Geophysics and Seismology Commons^™

The Monica (Monitoring Of Ice Within Caves) Project: A Multidisciplinary Approach For The Geophysical And Paleoclimatic Characterization Of Permanent Ice Deposits In The Southeastern Alps, Renato R. Colucci, Emanuele Forte, Barbara Stenni, Marco Basso Bondini, Mauro Colle Fontana, Costanza Del Gobbo, Daniele Fontana, Doriana Belligoi, Valter Maggi, Marco Filipazzi

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

On days 30 September and 1-2 October 2013, a 7.8 m long ice core has been extracted from a permanent ice cave deposit in the Southeastern Alps (Vasto’s cave, Mt.Canin - Julian Alps). Each 20 to 100 cm long section of the ice core have been immediately stored in plastic bags and preserved thanks to dry ice. The ice samples, thanks to the helicopter, has been subsequently brought on valley and promptly stored in a refrigerated van, made available by BoFrost. Thus the ice cores has been transported intact to the EUROCOLD laboratory in Milan. These operations have been carried …

Slides: Thoughts On Regulatory Mechanisms For Natural Resource Development: Alternatives To Command And Control, Including A Look At Open Source Approaches, Stanley Dempsey

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: Stanley Dempsey, Chairman, Royal Gold

17 slides

Geochemical Studies Of Backfill Aggregates, Lake Sediment Cores And The Hueco Bolson Aquifer, Anita Thapalia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation comprises of three different researches that focuses on the application of geochemistry from aggregates, lake sediment cores and Hueco Bolson Aquifer. Each study is independent and presented in the publication format. The first chapter is already published and the second chapter is in revision phase. Overall, three studies measure the large scale (field) as well as bench scale (lab) water-rock interactions influenced by the climatic and anthropogenic factors spans from the field of environmental geology to civil engineering.

The first chapter of this Dissertation addresses the chemical evaluation of coarse aggregates from six different quarries in Texas. The …

A Detailed Seabed Signature From Hurricane Sandy Revealed In Bedforms And Scour, Arthur Trembanis, Carter Duval, Jonathan Beaudoin, Val E. Schmidt, Doug Miller, Larry A. Mayer

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

On 30 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine New Jersey bringing widespread erosion and damage to the coastline. We have obtained a unique set of high-resolution before and after storm measurements of seabed morphology and in situhydrodynamic conditions (waves and currents) capturing the impact of the storm at an inner continental shelf field site known as the “Redbird reef”. Understanding the signature of this storm event is important for identifying the impacts of such events and for understanding the role that such events have in the transport of sediment and marine debris on the inner continental shelf. …

Geogram 2013, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Glacial Shortcut Of Arctic Sea-Ice Transport, Michael Stärz, Xun Gong, Rüdiger Stein, Dennis A. Darby, Frank Kauker, Gerrit Lohmann

OES Faculty Publications

Due to the lack of data, the extent, thickness and drift patterns of sea ice and icebergs in the glacial Arctic remains poorly constrained. Earlier studies are contradictory proposing either a cessation of the marine cryosphere or an ice drift system operating like present-day. Here we examine the marine Arctic cryosphere during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using a high-resolution, regional ocean-sea ice model. Whereas modern sea ice in the western Arctic Basin can circulate in the Beaufort Gyre for decades, our model studies present an extreme shortcut of glacial ice drift. In more detail, our results show a clockwise …

Geogram 2012, David J. Keeling, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Bulk Rock Composition And Geochemistry Of Olivine-Hosted Melt Inclusions In The Grey Porri Tuff And Selected Lavas Of The Monte Dei Porri Volcano, Salina, Aeolian Islands, Southern Italy., Angela L. Doherty, Robert J. Bodnar, Benedetto De Vivo, Wendy A. Bohrson, Harvey E. Belkin, Antonia Messina, Robert J. Tracy

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The Aeolian Islands are an arcuate chain of submarine seamounts and volcanic islands, lying just north of Sicily in southern Italy. The second largest of the islands, Salina, exhibits a wide range of compositional variation in its erupted products, from basaltic lavas to rhyolitic pumice. The Monte dei Porri eruptions occurred between 60 ka and 30 ka, following a period of approximately 60,000 years of repose. The bulk rock composition of the Monte dei Porri products range from basaltic-andesite scoria to andesitic pumice in the Grey Porri Tuff (GPT), with the Monte dei Porri lavas having basaltic-andesite compositions. The typical …

Reservoir Potential Of Sands Formed In Glaciomarine Environments: An Analog Study Based On Cenozoic Examples From Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, Christopher R. Fielding, Brian A. Blackstone, Tracy D. Frank, Zi Gui

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This paper provides documentation of unexpectedly high-reservoir-quality glaciomarine sands found in the Cenozoic succession beneath McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, as an analogue study for evaluations of hydrocarbon prospectivity in basins elsewhere. The Oligocene to Lower Miocene succession of the Victoria Land Basin, an extant portion of the West Antarctic Rift System, comprises diamictites, mudrocks, and sandstones with minor conglomerates. These lithologies are arranged in repetitive stacking patterns (cycles), interpreted to record repeated advance and retreat of glaciers into and out of the basin, with attendant eustatic and isostatic effects. Phases of ice retreat within the cycles comprise an array of mudrocks, …

Size And Exhumation Rate Of Ultrahigh-Pressure Terranes Linked To Orogenic Stage, Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark, Bradley R. Hacker, Chris G. Mattinson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

A growing set of data indicates a stark contrast between the evolution of two types of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terranes: large terranes that evolved slowly (over 10–30 Myr), and small terranes that formed and were exhumed on timescales of < 10 Myr. Here we compare the characteristics – area, thickness, formation rate, exhumation rate, age, and tectonic setting – of these two endmember types of UHP terrane worldwide. We suggest that the two UHP terrane types may form during different orogenic stages because of variations in the buoyancy and traction forces due to different proportions of subducting crust and mantle lithosphere or to different rates of subduction. The initial stages of continent collision involve the subduction of thin continental crust or microcontinents, and thus tectonic forces are dominated by the density of the oceanic slab; subduction rates are rapid and subduction angles are initially steep. However, as collision matures, thicker and larger pieces of continental material are subducted, and the positive buoyancy of the down-going slab becomes more prominent; subduction angles become gentle and convergence slows. Assessing the validity of this hypothesis is critical to understanding the physical and chemical evolution of Earth's crust and mantle.

Included here is the post-print copy of this article. The final publication is available via ScienceDirect at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X11007564

Geogram 2011, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Magnetic Properties Of Ilmenite‐Hematite Single Crystals From The Ecstall Pluton Near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Sarah J. Brownlee, Joshua M. Feinberg, Takeshi Kasama, Richard J. Harrison, Gary R. Scott, Paul R. Renne

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Paleomagnetic studies of the 91 Ma Ecstall pluton and other Cretaceous plutons of British Columbia imply large northward tectonic movements (>2000 km) may have occurred during the tectonic evolution of western North America. However, more recent studies have shown that the eastern edge of the Ecstall pluton experienced considerable mineralogical changes as younger Eocene plutons, such as the ∼58 Ma Quottoon Pluton, were emplaced along its margins. We investigated changes in the rock magnetic properties associated with this reheating event by examining isolated grains of intergrown ilmenite and hematite, the primary paleomagnetic recorder in the Ecstall pluton. Measurements of …

Predicted Velocity And Density Structure Of The Exhuming Papua New Guinea Ultrahigh‐Pressure Terrane, Sarah J. Brownlee, Bradley R. Hacker, Matthew Salisbury, Gareth Seward, Timothy A. Little, Suzanne A. Baldwin, Geoffrey A. Abers

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

New electron backscatter diffraction measurements show that the Papua New Guinea (PNG) ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) terrane is dominated by rocks with weakly oriented quartz and feldspar and less abundant strongly oriented hornblende, clinopyroxene, and mica. Velocities measured at high pressures (600 MPa) show that V_P is 5.8–6.3 km/s for gneiss samples, 6.5–7.7 km/s for amphibolite, and 7.7–8.2 km/s for eclogite and V_S is 3.4–3.9 km/s for gneiss, 4.0–4.4 km/s for amphibolite, and 4.5–4.6 km/s for eclogite. Velocities and anisotropies calculated from mineral crystal preferred orientations (CPOs) are equivalent to within 5% of the measured values. The highest seismic anisotropy …

Full Conference Program With Abstracts, Jason S. Polk, Leslie A. North

International 2011 Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems

No abstract provided.

Kinematic And Dynamic Pair Collision Statistics Of Sedimenting Inertial Particles Relevant To Warm Rain Initiation, Bogdan Rosa, Hossein Parishani, Orlando Ayala, Lian-Ping Wang, Wojciech W. Grabowski

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In recent years, direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach has become a reliable tool for studying turbulent collision-coalescence of cloud droplets relevant to warm rain development. It has been shown that small-scale turbulent motion can enhance the collision rate of droplets by either enhancing the relative velocity and collision efficiency or by inertia-induced droplet clustering. A hybrid DNS approach incorporating DNS of air turbulence, disturbance flows due to droplets, and droplet equation of motion has been developed to quantify these effects of air turbulence. Due to the computational complexity of the approach, a major challenge is to increase the range of …

Towards An Integrated Multiscale Simulation Of Turbulent Clouds On Petascale Computers, Lian-Ping Wang, Orlando Ayala, Hossein Parishani, Wojciech W. Grabowski, Andrzej A. Wyszogrodzki, Zbigniew Piotrowski, Guang R. Gao, Chandra Kambhamettu, Xiaoming Li, Louis Rossi

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The development of precipitating warm clouds is affected by several effects of small-scale air turbulence including enhancement of droplet-droplet collision rate by turbulence, entrainment and mixing at the cloud edges, and coupling of mechanical and thermal energies at various scales. Large-scale computation is a viable research tool for quantifying these multiscale processes. Specifically, top-down large-eddy simulations (LES) of shallow convective clouds typically resolve scales of turbulent energy-containing eddies while the effects of turbulent cascade toward viscous dissipation are parameterized. Bottom-up hybrid direct numerical simulations (HDNS) of cloud microphysical processes resolve fully the dissipation-range flow scales but only partially the inertial …

Geogram 2010, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Geochemical Investigation Of An Offshore Sewage Sludge Deposit, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Michael A. Kruge, Albert Permanyer, Jordi Serra, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

For 20 years ending in the 1990’s the city of Barcelona discharged the products from a large primary sewage treatment plant directly into the Mediterranean Sea via underwater conduits. About ca. 3 million m³ of relict sewage sludge, rich in organic matter and heavy metals, has spread over an elongated area offshore, due to successive ruptures of the conduits. The use of the discharge pipes ceased, but he sludge deposit remains in place for the time being.

To understand the history and present state of the sludge deposit in advance of future remediation, a program of geophysical mapping, sampling, …

Geogram 2009, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Geometry Of The Trachyte Mesa Intrusion, Henry Mountains, Utah: Implications For The Emplacement Of Small Melt Volumes Into The Upper Crust, Paul H. Wetmore, Charles B. Connor, Sarah E. Kruse, Sean Callihan, Geoffrey Pignotta, Ciprian Stremtan, Andrea Burke

Geology Faculty Publications

The Trachyte Mesa intrusion is one of several small satellite bodies to the larger intrusions of the Henry Mountains, Utah. Most previous studies have worked under the assumptions that Trachyte Mesa is blister shaped and intruded into flat and gently NW dipping strata. In this study we combine structural and geophysical data sets to constrain the structural geology of the host lithologies and the unmodified geometry of the intrusion. Trachyte Mesa intrudes a series of northeast trending upright and open folds formed within the Jurassic Entrada Formation. Truncation of these folds at the contact with the overlying Curtis/Summerville formations indicates …

Geogram 2008, David J. Keeling, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Geogram 2007, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Shallow Slab Fluid Release Across And Along The Mariana Arc-Basin System: Insights From Geochemistry Of Serpentinized Peridotites From The Mariana Fore Arc, Ivan P. Savov, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Massimo D'Antonio, Patricia Fryer

Geology Faculty Publications

Shallow slab devolatilization is not only witnessed through fluid expulsion at accretionary prisms, but is also evidenced by active serpentinite seamounts in the shallow fore-arc region of the Mariana convergent margin. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 195 recovered serpentinized peridotites that present a unique opportunity to study the products of shallow level exchanges between the upper mantle and slab-derived fluids. Similar to samples recovered during ODP Leg 125, the protoliths of these fore-arc serpentinized peridotites are mantle harzburgites that have suffered large volume melt extraction (up to 25%) prior to interactions with fluids released from the downgoing Pacific Plate. Samples …

Effect Of Regional Tectonic Setting On Local Fault Response To Episodes Of Volcanic Activity, Diana C. Roman, Philip Heron

Geology Faculty Publications

In this study we examine the interaction of tectonic and volcanically-generated stress fields, and their combined effect on patterns of volcanotectonic (VT) seismicity, by calculating Coulomb stress changes on local faults induced by a constant dike inflation event in a background stress field of systematically varying magnitude and orientation. We find that patterns of VT seismicity (earthquake locations and fault-plane solutions) resulting from dike inflation depend strongly on the relative strength and orientation of background tectonic stresses. Patterns of VT seismicity similar to those predicted by our Coulomb stress models have been observed at several recently active volcanoes, and appear …

Along-Strike Trace Element And Isotopic Variation In Aleutian Island Arc Basalt: Subduction Melts Sediments And Dehydrates Serpentine, Brad S. Singer, Brian R. Jicha, William P. Leeman, Nick W. Rogers, Matthew F. Thirlwall, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Kirsten E. Nicolaysen

Geology Faculty Publications

Trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions of basaltic lavas from 11 volcanoes spanning 1300 km of the Aleutian Island arc provide new constraints on the recycling of elements in melts and fluids derived from subducted oceanic crust and sediment. Despite a nearly twofold variation in the flux of sediment subducted along the Aleutians, proxies indicating the presence of sediment melt in the magma source, including Th/La and Th/Nd, do not vary systematically along strike. In contrast, ratios including B/La, B/Nb, B/Be, Cs/La, Pb/Ce, and Li/Y suggest that the quantity or composition of fluid transferred from the slab into the mantle …

High Crystallinity Si-Ferrihydrite: An Insight Into Its Neel Temperature And Size Dependence Of Magnetic Properties, Thelma S. Berquo, Subir K. Banerjee, Robert G. Ford, R. Lee Penn, Thomas Pichler

Geology Faculty Publications

Ferrihydrite, an antiferromagnetic iron oxyhydroxide with resulting magnetization due to uncompensated spins, is of great importance for the cycling of many trace metals in the environment. Four ferrihydrite samples prepared with 1.3 to 3.5 wt% of Si at different synthesis temperatures (7.5°C, 22°C, 50°C, and 75°C) were studied by temperature-dependent hysteresis loops, ZFC/FC susceptibility curves, ac susceptibility and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The incorporation of Si into the ferrihydrite during synthesis changed the properties of this mineral. Interestingly, seven sharp lines were observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the ferrihydrite samples prepared at 50°C and 75°C. In general, both XRD and …

Geogram 2006, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Sinkhole Structure Imaging In Covered Karst Terrain, Sarah E. Kruse, M. Grasmueck, Matthew Weiss, D. Viggiano

Geology Faculty Publications

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and resistivity techniques have been widely used to map the locations of sinkholes in covered karst terrain. To determine whether a sinkhole is a likely preferential conduit for groundwater flow, however, requires higher-resolution imaging than that used in conventional sinkhole mapping surveys. Field observations combined with simulated surveys for a 15-m diameter 3-m deep sinkhole in west-central Florida are used to assess the resolution of GPR and resistivity surveys targeting the semiconfining unit that floors the sinkhole depression. 2D resistivity surveys clearly show the central depression as well as resistivity contrasts between the cover sediments within …

Guide To Participation For The Andrill Mcmurdo Ice Shelf Project, Andrill Science Management Office, Mcmurdo-Andrill Science Implementation Committee

ANDRILL Project Information

Purpose of This Document

This document is a guide to participation for science team members involved in the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) Project of the ANDRILL Program. The document provides the following information: 1) An overview of the ANtarctic geologic DRILLing (ANDRILL) Program; 2) An overview of expected individual involvement in and commitment to the MIS Project; and 3) Logistical information most relevant to on-ice participants. Information provided in this document will be supplemented by the publication of the MIS Science and Logistics Implementation Plan (SLIP).The SLIP will be available to all MIS ANDRILL participants prior to commencement of drilling. …