Geology Commons^™

A Functional Visual System In The Cave Beetle Ptomaphagus Hirtus, Markus Friedrich, Rui Chen, Elke K. Buschbeck, Stewart Peck

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Cave species exhibit a suite of dramatic differences in comparison to their surface living relatives, commonly referred to as troglomorphy (Christiansen 2005). One hallmark feature of troglomorphy is the severe reduction or complete loss of eyes and functional vision. The two most abundant cave beetle species in Mammoth cave, the 2-3 mm small carrion beetle Ptomaphagus hirtus (Packard 1888; Peck 1973; Peck 1975; Tellkampf 1844) and the 6-8 mm long predatory ground beetle Neaphaenops tellkampfii are good examples of this (Barr 1979). P. hirtus tends to hide in crevices and usually goes unnoted to the regular visitor of Mammoth cave. …

Disjunct Eastern Hemlock Populations Of The Central Hardwood Forests: Ancient Relicts Or Recent Long Distance Dispersal Events?, F. Collin Hobbs, Keith Clay

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is an evergreen conifer with a contiguous distribution extending from the southern Appalachian Mountains north to Nova Scotia and west across the Great Lakes region. Eastern hemlock is threatened with extirpation from much of this range by an introduced pest, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Orwig et al. 2002). In addition to the contiguous distribution, many small, isolated populations are located within the central hardwood forest region of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio (Braun 1928, Potzger and Friesner 1937, Van Stockum 1979). These disjunct populations form clearly delineated, often monospecific stands associated with unique natural features such as …

Breeding Bird Survey Summary From Mammoth Cave National Park, 1995 - 2012, Steve Kistler

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Breeding bird surveys are used by ornithologists to study the variations in bird populations across the United States and Canada. Initiated in 1966, the surveys were originally created by Chandler Robbins and colleagues to study the effects of pesticide use on bird populations.

Today, these data are used to monitor changes in avian populations due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, land-use changes, and chemical contamination. The administration of these surveys is jointly run by the US Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Almost fifty years of continuous surveying also provides excellent baseline data which can be used to determine …

Landscape Genetics Of The Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum, In A Nationally Protected Park, Kevin Tewell, Jarrett Johnson

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Landscape features may influence the patterns of migration and dispersal of amphibian species and create genetic structure. A primary goal of landscape genetics is to analyze these influences in order to make more informed management decisions. We sampled larvae from 50 breeding ponds within the boundaries of Mammoth Cave National Park and genotyped 12 individuals per pond at 10 microsatellite loci to estimate gene fl ow between ponds. We used GIS layers of habitat types to conduct a least-cost path analysis and determine the relative cost of movement through each habitat type. We were interested in answering two questions: does …

Evaluating Interactions Between River Otters And Muskrats At Bridge Crossings In Kentucky, Ryan Williamson, Joseph Clark

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) prey on freshwater mussels in the Green River within Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA), many species of which are threatened or endangered. Reportedly, muskrat populations have been reduced in some streams where North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) were reintroduced and it has been suggested that river otter reintroduction at MACA might help conserve endangered mussels. To test that idea, we used occupancy estimation methods to evaluate the ecological relationship between muskrats and otters by collecting presence/absence data based on field sign found at bridge crossings in eastern and central Kentucky. Mean detection (p) and occupancy probabilities …

Mammoth Cave In Poetry: Davis Mccombs’ Ultima Thule, Judith Hatchett

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Davis McCombs, former Mammoth Cave park ranger, received the Yale Younger Poets Award for Ultima Thule, his collection of poems based on his experiences in and with Mammoth Cave, not only of his actual experiences as ranger and cave explorer, but also of the history of the cave, including poems in the voice of Stephen Bishop, cave explorer, cave guide, and also a slave. The detail of McCombs’ examination produces what poet W.S. Merwin called “a grave, attentive holding of a light.” In a sense, his poetry illuminates the cave the way ancient torches and modern lighting have done. This …

First Underground Photograph Taken In America, Wm. Gross Magee

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

The presentation covers the work of Charles Waldack in Mammoth Cave. Waldack took the first underground photographs in America. He was the pioneer of using magnesium as a light source for cave photography. It explores the who, why, when, where and how of his images in the cave. It covers the recreation of his stereo views in the cave showing the same views taken nearly 150 years apart.

Archaeological Investigations For Proposed Trail Rehabilitation Within Mammoth Cave, Steven R. Ahler, George M. Crothers

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

In 2008, staff from the University of Kentucky Program for Archaeological Research (UK-PAR) and the Illinois State Museum Society (ISMS) conducted archaeological and paleontological investigations at Mammoth Cave National Park in advance of proposed rehabilitation of 40,499 linear feet of selected trail segments within Mammoth Cave. This presentation focuses on the results of archaeological investigations conducted within Mammoth Cave and is confined to discussion of the prehistoric materials. These materials were confined to the upper and lower passages of the Historic Tour, the Lantern Tour, and Gothic Avenue trails

The History And Conservation Of Saltpeter Works In Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, George M. Crothers, Christina A. Pappas, Christian D. Mittendorf

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Remains of the saltpeter mining operation in Mammoth Cave are a significant feature of several cave tours and figure prominently in the history of cave use. We undertook a comprehensive review of existing historical descriptions and recent archaeological investigations to construct the most reasonable account of how the saltpeter operation worked and assess its current conditions. At least three types of saltpeter vats were constructed in the cave reflecting an increase in the size of the operation and efficiency of processing sediments over time. Remains of three pump towers are also found in the cave in various states of preservation. …

The Mammoth Cave Mushroom Company: A Brief History Of A Short-Lived Venture, Katie Algeo

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

The Mammoth Cave Mushroom Company was formed in August 1881 during a particularly contentious period of family struggle for control of the cave, its resources, and tourism operations. This paper documents the history of the company from original company records and family letters. It places the Mammoth Cave operation within the larger historical context of mushroom production in caves as possibly the first such operation in the United States. It traces developments at the cave during the fall of 1881 as Anthony Muzarelli oversaw preparation of mushroom beds and supporting infrastructure and identifies sources of tension between the new mushroom …

Mammoth Cave National Park's 10th Research Symposium: Celebrating Diversity Of Research In The Mammoth Cave Region, Shannon Trimboli ,Editor

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Understanding Greenland Ice Sheet Hydrology Using An Integrated Multi-Scale Approach, A. K. Rennermalm, S. E. Moustafa, J. Mioduszewski, V. W. Chu, R. R. Forster, B. Hagedorn, Joel T. Harper, T. L. Mote, D. A. Robinson, C. A. Shuman, L. C. Smith, M. Tedesco

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Improved understanding of Greenland ice sheet hydrology is critically important for assessing its impact on current and future ice sheet dynamics and global sea level rise. This has motivated the collection and integration of in situ observations, model development, and remote sensing efforts to quantify meltwater production, as well as its phase changes, transport, and export. Particularly urgent is a better understanding of albedo feedbacks leading to enhanced surface melt, potential positive feedbacks between ice sheet hydrology and dynamics, and meltwater retention in firn. These processes are not isolated, but must be understood as part of a continuum of processes …

Water, Climate, And Social Change In A Fragile Landscape, William L. Hargrove, David M. Borrok, Josiah Mc C.C. Heyman, Craig E. Tweedie, Carlos Cabrera Ferregut

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present here and in the companion papers an analysis of sustainability in the Middle Rio Grande region of the U.S.-Mexico border and propose an interdisciplinary research agenda focused on the coupled human and natural dimensions of water resources sustainability in the face of climate and social change in an international border region. Key threats to water sustainability in the Middle Rio Grande River region include: (1) increasing salinization of surface and ground water, (2) increasing water demand from a growing population in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez area on top of an already high base demand from irrigated agriculture, (3) …

Preservational And Morphological Variability Of Assemblages Of Agglutinated Eukaryotes In Cryogenian Cap Carbonates Of Northern Namibia, Lilly A. Dalton, Tanja Bosak, Francis A. Macdonald, Daniel J.G. Lahr, Sara B. Pruss

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

Laminated carbonates of the Rasthof Formation, deposited in the aftermath of the early Cryogenian low-latitude glaciation (Sturtian, 717-662 Ma), preserve abundant round tests of agglutinated microscopic eukaryotes. Previously, fossil tests were reported in two localities (Ongongo and Okaaru) from microbially laminated carbonates in the Rasthof Formation, which revealed a previous unexplored Cryogenian taphonomic window. In order to better understand the lateral variability in these microfossil assemblages, this work systematically examines fossil tests from two additional localities, South Ombepera and Ombepera, and compares their preservation in thinly and thickly laminated microbial laminites. Cap carbonates in South Ombepera and Ombepera contain abundant, …

Orbitally Paced Shifts In The Particle Size Of Antarctic Continental Shelf Sediments In Response To Ice Dynamics During The Miocene Climatic Optimum, Sandra Passchier, Candice J. Falk, Fabio Florindo

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The AND-2A drill hole (ANDRILL [Antarctic Geological Drilling Program] Southern McMurdo Sound Project), ∼10 km from the East Antarctica coastline, records nearly 6 m.y. of sedimentation across the Miocene climatic optimum at a high-latitude site. Sedimentological studies of bedforms and particle size distributions indicate that the paleoenvironment was strongly affected by waves and currents, consistent with deposition in a glacially influenced neritic environment. We document abrupt shifts in mud percent within glacial-interglacial cycles ca. 17.8 Ma and between ca. 16.7 and 15.7 Ma that we attribute to the hydrodynamic effects of wave stirring tied to episodes of ice growth and …

Neotectonic Evolution Of Grand Canyon : Interaction Between Volcanism, River Incision, Epeirogenic Uplift, And Faulting, Ryan Crow

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This thesis focuses on the effects of volcanism, river incision, epeirogenic uplift, and faulting on the landscape evolution of the Grand Canyon region. In the first chapter the migration of increasingly asthenospheric basaltic volcanism is used to constrain lithospheric modification of the Colorado Plateau margins. Buoyancy modification of the upper mantle, driven by the upwelling, is a likely driver for recent uplift of the area. In the second chapter, correlation between oversteepened rivers and areas of high-velocity upper mantle is used to show that recent and ongoing mantle-driven uplift is modulating the surface along the western margin of the Colorado …

Dynamically Downscaled Winter Precipitation Over Complex Terrain Of The Central Rockies Of Western Montana, Usa, Nicholas Loren Silverman, Marco P. Maneta, S.-H. Chen, Joel T. Harper

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We evaluate the results of dynamically downscaled winter precipitation over Western Montana using the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model through comparison with estimates from the observationally based parameter-elevation regressions on independent slopes model (PRISM). Seven years (six winters) from 2000 to 2006 are simulated at 4 km resolution to assess the similarities and differences between the two models as well as the implications for hydrologic modeling. Inherent biases in both approaches are apparent, highlighting the difficulty in climate model validation. Results show general agreement between the two models in the spatial distribution of winter precipitation. A principal component analysis …

Tree Ring Dating Of The Emerson Barn, Apple Creek, Ohio

Historic Structures

Dating historical structures in Wayne County, Ohio using dendrochronology. The Historical Structures collection consists of reports that are the result of dendochronological analysis of timbers from structures in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Contributors: Nash, Andy; Vargo, Lauren; Wiesenber, Nick; Wiles, Greg

Spatial And Temporal Evolution Of The Volcanics And Sediments Of The Kenya Rift, Alexandria L. Guth

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

New volumetric and mass flux estimates have been calculated for the Kenya Rift. Spatial and temporal histories for volcanic eruptions, lacustrine deposition, and hominin fossil sites are presented, aided by the compilation of a new digital geologic map. Distribution of volcanism over time indicates several periods of southward expansion followed by relative positional stasis. Volcanism occurs throughout the activated rift length, with no obvious abandonment as the rift system migrated. The main exception is a period of volcanic concentration around 10 Ma, when activity was constrained within 2° of the equator.

Volumes derived from seismic data indicate a total volume …

Ground-Based And Satellite Remote Sensing Of Paroxysmal Eruptions At Etna Volcano, 2011-2012., Estelle Bonny

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

Mt Etna's activity has increased during the last decade with a tendency towards more explosive eruptions that produce paroxysmal lava fountains. From January 2011 to April 2012, 25 lava fountaining episodes took place at Etna's New South-East Crater (NSEC). Improved understanding of the mechanism driving these explosive basaltic eruptions is needed to reduce volcanic hazards. This type of activity produces high sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, associated with lava flows and ash fall-out, but to date the SO2 emissions associated with Etna's lava fountains have been poorly constrained. The Ultraviolet (UV) Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite and the …