Geology Commons^™

Biis: The Last British Ice Sheet, A Review Of The Most Recent Major Glaciation Of Great Britain And Ireland, Benediktas Gaskevicius

Honors College Theses

The British Irish Ice Sheet was a substantial ice mass covering the British Isles during the most recent glaciation that ended around 11,700 years ago. Oftentimes referred to as the BIIS, it is subdivided into two sections, a western and eastern side that covered Great Britain and Ireland, with the Irish basin in the middle. Some notable areas of study around Great Britain and Ireland include the ’Bizzle’ in Northern England, which was transformed by the effects of the eastern margin of the BIIS, the Carstair Kames in Scotland, a locality known internationally for its esker system, The Minch region …

Dynamic Topography Of The St. Francois Mountains, Joshua Carpenter

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

The purpose of this research project was to search for evidence of relict topographic surfaces in the St. Francois Mountains that preserve a history of regional and/or global forces. To accomplish this, topographic cross-sections were taken in Google Earth to examine changes in the region's topography with focus towards the following features: sub-horizontal surfaces, knickpoints, and valley floors. Elevation data was then collected and plotted in Excel. This revealed sub-horizontal surfaces between elevations of ~1780-1545 ft; knickpoints between ~1700-900 ft; and valley floors at ~1470-1350 ft. and ~1200-900 ft. The sub-horizontal surfaces are interpreted as relict peneplains preserved during periods …

Equation Of State For Natural Almandine, Spessartine, Pyrope Garnet: Implications For Quartz-In-Garnet Elastic Geobarometry, Suzanne R. Mulligan, Elissaios Stavrou, Stella Chariton, Oliver Tschauner, Ashkan Salamat, Michael Wells, Alexander G. Smith, Thomas D. Hoisch, Vitali Prakapenka

Geoscience Faculty Research

The equation of state (EoS) of a natural almandine74spessartine13pyrope10grossular3 garnet of a typical composition found in metamorphic rocks in Earth’s crust was obtained using single crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction under isothermal room temperature compression. A third-order Birch-Murnaghan EoS was fitted to P-V data and the results are compared with published EoS for iron, manganese, magnesium, and calcium garnet compositional end-members. This comparison reveals that ideal solid solution mixing can reproduce the EoS for this intermediate composition of garnet. Additionally, this new EoS was used to calculate geobarometry on a garnet sample from the same rock, which was collected from the …

201— Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Within The Department Of Geological Sciences At Suny Geneseo, Maria Leonard

GREAT Day Posters

The field of Geosciences historically has lacked diversity. This lack of diversity is observed at all levels of higher education—for example, 90% of doctoral degrees are awarded to white people (Wilson, 2016) and only 3.8% of tenured or tenure track positions at the top 100 geoscience departments are held by faculty of color (Bernard & Cooperdock 2018). There are multiple reasons at the heart of this issue including the lack of representation which can fuel stereotype threats and imposter syndromes.

This project aimed to take actions that would help grow the diversity, equity, and accessibility within Geneseo’s GSCI department. This …

357— Dacryoconarids Of The Genundewa And West River Formations, Upper Devonian In Western New York, Emily De Jong

GREAT Day Posters

The Dacryoconarids, small, thin-walled, and cone-shaped, are an extinct taxon in Class Tentaculitoidea, which is of uncertain affinities. Dacryoconarids were widespread throughout the middle Silurian to the Late Devonian when they went extinct. This study focuses on the lower Upper Devonian Dacryoconarids of the Genundewa and West River formations from western New York State. Samples collected from these formations revealed many smooth shelled Styliolinids, however, no difinitive ribbed Dacryoconarids. Calcite was found to have internally filled in the shell of some Styliolinids, showing how thin the external shell is and raising questions about septa orientations. Due to their global occurrence, …

069— Geomorphic Characteristics Of Canadice Lake, Ny, Watersheds And The Anthropogenic Effects On Watershed Output And Sensitivity, Carla Crampton

GREAT Day Posters

Land use and size of watershed catchment areas affects the overall health and water quality of Canadice Lake. Methods in ArcGIS Pro were used for high resolution imagery and topography data to analyze the geomorphology of watersheds at Canadice Lake. Watersheds were mapped using ArcGIS Hydrology tools by constructing flow direction and accumulation grids. In each individual watershed, total area of the watershed, area of residential and agricultural land use, and total length of roads was determined to evaluate which watersheds are most sensitive to human impact and which watersheds are likely to contribute the highest flow discharge and sediment …

312— Mineralogical Analysis Of Slag From Iron Production In The Adirondack State Park, Mary Reid, Griffin Rose

GREAT Day Posters

Slag is a byproduct of iron production formed from the melting of iron-bearing rocks. Iron production in the Adirondacks reached a high in the early to mid 1800s, with many blast furnaces in operation throughout Northern New York. Two sets of samples from different regions in the Adirondacks were collected in the summers of 2019-2020. An unknown sample was taken from the Ausable River at Flume Falls near Wilmington, New York, while other samples were collected from the Mt. Hope iron furnace near Fort Ann, New York. Samples were analyzed through the creation of thin sections and x-ray diffraction. Results …

200— Chemical Analysis Of Slag From Standish, Ny, Maria Leonard, Dori Farthing

GREAT Day Posters

From 1883 to 1907, magnetite was smelted in Standish, NY. During this time, a large amount of slag, a byproduct of smelting, was created. The slag is now in a pile that covers ~13 acres in the northeastern region of the Adirondacks. The slag at the site has been classified into 6 broad types based on their physical properties. Exemplars of select types were crushed and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Both major elements and trace element data was collected for these samples. The XRF results indicate that all Standish slag is dominated by SiO2, CaO, and Fe2O3(t) regardless …

205— Revisiting The Geologic History Of The Pathfinder Landing Site At Ares Vallis, Mars, Andrew Agent

GREAT Day Posters

Before NASA sent the Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover to the mouth of Ares Vallis in 1997, they anticipated the discovery of Hesperian-age (3.6 Ga-3.0 Ga) sediments deposited from catastrophic outflows. When pictures came back, the rocks they discovered were large, boulder-size, angular, and were largely inconsistent with transport by large floods. The origin of the deposits at the Pathfinder landing site remains controversial. This study aims to constrain the surface geology of the Pathfinder landing site using new high-resolution imagery and crater statistics. Context Camera (CTX) images along with High-Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) images were used to map surface …

299— Determining Accuracy Of Xrd From Known Samples, Collin Horrocks

GREAT Day Posters

Powdered x-ray diffraction (XRD) is a technique that has the power to identify minerals and the proportion of the minerals in a mixture. A mineral is defined by a repeatable set of planes between atoms that form the crystal lattice. It is this repetition that allows the process of XRD to work. The process is done by taking a powdered sample and placing it into the machine and then shooting x-rays into the sample causing diffraction. From this using Bragg’s Law we can determine the d-spacing which is how an identity is determined for a sample and the intensity of …

344— Wetland Soil, Abigale O'Connor

GREAT Day Posters

This project classified soil properties in the vicinity of a wetland in Livonia, NY. Soil cores were collected from the margin of the wetland to observe the changes in the soil profiles across the transition between the wetland and the surrounding forested land. Soil horizons were delineated based on texture and color. Individual horizons were then correlated between the cores to capture spatial changes in thickness and texture. The core descriptions and the correlations were digitized to create an archive of correlations around the wetland for future reference. The distribution of wetland soil textures contributes to better understanding how water …

075— A Test Of The Efficacy Of The Augmented Reality Sandbox To Improve Students' Reading Topographic Map Skills, Megan Jankowiak, Alexandra Ranaudo

GREAT Day Posters

The augmented reality (AR) sandbox is a teaching tool used to connect two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) map representations through modeling. Our hypothesis is: the AR sandbox is effective at teaching topographic map reading skills by comparing pre vs. post test scores. Student data was processed to analyze the efficiency of using the AR sandbox to increase student ability to read topographic maps. Data consists of student answers on a topographic map reading skills test at the beginning and the end of a Historical Geology college course. Between tests, students used the AR sandbox to complete short exercises during multiple …

024— Optimizing 3d Model Construction Of Rock And Fossil Specimens To Increase Accessibility In An Online Learning Environment, Jaclyn Barreca, Frazer Bourgeois

GREAT Day Posters

Three-dimensional modeling of physical objects has become increasingly applicable in the field of geology. A digital collection of samples is important to have in the event of physical loss, as a means to communicate among scientists in reference to a particular sample, to aid in the preservation of original samples, and is particularly relevant in today’s pandemic. Digital models allow for the option of remote learning for students and stops the need for the sharing of physical samples. It also increases accessibility of samples. The problem of generating a 3D model of an object has already been solved; this research …

328— Watershed Analysis Of The Eberswalde Delta (Early Hesperian), Mars, Jason Mueller

GREAT Day Posters

The Eberswalde Delta is an impressive Martian fluvial-deltaic system. It is fed by an Earth-like dendritic river system that indicates past precipitation. This study is designed to quantify controls on network morphometry and its past extent using Esri ArcMap. Upstream contributing area (km2), elevation (m), depth (m), width (m), W/D ratio, and slope (-m/m), were calculated and graphed by stream order and long profiles. Width/depth increased with distance downstream but fluctuated in the fifth-order channel that was convex with knickpoints. This implied the system was youthful. The fourth-order stream was concave and in a sedimentary sub-basin. This sub-basin may have …

Terrestrial Lidar Scanning And Gaming Engines: Using Unity3d To Visualize High-Resolution Point Clouds From Big Bat Cave, Kentucky, Jeffrey Aaron Baggett

Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial LiDAR scanning has become a staple of modern speleological research and mapping due to its increasing availability, rapid deployment, and ability to collect large quantities of spatial data in a short period of time. In addition to spatial data, LiDAR scanners’ ability to record reflection intensity is of interest in the geoscience community as a proxy for surface reflectivity and as a means of aiding in visualizations when a lack of lighting prevents the use of photography at a useful scale. In this study, a methodology for rendering a stereoscopic, real-time rendering of a 10 scan, 425-million point portion …

Diversity – Independent Factors Predict Elevated Extinction Rates, Dustin Perriguey, Corinne Myers, Jason Moore, Louis Scuderi

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationships between diversity-independent factors (i.e., abiotic, climatic) 2, 5, and 10 Myrs-prior to the most elevated Phanerozoic extinctions. We constructed five abiotic variables from Phanerozoic proxy records1–5 to compare to extinction rates: mean temperature, temperature instability, carbon cycle instability, continental weathering rates, and habitat instability. All three models were statistically significant (P < 0.05) and explained > 70% of the variation in Alroy’s6 three-timer generic extinction rates. However, the 2 Myr-prior model explained the most variance in extinction rates and had the most predictive power, based on adjusted and predictive R2 (~ 72% and 41%, respectively). Carbon …

Diversity – Independent Factors Predict Elevated Extinction Rates, Dustin Perriguey

Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationships between diversity-independent factors (i.e., abiotic, climatic) 2, 5, and 10 Myrs-prior to the most elevated Phanerozoic extinctions. We constructed five abiotic variables from Phanerozoic proxy records1–5 to compare to extinction rates: mean temperature, temperature instability, carbon cycle instability, continental weathering rates, and habitat instability. All three models were statistically significant (P < 0.05) and explained > 70% of the variation in Alroy’s6 three-timer generic extinction rates. However, the 2 Myr-prior model explained the most variance in extinction rates and had the most predictive power, based on adjusted and predictive R2 (~ 72% and 41%, respectively). Carbon …

From Molecules To Mountains: A Multi-Proxy Investigation Into Ancient Climate And Topography Of The Pacific Northwest, Usa, Alex Mclean

Dissertations and Theses

The modern Cascades are a north-south striking mountain range that intercepts Pacific Ocean-derived moisture resulting in orographic precipitation on the western flank and a relatively arid rain shadow in the lee. Because of the strong coupling between topography and climate and consistent moisture source (Pacific Ocean) throughout the year, the region is ideally situated for paleoclimate studies that utilize the isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O and δD) of meteoric water to determine when uplifts occurred. Here, I synthesize the spatial and temporal evolution of stable isotopes in paleowater proxies across the Pacific Northwest during the Cenozoic. New volcanic glass (δD) …

Bedrock To Buildings, Bryer Carlson

Michael D. Wilson Symposium

This poster explores Maine's bedrock in relation to the state's infrastructure.

Manganese Oxides In Martian Meteorites Northwest Africa (Nwa) 7034 And 7533, Yang Liu, Woodward W. Fischer, Chi Ma, John R. Beckett, Oliver Tschauner, Yunbin Guan, Usha F. Lingappa, Samuel M. Webb, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Nina L. Lanza, Carl B. Agee

Geoscience Faculty Research

We report the discovery of indigenous Mn-oxides in Martian regolith breccias Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 and 7533. These Mn-oxides occur in Mn-rich regions as nanocrystals mixed with silicates, FeOOH, and possible phosphates. The Mn-rich regions contain up to 34 wt% Mn and typically display large chemical gradients on the scale of 10–20 μm. The Martian origin of Mn-oxides was established by the presence of Mn-rich glass (4.8–5.6 wt% Mn) in the fusion crust that crosscuts a Mn-oxides-bearing monzonite clast and by the absence of Mn-oxides on the environmentally exposed surfaces (exterior and fractures) of the meteorites. Manganese K-edge X-ray absorption …

Glaciers Of The Olympic Mountains, Washington - The Past And Future 100 Years, Andrew G. Fountain, Christina Gray, Bryce Allen Glenn, Brian Menounos, Justin Pflug, Jon L. Riedel

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2015, the Olympic Mountains contain 255 glaciers and perennial snowfields totaling 25.34 ± 0.27 km², half of the area in 1900, and about 0.75 ± 0.19 km³ of ice. Since 1980, glaciers shrank at a rate of -0.59 km² yr^-1 during which 35 glaciers and 16 perennial snowfields disappeared. Area changes of Blue Glacier, the largest glacier in the study region, was a good proxy for glacier change of the entire region. A simple mass balance model of the glacier, based on monthly air temperature and precipitation, correlates with glacier area change. The mass …

Bat Guano Minerals And Mineralization Processes In Chameau Cave, Eastern Morocco, Philippe Audra, Vasile Heresanu, Lionel Barriquand, Mohamed El Kadiri Boutchich, Stephane Jaillet, Edwige Pons-Branchu, Pavel Bosak, Hai Cheng, R Lawrence Edwards, Michel Renda

International Journal of Speleology

The decay of bat guano deposits in caves produces mineral accumulations, mainly phosphates and secondary sulfates. Chameau Cave, Eastern Morocco, is located in the semi-arid Bni Snassen Mountains. It is composed of semi-active and dry passages, and is featured by strong condensation-corrosion on the walls, presence of fluvial sediments, and old corroded flowstones. Due to forced and convective airflow, the cave is generally very dry, with some damp sites related to condensation. Samples collected on the surface of different passages and along two sediment profiles yielded minerals related to bat guano decay. On recent or fresh guano, precursor minerals correspond …

The Role Of Hydrated Minerals And Space Weathering Products In The Bluing Of Carbonaceous Asteroids, David Trang, Michelle S. Thompson, Bet E. Clark, Hannah H. Kaplan, Xiao-Duan Zou, Jian-Yang Li, Salvatore M. Ferrone, Victoria E. Hamilton, Amy A. Simon, Dennis C. Reuter, Lindsay P. Keller, M. Antonietta Barucci, Humberto Campins, Cateline Lantz, Daniella N. Dellagiustina, Ronald-Louis Ballouz, Erica R. Jawin, Harold Connolly Jr., Kevin J. Walsh, Dante Lauretta

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The surfaces of airless bodies such as lunar and S-type asteroids typically become spectrally redder in visible to near-infrared reflectance with longer exposures to space weathering. However, some carbonaceous asteroids instead become spectrally bluer. Space weathering experiments on carbonaceous meteorites have provided some clues as to the space weathering products that could produce spectral bluing. We applied these experimental results to our Hapke radiative transfer model, with which we modeled spectral data from the OSIRIS-REx mission in order to determine whether these space weathering products—specifically, nanophase and microphase metallic iron, troilite, and magnetite—could explain the globally blue spectrum of the …

Application Of The Global Srtm And Aw3d30 Digital Elevation Models To Mapping Folds At Cave Sites, Mark J. Abolins, Albert E. Ogden

International Journal of Speleology

A novel method to map and quantitatively describe very gentle folds (limb dip <5^o) at cratonic cave sites was evaluated at Snail Shell and Nanna Caves, central Tennessee, USA. Elevations from the global SRTM digital terrain model (DTM) were assigned to points on late Ordovician geologic contacts, and the elevations of the points were used to interpolate 28 m cell size natural neighbor digital elevation models (DEM’s) of the contacts. The global Forest Canopy Height Dataset was subtracted from the global 28 m cell size AW3D30 digital surface model (DSM) to create a DTM, and that DTM was applied …

Investigating The Hydrology Of The Western Greenland Ice Sheet: Spatiotemporal Variability And Implications On Ice-Dynamics, Jessica Z. Mejia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1990's the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has been losing mass at an accelerating rate in response to climatic warming and is currently the largest terrestrial contributor to sea-level rise. While ice sheet models agree the GrIS will continue losing mass throughout the century, there are significant uncertainties associated with future sea-level rise contributions. Predicting the GrIS's response to future climate warming scenarios is limited by gaps in our understanding of the links between ice sheet hydrology and dynamics. Meltwater produced on the ice surface flows within supraglacial streams that deliver it to crevasses or moulins—vertical conduits extending from …

Reconstructing Surface Water Carbonate Ion Concentration Changes In The Eastern Equatorial Pacific Across Glacial Transitions, Lenzie Gail Ward

OES Theses and Dissertations

Today, the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) plays a critical role in the global CO₂ budget as a major source of CO₂ to the atmosphere, but recent studies suggest the region may shift to a sink for atmospheric CO₂ under different climate states. Here, I focus on two transitional periods, the last deglaciation (25 kyr to present) and last glaciation (the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a-4 transition, 96 to 60 kyr), to investigate how the carbon system in the EEP responds to major climate changes. I measured B/Ca ratios in the planktic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides from core MV1014-17JC …

Spatial Variations Of Upper Crustal Anisotropy Along The San Jacinto Fault Zone In Southern California: Constraints From Shear Wave Splitting Analysis, Enyuan Jiang, Kelly H. Liu, Yuan Gao, Xiaofei Fu, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To discern spatial and explore possible existence of temporal variations of upper crustal anisotropy in an ∼15 km section of the San Jacinto Fault Zone (SJFZ) that is composed of the Buck Ridge and Clark faults in southern California, we conduct a systematic shear wave splitting investigation using local S-wave data recorded by three broadband seismic stations located near the surface expression of the SJFZ. An automatic data selection and splitting measurement procedure is first applied, and the resulting splitting measurements are then manually screened to ensure reliability of the results. Strong spatial variations in crustal anisotropy are revealed by …

Carbonatite Metasomatism And Water Systematics Of Peridotite Xenoliths From Lanzarote, Canaries, Sierra N. Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

Water in Earth’s mantle, present as structurally bound hydrogen in minerals, influences large scale processes like mantle deformation, plate tectonics, and melting. To better understand the processes controlling water concentrations in the Earth’s upper mantle, we analyzed hydrogen (calculated as ppm wt. H₂O), major, and trace element concentrations in minerals from peridotite mantle xenoliths of Lanzarote, Canaries. The Canaries Islands are thought to be the surface expression of a deep-seated mantle plume erupting through the Atlantic Ocean lithosphere. Carbonatite magmas have erupted in the Canaries and previous studies have shown evidence for carbonatite metasomatism in Lanzarote peridotites. Thus, …

Radiogenic Pb Enrichment Of Mississippi Valley-Type Metallic Ore Deposits, Southern Ozarks: Constraints Based On Geochemical Studies Of Source Rocks And Their Diagenetic History, Jonathan Chick, Sydney E. Mckim, Adriana Potra, Walter L. Manger, John R. Samuelsen

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Southern Ozark Mississippi Valley-type ores are enriched in radiogenic Pb, with isotopic signatures suggesting that metals were supplied by two end-member components. While the less radiogenic component appears to be derived from various shale and sandstone units, the source of the more radiogenic component has not yet been identified. Analyses of cherts from the Early Ordovician Cotter Dolomite and tripolitic chert from the Early Mississippian Boone Formation contain highly radiogenic Pb, with isotopic ratios comparable to those of ores. However, most samples have lower ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb for a given ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb …

Rutile As A Provenance Indicator For The Camerino Sandstone Of The Camerino Basin, Apennine Mountain Region, Italy, Wendy Bogil

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.