Geology Commons^™

2005- 2008 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Valerie Avery, Shana Bachus, Karmen K. Boehlke, Andrea Flores, Alden Kelly, Erick Lopez, Carol Preussler, Heather Shay, Ava Bookatz, Shaun Elsasser, Veronica Hicks, Shaida A. Jetha, Anthony Quinn, Thurithabhani Seneviratne, Teddy Boado Sim Jr., Liza Ward, Amris Henry-Rodgers, Jacquelynn Kaaa-Logan, Jason Orozco, Juan C. Plata, Bonnie Bartlett, Kathleen Bell, Vacheral M. Carter, Nydia Diaz, Kimberly Hackstock, Julio A. Luna, Charles Mao, Sandra Ramos, Precious Rideout, Benjamin Lee Watrous, Chet R. Whitley

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Evolution Of A Late Cenozoic Supradetachment Basin Above A Flat-On-Flat Detachment With A Folded Lateral Ramp, Se Idaho, A. N. Steely, Susanne U. Janecke, S. P. Long, S. C. Carney, R. Q. Oaks Jr., V. E. Langenheim, P. K. Link

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Uplift and exposure of the Bannock detachment system and the synextensional basin fill deposits of the Salt Lake Formation provide a unique exposure of the three-dimensional geometries of a low-angle normal fault system and the stratal architecture of the overlying supradetachment basin. Within this system, structural and stratigraphic analyses, outcrop patterns, tephra geochronology, and geological cross sections document several important relationships: (1) the Bannock detachment system developed above the Sevierage Cache-Pocatello culmination and resembles the Sevier Desert detachment in its geometry, structural setting, and kinematic evolution; (2) the Bannock detachment system initiated and slipped at low angles; (3) flat-on-flat, ramp-flat, …

Geologic Map Of The Bachelor Mountain 7.5' Quadrangle Beaverhead County, Montana, Susanne U. Janecke, R. J. Dorsey, J. C. Kickham, J. P. Matoush, W. Mcintosh

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Geologic Map of the Bachelor Mountain 7.5’ Quadrangle Beaverhead County, Montana Geologic Summary The Bachelor Mountain quadrangle is located in the Horse Prairie Creek drainage basin of southwest Montana and contains exposures of Middle Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks and eighteen map units of Eocene to Oligocene basin-fill deposits assigned to the Medicine Lodge beds. Locally, overlying upper Oligocene to lower Miocene(?) Everson Creek beds and late early to early late Miocene Bannack Pass beds are also preserved as basin-fill deposits. The Medicine Lodge beds were deposited in an early basin, the Grant protobasin (Fig. 1a), during slip on the Muddy-Grasshopper detachment …

Variability Of Sea Ice Cover In The Chukchi Sea (Western Arctic Ocean) During The Holocene, Anne De Vernal, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, Dennis A. Darby

OES Faculty Publications

Dinocysts from cores collected in the Chukchi Sea from the shelf edge to the lower slope were used to reconstruct changes in sea surface conditions and sea ice cover using modern analogue techniques. Holocene sequences have been recovered in a down-slope core (B15: 2135 m, 75°44'N, sedimentation rate of ~1cm kyr-¹) and in a shelf core (P1: 201 m, 73°41'N, sedimentation rate of ~22 cm kyr^-1). The shelf record spanning about 8000 years suggests high-frequency centennial oscillations of sea surface conditions and a significant reduction of the sea ice at circa 6000 and 2500 calendar (cal) …

Gis-Based Site Suitability Analysis For Planning Confined Animal Feeding Operations In Iowa, Brian Lance Bakker

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are becoming increasingly common on the Iowa landscape. These structures produce a very large number of livestock in a small area. The production of livestock is essential to the economy of Iowa, creating billions of dollars in revenue. However, when production is confined to small areas, large amounts of byproducts are produced that can cause a threat to the environment surrounding the areas of production. Thus, there is a need for careful planning, particularly the selection of suitable locations for future CAFO development. Currently, locations for CAFOs are simply chosen according to a producer's preference …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 33, 2004-2005, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

Radon In Caves, Arrigo A. Cigna

International Journal of Speleology

The physical characteristics of radon are reported as well as its sources,the transport in rock and its behaviour in caves. Then, the instruments,both active and passive, used for the measurement of radon concentration are discussed by taking into account their respective advantages and disadvantages for the use in the cave environment. Since in many countries radon is the object of regulations that were adopted for radiation protection purposes, this aspect is examined and the recommendations issued by international organisations and enforced in different countries are reported. Materials, methods and other remarks on the limits implementation are also listed with the …

Agraphorura Calvoi N. Sp. From Venezuelan Caves (Collembola: Onychiuridae), Javier I. Arbea

International Journal of Speleology

A new species of Agraphorura (Collembola: Poduromorpha: Onychiuridae) from caves in the Nort-West of Venezuela is described. A. calvoi n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: antennal organ III with four papillae, 32/133/33343 dorsal pseudocellar formula, 3/000/0112 ventral pseudocellar, subcoxae each with two pseudocelli, postantennal organ with 7-9 vesicles, unguiculus with a basal lamella, tibiotarsi I-III with 19,19,18 setae (distal whorl of 9 setae). A table with the differential characters, as well as an identifi cation key for all of the known species of Agraphorura are provided.

Cross-Formational Flow, Diffluence And Transfluence Observed In St. Beatus Cave And Sieben Hengste (Switzerland), Philipp Häuselmann

International Journal of Speleology

Observations in St. Beatus Cave and neighbouring caves revealed complex water flowpaths that can be used for explaining the behaviour of tracing experiments. The observations prove that even in vadose conditions, cross-formational flow, diffluences and transfluences are a quite common feature. Therefore, also the vadose karst has a very complex organisation.

Partitions, Compartments And Portals: Cave Development In Internally Impounded Karst Masses, R. Armstrong L. Osborne

International Journal of Speleology

Dykes and other vertical bodies can act as aquicludes within bodies of karst rock. These partitions separate isolated bodies of soluble rock called compartments. Speleogenetically each compartment will behave as a small impounded-karst until the partition becomes breached. Breaches through partitions, portals, allow water, air and biota including humans to pass between sections of caves that were originally isolated.

Levels Of Nitrate And Phosphate In Some Satellite Lakes Within The Lake Victoria Basin, Tanzania, Jj Kulekana

Tanzania Journal of Science

Levels of nitrates (NO3-N) and phosphates (PO4-P) in some satellite lakes within the Lake Victoria basin were determined in Kagera (Lake Burigi), in Mara (River Mara) and in Mwanza region (Lake Malimbe) during August/September 2002 (dry season) and January/February 2003 (wet season). Water samples were collected using a van Dorn water sampler at chosen points from both deep and shallow areas of the water bodies. Results of the two surveys revealed that deep and shallow areas of the lakes had varying nutrient levels. In deep waters, PO4-P values ranged between 0.171-0.225mg/l, 0.067-0.364mg/l, and 0.043-0.096 mg/l in Lake Malimbe, Burigi and …

Species Composition And Biomass Estimates Of Zooplankton In Some Water Bodies Within Lake Victoria Basin, Rk Waya, Ai Chande

Tanzania Journal of Science

Zooplankton communities were identified and their abundance and biomass estimated in some selected satellite lakes and Mara River in Lake Victoria basin, during wet and dry seasons in 2002. Samples were collected from eight water bodies. Three stations were sampled from each water body using a plankton net (40 µm mesh size) hauled vertically through the water column. The zooplankton community comprised mainly crustacea and rotifers. The results show that the number of species collected during the wet and dry seasons was 31 species and 28 species, respectively. The Shannon wiener diversity indices were not significantly different (Mann-Whitney U Test …

Contamination Of Water And Sediments By Obsolete Pesticides At Vikuge Farm, Kibaha Distric, Tanzania, M J Mihale, M A Kishimba

Tanzania Journal of Science

Sediments and water from Vikuge State Farm, Coast Region, Tanzania, where, in 1986, a “donation” of 170 m3 of partially expired pesticides were stored in an open shed- which eventually collapsed, were analysed for 80 different pesticide residues and metabolites. DDT and HCH, two of the most persistent organochlorines pesticides, were the most dominant pesticides found in both matrices. In sediments the levels were up to 99,620 mg/kg dry weight of ΣDDT and up to 7,400 mg/kg dry weight of ΣHCH. The mean total HCH concentrations were 0.95 μg/l in tap water, 0.28 mg/l in surface water and 3.09 μg/l …

Studies On The Fisheries And Biology Of Oreochromis Urolepsis (Pisces: Cichilidae) In The Mtera Resorvoir (Tanzania), F M M Chale

Tanzania Journal of Science

The fisheries and some aspects of the biology of Oreochromis urolepis of the Mtera Reservoir (Tanzania) were examined in August 2002. It was observed that there was no proper management of the reservoir's fisheries. Beach seine fishing dominated the fishery. Nearly all the O. urolepis caught by this type of gear were juveniles. The number of fish caught by the beach seines was very high, some times up to 4,000 fish per haul. The beach seines also destroy the spawning sites for the tilapias. Mean total lengths of O. urolepis caught in gillnets of legal mesh sizes (ranging from 88 …

Influence Of Hydraulic Property Correlation On Predicted Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid Source Zone Architecture, Mass Recovery And Contaminant Flux, Lawrence D. Lemke, Linda M. Abriola, John R. Lang

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Organic liquid saturation distributions resulting from a simulated tetrachloroethene (PCE) spill were generated with alternative models of spatially varying aquifer properties for a statistically homogeneous, nonuniform sand aquifer. The distributions were analyzed to quantify DNAPL source zone characteristics and then incorporated as initial conditions for simulated PCE recovery using surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR). The predicted evolution of the spatial distribution of DNAPL saturations or source zone ‘‘architectures’’ and associated remediation efficiencies are strongly influenced by the spatial correlation of aquifer parameters and multiphase flow constitutive relationships. Model predictions suggest that removal of 60 to 99% of entrapped PCE can reduce …

What Does Height Really Mean? Part I: Introduction, Thomas H. Meyer, Daniel R. Roman, David B. Zilkoski

Thomas H. Meyer's Peer-reviewed Articles

This is the first paper in a four-part series considering the fundamental question, “what does the word height really mean?” National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is embarking on a height modernization program in which, in the future, it will not be necessary for NGS to create new or maintain old orthometric height benchmarks. In their stead, NGS will publish measured ellipsoid heights and computed Helmert orthometric heights for survey markers. Consequently, practicing surveyors will soon be confronted with coping with these changes and the differences between these types of height. Indeed, although “height’” is a commonly used word, an exact definition …

Agenda: Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

1 v. (various pagings) : ill., maps ; 28 cm

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Hydrologic And Geochemical Cycling Within Karst Versus Non-Karst Basins Within The Interior Low Plateau Province Of South-Central Kentucky, David Ek

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis summarizes my research in which I investigated differences and characteristics in hydrologic, nutrient and geochemical cycling between karst versus nonkarst basins within the Interior Low Plateau Province. Field data including stream discharge, evapotranspiration, and dissolved major ion concentrations were collected for a period of one year for two basins within Mammoth Cave National Park. Twelve percent carbonate rocks underlie one basin, while the other consists of 48 percent carbonate rocks. The carbonate rock exposures within both basins exhibit karstification. The hydrologic and geochemical differences between these basins were compared to determine to what extent that cycles are modified …

Unconformities And Age Relationships, Tongue River And Older Members Of The Fort Union Formation (Paleocene), Western Williston Basin, U.S.A., Edward S. Belt, Joseph H. Hartman, John A. Diemer, Timothy J. Kroeger, Neil E. Tibert, H. Allen Curran

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

An unconformable relationship is observed within the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the western Williston Basin at the contact between the Tongue River Member and the underlying Lebo and Ludlow Members. Isotopic dates and pollen biozone data reported here are integrated with previously published data. A new correlation of these facies results in a revised history of localized depositional and tectonic events. One unconformity occurs at this lithological contact in the Pine Hills (PH), Terry Badlands (TB), and Ekalaka (E) areas west of the Cedar Creek anticline (CCA), and another unconformity occurs at the same lithological contact in the Little …

Slope Stability Analysis Of A Lake Michigan Coastal Bluff, Gregory Carlton Young

Masters Theses

Bluff failure along the Lake Michigan coast can be produced primarily by increased pore pressure from perched water tables above lacustrine clay deposits. To test this theory, a site in Allegan County, Michigan with alternating layers of sand, clay and glacial till was chosen for bluff failure monitoring. Historically, the site experiences sporadic massive failures as opposed to neighboring sites that show more regular and uniform displacements. Four pole and cable monitoring lines were measured bi-weekly from December 2001 to October 2003. Lake levels were low and no erosion of material at the base of the slope occurred. Slumps above …

The Glacial Geology Of Southern St. Joseph County, Michigan, Linda Nicks

Dissertations

The objective of the dissertation was to map the glacial geology in southern St. Joseph County, Michigan. The surficial geology was divided into three distinct land systems which are moraine, outwash and fan deposits. The Sturgis Moraine is the most prominent feature transecting the study area from east to west. The topography is further dissected by southwest-trending channels interpreted as tunnel channels.

Thick accumulations of sand and gravel in the study area indicate that glacial meltwater deposition played a dominant role in shaping the landscape. Based on the relative size of the channels and outwash deposits, the largest contribution from …

Origin Of The Central Kalamazoo River Valley, Southwestern Michigan, Usa, Andrew Kozlowski

Dissertations

Chapter I

Introduction

Southern Michigan's geomorphology is a testament to the glacial processes that buried and sculpted the landscape during the last glaciation. Many glacial landforms in southwestern Michigan, including the Kalamazoo River Valley, provide evidence that aids in understanding the chronology, ice dynamics and glacial processes that occurred in Michigan during the last ice age.

As the climate began to warm about 20,000 yr B.P. (Larson and Schaetzl, 2001) the extensive Laurentide Ice Sheet began to recede from its maximum southern position reached during the Late Wisconsinan (Figure 1). It was at this point that modem surficial drainage systems …

Evidence For Microbial Enhanced Electrical Conductivity In Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sediments, Estella A. Atekwana, Eliot A. Atekwana, D. Dale Werkema, Jonathan P. Allen, Laura A. Smart, Joseph W. Duris, Daniel P. Cassidy, William A. Sauck, Silvia Rossbach

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bulk electrical conductivity of sediments during microbial mineralization of diesel was investigated in a mesoscale laboratory experiment consisting of biotic contaminated and uncontaminated columns. Population numbers of oil degrading microorganisms increased with a clear pattern of depth zonation within the contaminated column not observed in the uncontaminated column. Microbial community structure determined from ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer analysis showed a highly specialized microbial community in the contaminated column. The contaminated column showed temporal increases in bulk conductivity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and calcium, suggesting that the high bulk conductivity is due to enhanced mineral weathering from microbial activity. The greatest change …

Field Evidence For Geophysical Detection Of Subsurface Zones Of Enhanced Microbial Activity, Eliot A. Atekwana, Estella A. Atekwana, Franklyn D. Legall, R. V. Krishnamurthy

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Geochemical data from closely spaced vertical intervals in a hydrocarbon-impacted aquifer were used to assess the relationship between bulk conductivity and zones of enhanced microbial activity. The bulk conductivity was measured using in situ vertical resistivity probes. Microbial activity was verified using terminal electron acceptors (nitrate, sulfate, iron, and manganese), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and major ion chemistry. Peaks in bulk conductivity in the aquifer overlapped with zones where nitrates and sulfates were depleted, total petroleum hydrocarbon, iron, manganese, dissolved ions, and DIC were elevated, suggesting a link between higher electrical conductivity and zones of enhanced microbial activity stimulated by …

Population Recovery And Differential Heat Shock Protein Expression For The Corals Agaricia Agaricites And A. Tenuifolia In Belize, Martha L. Robbart, Paulette M. Peckol, Stylianos P. Scordilis, H. Allen Curran, Jocelyn Brown-Saracino

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Over recent decades, coral reefs worldwide have experienced severe sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies. Associated with an El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event of 1997-1998, nearly 100% mortality of the space-dominated coral Agaricia tenuifolia was reported at several shelf lagoonal sites of the Belize barrier reef system; a less abundant congener, A. agaricites, had lower mortality rates. We assessed A. agaricites and A. tenuifolia populations at coral reef ridges in the south-central sector of the Belize shelf lagoon and forereef sites to document recovery following the 1998 ENSO event and subsequent passage of Hurricane Mitch. To investigate the difference in heat …

Pluton Zonation Unveiled By Gamma-Ray Spectrometry And Magnetic Susceptibility; A Case Study Of The Sheeprock Granite, Western, Utah, Paul D. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

A radiometric survey of the zoned 21 Ma, A-type Sheeprock granite, western Utah, combined with measurements of magnetic susceptibility and field observations were analyzed using a geographic information system. The intrusion spans 25 square km and is roughly eliptical in shape with its long axis trending northwest. Concentration maps (composed of more than 500 survey stations) of eU, eTh, texture, magnetic susceptibility, color, and joint density help to constrain magmatic and post-magmatic processes related to its chemical and physical zonation. Uranium ranges from 3.9 to 26.9 ppm (mean 12.7) and thorium from 1.7 to 125.7 ppm (mean 45.5). Similarities in …

Assessment Of Engineering Mechanics Instructional Multimedia In A Variety Of Instructional Settings, Richard H. Hall, Nancy Hubing, Timothy A. Philpot, Ralph E. Flori, Vikas Yellamraju

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Students from Ten Schools, Representing Seven Countries, Used Interactive Multimedia as a Part of their Engineering Statics Classes. the Software Consisted of Four Modules, Which Focused On: Mohr's Circle; Centroid and Moment of Inertia; Stress Transformation; and Structural Analysis. the Students Completed On-Line Surveys About their Experience with the Software. Analysis of the Results Indicated that Students Rated their Knowledge of the Subject Matter Covered in the Software as Increasing Significantly as a Consequence of using the Software. However, This Increase Was Substantially More Pronounced for Students in U.S. Schools. Students Rated the Software as Significantly More Effective Than their …

Long-Term Mechanical Behavior Of Yucca Mountain Tuffs, And Its Variability, Jaak J.K. Daemen, George Danko, Jaime Gonzalez, Amy J. Smiecinski, Raymond E. Keeler

Publications (YM)

We propose to continue the investigation of the long term strength of Yucca Mountain tuffs, with particular emphasis on tuffs from and near the emplacement horizon. We propose to also continue and expand the investigation of the spatial variability of rock strength and stiffness. An intrinsic component of this planned rock testing is the testing of rock joints. Although the emphasis is on tests aimed at determining long term strength, as part of the testing measurements of stiffness also are collected, and will be collected, reported, and analyzed.

Modeling Long-Term Volcanic Hazards Through Bayesian Inference: An Example From The Tohoku Volcanic Arc, Japan, Andrew J. Martin, Koji Umeda, Charles B. Connor, Jennifer N. Weller, Dapeng Zhao, Masaki Takahashi

Geology Faculty Publications

The need to quantitatively estimate future locations of volcanoes in the long-term is of increasing importance, partly as a result of the requirement of constructing certain types of installations in regions of low geologic risk. The complex geological factors and natural processes controlling the locations of volcanoes make it problematic to estimate future patterns deterministically. Instead, the probabilistic approach can be developed with quite high levels of confidence; however, for regions with few or no volcanoes, there is a need to include additional geological and geophysical data that may indicate the likelihood of future volcanism. We achieve this using Bayesian …