Geology Commons^™

Estimating Watershed Mercury Contribution To Lake Fort Smith State Park, Arkansas, Usa, William Miles Harmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mercury contamination associated with human activities poses global human health and environmental risks. A fish-consumption advisory has been in effect at Lake Fort Smith in central west Arkansas for more than a decade due to observed methylmercury concentrations in fish tissue. Lake Fort Smith is an important municipal drinking water supply and recreational resource. Water samples from the majority contributing tributary stream, Frog Bayou creek, were collected periodically, under differing hydrologic conditions in order to quantify the allochthonous mercury load delivered to the lake. Temperature, specific conductance, and turbidity data were collected and used to estimate dissolved organic carbon, methylmercury …

The Occurrence Of The Greta Sandstone, Frio Formation (Late Oligocene), Texas Gulf Coastal Plain, Sean C. Kincade

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Greta sandstone is an informal lithostratigraphic unit of the upper Frio Formation (Oligocene) that occurs across the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain. The Greta sandstone has been known to geologists since it was first drilled in the 1930’s, yet there has been very little research into this un-depleted and overlooked reservoir. This study provides insights into the lateral distribution and reservoir facies of the Greta sandstone. The unit represents an aggradational to transgressive barrier sandstone package grading up to mud-rich open marine inner shelf deposits. The interval is easily recognizable in well logs based on its strong SP and Gamma-ray …

Comparative Microbial Community Dynamics In A Karst Aquifer System And Proximal Surface Stream In Northwest Arkansas, Josue Rodriguez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Northwest Arkansas has well-developed karst systems, with numerous sinking streams and springs. Karst conduits make it easy for contaminants to enter groundwater systems, degrading the water quality and destroying fragile karst ecosystems. With the increase of urbanization, potential threats in the form of fecal contamination may prove to be more of a problem. The purpose of this research is to compare the difference between microbial communities within two different settings, a karst aquifer and a surface stream. The microbial communities within Blowing Spring Cave and Little Sugar Creek were detected and identified in water and sediment samples. Samples were also …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Calcareous Nannofossils Across A Late Oligocene Paleolatitude Transect Of The North Atlantic Ocean, William Barrett Clark

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Samples from ODP Sites 926, 628, 563, U1406, 647, and 918, were analyzed quantitatively across a paleolatitude transect of the North Atlantic Ocean to determine the paleolatitudinal distribution of calcareous nannofossils in the Late Oligocene and the effects of that distribution on biostratigraphic resolution. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), a Temperature index (TI), and the Shannon Diversity Index (H), were used to examine the paleoenvironmental gradients which exerted the most control over the distribution of species and their abundances. The temperature index correlates significantly to the first axis of the DCA, suggesting that thermal controls were the most important factor in …

Electron Backscatter Diffraction (Ebsd) Study Of Seven Heavily Metamorphosed Chondrites: Deformation Systematics And Variations In Pre-Shock Temperature And Post-Shock Annealing, Alexander M. Ruzicka, Richard C. Hugo

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We used electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) methods to study the crystallography of olivine and other minerals in seven heavily metamorphosed (petrographic type 6 or 6/7) but variably shocked ordinary chondrites from the H (Kernouvé, Portales Valley), L (Leedey, Bruderheim, Morrow County, Park) and LL (Miller Range (MIL) 99301) groups. MIL 99301 contains a large clast that was analyzed separately. Mesoscale (EBSD) data support and extend inferences based on microscale (TEM) observations and provide good evidence that chondrites were shock-deformed at different temperatures and were variably annealed (sintered) after deformation. Various EBSD deformation intensity metrics adequately and quantitatively represent olivine deformation …

Mitigating Accumulation Of Aeolian Dust Particles On Solar Power Generator Panels Without Water, Sanjana Das

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Accumulation of dust on solar panels poses a serious problem as it can significantly reduce light absorption and electrical energy output. Several factors affect the dust accumulation such as location, dust properties, wind velocity, system orientation, ambient temperature, humidity, and panel surface properties. Experimental and theoretical studies show that short circuit current and maximum power output of photovoltaic panels reduce approximately linearly with dust concentration. Incidentally, the locations with higher solar energy concentrations are also arid or semi-arid regions with higher dust concentrations. In order to avoid loss in power output, most PV installations perform periodic panel cleaning with water. …

Mapping Lower Austin Chalk Secondary Porosity Using Modern 3-D Seismic And Well Log Methods In Zavala County, Texas, David Kilcoyne

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Establishing fracture distribution and porosity trends is key to successful well design in a majority of unconventional plays. The Austin Chalk has historically been referred to as an unpredictable producer due to high fracture concentration and lateral variation in stratigraphy, however recent drilling activity targeting the lower Austin Chalk has been very successful. The Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk (AC) and underlying Eagle Ford (EF) units are considered by many to act as a single hydrocarbon system, with communication between these two units largely through expulsion or dewatering fractures, extensional faults or along the AC/EF unconformity. Total porosity for the Eagle …

Quantifying Carbon Dioxide Fluxes In The Air And Water In Blowing Springs Cave, Arkansas, Holly Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior work has shown that the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) within cave atmospheres is a function of cave airflow patterns. The dynamics of CO2 within karst systems are of increasing interest as they can control periods of precipitation or dissolution in speleothems and influence potential interpretations of paleoclimate records. Similarly, CO2 is an important driver of speleogenesis, and air-water CO2 dynamics can control patterns of cave passage evolution. Karst also plays an uncertain role in the global carbon cycle and understanding CO2 dynamics within karst systems will aid the development of carbon budgets. Here, a monitoring station was deployed …

Analysis Of The Parkway Drive Landslide, North Salt Lake, Ut, Brianna V. Hill

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

On August 5^th, 2014, a hillside failed behind a North Salt Lake City, UT neighborhood threatening several homes. Aerial Photography, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), geochemistry, rain gage and seismic data were used to test the influence of contributing factors in this landslide failure. Aerial photographs available from 1993 to present were examined for signs of tension cracks suggesting impending ground motion, as well as documentation of human modification along the hillslope. Repeat DEM analysis of elevation and slope of the hillside before and after the slide were examined to characterize the pre-failure hillslope and subsequent landslide. Geochemical analyses …

The Transition From Sevier To Laramide Orogeny Captured In Upper-Plate Magmatic Structures, Eastern Transverse Ranges, Ca, Brody Friesenhahn

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The onset of the Laramide orogeny is of great tectonic significance to the geologic history of the US, but the timing and nature of the shift between Sevier and Laramide tectonics remains enigmatic. The eastern Transverse Ranges of southern California provide the opportunity to observe the effects of Laramide tectonics on the mid-crust. Wide Canyon is a north/south-trending canyon in the northern Little San Bernardino Mountains of the eastern Transverse Ranges. Al-in-hornblende thermobarometry of Needy et al. (2009) yields a projected paleodepth depth of ~20 km for Wide Canyon where Cretaceous granitoids intrude metamorphic country rock of Proterozoic age in …

The Effect Of An Historical Geology Course On Students’ Attitudes Towards Science And Their Knowledge Of Deep Time As A Threshold To Their Knowledge Of Evolution, Allan Nolan

Dissertations

In America there exists a conflict between a small group of its citizens and the concept of evolution. Researchers have studied this conflict and the ways in which teachers might approach educational methodologies that not only address evolution in a sensitive manner, but also remain legally acceptable.

This research was designed to address teaching evolution in the context of deep time – the concept that time is vast and that geology and biology operate in a timescale of hundreds of millions to billions of years. In previous peer-reviewed works, it has been stated that deep time acts as a threshold …

Warning Confidence And Perceptions Of Lava Flow Hazard Diversion Strategies At Kīlauea And Mauna Loa Volcanoes, Hawai‘I, Ashleigh Reeves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 2014-15 lava flow crisis at Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i and post-September 2015 elevated unrest at adjacent Mauna Loa volcano provided opportunities to assess households’ psychological and behavioral responses to different levels of volcanic activity. Weused the Protective Action Decision Model to examine stakeholder perceptions and confidence in warnings, in addition toattitudes toward lava flow mitigation strategies, such as diversion by berms and bombing, and people’s acceptance of additional risk to personal property in exchange for protecting important elements of their community, such as schools, major roads, electrical substation, and shopping centers. Respondents’ confidence in events important in decision-making during emergencies …

Sequence Stratigraphy Of Campanian-Maastrichtian Strata In Eastern Alabama, David Simmons

Master's Theses

Eastern Alabama is an area of interest due to the transition from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Coastal Plain investigations have been sparse compared to research conducted in the oil rich areas down dip in the Gulf of Mexico. A sequence stratigraphic framework using the T-R cycle methodology of Embry (2002) has been established by integrating surface and subsurface lithologic data with biostratigraphic zonations into Petra ®. High sedimentation from the ancestral Chattahoochee River and lower relative sea-level formed an additional depositional sequence within the Santonian-Campanian aged Blufftown Formation in eastern Alabama. The sequence is approximately …

Holocene Formation History Of Mud Depocenters On The Continental Shelf In The Gulf Of Cadiz, Southwestern Spain, Mary Lee King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Holocene mud accumulation on the continental shelf in northern Gulf of Cadiz, from the Guadalquivir River to the Tinto-Odiel Estuary, is described as two types of mud depocenters (MDCs): a sheet-like prodelta and mud belt. Despite a substantial number of investigations of this continental shelf (Somoza et al., 1997; Hernández-Molina et al., 2000; Lobo et al., 2001; synthesis: Lobo et al., 2015), information on Holocene sediment facies and a robust stratigraphic age model remained unestablished (Lobo et al., 2002; and Lobo and Ridente, 2014). Objectives of this study are to describe the dynamics of MDC formation in a chrono- and …

Hardbottom Characterization And Relationship To The Geologic Framework In Long Bay, South Carolina, Cathryn J. Wheaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hardbottom seafloor is a common element among sediment-starved portions of the inner continental shelf along the U.S. Atlantic margin. These areas are characterized by indurated sediment surfaces that are heavily altered by biological and physical processes. Long Bay, in northeastern South Carolina, offers ideal environmental conditions for hardbottom exposure with only patchy Holocene sand deposits, interspersed with extensive hardbottom areas. Here we use high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, CHIRP subbottom profiling and electrical resistivity data, along with surficial sediment samples, hardbottom thin sections, and water column radioisotope (radon-222) analysis to investigate the origin and geologic framework of a region of hardbottom seafloor …

The Efficacy Of Raw Malangali Kaolin Clay In The Adsorptive Removal Of Cadmium And Cobalt Ions From Water, Nyemaga Masanje Malima, Esther Hellen Lugwisha, Alinanuswe Simon Mwakaboko

Tanzania Journal of Science

The suitability of raw Malangali kaolin (RMK) clay for the removal of cadmium and cobalt ions from water was investigated using a batch technique whereas the characterization of adsorbent material was performed by XRD, XRF, ATR-FTIR and N2 physisorption techniques. Various experimental parameters were tested for the effectiveness of RMK in removing heavy metals whereby quantitative determination of both Cd2+ and Co2+ ions has shown that, the factors such as adsorbent particle size, solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose as well as initial metal ion concentration had significant effects on the adsorption processes. The equilibrium data described by Langmuir and …

Dynamics Of Magma Recharge And Mixing At Mount Hood Volcano, Oregon -- Insights From Enclave-Bearing Lavas, Molly Kathryn Ellowitz

Dissertations and Theses

Magma recharge events and subsequent mixing processes are understood to precede volcanic eruptions. Textural evidence of intrusion of hot, mafic magma into a cooler, rheologically locked silicic magma is commonplace. Solidified "blobs" of injected magma, called enclaves, are evidence of magma mixing, but the petrological and mechanical conditions during their formation are debated. Mount Hood, Oregon consistently erupts andesite bearing compositionally similar enclaves. These enclaves are evidence of mingling and mixing of two magmas. However, due to the compositional similarity between enclave and host lava (e.g. ~1-5 wt.% difference in SiO₂), it is unclear whether the preserved enclaves …

Relationships Between Landscape Constraints And A Crayfish Assemblage With Consideration Of Competitor Presence, Joshua B. Mouser, Robert Mollenhauer, Shannon K. Brewer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aim: Crayfish are globally diverse and one of the most important taxa in North American streams. Despite their importance, many species are of conservation concern and efforts to improve conditions are limited. Here, we address two major impediments to improving conditions: (a) our lack of knowledge of the interplay among natural landscape and human-induced changes; and (b) a very limited understanding of how species interactions affect overall crayfish distributions.

Location: Ozark Highlands ecoregion, USA.

Methods: We used both existing data and field-collected data to examine the relationships between 12 Faxonius species and physicochemical variables at multiple spatial scales. Data were …

Old And Recent Processes In A Warm And Humid Desert Hypogene Cave: ‘A’Rak Na‘Asane, Israel, Amos Frumkin, Shlomi Aharon, Uri Davidovich, Boaz Langford, Yoav Negev, Micka Ullman, Anton Vaks, Shemesh Ya‘Aran, Boaz Zissu

International Journal of Speleology

Recent environmental processes are studied in ʻA’rak Naʻasane Cave at the northern Judean Desert, Israel. The outer zone of the cave is heavily influenced by the outside environment through a large entrance, facilitating entry of air flow, fauna and humans, with minor cave-forming modifications. Conversely, the inner cave sustains humid and warm conditions, favoring modifications by condensation corrosion of convective air flow, associated with deposition of popcorn speleothems at the lower parts of dissolution pockets. The warm humid air of the inner cave may be associated with an underlying thermal water table. Active condensation corrosion is decreasing, possibly because of …

The Global Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Paolo D’Odorico, Kyle Frankel Davis, Lorenzo Rosa, Joel A. Carr, Davide Chiarelli, Jampel Dell’Angelo, Jessica Gephart, Graham K. Macdonald, David A. Seekell, Samir Suweis, Maria Cristina Rulli

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Abstract Water availability is a major factor constraining humanity’s ability to meet the future food and energy needs of a growing and increasingly affluent human population. Water plays an important role in the production of energy, including renewable energy sources and the extraction of unconventional fossil fuels that are expected to become important players in future energy security. The emergent competition for water between the food and energy systems is increasingly recognized in the concept of the “food-energy-water nexus.” The nexus between food and water is made even more complex by the globalization of agriculture and rapid growth in food …