Geology Commons^™

Mapview And Cross Section Animations, Jason Luke

Faculty Publications

Movie 1: A series of time slices animated through the amplitude volume. Movie 2: A series of time slices animated through the semblance volume. Movie 3: Cross section animation from SW-NE through the amplitude volume. Movie 4: Cross section animation from SW-NE through the semblance volume.

Three-Dimensional Seismic Study Of Pluton Emplacement, Offshore Northwestern New Zealand, Jason Allen Luke

Theses and Dissertations

Detailed 3D seismic images of a volcano-plutonic complex offshore northwestern New Zealand indicate the intrusive complex lies in a relay zone between NE-trending en echelon normal faults. A series of high angle normal faults fan out from the margin of the Southern Intrusive Complex and cut the folded strata along the margin. These faults terminate against the margins of the intrusion, extend as much as 1 pluton diameter away from the margin, and then merge with regional faults that are part of the Northern Taranaki Graben. Offset along these faults is on the order of 10s to over 100 meters. …

Projected Surface Raidiative Forcing Due To 2000-2050 Land-Cover Land-Use Albedo Change Over The Eastern United States, Christoper A. Barnes, David P. Roy, Thomas R. Loveland

GSCE Faculty Publications

Satellite-derived contemporary land-cover land-use (LCLU) and albedo data and modeled future LCLU are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 2000 to 2050 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 19 ecoregions in the eastern United States. The modeled 2000–2050 LCLU changes indicate a future decrease in both agriculture and forested land and an increase in developed land that induces ecoregion radiative forcings ranging from −0.175 to 0.432 W m−2 driven predominately by differences in the area and type of LCLU change. At the regional scale, these projected LCLU changes induce a net negative albedo decrease (−0.001) and …

Sensitivity Analysis Of The Gems Soil Organic Carbon Model To Land Cover Land Use Classification Uncertainties Under Different Climate Scenarios In Senegal, Amadou M. Dieye, David P. Roy, N. P. Hanan, S. Lui, M. Hansen, A. Toure

GSCE Faculty Publications

Spatially explicit land cover land use (LCLU) change information is needed to drive biogeochemical models that simulate soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Such information is increasingly being mapped using remotely sensed satellite data with classification schemes and uncertainties constrained by the sensing system, classification algorithms and land cover schemes. In this study, automated LCLU classification of multi-temporal Landsat satellite data were used to assess the sensitivity of SOC modeled by the Global Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS). The GEMS was run for an area of 1560km2 in Senegal under three climate change scenarios with LCLU maps generated using different Landsat …

Georadar-Derived Estimates Of Firn Density In The Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet, Joel Brown, John Bradford, Joel T. Harper, W. Tad Pfeffer, Neil Humphrey, Ellen Mosley-Thompson

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Greater understanding of variations in firn densification is needed to distinguish between dynamic and melt-driven elevation changes on the Greenland ice sheet. This is especially true in Greenland’s percolation zone, where firn density profiles are poorly documented because few ice cores are extracted in regions with surface melt.We used geoader to investigate firn density variations with depth along an about 70 km transect through a portion of the accumulation area in western Greenland that partially melts. We estimated electromagnetic wave velocity by inverting reflection travel times picked from common midpoint gathers. We followed a procedure designed to find the simplest …

Thermal Tracking Of Meltwater Retention In Greenland’S Accumulation Area, Neil F. Humphrey, Joel T. Harper, W. Tad Pfeffer

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Poorly understood processes controlling retention of meltwater in snow and firn have important implications for Greenland Ice Sheet’s mass balance and flow dynamics. Here we present results from a 3 year (2007-2009) field campaign studying firn thermal profiles and density structure along an 85 km transect of the percolation zone of west Greenland. We installed one or two thermistor strings at 14 study sites, each string having 32 sensors spaced between 0 and 10 m depth. Data from our network of over 500 sensors were collected at 15-60 min intervals for 1-2 years, thereby recording the thermal signature of meltwater …

Allen-Carlson, Dawn Elaine (Fa 34), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 34. [Dr. Joe Daugherty: collector] Oral history project completed by Dawn Elaine Allen-Carlson concerning the collections of Daugherty for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Contains data sheet, journal, 2 indices, tape summary and transcription.

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 …

Investigations Into The Degassing And Eruption Mechanisms Of Nyamuragira Volcano, Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Africa) , Elisabet Marie Head

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

One of two active volcanoes in the western branch of the East African Rift, Nyamuragira (1.408ºS, 29.20ºE; 3058 m) is located in the D.R. Congo. Nyamuragira emits large amounts of SO2 (up to ~1 Mt/day) and erupts low-silica, alkalic lavas, which achieve flow rates of up to ~20 km/hr. The source of the large SO₂ emissions and pre-eruptive magma conditions were unknown prior to this study, and 1994-2010 lava volumes were only recently mapped via satellite imagery, mainly due to the region’s political instability. In this study, new olivine-hosted melt inclusion volatile (H₂O, CO₂, S, …

Comparison Of Magnetic Properties And Petrography Between Dykes And Lava Flows From La Cienega, New Mexico And Thunder Bay Area, Canada, Elise A. Desplas

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

Data on the evolution of geomagnetic paleointensity are crucial for understanding the geodynamo and Earth’s thermal history. Although basaltic flows are preferred for paleointensity experiments, quickly cooled mafic dykes have also been used. However, the paleointensity values obtained from the dykes are systematically lower than those from lava flows. This bias may originate from the difference in cooling histories and resultant magnetic mineralogies of extrusive and intrusive rocks. To explore this hypothesis, the magnetic mineralogy of two feeder dyke-lave flow systems, from Thunder Bay (Canada) and La Cienega (New-Mexico), has been studied using magnetic and microscopy methods. Within each system, …

Lava Discharge Rate Estimates From Thermal Infrared Satellite Data At Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala , Hilary A. Morgan

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

Time-averaged discharge rates (TADR) were calculated for five lava flows at Pacaya Volcano (Guatemala), using an adapted version of a previously developed satellite-based model. Imagery acquired during periods of effusive activity between the years 2000 and 2010 were obtained from two sensors of differing temporal and spatial resolutions; the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) Imager. A total of 2873 MODIS and 2642 GOES images were searched manually for volcanic “hot spots”. It was found that MODIS imagery, with superior spatial resolution, produced better results than GOES imagery, so only MODIS data were used …

Remote Sensing Of Volcanic Plumes Using The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission And Reflection Radiometer (Aster)., Lorna Alison Henney

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

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) has been used to quantify SO₂ emissions from passively degassing volcanoes. This dissertation explores ASTER’s capability to detect SO2 with satellite validation, enhancement techniques and extensive processing of images at a variety of volcanoes. ASTER is compared to the Mini UV Spectrometer (MUSe), a ground based instrument, to determine if reasonable SO₂ fluxes can be quantified from a plume emitted from Lascar, Chile. The two sensors were in good agreement with ASTER proving to be a reliable detector of SO₂. ASTER illustrated the advantages of imaging a …

Sampling Bias In Evaluating The Probability Of Seismically Induced Soil Liquefaction With Spt & Cpt Case Histories, Abhishek Jain

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

Several deterministic and probabilistic methods are used to evaluate the probability of seismically induced liquefaction of a soil. The probabilistic models usually possess some uncertainty in that model and uncertainties in the parameters used to develop that model. These model uncertainties vary from one statistical model to another. Most of the model uncertainties are epistemic, and can be addressed through appropriate knowledge of the statistical model. One such epistemic model uncertainty in evaluating liquefaction potential using a probabilistic model such as logistic regression is sampling bias. Sampling bias is the difference between the class distribution in the sample used for …

Using Auto- And Cross-Correlations From Seismic Noise To Monitor Velocity Changes At Villarrica Volcano, Chile, Kathleen F. Mckee

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

We used the Green's functions from auto-correlations and cross-correlations of seismic ambient noise to monitor temporal velocity changes in the subsurface at Villarrica volcano in the Southern Andes of Chile. Campaigns were conducted from March to October 2010 and February to April 2011 with 8 broadband and 6 short-period stations, respectively. We prepared the data by removing the instrument response, normalizing with a root-mean-square method, whitening the spectra, and filtering from 1 to 10 Hz. This frequency band was chosen based on the relatively high background noise level in that range. Hour-long auto- and cross-correlations were computed and the Green's …

Modeling Regional Radicarbon Trends: A Case Study From The East Texas Woodland Period, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (~500 BC–AD 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated ¹⁴C ages (n = 127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n = 51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in east Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While analysis of summed probability distributions (SPDs) produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used …

Delineating The 2007 Corn Belt Region, Chris Laingen

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

P-T Conditions Of Selected Samples Across The Blue Ridge Province, Breana A. Felix

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains has a complex geologic history characterized by more than one metamorphic and deformational event. Mapping of the Blue Ridge has allowed for the province to be broken into the “sub” provinces western, central, and eastern Blue Ridge. The boundaries for these, however, are not well understood due to the difficulty in determining which orogenies caused each metamorphic event.

Detailed petrographic and microprobe analyses were carried out on 17 and 10 samples respectively. Outcrops from Ducktown and Marble in the western Blue Ridge (WBR), Savannah Church, Sylva, and Little Pine Garnet Mine in …

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 …

Mapping Lava Flows From Nyamuragira Volcano (1967-2011) With Satellite Data And Automated Classification Methods, Elisabet Head, Ann L. Maclean, Simon A. Carn

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

The volume, location and extent of historical lava flows are important when assessing volcanic hazards, as well as the productivity or longevity of a volcanic system. We use a Landsat/Hyperion/ALI dataset and automated classification methods to map lava flows at Nyamuragira volcano (1967-2011) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The humid tropical climate ofNyamuragira is advantageous because its lava flows are emplaced onto heavily forested flanks, resulting in strong contrast between lava and vegetation, which contributes to efficient flow mapping. With increasing age, there is an increase in Landsat band-4 reflectance, suggesting lava flow revegetation with time. This results …

Preservation Of The Seismic Cycle In A Continental Low-Angle Normal Fault: West Salton Detachment Fault, Usa, Mitchell R. Prante, Susanne U. Janecke, James P. Evans

Geosciences Presentations

No abstract provided.

Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Gomantong cave system of eastern Sabah, Malaysia, is well-known as an important site for harvesting edible bird-nests and, more recently, as a tourist attraction. Although the biology of the Gomantong system has been repeatedly studied, very little attention has been given to the geomorphology. Here, we report on the impact of geobiological modification in the development of the modern aspect of the cave, an important but little recognized feature of tropical caves. Basic modeling of the metabolic outputs from bats and birds (CO₂, H₂O, heat) reveals that post-speleogenetic biogenic corrosion can erode bedrock by between …

Ua94/6/10 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Carl Ellis, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scientific notebooks used by Carl Ellis during his years at WKU.

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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

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

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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