Geology Commons^™

Relay Ramp Structures And Their Influence On Groundwater Flow In The Edwards And Trinity Aquifers, Hays And Travis Counties, Central Texas, Brian B. Hunt, Brian A. Smith, Alan Andrews, Douglas Wierman, Alex S. Broun, Marcus Gary

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The Cretaceous Edwards and Middle Trinity Aquifers of central Texas are critical groundwater resources for human and ecological needs. These two major karst aquifers are stratigraphically stacked (Edwards over Trinity) and structurally juxtaposed (normal faulting) in the Balcones Fault Zone (BFZ). Studies have long recognized the importance of faulting on the development of the karstic Edwards Aquifer. However, the influence of these structures on groundwater flow is unclear as groundwater flow appears to cross some faults, but not others. This study combines structural and hydrological data to help characterize the potential influence of faults and relay ramps on groundwater flow …

The Sandstone Karst Of Pine County, Minnesota, Beverley Lynn Shade, Emmit Calvin Alexander Jr., Scott C. Alexander

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The glaciated, forested landscape of central Pine County in east-central Minnesota contains a series of sinkholes, stream sinks, springs and caves. The features are formed in Precambrian Hinckley Sandstone and overlying unconsolidated glacial deposits. This is a sandstone karst. The features serve the same function as in carbonate karst terrains: sinkholes and caves focus recharge into a heterogeneous subterranean flow system that discharges into springs. The Hinckley Sandstone is a quartz arenite. No carbonate grains or cements have been found in sandstone samples from the sinkhole area, nor is there evidence that calcite solution controls bedrock permeability. Three parameters appear …

Successful Foundation Preparations In Karst Bedrock Of The Masonry Section Of Wolf Creek Dam, David M. Robison

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Extensive foundation preparations during construction of the Wolf Creek Dam concrete masonry section precluded the need for additional rehabilitation to mitigate seepage through karstic limestone bedrock. Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River in southern Kentucky has become well known for karst related seepage issues underneath the embankment section, and yet has had little to no seepage issues associated with the concrete masonry portion of the dam. Post-construction efforts to control seepage underneath the embankment began in 1967 and 1968. Emergency grouting commenced and continued through 1970. Between 1975 and 1979 a more permanent solution of a concrete diaphragm cut-off …

Pre-Construction Rock Treatment And Soil Modification Program Using Low Mobility Grout To Mitigate Future Sinkhole Development In A 2,787.1 Square Meter (30,000 Sf) Maintenance Facility, Steven W. Shifflett

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The US Army required construction of a 2,787.1 square meters (30,000 sf) maintenance facility supported on shallow foundations at the Fort Campbell Military Installation. During the subsurface investigation a seven foot air-filled void was encountered in the bedrock within the building footprint. Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) was conducted in an attempt to determine the lateral extent of the encountered void and to establish the general prevalence of karst features at the site. Due to uncertainty in the subsurface conditions, a rock treatment and soil modification program was developed which consisted of a series of targeted exploratory grout holes advanced in …

Monitoring The Threat Of Sinkhole Formation Under A Portion Of Us 18 In Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Using Tdr Measurements, Kevin O'Connor, Matthew Trainum

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Sinkhole formation is a common occurrence in northeast Iowa, and U.S. 18 in Cerro Gordo County was constructed over an area where sinkhole formation had only been locally known. It had not been recorded or identified in the Iowa DNR database at the time. Since 2004, sinkholes have developed along the right of way. Geophysical surveys contributed very little in the identifying the cause. However a Soil Survey (drilling program) identified numerous voids within carbonate bedrock. The soil borings indicated that shale overlying the carbonate rock has been removed/eroded, and resulted in the development of a karst subsurface through the …

Concepts For Geotechnical Investigation In Karst, Joseph A. Fischer, Joseph J. Fischer

Sinkhole Conference 2015

There seems to be a lack of recognition in the literature that addresses the variety of karst in the United States of America and some of its offshore territories. For example, there are the well-known solutioned carbonates of Florida and the Caribbean, but there are also the somewhat older, harder carbonates of St. Croix, U.S.V.I. Even Florida’s recently deposited karst varies from region to region. There are also the ancient, flat-lying carbonates of the interior craton that often have semi-horizontal cavities resulting from variations in ground water levels affecting bedding and the contorted rocks of the Appalachians with its apparently …

Karst Influence In The Creation Of A Pfc Megaplume, Virginia Yingling

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are fully-fluorinated organic chemicals used to produce a wide range of industrial and commercial products. Their extreme persistence and mobility in the environment and nearly ubiquitous presence in humans and wildlife has raised serious concerns regarding their environmental and human health effects. In the 1940s to 1970s, PFC-bearing wastes were disposed of in three unlined landfills in Washington County, Minnesota. The resulting co-mingled PFC plumes created a “megaplume” that contaminated over 250 km2 of groundwater and four major drinking water aquifers; affecting eight municipal water supply systems and thousands of private wells. Site investigations revealed that karst features, …

Evaluation Of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals And Iodine For Use As A Groundwater Tracer In Hydrologic Investigation Of Contamination Related To Dairy Cattle Operations, Larry Boot Pierce, Honglin Shi

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Standard groundwater tracers such as Rhodamine WT, Fluorescein, Eosin and Tinopal CBX effectively provide a snapshot of hydrological conditions over a brief period of time and in a tightly controlled setting. However, in complex environmental situations with multiple potential sources, groundwater hydrologists are often seeking groundwater tracers that have extended longevity in the natural environment and the ability to directly pinpoint source locations. After reviewing operations of the nearby dairy it was determined that emerging contaminants, specifically two bovine veterinary pharmaceuticals (antibiotics), cephapirin sodium (CEPNa) and cephapirin benzathine (CEPB), and a sanitation agent, elemental Iodine (I) may have potential as …

Seeps And Springs At A Platteville “Observatory” On The River Bluffs, Bj Bonin, Greg Brick, Julia R. Steenberg

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Residential building construction along the Mississippi River bluffs in the 1970s created a unique enclosed outcrop of the Late Ordovician Platteville Formation at Lilydale, Minnesota. This outcrop was examined in early 2013 after a newly-formed spring flooded an elevator shaft the previous year, drawing attention to the foundation conditions. The Lexington Riverside property is a six story condominium complex constructed within the top of the bluff. A two-level underground parking garage was built into the bluff. Bedrock was mechanically excavated to accommodate the construction of the building, creating an unweathered rock surface. The space between the structure and the excavated …

Conduit Flow In The Cambrian Lone Rock Formation, Southeast Minnesota, U.S.A., John D. Barry, Jeffrey A. Green, Julia R. Steenberg

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The karst lands of southeast Minnesota contain more than one hundred trout streams that receive perennial discharge from Paleozoic bedrock springs. Several of the Paleozoic bedrock units that provide discharge are karst aquifers. Field investigations into the flow characteristics of these formations have been conducted using fluorescent dyes to map groundwater springsheds and characterize groundwater flow velocities for use in water resource protection. Recent field work has focused on the Cambrian Lone Rock Formation, a siliciclastic unit consisting of very fine-grained sandstone and siltstone with minor beds of shale and dolostone. The formation is mapped within tributary valleys of the …

Hydrologic And Geochemical Dynamics Of Vadose Zone Recharge In A Mantled Karst Aquifer: Results Of Monitoring Drip Waters In Mystery Cave, Minnesota, Daniel H. Doctor, E. Calvin Alexander Jr., Roy Jameson, Scott C. Alexander

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Caves provide direct access to flows through the vadose zone that recharge karst aquifers. Although many recent studies have documented the highly dynamic processes associated with vadose zone flows in karst settings, few have been conducted in mantled karst settings, such as that of southeastern Minnesota. Here we present some results of a long-term program of cave drip monitoring conducted within Mystery Cave, Minnesota. In this study, two perennial ceiling drip sites were monitored between 1997 and 2001. The sites were located about 90 m (300 ft) apart along the same cave passage approximately 18 m (60 ft) below the …

Tracer Studies Conducted Nearly Two Decades Apart Elucidate Groundwater Movement Through A Karst Aquifer In The Frederick Valley Of Maryland, Keith A. White, Michael K. Cobb, Thomas Aley, Ethan Weikel

Sinkhole Conference 2015

A pair of groundwater tracer studies at a single karst test site were completed 18 years apart. The results of these studies have provided evidence of both relatively rapid advective transport via conduits and an extreme capacity for dye storage and retardation. The tracer results, coupled with other subsurface investigation data, are used to develop a conceptual model for groundwater movement through this karst aquifer in the Frederick Valley of Maryland, as well as identify implications for remediation. Three fluorescent tracer dyes used in the initial study were detected in several background monitoring locations established for the second study conducted …

Hydrological And Hydrogeological Characteristics Of The Platform Karst (Zemo Imereti Plateau, Georgia), Zaza Lezhava, Nana Bolashvili, Kukuri Tsikarishvili, Lasha Asanidze, Nino Chikhradze

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The article discusses the hydrological and hydrogeological characteristics of the platform karst of Zemo Imereti plateau. The structural plateau of Zemo Imereti is the part of the intermountain plain karst zone of Georgia and one of the interesting parts of the karst relief development. The above mentioned karst region includes the easternmost part of western Georgia, which is characterized by peculiar natural conditions (relief, tectonics, climate, surface and underground streams) and represents one of the significant platform karst regions in the Caucasus. On the basis of the cartographic materials (GIS) analysis and borehole data the general scheme of hydrogeological setting …

Hydrogeological Dynamic Variability In The Lomme Karst System (Belgium) As Evidenced By Tracer Tests Results (Karag Project), Amaël Poulain, Gaëtan Rochez, Vincent Hallet

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Paleozoic carbonate aquifers represent major groundwater resources in Belgium. Karstification processes affect most of them and Belgium counts many hydrologically active karst networks. Given the intrinsic vulnerability of such geological objects, comprehensive studies are required in order to improve their protection and management. The KARAG project (Karst Aquifer ReseArch by Geophysic, 2013-2017) aims to identify the specific dynamic of karst aquifers by using geophysical and hydrogeological tools. This research is funded by the Belgium National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) and conducted by the University of Namur, University of Mons and the Royal Observatory of Belgium. The LKS – Lomme …

Cave Development In An Uplifting Fold-And-Thrust Belt Of The Tatra Mountains, Poland, Jacek Szczygieł

International Journal of Speleology

Detailed structural analysis and geomorphological observations supplemented by the analysis of the distribution of karst conduit directions have been performed in 23 morphologically diverse caves in the Tatra Mountains. Based on these studies, a development scheme of vadose cave passages has been proposed for the most common geological settings in the fold-and-thrust-belt: (1) single-plain faults, (2) multiple fault cores, (3) bedding plane fractures and (4) hinge zones of recumbent folds. Results indicate that the dynamics of the massif (local gravity sliding in the nearby slope zone and regional stress fields), along with the structural pattern, influences the predisposition of structural …

A New Microenvironment For The Formation Of Clay Minerals: The Example Of Authigenic Halloysite-7Å And Gibbsite In A Stalactite From Agios Georgios Cave, Kilkis, North Greece, Elena Ifandi, Basilios Tsikouras, Dimitrios Papoulis, Konstantin Hatzipanagiotou, Aspasia Antonelou

International Journal of Speleology

An unusual authigenic origin for halloysite and gibbsite is reported in a stalactite from Agios Georgios Cave, Kilkis. This speleothem includes mostly pure calcite whereas minor areas of Mg-rich calcite and scarce dolomite are present in four growth phases. Abundant pores are created due to imperfect coalescence of the calcite crystals. Several of them contain detrital muscovite, which was presumably transferred from the dripping water, during the formation of speleothem and has been variably altered to halloysite. Several pores in the stalactite contain different mineral assemblages that we interpret as in situ: halloysite-7Å, halloysite + silica, gibbsite + silica and …

Late Quaternary Speleogenesis And Landscape Evolution In A Tropical Carbonate Island: Pango La Kuumbi (Kuumbi Cave), Zanzibar, Nikos Kourampas, Ceri Shipton, William Mills, Ruth Tibesasa, Henrietta Horton, Mark Horton, Mary Prendergast, Alison Crowther, Katerina Douka, Patrick Faulkner, Llorenç Picornell, Nicole Boivin

International Journal of Speleology

Kuumbi Cave is one of a group of caves that underlie a flight of marine terraces in Pleistocene limestone in eastern Zanzibar (Indian Ocean). Drawing on the findings of geoarchaeological field survey and archaeological excavation, we discuss the formation and evolution of Kuumbi Cave and its wider littoral landscape. In the later part of the Quaternary (last ca. 250,000 years?), speleogenesis and terrace formation were driven by the interplay between glacioeustatic sea level change and crustal uplift at rates of ca. 0.10-0.20 mm/yr. Two units of backreef/reef limestone were deposited during ‘optimal’ (highest) highstands, tentatively correlated with MIS 7 and …

Shaw T. & Alenka ČUk, 2015. Slovene Karst And Caves In The Past, Arrigo A. Cigna

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Hermeneutics: Counting Forestructures On A Path From W.M. Davis To The Concept Of Multiple-Permeability Karst Aquifers, H. L. Vacher, Lee J. Florea

International Journal of Speleology

Hermeneutics is the theory of interpretation. One of its major components is recognizing prejudgments, or forestructures, that we bring to our objects of study. In this paper, we construct a historical narrative of the evolution of thinking about the role of caves in relation to groundwater flow in limestone, and we tabulate forestructures as they appear in the story. This account consists of three overlapping time periods: the before and after of an incident that repelled hydrogeologists and students of karst from each other in the middle of the 20^th century; a period, up to around the turn of …

Mid-Holocene Speleothem Climate Proxy Records From Florida And Belize, Anna L. Pollock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As global temperatures rise due to anthropogenic climate change, water resources, thus economies, are threatened. A geologically recent period of increased temperatures is the mid-Holocene and an investigation of its climate may allow for a better understanding of future precipitation and changes to regional water resources. The regions of interest are tropical Northern Central America and subtropical North America with Belize and Florida representing each climate zone. By reconstructing mid-Holocene climate in Florida and Belize, I hope to provide a better understanding of how increased temperatures and a reduced latitudinal temperature gradient impacts both precipitation patterns and variability. Today, drivers …

Morphodynamics Of Mullet Key, West-Central Florida, Emeli Sandoval

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mullet Key is a right angle barrier island located at the mouth of Tampa Bay, west-central Florida. Based on historical shoreline data from 1873, the Gulf (west)-facing section of the beach has been dynamic illustrating large beach advances and retreats of up to 500 m on a decadal scale, while the south (channel)-facing section of the beach has shown to maintain a stable shoreline. This study focuses on the morphodynamics of the Gulf-facing beach. Since the 1920s, most of the Gulf-facing beach has been accreting except at the southern end near the Tampa Bay main channel. However, over the past …

The Speleogenesis Of Vallgornera Cave (Mallorca, Spain): A Mineralogical And Morphological Study, Jacqueline Amelia Diehl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (CPV) is morphologically and scientifically, the most prominent karst feature of Mallorca Island (Spain). It consists of over 74 km of passages developed within two carbonate lithologies (reef front and back reef facies) of Upper Miocene age. Two distinct cave patterns are recognized, both tightly controlled by the type of facies; spongework mazes and collapse chambers are characteristic for the reef front unit, whereas linear, fracture-guided galleries develop in the back reef carbonates. CPV is abundantly decorated with a variety of speleothems.

The overarching goal of this study is to provide evidence towards the cave's …

Karst Porosity Estimations From Archive Cave Surveys - Studies In The Buda Thermal Karst System (Hungary), Gáspár Albert, Magdolna Virág, Anita Erőss

International Journal of Speleology

The Buda Thermal Karst System is located under the densely populated hills of Budapest. One of its caves (Pál-völgy Cave System) is the longest cave of Hungary with 30.1 km. The research was done in this area as a methodological study to estimate karst porosity parameters of aquifers or hydrocarbon reservoirs. In this study two modeling methods are demonstrated. The volumetric modeling method was primarily aimed to determine the macro-scale (>0.5 m) conduit porosity (referred as macroporosity) of the study area as percentage of the incorporating limestone and marl. This method is based on archive survey data (maps and …

Driftless Area Karst Of Northwestern Illinois And Its Effects On Groundwater Quality, Samuel V. Panno, Walton R. Kelly

Sinkhole Conference 2015

The bedrock aquifer of the Driftless Area of northwestern Illinois is Ordovician-age Galena Dolomite. Previous work by the authors and others showed that the geology and hydrogeology of this area fall well within the definition of karst. Bedrock in the study area has been shown to be extensively fractured and creviced; karst features in the county are dominated by solution-enlarged crevices from 0.4 inches to 3 feet wide within most road cuts and quarries examined. Other karst features include cover-collapse sinkholes ranging from 3 to 25 feet in diameter overlying Galena Dolomite, karst springs and crevice caves. A preliminary evaluation …

Modeling Intrusive Geometries Of A Shallow Crustal Intrusion: New Evidence From Mount Ellsworth, Utah, Nathan Nushart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Surface displacements resulting from upper-crustal intrusion of melt are a paramount concern for communities and facilities located in or near active volcanic areas (e.g. Campi Flegrei, Yucca Mtn.). Study of active intrusions such as Campi Flegrei, Italy west of Mt. Vesuvius, is limited to remote observations through geophysical/geodetic procedures. While the surface displacement due to melt emplacement at depth can easily be determined, the geometries and depth of intrusions are often based on simplified assumptions (e.g. spheres and prolate or oblate ellipsoids). These models benefit from data constraining both the geometries of the individual intrusions, and the kinematics and mechanics …

Communication Of Lava Flow Hazards At The San Francisco Volcanic Field, Flagstaff, Arizona, Catherine St. John Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines different methods of communicating volcanic hazards to the population of Flagstaff, Arizona using the results of a recent lava flow hazard assessment of the nearby San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF). Harburger (2014) determined that given a lava flow originating in the SFVF, there is a statistical probability that it will inundate the city of Flagstaff or even originate from a vent within the city limits. Based on the recurrence rates for the most recent eruptions (3 x 10-4/year), the probability of lava flow inundation in Flagstaff is 1.1 x 10-5 per year.

This study considers the effects …

Schreibersite: Synthesis, Characterization And Corrosion And Possible Implications For Origin Of Life, Nikita Latesha La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present study of the synthesis and reactions of an analog of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite with formula (Fe,Ni)3P, believed to be a prebiotic source of reactive phosphorus that may have prompted the formation of phosphorylated biomolecules near the time of the origin of life (Pasek and Lauretta, 2005). The mineral was synthesized by mixing stoichiometric proportions of elemental iron, nickel and phosphorus and heating in a tube furnace at 820°C for approximately 235 hours under argon or under vacuum, a modification of the method of Skála and Drábek (2002). The mineral was characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron …

Nearest Neighbor Foreign Exchange Rate Forecasting With Mahalanobis Distance, Vindya Kumari Pathirana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Foreign exchange (FX) rate forecasting has been a challenging area of study in the past. Various linear and nonlinear methods have been used to forecast FX rates. As the currency data are nonlinear and highly correlated, forecasting through nonlinear dynamical systems is becoming more relevant. The nearest neighbor (NN) algorithm is one of the most commonly used nonlinear pattern recognition and forecasting methods that outperforms the available linear forecasting methods for the high frequency foreign exchange data. The basic idea behind the NN is to capture the local behavior of the data by selecting the instances having similar dynamic behavior. …

Ground-Coupled Air Waves: A Seismological Case Study Of The Explosion Quakes Of The 2007 Eruption Of Pavlof Volcano, Alaska, Cassandra Marie Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An abnormally high number of explosion quakes were noted during the monitoring effort for the 2007 eruption of Pavlof Volcano on the Alaskan Peninsula. In this study we manually counted the explosion quakes from their characteristic ground-coupled air waves. This study makes an effort at better quantifying the number of explosion quakes and how the characteristic ground-coupled air waves are affected by wind direction and wind speed. Additionally this study investigates how the ground coupled air waves might be used in a monitoring or analysis effort by calculating energy release and gas mass release. Over 3.2x10⁴ quakes were recorded. …

Glaciological Applications Of Terrestrial Radar Interferometry, Denis Voytenko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial Radar Interferometry (TRI) is a relatively new ground-based technique that combines the precision and spatial resolution of satellite interferometry with the temporal resolution of GPS. Although TRI has been applied to a variety of fields including bridge and landslide monitoring, it is ideal for studies of the highly-dynamic terminal zones of marine-terminating glaciers, some of which are known to have variable velocities related to calving and/or ocean-forced melting. My TRI instrument is the Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer, which operates at 17.2 GHz (1.74 cm wavelength), has two receiving antennas for DEM (digital elevation model) generation, and images the scenes …