Sedimentology Commons^™

Geologic History Of Ash Hollow State Historical Park, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Roger K. Pabian, J. R. Thomasson

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Contents:

Introduction
Acknowledgments
Cautions
General Stratigraphy
Oligocene Series-White River Group-Brule Formation-Whitney Member
Miocene Series-Ogallala Group-Ash Hollow Formation
Pliocene Series-Broadwater Formation
Quaternary deposits
Older colluvium and loess
Younger colluvium and alluvium
General Paleontology
Evidence of past life: fossils and subfossils
Collecting fossils
Vertebrate fossils
Fossils from the Whitney Member of the Brule Formation
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Fossils from the Ash Hollow Formation
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Fossils from the Broadwater Formation
Plants
Vertebrates
Quaternary fossils
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Additional studies of Nebraska fossils
Geologic History
Prehistory and History
References
Appendices I-IV

Flash Pyrolysis Of Anthropogenic And Natural Organic Matter In Polluted Sediments, Sami T. Abdel Bagi, Michael A. Kruge, Gary L. Salmon

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

INTRODUCTION - Combustion products along with spilled petroleum and industrial chemicals contribute to environmental degradation by contaminating soils and sediments. Such anthropogenic organic matter (OM), if preserved in sediments, can serve an archival function, documenting the local, history of industrial pollution. Christensen and Zhang (1993) determined the sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (P AH) to Lake Michigan from sedimentary records, finding that coal combustion was a major source for PAHs in these sediments. Bodzek and Luks-Betlej (1993) reported that atmospheric deposition is the main source of PAH in soils of the heavily industrialized Upper Silesia region of Poland. Smith and …

Impact Of Erosion, Mass Wasting, And Sedimentation On Human Activities In The Río Grande Basin, Jujuy Province, Argentina, Waldo Chayle, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nearly all dry mountainous regions are affected by severe erosion, floods, and debris flows during times of intense precipitation. The lithology, geologic structure, and climate in Jujuy Province, Argentina combine to place at serious risk the people who live along the Río Grande, the major river that drains the east side of the Cordillera Oriental and the west side of the Sierras Subandinas. Nearly all precipitation falls during summer (January–March) with little during the remainder of the year; most of the basin is semiarid to arid, although the southern end has a humid subtropical climate. Relief is great, as much …

Bulletin 4279 - Streamlining - An Environmentally Sustainable Drainage Network For The Swan Coastal Plain (Peel-Harvey Catchment), Garry Heady, Neil Guise

Bulletins 4000 -

Community Catchment Centre Pinjarra

A network of over 1400 kilometres of drains and modified natural waterways constructed by the Public Works Department criss-crosses the Peel-Harvey catchment. There are also over 3300 kilometres of minor drains and natural waterways in this same region.

The expansion of agriculture relied on this extensive drainage network, which was designed to ensure rapid drainage of the region. Unfortunately there was little regard to future environmental consequences.

Along with drainage water, these same drains now carry high loads of silt and nutrients. Many of the drains are also degraded and require expensive maintenance annually.

The Origin And Evolution Of The Southern Snake Range Decollement, East Central Nevada, Allen J. Mcgrew

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Regional and local stratigraphic, metamorphic, and structural constraints permit reconstruction of the southern Snake Range extensional deformational system in east central Nevada. The dominant structure of the range, the southern Snake Range décollement (SSRD), operated during Oligocene and Miocene extensional deformation to exhume a footwall of multiply deformed metasedimentary and plutonic rocks. Intrusion of three plutons (∼160 Ma, 79.1 ± 0.5 Ma, and 36 ± 1 Ma, respectively) and development of two cleavages preceded the onset of extensional deformation. Plastic deformation of lower plate metasedimentary rocks accompanied the early phases of regional extension and produced bedding-parallel grain shape foliations and …

Environmental Radiocesium In Subarctic And Arctic Alaska Following Chernobyl, M. Baskaran, J. J. Kelley, A. S. Naidu, D. F. Holleman

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Radiocesium (¹³⁴ Cs and ¹³⁷ Cs) concentrations were measured in soil, plant and wildlife samples from subarctic to arctic Alaska. Concentrations of ¹³⁷ Cs ranged from below detectable or low levels in whale and fish samples to as high as 242 Bq/kg in lichen. For all potential human food items, the radiocesium concentrations measured in this study were below accepted permissible levels for human consumption. Chernobyl-derived radiocesium concentrations ranged from below detectable or low levels in all arctic samples (soil, sediment, lichen, whale, fish and caribou) to 32 Bq/kg in subarctic moss. Therefore the distribution and subsequent deposition of Chernobyl-derived …

Scanning Electron Microscopic Study Of Quartz Sand Surface Features, Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group, Western Nebraska, Patricia E. Helland, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In field studies of the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of the Ogallala Group in western Nebraska the alluvial deposits are composed of large volumes of sand and gravel up to large cobbles. Because the current understanding of the climate of the region at the time of deposition does not provide for a source for deposits of this character, a scanning electron microscopic study of the surface features on the quartz sand grains from these sediments was undertaken. Nine samples, collected from locations in Banner, Morrill and Keith Counties, were examined to see if they had one or more of …

Plate Tectonics, Space, Geologic Time, And The Great Plains: A Primer For Non-Geologists, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

For most Americans, "The Great Plains" evokes images of grasslands, dust storms, prairie fires, Native Americans on horseback, cowboys and wheat lands, and perhaps flat valleys crossed by braided rivers carrying a heavy load of sand and gravel, extremes of weather, and a climate typified by an alternation of droughts and wetter periods. Geologists picture such general images, too, but they also see radical changes in the landscape over periods expressed in millions rather than hundreds of years. Geologically speaking, human activities on the Great Plains are too recent to have much of a place in the broad geologic history …

Late Paleozoic Cyclic Sedimentation In Southeastern Nebraska: A Field Guide, Roger K. Pabian, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

People studying and collecting sedimentary rocks, minerals, and fossils in eastern Nebraska often find that locating rock exposures can be difficult. Most of the rolling hills in the eastern sixth of the state are underlain by thick, interlayered, glacial deposits, loess (windblown silt), and alluvium (stream-deposited sediments) of very young geologic age. These sediments cover the bedrock in most of that area. Natural exposures and human excavations of bedrock are mostly confined to the sides and floors of stream valleys. However, in the southeasternmost counties of the state, the younger sediment cover is commonly thin or absent. Pawnee and Richardson …

Effects Of Aromatic Concentration On Methane Fermentation, Yi-Tin Wang, Pin-Chieh Pai, H. David Gabbard

KWRRI Research Reports

The anaerobic biodegradability and toxicity of fourteen aromatic compounds were evaluated over a wide range of concentrations using a serum bottle technique. Benzene, toluene, and all three isomers of xylene were not significantly degraded to methane in a phenol-enriched culture. Complete degradation of 1000 mg/L phenol, 800 mg/L catechol, 100 mg/L 2-NP, 100 mg/L 3- NP, and 100 mg/L 4-NP was observed within two months while depletion of 100 mg/L resorcinol and 1000 mg/L hydroquinone required more than six and eight months incubation, respectively. None of the three isomers of chlorophenol were degraded in the phenol-enriched culture. Batch toxicity assay …

The Effect Of Industrial Development On The Sediment Contamination Of Apponaug Cove, A Historical Analysis, Marina Havan-Orumieh

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Sediment cores have long been used to formulate the chronology of environmental contamination. This paper will investigate the utility of sediment cores in determining the chronology of trace metal contamination in Apponaug Cove, Rhode Island. A meter-long sediment core taken from the Cove was analyzed for chromium, copper, lead, zinc and nickel as well as organic pollutants coprostanol, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, benzotriazole and clorobenzotriazole. The core represents a close to 200 year record of sediments in Apponaug Cove. The cultural/economic changes in the Watershed in addition to environmental laws composed in the State and Federal levels which may have correlated with …

Identification Of Soil-Water Chemical Parameters For The Prediction And Treatment Of Suspended Solids In Surface Water Reservoirs Of Coal Mine Lands, V. P. Evangelou, J. H. Grove, R. I. Barnhisel

KWRRI Research Reports

High concentrations of suspended solids in coal mine sedimentation ponds are a factor in lowering water quality. Colloidal particle settling simulations were carried out in the laboratory to test the influence pH and dissolved solids have on concentration and settling rates of suspended solids. The results of the study reveal that the pH range of colloidal coflocculation for the samples tested is between 3.5 and 4.5. Furthermore, liming simulation of acidic sediments, as expected increased colloid dispersion. This increase was dependent on the magnitude of the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The greater SAR systems maintained a greater concentration of colloidal …

New Evidence Supporting The Blancan Age Of The Sand And Gravel Sequence Capping The Ash Hollow Formation, Garden, Keith, And Lincoln Counties, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., James W. Goeke, Michael R. Voorhies

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sandwiched between the overlying eolian Quaternary loesses and sands and the underlying beds of the Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group, buried beneath the sliver of Cheyenne Tableland in Keith County and adjacent areas of western Nebraska, is a mass of fluvially deposited sand, gravelly sand, and sandy gravel of previously uncertain age. Some authors assigned these sediments to the Ogallala Group, while others have called them either the Broadwater Formation (Blancan), or a combination of the two rock units.

The Inapplicability Of The Concept Of The "Sidney Gravel" To The Ogallala Group (Late Tertiary) In Part Of Southern Banner County, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A series of geologic maps of counties in western Nebraska was prepared for the Nebraska Geological Survey during the mid-1 930s. These maps showed the distribution of rock units of Tertiary age including a formation designated as the “Sidney.” The Sidney Gravel was described as a widespread sheetlike complex of channel deposits, but with small areas where it is not developed. In southern Banner County, Nebraska, there are several channels filled with sand and gravel that were mapped as Sidney in this series. Recently one of these channel fills has been observed to cut across the other. The fills are …

Dam Site Selection In The North-Eastern Wheatbelt, J L. Frith

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Western Australia's wheatbelt farm dams are dug three to eight metres deep and are generally sited in soils which either are inherently impermeable or can be made so during construction.

In the eastern and north-eastern wheatbelt, however, only a small proportion of the soils meets these criteria. Dam site selection in these areas therefore depends on a good knowledge ofwhich soils aresuitable and on our being able to locate them efficiently by using surface indications such as surface soil, natural vegetation or topographic features.

Identification Of Soil-Water Chemical Parameters For The Prediction And Treatment Of Suspended Solids In Surface Water Reservoirs Of Coal Mine Lands, V. P. Evangelou, J. H. Grove, R. I. Barnhisel

KWRRI Research Reports

High concentrations of suspended solids in coal mine sedimentation ponds are a factor in lowering water quality. This study focuses on the influence dissolved solids have on concentration and settling of suspended solids. Water samples from sedimentation ponds in Eastern and Western Kentucky were used to evaluate water composition in such ponds. Spoil samples from surface mine sites in both parts of the state were used to evaluate water composition released from the spoils upon introducing water.

The results demonstrate that water quality emanating from coal spoils of Eastern and Western coal mines is dependent on the type of spoil …

Further Comments On The Nature And Developmental History Of Quaternary Pumpkin Creek, Banner, And Morrill Counties, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The occurrence of Quaternary anorthosite-rich sand and gravel deposits in south-central Morrill County, Nebraska, supports the idea that Pumpkin Creek formerly flowed farther east than it does today. This eastern extension of the creek was abandoned when another headward cutting tributary of the North Platte River cut through the divide between Pumpkin Creek and the North Platte just east of Jail and Courthouse rocks and captured Pumpkin Creek.

Unusual clast types found in Quaternary deposits along Pumpkin Creek in Banner County may be used to determine some characteristics of the streams that carried them. For example, armored mud balls and …

Investigations And Research In Nevada By The Water Resources Division, U. S. Geological Survey, 1982-83, Terry Katzer, Otto Moosburner, William D. Nichols

Publications (WR)

The Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, is charged with (1) maintaining a hydrologic network in Nevada that provides information on the status of the State's water resources and (2) engaging in technical water-resources investigations that have a high degree of transferability. To meet these broad objections, 26 projects were active in Nevada during fiscal year 1982 in cooperation with 36 Federal, State, and local agencies. Total funds were $3,319,455, of which State and local cooperative funding amounted to $741,500 and Federal funding (comprised of Geological Survey Federal and cooperative programs plus funds from six other Federal agencies) amounted to …

Sediment Oxygen Demand In Streams Receiving Sewage Effluent, John J. Schultz

Masters Theses

Sediment oxygen demand is an important factor in determining dissolved oxygen concentrations in streams and rivers subjected to sewage effluents and other sources of organic pollution. Resuspension of sediments during bottom-scouring after periods of heavy precipitation exerts an immediate and increased oxygen demand on the water and is expected to decrease sediment oxygen demand at the site.

Sediment samples were collected monthly from April through November, 1983 from three small streams subjected to sources of organic pollution. The samples collected were arbitrarily categorized into wet and dry period samples based on the total precipitation between collection dates. Sediment oxygen demand …

Improved Methods And Guidelines For Modeling Stormwater Runoff From Surface Coal Mined Lands, Michael E. Meadows, George E. Blandford

KWRRI Research Reports

The investgations, developments and guidelines for several hydrologic modeling strategies are presented. Investigations were conducted to determine appropriate event curve numbers for surface mined disturbed watersheds; and performance of four synthetic unit hydrograph models (SCS curvilinear, SCS single triangle, Williams and TVA double triangle) on 38 USDA experimental watersheds in 14 physiographic provinces using in excess of 270 events. A second test using only the SCS curvilinear unit hydrograph on 11 small watersheds and 48 events was conducted to investigate the excess rainfall pattern simulated with the curve number model. A procedure for developing a unit hydrograph using the time …

Predicting Infiltration And Surface Runoff From Reconstructed Spoils And Soils, Larry G. Wells, Andrew D. Ward, Ronald E. Phillips

KWRRI Research Reports

A laboratory system was fabricated to measure infiltration and runoff from spoil and soil profiles constructed in rectangular bins. Construction, calibration and operation of a rainfall simulator is discussed and instrumentation used to measure transient infiltration and transmittance of water through experimental profiles is described.

Spoil and soil materials from surface mines in Eastern and Western Kentucky were transported to the laboratory and used in constructing experimental profiles in rectangular bins (0.91 x 1.83 x 1.07 m). An extensive series of infiltration experiments were conducted utilizing a rainfall simulator and soil moisture monitoring instrumentation. A dual probe gamma density gauge …

Input And Distribution Of Sewage Derived Sedimentary Material Adjacent To Chesapeake-Elizabeth Sewage Outfall, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Robert Carroll Brown

OES Theses and Dissertations

The concentrations of coprostanol and hydrocarbons were measured in the effluent from the Chesapeake-Elizabeth sewage treatment plant and surface sediments from the area surrounding the effluent discharge site. Most of the coprostanol (>84%) and hydrocarbons (>91%) were associated with particulates in the effluent. Some of these particles were incorporated into the sedimentary column within the study area, while some may have escaped from the area.

The study area is found to be a dynamic area where changes in the percentage and distribution of fine-grained sediments occur over periods of months. The movement of fine-grained sediments is an important …

Some Effects Of The Polychaete Nereis Succinea Frey And Leukart 1847 On The Distribution Of Copper Cadmium And Zinc In Sediments And Water, Gabriela Kitzig August

OES Theses and Dissertations

Two laboratory experiments, each lasting 216 hours, were conducted in order to determine the effects of a burrowing polychaete, Nereis succinea Frey and Leukart, 1847, on the distribution of copper, cadmium, and zinc in sediments and water in environmentally controlled microcosms. Dissolved metal concentrations in microcosms containing worms (experimental) decreased more rapidly than in microcosms without worms (controls). From 72 hours to 216 hours, suspended metal concentrations in experimental microcosms increased while concentrations in controls remained relatively constant. Sediment cadmium concentrations in experimental microcosms increased more over time than in controls. Polychaetes accumulated significant amounts of all three metals. These …

Geometries And General Features Of Some Cenozoic Valleys And Valley Fills, Western Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Portions of Tertiary and Quaternary valleys and valley fills have been exhumed by recent stream erosion at many sites in western Nebraska. Paleovalleys vary from narrow, steep-sided, high gradient tributary gullies less than 0.1 km wide to broad, flat-floored valleys produced by lateral erosion. Segments of valley floors may be nearly smooth in the case of a Quaternary example, or may be very irregular with potholes and other deep scour features. Paleovalley sides, when exposed, are often steeply sloping, and approaching or possibly going beyond the vertical where the valleys have been eroded into the Brule Formation. Paleovalleys range in …

Lithologic And Structural Controls On Karst Landforms Of The Mitchell Plain, Indiana, And Pennyroyal Plateau, Kentucky, Frederick Jennings Woodson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Karst features in Harrison County, Indiana, and the Mammoth Cave region, Kentucky, are profoundly influenced by lithology and structure. In the Sinkhole Plain two classes of sinkholes, shallow solutional and deeper subsidence, differ in morphology, origin, age, distribution, and density. Distributions of the two kinds of sinkholes reflect the outcrop pattern of specific lithostratigraphic units. Broad shallow dolines (Ste. Genevieve-type sinks) develop on the Horse Cave Member of the St. Louis Limestone and on the Ste. Genevieve, Girkin, and Paoli Limestones. Innumerable steeper-sided subsidence and collapse depressions (St. Louis-type sinkholes) form on the Corydon Chert Member, lower St. Louis Limestone, …

An Environmental Study Of The Origin, Distribution, And Bioaccumulation Of Selenium In Kentucky And Barkley Lakes, B. E. Mcclellan, Kenneth J. Frazer

KWRRI Research Reports

Many samples of water, bottom sediment, and fish were analyzed for toxic metal ion content. The samples were collected from several selected sites along Kentucky and Barkley Lakes as well as the Cumberland River and several sub-impoundments along these aquatic systems. Emphasis was placed on selenium, although several other metal ions were determined. The results showed that there are no serious pollution problems with As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se, Sr, Zn, or Zr at any of the sites examined. Actually, none of the trace metals examined even come close to the EPA limits on fish, with the exception …

Botanical And Ecological Aspects Of Coastal Raised Peatlands In Maine : And Their Relevance To The Critical Areas Program Of The State Planning Office, Ian A. Worley

Maine Collection

Botanical and Ecological Aspects of Coastal Raised Peatlands in Maine : and Their Relevance to the Critical Areas Program of the State Planning Office.

by Ian A. Worley

A Report Prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Program, State Planning Office, 184 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333.

Planning Report No. 69 (January 1980)

Contents: Foreword / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Figures / List of Tables / Acknowledgements / Introduction / Natural History and Ecology of the Coastal Raised Peatlands / Selection of Coastal Peatlands Recommended for Evaluation by the Critical Areas Program / General Evaluation of Coastal …

A Gering Formation (Miocene) Pumice Conglomerate And Associated Beds From Broadwater, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Mitchell Pass Member of the Gering Formation was defined by Vondra, Schultz, and Stout in 1969 on the basis of exposures in the Wildcat Ridge area of western Nebraska. The basal part of the member in many areas of Wildcat Ridge is a pumice-pebble conglomerate bed. A newly discovered pumice-pebble conglomerate locality occurs north of Broadwater, Nebraska, some twenty miles east of the easternmost previously reported exposure of the pumice conglomerate at Redington Gap on Wildcat Ridge. Pumice samples from Redington Gap and Broadwater have the same index of refraction and similar inclusions. Beds above the conglomerate and below …

Evaluation Of Detention Basins For Controlling Urban Runoff And Sedimentation, C. T. Haan, A. D. Ward

KWRRI Research Reports

This report summarizes the work completed under the research project "Evaluation of Dentention Basins for Controlling Urban Runoff and Sedimentation." The main project accomplishments were:

(1) a demonstration of the desirability of considering systems of urban stormwater detention basins as opposed to individual basin design,

(2) the development of a systems analysis approach for least cost selection of a system of dentention basins for meeting a preset hydrologic objective,

(3) the development of a mathematical, computer-based simulation model of the performance of sediment retention basins,

(4) partial verification of the sediment basin model and

(5) the development of design recommendations …

Analysis Of The Sediment Filtering Action Of Grassed Media, Billy J. Barfield, David T. Y. Kao, E. W. Tollner

KWRRI Research Reports

The movement of sediment in non-submerged flow through a rigid grass media was studied experimentally by simulating the media with cylindrical nails. Models of sediment movement were developed from probablistic reasoning and from the use of existing parameters describing total bed material in open channel flow. In the probability analysis, the percent sediment trapped was found to be a power function of the number of potential fall paths, N_f,a particle could make from the surface to the bed while traveling through the filter media. The percent trapped was also found to be an inverse power function of the …