Geology Commons^™

Altitudinal Distribution And Monthly Occurrence Of Butterflies In The Kihansi Gorge Forest, Tanzania, With A Checklist Of Species, Devolent Mtui, Colin Congdon, Ivan Bampton, Parson Kalenga, Haule Leonard

Tanzania Journal of Science

The goal of this project was to establish a checklist of butterflies occurring in Kihansi gorge to serve as baseline for monitoring of gorge ecosystem health. The key questions were what and how many species of butterflies occur in the gorge with respect to time and space. The study was conducted between October 2005 and February 2007. Butterflies were recorded twice a week, along a walking trail, using malaise traps and sweep net. The traps were located at upper (> 750 – 1100 m), mid (> 580 – 750 m) and lower (300 – 580 m) gorge. A total of …

Understorey Bird Communities 8 And 18 Years After River Diversion In Kihansi Gorge, Udzungwa Mountains In The Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, Chacha Werema, Charles A. Msuya

Tanzania Journal of Science

On the most south-western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania lies Kihansi River. The river was diverted underground in 2000 to run electric turbines for electricity generation. Using mist netting, pre-diversion (in 1998 and 1999) and short term post-diversion (in 2001) effects of the river diversion on understorey birds were undertaken before and year after river diversion, respectively. Intermediate and long-term effects of river diversion on understorey birds at the same transects are non-existent. In September 2008 and August and September 2018, using mist nets, birds were surveyed at the same transects  to assess whether or not there have …

Phytoremediation Potential Of Four Heavy Metals In Soil By Chromolaena Odorata (L.) King & Robinson At The Phytotoxicity Screening Benchmarks, Gloria O. Omoregie, Beckley Ikhajiagbe, Geoffery O. Anoliefo

Tanzania Journal of Science

The remediative capacity of Chromolaena odorata with respect to heavy metal induced growth-stress was investigated. This was with a view to providing information on the adaptive mechanisms adopted by the test plant during the phytoremediation of selected heavy metals such as copper, manganese, zinc and cadmium. Stems of C. odorata were planted in soils polluted with  Mn, Zn, Cd, and Cu at the ecological screening benchmark (ESB) of 50 mg/kg (Mn and Zn), 4 mg/kg (Cd) and 100 mg/kg (Cu) of metal per kilogram of soil, in varying concentrations of 0 ESB (control), 1 ESB, 3 ESB and 5 ESB. …

Quantitative Assessment Of Resistivity Anisotropy In Evaluation Of Laminated Shaly Sand Hydrocarbon Reservoirs–A Case Study In The Barents Sea, Norway, Ernest S. Mulaya

Tanzania Journal of Science

Resistivity anisotropy in shaly sand lamination sequences affects the hydrocarbon evaluation in multiple dimensions of petrophysical logs. Currently, vertical resistivity (Rv) and horizontal resistivity (Rh) from 3D triaxial induction measurements can be applied simultaneously to resolve these petrophysical impacts. In this paper, an extensive analysis is offered with a focus on the hydrocarbon evaluation based on advanced petrophysical logs from a well. A critical analysis is done on the three comparable cases including clean formation as a base case, shaly sand case and laminated shaly sand case towards resolving resistivity anisotropy in a typical shaly sand laminated reservoir. The analysis …

Evolution And Stratigraphic Architecture Of Tidal Point Bars With And Without Fluvial Input: Influence Of Variable Flow Regimes On Sediment And Facies Distribution, And Lateral Accretion, Pricilla Souza

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Tide-influenced point bars represent a significant proportion of shallow-marine deposits, commonly developed along meandering channels in most backbarrier and estuarine systems. However, sedimentological studies to characterize this type of deposit are still emerging. They often present very heterogeneous internal architectures which development is controlled by the complex flow patterns operating in tidal environments. The study of the sedimentological and morphological characteristics of these features provides better understanding of the hydrodynamic processes that shape coastal systems and control their evolution as well as it contributes to better reservoir potential prediction and production strategy optimization, as tidal point bars may represent hydrocarbon …

Major Lower Paleozoic Horizons Of The Southern Illinois Basin, John B. Hickman

Report of Investigations--KGS

The geology exposed at the surface in the southern Illinois Basin has been mapped in great detail by countless workers over the past century. With the exception of limited and scattered exposures in incised river valleys, the oldest rocks exposed outside of the Jessamine, Nashville, and Ozark Domes surrounding the Illinois Basin are Mississippian in age. Extensive deposits of Cambrian–Devonian sediments occur in the subsurface above crystalline basement in this region, however. All available data for the region were analyzed to produce a single, comprehensive set of interpretations. The data used in this study include 1:24,000-scale geologic quadrangle maps, oil …

Structural And Geochronologic Constraints On The Duration Of The Picuris Orogeny And Demise Of An Orogenic Plateau, Northern Nm, Daniel J. Young

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Metasedimentary and igneous basement rocks in northern New Mexico record episodic pulses of tectonism during cratonic growth from 1.8 to 1.38 Ga. Continued challenges involve parsing the deformational features attributable to the Yavapai Orogeny (1.71-1.68 Ga), Mazatzal orogeny (1.66-1.60 Ga), and Picuris orogeny (1.5-1.38 Ga) in this region and understanding how older structures may have been overprinted and reactivated to explain the observed strain. This paper presents regional cross-sections of the 1.7 Ga Vadito, 1.68 to 1.50 Ga Hondo, and 1.5-1.45 Ga Trampas groups of the Picuris Mountains and Rio Mora areas of northern New Mexico combined with new geochronologic …

Landscape Evolution Of The Southern Colorado Plateau Using Low-Temperature Apatite Thermochronology And Detrital Zircon And Sanidine Provenance Studies, Carmen L. Winn

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Chapter 1: Westernmost Grand Canyon

Conflicting hypotheses about the timing of carving of the Grand Canyon involve either a 70 Ma (“old”) or < 6 Ma (“young”) Grand Canyon. This paper evaluates the controversial westernmost segment of the Grand Canyon where the following lines of published evidence firmly favor a “young” Canyon. 1) North-derived Paleocene Hindu Fanglomerate was deposited across the present track of the westernmost Grand Canyon, which therefore was not present at ~55 Ma. 2) The 19 Ma Separation Point basalt is stranded between high relief side canyons feeding the main stem of the Colorado River and was emplaced before these tributaries and the main canyon were incised. 3) Geomorphic constraints indicate that relief generation in tributaries and on plateaus adjacent to the westernmost Grand Canyon took place after 17 Ma. 4) The late Miocene-Pliocene Muddy Creek Formation constraint shows that no river carrying far-traveled materials exited at the mouth of the Grand Canyon until after 6 Ma.

Interpretations of previously-published low-temperature thermochronologic data conflict with these lines of evidence, but are reconciled in this paper via the integration of three methods of analyses on the same sample: apatite (U-Th)/He ages (AHe), ⁴He/³He thermochronometry (⁴He/³He), and apatite fission-track ages and lengths (AFT). “HeFTy” software was used to generate time-temperature (t-T) paths that predict all new and published ⁴He/³He, AH, and AFT data to within assumed …

Resolving Time-Space Histories Of Late Cenozoic Bedrock Incision Along The Upper Colorado River, Usa, Andres Aslan, Karl E. Karlstrom, Eric Kirby, Matthew T. Heizler, Darryl E. Granger, James K. Feathers, Paul R. Hanson, Shannon A. Mahan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The upper Colorado River basin drains the western slope of the Rocky Mountains province of North America and hosts a rich record of fluvial terraces and volcanic deposits that provide an archive of bedrock river incision since the Late Miocene. Here we present new geochronology from fluvial deposits and associated volcanic units using multiple methods (luminescence, cosmogenic-burial, 40Ar/39Ar basalt and detrital sanidine, and U/Pb detrital zircon) to reconstruct a detailed record of bedrock incision in the upper Colorado River over timescales ranging from Miocene to Late Pleistocene. Late Miocene (ca. 11–8 Ma) basalt flows perched 800–1700 m above the Colorado …

Moisture Dynamics Of A Near-Surface Desert Soil, Yuan Luo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Desert soils cover about one third of the Earth’s land surface. Despite their large extent, however, our understanding of desert soil hydraulic processes and properties is still rather limited. In particularly with respect to the near-surface (top centimeters) of the soil profile, which play a critical role for infiltration, redistribution and evapotranspiration of rainwater, the limiting resource for life in desert environments, but also hosts most of the biologic activity and controls runoff, erosion as well as the emission of dust (Nannipieri et al.,2003; Bradford et al.,1987). Additionally, deserts are ideal locations for electricity generation with solar energy using large-scale …

Examination Of Maskelynite Through Static Recompression And Dynamic Compression, Justin James Reppart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an experimental study that aims to clarify the possible formation mechanisms of maskelynite. Maskelynite is a diaplectic glass, that forms during shock compression of feldspar far below the melting point, and without fusion. Maskelynite also paramorphises precursor feldspar grains. Maskelynite is an important probe of shock-pressures at terrestrial impact sites and in many meteorites. Two mechanisms of formation of maskelynite are examined here: 1) maskelynite is result of a pressure-induced amorphization of feldspar compressed beyond its mechanical stability where the formation of thermodynamically stable phases is kinetically inhibited [1, 2]. 2) Feldspar transforms upon dynamic compression into a …

Basal Travertine Of The Bouse Formation: Geochemistry, Diagenesis And Implications For The Integration Of The Colorado River, Christina Ferguson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The Pliocene Bouse Formation is discontinuously exposed in the lower Colorado River region and is a record of the first arrival of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California 5 million years ago. It consists broadly of a lower carbonate member (travertine, marl, and bioclastic units) and an upper siliciclastic member (claystone, mudstone, and Colorado River sands). This paper focuses on the basal travertine (synonymous with “tufa”) unit of the lower carbonate member. Because of its basal position and its chemical encrustation of pre-Bouse topography, the travertine can offer insight into the earliest depositional settings and may be a …

Interpreting Amalgamation Processes Of A Fluvial Sandstone Of The Nacimiento Formation In The San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Keely Elizabeth Miltenberger

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Outcrop studies of fluvial sand bodies are important for the study of fluid transport and storage capabilities because the deposits are heterogeneous. 3-D photogrammetry was used to evaluate the amalgamation processes of a multi-storey sheet sandstone in the San Juan Basin, NM. The Angel Peak member was deposited in the proximal-medial transition of a distributive fluvial system by a meandering river during the Paleocene. Within the study area, amalgamation occurred by avulsion and reoccupation of channel-belts to produce five storeys of the multi-storey sheet sandstone. Within each storey is evidence of processes that are internal to a channel-belt, such as …

Late Jurassic Dinosaurs On The Move, Gastroliths And Long-Distance Migration, Josh Malone

Geography: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Rocky Mountain and Colorado Plateau regions is famous for its dinosaur fossils. The Morrison Formation (150-157 Ma) is comprised mostly of sandstone and mudstone that was deposited in a terrestrial deposition system that included fluvial, paludal, and lacustrine environments. Paleocurrent data indicates that Morrison sediment was transported to the north and east. Within the Morrison Formation, we find exotic pebble and cobble-size durable clasts of quartzite, chert and vein quartz weathering out of the mudstone paleosols. We interpret these exotic clasts as gastroliths, carried within the gastric mills of dinosaurs. For this study, we …

Improving Aquifer Characterization Through Integration Of Airborne Electromagnetics (Aem) And Well Hydrographs, Jacqueline Polashek

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The objective of this study is to evaluate methods of hydrostratigraphic modeling using geophysics and well hydrographs at the eastern edge of the High Plains aquifer (HPA) in Platte and Colfax counties within Nebraska, USA. The HPA is very heterogeneous in the study area, being hosted by architecturally complex glacial sediments and having many irregular hydraulic boundaries. Further, the HPA exhibits local variations between unconfined and confined conditions. Pumping in such bounded aquifers can be unsustainable because of cost increases and lost agricultural productivity. Moreover, the large drawdowns typical of confined aquifers can contribute to well interference during heavy pumping. …

Crustal Structure Beneath The East Coast Magnetic Anomaly From Seismic Refraction Tomography, Collin C. Brandl

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Syn-rift igneous addition is necessary for successful continental breakup. Past investigations of passive margins have focused on strike perpendicular structure, but potential field anomalies indicate that significant crustal variations may be present. Data from 21 ocean bottom seismometers was acquired as part of the Eastern North American Margin Community Seismic Experiment and was used for tomographic inversion to create 2D velocity models of the margin that are representative of crustal structure. Crustal thickness varies along-strike from ~20 km to ~24 km and a high velocity (Vp > 7 km/s) layer is present at the base of the crust above the Moho. …

Fracture Analysis Of The Lower Oceanic Crust, Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge, Trent Jackson

Master's Theses

Atlantis Bank (AB) is an oceanic core complex (OCC), formed at the slow-spreading (spreading rate/yr) Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR)-Atlantis II transform junction. AB is a domal massif composed of lower crustal and upper mantle rocks exhumed along a normal-sense detachment shear zone/fault. OCCs are of high interest since oceanic crust comprises the majority of Earth’s crust and OCCs form up to 15% of the crust that is formed at slow-spreading ridges. Brittle deformation, such as faults and fractures provide pathways for fluids to interact with the crust, which increases heat and mass exchange between the crust and hydrosphere, and is …

Why Gamma Distribution Of Seismic Inter-Event Times: A Theoretical Explanation, Laxman Bokati, Aaron A. Velasco, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

It is known that the distribution of seismic inter-event times is well described by the Gamma distribution. Recently, this fact has been used to successfully predict major seismic events. In this paper, we explain that the Gamma distribution of seismic inter-event times can be naturally derived from the first principles.

Increased Fluvial Runoff Terminated Inorganic Aragonite Precipitation On The Northwest Shelf Of Australia During The Early Holocene, Maximilian Hallenberger, Lars Reuning, Stephen J. Gallagher, Stefan Back, Takeshige Ishiwa, Beth A. Christensen, Kara Bogus

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Inorganic precipitation of aragonite is a common process within tropical carbonate environments. Across the Northwest Shelf of Australia (NWS) such precipitates were abundant in the late Pleistocene, whereas present-day sedimentation is dominated by calcitic bioclasts. This study presents sedimentological and geochemical analyses of core data retrieved from the upper 13 meters of IODP Site U1461 that provide a high-resolution sedimentary record of the last ~15 thousand years. Sediments that formed from 15 to 10.1 ka BP are aragonitic and characterised by small needles (<5 >µm) and ooids. XRF elemental proxy data indicate that these sediments developed under arid conditions in …

Groundwater Investigations To Support Irrigated Agriculture At La Grange, Western Australia: 2013–18 Results, Robert J. Paul, Gregory Paul Raper, Richard J. George Dr, Nicholas J. Wright, Adam M. Lillicrap, Peter S. Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Broome Sandstone aquifer is the main aquifer and groundwater resource in the La Grange area, near Broome in the West Kimberley, Western Australia. Land use is dominated by cattle grazing on pastoral stations, dispersed mining and tourism. Irrigated agriculture has developed at a small scale, with about 470 hectares under cultivation in 2014. Groundwater abstraction is licensed under the La Grange groundwater allocation plan (Department of Water 2010) and managed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The La Grange groundwater allocation area is split into the La Grange North subarea and La Grange South subarea, with groundwater …

2d Electrical Resistivity And Hydrological Study Of A Solute Plume’S Migration Pathway Through Sandy Loam Within Nacogdoches County, Texas, Usa, Tyler Tandy, Wesley Brown, Kevin Stafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

combined geophysical and hydrological study was conducted in a sandy loam near the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. The study area contained three preinstalled piezometers which are located in the Sparta Sand of the Eocene Claiborne Group, a regressive tract of the Eocene sea. Electrical DC resistivity surveys were conducted across one fifty-six-meter-long traverse using AGI’s multi-electrode SuperSting R8 WIFI RES/IP/SP system, which allowed for rapid and reliable data collection. The resistivity line was surveyed using the dipole-dipole array configuration, which has been proven to produce high-quality horizontal resolution. Over the duration of fourteen days, …

Assessing The Impact Of 3d Printed Terrain On Teaching Topography In Introductory Earth Science Labs, Jay Alan Cockrell

Masters Theses

Learning to effectively read topographic maps is challenging for students, as these maps contain 3D representations of terrain displayed on a 2D surface map. This project assessed student learning when 3D terrain printed from a portion of the laboratory quadrangle map currently in use was introduced into an earth science course for non-science majors. Using a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent groups across two semesters, performance on the Modified Topographic Map Assessment (MTMA) administered as a pre- and posttest was used to compare learning outcomes between the traditional lab and the 3D print lab intervention. Students in the traditional (n = …

Evaluating The Effects Of Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, And Calcium Concentrations On Dolomite Stoichiometry, Cation Ordering, And Reaction Rate, Hanna F. Cohen

Masters Theses

Numerous environmental factors affect dolomitization. Shallow peritidal and restricted marine environments, for example, are often associated with more abundant and more stoichiometric dolomite than deeper marine environments. Higher fluid Mg/Ca ratios resulting from gypsum precipitation are often invoked to explain this observation, even when evidence of evaporites is absent. In this study, high-temperature dolomitization experiments show that the concentrations of major cation concentrations (Na, K, Mg, and Ca) impact dolomite stoichiometry and reaction rate. Nearly 200 batch dolomitization experiments were run whereby 100 mg of natural aragonite ooids were dolomitized at 215°C in ionic solutions. Fluid [NaCl] and [KCl] correlate …

Evidence Of Limited Recruitment Of Pallid Sturgeon In The Lower Missouri River, Kirk D. Steffensen, Kimberly Chojnacki, Jeffrey A. Kalie, Meredith L. Bartron, Edward J. Heist, Kyle R. Winders, Nathan C. Loecker, Wyatt J. Doyle, Timothy L. Welker

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus are endemic to the Missouri and Mississippi river basins and are rare throughout their range. The species was listed as federally endangered with little to no evidence of natural recruitment. Since population augmentation was initiated as a recovery objective in the early 1990s, thousands of hatchery-origin Pallid Sturgeon have been stocked in the lower Missouri River (Gavins Point Dam [river kilometer 1,305.1] to the confluence of the Mississippi River [river kilometer 0.0]). Efforts to discriminate natural reproduction and recruitment of wild-origin Pallid Sturgeon from hatchery-origin fish has been hampered by tag loss in hatchery-origin sturgeon, inconsistent …

Paleoseismology Of The Central Garlock Fault In Searles Valley, California, Kyle Pena

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this study, a paleoseismic trench with limited age constraints that was previously excavated in 1990 across the central Garlock Fault near Christmas Canyon, in Searles Valley, California, was reopened to take advantage of new advances in luminescence dating techniques to investigate potential temporal variability in earthquake recurrence on the Garlock fault and to analyze previously unexposed older earthquake evidence. The trench exposed interbedded alluvial sand and pebble-gravels, with well-sorted, rounded, lacustrine sand from the most recent highstand of pluvial Lake Searles present at the base of the trench. Preliminary findings suggest at least 10 surface rupturing earthquake events occurred …

The Shelf To Basin Transition And Tectonostratigraphy Of The Atoka Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) In The Arkoma Basin, Northwest Arkansas, Travis Gibson White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The east-to-west oriented Arkoma Basin is a peripheral foreland basin or depositional trough that developed during the Carboniferous Period. This formation covers an aerial extent of approximately 33,800 square miles and spans from west-central Arkansas into southeastern Oklahoma (McGilvery, Manger, and Zachry, 2016; Perry, 1995). The Atoka Formation, deposited during the early Pennsylvanian, is the largest Paleozoic formation by aerial extent in the state of Arkansas and is located within and comprises the bulk of Arkoma Basin sediments (McFarland, 2004; Nance, 2018). This formation has been informally divided into three divisions, the lower, middle, and upper, based on their stratigraphic …

A Granger Causality Analysis Of Groundwater Patterns Over A Half-Century, Nitin K. Singh, David M. Borrok

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Groundwater depletion in many areas of the world has been broadly attributed to irrigation. However, more formal, data-driven, causal mechanisms of long-term groundwater patterns have not been assessed. Here, we conducted the first Granger causality analysis to identify the "causes" of groundwater patterns using the rice-producing parishes of Louisiana, USA, as an example. Trend analysis showed a decline of up to 6 m in groundwater level over 51 years. We found that no single cause explained groundwater patterns for all parishes. Causal linkages were noted between groundwater and area harvested, number of irrigation wells, summer precipitation totals, and drought. Bi-directional …

Manus Descriptions Of An Undescribed Mastodon From The Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, With Comparisons To Other North American Proboscidean Taxa, Brenna Hart-Farrar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A detailed morphological description of a proboscidean manus from the Gray Fossil Site (GFS), Gray, Tennessee is provided. Manus elements from an American mastodon (Mammut americanum), a Britt’s shovel-tusker (Amebelodon britti), an undescribed small gomphothere species, and a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) are used for comparisons. Linear measurements indicate proportional differences between the GFS mastodon and other proboscidean taxa ranging from the Hemphillian to Rancholabrean land mammal ages. Possible pathologies are also described. The purpose of this study is to determine how the GFS mastodon differs in manus morphology and locomotion from different proboscidean …

Suitability Assessment For Integrated Urban Development In Makkah City Of Saudi Arabia, Mislat Alotaibi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Makkah – the third most populated city in Saudi Arabia with a population of 1,684,408 according to the 2010 demographic survey conducted by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics – is experiencing urban sprawl, which can be defined as an unplanned urban expansion that might degrade the environment and diminish the aesthetic view. This is a persisting problem in Makkah driven by multitude of processes involving the random expansion in its undeveloped land and the removal of its historic mountains surrounding Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Holy Mosque) in an attempt to push the city limit of urban capacity within its administrative …

An Investigation Of Metal Sulfides As The Source Of The Low Emissivity Anomaly On The Highlands Of Venus, Sara Taeko Port

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since its detection in the 1960s the source of the unusual radar emissivity signal seen on several highlands on Venus has long eluded researchers. Researchers have determined that a mineral with a high dielectric constant could explain the signal. Using a Venus simulation chamber, we experimentally investigated this enigma to build upon the candidate mineral list that has been compiled over the last several decades. We tested the stability of 8 different minerals and elements at two to three different temperature/pressure regimes in three different gas mixtures meant to simulate the conditions found on Venus for a period of no …