Geology Commons^™

Geoneutrino Production Of The Northern Black Hills, South Dakota, United States Of America, Eric Eric Zimney

Theses and Dissertations

Current neutrino observatories operate underground to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and background radiation. However, background radiation from local sources has yet to be accounted for. Current models for neutrino contributions from terrestrial rocks are formulated from bulk compositional estimates of the whole Earth. To better understand local background radiation from geologic sources surfaces rocks were collected throughout the area surrounding the Homestake Mine, South Dakota, home of the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory. The surface rocks were analyzed for radioactivity and neutrino luminosity, producing heat maps indicating the levels of neutrino production throughout the area. The area around the …

Characterization, Diagenesis, And Geocellular Modeling Of Winnipegosis Formation Pinnacle Reefs In The Williston Basin, North Dakota, Nicholas W. Bosshart

Theses and Dissertations

The Middle Devonian Winnipegosis Formation of the North Dakota Williston Basin contains pinnacle reef structures which have been targeted in the past for hydrocarbon production. These reefs have not been proven to hold economically important primary recoverable reserves, and are now being analyzed for potential CO₂ EOR and storage applications.

During this study multiple sizes of Winnipegosis Formation pinnacle reef geocellular models were constructed utilizing data from North Dakota Winnipegosis pinnacle reefs wells, cores, and thin sections. These models were then simulated for CO₂ injectivity.

Initial results show that Winnipegosis pinnacle reefs smaller than 1.5 miles in diameter are likely …

Quantifying Nutrient Cycling And Fate Within An Abandoned Feedlot And Adjacent Wetlands, Prosper Prosper Gbolo

Theses and Dissertations

Feedlot operations over the years have increased revenue and boosted economies of states and countries, but these operations have resulted in elevated concentrations of nutrients in soils, surface water, and groundwater. Feedlot operations generate large quantities of manure and other waste, which when not managed properly can result in environmental problems.

It is hypothesized that nitrogen can cause a short-term contamination of soils and groundwater beneath abandoned feedlots, but phosphorus can cause both short- and long term contamination, especially in well-drained carbonate and iron-rich soils associated with Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. It is also hypothesized that a spectral vegetation index …

Electron Donor Contributions To Denitrification In The Elk Valley Aquifer, North Dakota, Amanda M. Krieger

Theses and Dissertations

Six denitrification tracer tests were performed over eight and a half years in in situ mesocosms (ISMs) in the Elk Valley Aquifer (EVA) in east-central North Dakota. Groundwater samples were analyzed to determine how much nitrate was lost beyond that explained by dilution of the bromide tracer. Additional losses were attributed to denitrification. The denitrification rates varied from 0.10 to 0.23 mg N/L/day for the six tests. In general, the major electron donors for denitrification are organic carbon (OC), pyrite (FeS2), and ferrous iron silicate minerals. In the EVA tracer tests, increases in sulfate indicated that the oxidation of pyrite …

Elemental Chemostratigraphy Of The Three Forks Formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota, Brian R. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

The Three Forks Formation of the Williston Basin in northwestern North Dakota is an Upper Devonian stratigraphic unit unconformably overlain by the Bakken Formation. It consists principally of dolostone, shale and anhydrite. The Three Forks is a productive tight oil resource play, which in recent years has been increasingly targeted and developed as part of the unconventional Bakken Petroleum System. Core analysis via energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) is a non-destructive, high-resolution chemostratigraphic data collection method that has been used here to produce concentration logs which reflect both lithologic heterogeneity and paleoredox conditions for the Three Forks Formation. These geochemical …

Patterns And Mechanisms Of Heat Transport In The Northern Denver Basin Nebraska, South Dakota And Wyoming, Aaron T. Ochsner

Theses and Dissertations

Finite difference simulations of the hydrothermal system of the northern Denver Basin are suggestive of a correlation between anomalous heat flux and the presence of faults and structural lineaments mapped in the region. Geothermal, hydrogeological, lithological, and structural data available for the northern Denver Basin were compiled and analyzed in an effort to determine the hydrothermal mechanisms responsible for observed heat flow anomalies in the study area. Measurement of thermal conductivity was conducted for 82 solid core samples and 60 unconsolidated samples from drill cuttings, yielding a harmonic mean thermal conductivity value of 1.52 ± 0.91W m-1 K-1 for the …

Stratigraphy, Depositional Environments, And Petroleum Potential Of The Three Forks Formation -- Williston Basin, North Dakota, Richard A. Ashu

Theses and Dissertations

The hydrocarbon potential of the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota is poorly known due to limited stratigraphic, geochemical, and petrophysical data. This study presents a methodology and results of a reservoir characterization study of the stratigraphy, lithofacies distribution, petroleum potential, and paleo-environments of the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota as a potential for hydrocarbon exploration with the principal objective to evaluate the Three Forks Formation’s potential for future developments. The detailed lithology is computed by employing a probabilistic interpretation approach calibrated with lab results and five major lithofacies of the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota, which display …

Lithostratigraphic Investigation Of A Late Devonian Carbonate-Evaporite Sequence; The Duperow Formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota, Zachary P. Alcorn

Theses and Dissertations

The Duperow Formation of northwestern North Dakota is a cyclical carbonate evaporite unit deposited on a shallow marine shelf during the early part of the Late Devonian (Frasnian). The formation forms the lower part of the Jefferson Group and lithostratigraphic review permits three informal members to be recognized: lower, middle, and upper. Petrographic, lithologic, and well log examination of drill cores and thin sections allows the identification of seven lithofacies within the three members. Lithofacies include; bioclastic wackestone/packstone (LF1), stromatoporoid boundstone/floatstone (LF2), Amphipora boundstone/floatstone (LF3), peloidal wackestone (LF4), dolomitic mudstone (LF5), microbially laminated dolowackestone (LF6), and anhydrite (Lf7). Lithofacies are …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow, Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We created six new tree‐ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas‐fir collected within the Logan …

Geology Of The Birdseye 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Utah County, Utah:Â Implications For Mid-Cenozoic Extension And Deposition Of The Moroni Formation, Don L. Bagshaw

Theses and Dissertations

Geologic structures within the Birdseye 7.5 minute quadrangle Utah County, Utah have been related by previous workers to both the Jurassic Arapien Shale diapirism and to the mid-Cenozoic extensional collapse of the Charleston-Nebo Thrust. Whichever model proves valid, it will have implications for oil exploration and interpretation of the subsurface geologic structure in the region. A detailed map of the quadrangle was constructed to better constrain which mechanism was responsible for the deformation. Exposures of Arapien Shale near, and within the Birdseye quadrangle show no evidence of diapiric movement. Arapien involvement in the deformation of Tertiary rocks in the center …

Digital Outcrop Model And Paleoecology Of The Eight-Foot Rapid Algal Field (Middle Pennsylvanian Lower Ismay Sequence), Paradox Basin, Utah, Colton Lynn Goodrich

Theses and Dissertations

Although phylloid algal mounds have been studied for 50 year, much remains to be determined concerning the ecology and sedimentology of these Late Paleozoic carbonate buildups. Herein we perform a digital outcrop study of the well-known Middle Pennsylvanian Lower Ismay mound interval in the Paradox Basin because outcropping mounds along the San Juan River are cited as outcrop analogs of reservoir carbonates in the Paradox Basin oil province of Utah and adjacent states. The principal field area is the Eight Foot algal field located at river mile 19.2 on the San Juan River, approximately 14 miles SSW of Bluff, Utah. …

The Crustal Thickness Of West Antarctica, Julien A. Chaput, Richard C. Aster, Audrey D. Huerta, X. Sun, Andrew Lloyd, Douglas A. Wiens, Andrew Nyblade, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, J. Paul Winberry, Terry Wilson

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

P-to-S receiver functions (PRFs) from the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) GPS and seismic leg of POLENET spanning West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains deployment of seismographic stations provide new estimates of crustal thickness across West Antarctica, including the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), Marie Byrd Land (MBL) dome, and the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) margin. We show that complications arising from ice sheet multiples can be effectively managed and further information concerning low-velocity subglacial sediment thickness may be determined, via top-down utilization of synthetic receiver function models. We combine shallow structure constraints with the response of deeper layers using a …

Marine Diatom Assemblage Variation Across Pleistocene Glacial–Interglacial Transitions And Neogene Diatom Biostratigraphy Of Site C9001, Nw Pacific Ocean, Marcella K. Purkey

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

In 2006, D/V-Chikyu cruise CK06-06 drilled Hole C9001C at Site C9001 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, 80 km east of the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. An existing chronostratigraphic framework provides a continuous glacial-interglacial (GI) climate record from which a diatom record of paleoenvironmental changes was developed across several GI cycles. Species counts, diatom temperature values, calculated sea-surface temperatures (SST) and factor analysis were produced for each sample and calibrated to prior diatom studies in this region. These features were used to characterize and compare interglacial maxima of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 5e, 9 and 11 and transitions from the preceding …

Surficial Geologic Map Of Kings Canyon: Implications For Relatively Slow Stream Incision Rates, Andrew Farris

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Most of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California has responded to regional uplift with rapid incision, creating the deepest canyon in the United States. However, Kings Canyon near Cedar Grove is still a mountainous relict landscape with little evidence of fluvial incision. Mapping took place in the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon to assess factors and/or processes causing relatively low stream incision rates in the region during Holocene time. A surficial geologic map was created in the field, along with visual observations of the South Fork of the Kings River and characterization of geologic map …

Global Digital Elevation Model Accuracy Assessment In The Himalaya, Nepal, Luke G. Miles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are digital representations of surface topography or terrain. Collection of DEM data can be done directly through surveying and taking ground control point (GCP) data in the field or indirectly with remote sensing using a variety of techniques. The accuracies of DEM data can be problematic, especially in rugged terrain or when differing data acquisition techniques are combined. For the present study, ground data were taken in various protected areas in the mountainous regions of Nepal. Elevation, slope, and aspect were measured at nearly 2000 locations. These ground data were imported into a Geographic Information System …

Geoelectrical Detection Of Water Table Depth At Two Locations In The Los Osos Groundwater Basin, Hallie A. Douglas

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The city of Los Osos sits on top of a coastal groundwater aquifer which is the sole supplier of all its residential, agricultural, and industrial water needs. Lacking a sewer system, the upper aquifer became progressively contaminated with nitrates over several decades. Groundwater pumping eventually shifted to the lower aquifer, however seawater intrusion of the lower aquifer caused by over-pumping has further degraded water quality. The Los Osos groundwater basin provides an excellent field region to examine the utility of geophysical methods for characterizing aquifer structure. In this study shallow (<20 >m) electrical resistivity imaging methods were performed at two …

Sources Of Co2 Controlling The Carbonate Chemistry Of The Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Bruce Elliott Hatcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Logsdon River is a major, base-level stream within the Turnhole Bend Drainage basin of the Mammoth Cave System. The Logsdon River system has provided a unique opportunity to examine the geochemical evolution of a stream flowing through a major karst conduit that can be traversed for 10 km. This study examines CO₂ inputs at the upstream portion of the river, which provide major control for the river’s hydrochemistry. Samples were collected from the upstream portion of Logsdon River at what is referred to as the S-188 sump and also nearby at Crowbar Dome over the course of 44 weeks …

Eastern Deciduous Forest Phenology And Vegetative Vigor Trends From 2000 To 2013, Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky, Sean Taylor Hutchison

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Global climate change is predicted to affect environmental systems at the midlatitudes, but the scope, severity, and outcomes of these impacts are yet to be fully understood. This study focuses on the implications of short-term climate variability for forests in central Kentucky. Using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument data, the photosynthetic activity of vegetation at Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA) is tracked from 2000 to 2013. Three methods were employed to examine the changes and climate influences in vegetation over the study period: 1) aggregating the NDVI of the Park by year …

Alluvial Geochronology And Watershed Analysis Of The Golo River, Northeastern Corsica, France, Emilee M. Skyles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Golo River in Corsica, France, is a short, steep river (~95 km, 2706 m relief) in the Western Mediterranean with formerly glaciated headwaters. The small size and location of the Golo River make this system ideal for observing the influence of climate and sea-level change on river dynamics over the 100,000 years. A rapidly advancing dating technique, optically stimulated luminescence, was utilized to determine the timing of these river deposits on the coastal plain in order to frame them in the context of previous glacial and interglacial episodes. Climate fluctuations in the headwaters supplied the vast majority of sediment …

Chemical Eor, Ibnelwaleed A. Hussein, Yujun Feng, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.