Geology Commons^™

Remote Sensing Of Volcanic Plumes Using The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission And Reflection Radiometer (Aster)., Lorna Alison Henney

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

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) has been used to quantify SO₂ emissions from passively degassing volcanoes. This dissertation explores ASTER’s capability to detect SO2 with satellite validation, enhancement techniques and extensive processing of images at a variety of volcanoes. ASTER is compared to the Mini UV Spectrometer (MUSe), a ground based instrument, to determine if reasonable SO₂ fluxes can be quantified from a plume emitted from Lascar, Chile. The two sensors were in good agreement with ASTER proving to be a reliable detector of SO₂. ASTER illustrated the advantages of imaging a …

Sampling Bias In Evaluating The Probability Of Seismically Induced Soil Liquefaction With Spt & Cpt Case Histories, Abhishek Jain

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

Several deterministic and probabilistic methods are used to evaluate the probability of seismically induced liquefaction of a soil. The probabilistic models usually possess some uncertainty in that model and uncertainties in the parameters used to develop that model. These model uncertainties vary from one statistical model to another. Most of the model uncertainties are epistemic, and can be addressed through appropriate knowledge of the statistical model. One such epistemic model uncertainty in evaluating liquefaction potential using a probabilistic model such as logistic regression is sampling bias. Sampling bias is the difference between the class distribution in the sample used for …

Using Auto- And Cross-Correlations From Seismic Noise To Monitor Velocity Changes At Villarrica Volcano, Chile, Kathleen F. Mckee

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

We used the Green's functions from auto-correlations and cross-correlations of seismic ambient noise to monitor temporal velocity changes in the subsurface at Villarrica volcano in the Southern Andes of Chile. Campaigns were conducted from March to October 2010 and February to April 2011 with 8 broadband and 6 short-period stations, respectively. We prepared the data by removing the instrument response, normalizing with a root-mean-square method, whitening the spectra, and filtering from 1 to 10 Hz. This frequency band was chosen based on the relatively high background noise level in that range. Hour-long auto- and cross-correlations were computed and the Green's …

Modeling Regional Radicarbon Trends: A Case Study From The East Texas Woodland Period, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (~500 BC–AD 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated ¹⁴C ages (n = 127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n = 51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in east Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While analysis of summed probability distributions (SPDs) produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used …

Delineating The 2007 Corn Belt Region, Chris Laingen

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Wildlife Disease Surveillance, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, Scott D. Wright

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Epidemiologic surveillance is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the "ongoing systematic and continuous collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data': The objective of surveillance is to generate data for rapid response to the detection of a disease of concern to apply prevention, control, or eradication measures as well as to evaluate such interventions. This is distinct from disease monitoring, which usually does not involve a particular response to disease detection.

Surveillance for wildlife diseases has increased in importance due to the emergence and re-emergence of wildlife diseases that are threats to human, animal, and …

P-T Conditions Of Selected Samples Across The Blue Ridge Province, Breana A. Felix

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains has a complex geologic history characterized by more than one metamorphic and deformational event. Mapping of the Blue Ridge has allowed for the province to be broken into the “sub” provinces western, central, and eastern Blue Ridge. The boundaries for these, however, are not well understood due to the difficulty in determining which orogenies caused each metamorphic event.

Detailed petrographic and microprobe analyses were carried out on 17 and 10 samples respectively. Outcrops from Ducktown and Marble in the western Blue Ridge (WBR), Savannah Church, Sylva, and Little Pine Garnet Mine in …

Depositional Environments And Sequence Stratigraphy Of A Breathitt Group Exposure, U.S. 25e, Flat Lick, Kentucky, Kathryn E. Hoffmeister, Eric G. Hogan, Steven M. Holland

Information Circular--KGS

The Pennsylvanian fluvial deltaic Breathitt Group is exposed along U.S. 25E near Flat Lick, Ky. This exposure is ideal for field trips because of the quality of the exposure, its accessibility, the range of facies present, and its potential for demonstrating principles of outcrop-based sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Eight facies are present and represent deposition in fluvial, delta-plain, and delta-front environments. Several facies contain an abundance of trace fossils, and a wide range of sedimentary structures are also present. Flooding surfaces are well developed in the delta front and delta plain and are characterized by abrupt contacts with distal, deeper-water deltaic environments …

Mapping Lava Flows From Nyamuragira Volcano (1967-2011) With Satellite Data And Automated Classification Methods, Elisabet Head, Ann L. Maclean, Simon A. Carn

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

The volume, location and extent of historical lava flows are important when assessing volcanic hazards, as well as the productivity or longevity of a volcanic system. We use a Landsat/Hyperion/ALI dataset and automated classification methods to map lava flows at Nyamuragira volcano (1967-2011) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The humid tropical climate ofNyamuragira is advantageous because its lava flows are emplaced onto heavily forested flanks, resulting in strong contrast between lava and vegetation, which contributes to efficient flow mapping. With increasing age, there is an increase in Landsat band-4 reflectance, suggesting lava flow revegetation with time. This results …

Preservation Of The Seismic Cycle In A Continental Low-Angle Normal Fault: West Salton Detachment Fault, Usa, Mitchell R. Prante, Susanne U. Janecke, James P. Evans

Geosciences Presentations

No abstract provided.

Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Gomantong cave system of eastern Sabah, Malaysia, is well-known as an important site for harvesting edible bird-nests and, more recently, as a tourist attraction. Although the biology of the Gomantong system has been repeatedly studied, very little attention has been given to the geomorphology. Here, we report on the impact of geobiological modification in the development of the modern aspect of the cave, an important but little recognized feature of tropical caves. Basic modeling of the metabolic outputs from bats and birds (CO₂, H₂O, heat) reveals that post-speleogenetic biogenic corrosion can erode bedrock by between …

Ua94/6/10 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Carl Ellis, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scientific notebooks used by Carl Ellis during his years at WKU.

Sea-Level History Of Past Interglacial Periods From Uranium-Series Dating Of Corals, Curaçao, Leeward Antilles Islands, Daniel R. Muhs, John M. Pandolfi, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Curaçao has reef terraces with the potential to provide sea-level histories of interglacial periods. Ages of the Hato (upper) unit of the “Lower Terrace” indicate that this reef dates to the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.5. On Curaçao, this high sea stand lasted at least 8000 yr (~126 to ~118 ka). Elevations and age of this reef show that late Quaternary uplift rates on Curaçao are low, 0.026–0.054 m/ka, consistent with its tectonic setting. Ages of ~200 ka for corals from the older Cortalein unit of the Lower Terrace correlate this reef to MIS 7, with paleo-sea …

Soil Genesis On The Island Of Bermuda In The Quaternary: The Importance Of African Dust Transport And Deposition, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Joseph M. Prospero, Gary Skipp, Stanley R. Herwitz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The origin of terra rossa, red or reddish-brown, clay-rich soils overlying high-purity carbonate substrates, has intrigued geologists and pedologists for decades. Terra rossa soils can form from accumulation of insoluble residues during dissolution of the host limestones, addition of volcanic ash, or addition of externally derived, long-range-transported (LRT) aeolian particles. We studied soils and paleosols on high-purity, carbonate aeolianites of Quaternary age on Bermuda, where terra rossa origins have been debated for more than a century. Potential soil parent materials on this island include sand-sized fragments of local volcanic bedrock, the LRT, fine-grained (µm) component of distal loess from the …

East Versus West: Organic Contaminant Differences In Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) Eggs From South Carolina, Usa And The Gulf Of California, Mexico, Stacy S. Vander Pol, Daniel W. Anderson, Patrick G.R. Jodice, Joyce E. Stuckey

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were listed as endangered in the United States in 1970, largely due to reproductive failure and mortality caused by organochlorine contaminants, such as DDT. The southeast population, P.o. carolinensis, was delisted in 1985, while the west coast population, P.o. californicus, was not delisted until 2009. As fish-eating coastal seabirds, brown pelicans may serve as a biomonitors. Organic contaminants were examined in brown pelican eggs collected from the Gulf of California in 2004 and South Carolina in 2005 using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Contaminants were compared using all individual data as well as …

Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics …

Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Gary M. Tabor, Emily Almberg, Leslie Bienen, Peter J. Hudson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The International Panel on Climate Change has made an unequivocal case that the earth's climate is changing in profound ways, and that human activities are contributing significantly to climate disruption (IPCC 2007). The weight of evidence demonstrates warming global temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and increasing climate variability, with more extreme events. Thus, the physical underpinnings of ecology are changing, with pervasive effects on disease dynamics. Interactions among environment, hosts, and pathogens drive disease processes, and climate change will influence every interaction in this triad, directly and indirectly.

Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces, Barbara A. Wolfe, Roberto F. Aguilar, A. Alonso Aguirre, Glenn H. Olsen, Evan S. Blumer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The rate of species loss today is approaching catastrophic levels. Scientists project that over the next two decades, more than 1 million species of plants and animals will become extinct. E.O. Wilson has estimated that "the rate ofloss may exceed 50,000 a year, 137 a day ... this rate, while horrendous, is actually the minimal estimate, based on the species/area relationship alone" (Kellert and Wilson 1993, p. 16; Aguirre 2009). Ever-expanding communities, strained natural resources, changes in land use, and other anthropogenic drivers are compromising ecosystems and rapidly changing the landscape and the availability of "wild" spaces.

Agricultural Drought Monitoring In Kenya Using Evapotranspiration Derived From Remote Sensing And Reanalysis Data, Michael T. Marshall, Christopher Funk, Joel Michaelsen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

More than half of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1.25 per day, and nearly 30% do not receive sufficient nourishment to maintain daily health (UN, 2009a). These figures are expected to rise as a result of the recent global financial crisis that has led to an increase in food prices. Food for Peace (FFP), the program that administers more than 85% of U.S. international food aid, recently reported that the seven largest recipient countries of food aid worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa (FFP, 2010). In Kenya, the fifth largest recipient of food aid from FFP …

Three-Dimensional Hydrostratigraphy Of The Platte River Valley Near Ashland, Nebraska: Results From Helicopter Electromagnetic (Hem) Mapping In The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (Enwra), P. R. Hanson, Jesse T. Korus, Dana Divine

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.