Geology Commons^™

Bedrock Geologic Mapping And Structural Analysis Of The Western Half Of The Petersham Quadrangle, Central Massachusetts: Further Tests Of The Model For Middle To Late Paleozoic Ductile Transpression, Vertical Extrusion, And Lateral Escape In The Northern Appalachians, Lucas P. Rohrer

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Bedrock mapping, structural analysis, and geochronology reveal the distribution of lithologies and timing of metamorphism and deformation in the western half of the Petersham 7.5’ quadrangle, western Massachusetts. Underlying lithologies are: (from west to east) the Ordovician Monson granitic orthogneiss, Silurian Rangeley migmatitic paragneiss, and Late Devonian (357 Ma) Hardwick tonalitic orthogneiss. Their tightly folded contacts strike north to south. The 361 Ma, unfoliated, strike-parallel Nichewaug quartz-diorite (10-100 m wide) intrusion spans the map area within the Rangeley. Evidence for vertical and lateral extrusion/escape of the Monson orthogneiss, as observed in the Palmer MA area, is absent. Instead, petrofabrics (foliations …

Fluvial Responses To Growth Faulting In The West Pearl River, Louisiana, Stephen A. Prosser

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southeastern Louisiana is an actively deforming deltaic complex displaying surface and near-surface evidence of growth faulting. Active growth faults in these environments are rarely identified at the surface, in part because the downthrown blocks often experience increased rates of sediment deposition leading to an obscured and low-relief, or entirely absent, surface expression. Faulting can be expressed in fluvial systems as changes in channel gradient, which often result in coincident changes in channel sinuosity, migration rates, planform deflections, and/or ponding features within the deformed zone. The study area is focused on a meander bend of …

Kentucky Geological Survey Landslide Inventory: From Design To Application, Matthew M. Crawford

Information Circular--KGS

The Kentucky Geological Survey is compiling a landslide inventory database to better document the distribution and geologic context of Kentucky’s landslides. The database provides users with easy access to landslide information, raises awareness of landslide causes, and will help prevent property damage or injury. The database was used to create an online landslide information map, which provides online access to landslide data and gives users the ability to customize the map using other data layers pertinent to landslides. The database design is based on common attributes collected by other states with active inventories and landslide hazard programs, as well as …

Geology Of The Kentucky Geological Survey Marvin Blan No. 1 Well, East-Central Hancock County, Kentucky, J. Richard Bowersox, David A. Williams

Report of Investigations--KGS

The Kentucky Geological Survey’s Marvin Blan No. 1 well was drilled in east-central Hancock County, Ky., about 4 mi southwest of the Ohio River, to demonstrate CO₂ injection in the Western Kentucky Coal Field, following the mandate and partial funding from Kentucky’s House Bill 1, August 2007. Installation of a groundwater monitoring well was required as a condition of obtaining a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Underground Injection Control Class V Permit prior to drilling the Blan well; however, no groundwater was encountered under the Blan well site. The groundwater monitoring well was immediately plugged and abandoned in accordance with …

Hydrogeologic Investigations Of Pavement Subsidence In The Cumberland Gap Tunnel, James S. Dinger, James C. Currens, Junfeng Zhu, Steven E. Webb, Brad W. Rister, R. C. Graves, David L. Allen, Tim C. Scully

Report of Investigations--KGS

Cumberland Gap Tunnel was constructed under Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in 1996 to improve transportation on a segment of U.S. 25E, connecting Kentucky and Tennessee and restoring Cumberland Gap to its historical appearance.

The concrete pavement in the tunnel started to subside in 2001. Ground penetrating radar surveys revealed voids in many areas of the limestone roadbed aggregate beneath the pavement. To investigate possible hydrogeologic processes that may have caused favorable conditions for voids to form in the aggregate, we studied geology, groundwater flow, and groundwater chemistry in the tunnel using a variety of methods, including bore drilling, packer …

Science And Public Policy Of Earthquake Hazard Mitigation In The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Alice M. Orton

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

In the central United States, undefined earthquake sources, long earthquake recurrence intervals and uncertain ground motion attenuation models have contributed to an overstatement of regional seismic hazard for the New Madrid Seismic Zone on the National Seismic Hazard Maps. This study examined concerns regarding scientific uncertainties, overly stringent seismic mitigation policies and depressed local economy in western Kentucky through a series of informal interviews with local businessmen, public officials, and other professionals in occupations associated with seismic mitigation. Scientific and relative economic analyses were then performed using scenario earthquake models developed with FEMA’s Hazus-MH software. Effects of the 2008 Wenchuan …

Shallow Groundwater Monitoring Associated With The Deep Saline Reservoir Co2 Storage Test In Hancock County, Kentucky, E. Glynn Beck

Report of Investigations--KGS

A carbon dioxide injection test well was drilled in 2009 to a depth of 8,126 ft below ground surface in Hancock County, Kentucky. Six hundred ninety tons of CO₂ was successfully injected into Knox Group saline aquifers. Two domestic wells (MB and GB) and two domestic springs (CA and RC) were sampled to monitor any potential changes in groundwater quality associated with possible migration of CO₂ from deeper saline aquifers into shallow freshwater aquifers. The four sites were sampled for pH, bicarbonate, total dissolved solids, turbidity, anions, total dissolved metals, dissolved inorganic carbon, total CO₂, and …

Using Time-Lapse Three Dimensional Vertical Seismic Profiling To Monitor Injected Fluids During Geologic Carbon Sequestration, John B. Hickman

Report of Investigations--KGS

Two three-dimensional vertical seismic profiles (3D-VSP) were acquired at the KGS Marvin Blan No. 1 CO₂ sequestration research well outside of Cloverport in Hancock County, Ky. The initial (preinjection) survey was performed September 15-16, 2010, and was followed by the injection of 361.2 metric tons of supercritical CO₂ and then 584 m³ of 2 percent potassium chloride water (to displace the remaining CO₂ in the wellbore) on September 22, 2010. After injection, the well was shut in with a downhole pressure of 17.5 MPa at the injected reservoir depth of 1,545.3 m. A second 3D-VSP was …

Determining Hillslope Diffusion Rates In A Boreal Forest: Quaternary Fluvial Terraces In The Nenana River Valley, Central Alaska Range, Laurel Anne Walker

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The subarctic boreal forest biome is predicted to experience higher magnitudes of warming than other biomes due to climate change. The effects of this warming will be pronounced in areas underlain by discontinuous permafrost where melting permafrost and distinct changes in vegetation patterns are expected. To better understand rates of hillslope diffusion in the boreal forest I have used a geomorphic process modeling approach, using data from a sequence of Quaternary fluvial terraces located in the Nenana River valley of central Alaska. I hypothesized that diffusion rates here would be slower when compared to the mid-latitudes, and faster on north …

Holocene Sedimentary Responses To Growth Faulting In A Back-Barrier Setting: East Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, Phillip Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The structural framework of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal zone is characterized by numerous growth fault systems. Neotectonic processes in coastal marshes in this region have been shown to be important drivers of relative sea-level rise as well as having significant influence on marsh accretion processes. One active growth fault has been identified at East Matagorda Peninsula, Texas. To characterize the Holocene behavior of this fault and the consequent sedimentary responses, a suite of fallout radionuclides (⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb) and radiocarbon, supplemented by sediment physical property data have been used to determine sediment mixing depths, …

A Petrographic Characterization Of The Leatherwood Coal Bed In Eastern Kentucky, Michelle N. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Eastern Kentucky Coal Field is located in the central portion of the Appalachian Basin. The Pennsylvanian Breathitt Formation in this region is characterized by numerous sequences of bituminous coal-bearing sedimentary rocks. These coals have distinct maceral compositions due to variations in depositional environments. Coal characterization is an important method for determining conditions that influenced peat accumulation and overall depositional settings of mires.

This study focuses on the characterization of the maceral composition of the Middle Pennsylvanian-age Leatherwood coal bed. It utilizes petrographical, palynological, and geochemical analyses to describe specific depositional environments and associated peat accumulation conditions.

Petrographic analyses indicate …

Age Of The Walden Creek Group, Western Blue Ridge Province: Resolving A Decades-Old Controversy Via Detrital Mineral Geochronology And Sedimentary Provenance Analysis, Evan A. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Originally mapped as Precambrian and uppermost Ocoee Supergroup (OS), recent discoveries of Paleozoic microfossils have placed the Walden Creek Group (WCG), eastern Tennessee, into a younger depositional framework (Silurian or younger). In this study, monazite geochronology using SIMs, detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology determined by LA-ICP-MS, feldspar compositions determined by microprobe, zircon-tourmaline-rutile (ZTR) indices, and framework mineral modes were used to characterize provenance of sandstones of the WCG. Monazite ages cluster at 450 and 1050 Ma. All Ordovician ages are from grains that, in BSE images, have inclusion-rich microtextures interpreted as diagenetic and/or metamorphic, thus requiring that the WCG was deposited …

The Nature And Origin Of Cyclicity In The Cleveland Member Of The Ohio Shale (Upper Devonian), Northeastern Kentucky, U.S.A., Alice C. O'Bryan

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Cleveland Shale displays a characteristic and distinctive pattern of promontories and recessed intervals on weathered outcrops, which appears to represent cyclicity. This weathering pattern can be observed in other shales, both within and outside the Appalachian Basin; so determining the nature of these cycles may be critical for understanding the origin of, not only the Cleveland Shale, but also of black shales in general. Cyclicity in the Cleveland was examined on a decimeter-to-meter scale using lithologic characterization, gamma-ray stratigraphy and x-ray fluorescence, and on a millimeter-to-centimeter scale using organic petrography. Lithologic characterization and gamma-ray stratigraphy revealed Milankovitch-band fourth- and …

Paleoseismic And Structural Characterization Of The Hines Creek Fault: Denali National Park And Preserve, Alaska, Sara E. Federschmidt

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Hines Creek fault (HCF) is a Holocene-active fault in central Alaska. Its trace has been mapped several times, but data on the history of fault displacement is scarce. As a major crustal-scale geologic boundary with uncertain Quaternary tectonic activity, it is a priority for more to be known about the activity of this fault to better understand the hazards it presents to the Denali National Park and Preserve and Alaskan infrastructure. This study characterizes the late Quaternary activity of the HCF through surficial geologic mapping and paleoseismic investigations. Mapping revealed a very steep (~84°-88° apparent dip), north dipping fault …

Instrument Correction And Dynamic Site Profile Validation At The Central United States Seismic Observatory, New Madrid Seismic Zone, Clayton M.J. Brengman

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Central United States Seismic Observatory (CUSSO), is a fifteen-element array of three-component accelerometers and seismometers in the New Madrid seismic zone, within the upper Mississippi embayment. Its location within the thick (up to 1 km) sequences of unlithified sediment comprising the embayment, make CUSSO a unique array in its ability to directly measure seismic wave propagation, including ground motion site effect; however, before the observational data can be used for analysis, the orientation and instrument response of the CUSSO array must be defined. This study used cross-correlation and direct comparisons to filter out the instrument response and determine the …

Application Of The Kalman Filter On Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry Data Around The Vinton Salt Dome, Louisiana, Mahnaz Sepehrmanesh

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Full tensor gravity (FTG) data are known for their high resolution but also for higher noise in its components due to the dynamic nature of the platform used for data acquisition. Although a review of the literature suggests steady increase in the success of gravity gradiometry, we still cannot take advantage of the full potential of the method, mostly because of the noise with the same amplitude and wavenumber characteristics as the signal that affects these data. Smoothing from common low pass filters removes small wavelength features and makes it difficult to detect structural features and other density variations of …

Geology Of The West Half Of The Cove Creek Gap Quadrangle And Adjacent Areas, Western North Carolina: Insights Into Eastern Great Smoky Mountains Tectonometamorphism, Daniel F. Spaulding

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Three outstanding problems related to the tectonic evolution of the Western Blue Ridge in the eastern Great Smoky Mtns. (GSM) include: (1) the nature of the Greenbrier Fault, previously interpreted as a younger over older pre-Taconic thrust fault with ~24 km of displacement between the Snowbird and Great Smoky Groups; (2) the relationship of regional metamorphism, expressed by the growth of porphyroblastic index minerals, to folding and foliation development in pelitic metasediments; (3) the relation of deformation to regional Taconian metamorphism. These problems were addressed in previous studies that did not have detailed mapping and petrography as a context. By …

From Geology To Art History: Ceramist Alexandre Brongniart’S Overlooked Contribution To The Developing Science Of Art History In The Early Nineteenth Century, Julia A. Carr-Trebelhorn

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Alexandre Brongniart was known for his work as an important geologist and as an administrator at the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, but his roles as art historian and museologist are overlooked. Brongniart created a holistic methodology taken directly from science and applied it to ceramic art of all cultures and eras. He had a uniquely modern perspective on time, world culture, and archeology. Brongniart wrote about the art of Asia and the Americas on an equal status with that of the Classical West at least fifty years before it became a mainstream idea. Brongniart integrated scientific principle and practice into the …

Is Security Sustainable?, Jeremy W. Crampton

Geography Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Middle And Late Devonian New Albany Shale In The Kentucky Geological Survey Marvin Blan No. 1 Well, Hancock County, Kentucky, Brandon C. Nuttall

Report of Investigations--KGS

A 30-ft section of core was recovered in the Grassy Creek Member of the New Albany Shale in the Kentucky Geological Survey Marvin Blan No. 1 well, Hancock County, Ky. (permit 104925, API No. 16091013960000). Analysis characterized the New Albany Shale as a regional seal for preventing vertical migration of carbon dioxide stored in deeper zones, as a natural gas reservoir, and for its potential for enhanced gas recovery and sequestration of carbon dioxide. A show of natural gas at the top of the New Albany Shale was encountered during drilling. Core was recovered in an aluminum sleeve cut into …

Predicting The Dynamic Behavior Of Coal Mine Tailings Using State-Of-Practice Geotechnical Field Methods, Ali Salehian

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This study is focused on developing a method to predict the dynamic behavior of mine tailings dams under earthquake loading. Tailings dams are a by-product of coal mining and processing activities. Mine tailings impoundments are prone to instability and failure under seismic loading as a result of the mechanical behavior of the tailings. Due to the existence of potential seismic sources in close proximity to the coal mining regions in the United States, it is necessary to assess the post-earthquake stability of these tailings dams.

To develop the aforementioned methodology, 34 cyclic triaxial tests along with vane shear tests were …

Seismic Velocity Database For The New Madrid Seismic Zone And Its Vicinity, Qian Li, Edward W. Woolery, Matthew M. Crawford, David M. Vance

Information Circular--KGS

Over the last 20 years, researchers at the University of Kentucky have collected seismic-reflection and refraction data to characterize seismic velocity models of the soil-sediment overburden throughout the central United States. The data are in different forms, such as published reports, theses, and journal articles, and in digital form. In order to construct a unified database for easier management, access, and use, Microsoft Access was used to design the data structure and field properties. The database consists of four tables with unified field names, data type, and units. An ArcGIS geodatabase with the same data structure as the Access database …

Limetstone And Dolomite Resources Of Kentucky, Garland R. Dever Jr., Gerald A. Weisenfluh

Map and Chart--KGS

Large quantities of limestone and dolomite suitable for construction, agriculture, and industrial uses are available in Kentucky. Deposits of hard and durable stone are quarried and mined for construction. The stone is crushed to produce aggregate for concrete and asphalt used in the construction of highways, streets, and buildings. Much of the state’s stone being produced for construction also meets the chemical and physical specifications for aglime, which is used to adjust the pH of soils for agricultural crops and pastures. Deposits of chemically pure stone are used for the manufacture of lime and cement, and for industrial applications such …

Modeling Of Co2-Water-Rock Interactions In A Mississippian Sandstone Reservoir Of Kentucky, Anne M. Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This study examined CO₂-water-rock interactions occurring during a carbon sequestration pilot test into a Mississippian oil reservoir in western Kentucky. New samples (n=62) and archived data, both collected from oil wells, were used to characterize the chemistry of formation waters from the Sugar Creek field in Hopkins County. In addition, core and cuttings samples (n=17) from the reservoir and overlying cap-rocks in, or near, the field were analyzed for bulk and clay mineralogy using X-ray diffraction. Electric logs were used to select sample intervals within the overlying cap-rocks and the center of the producing zones in the Jackson …

Class I Waste-Disposal Wells And Class Ii Brine-Injection Wells In Kentucky, Thomas N. Sparks, David C. Harris, J. Richard Bowersox

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows locations of disposal wells permitted and regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under parts of their Underground Injection Control program. Only UIC Class I and Class II disposal wells are illustrated and described. EPA defines Class I as industrial and municipal waste-disposal wells and Class II as oil- and gas-related injection wells (EPA, 2012a). Disposal wells are designed to protect underground sources of drinking water. The primary function of this map is to provide general information about type, name, location, geology, and depth of injection zone for these disposal wells on a statewide basis.

Joint Orientations In The Red River Gorge Geological Area, East-Central Kentucky, Steven L. Martin

Information Circular--KGS

The Red River Gorge Geological Area and Clifty Wilderness Area of Daniel Boone National Forest and Natural Bridge State Park in east-central Kentucky provide an excellent opportunity to observe and study differential weathering and erosion, mass wasting, and jointing in the development of cliffs, rock shelters, and natural arches. Joints in the study area have varying orientations, but dominant northeast- and northwest-striking orientations are prevalent. Jointing in the study area is related to unloading of overburden and regional tectonic stresses. Unloading joints result from removal of overburden from a rock mass, and orientations of joints are controlled by either residual …

Thermobarometry Of Metamorphosed Pseudotachylyte And Determination Of Seismic Rupture Depth During Devonian Caledonian Extension, North Norway, Susan E. Leib

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Crustal faulting has long been known as the source of shallow seismicity, and the seismogenic zone is the depth (3-15 km) within the crust that is capable of co-seismic slip, largely under brittle conditions. However, some continental seismicity occurs at depths >> 15 km. I performed thermobarometry of mylonitic pseudotachylyte to determine the P-T of a seismogenic extensional fault in the Caledonian Norwegian margin. Two shear zones (Eidsfjord and Fiskfjord) located in northern Norway exhibit brittle extension propagating into the ductile regime of the lower crust as evidenced by the presence of pseudotachylyte. Averages from Eidsfjord (653 ± 38°C and 570 …

Spatio-Temporal Variability In Groundwater Discharge And Contaminant Fluxes Along A Channelized Stream In Western Kentucky, Ganesh N. Tripathi

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Spatio-temporal variability in groundwater discharge and contaminant fluxes along a channelized stream in western Kentucky

Surface and groundwater discharges and contaminant fluxes can vary with time and space depending upon the hydrogeological processes and geological setting of the area of interest. This study examined a ~300-m-long, channelized reach of a first-order perennial stream, Little Bayou Creek, in the Coastal Plain of far western Kentucky during the period October 2010–February 2012. Along the study reach, springs discharge groundwater contaminated by the chlorinated organic compound trichloroethene (TCE) and radionuclide technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) released as a result of past activities at the …

Abiotic Nitrate And Nitrite Reactivity With Iron Oxide Minerals, Prakash Dhakal

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Under iron (Fe³⁺)-reducing conditions where aqueous Fe²⁺ and unreduced solid Fe³⁺-oxides commonly coexist, soil Fe²⁺ oxidation has been shown to be coupled with nitrate (NO₃^-) reduction. One possible secondary reaction is the involvement of NO₃^- and nitrite (NO₂^-) with Fe-oxide minerals found in many natural environments. Yet, spectroscopic measurements and kinetic data on reactivity of NO₃^- and NO₂^- with Fe-containing oxide minerals such as goethite (a-FeOOH), and magnetite (Fe₃O­₄) are not found in the literature. The reactivity of …

Depositional Environments And Sequence Stratigraphy Of A Breathitt Group Exposure, U.S. 25e, Flat Lick, Kentucky, Kathryn E. Hoffmeister, Eric G. Hogan, Steven M. Holland

Information Circular--KGS

The Pennsylvanian fluvial deltaic Breathitt Group is exposed along U.S. 25E near Flat Lick, Ky. This exposure is ideal for field trips because of the quality of the exposure, its accessibility, the range of facies present, and its potential for demonstrating principles of outcrop-based sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Eight facies are present and represent deposition in fluvial, delta-plain, and delta-front environments. Several facies contain an abundance of trace fossils, and a wide range of sedimentary structures are also present. Flooding surfaces are well developed in the delta front and delta plain and are characterized by abrupt contacts with distal, deeper-water deltaic environments …