Geology Commons^™

Hazardready – A Geographically Based Natural Hazard Education And Preparedness Web Application, Carson C. Macpherson-Krutsky Ms.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters are inevitable and costly both in terms of lives lost and money spent on recovery. Scientific research on natural hazards is widely shared within the scientific community, but is less often made more widely accessible, as methods or pathways for providing scientific natural hazard information and data in non-technical language are limited. Priorities for imparting hazard information include: 1) scientific accuracy, 2) spatial granularity, 3) integration of information about all relevant hazards, 4) nontechnical content, 5) appropriate preparedness activities, and 6) engagement with existing disaster response and mitigation capabilities. In response to these …

Storing Co2 Deep Underground, Stephen F. Greb

Map and Chart--KGS

No abstract provided.

Injecting Liquids And Gases Deep Underground, Stephen F. Greb

Map and Chart--KGS

Every year, thousands of wells are drilled into underground reservoirs in search of water, oil, and natural gas. The gases and fluids are trapped inside tiny pores and cracks in underground reservoirs.

Rocks To Roads To Ruin: A Brief History Of Western Kentucky’S Rock-Asphalt Industry, 1888–1957, J. Richard Bowersox

Information Circular--KGS

The history of western Kentucky’s rock-asphalt industry required substantial research of primary sources to correct the disjointed and often conflicting record published to date. Its history is checkered with characters from visionary entrepreneurs and ambitious businessmen to financial scoundrels. The earliest evidence of exploitation of bitumen resources at the surface in western Kentucky is in Native American artifacts recovered from several sites. Early settlers in the region used heavy oil and bitumen found in seeps as lubricants and wood preservatives, among other uses. The commercial value of the widespread western Kentucky rock-asphalt deposits was first recognized in the 1880’s, leading …

Mapped Karst Groundwater Basins In The Elizabethtown 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, James C. Currens, Robert J. Blair

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst groundwater basins in the Elizabethtown 30 x 60 minute quadrangle, determined primarily by groundwater tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the groundwater basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst groundwater in the area.

Heavy-Oil And Bitumen Resources Of The Western Kentucky Tar Sands, J. Richard Bowersox

Report of Investigations--KGS

Heavy-oil and bitumen resources in western Kentucky are present in the Upper Mississippian Big Clifty and Hardinsburg Sandstones and Lower Pennsylvanian Kyrock and Bee Spring Sandstone Members of the Caseyville Formation in a belt extending from Logan County on the south to Breckinridge and Hardin Counties on the north.

Net oil-saturated intervals in the tar sands range from 2.5 to 4.7 m thick, largely in downthrown fault blocks in and bounding the Rough Creek Graben. Records from 1,500 wells, analysis of reservoir properties from 3,769 plugs from 135 coreholes, and bulk volume of hydrocarbon calculated in 139 surface samples were …

Petrography, Mineralogy, And Geochemistry Of Greenish- And Reddish-Gray Siltstones Straddling The Vertebrate-Defined Permian–Triassic Boundary In South Africa, Jiawen Li

Honors Theses

The Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) is considered the largest in Earth’s history, yet the terrestrial response is not well understood. The Karoo Basin, South Africa, hosts abundant exposures of terrestrial deposits that span the Permian– Triassic Boundary (PTB). The terrestrial PTB is defined by a turnover in vertebrate assemblage zones and has been associated with a transition from greenish-gray to reddish-gray siltstone. The current PTME model states that the siltstone color change is a reflection of aridification and eolian deposition, which is believed to represent rapid climate change directly linked with the event. Greenish- and reddish-gray siltstones were collected from …

Deserts And Wind, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

About one third of Earth's land surface is either arid (< 10" ppt./yr or semi-arid (10" to 20" pt./yr). While most precipitation is in the form of rain, some may be provided by melting snow, mist, or fog. With limited availability of water, rocks are not subjected to chemical weathering but rather to physical weathering.

Igneous Rocks, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

No abstract provided.

Modeling Bedrock Transmissivity; Implications For Contaminant Transport In An Overlying Glacial Aquifer System, Amanda Pruehs

Wayne State University Theses

This study evaluated alternative representations of bedrock surface and bedrock transmissivity on advective transport predictions in an 11 km x 15 km x 116 m groundwater model. Bedrock topography, initially based on a map by Kunkle (1961), was reinterpreted using data from 227 additional bedrock penetrations drilled in the last 55 years. Varying assumptions of hydraulic conductivity were employed to model a range of bedrock conductivity from 1 to 3 orders of magnitude less than the overlying glacial aquifer system. MODPATH forward particle tracking and MT3DMS advective-dispersive transport modeling were employed to explore the influence of bedrock configuration and conductivity …

Use And Evaluation Of Lidar For Mapping Sinkholes In Royal Spring Groundwater Basin, Fidele Nsonguh Tibouo

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This study utilizes a digital elevation model of the surface derived from high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and aerial-image technologies to map sinkholes in the Royal Spring groundwater basin. Shade-relief maps, with vertical exaggeration, were very helpful in the initial characterization of depressions. Then, aerial-photography sets were likewise helpful in identifying man-made structures such as retention basins, swimming pools, and parking lots, and to identify new sinkholes.

Field checking was necessary to further define depressions into two categories: 1.) potential sinkholes and 2.) probable sinkholes. This study had a lower success rate (50 percent) for identifying sinkholes via LiDAR …

Effects Of Folding On Mineral Cpos In Gneiss: Implications For Lower Crustal Seismic Anisotropy, Alexia K. Sarnowsky

Wayne State University Theses

Isotropic seismic properties are not sufficient to distinguish between many rock types believed to make up the middle and lower continental crust. Seismic anisotropy is the directional dependence of seismic velocity, which we can use to improve our understanding of the composition and structure of the middle and lower continental crust. Our rationale is that seismic anisotropy in the middle and lower crust is controlled by the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of minerals. The effects of folding on mineral CPO in a folded gneiss from the Coweeta Group in North Carolina is used for this study, and we should be …

Developing Priority Variables (“Ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables” — Eeovs) For Observing Dynamics And Change In Southern Ocean Ecosystems, Andrew J. Constable, Daniel P. Costa, Oscar Schofield, Louise Newman, Edward R. Urban Jr., Elizabeth A. Fulton, Jessica Melbourne-Thomas, Tosca Ballerini, Philip W. Boyd, Angelika Brandt, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

Reliable statements about variability and change in marine ecosystems and their underlying causes are needed to report on their status and to guide management. Here we use the Framework on Ocean Observing (FOO) to begin developing ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables (eEOVs) for the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS). An eEOV is a defined biological or ecological quantity, which is derived from field observations, and which contributes significantly to assessments of Southern Ocean ecosystems. Here, assessments are concerned with estimating status and trends in ecosystem properties, attribution of trends to causes, and predicting future trajectories. eEOVs should be feasible to collect …

A Small-Scale Water Budget Approach And Water Quality Assessment: A Case Study For Calderas Lake, Guatemala, Edrick Ramos

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Increases in water demand and urban development in Calderas community over the past decade have led to questions about the hydrology, water quality, quantity and sustainable management of Calderas Lake micro-basin. However, studies on baseline hydrology are limited for rural communities located inside volcanic origin watersheds of Guatemala. The scope of this study was to characterize the hydrology and establish a method to: 1) quantify a water budget, and 2) qualify the water quality of a lacustrine system that supply water for about 17,000 inhabitants on the state limits or rural Guatemala City. Mean annual rainfall and temperature at the …

Sea Lamprey Mating Pheromone Registered By U.S. Environmental Protection Agency As First Vertebrate Pheromone Biopesticide, Marc Gaden, Marisa Lubeck

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Ann Arbor, MI – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered a sea lamprey mating pheromone, 3kPZS, as the first ever vertebrate pheromone biopesticide in late December, 2015. Like an alluring perfume, the mating pheromone is a scent released by male sea lampreys to lure females onto nesting sites. Research and development of the mating pheromone was funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, with additional support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, in collaboration with federal government, university, and private industry partners.

Gross And Microscopic Lesions In Corals From Micronesia, T. M. Work, G. S. Aeby, K. A. Hughen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The authors documented gross and microscopic morphology of lesions in corals on 7 islands spanning western, southern, and eastern Micronesia, sampling 76 colonies comprising 30 species of corals among 18 genera, with Acropora, Porites, and Montipora dominating. Tissue loss comprised the majority of gross lesions sampled (41%), followed by discoloration (30%) and growth anomaly (29%). Of 31 cases of tissue loss, most lesions were subacute (48%), followed by acute and chronic (26% each). Of 23 samples with discoloration, most were dark discoloration (40%), with bleaching and other discoloration each constituting 30%. Of 22 growth anomalies, umbonate growth anomalies composed …

Bioaccessibility Tests Accurately Estimate Bioavailability Of Lead To Quail, W. Nelson Beyer, Nicholas T. Basta, Rufus L. Chaney, Paula F.P. Henry, David E. Mosby, Barnett A. Rattner, Kirk G. Scheckel, Daniel T. Sprague, John S. Weber

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Hazards of soil-borne lead (Pb) to wild birds may be more accurately quantified if the bioavailability of that Pb is known. To better understand the bioavailability of Pb to birds, the authors measured blood Pb concentrations in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) fed diets containing Pb-contaminated soils. Relative bioavailabilities were expressed by comparison with blood Pb concentrations in quail fed a Pb acetate reference diet. Diets containing soil from 5 Pb-contaminated Superfund sites had relative bioavailabilities from 33% to 63%, with a mean of approximately 50%. Treatment of 2 of the soils with phosphorus (P) significantly reduced the bioavailability …

A Personal Perspective On Searching For The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker: A 41-Year Quest, Paul W. Sykes Jr.

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

I first learned about the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent) in Laurel, MD, while attending high school in the mid-1950s. Patuxent wildlife biologists Brooke Meanley, Chandler (Chan) S. Robbins, and Robert (Bob) E. Stewart, Sr., visited me at my parents’ home in Norfolk, VA. I was the compiler of the Norfolk County Christmas Bird Count (which included the eastern portion of the Virginia sector of the Dismal Swamp). As part of that count, we had for several years been estimating populations of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) in the millions. Patuxent was …

Patuxent’S Role In The Development Of The North American Breeding Bird Survey, John R. Sauer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is a roadside survey of the breeding birds of North America. The BBS provides data from the contiguous United States, Alaska, southern and central Canada, and northern Mexico. Begun in 1966 by Chandler (Chan) S. Robbins at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent), and now jointly managed by Patuxent, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Mexican Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, the survey is conducted primarily in June along more than 5,000 roadside survey routes that are surveyed once each year. Volunteer observers drive the 39.4-kilometer …

Patuxent’S Long-Term Research On Wolves, David L. Mech

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was one of the first species placed on the Endangered Species List in 1967. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 legally protected the wolf along with other listed species. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent) in Laurel, MD, began its Endangered Wildlife Program in 1966, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologist Ray Erickson was assigned to lead it. In 1973, I was transferred to the program from Region 3 of the USFWS, having been employed there since 1969 to study wolves in Minnesota. Endangered Species Act protection of the wolf fostered its …