Geophysics and Seismology Commons^™

Historical Tsunami Observability For Izu–Bonin–Mariana Sources, Walter Szeliga, Rachelle Reisinger, Breanyn T. Macinnes

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The Izu–Bonin–Mariana Subduction System (IBM) is one of the longest subduction zones in the world with no instrumental history of shallow focus, great earthquakes (Mw > 8). Over the last 50 years, researchers have speculated on the reason for the absence of large magnitude, shallow seismicity on this plate interface, exploring factors from plate age to convergence rate. We approach the question from a different point of view: what if the IBM has hosted great earthquakes and no documentable evidence was left? To address the question of observability, we model expected tsunami wave heights from nine great earthquake scenarios on the …

Uncertainty Of Icesat-2 Atl06- And Atl08-Derived Snow Depths For Glacierized And Vegetated Mountain Regions, Ellyn M. Enderlin, Colten M. Elkin, Madeline Gendreau, H.P. Marshall, Shad O'Neel, Christopher Mcneil, Caitlyn Florentine, Louis Sass

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Seasonal snow melt dominates the hydrologic budget across a large portion of the globe. Snow accumulation and melt vary over a broad range of spatial scales, preventing accurate extrapolation of sparse in situ observations to watershed scales. The lidar onboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation, Satellite (ICESat-2) was designed for precise mapping of ice sheets and sea ice, and here we assess the feasibility of snow depth-mapping using ICESat-2 data in more complex and rugged mountain landscapes. We explore the utility of ATL08 Land and Vegetation Height and ATL06 Land Ice Height differencing from reference elevation datasets in two …

The Isotropic And Anisotropic Structure Of Antarctica From Seismic Inversion, Zhengyang Zhou

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes multiple techniques of earthquake tomography to investigate the seismic structure of the crust and mantle beneath Antarctica. The isotropic structure of the Antarctic crust and upper mantle is now constrained by several seismic studies, but until now few studies have investigated the anisotropic structure. Therefore, in this study, I focus on the anisotropic structure, which is crucial information to understanding current or historic deformation and flow patterns, as well as the organic process of Antarctica. I use the data from the seismic stations deployed on the Antarctica continent during the past 20 years, as well as other …

Pfas Mass Balance, Donovan Vitale

Honors Theses

First-generation, PFOS-dominant Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) concentrate of approximately 200 gallons was released to the sewer system from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport on March 30, 2021. The AFFF release migrated to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant (KWRP), raising plant effluent above the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) PFOS water quality standard for a total of 46 days post-spill, although the influent concentrations exhibited sharp declines after only 7 days. By sampling influent, effluent, and biosolids daily, the only known long duration, high-frequency PFAS data set of an accidental AFFF release was generated. This study has …

Estimation Of Blast Vibrations By Numerical Modelling And Signal Analysis, Güzin Gülsev Uyar Aksoy, Cemalettin Okay Aksoy, Hasan Eray Yaman

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Seismic waves carry all the geological and geotechnical characteristics of the units they pass along the route they travel on. Therefore, seismic waves can be called the signature of the route it passes through. If the blasting point is considered as source, blast-induced seismic waves measured at a certain distance from the source can be revealed and this form can be integrated into the dynamic numerical model, the effects that will occur at any point of the model can be predicted. In this study, seismic waves induced from single-hole blast and a group blast consisting of holes with the same …

Using Anisotropy Of Magnetic Susceptibility (Ams) To Identify A Tectonic Lineation In The Pulo Do Lobo Formation In The Southern Iberian Shear Zone Near Aracena, Spain, Devin Levang

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone (SISZ) is a Variscan-aged suture representing the closure of a small ocean basin during the Carboniferous. The SISZ is bounded on either side by the well-studied, relatively homogeneous Beja-Acebuches Metabasites (BAM) and the complex and heterogeneous accretionary metasedimentary rocks of the Pulo do Lobo (PdL). The SISZ underwent a combination of shortening and lateral shearing known as transpression. Despite a very well-developed tectonic foliation, kinematic interpretation in the PdL is made difficult by a lack of easily identifiable lineations. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), a geophysical technique measuring the relative anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility axes …

Exploring The Effects Of Tree Roots On Infiltration Process, Nazife Onaral

Masters Theses

Effects of the root structures on soil infiltration dynamics are not clearly defined. Imaging the complex tree root structures and movement of water through the root ball is a challenging task to achieve without damaging the trees and roots by conventional methods. Commonly used methods are invasive, labor-intensive, and not easily accessible. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has commonly been used to characterize soil profiles and it can be a reliable tool to map complex root structures with a novel high-resolution circular data collection technique. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is another reliable geophysical method to image infiltration processes by the change …

Hydrothermal Alteration Targeting And Geophysical Mineral Exploration Of Eureka And Sylvanite Mining Districts, Southwest New Mexico, Kenneth Singh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As part of the southwestern North American porphyry copper province, mining of natural resources in New Mexico has historically played a crucial role in economic development for over 150 years including this project area in the Little Hatchet Mountains. The northern half of the Little Hatchet Mountains lies in Grant County and includes the Eureka Mining District (EMD) whereas the southern half is in Hidalgo County and includes the Sylvanite Mining District (SMD), 38 miles southeast of Lordsburg. The EMD, a copper and silver-lead mining district from 1880-1961, had a total estimated production from the Laramide veins of 2.9 million …

Using Ground Penetrating Radar To Investigate Controls On Pedogenic Calcium Carbonate Distribution In Dryland Critical Zones, Nohemi Valenzuela Garay

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Caliche or pedogenic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) layers are a common feature of arid soils, but the environmental controls on their distribution are not fully understood. Caliche layers are thought to play an important role in shallow subsurface water storage and movement, due to their water retention capacity and ability to impede vertical water transport (Hennessy et al., 1983). Therefore, caliche distribution and stability play a role in controlling water distribution in arid lands. However, due to its largely subsurface nature, caliche can be difficult to investigate and map without significant effort. I hypothesize that noninvasive geophysical methods, such as ground-penetrating …

The Formation Of The 8˚20’ N Seamount Chain, East Pacific Rise, Dorsey Wanless

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Near-axis seamounts provide a unique setting to investigate three-dimensional mantle processes associated with the formation of new oceanic crust and lithosphere. Here, we investigate the characteristics and evolution of the 8˚20’N Seamount Chain, a lineament of seamounts that extends ~ 175 km west of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) axis, just north of the fracture zone of the Siqueiros Transform Fault. Shipboard gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric data acquired in 2016 are utilized to constrain models of seamount emplacement and evolution. Geophysical observations indicate that these seamounts formed during four distinct episodes of volcanism coinciding with changes in regional plate motion …

Reprocessing Groundwater Resistivity Surveys In The Lower Mesilla Basin, New Mexico, And Texas, Leslie Bernal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Mesilla Basin is part of the Rio Grande Basin System. Its northern boundary is definedby the Doña Ana Mountains in New Mexico and to the south by Sierra San Blas, Sierra Almirez, and Sierra La Candelaria in Mexico, where the basin changes its name to Conejos-Médanos. It supplies water for irrigation and public use to the cities of Las Cruces, NM, El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The southern part of the basin in the U.S. territory, known as the Lower Mesilla Basin, is bounded to the east by the Franklin Mountains, to the west by the Potrillo …

Predictions And Drivers Of Sub-Reach-Scale Annual Streamflow Permanence For The Upper Missouri River Basin: 1989–2018, Kendra E. Kaiser

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The presence of year-round surface water in streams (i.e., streamflow permanence) is an important factor for identifying aquatic habitat availability, determining the regulatory status of streams, managing land use change, allocating water resources, and designing scientific studies. However, accurate, high resolution, and dynamic prediction of streamflow permanence that accounts for year-to-year variability at a regional extent is a major gap in modeling capability. Herein, we expand and adapt the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER) model from its original implementation in the Pacific Northwest (PROSPER_PNW) to the upper Missouri River basin (PROSPER_UM), a …

Statistical Analysis Of Aquifer Hydraulic Properties By A Continuous Pumping Tomography Test: Application To The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Kan Bun Cheng, Gedeon Dagan, Warren Barrash, Michael Cardiff, Avinoam Rabinovich

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characterizing aquifer heterogeneity is paramount for accurate flow and transport modeling. In this work, we present a new approach for statistical analysis of hydraulic properties in continuous pumping tomography tests of a phreatic aquifer. The method entails determining equivalent hydraulic conductivity (K_eq), specific storage (S_s,eq), and specific yield (S_y,eq) at many locations in the field and then calculating statistical moments of the equivalent properties, assuming they are random space variables. Equivalent properties are defined as the ones pertinent to a homogeneous aquifer for which the head time …

(R1978) Heated Laminar Vertical Jet Of Psudoplastic Fluids-Against Gravity, Manisha Patel, M. G. Timol

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A heated laminar jet of Pseudo-plastic fluid flowing vertically upwards from a long narrow slit into a region of the same fluid which is at a rest and at a uniform temperature is considered. The governing non-linear Partial differential equations (PDEs) for the defined flow problem are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations using the effective similarity technique-one parameter deductive group theory method. The obtained non-linear coupled Ordinary differential equations are solved and the results are presented by graphs. The effect of the Prandtl number and Grashof number on the velocity and temperature of the jet flow is discussed. Also, …

Emplacement Of The Franklin Large Igneous Province And Initiation Of The Sturtian Snowball Earth, Mark D. Schmitz

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the Cryogenian (720 to 635 Ma ago) Snowball Earth glaciations, ice extended to sea level near the equator. The cause of this catastrophic failure of Earth’s thermostat has been unclear, but previous geochronology has suggested a rough coincidence of glacial onset with one of the largest magmatic episodes in the geological record, the Franklin large igneous province. U-Pb geochronology on zircon and baddeleyite from sills associated with the paleo-equatorial Franklin large igneous province in Arctic Canada record rapid emplacement between 719.86 ± 0.21 and 718.61 ± 0.30 Ma ago, 0.9 to 1.6 Ma before the onset of widespread glaciation. …

Single-Crystal Elasticity Of Earth’S Mantle Transition Zone Minerals And High Pressure-Temperature Phase Equilibrium Experiments On Martian Basalts, Wenyi Zhou

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Wadsleyite and ringwoodite are major minerals in the Earth’s Mantle Transition Zone. Global and local seismic studies have detected strong lateral variations in seismic velocity and anisotropy in the Mantle Transition Zone, reflecting temperature and possible composition variations. Interpretation of these seismic observations requires knowledge of thermoelastic properties of wadsleyite and ringwoodite with different compositions (water and Fe contents) under high pressure-temperature conditions. In this dissertation, we have measured single-crystal elastic properties of wadsleyite and ringwoodite under high pressure-temperature conditions by Brillouin spectroscopy. Based on our measurements and previous experimental results, we further model the effects of water and Fe …

Dense Array Seismic Imaging Of Earth's Crust Using Active And Passive Sources, Evans Awere Onyango

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Imaging Earth’s crust is critical to understanding processes in the near-surface that affect civilization such as the interaction of seismic waves with the near-surface to generate natural or man-made hazards or investigating how the shallow crust affects the distribution of resources. In chapter 1, I processed and analyzed active source seismic data recorded by ~1000 geophones that were acquired over the legacy HADDOCK nuclear test at the Nevada National Security Site. Using seismic reflection and refraction methods, we image the partially collapsed post-detonation structure to better understand the velocity structure in and around the HADDOCK chimney. Results from this work …

Induced Seismicity In The Raton Basin And Global Variability Of The 410-Km Discontinuity, Margaret E. Glasgow

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Natural processes like mantle convection and plate tectonics dominate Earth’s seismic structure. Recently human activities have increasingly influenced the deformation of the shallow crust. In this dissertation, passive source seismology was used to constrain seismic discontinuities in the mantle transition zone and seismogenic structures in induced earthquake settings. Using a novel sampling method and uniform processing approach, I found the 410-km discontinuity is thermally and compositionally variable. Using a machine- learning approach, I found the three main zones of seismicity in the Raton Basin consist of short faults or fault segments with variable orientations. The zone that hosted a Mw …

The Impact Of Contact Geometry On Sea Ice Stress And Fracture At The Scale Of Ice Floes, Michael J. May

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Observations of stress and strain at the scale of ice floes are necessary to fill a gap in our understanding of sea ice mechanical behavior. Current climate and ice dynamics models represent ice mechanical properties using stress-strain relationships largely determined at laboratory-scale (<1m) or from regional-scale (10+km) deformation observations. The former scale does not include all mechanisms of deformation operating in the ice pack; the latter aggregates multiple modes of deformation into non-physical fluid analogies. The Sea Ice Dynamics Experiment (SIDEx) was run in Feb-Mar 2021 to fill this gap, observing stress and strain at the scale of sea ice failure processes. Here we present stress sensor observations. Stress gages (N=31) were deployed over a 4.5km² area in the southern Beaufort Sea to observe in-situ stress. These data were analyzed in the context of deformation observations from satellite imagery and local laser and radar interferometers to explain the drivers of sea ice stress variations before and after fracture. Three case studies between 14 March and 24 March, during which fractures propagated through …

Hydrogeologic Investigation Of A Covered Karst Terrain, Joseph Peter Honings

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Increasing demand for water for agricultural use within the Dougherty Plain of the Southeastern United States has depleted surface water bodies. In karstic landscapes, such as the Dougherty Plain in southwest Georgia where the linkages between surface and ground waters are close, there is a need to understand the physical characteristics of the subsurface that allow these close linkages. Having a better understanding of the subsurface characteristics will aid numerical modeling efforts that underpin policy decisions and economic analyses. Two common features on this karstic landscape are draws and geographically isolated wetlands. Using LiDAR, aerial imagery, and ground-penetrating radar, this …

Approaches To Model Non-Uniqueness And Site Complexity For Non-Invasive Shear-Wave Depth Profiling, Christopher Boucher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Shear-wave velocity (VS) depth profiling and associated seismic site classifications were performed at 15 sites across Metro Vancouver, British Columbia using passive seismic and surface wave methods. Inversion model parameters are constrained at each site using nearby geodata in combination with developing regression models of shear-wave velocity with depth for three primary stratigraphic units. Statistical methods such as a Bayesian Information Criterion are applied post-inversion to evaluate models between and within varying parameterizations. Data evaluation metrics, including the use of microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (MHVSRs), are applied to identify two common deviations from the simple case of normally dispersive laterally …

Infrasonic Gliding Reflects A Rising Magma Column At Mount Etna (Italy), Mariangela Sciotto, Leighton M. Watson, Andrea Cannata, Massimo Cantarero, Emanuela De Beni, Jeffrey B. Johnson

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Infrasound is increasing applied as a tool to investigate magma dynamics at active volcanoes, especially at open-vent volcanoes, such as Mt. Etna (Italy), which are prodigious sources of infrasound. Harmonic infrasound signals have been used to constrain crater dimensions and track the movement of magma within the shallow plumbing system. This study interprets the remarkable systematic change in monotonic infrasound signals preceding a lava fountaining episode at Mt. Etna on 20 February 2021. We model the changing tones (0.7 to 3 Hz fundamental frequency) as a rise in the magma column from 172 ± 25 m below the crater rim …

Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake Vertical Ground Acceleration Investigation And Potential Impact On Bridges In The Pacific Northwest, Rachel Caroline Bassil

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

The effects of vertical ground accelerations during subduction zone earthquakes currently are not sufficiently understood. There are numerous case studies and evidence that effects of vertical ground accelerations can significantly impact the performance of bridges during a seismic event, but most previous research has been focused on shallow crustal earthquakes. Current bridge design codes provide little guidance for accounting for vertical ground accelerations in seismic design, in part because additional information is needed about the characteristics of vertical ground motions during Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.

For this study, recorded seismic data from recent subduction zone …

Upper-Plate Structure And Tsunamigenic Faults Near The Kodiak Islands, Alaska, Usa, Marlon D. Ramos, Lee M. Liberty, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert Humphreys

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Kodiak Islands lie near the southern terminus of the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake rupture area and within the Kodiak subduction zone segment. Both local and trans-Pacific tsunamis were generated during this devastating megathrust event, but the local tsunami source region and the causative faults are poorly understood. We provide an updated view of the tsunami and earthquake hazard for the Kodiak Islands region through tsunami modeling and geophysical data analysis. Using seismic and bathymetric data, we characterize a regionally extensive seafloor lineament related to the Kodiak shelf fault zone, with focused uplift along a 50-km-long portion of the newly …

Review Article: Global Monitoring Of Snow Water Equivalent Using High-Frequency Radar Remote Sensing, Hans-Peter Marshall

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Seasonal snow cover is the largest single component of the cryosphere in areal extent, covering an average of 46 × 10⁶ km² of Earth's surface (31 % of the land area) each year, and is thus an important expression and driver of the Earth's climate. In recent years, Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover has been declining at about the same rate (∼ −13 % per decade) as Arctic summer sea ice. More than one-sixth of the world's population relies on seasonal snowpack and glaciers for a water supply that is likely to decrease this century. Snow is also …

Nsf Supported Socio-Environmental Research: How Do Crosscutting Programs Affect Research Funding, Publication, And Citation Patterns?, Kendra E. Kaiser, Anna E. Braswell, Megan L. Fork

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recognizing the continued human domination of landscapes across the globe, social-ecological systems (SES) research has proliferated, necessitating interdisciplinary collaborations. Although interdisciplinary research started gaining traction in academic settings close to 50 years ago, formal frameworks for SES research did not develop until the late 1990s. The first National Science Foundation (NSF) funding mechanism specifically for interdisciplinary SES research began in 2001 and the SES-specific Coupled Natural Human (CNH) Systems program began in 2007. We used data on funded NSF projects from 2000 to 2015 to examine how SES research was funded, where the research is published, and the scholarly impact …

The Geochemical Evolution Of Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Archipelago, E. L. Wilson, K. S. Harpp, D. M. Schwartz, R. Van Kirk

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding how ocean island volcanoes evolve provides important insight into the behavior of mantle plumes, how plumes interact with mid-ocean ridges, and potential risks posed to inhabitants as the islands age. In this field-based study of the Galápagos Islands, we use radiogenic isotope ratio, major element, and trace element analysis of >70 new lava samples to document the geochemical evolution of Santa Cruz Island over the past ∼2 million years, as it has been carried away from the plume. Currently, Santa Cruz is a dormant shield volcano in the central archipelago. Previous work indicates that exposed lavas preserve >1 million …

Airborne Snowsar Data At X And Ku Bands Over Boreal Forest, Alpine And Tundra Snow Cover, Hans-Peter Marshall

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The European Space Agency SnowSAR instrument is a side-looking, dual-polarised (VV/VH), X/Ku band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), operable from various sizes of aircraft. Between 2010 and 2013, the instrument was deployed at several sites in Northern Finland, Austrian Alps and northern Canada. The purpose of the airborne campaigns was to measure the backscattering properties of snow-covered terrain to support the development of snow water equivalent retrieval techniques using SAR. SnowSAR was deployed in Sodankylä, Northern Finland, for a single flight mission in March 2011 and 12 missions at two sites (tundra and boreal forest) in the winter of 2011–2012. Over …

Diverse Magmatic Evolutionary Trends Of The Northern Andes Unraveled By Paleocene To Early Eocene Detrital Zircon Geochemistry, James L. Crowley

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Paleocene-early Eocene continental magmatic arc (PECMA) in the Northern Andes is an example of arc magmatism following a major collisional event. This arc formed after the arc-continent collision between the Caribbean Plate and the South American continental margin at ca. 72 Ma. We used detrital zircon LA-ICP-MS and CA-ID-TIMS geochronology and geochemistry to complement the limited plutonic record of the PECMA and better characterize the PECMA's magmatic evolution. Zircon geochronology and their respective trace element geochemistry were analyzed from Paleocene-early Eocene strata of the Bogotá Formation in the foreland region. Our results show that after the collision of the …

Relative Timing Of Off-Axis Volcanism From Sediment Thickness Estimates On The 8°20’N Seamount Chain, East Pacific Rise, Andrea Fabbrizzi, Ross Parnell-Turner, Patricia M. Gregg, Daniel J. Fornari, Michael R. Perfit, V. Dorsey Wanless, Molly Anderson

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Volcanic seamount chains on the flanks of mid-ocean ridges record variability in magmatic processes associated with mantle melting over several millions of years. However, the relative timing of magmatism on individual seamounts along a chain can be difficult to estimate without in situ sampling and is further hampered by Ar⁴⁰/Ar³⁹ dating limitations. The 8°20’N seamount chain extends ∼170 km west from the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR), north of and parallel to the western Siqueiros fracture zone. Here, we use multibeam bathymetric data to investigate relationships between abyssal hill formation and seamount volcanism, transform fault slip, and …