Sedimentology Commons^™

Legacy Contaminants In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Shelf, Jessica N. Landry

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi River watershed is the third largest in the world and drains from 31 states in the United States. Due to its route through the U.S., it passes through hundreds of EPA labeled Superfund sites as well as agricultural and suburban watersheds. These sites are known to have historical chemical contamination, and as a result chemicals can be transported by runoff down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico where their ultimate fate is unknown. Organochlorine chemicals are known to be persistent and are found in agricultural land as well as US EPA Superfund sites, especially DDT, PCBs, …

Mapping The Spatial-Temporal Variation In Ras Ghanada Seagrass Meadows And Sand Shoals Between 1996, 2006 & 2012, Ryan Brookbank

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Seagrass meadows offshore Ras Ghanada, as elsewhere, are an important component to the ecosystem providing numerous benefits to both aquatic and human life. This work focused on mapping the spatial and temporal distribution of seagrass meadows offshore Ras Ghanada using aerial photography acquired in 1996 and high-resolution satellite images captured in 2006 and 2012. The movements of sand shoals were also tracked, so as to further explain the dynamics of this ecosystem, as it is the area between the shoal crests that hosts the best developed seagrass meadows. The natural limiting factor for seagrass on the Ras Ghanada coastal shelf …

The Fate Of Carbon In Sediments Of The Xingu And Tapajós Clearwater Rivers, Eastern Amazon, Dailson J. Bertassoli Jr., André O. Sawakuchi, Henrique O. Sawakuchi, Fabiano N. Pupim, Gelvam A. Hartmann, Michael M. Mcglue, Cristiano M. Chiessi, Matthias Zabel, Enno Schefuß, Tatiana S. Pereira, Rudney A. Santos, Samantha B. Faustino, Paulo E. Oliveira, Denise C. Bicudo

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

The Xingu and Tapajós rivers in the eastern Amazon are the largest clearwater systems of the Amazon basin. Both rivers have “fluvial rias” (i.e., lake-like channels) in their downstream reaches as they are naturally impounded by the Amazon mainstem. Fluvial rias are widespread in the Amazon landscape and most of the sedimentary load from the major clearwater and blackwater rivers is deposited in these channels. So far, little is known about the role of Amazon rias as a trap and reactor for organic sediments. In this study, we used organic and inorganic geochemistry, magnetic susceptibility, diatom, and pollen analyses in …

Fluvial-Lacustrine Processes Shaping The Landforms Of The Distal Paraguay Fluvial Megafan, Edward Limin Lo

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Tropical wetlands such as the Pantanal help regulate global biogeochemical cycles, but climate change is modifying these environments. Controls on environmental changes can potentially be assessed from ancient, well-dated lacustrine sedimentary records. An integrated field and laboratory approach was undertaken to study the limnogeology of Lake Uberaba in the northern Pantanal, and test whether the lake has preserved a reliable record of environmental change in its strata. This study was designed to understand how the basin accumulates sediment and to assess its sensitivity to hydroclimatic variability. The data showed that modern Lake Uberaba is a highly dynamic, freshwater fluvial-lacustrine basin. …

Modern Fair-Weather And Storm Sediment Transport Around Ship Island, Mississippi: Implications For Coastal Habitats And Restoration Efforts, Eve Rettew Eisemann

Master's Theses

The Mississippi – Alabama barrier island chain is experiencing accelerated sea level rise, decreased sediment supply, and frequent hurricane impacts. These three factors drive unprecedented rates of morphology change and ecosystem reduction. All islands in the chain have experienced land loss on the order of hectares per year since records began in the 1840s. In 1969, Hurricane Camille impacted as a Category 5, breaching Ship Island, and significantly reduced viable seagrass habitat. Hurricane Katrina impacted as a Category 3 in 2005, further widening Camille Cut. To better understand the sustainability of these important islands and the ecosystems they support, sediment …

Using Rare Earth Elements To Constrain Particulate Organic Carbon Flux In The East China Sea, Chin-Chang Hung, Ya-Feng Chen, Shih-Chieh Hsu, Kui Wang, Jianfang Chen, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC) in the East China Sea (ECS) have been reported to decrease from the inner continental shelf towards the outer continental shelf. Recent research has shown that POC fluxes in the ECS may be overestimated due to active sediment resuspension. To better characterize the effect of sediment resuspension on particle fluxes in the ECS, rare earth elements (REEs) and organic carbon (OC) were used in separate two-member mixing models to evaluate trap-collected POC fluxes. The ratio of resuspended particles from sediments to total trap-collected particles in the ECS ranged from 82-94% using the OC mixing …

Effects Of Shoreline Dynamics On Saltmarsh Vegetation, Shailesh Sharma, Joshua Goff, Ryan M. Moody, Ashley Mcdonald, Dorothy Byron, Kenneth L. Heck Jr., Sean Powers, Carl Ferraro, Just Cebrian

University Faculty and Staff Publications

We evaluated the impact of shoreline dynamics on fringing vegetation density at mid- and low-marsh elevations at a high-energy site in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Particularly, we selected eight unprotected shoreline stretches (75 m each) at a historically eroding site and measured their inter-annual lateral movement rate using the DSAS method for three consecutive years. We observed high inter-annual variability of shoreline movement within the selected stretches. Specifically, shorelines retrograded (eroded) in year 1 and year 3, whereas, in year 2, shorelines advanced seaward. Despite shoreline advancement in year 2, an overall net erosion was recorded during the survey …

Systematic Patterning Of Sediments In French Polynesian Coral Reef Systems, Andrew Calhoun

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Through a discipline termed “comparative sedimentology”, modern carbonate depositional environments have been used extensively as analogs to aid in the interpretation of equivalent fossil systems. Using field samples, GIS and remote sensing data for three isolated carbonate platforms in the Pacific, this thesis seeks to examine relationships between grain texture and grain type and their environment of deposition. The motivation is to highlight relationships that have the potential to better understand facies relations on carbonate platforms, and thereby reduce uncertainty and increase accuracy of subsurface exploration. The results of this study show that on Raivavae, Tubuai, and Bora Bora: French …

Factors Affecting Terrigenous Sedimentation In Coastal Bays With Coral Reefs: Implications For Monitoring The Effectiveness Of Watershed Restoration, Whitney Sears

Theses

In the Caribbean, sedimentation has been identified as a serious threat to coral reef communities. Although land-based sediment delivery to coastal waters harboring coral reefs occurs under natural conditions, human activities in the watersheds above reefs increases the erosion and delivery of terrigenous sediment to the reefs. Delivery of terrigenous sediment into marine areas below developed watersheds affects sedimentation rates, alters the composition and texture of sediments that are suspended in the water column, and/or sediments that are deposited on the sea floor and on corals.

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands is an ideal location to study the effects of …

Quantifying Channel Responses To The Removal Of The Glines Canyon Dam In The Middle Reach Of The Elwha River, Washington, Bryon J. Free

All Master's Theses

Four different study sites throughout the middle reach of the Elwha River were monitored before, during, and after the dam removal process over a period of two years from 2012-2014. The complexity of the river geometry was a major factor in the ability of the river to trap and accumulate the new influx of woody debris and sediment from the dam removal, which influenced the response of the river channel. The change that occurred was quantified by using repeat Terrestrial LiDAR (TLS), sediment distribution surveys, and large woody debris mapping techniques. The morphologic changes that occurred during this time were …

Understanding The Physiological Effects Of Suspended Material On Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Tyler J. Weinhardt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The effect of global warming on northern environments is becoming increasingly evident. Melting of underlying permafrost is associated with widespread impacts in these environments. The loss of permafrost results in a destabilizing of underlying sedimentary layers resulting in thermokarst slumping. When this occurs on a large scale (mega-slumping) soil material becomes mobilized and is carried into local streams and rivers. The purpose of this study is to examine the sub-lethal physiological effects that suspended material has on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the context of the Peel River Plateau. Juvenile rainbow trout were exposed (following Environment Canada exposure …

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Of Marine Clay Nano- And Microstructure By Transmission Electron Microscopy: Analysis Of Fabric And Pore Network, Jessica Rae Gardner Douglas

Master's Theses

Three-dimensional reconstructions of marine fine-grained sediment open a new dimension for studying nano- and microscale organo-clay fabric important to improving and advancing organic matter (OM) sequestration and fluid flow dynamics modeling. I created 3-D reconstructions of clay fabric and pore pathways from serial sections and photographic mosaics obtained using transmission electron microscopy. These reconstructions show aggregations of clay domains, surrounding OM, and pore networks. I examined a Model sample (laboratory consolidated) with 1% OM and a Natural sample (polychaete fecal pellet) with high levels of OM. Three-dimensional reconstructions were segmented into 300 nm cube subsamples to make highly localized qualitative …

Stromatolites And Miss—Differences Between Relatives, N. Noffke, S. M. Awramik

OES Faculty Publications

Benthic microorganisms form highly organized communities called “biofilms.” A biofilm consists of the individual cells plus their extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In marine and non-marine environments, benthic microbial communities interact with the physical sediment dynamics and other factors in the environment in order to survive. This interaction can produce distinctive sedimentary structures called microbialites. Binding, biostabilization, baffling, and trapping of sediment particles by microorganisms result in the formation of microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS); however, if carbonate precipitation occurs in EPS, and these processes happen in a repetitive manner, a multilayered build-up can form—stromatolites. Stromatolites and MISS are first found …

Effects Of Climate Change On Spring Ecosystem Hydroecology As A Guide To Developing Alternative Water Policies, Scott Mensing, Saxon E. Sharpe, Scott Bassett, Don Sada, Jim Thomas

Climate Change Seminar Series (NNE)

Hydroecology: the interface of ecological systems and water which combines the scientific disciplines of hydrology and ecology

Goal: evaluate the hydrologic and climate history using pollen, loss on ignition, total inorganic carbon, and invertebrates from spring sediments in Spring Valley, Eastern Nevada and Snake Valley, Western Utah

Tapeworms Of Elasmobranchs, Part Iii: A Monograph On The Phyllobothriidae (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda), Timothy R. Ruhnke

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This monograph aims to provide information on the taxonomic status of all genera associated with the tetraphyllidean family Phyllobothriidae. Full treatments of the three valid species of the type genus, Phyllobothrium, in addition to the 47 valid species of Clistobothrium, Crossobothrium, Marsupiobothrium, Monorygma, Nandocestus, Orectolobicestus, Orygmatobothrium, Paraorygmatobothrium, Ruhnkecestus, and Scyphophyllidium are provided, as is a taxonomic history of the family. Of the valid genera historically associated with the family, only Phyllobothrium is considered to be an unambiguous member of the family. The genera Bibursibothrium, Calyptrobothrium, Cardiobothrium, Clistobothrium, Crossobothrium, Doliobothrium, Flexibothrium, Marsupiobothrium, Monorygma, Nandocestus, Orectolobicestus, Orygmatobothrium, Paraorygmatobothrium, Ruhnkecestus, Scyphophyllidium …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …

Benthic Ecology From Space: Optics And Net Primary Production In Seagrass And Benthic Algae Across The Great Bahama Bank, Heidi M. Dierssen, Richard C. Zimmerman, Lisa A. Drake, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Development of repeatable and quantitative tools are necessary for determining the abundance and distribution of different types of benthic habitats, detecting changes to these ecosystems, and determining their role in the global carbon cycle. Here we used ocean color remote sensing techniques to map different major groups of primary producers and estimate net primary productivity (NPP) across Great Bahama Bank (GBB). Field investigations on the northern portion of the GBB in 2004 revealed 3 dominant types of benthic primary producers: seagrass, benthic macroalgae, and microalgae attached to sediment. Laboratory measurements of NPP ranged from barely net autotrophic for grapestone sediment …

Markov Models For Linking Environments And Facies In Space And Time (Recent Arabian Gulf, Miocene Paratethys), Bernhard Riegl, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This special publication Perspectives in Carbonate Geology is a collection of papers most of which were presented at a symposium to honor the 80th birthday of Bob Ginsburg at the meeting of Geological Society of America in Salt Lake City in 2005. The majority of the papers in this publication are connected with the study of modern carbonate sediments. Bob Ginsburg pioneered the concept of comparative sedimentology - that is using the modern to compare to and relate to and understand the ancient. These studies are concerned with Bob's areas of passion: coral reefs and sea-level; submarine cementation and formation …

Markov Models For Linking Environments And Facies In Space And Time (Recent Arabian Gulf, Miocene Paratethys), Bernhard Riegl, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

If, as comparative sedimentology maintains, knowledge of the Recent can sometimes be helpful to explain the past (and vice-versa), common quantitative denominators might exist between Recent and fossil systems. It may also be possible to describe dynamics and find linkages between space and time with a unique set of quantitative tools. To explore such conceptual links, spatial facies patterns mapped using satellite imagery were compared with temporal patterns in analogous ancient outcropping facies using Markov chains and graphs. Landsat and Ikonos satellite imagery was used to map benthic facies in a nearshore carbonate ramp (Ras Hasyan) and offshore platform system …

Rates Of Carbonate Dissolution In Permeable Sediments Estimated From Porewater Profiles: The Role Of Sea Grasses, David J. Burdige, Richard C. Zimmerman, Xinping Hu

OES Faculty Publications

In this study we estimate sediment carbonate dissolution rates for sandy sea grass sediments on the Bahamas Bank using an inverse pore-water advection/diffusion/reaction model constrained by field observations. This model accounts for sea grass O₂ input to these sediments, and also parameterizes pore-water advection through these permeable sediments as a nonlocal exchange process. The resulting rates of carbonate dissolution are positively correlated with sea grass density, and are comparable with previous rate estimates for Florida Bay sediments. In contrast, the advective uptake of O₂ by these sediments decreased with increasing sea grass density. This suggests that the competing …

Turbulent Lifestyle: Microbial Mats On Earth’S Sandy Beaches—Today And 3 Billion Years Ago, Nora Noffke

OES Faculty Publications

Archean Earth history is very difficult to reconstruct. Until recently, only bacterial cells preserved in chert, microborings, and stromatolites provided the few clues to ancient life. Now, siliciclastic “microbially induced sedimentary structures” (MISS) are adding to our knowledge of both past life and paleoenvironments. MISS rise from the interaction of photoautotrophic microbial mats with physical sediment dynamics in siliciclastic, shallow-marine settings. Archean MISS can be understood through observations of living microbial mats and modern biotic-physical sedimentary processes. Such geobiological studies are key to the interpretation of the early evolution of prokaryotes. For example, the 2.9 Ga Pongola Supergroup, South Africa, …

Colloid Mediated Transport Of Heavy Metals In Soils Following Reclamation With And Without Biosolid Application, Jarrod O. Miller

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Soils disturbed by strip mining practices may have increased colloid loads moving to groundwater resources, also enhancing the transport of contaminants into our water resources. We hypothesize that contaminant transport within soils following mining is enhanced by colloid mobility. Two sites were chosen for this study, a 30-year old reclaimed strip mine in southwest Virginia and a recently mined area from eastern Kentucky. Intact reclaimed soil monoliths were retrieved from sandstone derived soils in southwestern Virginia. Reclaimed monoliths from eastern Kentucky were recreated in the lab. Intact undisturbed (native) soil monoliths representing the soils before mining were also sampled for …

Tapeworms Of Elasmobranchs (Part Ii) A Monograph On The Diphyllidea (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda), Gaines Albert Tyler Ii

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The main objective of this monograph was a synthesis of the available knowledge on the diversity, systematics, host associations, and biogeography of the Diphyllidea. A thorough review of the literature resulted in the transfer of Diagonobothrium into Diphyllidea as a genus inquirendum. The genus Yogeshwaria was also transferred to Diphyllidea as a synonym of Echinobothrium. Its only species, E. nagabhushani n. comb., is considered to be a species inquirenda. New collections resulted in the description of a new species of Echinobothrium. Type and/or voucher specimens for 32 of 36 valid diphyllidean species (including the new species) …

Tapeworms Of Elasmobranchs (Part I) A Monograph On The Lecanicephalidea (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda), Kirsten Jensen

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This represents the first monographic and phylogenetic treatment of the order Lecanicephalidea. The main objective was to treat the Lecanicephalidea at the generic level, while providing information on morphology, taxonomic history, phylogenetic relationships, geographic distribution, and host associations of the group. Following an introduction to the morphology of the Lecanicephalidea, the phylogenetic placement of the group is addressed. This is followed by a review of the taxonomic history of the group and relationships within, including summaries of 29 previously used classification schemes. Despite the generic focus of this study, the taxonomic status of 137 previously recognized lecanicephalidean species was evaluated, …

Mammals Of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, Kenneth N. Geluso, Keith Geluso

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Carlsbad Cavern was established as a national park on 14 May 1930, after being designated as a national monument for nearly seven years. The park is located in southeastern New Mexico, and today it encompasses 189.3 km² (73.1 mi²). Eighty-eight percent of the park lies in the rugged Guadalupe Mountains, while 12% is located on relatively flat land along the base of the mountains. The park contains a variety of habitats ranging from desert scrub at the lowest elevations to coniferous woodlands on the highest summits. Five months after Carlsbad Cavern was declared a national monument, Vernon …

An Environmental Geochemical Study Of Connecticut Marsh Sediments, Nicole A. Heller, Michael A. Kruge, Johan C. Varekamp, Tabitha Zierzow

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Core material from Spartina-dominated Housatonic and Connecticut River estuarine sites (ranging from low to high marsh) were investigated in order to test the hypothesis that organic and inorganic pollutants preferentially accumulate in the low marsh environment. Radiometric data indicate that the low marsh setting experienced sedimentation rates an order of magnitude greater than that of the mid to high marsh. The low marsh sediments from the Housatonic tend to have significantly higher concentrations of trace metals (e.g., Cu and Zn, likely contributed by brass mills formerly active upstream). Petrographic examination of the samples under reflected white and blue light …

Modifications Of The C37 Alkenone And Alkenoate Composition In The Water Column And Sediment: Possible Implications For Sea Surface Temperature Estimates In Paleoceanography, Joan O. Grimalt, Jürgen Rullkötter, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Roger Summons, John Farrington, H. Rodger Harvey, Miguel Goñi, Ken Sawada

OES Faculty Publications

The literature pertaining to C37 alkenone and C37 and C38 alkenoate production and diagenesis has been reviewed and evaluated for issues that might jeopardize their usefulness in paleotemperature estimation. We also examined the use of the C37 alkenones as paleoproductivity indicators, the stability of their δ13C isotopic compositions, and their incorporation into the nonsolvent extractable organic matter fraction. Biological transformation of organic matter by bacteria and zooplankton does not appear to cause significant changes to the ratio of C37:2 and C37:3 alkenones, but there are major alterations in the relative composition of alkenoates. Studies of water column processes and postdepositional …

Bulletin 4359 - Soils Of The Swan Coastal Plain, Mike Bolland

Bulletins 4000 -

Almost all the soils of the Swan coastal plain are formed by material deposited by sea, rivers and wind. The Yilgarn Block, east and south of the Scarp bordering the Swan Coastal Plain (Fig. 1), rose about 40 to 50 million years ago. This caused erosion of the block by rivers and streams, and the eroded material was either deposited onto the Swan Coastal Plain or washed into the sea. The eroded material formed new soils on the Plain.

Broadly there are two major types of soils on the Coastal Plain. The first is a series of dune system near …

Environmental And Botanical Controls On Peatification - A Comparative Study Of Two New Zealand Restiad Bogs Using Py-Gc/Ms, Petrography And Fungal Analysis, Tomasz K. Kuder, Michael A. Kruge, J C. Shearer, S L. Miller

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study shows that chemical properties of two restiad species, Empodisma minus and Sporadanthus traversii, may contribute to their success as peat-formers in a climate of the North Island of New Zealand which is not conducive to raised mire development. Unlike Sphagnum, the equivalent northern hemisphere peat-former, restiads possess lignin in their tissues. In addition, the presence of non-lignin polyphenols (including tannins and phenolic acids) in restiads may be an important factor in peat formation due to the allelopathic decay retardation. Patterns of degradation of plant biopolymers have been examined and the pathway of degradation of monocotyledons (loss …

The Biogeochemical Cycling Of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen In Estuarine Sediments, David J. Burdige, Shilong Zheng

OES Faculty Publications

Benthic fluxes and pore-water profiles of dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon (DON and DOC, respectively) were determined in seasonal studies at contrasting sites in Chesapeake Bay. Pore-water dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations were elevated over bottom-water values, generally increased with depth, and ranged from 15 to similar to 160 μM for DON and ~200-2000 μM for DOC. Pore-water DOM concentrations and the C:N ratio of this material showed spatial (depth) and temporal changes that varied among the sites studied. These trends appeared to be related to differences in the types of sediment organic matter (SOM) undergoing remineralization, as well as …