Geology Commons^™

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Bowling Green South 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Matthew Massey, Meredith Swallom, Bailee Nicole Hodelka, Hannah Hayes, Charles Wells Iii, Steven L. Martin, Emily Morris

Contract Reports--KGS

The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS), a state-supported independent research center within the University of Kentucky, is committed to providing accurate and unbiased geologic information on natural resources, environmental issues, and natural hazards in Kentucky. While Kentucky boasts complete coverage by 1:24,000-scale geologic bedrock maps, surficial materials have been largely overlooked, except in regions with thick deposits obscuring the bedrock. Given the increasing trends in economic development and urbanization, detailed surficial geologic mapping has become crucial for supporting geotechnical planning, environmental management, and hazard assessment. In response, KGS has prioritized new, detailed surficial geologic mapping since 2004, specifically targeting areas anticipated …

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Bristow 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Bailee Nicole Hodelka, Matthew Massey, Meredith Swallom, Steven L. Martin, Charles Wells Iii, Emily Morris

Contract Reports--KGS

The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS), a state-supported independent research center within the University of Kentucky, is committed to providing accurate and unbiased geologic information on natural resources, environmental issues, and natural hazards in Kentucky. While Kentucky boasts complete coverage by 1:24,000-scale geologic bedrock maps, surficial materials have been largely overlooked, except in regions with thick deposits obscuring the bedrock. Given the increasing trends in economic development and urbanization, detailed surficial geologic mapping has become crucial for supporting geotechnical planning, environmental management, and hazard assessment. In response, KGS has prioritized new, detailed surficial geologic mapping since 2004, specifically targeting areas anticipated …

Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan For Landslides For The Big Sandy Area Development District, Kentucky, Matt M. Crawford, Hudson J. Koch, Jason M. Dortch

Contract Reports--KGS

Landslides are a complex geologic hazard that occurs worldwide, impacting lives, infrastructure, and property. The Big Sandy Area Development District, Kentucky incurs high landslide activity impacting several municipalities. This hazard mitigation planning project includes landslide susceptibility and risk assessments for the Big Sandy Area Development District. We based the landslide susceptibility model on statistics of hillslope morphological features such as slope, curvature, roughness, aspect, and elevation. Using a dual machine learning approach, we modeled the probability of landslide occurrence, defined as an area that is occupied, or might be occupied in the future, by a landslide. We also developed the …

Subsurface Mapping Of Intra-Arbuckle Shale In North-West Kansas Using Well Log Data, Cole M. Denny

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The aim of this research was to enhance knowledge of Intra-Arbuckle Shale (IAS) distribution and structure through new maps, cross sections, and well log correlations. Understanding the shale(s) ultimately advances the discernment of complex Arbuckle reservoirs that are critical to the Kansas petroleum industry. IAS has been intercepted by oil wells throughout Kansas, but this study focuses on their presence in portions of Ellis, Rooks, Graham, and Trego counties. To study the distribution and structure of IAS, data from micro-resistivity and gamma ray well logs were collected from more than three hundred Arbuckle oil and gas wells. On each well …

Multiple Lithologies In Camel Donga 003 (Ck3): Implications For The Cv Parent Body, Elana Alevy

Honors Theses

Carbonaceous chondrites record primitive physical and chemical conditions of the solar nebula. In addition, samples of these meteorites provide information about secondary processing due to thermal metamorphism or aqueous alteration on the meteorite’s parent asteroid. Currently, there is debate regarding the number of parent asteroids that the Vigarano-like (CV) and the Karoonda-like (CK) chondrites originate from, which can be addressed through detailed mineralogical and petrographic analysis of samples from these groups.

In this work, we analyzed a thin section of Camel Donga 003, which is currently classified as a CK3 chondrite. Using scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis, we …

4500-Year Paleohurricane Record From The Western Gulf Of Mexico, Coastal Central Tx, Usa, Sarah B. Monica, Davin J. Wallace, Elizabeth J. Wallace, Xiaojing Du, Sylvia G. Dee, John B. Anderson

OES Faculty Publications

Texas receives the second-highest number of tropical cyclone (TC) landfalls per year in the United States. At present, long-term TC projections from climate models remain uncertain due to the short and biased nature of Atlantic TC observations. Sediment archives of past storms can help extend the observational record of TC strikes over the past few millennia. When a TC makes landfall along the central Texas coast, coastal downwelling channels and storm currents transport and deposit coarse sediment to a zone of rapid accumulation along the shelf, known as the Texas Mud Blanket (TMB). This “backwash” process results in expansive storm …

Ice-Marginal Volcanic Sequence In Iceland Found On A Nondescript Gradual Hillslope: An Unexpected Record Of Ice Thickness Late In Deglaciation, Audrey R. Putnam, Kristen L. Siebach, Candice C. Bedford, Sarah L. Simpson, Michael T. Thorpe, Joseph J. Tamborski

OES Faculty Publications

Volcanism increases when glaciers melt because isostatic rebound during deglaciation decreases the pressure on the mantle, which enhances decompression melting. Anthropogenic climate change is now causing ice sheets and valley glaciers to melt around the world and this deglaciation could stimulate volcanic activity and associated hazards in Iceland, Antarctica, Alaska, and Patagonia. However, current model predictions for volcanic activity associated with anthropogenic deglaciation in Iceland are poorly constrained, in part due to uncertainties in past volcanic output over time compared to ice sheet arrangements. Further work specifically characterizing glaciovolcanic and ice-marginal volcanoes in Iceland is needed to reconstruct volcanic output …

Geomorphological Evolution Of The Mun River, Surin Province Northeastern Thailand, Chutiwat Sawangkit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

From 1973 to 2023, the Mun River in Surin Province, Thailand, underwent geomorphological evolution. This study examines changes in channel parameters to determine how human activity and natural processes affect river shape. This study measures changes in four important geomorphological parameters channel sinuosity, radius of curvature, channel width, and channel length by analyzing the data from C (ERT), satellite imagery, and topographic maps. A dynamic meandering process that has created oxbow lakes, neck and chute cut-offs, and other geomorphological features throughout time is visible on satellite photos. Significant morphological changes have been brought about, notably, by the building of dams, …

144, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 144 - obsidian - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/144-a362edff33d84ca2b108ef7dc304d745

154, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 154 - rhyolite - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/154-3330c3ddf80540698ca7ded58e958ae7

146, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 146 - basalt - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/146-23207ef5c9784bb2b851ee15988f3461

141, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 141 - andesite - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/141-58cce95336f8483893eb258c3289dba4

158, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 158 - andesite - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/158-3a7d68066dae42f1b23a4adef32fcb28

143, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 143 - obsidian - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/143-6b5d9bd327a443e6a2b43087361c4e00

145, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 145 - basalt - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/145-aeea05a5c3524b1e880b14b5ca1e72ca

138, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 138 - rhyolite - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/138-ff74c3cfe9b84efcbdd17a4d2f16e539

140, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 140 - andesite - igneous rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/140-70d3697070254896a783d1e3696e55bd

Cataloguing Minerals, Part Two: Re-Imagining Mineral Catalogue Descriptions To Address Colonial Legacies, Carrie Robbins, Selby Hearth, Marianne Weldon, Aha Anderson, Rosa Bieber-Stanley, April Chernila, Helen Christ, Hannah Cosgrove, Morgan Hanson-Rosenberg, Carly Hill, Maya Hofstetter, Emily Lazo, Izzie Ludlow, Samantha Lyster, Rachel Myers, Jasper Nash, Georgia Reed, Julia Saint- Amour

Geology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Minerals are uniquely tied to colonialism, labour, and environment; however, those relationships have traditionally not been described in mineral catalogues – an omission that limits curators’ ability to account for mineral histories. This paper re-imagines mineral cataloguing practices to restore historical, cultural, and environmental contexts that were stripped away. We describe the roles of citations; linked data; provenience and provenance histories; non-standardized and ‘unapproved’ nomenclatures; positionality; and the need to label archival silences. We examine the risks and practical limitations that arise in attempting to turn this colonial tool against itself. In discussing these issues, we contribute to ongoing dialogues …

Accretion Of Warm Chondrules In Weakly Metamorphosed Ordinary Chondrites And Their Subsequent Reprocessing, Alexander M. Ruzicka, Richard C. Hugo, Jon M. Friedrich, Michael Tyler Ream

Geology Faculty Datasets

To better understand chondrite accretion and subsequent processes, the textures, crystallography, deformation, and compositions of some chondrite constituents in ten lithologies of different cluster texture strength were studied in seven weakly metamorphosed (Type 3) and variably shocked ordinary chondrites (Ragland—LL3 S1, Tieschitz—H/L3 S1, NWA 5421—LL3 S2, NWA 5205—LL3 S2, NWA 11905—LL3-5 S3, NWA 5781—LL3 S3, NWA 11351—LL3-6 S4) using optical and electron microscopy and microtomography techniques. Results support a four-stage model for chondrite formation. This includes 1) limited annealing following collisions during chondrule crystallization and rapid cooling in space prior to accretion, as evidenced by olivine microstructures consistent with dislocation …

Geographically Dependent Thermodynamic And Geochemical Evolution In The Post-Batholith Upper Mantle Beneath The Sierra Nevada: Analysis Of The Blue Knob Xenoliths, Eleanor Ruos

Scripps Senior Theses

Xenoliths entrained in recent (Miocene) volcanics from the Sierra Nevada provide insights into a continuously evolving upper mantle during post-batholith generation periods (early Cenozoic–present). Hypothesized mantle refertilization followed by subsequent delamination of the lithospheric root beneath the Sierra provides a contextual framework for analyzing how the upper mantle responds to such events. This study contributes new geochemical data from the ultramafic xenoliths of Blue Knob, including bulk-rock major and trace element data, thin-section petrography, mineral chemistry and thermobarometry, and oxygen isotopes (delta¹⁸O). Blue knob (Eastern Sierra) data are compared to previous works on xenoliths from Chinese Peak and …

Maximizing Mining Operations: Unlocking The Crucial Role Of Intelligent Fleet Management Systems In Surface Mining’S Value Chain, Arman Hazrathosseini, Ali Moradi Afrapoli

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

On the one side, the operational expenses of mining enterprises are showing an upward trend; and on the other side, conventional mining fleet management systems (FMSs) are falling short in addressing the high-dimensionality, stochasticity, and autonomy needed in increasingly complex operations. These major drivers for change have convinced researchers to search for alternatives including artificial-intelligence-enabled algorithms recommended by Mining 4.0. The present study endeavors to scrutinize this transition from a business management point of view. In other words, a literature review is carried out to gain insight into the evolutionary trajectory of mining FMSs and the need for intelligent algorithms. …

The Influence Of Volcano Edifice Resonance On The Seismic Triggering Of Thermal Activity At Active Volcanoes, Morgana M. Wilke

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There is an established correlation between large earthquakes and volcanic unrest, however the mechanisms between this connection are not well understood. Relatively small changes in stress within a volcanic system could be enough to initiate a response. One aspect that could serve to amplify small dynamic stress changes is volcanic edifice resonance triggered by surface waves at resonant frequency. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between thermal activity of volcanoes and various minimum thresholds of Love wave amplitudes at resonance caused by teleseismic earthquakes above a 7.0 M. Satellite-derived thermal data from 25 volcanoes are modeled in relation to …

256, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 256 - hornfels - metamorphic rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/256-c6781bb84f044acc84989bcb1ec0b50d

176, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 176 - conglomerate - sedimentary rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/176-993a14f63e414fa1bcee56234e60b89c

180, Scott Brande

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Model 180 - micrite - sedimentary rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/180-e2e6e4d8e7844d3dbf15adeb675c9ab6

160, Scott Brande

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Model 160 - bituminous coal - sedimentary rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/160-f524c1fc4f4143788ed7a54df53dcb15

165, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 165 - breccia - sedimentary rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/165-897cabd121db4d14b4d0b0bceb290996

187, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 187 - sandstone - sedimentary rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/187-1aa42c020f23482dab7d3cdab30cb724

201, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 201 - amphibolite - metamorphic rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/201-de1057ce02cf4133bfcb5c6ce83da6df

224, Scott Brande

All 3D Rock Models

Model 224 - phyllite - metamorphic rock

SketchFab link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/224-064f45645a2242d29ef75046eeb503ac