Geology Commons^™

Impact Of Traditional Versus Alternative Assessment On Student Achievement, Beth Lustgarten

Honors Projects

The focus of this study looks at the effect of alternative assessment on student achievement in a high school science classroom. Within this action research, students have choices and are able to demonstrate creativity in their alternative assessments. By comparing student results from traditional and alternative assessments, the impact of assessment showed students had an overwhelming preference for completing alternative assessments, and a majority of students did better on the alternative assessment when compared to the traditional assessment.

The Geology Of The Mt. Simon Sandstone Storage Complex At The Wabash #1 Well, Vigo Co., Indiana (Subtask 7.2, Technical Report), Jared T. Freiburg, Franck Delpomdor, John H. Mcbride, Hannes E. Leetaru, David H. Malone, Nate Grigsby, Mansour Khosravi, Scott Frailey, James R. Damico, Charles Monson, Zohreh Askari, Yaghoob Lasemi, Donna Willette, Oladipupo Babarinde, Chris Korose, Mingyue Yu, Lauren Gardiner

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

The Wabash CarbonSAFE project drilled the Wabash #1 stratigraphic test well (ID# 168045) at the Wabash Valley Resources (WVR) IGCC facility in Vigo County, Indiana, to characterize and evaluate the basal Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone for commercial-scale CO2 storage near the site. This report presents an extensive geologic characterization of the Mt. Simon storage complex and relevant data collected from the Wabash #1 well, such as lithologic data collected from cuttings and core, geophysical logging, geomechanical analysis of core samples, and well testing and fluid sampling within the Mt. Simon Sandstone. The Mt. Simon storage complex comprises two major sections: …

Spatial And Temporal Distribution And Habitat Selection Of Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout And Nonnative Utah Chub, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Jeffrey C. Dillon, Brett High, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, is a renowned trophy trout fishery that faces an uncertain future following the establishment of Utah Chub (UTC) Gila atraria. Utah Chub were first documented in the lake in 1993 and have become abundant over the past two decades. Little is known about the ecology of UTC, but they typically have negative effects on salmonids in systems where they have been introduced. We sought to fill knowledge gaps in UTC ecology and provide insight on potential interactions with Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri. Ninety-four YCT and 95 UTC were radio-tagged in spring 2019 …

Connections Between Interglacial Variation And Lithological Variability Within Midland Basin Permian Shale Rocks In Martin County, Texas, Helen Rice Hammon

LSU Master's Theses

The Upper Pennsylvanian (323.2–289.9 Ma) and Lower Permian (289.9-251 Ma), (Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations) interval of the Midland Basin, West Texas, contains a mixed succession of shale, carbonate, and siltstone/sandstone lithofacies that accumulated in a deep-water marine environment under variable hydrographic restrictions. The heterogenous stratigraphy found in the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formation was formed in response to variations in sea level and a transition from a glacial to an interglacial climate during the Early Permian. These fluctuations left behind alternating beds of mudstone and carbonate, interwoven with thin sandstone beds. Because the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations are highly heterolithic, it …

Geo 100: Environmental Geology Oer Curation, Chealsye Bowley

Curated OER Collections

This OER curation is an annotated bibliography of prospective OER for the GVSU course GEO 100: Environmental Geology.

Presence Or Absence Of Microcystins Within The Lake Macatawa Watershed, Keiley M. Hoving, Garrett E. Peck

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are freshwater aquatic microorganisms that are important indicators of climate change. They also release microcystins: toxins that can cause sickness, organ failure, or even death in plants, animals and humans. Studies have monitored microcystin presence and concentration in large-scale Cyanobacterial blooms, such as in Lake Erie, but often omit smaller scale instances. This project determines whether or not microcystins are present in the Lake Macatawa Watershed and identifies important conditional factors associated with microcystin presence to conclude if harmful algal blooms like those of Lake Erie are plausible locally. Six sample locations along the …

Connecting Chemical Composition And Methane Production In A West Michigan Peatland, Rachel Shaw, Grace Behrens, Lauren Bryan, Alexis Koehl, Christian Lundy

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

The future net radiative forcing of peatlands will depend in large part on changes in methane emissions. However, current climate models lack a mechanistic representation of methane production. We conducted an anaerobic incubation experiment using peat from various depths in five cores collected from a West Michigan peatland in order to connect methane production to observable differences in the chemical composition of peat and peat pore water. We hypothesized that less decomposed peat may have a larger supply of fermentable sugars that can thus produce more methane than more decomposed peat. C:N, hydrolyzable amino acids, and neutral sugars were analyzed …

Carbon Storage And Methane Production From Interdunal Wetlands In Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, Grace Behrens

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Wetlands have a dual impact on the climate: a cooling effect caused by organic matter accumulation in anoxic sediments (removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere); and a warming effect caused by methane emissions from these sediments. In this study, we analyzed the relative importance of both processes in interdunal wetlands in the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area (SHNA). The SHNA wetlands are a unique ecosystem, dependent on high water levels in Lake Michigan. Thus, carbon accumulation in the wetlands may be ephemeral as the lake level falls. Our goal in this study was to evaluate the extent of carbon accumulation in …

Terrestrial Trash Taphonomy: Characterizing Roadside Litter As Potential Sources Of Plastic In Waterways, Kailey M. Hoving, Kelly J. Gotham

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

We collected and characterized roadside litter from 300 m transects along 4 streets in Holland, Michigan that included stream crossings or storm drain inlets. Opposite sides of 3 roads were collected as separate sampling sites, and 4 of these were resampled after ~30 days, yielding 11 different collections. Litter was unevenly distributed within single transects, with some concentrations of litter (e.g., car parts, styrofoam) apparently resulting from single, localized releases of material. Despite such idiosyncratic occurrences, factor analysis of collected items placed associated sites (opposite sides of roads and resampled sites) in non-overlapping domains. Of 11,223 items analyzed, 83.2% were …

*Interactive Earthquake Visualization With Open Data, Matous Hybl

Campus Research Month

Because earthquakes claim thousands of lives and billions of dollars yearly, there is a great need to recognize patterns in seismic data. While some tools for analysis exist, most geological software is expensive and open earthquake visualizations are limited. In this project, we provide accessible earthquake visualizations aimed to encourage geologists, and science enthusiasts in general, to explore open data using accessible, yet powerful, tools.

Connections Between Interglacial Variation And Lithological Variability Within Midland Basin Permian Shale Rocks In Martin County, Texas, Helen Rice Hammon

LSU Master's Theses

The Upper Pennsylvanian (323.2–289.9 Ma) and Lower Permian (289.9-251 Ma), (Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations) interval of the Midland Basin, West Texas, contains a mixed succession of shale, carbonate, and siltstone/sandstone lithofacies that accumulated in a deep-water marine environment under variable hydrographic restrictions. The heterogenous stratigraphy found in the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formation was formed in response to variations in sea level and a transition from a glacial to an interglacial climate during the Early Permian. These fluctuations left behind alternating beds of mudstone and carbonate, interwoven with thin sandstone beds. Because the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations are highly heterolithic, it …

Hot Rocks: Constraining The Thermal Conditions Of The Mistastin Lake Impact Melt Deposits Using Zircon Grain Microstructures, Gavin Douglas Tolometti, Timmons M. Erickson, Gordon R. Osinski, Cyril Cayron, Catherine Neish

Earth Sciences Publications

The production of superheated melt during hypervelocity impact events has been proposed to be a common occurrence on terrestrial planetary bodies. Recent direct evidence of superheated impact melt temperatures exceeding >2370°C from the Kamestastin (Mistastin Lake) impact structure, Canada, was based on a single impact glass sample. Such high superheated melt temperatures have strong implications for the evolution of crustal material, the thermal history of impact cratering events, and the rheology of impact melt. However, although widely predicted in previous studies, with the exception of the Mistastin Lake impact glass, there is little direct evidence for superheated temperatures in multiple …

Gps Observations Of Subsidence In South Louisiana Over Seasonal And Sub-Seasonal Timescales Associated With Hydrologic Loading, Nicholas Schuler

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s primary environmental concern is arguably coastal wetland loss due to high subsidence rates, previously estimated to range from 1-14 mm/yr across much of the coast. Spatially and temporally varying strong short-term and seasonal components of deformation associated with changes in hydrologic loading throughout the year can give information about the elastic properties of the shallow crust, having implications for better understanding long-term subsidence trends across the region. Therefore, we quantify and characterize vertical deformation that occurs on annual to sub-annual timescales across southeast Louisiana. Vertical deformation is evaluated using publicly available daily GPS positions from 2016–2020 at 16 stations …

Systematic Paleontology, Acritarch Biostratigraphy, And Δ13c Chemostratigraphy Of The Early Ediacaran Krol A Formation, Lesser Himalaya, Northern India, Shuhai Xiao, Ganqing Jiang, Qin Ye, Qing Ouyang, Dhiraj M. Banerjee, Birendra P. Singh, A. D. Muscente, Chuanming Zhou, Nigel C. Hughes

Geoscience Faculty Research

Acritarch biostratigraphic and δ13C chemostratigraphic data from the Krol A Formation in the Solan area (Lesser Himalaya, northern India) are integrated to aid inter-basinal correlation of early–middle Ediacaran strata. We identified a prominent negative δ13C excursion (likely equivalent to EN2 in the lower Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China), over a dozen species of acanthomorphs (including two new species—Cavaspina tiwariae Xiao n. sp., Dictyotidium grazhdankinii Xiao n. sp.), and numerous other microfossils from an interval in the Krol A Formation. Most microfossil taxa from the Krol A and the underlying Infra-Krol formations are also present in …

Comparing Satellite Vs Marine Potential Fields Data Over The Bathymetrists Seamounts, Alexa Fernandez, Irina Filina

UNL Student Research Days Posters, Graduate

The Bathymetrists Seamounts (BSM) are located north of the Sierra Leone Rise (SLR) in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. The seamounts reside on oceanic crust that is 105 to 45 million years old. However, dredging over the Bathymetrists Seamounts dated rocks at ~40 Myr. The general trend of the seamounts contradicts the eastward motion of the African tectonic plate. The origin and tectonic history of the Bathymetrists Seamounts remains debated in literature. Potential fields (gravity and magnetic) data can provide important insight into the formation and evolution of the seamounts. The purpose of this study is to compare available gravity and magnetic …

Sediment Buffering And Recycling On An Annual To Centennial Scale Along The Mississippi River, Nikki E. Neubeck

LSU Master's Theses

Although the Mississippi River and its tributaries have been investigated for many years, the alteration of the river through dams, levees, and diversions has affected how sediment is transported from source to sink (>10³ y). Previous provenance research using detrital zircon U-Pb dating indicates a slow transport time from source-to-sink, but recent anthropogenic alterations of the river may potentially diminish the transportation time of heavy minerals due to an increase in flow efficiency. The objective of this study is to analyze the degree of buffering and recycling of Mississippi River sediment over a range of short time scales, …

Isotopic Analysis Of Hydrous Phenocrysts In Lava Flows Of The Peruvian Altiplano Plateau: Testing For A Subduction Signature, Alyssa Schiwal

Student Research Symposium

The process of flat-slab subduction introduces fluids directly into the overlaying lithosphere, leaving behind a unique stable isotope and trace element signature to the surrounding crust/mantle. Fluid alteration of the deep lithosphere can help explain geologic processes that are observed at the surface, such as patterns of crustal deformation (mountain building) and volcanism. The young high-K mafic volcanic rocks found in the Altiplano region of Southern Peru are derived from the melting of an altered mantle source. By analyzing the hydrogen stable isotopes as well as the trace elements of these volcanic rocks we can locate the water source associated …

Thickness Of Fluvial Deposits Records Climate Oscillations, Xiaoping Yuan, Laure Guerit, Jean Braun, Delphine Rouby, Charles Shobe

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Fluvial deposits offer Earth’s best-preserved geomorphic record of past climate change over geological timescales. However, quantitatively extracting this information remains challenging in part due to the complexity of erosion, sediment transport and deposition processes and how each of them responds to climate. Furthermore, sedimentary basins have the potential to temporarily store sediments, and rivers subsequently rework those sediments. This may introduce time lags into sedimentary signals and obscure any direct correlation with climate forcing. Here, using a numerical model that combines all three processes—and a new analytical solution—we show that the thickness of fluvial deposits at the outlet of a …

Detecting Climate Change In Trilobite Time, Michelle Norman

Student Research Symposium

Trilobites are a signature marine fossil of the Cambrian explosion, which took place about 500 Ma (million years ago). By studying these fossiliferous rocks (limestone), we can get an understanding of ecological and environmental change. In fact, we can detect the ancient carbon cycle by measuring stable carbon isotopes in these limestone samples. By studying the carbon environment the trilobites lived in and which trilobite species evolve or go extinct, we can learn more about ancient climate events and constrain them to a certain period of time based off the age of radioactive zircons we find in sandy material around …

Jillson, Willard Rouse, 1890-1975 (Mss 682), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 682. Writings and supporting materials of Willard Rouse Jillson, State Geologist of Kentucky, author and historian. Includes manuscripts, page proofs, photographic negatives, and promotional pamphlets for his books.

Ignoring Species Availability Biases Occupancy Estimates In Single-Scale Occupancy Models, Graziella V. Direnzo, David A. W. Miller, Evan H. C. Grant

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

1. Most applications of single-scale occupancy models do not differentiate between availability and detectability, even though species availability is rarely equal to one. Species availability can be estimated using multi-scale occupancy models; however, for the practical application of multi-scale occupancy models, it can be unclear what a robust sampling design looks like and what the statistical properties of the multi-scale and single-scale occupancy models are when availability is less than one.
2. Using simulations, we explore the following common questions asked by ecologists during the design phase of a field study: (Q1) what is a robust sampling design for the multi-scale occupancy …

Processing Seismic, Gravity And Magnetic Data Over Diebold Knoll On Juan De Fuca Plate, Md Ariful Islam, Irina Filina

UNL Student Research Days Posters, Graduate

The Juan de Fuca plate is subducting beneath the North American plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The CSZ is associated with multiple earthquakes, although compared to other subduction zones, it is less active. Many studies suggest that subduction will cause major mega thrust earthquake in near future, while others oppose this view. This project is focused on the Diebold Knoll on the JdF plate Various geophysical methods will be integrated to determine its origin and tectonic history.

A Tectonic Geomorphic Study Of Neotectonics And Seismic Hazard Of The Fold And Thrust Belt Complex Of Bengal Basin, Eastern Himalayan Range, Niroj Shrestha

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Tectonic activity continues to shape and create challenges for human populations in tectonically active areas. The Bengal Basin is one of the most important sedimentary basins of the Eastern Himalayan Range, aiding in one of the densely populated regions of the world. The basin is part of the tectonically active Himalayan Orogen that is undergoing oblique subduction between the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate. As a result of this subduction-related convergence, the eastern part of the Basin, particularly the Chittagong-Tripura Fold Belt (CTFB) and western part of the Indo-Burman Range (IBR) has structurally deformed into a series of mostly …

A Geospatial And Binomial Logistic Regression Model To Prioritize Sampling For Per- And Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances In Public Water Systems, Sweta Ojha, Ying Li, Nader Rezaei, Ariel Robinson, Anna G. Hoover, Kelly G. Pennell

UK CARES Faculty Publications

As health‐based drinking water standards for per‐ and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) continue to evolve, public health and environmental protection decision‐makers must assess exposure risks associated with all public drinking water systems in the United States (US). Unfortunately, current knowledge regarding the presence of PFAS in environmental systems is limited. In this study, a screening approach was established to: (1) identify and direct attention toward potential PFAS hot spots in drinking water sources, (2) prioritize sampling locations, and (3) provide insights regarding the potential PFAS sources that contaminate groundwater and surface water. Our approach incorporates geospatial data from public sources, …

Mineralogy, Isotope Geochemistry And Geothermometry Of The Lowry Deposit, Black Butte Copper Project, Meagher County, Montana, John Allard

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Black Butte Copper Project is a sedimentary rock hosted, Cu-rich massive sulfide deposit hosted in rocks of the ca. 1.5-1.325 Ga Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup. Copper-bearing sulfides, mainly chalcopyrite and tennantite, are hosted in debris flows, black shale, dolostone and sedimentary pyrite layers of the Newland Fm. of the Lower Belt Group in the Helena Embayment, an E-W striking limb of the greater NNW trending Belt Basin. Mineralization is hosted within two separate but contemporaneous deposits, Johnny Lee, which hosts Cu sulfides in an upper and lower sulfide zone within sedimentary pyrite and debris flow conglomerates, and Lowry, where Cu …

Geology And Geochronology Of The East Dome Complex Within The Hog Heaven Volcanic Field, Flathead County, Montana, Ethan Coppage

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This study describes the style and timing of volcanic activity and mineralization in the East Dome Complex (EDC) of the 55-km2 Eocene-Oligocene Hog Heaven Volcanic Field (~36-30 Ma; HHVF) located in northwestern Montana. The HHVF consists of three NE-aligned, predominantly high-K rhyodacitic dome complexes (1.8-4.9 wt. % K2O; 63.2-72.9 wt. % SiO2) formed near the crest the Purcell Anticlinorium, a major Cordilleran fold-thrust belt structure deforming metasedimentary rocks of the Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup. Dome emplacement was controlled by a NE-striking fault associated with a pull-apart basin formed between two overlapping, NW-trending dextral oblique-slip faults. The objective of this study is …

Mineralogy And Fluid Inclusion Study Of The Marget Ann Mine Of The Butte Mining District, Silver Bow County, Montana, Tiffany Ostenburg

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Butte, Montana, is a famous example of a zoned, polymetallic, porphyry-lode deposit. Whereas over a century of previous work has focused on the porphyry-style mineralization and centrally located, copper-rich lode deposits, relatively little has been written on the outer, silver-rich veins. The Marget Ann mine, in the northern portion of the district, was chosen for this study because of ease of access to the mine dumps as well as archived samples of high-grade vein mineralization. In addition, the Marget Ann mine is somewhat unique in Butte because gold has been found there and previously recorded in the veins. The main …

An Examination Of The Impacts Of Beaver Dam Mimicry Structures On Groundwater Surface-Water Interactions In Lower Mountain Riparian Systems, Mercedes D. Salazar

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are a low cost, low disturbance stream restoration technique that may improve surface-water/groundwater interactions and wetland connectivity. BDAs are intended to imitate the effects of natural beaver dams by slowing stream velocity, promoting infiltration, increasing dry-season streamflow, aggrading the streambed, and capturing organic matter and other nutrients. This study was conducted to evaluate the degree to which these objectives were being met at a study site on Perkins Gulch, southwest Montana, USA. The Perkins Gulch study area can be summarized by four gauging sites that separate three reaches along the creek. By detailing background processes and …

Surface Water/Groundwater Interactions And Hydrogeochemical Characterization Of The Elkhorn Mine And Mill, Beaverhead County, Montana, Tyler Kamp

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) and the contaminants associated with it have been described by some as the largest environmental problem facing the U.S. mining industry. Heavy metals associated with the drainage, such as copper, cadmium, and zinc affect the water quality of streams and can cause acute or chronic toxicity to invertebrates and fish (Martin, 1992& Padrillah et al., 2018). Elkhorn Creek in the Pioneer Mountains of southwest Montana is one of these impacted creeks. The historic Elkhorn Mine and Mill complex has historically attributed to the creek’s contamination and has undergone remediation. However, the problem has …

The Oldest Mineralized Bryozoan? A Possible Palaeostomate In The Lower Cambrian Of Nevada, Usa, Sara B. Pruss, Lexie Leeser, Emily F. Smith, Andrey Yu Zhuravlev, Paul D. Taylor

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

All skeletal marine invertebrate phyla appeared during the Cambrian explosion, except for Bryozoa with mineralized skeletons, which first appear in the Early Ordovician. However, the skeletal diversity of Early Ordovician bryozoans suggests a preceding interval of diversification. We report a possible earliest occurrence of palaeostomate bryozoans in limestones of the Cambrian Age 4 Harkless Formation, western United States. Following recent interpretations of the early Cambrian Protomelission as a soft-bodied bryozoan, our findings add to the evidence of early Cambrian roots for the Bryozoa. The Harkless fossils resemble some esthonioporate and cystoporate bryozoans, showing a radiating pattern of densely packed tubes …