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Evaluation Of The Evolving Stress Field Of The Yellowstone Volcanic Plateau From 1988 To 2010 From Earthquake First Motions Inversion, Elena Russo 2014 Michigan Technological University

Evaluation Of The Evolving Stress Field Of The Yellowstone Volcanic Plateau From 1988 To 2010 From Earthquake First Motions Inversion, Elena Russo

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Within the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, the silicic Yellowstone volcanic field is one of the most active volcanic systems all over the world. Although the last rhyolite eruption occurred around 70,000 years ago, Yellowstone is still believed to be volcanically active, due to high hydrothermal and seismic activity. The earthquake data used in this study cover the period of time between 1988 and 2010. Earthquake relocations and a set of 369 well-constrained, double-couple, focal mechanism solutions were computed. Events were grouped according to location and time to investigate trends in faulting. The majority of the events has oblique, normal-faulting solutions. …


Linking Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (Inaa) With Geology In The Ancestral Caddo Region, Robert Z. Selden Jr. 2014 Heritage Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University

Linking Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (Inaa) With Geology In The Ancestral Caddo Region, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

This poster illustrates the success of a novel method of INAA that was employed to reveal geochemical signatures in Caddo ceramic vessel sherds that correlate with local surficial geology. The geochemical data from the sherd assemblage were used within an exploration of potential ceramic provenance, which was successful at demarcating sherds from ceramic vessels made from clays in either the Claiborne or Wilcox Groups. Further geochemical segregation was also apparent between the Recklaw Formation in the Claiborne Group, and the Weches Formation in the Wilcox Group. These results point to a high degree of geochemical variability within the East Texas …


At The Confluence Of Gis And Geochemistry: Identifying Geochemical Correlates Of Ripley Engraved Caddo Ceramics, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula 2014 Archeological & Environmental Consultants, LLC

At The Confluence Of Gis And Geochemistry: Identifying Geochemical Correlates Of Ripley Engraved Caddo Ceramics, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

In this poster, we discuss a new approach to the identification and definition of spatial trends in archeologically-recovered ceramics associated with geochemical results produced using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Using all of the Ripley Engraved INAA samples, we posit that clays in the Claiborne and Wilcox Groups can be successfully demarcated by sodium (Na), cerium (Ce), and zinc (Zn). Using a subset of those data from the Big Cypress Creek basin, we find that ceramics manufactured in three different Caddo political communities can be successfully demarcated based upon differential concentrations of arsenic (As), iron (Fe), and vanadium (V) found …


Some Reflections On Our Experiences At Sun Yat-Sen University Since 1985, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Anne P. Diffendal 2014 University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Some Reflections On Our Experiences At Sun Yat-Sen University Since 1985, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Anne P. Diffendal

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Professor Zhang Ke, Chairman of the Department of Earth Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University, has asked us to write about some of our memories from our several visits to Sun Yat-sen University, as part of the 2014 celebration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the university and the creation of the department. We are very pleased to do so and to include with our written comments copies of some photographs that we have taken during these visits. We have gone back through our notes, books, tourist maps, photo files, and other information that we have kept as souvenirs …


Low-Temperature Deformation Of Mixed Siliciclastic & Carbonate Fault Rocks Of The Copper Creek, Hunter Valley, And Mcconnell Thrusts, Jack R. Hoehn 2014 Oberlin College

Low-Temperature Deformation Of Mixed Siliciclastic & Carbonate Fault Rocks Of The Copper Creek, Hunter Valley, And Mcconnell Thrusts, Jack R. Hoehn

Honors Papers

This study analyzes the low-temperature deformation of fault rocks associated thrust faults. Each fault has dominantly carbonate rocks in one wall and dominantly siliciclastic rocks in the other. The rocks from the Hunter Valley and Copper Creek thrusts of the Southern Appalachians, and McConnell thrust of the Canadian Rockies, were analyzed using data extracted at the thin section and SEM scale. The rocks, all of which featured a fine-grained carbonate matrix surrounding larger carbonate and siliciclastic carbonates, all experienced general shearing, but deformed by different deformation mechanisms. The Hunter Valley and McConnell samples showed evidence of cataclasis, diffusive mass transfer, …


Petrography, Stable Isotope Compositions, Microraman Spectroscopy, And Presolar Components Of Roberts Massif 04133: A Reduced Cv3 Carbonaceous Chrondrite, Jemma Davidson, Devin L. Schrader, Conel M. Alexander, Dante S. Lauretta, Henner Busemann, Ian A. Franchi, Richard C. Greenwood, Harold Connolly Jr., Kenneth J. Domanik, Alexander Verchovsky 2014 Rowan University

Petrography, Stable Isotope Compositions, Microraman Spectroscopy, And Presolar Components Of Roberts Massif 04133: A Reduced Cv3 Carbonaceous Chrondrite, Jemma Davidson, Devin L. Schrader, Conel M. Alexander, Dante S. Lauretta, Henner Busemann, Ian A. Franchi, Richard C. Greenwood, Harold Connolly Jr., Kenneth J. Domanik, Alexander Verchovsky

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Here, we report the mineralogy, petrography, C-N-O-stable isotope compositions, degree of disorder of organic matter, and abundances of presolar components of the chondrite Roberts Massif (RBT) 04133 using a coordinated, multitechnique approach. The results of this study are inconsistent with its initial classification as a Renazzo-like carbonaceous chondrite, and strongly support RBT 04133 being a brecciated, reduced petrologic type >3.3 Vigarano-like carbonaceous (CV) chondrite. RBT 04133 shows no evidence for aqueous alteration. However, it is mildly thermally altered (up to approximately 440 °C); which is apparent in its whole-rock C and N isotopic compositions, the degree of disorder of C …


How Mangrove Forests Adjust To Rising Sea Level, Ken W. Krauss, Karen L. McKee, Catherine E. Lovelock, Donald R. Cahoon, Neil Saintilan, Ruth Reef, Luzhen Chen 2014 US Geological Survey

How Mangrove Forests Adjust To Rising Sea Level, Ken W. Krauss, Karen L. Mckee, Catherine E. Lovelock, Donald R. Cahoon, Neil Saintilan, Ruth Reef, Luzhen Chen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Mangroves are among the most well described and widely studied wetland communities in the world. The greatest threats to mangrove persistence are deforestation and other anthropogenic disturbances that can compromise habitat stability and resilience to sea-level rise. To persist, mangrove ecosystems must adjust to rising sea level by building vertically or become submerged. Mangroves may directly or indirectly influence soil accretion processes through the production and accumulation of organic matter, as well as the trapping and retention of mineral sediment. In this review, we provide a general overview of research on mangrove elevation dynamics, emphasizing the role of the vegetation …


Basalt Ring Formations Of The Columbia River Plateau, Skye Schillhammer, Carly Sorensen, Ted Uecker, Natasha Garland 2014 Eastern Washington University

Basalt Ring Formations Of The Columbia River Plateau, Skye Schillhammer, Carly Sorensen, Ted Uecker, Natasha Garland

2014 Symposium

Unusual basalt ring formations are located about 6 miles north of Odessa, WA as part of the expansive Columbia River Basalt Group. There are over 100 crater-like structures that range in size from 50-500 meters in diameter and span a 60 kilometer area of the channeled scablands. These structures are enigmatic due to the erosion of surficial features by the Missoula Floods, and due to their association with a magnetic anomaly as evidenced by an aerial geophysical survey. Since the 1970s, multiple geologists have proposed conflicting formational mechanisms for the rings, including hydrothermal explosions and sag flows. Over the past …


The 17 May 2012 M4.8 Earthquake Near Timpson, East Texas: An Event Possibly Triggered By Fluid Injection, Cliff Frohlich, William Ellsworth, Wesley A. Brown, Michael Brunt, Jim Luetgert, Tim MacDonald, Steve Walter 2014 University of Texas at Austin

The 17 May 2012 M4.8 Earthquake Near Timpson, East Texas: An Event Possibly Triggered By Fluid Injection, Cliff Frohlich, William Ellsworth, Wesley A. Brown, Michael Brunt, Jim Luetgert, Tim Macdonald, Steve Walter

Faculty Publications

This study summarizes our investigation of the 17 May 2012 MW‐RMT4.8 earthquake near Timpson, Texas, the largest earthquake recorded historically in eastern Texas. To identify preshocks and aftershocks of the 17 May event we examined the arrivals recorded at Nacogdoches (NATX) 30 km from the 17 May epicenter, at nearby USArray Transportable Array stations, and at eight temporary stations deployed between 26 May 2012 and mid‐2013. At NATX we identified seven preshocks, the earliest occurring in April 2008. Reliably located aftershocks recorded by the temporary stations lie along a 6 km long NW‐SE linear trend corresponding to a …


Size-Frequency Distribution Of Orbitolina Texana Foraminifera, Jeremy Foote 2014 Bridgewater State University

Size-Frequency Distribution Of Orbitolina Texana Foraminifera, Jeremy Foote

Undergraduate Review

This study examined size-frequency distributions for an extinct Cretaceous-age benthic foraminifera called Orbitolina Texana in order to determine the health of this foram community during the time of accumulation. Forams were collected from limestone outcrops of the Glen Rose Formation in central Texas. Based on paleontological and sedimentological evidence, Orbitolina Texana are interpreted to be a shallow water (<10 m) benthic organism that was most abundant in back-reef environments. Sizefrequency distributions were generated from the diameters of 4,245 Orbitolina Texana fossils. The results indicate that the Orbitolina Texana population is characterized by a Gaussian (normal) size distribution. Size-frequency distributions of fossilized foraminifera in the stratigraphic record are controlled by two principle variables; environmental controls that affect the biology of the organisms (e.g., environmental stressors, like food availability and ambient conditions) and sedimentological controls that affect how the organisms are distributed (e.g., hydrodynamic parameters, like waves and currents). Based on a sedimentological characterization of the host limestone including lack of high-energy sedimentary structures, high mud content and back-reef position on the depositional profile, hydrodynamic parameters are interpreted to not have exerted a significant effect on the distribution of the forams preserved in the rock record. As such, the biological controls are interpreted to be the dominate control on the foram sizefrequency distribution. Therefore, the Gaussian (normal) size distribution suggests that the mortality rate is independent of size/age, which is classified as Type II survivorship. As this result is consistent with similar taxon, the results indicate that this Orbitolina Texana population was a healthy biologic community, despite the low biologic diversity observed in the Glen Rose Formation.


Slope Stability Analysis Of Mount Meager, South-Western British Columbia, Canada, Rachel M. Hetherington 2014 Michigan Technological University

Slope Stability Analysis Of Mount Meager, South-Western British Columbia, Canada, Rachel M. Hetherington

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Mount Meager Volcanic Complex (MMVC) in south-western British Columbia is a potentially active, hydrothermally altered massif comprising a series of steep, glaciated peaks. Climatic conditions and glacial retreat has led to the further weathering, exposure and de-buttressing of steep slopes composed of weak, unconsolidated material. This has resulted in an increased frequency of landslide events over the past few decades, many of which have dammed the rivers bordering the Complex. The breach of these debris dams presents a risk of flooding to the downstream communities. Preliminary mapping showed there are numerous sites around the Complex where future failure could …


The Inky Story Of The Dinky Oak Gall, Ken Sulak 2014 research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (Biological Resources)

The Inky Story Of The Dinky Oak Gall, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Maybe you have noticed these little spheres before – but did not give them much thought. Or maybe, you puzzled: What are these wooden pearls? How did they get there? Well, a tiny wasp, called the pea galler wasp or gallfly, Belonocnema treatae, is the culprit. The diminutive female gallfly (one of nearly a thousand species in the gall wasp family Cynipidae), about the size of a fire ant, lays eggs on a freshly budded live oak leaf in spring. When the larva hatches, it produces a chemical that induces the oak to enclose it in a protective and …


Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols 2014 NASA Ecological Programs, InoMedic Health Applications

Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to learn in order to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by the specification of tradeoffs, and relevant uncertainty can …


Interpreting The Paleozoogeography And Sea Level History Of Thermally Anomalous Marine Terrace Faunas: A Case Study From The Last Interglacial Complex Of San Clemente Island, California, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, R. Randall Schumann 2014 U.S. Geological Survey

Interpreting The Paleozoogeography And Sea Level History Of Thermally Anomalous Marine Terrace Faunas: A Case Study From The Last Interglacial Complex Of San Clemente Island, California, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, R. Randall Schumann

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Marine invertebrate faunas with mixtures of extralimital southern and extralimital northern faunal elements, called thermally anomalous faunas, have been recognized for more than a century in the Quaternary marine terrace record of the Pacific Coast of North America. Although many mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, no single explanation seems to be applicable to all localities where thermally anomalous faunas have been observed. Here, we describe one such thermally anomalous fossil fauna that was studied on the second emergent marine terrace at Eel Point on San Clemente Island. The Eel Point terrace complex is a composite feature, consisting …


Identifying Sources Of Aeolian Mineral Dust: Present And Past, Daniel R. Muhs, Joseph M. Prospero, Matthew C. Baddock, Thomas E. Gill 2014 U.S. Geological Survey

Identifying Sources Of Aeolian Mineral Dust: Present And Past, Daniel R. Muhs, Joseph M. Prospero, Matthew C. Baddock, Thomas E. Gill

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Aeolian mineral dust is an important component of the Earth’s environmental systems, playing roles in the planetary radiation balance, as a source of fertilizer for biota in both terrestrial and marine realms and as an archive for understanding atmospheric circulation and paleoclimate in the geologic past. Crucial to understanding all of these roles of dust is the identification of dust sources. Here we review the methods used to identify dust sources active at present and in the past. Contemporary dust sources, produced by both glaciogenic and non-glaciogenic processes, can be readily identified by the use of Earth-orbiting satellites. These data …


Coastal Tectonics On The Eastern Margin Of The Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And Uplift Rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. DeVogel, Scott A. Minor, DeAnna Laurel 2014 U.S. Geological Survey

Coastal Tectonics On The Eastern Margin Of The Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And Uplift Rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. Devogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Pacific Rim is a region where tectonic processes play a significant role in coastal landscape evolution. Coastal California, on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim, is very active tectonically and geomorphic expressions of this include uplifted marine terraces. There have been, however, conflicting estimates of the rate of late Quaternary uplift of marine terraces in coastal California, particularly for the northern Channel Islands. In the present study, the terraces on San Miguel Island and Santa Rosa Island were mapped and new age estimates were generated using uranium-series dating of fossil corals and amino acid geochronology of fossil mollusks. …


Exposure And Food Web Transfer Of Pharmaceuticals In Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus): Predictive Model And Empirical Data, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Bryan W. Brooks, Bowen Du, Peter C. McGowan, Vicki S. Blazer, Mary Ann Ottinger 2014 US Geological Survey

Exposure And Food Web Transfer Of Pharmaceuticals In Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus): Predictive Model And Empirical Data, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Bryan W. Brooks, Bowen Du, Peter C. Mcgowan, Vicki S. Blazer, Mary Ann Ottinger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a well‐known sentinel of environmental contamination, yet no studies have traced pharmaceuticals through the water–fish–osprey food web. A screening‐level exposure assessment was used to evaluate the bioaccumulation potential of 113 pharmaceuticals and metabolites, and an artificial sweetener in this food web. Hypothetical concentrations in water reflecting “wastewater effluent dominated” or “dilution dominated” scenarios were combined with pH‐specific bioconcentration factors (BCFs) to predict uptake in fish. Residues in fish and osprey food intake rate were used to calculate the daily intake (DI) of compounds by an adult female osprey. Fourteen pharmaceuticals and a drug …


An Investigation Of Rock Fall And Pore Water Pressure Using Lidar In Highway 63 Rock Cuts, Norbert H. Maerz 2014 Missouri University of Science and Technology

An Investigation Of Rock Fall And Pore Water Pressure Using Lidar In Highway 63 Rock Cuts, Norbert H. Maerz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.


Coastal Geology And Recent Origins For Sand Point, Lake Superior, Timothy G. Fisher, David E. Krantz, Mario R. Castaneda, Walter L. Loope, Harry M. Jol, Ronald J. Goble, Melinda C. Higley, Samantha DeWald, Paul R. Hanson 2014 University of Toledo

Coastal Geology And Recent Origins For Sand Point, Lake Superior, Timothy G. Fisher, David E. Krantz, Mario R. Castaneda, Walter L. Loope, Harry M. Jol, Ronald J. Goble, Melinda C. Higley, Samantha Dewald, Paul R. Hanson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sand Point is a small cuspate foreland located along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior within Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan. Park managers’ concerns for the integrity of historic buildings at the northern periphery of the point during the rising lake levels in the mid-1980s greatly elevated the priority of research into the geomorphic history and age of Sand Point. To pursue this priority, we recovered sediment cores from four ponds on Sand Point, assessed subsurface stratigraphy onshore and offshore using geophysical techniques, and interpreted the chronology of events using radiocarbon and luminescence dating. Sand Point formed at …


The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman 2014 Bowling Green State University

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …


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