Geology Commons^™

Active Growth Of Non-Hydrothermal Subaqueous And Subaerial Barite (Baso4) Speleothems In Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, Usa), Max Wisshak, Hazel A. Barton, Katey E. Bender, Harvey R. Duchene

International Journal of Speleology

Barite (BaSO₄) speleothems have been reported from caves around the globe and interpreted to have chiefly formed in phreatic, hypogene, hydrothermal settings. Here we report two contrasting types of barite speleothems (bluish tabular crystals in a shallow pool and actively dripping greenish stalactites), which today form at lower temperatures in the non-hydrothermal and vadose environment of Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico, USA. Scanning electron microscopy analysis, along with energy- and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, WDS), as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), characterize the habit and chemical composition as barite. Fractionation of the minor element calcium is related to growth …

Improving Student Outcomes In Introductory Earth Science Courses Using Active Learning Strategies, Kalyca N. Spinler

Theses and Dissertations

For many students, introductory core earth science courses, like UA Little Rock’s Earth and the Environment course, represent their last formal education in the Earth Sciences. This project looked to determine if using active learning strategies during lectures will increase understanding in introductory geoscience courses. A series of ConcepTests with Peer Instruction, intended to increase student involvement, were used. To assess the impact of using ConcepTests, two sections of the course, fall 2018 and spring 2019, were given pre- and post-tests using Geoscience Concept Inventory questions. Pre- and post-test scores were compared with classes that did not use ConcepTests with …

Solving The Bermuda Mystery: An Island That Tells A Story Of A New Way To Form Volcanoes, Sarah E. Mazza

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Bermuda’s explosive past has changed how geologists think about the processes that make volcanoes. The chemical composition of the lavas analyzed in this study indicate that Bermuda ‘tapped’ a geologically young, volatile rich layer in the mantle, unlike anything previously known.

Tracing Dehydration And Melting Of The Subducted Slab With Tungsten Isotopes In Arc Lavas, Sarah E. Mazza, Andreas Stracke, James B. Gill, Jun Ichi Kimura, Thorsten Kleine

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Tungsten is strongly incompatible during magmatic processes and is fluid mobile in subduction zones. Here we show that W isotope fractionation in arc lavas provide a powerful new tool for tracing slab dehydration and melting in subduction zones. Geochemically well characterized, representative arc-lavas from three subduction zones were chosen for this study to evaluate W isotope fractionation under different sub-arc conditions. Arc-lavas from SW Japan are produced by subducting a young, hot slab, and lavas from the volcanic front and rear arc of the Sangihe and Izu arcs are produced during subduction of a cold slab. The heaviest W isotope …

Geochemical Response To Thermal Energy Storage In The Columbia River Basalt Aquifer System Beneath The Portland Basin, Oregon, Ellen Elizabeth Svadlenak

Dissertations and Theses

Deep direct use thermal energy storage (TES) is a low carbon emission method of geothermal energy storage and supply for large-scale residential, commercial, and manufacturing heating and cooling. The process entails repeated cycles of hot- or cold-water injection, storage, and extraction from slow groundwater flow zones within the deeper layers of an aquifer system. Though a promising technology, TES cycles may increase mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions, particularly at elevated temperatures. The ensuing mass transfer can form scale in heat exchange systems and alter aquifer porosity and permeability, processes that can reduce the operational efficiency of a TES system.

Within …

Mariana Serpentinite Mud Volcanism Exhumes Subducted Seamount Materials: Implications For The Origin Of Life., Patricia Fryer, C. Geoffrey Wheat, Trevor Williams, Christopher Kelley, Kevin Johnson, Jeffrey Ryan, Walter Kurz, John W. Shervais, Elmar Albers, Barbara Bekins, Baptiste Debret, Jianghong Deng, Yanhui Dong, Philip Eickenbusch, Emanuelle Frery, Yuji Ichiyama, Richard Kevorkian, Et Al.

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The subduction of seamounts and ridge features at convergent plate boundaries plays an important role in the deformation of the overriding plate and influences geochemical cycling and associated biological processes. Active serpentinization of forearc mantle and serpentinite mud volcanism on the Mariana forearc (between the trench and active volcanic arc) provides windows on subduction processes.  Here, we present (1) the first observation of an extensive exposure of an undeformed Cretaceous seamount currently being subducted at the Mariana Trench inner slope; (2) vertical deformation of the forearc region related to subduction of Pacific Plate seamounts and thickened crust; (3) recovered Ocean …

Chronology Of Advance And Recession Dynamics Of The Southern Green Bay Lobe Of The Laurentide Ice Sheet, South-Central Wisconsin, Usa, Eric C. Carson, John W. Attig, J. Elmo Rawling Iii, Paul R. Hanson, Stefanie E. Dodge

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We used a combination of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) age estimates, and stratigraphic data from cores collected along the southern margin of the Green Bay Lobe (GBL) of the Laurentide Ice Sheet to provide new information on the timing and dynamics of the end of advance of the GBL and the dynamics of the ice sheet while very near its maximum position. Coring at multiple sites along the margin of the GBL indicate that ice had reached a stable position near its maximum extent by 24.7 ka; that ice advanced several kilometers to the …

Geologic Characterization, Hydrologic Monitoring, And Soil-Water Relationships For Landslides In Kentucky, Matthew M. Crawford, L. Sebastian Bryson, Zhenming Wang, Edward W. Woolery

Report of Investigations--KGS

Complex spatial and temporal variables control the movement of water through colluvial soils in hillslopes. Some of the factors that influence soil-moisture fluctuation are soil type, thickness, porosity and permeability, and slope morphology. Landslide-characterization and field-monitoring techniques were part of a method to connect hydrologic and geotechnical data in order to monitor long-term hydrologic conditions in three active landslides in Kentucky, establish hydrologic relationships across the slope, and analyze specific soil-water relationships that can predict shear strength. Volumetric water content, water potential, and electrical conductivity were measured between October 2015 and February 2019. The duration and magnitude of drying and …

Hydrogeology And Geology Of The Lower North And South Platte Rivers Of Nebraska: Nebraska Geological Society Field Trip 2020, Douglas R. Hallum, Paul R. Hanson, Shane Tucker, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

The 2020 Nebraska Geological Society field trip will visit central Nebraska, and explore the geology and hydrogeology of the upper Platte, Lower South Platte and Lower North Platte rivers. The field trip area consists of a roughly east-west strip of land, approximately 100 kilometers long, and generally less than 10 kilometers north and south of the Platte, North Platte and South Platte rivers’ channels over most of the reach; from Brady, NE, upstream to Big Springs on the South Platte River and Lewellen on the North Platte River (Map 1). In addition to the river valleys, participants will observe alluvial …

Incorporating Temporal And Spatial Variability Of Salt-Marsh Foraminifera Into Sea-Level Reconstructions, Jennifer S. Walker, Niamh Cahill, Nicole S. Khan, Timothy A. Shaw, Don C. Barber, Kenneth G. Miller, Robert E. Kopp, Benjamin P. Horton

Geology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Foraminifera from salt-marsh environments have been used extensively in quantitative relative sea-level reconstructions due to their strong relationship with tidal level. However, the influence of temporal and spatial variability of salt-marsh foraminifera on quantitative reconstructions remains unconstrained. Here, we conducted a monitoring study of foraminifera from four intertidal monitoring stations in New Jersey from high marsh environments over three years that included several extreme weather (temperature, precipitation, and storm surge) events. We sampled four replicates from each station seasonally (four times per year) for a total of 188 samples. The dead foraminiferal assemblages were separated into four site-specific assemblages. After …

Geochemical Analysis And Heat-Treatment Of Natural Sapphires From Madagascar And Tanzania In Oxidizing And Reducing Conditions, Lukas Karuza, Dr. Michael B. Wolf, Brian Konecke Phd

Geology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Natural or synthetic sapphires can be heat-treated to improve the clarity by removing “silk” (inclusions) and to change color by introducing color-inducing elements (i.e., chromophores) into the lattice structure or changing their valency. Due to these reasons, sapphires can be heat-treated to increase their monetary value. Twenty natural blue (C1), 20 green (C2), and 20 clear (C3) sapphires from Madagascar and Tanzania were heat-treated in a muffle furnace in oxidizing and reducing conditions, from 1200 to 1600℃, for 10-hour soak time. In total, 5 experiments were conducted in which soak time remained constant: experiment 1 was performed at 1200℃, exp. …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Processing Airborne Electromagnetic (Aem) Data, Aaron C. Davis, Mike Donn, John A. Simons, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Olga Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report focusses on pre-processing, inversion, and post-processing of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data from a SkyTEM 312M helicopter-borne time-domain AEM survey conducted north of Newman, Western Australia in October and November 2019. Flight lines for the survey were chosen to trend east-west at 400 m line-spacing in order to produce gridded products at 100 m by 100 m resolution. The line directions were chosen in order to best intersect the Fortescue River Fault which separates the Wittenoom Formation from the Pinjian Chert Formation and Manganese Group, and to map the distribution of transported materials in the alluvial fan north of …

Using Ground Penetrating Radar To Investigate A Sedimentary Archive At Pj Hoffmaster State Park, Peter Duimstra, Melinda C. Higley

Summer Research

Ground Penetrating Radar is a non-invasive method of observing the Earth’s subsurface using emitted radio waves. The coastal dune environment present at PJ Hoffmaster State Park represents an ideal environment to utilize this technology (1). The contrast of subsurface soils show up as reflective layers which can be interpreted as sedimentary layers using GPR data. Subsurface layers provide insight to the historic dune structure, revealing past erosional or depositional events and possibly paleo wind directions (2).

A Shallow Subsurface Investigation Of The Calvin University Campus, Neil Van Kanegan, Melinda C. Higley

Summer Research

The intent of this project is to use three main datasets (Ground Penetrating Radar lines, a single hand-auger boring carried out by the research team, and a series of hand auger borings done on the Commons Lawn area for the purposes of construction consulting) to investigate what sedimentary units could be identified on Calvin’s campus, and how the identified units fit into a broader picture of known sedimentary processes in West Michigan, with a particular emphasis placed on the glacial history of the area.

David Quentin Bowen: A Memorial, John T. Andrews, David R. Bridgland, Peter U. Clark, Thomas M. Cronin, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, Darrel Maddy, Gifford H. Miller, Daniel R. Muhs, Colin V. Murray-Wallace

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Quaternary community lost a giant and a leader on October 5, 2020, when David Quentin Bowen, known to many as “DQ” and founding editor of Quaternary Science Reviews, passed away in Cardiff. Born on February 14, 1938 in Llanelli, SouthWales, he received his PhD at University College London. David’s 50 years of contributions to our science cannot be adequately summarized in a brief memorial but past, present, and future generations of Quaternary scientists will long remember his landmark achievements in publishing, his scientific contributions, and his personal and professional class in all his endeavors.

Testing Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Models Of Last-Interglacial Sea Level History In The Bahamas And Bermuda, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Eugene S. Schweig, Mark P. Rowe

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Part of the spatial variation in the apparent sea-level record of the last interglacial (LIG) period is due to the diverse response of coastlines to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) processes, particularly where coastlines were close to the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the past two glacial periods. We tested modeled LIG paleo-sea levels on New Providence Island (NPI), Bahamas and Bermuda by investigating emergent coral patch reefs and oolitic/peloidal beach deposits. Corals with closed-system histories collected from patch reefs on NPI have ages of 128-118 ka and ooids/peloids from beach ridges have closed-system ages of 128-116 ka. Elevations of patch reefs …

Uptake, Metabolism, And Elimination Of Fungicides From Coated Wheat Seeds In Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Michael S. Gross, Thomas G. Bean, Michelle L. Hladik, Barnett A. Rattner, Kathryn M. Kuivila

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pesticides coated to the seed surface potentially pose an ecological risk to granivorous birds that consume incompletely buried or spilled seeds. To assess the toxicokinetics of seeds treated with current-use fungicides, Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with commercially coated wheat seeds. Quail were exposed to metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil at either a low dose (0.0655, 0.0308, and 0.0328 mg/kg of body weight, respectively) or a high dose (0.196, 0.0925, and 0.0985 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Fungicides were rapidly absorbed and distributed to tissues. Tebuconazole was metabolized into tert-butylhydroxy-tebuconazole. All compounds were eliminated to below detection limits …

Adjusting The Lens Of Invasion Biology To Focus On The Impacts Of Climate-Driven Range Shifts, Piper D. Wallingford, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jenica M. Allen, Evelyn M. Beaury, Dana M. Blumenthal, Bethany A. Bradley, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Regan Early, Emily J. Fusco, Deborah E. Goldberg, Inés Ibáñez, Brittany B. Laginhas, Montserrat Vilà, Cascade J.B. Sorte

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As Earth’s climate rapidly changes, species range shifts are considered key to species persistence. However, some range-shifting species will alter community structure and ecosystem processes. By adapting existing invasion risk assessment frameworks, we can identify characteristics shared with high-impact introductions and thus predict potential impacts. There are fundamen- tal differences between introduced and range-shifting species, primarily shared evolutionary histories between range shifters and their new community. Nevertheless, impacts can occur via analogous mechanisms, such as wide dispersal, community disturbance and low biotic resistance. As ranges shift in response to climate change, we have an opportunity to develop plans to facilitate …

Trends In Streamflow And Precipitation For Selected Sites In The Elkhorn River Basin And In Streamflow In The Salt Creek And Platte River Basins, Nebraska, 1961–2011, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Publications

To better understand the streamflow trends at the streamgages in the Elkhorn River Basin in Nebraska, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District further investigated streamflow trends at the eight streamgages on the Elkhorn River, Salt Creek, and the Lower Platte River that indicated a positive trend in streamflow characteristics and analyzed precipitation trends in the four basins upstream from the Elkhorn River Basin streamgages. An analysis of four streamgages in the Elkhorn River Basin, one streamgage in Salt Creek Basin, and three streamgages in the Lower Platte River Basin that had previously …

Modeling Escherichia Coli In The Missouri River Near Omaha, Nebraska, 2012–16, Brenda K. Densmore, Brent M. Hall, Matthew T. Moser

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The city of Omaha, Nebraska, has a combined sewer system in some areas of the city. In Omaha, Nebr., a moderate amount of rainfall will lead to the combination of stormwater and untreated sewage or wastewater being discharged directly into the Missouri River and Papillion Creek and is called a combined sewer overflow (CSO) event. In 2009, the city of Omaha began the implementation of their Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) to mitigate the effects of CSOs on the Missouri River and Papillion Creek. As part of the LTCP, the city partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2012 …

Annotated Bibliography Of Scientific Research On Greater Sage-Grouse Published From 2015 To 2019, Sarah K. Carter, Robert S. Arkle, Heidi L. Bencin, Benjamin R. Harms, Daniel J. Manier, Aaron N. Johnston, Susan L. Phillips, Steven E. Hanser, Zachary H. Bowen

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and …

Groundwater Availability Of The Northern High Plains Aquifer In Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, And Wyoming, Steven M. Peterson, Jonathan P. Traylor, Moussa Guira

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The Northern High Plains aquifer underlies about 93,000 square miles of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming and is the largest subregion of the nationally important High Plains aquifer. Irrigation, primarily using groundwater, has supported agricultural production since before 1940, resulting in nearly $50 billion in sales in 2012. In 2010, the High Plains aquifer had the largest groundwater withdrawals of any major aquifer system in the United States.Nearly one-half of those withdrawals were from the Northern High Plains aquifer, which has little hydrologic interaction with parts of the aquifer farther south. Land-surface elevation ranges from more than 7,400 …

Vertical Land Displacement Rates And Uncertainty In Hampton Roads, Va [Dataset], Brett Buzzanga, David P. S. Bekaert, Ben D. Hamlington, Simran S. Sangha

CCPO Data Sets

These data contain vertical rates (mm/yr) of surface land displacements and their associated uncertainties from 2015-03-15 to 2019-06-01.

They are associated with Buzzanga, B. A., Bekaert, D. P. S., Hamlington, B. D., and Sanga, S. (2020), "Towards Sustained Monitoring of Subsidence at the Coast Using InSAR and GNSS: An Application in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Geophysical Research Letters.

Geochemical Constraints On Mantle Sources And Basalt Petrogenesis In The Strait Of Sicily Rift Zone (Italy): Insights Into The Importance Of Short Lengthscale Mantle Heterogeneity., John C. White, David A. Neave, Silvio G. Rotolo, Don F. Parker

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Igneous activity from the late Miocene to historic time (most recently 1891 ce) in the Strait of Sicily has created two islands (Pantelleria and Linosa) and several seamounts. These volcanoes are dominated by transitional (ol+hy-normative) to alkaline (ne-normative) basaltic lavas and scoriae; peralkaline felsic rocks (trachyte-rhyolite) crop out only on Pantelleria. Although most likely erupted through continental crust, basalts demonstrate no evidence of crustal contamination and are geochemically similar to oceanic island basalts (OIB). Despite their isotopic similarities, there are considerable compositional differences with respect to major and trace element geochemistry both between and within the two islands that are …

Joint Simulation Of Continuous And Categorical Variables For Mineral Resource Modeling And Recoverable Reserves Calculation, Sentle Augustinus Hlajoane

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Spatial variability and uncertainty of continuous variables (grade) and categorical variables (rock-types) in mineral evaluation significantly impact the economics of mining projects. The conventional approach of simulating grades using deterministic rock- types is problematic since spatial variability, and uncertainty of grades at rock-type contacts are not well captured in deposits where the grade changes gradually between rock-types. Therefore, jointly simulating these variables can improve confidence (reduce uncertainty) in a resource model. Also, resource classification and recoverable reserve calculation can significantly improve the understanding of the deposit and its economic viability. This research utilized the Plural-Gaussian geostatistical simulation to jointly simulate …

Testing Interpretations Of The Displacement Magnitude Of The Teton Fault And Uplift Of The Teton Range, Wyoming With Integrated Flexural-Kinematic And Thermal Modeling, Autumn Helfrich

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Teton fault is a range-front normal fault in northwestern Wyoming. Previous estimates of the maximum displacement (D_max) on the Teton fault cover a wide range (2 - 11 km). Discrepancies also exist regarding the slip onset timing, which spans 2 - 13 Ma. To address these discrepancies, the exhumation history of the Teton Range is here investigated using forward flexural-kinematic (Move) and thermal-kinematic (Pecube) models that can be compared with previously reported apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) ages from Mount Moran, which has been previously hypothesized to represent the …

The Seasonal Evolution Of Albedo Across Glaciers And The Surrounding Landscape Of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, Anna Bergstrom, Michael N. Gooseff, Peter T. Doran, Julian M. Cross

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica are a polar desert ecosystem consisting of alpine glaciers, ice-covered lakes, streams, and expanses of vegetation-free rocky soil. Because average summer temperatures are close to 0 Cel., the MDV ecosystem in general, and glacier melt dynamics in particular, are both closely linked to the energy balance. A slight increase in incoming radiation or change in albedo can have large effects on the timing and volume of meltwater. However, the seasonal evolution or spatial variability of albedo in the valleys has yet to fully characterized. In this study, we aim to understand the drivers …

Northward Migration Of The Oregon Forearc On The Gales Creek Fault, Ray E. Wells, Richard J. Blakely, Sean Bemis

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Gales Creek fault (GCF) is a 60-km-long, northwest-striking dextral fault system (west of Portland, Oregon) that accommodates northward motion and uplift of the Oregon Coast Range. New geologic mapping and geophysical models confirm inferred offsets from earlier geophysical surveys and document ∼12 km of right-lateral offset of a basement high in Eocene Siletz River Volcanics since ca. 35 Ma and ∼8.8 km of right-lateral separation of Miocene Columbia River Basalt at Newberg, Oregon, since 15 Ma (∼0.62 ± 0.12 mm/yr, average long-term rate). Relative uplift of Eocene Coast Range basalt basement west of the fault zone is at least …

Uptake, Metabolism, And Elimination Of Fungicides From Coated Wheat Seeds In Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Michael S. Gross, Thomas G. Bean, Michelle L. Hladik, Barnett A. Rattner, Kathryn M. Kuivila

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pesticides coated to the seed surface potentially pose an ecological risk to granivorous birds that consume incompletely buried or spilled seeds. To assess the toxicokinetics of seeds treated with current-use fungicides, Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with commercially coated wheat seeds. Quail were exposed to metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil at either a low dose (0.0655, 0.0308, and 0.0328 mg/kg of body weight, respectively) or a high dose (0.196, 0.0925, and 0.0985 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Fungicides were rapidly absorbed and distributed to tissues. Tebuconazole was metabolized into tert-butylhydroxy-tebuconazole. All compounds were eliminated to below detection limits …

Emulsion Stability Of Heavy Oil With Surfactants And Nanoparticles, Zainab Abdulmohsein, Baojun Bai, Parthasakha Neogi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recovered crude oil is often in form of an emulsion and the recovery is cut off when water to oil ratio exceeds a certain amount. The emulsions vary from water-in-oil to oil-in-water and the step that follows is to coalesce droplets to get two continuous liquids. Difficulties arise when the oil contains emulsifiers. There are naturally occurring surfactants, or the oil recovered is by enhanced oil recovery techniques which have additives that stabilize the droplets. We have considered below a heavy oil (viscosity 650-750 mPa.s) containing one of the three surfactants: a nonionic surfactant or a cationic surfactant or …