Stratigraphy Commons^™

Minerals Rock!: Improving Audience Engagement And Interest In Stem Through Enhancement Of The In-Person And Online Mineral Collection At Ursinus College, Juliette Lyons

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

Museums are a vital source of educational resources for the general public. They provide information on a variety of topics and disciplines and encourage visitors to be excited about and engaged in learning something new. As we work to comprehend key topics such as climate change, it is especially important for the broader public to better understand science, including geology. While the geological collection at Ursinus, Pieces of Earth’s History, is not in a museum, implementing methods that museums use can improve the reception of the collection. Through the application of research gathered through articles, journals, books, and talking with …

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2025, Aaron R. Young, Mark E. Burbach, Sue Olafsen Lackey, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Jeffrey Westrop

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Last Glacial Maximum And Late Glacial Aeolian Sand Activity, South-Central Indiana, Usa, H. M. Loope, J. L. Antinao, P.R. Hanson, P. M. Jacobs, D. A. Grimley

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Report 17—Revisions To The Articles Of Organization And Procedure Of The Commission On Stratigraphic Nomenclature Of The Americas, Lynn T. Dafoe, Robert B. Macnaughton, Marie-Perre Aubry, Carlton E. Brett, James R. Lehane, Fernando Núñez-Useche, Randall C. Orndorff, Frank Brunton, Lucy E. Edwards, Richard H. Fluegeman, Howard Harper, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Norman P. Lasca, B. H. Tew

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Several revisions to the Articles of Organization and Procedure for the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature have been adopted following the 75th, 79th, and 80th annual meetings of the Commission in 2020, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Of these, the most substantial change was revision of Article III regarding membership composition of the Commission and the addition of new member organizations from Central and South America and the Caribbean region. As a result, the Commission also voted to change its name to be more inclusive of the expanding membership, with approval of the name: Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the …

Global, Continental, And Local Scale Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction Methods For Interpreting The History Of Miocene North America And The Great Plains, Willow Hue Nguy

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The Miocene of North America is characterized by dynamic changes in herbivore communities, habitat composition, and global climate. Long-term cooling and drying trends influenced large changes in floral and faunal communities. The Great Plains, North America shifted from closed-canopy biomes to open-canopy biomes with C3-grasses to biomes with C4-grasses. This shift affected the herbivore communities as browsing-adapted ungulates were replaced by grazing-adapted ungulates. Much focus has centered on the Great Plains, so it is not well understood how the changes in biomes compare to other regions of North America. The models used for vegetation density indicate open-canopy biomes since at …

Collaborative Research: Bocp-Implementation: Us-China: Multi-Scale, Multi- Proxy, Integrative Investigation Of Functional Biodiversity On A Changing Proterozoic Planet, Carol Dehler

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Onset Of The Messinian Salinity Crisis: Insights From Molecular Organic Geochemistry, Albert Permanyer, Michael A. Kruge, Luis Gibert

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) generated extensive anoxic sediments under the evaporitic deposits in marginal Mediterranean basins. In an interdisciplinary approach combining field work with multiple laboratory techniques, the oil source rock potential and biomarkers of pre-evaporitic Messinian sediments from the Caltanissetta Basin (Sicily) were evaluated using Rock-Eval pyrolysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, isotopic analysis and optical and electron microscopy. Organic-rich samples from the 45 m Serra Pirciata section consist of cycles of diatomaceous and carbonate layers alternating with organic shales of variable TOC. The organic matter is mostly optically amorphous, increasing in content upwards in the section. Of the 43 …

Groundwater In Nebraska, Troy E. Gilmore, Jesse T. Korus Dr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

What is groundwater? Groundwater is water that fills and moves between spaces in underground rocks, gravel, sand, or other materials.

Usu Luminescence Lab Project 356: Durango Colorado Glacial And Fluvial Deposit Luminescence Age Results, Tammy M. Rittenour

Browse all Datasets

Luminescence dating of outwash terraces and glacial moraines. Project investigated the age of older (Bull Lake?) glacial advance sequences near Durango Colorado. Project was supervised by Dr. Jon Harvey at Fort Lewis College. Research was part of an undergraduate research project conducted by Josh Lingbloom.

The Petm: A Window Into Earth's Future Climate, Jacalyn M. Wittmer Malinowski

Climate Change and the Individual, 2025-26

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is not just an event that occurred in Earth’s distant past (~55 million years ago) but is a crucial lesson for today’s meteoric climate change. The PETM offers a historical parallel of rapid flux of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that caused global warming, ocean acidification, dramatic changes in weather, and extinctions. This global warming event was the result of 20,000 years of “rapid” warming (in geological terms) however, we are experiencing rates of warming that are 5-10x higher than PETM levels. We are not experiencing rapid warming today, in comparison to the past, we …

Older Groundwater Reservoirs In Nebraska, Marvin P. Carlson, Steven S. Sibray

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Sedimentary rocks below Nebraska's regional water table are saturated down to the crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age. The total thickness of these sedimentary rocks ranges from about 600 feet to over 10,000 feet. Nearly all current wells in Nebraska produce water from the near-surface, unconsolidated or partly consolidated rocks. Most studies to date -- interpretive reports, test drilling, inventory of wells, monitoring water levels, and water quality determinations -- have concentrated on these near-surface sources of groundwater.

Geochronology Of Senèze, Eric Delson, Sébastien Nomade, Sevket Sen, Evelyne Debard, Jean-François Pastre, Jean-Jacques Bahain, Qingfeng Shao, Christophe Falguères

Publications and Research

The age of the Senèze mammalian fauna has been discussed since it was first reported in 1892. 40Ar/39Ar ages reported by Nomade et al. (2014) and recalculated here to agree with current standards placed the deposits between 2.20 and 2.07 Ma. Paleomagnetic data collected in 2001 and 2004 help to narrow the age range, especially of the levels yielding fossils in 2001–2006. In the western sector, fossils can be securely dated between 2.10 and 2.08 Ma, while in the southeastern sector, they are slightly older, between 2.20 and 2.18 Ma. Senèze is one of the few later Cenozoic European sites …

Diffendal Receives Wisherd Award For University Service, Ronica Stromberg

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Even though he’s retired, Robert Diffendal seems to be working everywhere.

The professor emeritus in the School of Natural Resources retains offices in three buildings. He reports to work at the Center for Great Plains Studies five days a week for about four hours a day. His list of volunteer activities around the state goes on and on, affecting, by his count, 21,088 people since 2003, when he stepped away from full-time faculty work. He capped 2024 at Nebraska Innovation Campus, where he received the Wisherd Award for Outstanding Service to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Chosen by the Emeriti and …

Stratigraphy And Osl Chronology Of Lunette Deposits Indicates That Nebraska’S Rainwater Basins Formed By Aeolian Deflation Between 39 And 25 Ka, P.R. Hanson, Robert Matthew Joeckel

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Early Holocene Interaction Of Aeolian, Alluvial, And Lacustrine Processes In A Dune-Dammed Valley In The Central Nebraska Sand Hills, Gpsia Mahoney, R. D. Mandel, P.R. Hanson, Sherilyn Fritz

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Conservation And Survey Division 2024 Annual Report, R.M. Joeckel, Michele Waszgis

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln is the agency designated by statute to investigate and interpret the geologically related natural resources of the State, to make available to the public the results of these investigations, and to assist in the development and conservation of these resources. It consists of program areas in geology, water, soils and remote sensing-geographic information systems.

Polygenetic Cave Sedimentation And Speleogenesis In The Mccloud Limestone Of Northern California, Niles Lathrop

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Caves in the Permian-aged, McCloud Limestone of the Klamath Mountains of Northern California preserve a diverse range of clastic sediments that represent broad-scale variations in paleo-hydrologic conditions and transport mechanisms that hint at varied modes of speleogenesis through local landscape development. Caves in the McCloud Limestone exhibit a range of cave passage geometries and arrangements that suggests periods of both hypogene and epigene cave development through temporal and spatial scales. This study evaluates the variability in the distribution, mineralogy, and transport mechanisms of clastic-cave sediments in seven hydrologically-distinct caves in the McCloud Limestone to establish relationships between clastic-cave sedimentation and …

Theory Of An Automatic Seepage Meter And Ramifications For Applications, V. A. Zlotnik, D. K. Solomon, D. P. Genereux, T. E. Gilmore, C. E. Humphrey, A. R. Mittelstet, A. V. Zlotnik

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (>40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as response variables …

Analysis Of Legacy Gravity Data Reveals Sediment-Filled Troughs Buried Under Flathead Valley, Montana, Usa, Ali Gebril, Mohamed A. Khalil, Robert Matthew Joeckel, James Rose

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Shallow, dominantly silt- and clay-filled erosional troughs in Quaternary sediments under the Flathead Valley (northwestern Montana, USA) are very likely to be hydraulic barriers limiting the horizontal flow of groundwater. Accurately mapping them is important because of increasing demand for groundwater.We used a legacy Bouguer gravity map measured in 1968. The directional derivatives of the map are computed, and the map was enhanced by implementing edge detection tools.We produced generalized derivative, maximum horizontal gradient, total gradient and tilt gradient maps through two-dimensional Fourier transform analysis. These maps were remarkably successful in locating buried troughs in the northern and northwestern parts …

Joint Interpretation Of Ert And Self-Potential Data To Characterize The Subsurface Geology And Hydrodynamics Along The Sutherland Supply Canal And Paxton Siphon Inlet, Paxton, Nebraska., M. K. Aboushanab, D. R. Hallum, R. M. Joeckel

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Leveraging High Resolution Classifications And Random Forests For Hindcasting Decades Of Mesic Ecosystem Dynamics In The Landsat Time Series, N. E. Kolarik, Nawaraj Shrestha, T. Caughlin, J. S. Brandt

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2023, Aaron R. Young, Mark E. Burbach, Sue Olafsen Lackey, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Nawaraj Shrestha, Jeffrey Westrop

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

This report is a synthesis of groundwater-level monitoring programs in Nebraska. It is a continuation of the series of annual reports and maps produced by the Conservation and Survey Division (CSD) of the University of Nebraska in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since the 1950s. Groundwater-level monitoring began in Nebraska in 1930 to survey the state’s groundwater resources and observe changes in its availability on a regular basis. The CSD and USGS cooperatively developed, maintained, and operated an observation-well network throughout the state. These two agencies were responsible for collecting and archiving this information, and for making it …

Transient Electromagnetic (Tem) Survey For Targeted Drilling On The Kurtzhals Property, Cedar County, Nebraska, Jesse Korus, Katherine (Katie) Cameron, Michele Waszgis

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Kurtzhals property is in Section 19, Township 30N, Range 3 in Cedar County, Nebraska. The present land use is agricultural row crop, but past use included hog production. Two active irrigation wells are located on adjacent properties to the west and southwest. An irrigation well was installed in the northwest corner of the property in 2022. Due to the low yield (300 gallons per minute) of this well, Mr. Kurtzhals seeks to install an additional irrigation well to supplement the first. Several unsuccessful test holes had been drilled prior to the present survey. The purpose of this survey was …

Zircon Luminescence Dating Re-Visited, C. Schmidt, T. Halter, P.R. Hanson, A. Ulianov, B. Putlitz, G. E. King, S. Kreutzer

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Age Dating Young Groundwater: How To Determine Groundwater Age From Environmental Tracer Data, D. K. Solomon, T. E. Gilmore

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Multiscale Characterization Of Splays Produced By A Historic, Rain-On-Snow Flood On A Large Braided Stream (Platte River, Central Usa), J. T. Korus, R. M. Joeckel, A. R. Mittelstet, N. Shrestha

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Locating And Assessing Oregon Trail Ruts With Aerial Stereophotographs, Satellite Imagery And Lidar, P.R. Hanson, Robert Matthew Joeckel, L. M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Landscape And Paleoenvironmental Change In Stream Valleys Of The Central Great Plains, North America During Marine Isotope Stage 3 (Ca. 59-27 Ka)., T. Layzell, K. Andrzejewski, R. D. Mandel, P.R. Hanson

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Integrated Geochronological And Chemostratigraphic Study Of Middle Miocene Strata (Ogallala Group) At The Eastern Margin Of The North American Great Plains, J. J. Smith, Robert Matthew Joeckel, H. L. Field, G. A. Ludvigson, A. Moller, A. Layzell, S. T. Tucker

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.