Geology Commons^™

Using Landslide-Inventory Mapping For A Combined Bagged-Trees And Logistic-Regression Approach To Determining Landslide Susceptibility In Eastern Kentucky, Usa, Matthew M. Crawford, Jason M. Dortch, Hudson J. Koch, Ashton A. Killen, Junfeng Zhu, Yichuan Zhu, Lindsey Sebastian Bryson, William C. Haneburg

Faculty, Staff, and Affiliated Publications--KGS

High-resolution LiDAR-derived datasets from a 1.5 m digital elevation model and a detailed landslide inventory (n ≥ 1000) for Magoffin County, Kentucky, USA were used to develop a combined machine-learning and statistical approach to improve geomorphic-based landslide-susceptibility mapping.

An initial dataset of 36 variables was compiled to investigate the connection between slope morphology and landslide occurrence. Bagged trees, a machine-learning random-forest classifier, was used to evaluate the geomorphic variables, and 12 were identified as important: standard deviation of plan curvature, standard deviation of elevation, sum of plan curvature, minimum slope, mean plan curvature, range of elevation, sum of roughness, …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign - Stations And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign - Stations and Sediment Data" contains sediment grain size data from a major field campaign conducted in 2016-2017 and from the UNH Ocean Engineering 972 Hydrographic Field Course classes in 2012, 2014, and 2018. In total, sixteen one-day cruises provided 150 samples for grain size analysis. The database provides complete descriptions for each sample including identification, station and sample characteristics, sediment classifications, grain size statistics, and grain size distribution. Samples were analyzed with standard sieve and pipette analyses after Folk (1980). The sediment grain size classifications include: CMECS (Coastal and …

Peralkaline Silicic Extrusive Rocks: Magma Genesis, Evolution, Plumbing Systems, And Eruption., Ray Macdonald, John C. White, Harvey E. Belkin

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Peralkaline silicic extrusive rocks are an important component of the volcanological record. Here we review several aspects of their formation and evolution, including the tectonic settings in which they occur, their main petrological and geochemical features, the magmatic lineages along which they evolve, and the parameters (T, P, fO₂, melt water contents) that control the lineages. Particular attention is paid to the composition of the extraordinary melts formed at the lowest temperatures. Various lines of evidence are presented to explain the silica-gaps in some lineages. The partial melting of continental crust and the role of crustal contamination …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs” was developed by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC). The field campaign was conducted to provide ground truth for surficial geology maps for the continental shelf off New Hampshire (NH) and focused on the inner shelf between the coast and the Isles of Shoals. Station locations were chosen where high-resolution bathymetry was available, including multibeam echosounder (MBES) surveys conducted by the UNH CCOM/JHC Hydrographic Field Course (Ocean Engineering 972), MBES surveys by the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), …

Volcan De Fuego: A Machine Learning Approach In Understanding The Eruptive Cycles Using Precursory Tilt Signals, Kay Sivaraj

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Volcan de Fuego is an active stratovolcano located in the Central Guatemalan segment of the 1100 m long Central America Volcanic Arc System (CAVAS). Fuego-Acatenango massif consists of at least four major vents of which the Fuego summit vent is the most active and the youngest member. The volcano exhibits primarily Strombolian and Vulcanian behavior along with occasional paroxysms and pyroclastic flows. Historically, Fuego has produced basaltic-andesitic rocks with more recent eruptions progressively trending towards maficity. Several studies have used short-term deployments of broadband seismometers, infrasound, and long-term remote sensing techniques to characterize the mechanism of Fuego. In our study, …

Preclassic Cultural Eutrophication Of Lake Petén Itzá, Lowland Guatemala, By The Early Maya Of Nixtun-Ch'ich', Brooke A. Birkett

Masters Theses

"Paleolimnological evidence indicates the ancient Maya transformed lowland terrestrial ecosystems by felling forest vegetation to construct large civic-ceremonial centers and expand agriculture. The effects of prehistoric Maya land alterations on lake trophic status, however, remain poorly understood. We analyzed a 515-cm-long sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, lowland Guatemala, to infer paleoenvironmental changes resulting from Maya occupation of the riparian archaeological site of Nixtun-Ch'ich'. Substantial increases in charcoal and fecal stanol concentrations indicate Maya occupation of the Candelaria Peninsula by the late Early Preclassic period beginning ca. 1400 cal yr Before the Common Era (hereafter BCE), despite scant archaeological evidence …

The Case For A Long-Lived And Robust Yellowstone Hotspot, Victor E. Camp, Ray E. Wells

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Yellowstone hotspot is recognized as a whole-mantle plume with a history that extends to at least 56 Ma, as recorded by offshore volcanism on the Siletzia oceanic plateau. Siletzia accreted onto the North American plate at 51–49 Ma, followed by repositioning of the Farallon trench west of Siletzia from 48 to 45 Ma. North America overrode the hotspot, and it transitioned from the Farallon plate to the North American plate from 42 to 34 Ma. Since that time, it has been genetically associated with a series of aligned volcanic provinces associated with ageprogressive events that include Oligocene high-K calc-alkaline …

Toward An Integrative Geological And Geophysical View Of Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes, Maureen A.L. Walton, Lydia M. Staisch, Tina Dura, Jessie K. Pearl, Brian Sherrod, Joan Gomberg, Simon Engelhart, Ray E. Wells, Multiple Additional Authors

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) is an exceptional geologic environment for recording evidence of land-level changes, tsunamis, and ground motion that reveals at least 19 great megathrust earthquakes over the past 10 kyr. Such earthquakes are among the most impactful natural hazards on Earth, transcend national boundaries, and can have global impact.Reducing the societal impacts of future events in the US Pacific Northwest and coastal British Columbia, Canada, requires improved scientific understanding of megathrust earthquake rupture, recurrence, and corresponding hazards. Despite substantial knowledge gained from decades of research, large uncertainties remain about the characteristics and frequencies of past CSZ earthquakes. …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2012-2013 Newbex Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Rachel C. Morrison

Data Catalog

An approximately 4.5 km transect running from lower Portsmouth Harbor seaward onto the inner continental shelf was established to serve as the field site for the Newcastle Backscatter Experiment (NEWBEX). Acoustic backscatter measurements were made along the transect to examine relationships between backscatter and seafloor properties. This transect takes advantage of the diversity and heterogeneity of bottom types in lower Portsmouth Harbor and approach. In support of NEWBEX, a field campaign was undertaken to describe the sedimentologic characteristics of the seafloor along the transect. A total of five cruises were carried out approximately seasonally on November 26, 2012 and June …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: Vibracore Logs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Maxlimer Coromoto Vallee-Anziani

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: Vibracore Logs and Sediment Data" contains complete core logs and sediment grain size data from twenty‐three vibracores taken on the New Hampshire shelf in 1984 and 1988. During the present program, the original core descriptions, data, and photographs were verified and significantly expanded, synthesized, and presented in uniform core logs.The vibracore logs, sediment data, and the depositional environments are discussed in detail in Ward et al., 2021 (https://dx.doi.org/10.34051/p/2021.26).

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Historical Geophysical Database: 1971 To 2015 - Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Maxlimer Coromoto Vallee-Anziani

Data Catalog

The UNH CCOM/JHC "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Historical Geophysical Database: 1971 to 2015 - Sediment Data" contains sediment grain size data and classifications from studies conducted between 1971 and 2015. In total, grain size data was available for 725 bottom sediment samples. Included are sample identification information, station and sample characteristics, sediment classifications, grain size statistics, and grain size distribution. Not all of these parameters were available for every study. Samples were analyzed with standard sieve and pipette analyses after Folk (1980). The sediment grain size classifications include: CMECS (Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard; FGDC, 2012); Gradistat (Blot and …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor And Sample Photographs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign - Seafloor and Sample Photographs and Sediment Data " contains photographs of the seafloor from sampling locations, photographs of the sediment samples, and grain size data from a major field campaign conducted in 2016- 2017 and from the UNH Ocean Engineering 972 Hydrographic Field Course classes in 2012, 2014, and 2018. In total, sixteen one-day cruises provided 150 samples for grain size analysis. The database provides complete descriptions for each sample including identification, station and sample characteristics, sediment classifications, grain size statistics, and grain size distribution. Presented here are tables …

Miocene-Pleistocene Diatom Oxygen Isotope And Biogenic Silica Record From Iodp Site U1523, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Donald James Mclennan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) plays a significant role in Earth’s climate. WAIS is currently retreating due to changes in wind-driven oceanic currents resulting in an increasing flux of warm waters to ice margins. Brine rejection in the Ross Sea is also major source of High Salinity Shelf water (HSSW) and Antarctica Bottom Waters (AABW), which creates a stratified ocean and plays a significant role in regulating Earth’s climate. Currently, there are very limited proxies that can quantify the variable input of HSSW formation on geologic time scales. Here we provide a 18Odiatom and biogenic silica (BSi) record which …

Mgrre_Thinsections_01-A_1, Michigan Geological Repository For Research And Education

Thin Sections

No abstract provided.

First Ever Polymer Flood Field Pilot To Enhance The Recovery Of Heavy Oils On Alaska's North Slope Pushing Ahead One Year Later, Abhijit Dandekar, Baojun Bai, John Barnes, Dave Cercone, Jared Ciferno, Reid Edwards, Samson Ning, Walbert Schulpen, Randy Seright, Brent Sheets, Dongmei Wang, Yin Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In June 2018 the team embarked on an ambitious project to address the slow development pace of Alaska's 20+ billion barrels heavy oil resource via the first ever polymer flood pilot. Following the successful commencement of the pilot in August 2018, the field demonstration, supporting laboratory experiments and numerical simulation have steadily progressed. A significant amount of valuable data and lessons learned have been collected and are reported in this paper. The ongoing pilot and the research activities is making headway toward the primary objective of validating the use of polymer flooding for extracting heavy oil in Alaska's challenging environment. …

Impact Of Rheology Models On Horizontal Well Polymer Flooding In A Heavy Oil Reservoir On Alaska North Slope: A Simulation Study, Jianqiao Leng, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Randall S. Seright, Yin Zhang, David Cercone, Samson Ning

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polymer rheology can have either a positive or a negative effect on polymer flooding performance under varied circumstances. Many researchers have studied the effect of polymer rheology in a vertical well, but no field scale studies have been conducted to investigate whether polymer rheology is beneficial to polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs developed by horizontal wells. In this paper, we conducted a numerical simulation study to examine the effect of HPAM polymer rheology on a polymer flooding pilot, which is the first-ever project conducted on a heavy oil reservoir from Alaska North Slope (ANS) developed by horizontal wells. Three …

Evidence For Middle Miocene Elevated Topography Isolating The Southern Klamath Mountains Province: A U-Pb & Lu-Hf Detrital Zircon Study Of The Weaverville Formation, Dana J. Christensen

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Klamath Mountains Province (KMP) records a robust history of active North American margin tectonics and crustal growth through the subduction-accretion of oceanic and island-arc terranes spanning Devonian through Cretaceous time. However, preservation of Cenozoic rocks is minimal, rendering the geologic record, topography, and tectonics during this timeframe difficult to reconstruct. The only Miocene terrestrial sedimentary unit that exists in the KMP is the fluvially deposited Tertiary Weaverville Formation (Tw) that is preserved in five fault-bounded basins in the southern part of the province. This study presents new uranium-lead (U-Pb) age data and epsilon hafnium (εHf) isotopic ratios from detrital …

Mapping Michigan's Historic Coastlines, Ryan A. Williams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This five-year project, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is working to map how Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines have changed over the past 80+ years. Products of this project include publicly available digital, georeferenced, historic aerial photography datasets, as well as map layers depicting the locations of historic shorelines and bluff lines from 1938, 1980, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Additional products include bluff retreat risk areas, shoreline rate of change map layers, and tools to assist in the development of future Coastal Vulnerability Index projects for the Great Lakes. All products are available as …

Salt Marsh Hydrogeology: A Review, Julia Guimond, Joseph Tamborski

OES Faculty Publications

Groundwater–surface water exchange in salt marsh ecosystems mediates nearshore salt, nutrient, and carbon budgets with implications for biological productivity and global climate. Despite their importance, a synthesis of salt marsh groundwater studies is lacking. In this review, we summarize drivers mediating salt marsh hydrogeology, review field and modeling techniques, and discuss patterns of exchange. New data from a Delaware seepage meter study are reported which highlight small-scale spatial variability in exchange rates. A synthesis of the salt marsh hydrogeology literature reveals a positive relationship between tidal range and submarine groundwater discharge but not porewater exchange, highlighting the multidimensional drivers of …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Interpretation Of 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 hydrogeophysical and geological interpretation of the inversion results of an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey conducted north of Newman, Western Australia, in October and November 2019. The interpretation of the inversions is regional in scale, although we pay specific attention to interpretation of the near-surface transported cover sequences north and west of the Fortescue River. Specifically, we attempt to locate aquifers and near-surface geological structures that are likely to provide good quality groundwater for future extraction and storage. Analysis of the electrical conductivity structure of the ground also provides an estimate of the depth of the groundwater …

Analyzing Slab Holes In Subduction Zones And Their Impacts Through Numerical Simulations, Taylor M. Arrowood

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Subduction zones form as higher density oceanic lithosphere is forced beneath an over-riding, lower density, continental or oceanic plate; a process driven by contrasts in buoyancy throughout this system. We seek to explore subduction zones in which the subducting lithosphere is discontinuous after passing through the trench, forming a slab gap. The main research objective is to determine the effect of slab gaps on surface topography in a subduction-related orogen and asthenospheric flow into the mantle wedge using two and three-dimensional numerical mechanical models. We obtain results from 24+ models that suggest a connection between slab gaps/holes and the magnitude …

Timing Of Regional Metamorphism In The Inner Piedmont And Blue Ridge Of North Carolina: Evidence From Monazite U-Pb Geochronology, Nicholas Edwin Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Channel and escape flow, or lower crustal ductile flow and redirection from orogen-normal to orogen-parallel flow, are among the most impactful concepts introduced to explain shortening accommodation in large, hot orogens. In the Inner Piedmont (IP), southern Appalachians, channel and escape flow were proposed to have occurred during the Neo-Acadian (376–340 Ma) orogeny. However, the polymetamorphic history of the southern Appalachians makes it difficult to isolate thermal and deformational events for process-focused studies necessary to test these ideas in the IP. To address this, we used in situ laser ablation split stream (LASS) monazite U-Pb geochronology alongside new garnet chemical …

Analyzing The Multipath Of Gps Time Series To Study Snow Properties, Ashlesha Khatiwada

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Thousands of Global Positioning System (GNSS) receivers worldwide record signals sent by satellites to infer how each receiver (and the ground they are attached to) moves over time. The motion of GNSS receivers is used for many purposes, including studying tectonic deformation and changes in Earth's shape caused by surface loading. In this project, reflected wave arrivals contained within the multipath signal of GNSS time series are extracted and analyzed to advance understanding of snow properties in mountainous regions of Montana/Idaho, USA. Analyzing reflected signals in GNSS series has the potential to reveal properties of local snowpack, such as height, …

Answers In The East: An Examination Of China's Renewable Energy And Its Application To Central Appalachia, Lillian Hamm

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While much of China’s electrification has depended on coal, recent decades illustrate the country is heavily investing in and implementing renewable energy as a power source. Even China’s coal-rich provinces, like the northeastern province of Shanxi, have been making the transition to renewable energy. The central Appalachian states comprised of eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee share many characteristics with China’s Shanxi province including economic resources, climate, and geography. Yet, central Appalachia has not been able to easily transition to renewable energy. However, there are various cultural, political, and technological differences between the two regions to explain …

Multi-Scale Virtual Field Experience, Madeline S. Marshall, Melinda C. Higley

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Field experiences are a critical component of undergraduate geoscience education; however, traditional onsite field experiences are not always practical due to accessibility, and the popularity of alternative modes of learning in higher education is increasing. One way to support student access to field experiences is through virtual field trips, implemented either independently or in conjunction with in-person field trips. We created a virtual field trip (VFT) to Grand Ledge, a regionally important suite of sedimentary outcrops in central lower Michigan, USA. This VFT undertakes all stages of a field project, from question development and detailed observation through data collection to …

Petrology Of An Oxidized Blueschist Cobble From The San Onofre Breccia, California, Usa, Alaina A. Helm

Honors Papers

The mid-Miocene San Onofre Breccia (SOB) found along the southern California borderlands contains clasts of several lithologies including high-pressure metamorphic rocks commonly thought to be shed from the Catalina Schist. Sorensen concluded the San Onofre Schist was part of the Franciscan Complex, although at that time the Catalina subduction was considered to be part of the Franciscan Complex. In this study, a ~10 cm cobble collected from the San Onofre type locality was studied to describe its mineralogy and estimate its conditions of metamorphism. The cobble is composed of glaucophane (35%) + epidote (15%) + garnet (13%) + phengite (12%) …

Last Interglacial Climate From Dendostrea Frons Oysters, Verrill Island, Bermuda, Lillian Minnebo

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The Bermuda Islands preserve carbonates recording many past changes in sea level, including multiple warm and cool geologic intervals. Several localities expose shell-rich deposits from the Last Interglacial (~125,000 years ago), a time broadly similar to climate today that can potentially serve as an analog for future conditions. Here, we use δ18O analyses of fossil mollusks to estimate past temperatures and seasonality and compare our data with those from other species.

Eight Dendostrea frons oysters were sampled along their growth axes to reconstruct seasonal temperature curves. We report a mean δ18O value of -0.51 ± 0.17‰, corresponding to a temperature …

Structural And Thermochronologic Evidence Of Paleogene-Neogene Faulting And Exhumation Of The Klamath Mountain Province, Taylor C. Team

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Klamath Mountains Province (KMP), located at the southern end of the forearc of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, displays a distinct topographic and geologic signature. Compared to the forearc in the north, the KMP comprises Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement rocks with relatively high modern elevation and relief. This study investigates the pattern of rock cooling in the KMP by using thermochronology on plutons exhumed by faults and plutons outside of mapped faults. In this study, I target three regions in the KMP: the Ashland pluton offset by the Siskiyou Summit fault in the northeast KMP, the Grayback pluton in the northwest KMP, …

Tsunami Deposits And Tsunami Modeling Of The 900 Ad Seattle Fault Event In Northern Puget Sound, Andrew A. Raulerson

All Master's Theses

Puget Sound has a history of earthquakes and tsunamis with an ever-expanding knowledge of these events. The focus of this study is the Seattle fault earthquake and resulting tsunami 1100 years ago. This study aimed at refining the extent of tsunami inundation north of the fault using a two-phased approach: a field study at Elger Bay and tsunami modeling. Tsunami deposits dating to this event have been observed in six sites total sites in Puget Sound, and four of them are in northern Puget Sound. At Elger Bay I found one tsunami deposit in cores from the southwest corner of …

Relationships Among Mineralogy, Geochemistry, And Oil And Gas Production In The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Hayley Roxana Beitel

Masters Theses

"The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) is an unconventional shale reservoir located in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. Limited mineralogical and geochemical data for the TMS have been published. The data that do exist indicate that the formation is heterogeneous. Consequently, previous investigators and oil and gas companies have not managed to effectively link mineralogical and chemical changes to oil and gas production in the TMS. These linkages are critical to establish for future exploration efforts. In this study, we attempt to establish these relationships by gathering all existing mineralogical and chemical data in the TMS, including newly acquired data from …