Geology Commons^™

Suspended Sediment Transport Dynamics And Sediment Yields In Relation To Watershed Characteristics, Upper Green River Basin, Kentucky, James Nii Aboh Otoo

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sediment delivery is a major problem in the Green River, Kentucky, home of 71 of the state’s 103 known mussel species and 151 fish species. The river also provides water for many of its surrounding counties. This research focuses on how suspended sediment loads, grain size, and sediment concentration during runoff events are related to watershed characteristics.

The research characterized suspended sediment loads, grain size, and sediment concentration during runoff events and how they were related to watershed characteristics such as hydro-climatic regime, watershed size, geology and soils, topography and landuse conditions and land cover conditions. The study focused on …

Yellowstone Super-Volcano: Evaluation, Potential Threats, And Possible Effects On Nebraska Citizens Health And Prosperity, Jennie Korgie

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Yellowstone National Park is located over a hot spot under the North American tectonic plate and holds a potentially explosive super-volcano that has the ability to cause deadly consequences on the North American continent. After an eruption the surrounding region would see the greatest devastation, covered by pyroclastic deposits and thick ash fall exterminating most all life and destroying all structures in its path. In landscapes of greater distance from the event the consequences will be less dramatic yet still substantial. Records of previous eruption data from the Yellowstone super-volcano show that the ash fall out from the eruption …

Baseline Rockfall Rates And Rockfall Protection In Virginia, Brian Bruckno

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Current approaches to rockfall hazard and risk mitigation have been dominated by a model in which rockfall is treated as a global slope stability phenomenon which is mainly triggered by precipitation, freeze-thaw, or root wedging. The methods implemented by many public agencies and private entities developed from this conceptualization. These methods, such as the Rockfall Hazard Rating System, Key Block and Key Group Analysis, and remote sensing using LIDAR or digital images, are best applied to the end-members of slopes, such as pure engineered soil or structurally simple and consistent rock slopes. Slopes exhibiting complex structure, slopes that cross formations …

Intensity, Magnitude, Location, And Attenuation In India For Felt Earthquakes Since 1762, Walter Szeliga, Susan Hough, Stacey Martin, Roger Bilham

Faculty Scholarship for the Cascadia Hazards Institute

A comprehensive, consistently interpreted new catalog of felt intensities for India (Martin and Szeliga, 2010, this issue) includes intensities for 570 earthquakes; instrumental magnitudes and locations are available for 100 of these events. We use the intensity values for 29 of the instrumentally recorded events to develop new intensity versus attenuation relations for the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan region. We then use these relations to determine the locations and magnitudes of 234 historical events, using the method of Bakun and Wentworth (1997). For the remaining 336 events, intensity distributions are too sparse to determine magnitude or location. We evaluate …

A Catalog Of Felt Intensity Data For 570 Earthquakes In India From 1636 To 2009, Stacey Martin, Walter Szeliga

Faculty Scholarship for the Cascadia Hazards Institute

Eight thousand three hundred thirty-nine intensity observations have been evaluated for earthquakes that occurred on the Indian subcontinent and surrounding plate boundaries from the seventeenth century to the present. They characterize 570 earthquakes, more than 90% of which occurred in the past two centuries. The electronic supplement to this article lists these data using European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98) intensities with their geographic coordinates. We summarize these data graphically in the form of a spatially averaged intensity map for the subcontinent, a map that emphasizes the features of many previously published earthquake hazard maps for the Indian plate, but which more …

Analysis Of Streamflow In The St. Croix River: A Hydrologic Model, Stephanie A. Kleinschmidt

Geography Honors Projects

This project assesses how streamflow is affected by anthropogenic changes to the environment, looking specifically at the St. Croix River Basin. In 2004 the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) published a report on streamflow in the St. Croix River at two gaging stations: Danbury and St. Croix Falls. The streamflow at the upstream station near Danbury, Wisconsin remained stable over time, while an increase was observed at the station in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin further downstream. In order to evaluate this disparity, this project utilizes a GIS hydrologic model to analyze the factors expected to be influencing the flow rate. …

Changing Depositional Environments In An Upper Ordovician Stratigraphic Sequence, Ashlock Formation, Madison County, Kentucky, Kevin G. Greff, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We investigate the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and depositional environments of a 7-meter, Upper Ordovician limestone sequence cropping out in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky. The stratigraphic section lies within the Ashlock Formation with good lateral exposure stretching along 200 meters of a highway roadcut. We took approximately 20 samples from the measured section, focusing on representative samples and lithologic transitions. We use standard laboratory procedures in slabbing rock samples and making thin sections.

The Ashlock Formation here consists of alternating layers of limey mudstone and limestone (field units A through F). Megafossils - brachiopods, bryozoans, trilobites, gastropods, ostracodes, coralline algae, and bivalves …

Normal And Reverse Faulting Driven By The Subduction Zone Earthquake Cycle In The Northern Chilean Forearc, John P. Loveless, Richard W. Allmendinger, Matthew E. Pritchard, Gabriel González

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Despite its location in a convergent tectonic setting, the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile between 21°S and 25°S is dominated by structures demonstrating extension in the direction of plate convergence. In some locations, however, normal faults have been reactivated as reverse faults, complicating the interpretation of long-term strain. In order to place these new observations in a tectonic context, we model stress changes induced on these faults by the subduction earthquake cycle. Our simulations predict that interseismic locking on the plate boundary encourages normal slip on fore-arc faults, which may result from elastic rebound due to interplate earthquakes or from …

Testing Models Related To The Laramide Uplift Of The Uinta Mountains And Geologic Mapping Of The Jessen Butte 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, Dagget County, Utah And Sweetwater County, Wyoming, Coreen Hurst

Theses and Dissertations

Geologic mapping of the Jessen Butte 7.5 minute quadrangle and the gathering of structural data throughout the quadrangle was used to determine the paleostress regime during the Laramide Orogeny along the north flank of the Uinta Mountains. The Henrys Fork thrust fault and the Uinta thrust fault are major north bounding faults and within the Jessen Butte quadrangle these faults transfer deformation from one to the other. The Jessen Butte thrust fault is a fault splay that splits off from the Henrys Fork thrust fault. Complex fold geometries were created by the interaction of the faults. Bedding plane orientation, mode …

Integrating Facies Analysis, Terrestrial Sequence Stratigraphy, And The First Detrital Zircon (U-Pb) Ages Of The Twist Gulch Formation, Utah, Usa: Constraining Paleogeography And Chronostratigraphy, Tyson L. Perkes

Theses and Dissertations

The Jurassic Twist Gulch Formation of central Utah was deposited in the active Arapien sub-basin of the Western Cordillera foreland trough. We herein demonstrate the utility of integrating facies analysis, terrestrial sequence stratigraphy, and detrital zircon (U-Pb) ages to improve paleogeographic reconstructions as well as identify regional unconformities, locate fluvial depocenters, and infer sediment supply/accommodation space ratios. Strata of the Twist Gulch Formation in Pigeon Creek Canyon (PCC) near Levan, Utah consists primarily of alluvial deposits, while in Salina Canyon (SC) the Twist Gulch Formation is comprised of a mix of alluvial and marginal marine deposits associated with the Jurassic …

Detrital Zircon Geochronology For Neoproterozoic To Cambrian Sediment Sources Of The Deep Creek Range And The Pilot Range In The Southwestern United States, Kaysea Perry

Earth and Soil Sciences

Detrital zircon studies of miogeoclinal sediments can help provide a deeper look into the mechanisms leading to continental breakup by studying the evolution of the continental margin of North America. Few detrital zircon studies have been conducted to support previous research and theories about the sedimentation of the Miogeocline from the Neoproterozoic to the Cambrian. Studies targeted at the Basin and Range province of the western United States show a trend of increasing local sediment sources. We analyzed detrital zircons from the Pilot and Deep Creek Ranges in Nevada and Utah via LA-MC-ICP-MS at the University of Arizona LaserChron Center …

Geodetic Imaging Of Plate Motions, Slip Rates, And Partitioning Of Deformation In Japan, John P. Loveless, Brendan J. Meade

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Interseismic deformation in Japan results from the combined effects of tectonic processes including rotation of crustal blocks and the earthquake cycle process of elastic strain accumulation about upper plate faults and subduction zone interfaces. We use spherical linear block theory constrained by geodetic observations from densely spaced Global Positioning System (GPS) stations to estimate plate motions, fault slip rates, and spatially variable interplate coupling on the Japan-Kuril, Sagami, and Nankai subduction zones. The reference model developed in this paper consists of 20 blocks, produces a mean residual velocity magnitude of 1.84 mm/yr at 950 stations, and accounts for 96% of …

Ion Microprobe Analysis Of Oxygen Isotopes In Garnets Of Complex Chemistry, F. Zeb Page, Noriko T. Kita, John W. Valley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Accurate ion microprobe analysis of oxygen isotope ratios in garnet is possible if appropriate standards are employed to correct for instrumental bias, a component of which depends on the cation chemistry of the analyzed mineral. In this study, 26 garnet standards (including 14 new standards) that span the compositional range of pyrope, almandine, grossular, spessartine, and andradite were analyzed repeatedly by ion microprobe to develop a new method of correcting for instrumental bias in garnets. All analyses were normalized to a single master garnet standard (UWG-2) before bias from cation composition was considered. Bias due to cation composition …

Carbonates In Skeleton-Poor Seas: New Insights From Cambrian And Ordovician Strata Of Laurentia, Sara B. Pruss, Seth Finnegan, Woodward W. Fischer, Andrew H. Knoll

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Calcareous skeletons evolved as part of the greater EdiacaranCambrian diversification of marine animals. Skeletons did not become permanent, globally important sources of carbonate sediment, however, until the Ordovician radiation. Representative carbonate facies in a Series 3 (510501 Ma) Cambrian to Tremadocian succession from western Newfoundland, Canada, and Ordovician successions from the Ibex area, Utah, USA, show that, on average, Cambrian and Tremadocian carbonates contain much less skeletal material than do post-Tremadocian sediments. Petrographic point counts of skeletal abundance within facies and proportional facies abundance in measured sections suggest that later Cambrian successions contain on average volume, whereas the skeletal content …

Characteristics Of Co₂ Sequestration In Saline Aquifers, Fang Yang, Baojun Bai, Dazhen Tang, Shari Dunn-Norman, David J. Wronkiewicz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Storage of CO₂ in saline aquifers is a viable option for reducing the amount of CO₂ released to the atmosphere. This paper provides an overall review of CO₂ sequestration in saline aquifers. First, the principles of CO₂ sequestration are presented, including CO₂ phase behavior, CO₂-water-rock interaction, and CO₂ trapping mechanisms. Then storage capacity and CO₂ injectivity are discussed as the main determinants of the storage potential of saline aquifers. Next, a site section process is addressed considering basin characteristics, reservoir characteristics, and economic and social concerns. Three main procedures are then …

Timing Of Present And Future Snowmelt From High Elevations In Northwest Montana, Bonnie Jean Gillan, Joel T. Harper, Johnnie N. Moore

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The sensitivity of snowmelt-driven water supply to climate variability and change is difficult to assess in the mountain west, where strong climatic gradients coupled with complex topography are sampled by sparse ground measurements. We developed a model which ingests daily satellite imagery and meteorological data and is suitable for areas >1000 km2, yet captures spatial variability of snow accumulation and melt in steep mountain terrain.We applied the model for the years 2000–2008 to a 2900 km2 snowmelt-dominated watershed in NW Montana. We found that >25% of the basin’s snow water equivalent (SWE) accumulates above the highest measurement station and >70% …

Estimation Of Vertical Groundwater Fluxes Into A Streambed Through Continuous Temperature Profile Monitoring And The Relationship Of Groundwater Fluxes To Coaster Brook Trout Spawning Habitat , Matthew Van Grinsven

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

We hypothesized that the spatial distribution of groundwater inflows through river bottom sediments is a critical factor associated with the selection of coaster brook trout (a life history variant of Salvelinus fontinalis,) spawning sites. An 80-m reach of the Salmon Trout River, in the Huron Mountains of the upper peninsula of Michigan, was selected to test the hypothesis based on long-term documentation of coaster brook trout spawning at this site. Throughout this site, the river is relatively similar along its length with regard to stream channel and substrate features. A monitoring well system consisting of an array of 27 …

Pseudokarst Of East Texas: Geomorphic Features And Evolution [Abstract], Kevin W. Stafford, Melinda G. Shaw-Faulkner, Wesley A. Brown

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Geochemical Spatial Variability Of The Colorado River Associated With Karst Springs, Colorado Bend State Park, Central Texas [Abstract], Katie Mitchell, Sherri Dornak, Kevin W. Stafford

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A distinctive suite of small-scale erosional forms that are oriented towards the light occur close to the entrance of Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, in SE Venezuela. These are the third example of photokarren ever studied in the world, the other two being from Borneo and Ireland. They are the only photokarren ever described from sandstone, and the only example from a non-carbonate environment. The host rock is a poorly-lithified unit of the Precambrian quartz arenite of the Roraima Supergroup. The forms are all oriented towards the light at 30° regardless of rock surface orientation. …

A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The ‘breccia’ stratum from Kents (we follow local tradition in using the form ‘Kents’, without an apostrophe) Cavern, England, has been well known for its rich yield of cave-bear material since excavations began in the mid-19th century. Recent work has established that the bears are of latest MIS 12 or earliest MIS 11 age. A life table based on a collection of 67 molariform teeth is consistent with the use of the cave as a hibernaculum. Univariate and morphological assessment of the teeth shows an unusual range of primitive and more derived characters. Multivariate morphometric analysis of cave-bear teeth from …

A Geographic Information Systems Approach To The 19th Century Excavation Of Brixham Cavern, Devon, England, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Warren Roberts

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The oldest known spatially-explicit archaeological excavation, conducted in Brixham cave, Devon, in 1858, is reconstructed using geographic information systems technology. Two dimensional plots of individual fossil taxa and flint artefacts demonstrate the utility of the technique for elucidating taphonomy and palaeobiology. The cave served as a den for hibernating brown bears, as a den for hyena and cave lion, and as a reliquary for their prey.

Climate In The Southern Sawatch Range And Elk Mountains, Colorado, U.S.A., During The Last Glacial Maximum: Inferences Using A Simple Degree-Day Model, Keith A. Brugger

Geology Publications

Equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) were determined from reconstructions of 22 paleoglaciers at their extent during the local last glacial maximum (LGM) using the accumulation-area method. LGM ELAs thus derived ranged from 2980 to 3560 m and follow a statistically significant regional trend of rising ~4.5 m km^-1 to the east. Two approaches using a degree-day model were used to infer LGM climate by finding plausible combinations of temperature and precipitation change that (1) would be required to lower ELAs to their mean LGM values in both the Taylor Park/eastern Elk Mountains region and western Elk Mountains, and (2) provide steady-state …

A Study Of Fold Characteristics And Deformation Style Using The Evolution Of The Land Surface: Zagros Simply Folded Belt, Iran, Caroline M. Burberry, John W. Cosgrove, Jian-Guo Liu

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Deformation styles within a fold-thrust belt can be understood in terms of the spatial organization and geometry of the fold structures. In young fold-thrust belts such as the Zagros, this geometry is reflected topographically by concordant landform morphology. Thus, the distribution of deformation structures can be characterized using satellite image analysis, digital elevation models, the drainage network and geomorphological indicators. The two distinct fold types considered in this study (fault-bend folds and detachment folds) both trending NW-SE, interact with streams flowing NE-SW from the High Zagros Mountains into the Persian Gulf. Multiple abandoned stream channels cross fault-bend folds related to …

Composition And Structure Of The San Andreas Fault Observatory At Depth (Safod) Phase Iii Whole-Rock Core: Implications For Fault Zone Deformation And Fluid-Rock Interactions, Kelly Keighley Bradbury, James P. Evans

Geosciences Presentations

We examine the composition and texture of whole-rock core from ~ 3 km depth in the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) borehole, which provides a unique opportunity to characterize in situ rock properties of the near-fault environment, and how these properties vary in an area where deformation is accommodated by aseismic creep and high-rates of microseismicity. Detailed petrography and microstructural analyses coupled with X-Ray Diffraction and X-ray Fluorescence techniques are used to describe composition, alteration, and textures.

All samples record multiple generations of cataclastic deformation in a complexly deformed and altered sequence of fine-grained sheared rocks. Localized shears …

Geologic Map Of The Nez Perce Drainage Basin, Southwestern Montana, Rose Aimee Feinstein

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

A geologic map of the Nez Perce drainage basin in southwestern Montana offers an understanding of the developing paleotopography of the area following the Laramide orogeny, ca. 65 ma. In this project, a small drainage basin was studied in detail, focusing on the geomorphology, structure, lithology, and ages of the various rock units. Based on the results of these studies and the relationships found among four major gravel units mapped within the basin, the basin development was approximated. The youngest unit is a fine-grained (mean diameter = 8.23 cm) channel deposit within Nez Perce Creek, sourced from within the basin, …

A Two-Dimensional, Linear–Elastic Model To Explain Radial Extensional Fractures, Pantheon Fossae, Caloris Basin, Mercury, Brianne Mcdonough

Undergraduate Review

In this study, two-dimensional linear elasticity theory is used to model the lithospheric stress field that produces radial extensional fractures observed at Pantheon Fossae in the Caloris Basin of Mercury. These fractures were imaged by the MESSENGER mission flyby of Mercury on January 14, 2008 and show radial fractures extending outward from a 40-kilometer impact crater named Apollodorus. Recent studies have proposed several different mechanisms to explain these fractures, including magmatic processes, central basin uplift, and stresses produced by the formation of the impact crater itself.

Constructing A Flash Flood Climatology Of The Appalachian Mountains: Comparison Of Eastern Kentucky And West Virginia Summer Time Rain Events, Jane Marie Wix

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Appalachian Mountains are subject to flash floods due to interactions between complex terrain and frequent rainfall. Previous studies have shown that a number of environmental factors can trigger flash floods, which can leave behind a variety of outcomes. However, there is a lack of research concerning flash floods in the Appalachian region. This study addresses these concerns by examining summer (June-August) rainfall frequency and intensity in connection with flash floods in the Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia during 1995-2005. Flash floods were identified using the National Climatic Data Center’s (NCDC) Storm Database. Radar estimated rainfall data …

Regional Vs. Local Impact Of Wind On Glaciers In The Andes Mountains, Derek Ferris

Undergraduate Review

Northern Peru will face critical water resource issues in the near future as permanent ice in the Andes Mountains continues to rapidly melt. Ironically, the melt-water from these glaciers supports the culture of 100s of thousands of people living at lower elevations, particularly during the dry season, and predictions suggest some glaciers may be gone in less than 100 years. The impact of local warming of “U” shaped valleys running down the dryer western slope of the Andes range is largely disregarded in current climate model predictions because of the complexity of simulating the complex topography. Studies that compare the …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …