid In A Porous Media Under A Magnetic Field, Muskaan Khurana

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research presents results from a laboratory-scale experimental setup that was designed to visualize the behavior of ferrofluid percolation through a porous media. Ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions made of magnetic particles of a few nanometers and stabilized in carrier liquids like water or mineral oil. Ferrofluids get magnetized and align themselves in the direction of a magnetic field when a field gradient is applied.

With the help of this experiment we investigate the viability of controlling fluid flow in porous medium by a magnetic field in vicinity. The experiments show that ferrofluids can be used as a transporting media to …

Diffuse Co2 Degassing And The Origin Of Volcanic Gas Variability From Rincón De La Vieja, Miravalles And Tenorio Volcanoes, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, Aurelia Liegler

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Volcanic gas emissions are an important key component for monitoring volcanic activity and magmatic input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as well as the assessment of geothermal potential in volcanic regions. Diffuse soil degassing of CO₂ at Rincón de la Vieja and Miravalles volcanoes, assessed with the commonly accepted accumulation chamber method, showed the concentration of gas emissions in evident hydrothermal surface features in secondary gas emission zones of the volcanoes. Analyses of fumarolic gases were conducted to investigate similarities and differences between the volcanoes and the possibility of continued magma injection into their source(s). An output of …

A Small-Scale Water Budget Approach And Water Quality Assessment: A Case Study For Calderas Lake, Guatemala, Edrick Ramos

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Increases in water demand and urban development in Calderas community over the past decade have led to questions about the hydrology, water quality, quantity and sustainable management of Calderas Lake micro-basin. However, studies on baseline hydrology are limited for rural communities located inside volcanic origin watersheds of Guatemala. The scope of this study was to characterize the hydrology and establish a method to: 1) quantify a water budget, and 2) qualify the water quality of a lacustrine system that supply water for about 17,000 inhabitants on the state limits or rural Guatemala City. Mean annual rainfall and temperature at the …

Rhyolite And Trachyte Formation At Lake City Caldera: Insight From Quantitative Textural And Geochemical Analyses, Jordan Lubbers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Lake City Caldera (22.93 ± 0.02 Ma) is the youngest of 15 Tertiary calderas found within the Southern Rocky Mountain Volcanic Field (SRMVF). Extreme topographical relief of the area reveals the three dimensional exposure of a complex, high-k calc-alkaline, magmatic system, which provides us with the opportunity to study, in detail, how large silicic magmas evolve in the subsurface. The Lake City igneous system is comprised of two major units: a resurgent syenite intrusion and the Sunshine Peak Tuff (Lower, Middle, and Upper). Bulk-rock analyses indicate that the Lower and Middle Sunshine Peak tuff are crystal poor and rhyolitic in …

Modeling Spring Catchment Discharge: A Case Study Of Candela, Panama, Central America, Jordan P. Van Sickle

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Where the proper geological and hydrological conditions exist, natural springs have provided a reliable source of clean water to mankind for eons. Changing climates and land development can negatively impact spring source replenishment and threaten their reliability as a source of water. In the face of prospects of diminishing supplies and increasing population demands, community leaders question whether and how to invest in development for enhancing sustainability and protecting water quality, causing water managers to dispute their reliability given decreasing flows. Springs located in the rugged jungle of western Panama serve as the primary water supply for many indigenous communities, …

Comparison Of Different Seismic Filtering Techniques On Prestack Inversion For Penobscot Area-Nova Scotia, Omer Emre Uygun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The goal of this study is to compare three different type of seismic filtering according to their inversion results and their quality of data improvements. To do this bandpass filter, Inverse Q, and Radon transform are applied to the original NMO corrected pre-stack data from Nova-Scotia offshore Canada.

The seismic data used was provided as pre-stack data of generally good quality. The test for quality of data improvement comes from the results of inversion based on different types of filtering performed on the pre-stack gathers.

Bandpass filter, Inverse Q, and Radon transform are applied to the migrated prestack data, over …

The Routine Disaster: A Case Study In El Salvador, Tyler M. Barton

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

A 2010 report by the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination ranked El Salvador as the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters, with roughly 95% of the population at risk. The combination of recurring natural disasters and high vulnerability in a relatively small country has led to repeated exposure of local residents to significant natural phenomena of all sorts, including earthquakes, flooding, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes.

The effect of disaster assistance can be multi-faceted and this report examines the case of flooding hazards of a small town in the south-eastern San Miguel region of the country, called …

Origin And Quantification Of Diffuse Co2 And H2s Emission At Crater Hills, Yellowstone National Park, Peipei Lin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

At Crater Hills, a thermally-altered area adjoining the Sour Creek resurgent dome that is located within the Yellowstone Caldera, we characterized volatile emissions based upon our soil degassing measurements and soil gas chemistry in 2014 and fumarole gas chemistry in 2007 (Bergfeld et al., 2011). The investigation at Crater Hills on its diffuse gases isotopes and CO2, H2S emission improve our understanding on its gas emission mode – including total emission and spatial distribution, and contribute to a more accurate estimation of total CO2 emission at Yellowstone volcanic system. The total emission of CO2 interpolated by sequential Gaussian simulation method …

Impact Of Antecedent Groundwater Heads And Transient Aquifer Storage On Flood Peak Attenuation In An Unconfined Karst Aquifer: Study Of The Upper Suwannee River, Florida, Usa., Jeremy Loucks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Flood peak attenuation is an important aspect of understanding flooding and its effects. Few studies exist that look at the effects of ground-surface water interactions in regards to peak attenuation, and fewer still focus on karst environments. In the karstic, variably confined Suwannee River Basin, discharge, river stage, and water table data that were collected over a ten-year period were analyzed to determine the relationship between antecedent groundwater head and flood peak attenuation. Flooding causes high hydraulic heads in the river, which rise faster than corresponding groundwater heads. Springs which normally feed groundwater into the river reverse flow, and conduits …