Geology Commons^™

Thermal Damping And Retardation In Karst Conduits, A. J. Luhmann, Matthew D. Covington, J. M. Myre, Matija Perne, S. W. Jones, E. C. Alexander Jr., M. O. Saar

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water temperature is a non-conservative tracer in the environment. Variations in recharge temperature are damped and retarded as water moves through an aquifer due to heat exchange between water and rock. However, within karst aquifers, seasonal and short-term fluctuations in recharge temperature are often transmitted over long distances before they are fully damped. Using analytical solutions and numerical simulations, we develop relationships that describe the effect of flow path properties, flow-through time, recharge characteristics, and water and rock physical properties on the damping and retardation of thermal peaks/troughs in karst conduits. Using these relationships, one can estimate the thermal retardation …

The 2009 And 2011 Hazard Events At San Vicente Volcano, El Salvador: Vulnerability, Resettlement, And Disaster Risk Reduction, Luke Bowman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Scientists from a variety of disciplines have made major advancements in the geophysical and social aspects of hazard science. Despite these advancements, economic losses and the number of people affected by disasters continue to rise. The field of disaster risk reduction (DRR) attempts to counter this rising trend of disaster losses by integrating a variety of disciplines to holistically solve complex problems related to risk and vulnerability. Frequent disasters in El Salvador provide insight into the evolution of DRR and its application during and after two hydrometeorological disasters in the department of San Vicente in 2009 and 2011. This dissertation …

Multi-Instrumental Investigation Of Volcanic Outgassing At Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala., Carlo Prandi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Pacaya is one of the most active volcano in the world and it is only ≈30Km South of Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, that has a population of about 2 million of people and a surrounding metropolitan area where ≈4.5 million of people live. So mitigate the volcanic hazard improving the knowledge and the understanding of Pacaya is fundamental to decrease the risk factor at which the surrounding population is exposed. This study aims to furnish a new large database, the analysis, the comparison and the interpretations of data that come from different techniques of sampling, about the volcanic …

A Joint Receiver Function And Gravity Study Of Crustal Structure Beneath The Incipient Okavango Rift, Botswana, Youqiang Yu, Kelly H. Liu, Cory A. Reed, Moikwathai Moidaki, Kevin Mickus, Estella A. Aetkwana, Stephen S. Gao

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

Rifting incorporates the fundamental processes concerning the breakup of continental lithosphere and plays a significant role in the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins. In order to decipher the characteristics of rifting at its earliest stage, we conduct the first teleseismic crustal study of one of the world's youngest continental rifts, the Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ), where the magma has not yet breached the surface. Results from receiver function stacking and gravity modeling indicate that the crust/mantle boundary beneath the ORZ is uplifted by 4-5 km, and the initiation of the ORZ is closely related to lithospheric stretching. Possible decompression …

Interplay Of Porous Media And Fracture Stimulation In Sedimentary Enhanced Geothermal Systems : Red River Formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota, Caitlyn M. Hartig

Theses and Dissertations

Fracture stimulated enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) can be installed in both crystalline rocks and sedimentary basins. The Red River Formation (Ordovician), which lies between 3.6 and 4.2 km depth in the Williston Basin, is a viable site for installation of sedimentary EGS (SEGS). SEGS is possible there because temperatures in the formation surpass 140° Celsius and the permeability is 0.1-38 mD; fracture stimulation can be utilized to improve performance. The main objectives of this project were 1) to determine the spatial variation of the intrinsic properties of the Red River Formation across the study area, and 2) to understand the …

Pillars And Buttes: A Petrologic Comparison Of Modern And Ancient Hydrocarbon Seep Rock, Erica C. Morelli

Honors Papers

Purpose: Literature on the formation of authigenic rock at cold seeps focuses on the role of microbes in creating geochemically favorable environment for the precipitation of carbonate and barite minerals. Less understood is the pathway that lithified microbial patches of seafloor sediment follow to become rock formations that are identified in strata dating back to the Silurian. In this study I will compare Holocene seep rock from the Gulf of Mexico to Cretaceous carbonates that have been identified as seep rock. Through the study of rock in its early stages of formation to rock that has likely undergone multiple phases …

Facies, Architecture, And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Devonian-Mississippian Sappington Formation, Bridger Range, Montana, Anna S. Phelps

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Sappington Formation in Montana is a marine unit comprised of lower and upper organic-rich shale members and a middle calcareous siltstone member. The Sappington Formation was deposited during a period of complex paleogeography in Montana, characterized by deposition in sub-basins and onlap onto structural highs, and eustatically- and tectonically-driven transgressive-regressive cycles. Detailed outcrop analysis was conducted on the Sappington Formation across the Bridger Range in southwestern Montana to better understand the Sappington Formation depositional system and changing regional paleogeography. The Sappington Formation is further interpreted in a stratigraphic architectural framework to improve the ability to predict …

Using Particle Size Analysis To Separate The Deposition Of A Bonebed And Artifact At The Wenas Creek Mammoth Site, Genevieve Brown

All Master's Theses

The 2005 discovery of a 17,000 year old mammoth bonebed in close proximity to a possible artifact at the Wenas Creek Mammoth Site (WCMS) brought with it the question of whether the bones and artifact were actually deposited together. If the two are associated, the WCMS would qualify as a Pre-Clovis site, a title given to just a handful of proven archaeological sites in North America, though claimed for numerous more. A close interval particle size analysis was performed on 2 column samples from the WCMS with the intention of identifying microstratification that would separate the bonebed from the artifact. …

Field Observations And Modeling Of The 1957 Earthquake And Tsunami On The Islands Of The Four Mountains, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Frances R. Griswold

All Master's Theses

Due to a lack of research in the Aleutian Islands, a comprehensive history of the Aleutian subduction zone is not developed; however, this study indicates that the Aleutian subduction zone is capable of generating magnitude ~9 earthquakes or larger in addition to trans-Pacific tsunamis. Comparison of simulated runup and observed runup will help to determine the characteristics of rupture in the eastern Aleutians. A recent survey of the tsunami wrackline produced by the 1957 Great Aleutian earthquake (M_w 8.6) indicates runup up to 17.5 m in the Islands of the Four Mountains (presented here). Combined with other nearfield observations …

Rapid Middle To Late Miocene Slip Along The Zanskar Normal Fault, Greater Himalayan Range, Nw, India: Constraints From Low-Temperature Thermochronometry, Brett L. Shurtleff

All Master's Theses

The Zanskar normal fault (ZF) is a NW-striking, moderately NE-dipping, normal fault that bounds the northern flank of the Greater Himalaya Range, NW India. The ZF is the far west continuation of the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS), a major arc-parallel normal sense shear zone that spans the length of the Himalayan orogen. Detailed new zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He (ZHe and AHe) and apatite fission-track (AFT) thermochronometric data from high-grade (amphibolite-migmatite) Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) metamorphic rocks, exposed in the footwall immediately adjacent to the ZF, provide constraints on the middle Miocene to present exhumation history of the footwall. The …

Quantifying Channel Responses To The Removal Of The Glines Canyon Dam In The Middle Reach Of The Elwha River, Washington, Bryon J. Free

All Master's Theses

Four different study sites throughout the middle reach of the Elwha River were monitored before, during, and after the dam removal process over a period of two years from 2012-2014. The complexity of the river geometry was a major factor in the ability of the river to trap and accumulate the new influx of woody debris and sediment from the dam removal, which influenced the response of the river channel. The change that occurred was quantified by using repeat Terrestrial LiDAR (TLS), sediment distribution surveys, and large woody debris mapping techniques. The morphologic changes that occurred during this time were …

Geologic Mapping In The Black Mountain Area, Northern Eastern California Shear Zone: Testing A Kinematic And Geometric Fault Slip Transfer Model, Kevin M. Delano

All Master's Theses

New geologic mapping, structural, kinematic, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology studies in the Black Mountain area, northern eastern California shear zone, are used to test a kinematic fault slip transfer model for the Owens Valley fault-Mina deflection transition. In the Black Mountain area, range bounding ~NNW- to ~NS-striking and lesser NW- to NE-striking normal faults cut Mesozoic, Miocene (22.42 ± 0.05 Ma), Pliocene (3.53 ± 0.06 to 3.29 ± 0.02 Ma), and early-middle Pleistocene (1936 ± 12.7 to 766 ± 3.1 ka) rocks. Palinspastically restored cross-sections show that offset Pliocene markers record 1.5 +0.7/-0.6 km of ~ENE-WSW extension since …

Timing And Source Of Alkali Enrichment At Mt. Etna, Sicily: Constraints From Clinopyroxene Geobarometry And In Situ Sr Isotope Data, Kaitlyn Nelson

All Master's Theses

Since 1971, Mt. Etna, Europe’s largest and most active volcano, has exhibited increased eruption frequency and explosivity. Associated with this increased activity, researchers have documented higher abundances of alkali elements (K, Rb, Cs) as well as elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in Etnean lavas. The source of this alkali-enrichment has been hotly debated, with end-member hypotheses involving mantle vs. crustal contributions. To further characterize the evolution of the subvolcanic magma storage and transport system, as well as the timing and source of alkali-enrichment, clinopyroxene from ten samples erupted between 1329 and 2004 was targeted for in situ textural, major element …

Using Modflow To Predict Impacts Of Groundwater Pumpage To Instream Flow: Upper Kittitas County, Washington, Zoe O. Futornick

All Master's Theses

Surface waters in the Yakima River Basin in central Washington are considered over allocated. Since 1960, new water demands have been met through groundwater withdrawals, with most groundwater users holding a later priority date than senior and junior surface water users. As a result of the discussions surrounding this issue, the Upper Kittitas Groundwater Rule has been in effect since 2010. Pumping from new domestic (i.e., permit-exempt or “exempt”) groundwater wells in Upper Kittitas County is not allowed unless mitigation is used to offset the groundwater use. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has already created a basin-wide model for …

Compositions, Logratios And Geostatistics: An Application To Iron Ore, Clint Ward

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Common implementations of geostatistical methods, kriging and simulation, ignore the fact that geochemical data are usually reported in weight percent, sum to a constant, and are thus compositional in nature. The constant sum implies that rescaling has occurred and this can be shown to produce spurious correlations. Compositional geostatistics is an approach developed to ensure that the constant sum constraint is respected in estimation while removing dependencies on the spurious correlations. This study tests the applicability of this method against the commonly implemented ordinary cokriging method. The sample data are production blast cuttings analyses drawn from a producing iron ore …

Pressure-Temperature-Time Constraints For Exhumation Of Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Rocks, North Qaidam Terrane, Western China, Brittany Kristine Fagin

All Master's Theses

Ultrahigh-pressure rocks of a Paleozoic continental suture zone are exposed in the southeastern North Qaidam terrane (Dulan region). Garnetite sample D119 contains minor Czo+Qtz+Chl+Ttn; rutile inclusions in titanite suggest that titanite replaced rutile during decompression. Pressure-temperature estimates of sample D119 are 16.1-18.4 kbar and 485-520 °C. Sample D130B is a mafic band in calc-silicate gneiss, with garnet porphyroblasts in a fine-grained Hbl-Cpx-Pl-Qtz symplectite that is interpreted as former omphacite. D130B symplectite pressure-temperature estimates are 7.7-9.4 kbar and 623-708 °C. Titanite U-Pb ages of 419.7±3.1 Ma and 415.9±4.2 Ma are interpreted to date retrogression of D119 and D130B, respectively. Average exhumation …

Measuring The Cost And Performance Of Lithic Industries At The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45pi408), Patrick Christropher Lewis

All Master's Theses

This thesis applies a theoretically informed protocol that focuses on variation in stone tool manufacture and use as measured in the 45PI408 lithic assemblage. The model used is based on the variables of stone tool cost and performance. Guided by this model, technological and functional paradigmatic classifications are employed to measure intra­site variation in lithic frequencies. This method avoids difficulties encountered by previous archaeologists by using mutually exclusive analytical units that measure subtle variation in the archaeological record. Variability in technological and functional paradigmatic classificatory dimensions such as stone tool heat treatment, raw materials, use wear, and reduction class were …

Accelerated Glacier Melt On Snow Dome, Mount Olympus, Washington, Usa, Due To Deposition Of Black Carbon And Mineral Dust From Wildfire, Susan Kaspari, S. Mckenzie Skiles, Ian Delaney, Daniel Dixon

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Assessing the potential for black carbon (BC) and dust deposition to reduce albedo and accelerate glacier melt is of interest in Washington because snow and glacier melt are an important source of water resources, and glaciers are retreating. In August 2012 on Snow Dome, Mount Olympus, Washington, we measured snow surface spectral albedo and collected surface snow samples and a 7 m ice core. The snow and ice samples were analyzed for iron (Fe, used as a dust proxy) via inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry, total impurity content gravimetrically, BC using a single-particle soot photometer (SP2), and charcoal …

Palynological Interpretations Of Deep Sea Drilling Projects Cores In The Gulf Of Mexico And Bahamian Platform, Adam Patrick Barron

Masters Theses

"One hundred drill core samples were from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 94, 98, and 540 were investigated for their palynological contents (pollen, spores, acritarchs, dinoflagellate cysts, and dispersed organic matter) to infer the paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic history of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamian Platform during the middle Eocene to middle Miocene interval. At Sites 94 and 540, abundant dinoflagellate cysts (chiefly Operculodinium centrocarpum, Lingulodinium machaerophorum, Impagidinium sp., Nematosphaeropsis sp., and Spiniferites spp.) were used as paleoenvironmental indicators. Two alternating palynofacies assemblages were identified from dispersed organic matter analysis: terrestrially influenced assemblage A and marine dominated assemblage …

A Geochemical Investigation Of Co₂ Sequestration And Site Characterization At Two Missouri Locations, Robert Allen Swain

Masters Theses

"The feasibility of sequestering CO₂ in saline aquifers of Lamotte Formation sandstone was investigated at wells located near Thomas Hill power plant, Moberly, MO and Sioux City Power Plant in Florissant, MO. Governing factors of using aquifers for CO₂ disposal include water salinity, potential for carbonic acid buffering, rate of precipitation of carbonate minerals following CO₂ introduction into the host aquifer, and the integrity of the Davis and Derby-DoeRun shale as a trap rock to prevent migration of the CO₂ phase and carbonic acid into the overlying potable Ozark Aquifer.

Both in situ and laboratory methods …

Paleogeographic And Paleoenvironmental Evolution Of Lacustrine And Fluvial Upper Triassic Zhangjiatan Shale Sequence, Ordos Basin, China, Qiuwan Yu

Masters Theses

"Detailed sequence stratigraphic and depositional systems analyses can effectively delineate factors and processes controlling deposition of fine-grained lacustrine sediments. Upper Triassic Zhangjiatan (ZJT) Shale Bed and adjacent strata in Ordos foreland basin was used as an example. A new depositional sequence model shows that the maximum regressive shoreline was more landward than that at the lowest lake-level. The study area is on the ramp margin, covering 100x90 km². Thin sections, cores and well-logs of 80 wells are used to calibrate log signatures, document lithofacies, and interpret depositional facies in a sequence stratigraphic context. The entire sequence thickens from …

Total Variation Regularization Of Geodetically And Geologically Constrained Block Models For The Western United States, Eileen L. Evans, John P. Loveless, Brendan J. Meade

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Geodetic observations of interseismic deformation in the Western United States provide con- straints on microplate rotations, earthquake cycle processes, and slip partitioning across the Pacific–North America Plate boundary. These measurements may be interpreted using block models, in which the upper crust is divided into microplates bounded by faults that accumulate strain in a first-order approximation of earthquake cycle processes. The number and geometry of microplates are typically defined with boundaries representing a limited subset of the large number of potentially seismogenic faults. An alternative approach is to include a large number of potentially active faults bounding a dense array of …

Strata-Bound Vein Array In The Basal Pierre Shale, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota, U.S.A, Harmon D. Maher Jr., Sarah Ferguson, Ryan Korth, Justine Marshall, Laura Pickett

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

A distinctive strata-bound vein array occurs in the basal Pierre Shale exposed along the shores of Lake Francis Case, a reservoir on the Missouri River in south-central South Dakota. Typically 2–4 meters in thickness, the array consistently outcrops over a >50-km distance, a significant areal footprint. Ash layers define the upper and lower bounds of the vein array. Two, suborthogonal, preferred directions of vertical veins (northeast and southeast strike) define a regional pattern. By volume, vertical veins comprise 1–2% of the rock. Thinner, more discontinuous, and irregular horizontal veins also occur. Comparisons between array orientations and the joint/vein pattern in …

Evaluation Of Rock Fall Hazards Using Lidar Technology, Norbert H. Maerz, Travis Kassebaum, Kenneth J. Boyko, James Otoo

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lidar (light detection and ranging) is a relatively new technology that is being used in many aspects of geology and engineering, including researching the potential for rock falls on highway rock cuts. At Missouri University of Science and Technology, we are developing methods for measuring joint orientations remotely and quantifying the raveling process. Measuring joint orientations remotely along highways is safer, more accurate and can result in larger and more accurate data sets, including measurements from otherwise inaccessible areas. Measuring the nature of rock raveling will provide the data needed to begin the process of modeling the rock raveling process. …

Electrical Resistivity Imaging For Long-Term Autonomous Monitoring Of Hydrocarbon Degradation: Lessons From The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Jeffrey W. Heenan, Lee D. Slater, Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis, Estella A. Atekwana, Babu Z. Fathepure, Sonal Dalvi, Cameron Ross, D. Dale Werkema, Eliot A. Atekwana

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Conceptual models for the geophysical responses associated with hydrocarbon degradation suggest that the long-term evolution of an oil plume will result in a more conductive anomaly than the initial contamination. In response to the Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, an autonomous resistivity monitoring system was deployed on Grand Terre, Louisiana, in an attempt to monitor natural degradation processes in hydrocarbon-impacted beach sediments of this island. A 48-electrode surface array with a 0.5-m spacing was installed to obtain twice-daily images of the resistivity structure of the shallow subsurface impacted by oil. Over the course …

Quantifying The Stratigraphic Completeness Of Delta Shoreline Trajectories, Robert C. Mahon, John B. Shaw, Katherine R. Barnhart, Daniel E. J. Hobley, Brandon Mcelroy

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding the incomplete nature of the stratigraphic record is fundamental for interpreting stratigraphic sequences. Methods for quantifying stratigraphic completeness for one-dimensional stratigraphic columns, defined as the proportion of time intervals of some length that contain stratigraphy, are commonplace; however, quantitative assessments of completeness in higher dimensions are lacking. Here we present a metric for defining stratigraphic completeness of two-dimensional shoreline trajectories using topset-foreset rollover positions in dip-parallel sections and describe the preservation potential of a shoreline trajectory derived from the geometry of the delta surface profile and the kinematics of the geomorphic shoreline trajectory. Two end-member forward models are required …

Stratigraphy And Porosity Modeling Of South-Central Illinois (Usa) Chester (Upper Mississippian) Series Sandstones Using Petrel, Darren Kimple, Eric W. Peterson, David H. Malone

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Maximizing resource extraction from mature oilfields requires enhanced and secondary recovery techniques. The success of these methods relies on knowledge and understanding of the reservoir geology and hydraulics. At the Loudon Oilfield (Illinois, USA), enhanced oil recovery is being used to extend the production life of the reservoir. The suitability and placement of additional wells for oil recovery processes required three-dimensional (3D) facies and porosity modeling of the oilfield. The purpose of this work was to assess the ability of a porosity model to predict sandstone facies. The facies model for the Loudon field was generated using data obtained from …

Three-Dimensional Geologic Model Of The Pecatonica Gas Storage Field, Winnebago County, Illinois, Nicole D. Kron, David H. Malone, Eric W. Peterson

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

This study involves the construction of a three-dimensional (3D) geologic model of Paleozoic strata that are part of an underground gas storage field in northern, Illinois, USA. The Pecatonica Anticline trends 60W and plunges gently to the southeast. It is 10 km long and 3 km wide, and verges to the NE. Six water wells and 22 gas wells were used to create the 3-D geologic model in Petrel using well tops as determined from wire-line logs. The following horizons were created for the Cambrian and Ordovician strata: the Ancell, Trempealeau, Franconia, Ironton-Galesvilles, Eau Claire Proviso A and B, Eau …

4-D Evolution Of Anticlines And Implications For Hydrocarbon Exploration Within The Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, Mjahid M. Zebari, Caroline M. Burberry

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, extending from southern Iran, through northern Iraq and into Turkey, is characterized by elongate NW-trending anticlines that house large hydrocarbon accumulations. In recent years, the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq has become an area of interest for both structural studies and petroleum exploration-related investigation. Key questions to be answered concern the nature of the anticlines and whether the geometry of any associated thrusts can be predicted from surface geomorphology, as well the 4-D evolution of the area and along-strike continuity of the anticlines. To address these questions, this study combines field data, remote-sensing data concerning the …

Impact Of Antecedent Groundwater Heads And Transient Aquifer Storage On Flood Peak Attenuation In An Unconfined Karst Aquifer: Study Of The Upper Suwannee River, Florida, Usa., Jeremy Loucks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Flood peak attenuation is an important aspect of understanding flooding and its effects. Few studies exist that look at the effects of ground-surface water interactions in regards to peak attenuation, and fewer still focus on karst environments. In the karstic, variably confined Suwannee River Basin, discharge, river stage, and water table data that were collected over a ten-year period were analyzed to determine the relationship between antecedent groundwater head and flood peak attenuation. Flooding causes high hydraulic heads in the river, which rise faster than corresponding groundwater heads. Springs which normally feed groundwater into the river reverse flow, and conduits …