Geology Commons^™

Defining The Endmember System Of Us Soils And Quantifying Relationships, And A Hyperspectral Approach To The Alteration Strength Index, Rachel Rulison

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Soils form a complex part of the environment, providing important functions in systems such as food production, groundwater movement, and ecosystem health. There have been numerous studies on soil geochemistry and the origin of elements within soils, but few studies into quantifying the relationships between elements and geographical data on a national scale. Using geochemical data obtained by the USGS, the surficial soils of the US were defined by a 13-endmember system using Polytopic Vector Analysis and mapped in GIS. Correlation matrices provided Pearson’s correlation coefficients for elements in the Top 5 cm soil profile, the A horizon, and the …

Building Interest And Knowledge In Geosciences Through Place- & Field-Based Teacher Professional Learning Programs: A Comparative Multi-Case Study, Emily Gochis

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The focus of this study was to develop and evaluate a geoscience professional development model that would improve K-12 teachers’ capacity to effectively build geoscience literacy and interests in students from a variety of settings and cultural groups. The research compared the application of a geoscience professional development model realized through multiple case studies of varying settings and scales. The study investigated the capacity of each approach in improving teachers’ geoscience background knowledge, awareness of local geologically and culturally significant examples, and ability to integrate place-based, field investigations into standards-based curricula. By using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study …

Geology Of The Jacksonville 7.5 Minute Quadrangle And U–Pb And (U–Th)/He Reveal Sediment Routing And Uplift In The Southern Appalachian Valley And Ridge Province, Derek L. Spurgeon

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced multiple deformation events having undergone two full Wilson cycles. The foreland Valley and Ridge province is composed of sedimentary Paleozoic rock that range in age from earliest Cambrian to Middle Pennsylvanian. This sedimentary basin was intensely folded and faulted during the collision of Gondwana during the Middle to Late Carboniferous Period. From previous geologic structural mapping that has taken place, some large-scale structures in the Valley and Ridge Province seem to be out of sequence. To better understand the relationships in these structures, geologic mapping in high detail at the 1:24,000 scale coupled with …

Patterns Of Interdisciplinary Collaboration Resemble Biogeochemical Relationships In The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: A Historical Social Network Analysis Of Science, 1907–2016, Stephen M. Chignell, Adrian Howkins, Poppie Gullett, Andrew G. Fountain

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Co-authorship networks can provide key insights into the production of scientific knowledge. This is particularly interesting in Antarctica, where most human activity relates to scientific research. Bibliometric studies of Antarctic science have provided a useful understanding of international and interdisciplinary collaboration, yet most research has focused on broad-scale analyses over recent time periods. Here, we take advantage of a ‘Goldilocks’ opportunity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, an internationally important region of Antarctica and the largest ice-free region on the continent. The McMurdo Dry Valleys have attracted continuous and diverse scientific activity since 1958. It is a geographically confined region with …

The Potential Of Diabase Sills In Eastern Pennsylvania To Store Co2 And H2, Rhiannon R. Schmitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With anthropogenic CO₂ concentrations rising, geologic carbon sequestration and H₂ storage are essential processes in mitigating climate change. Typical geologic carbon sequestration involves the capture of anthropogenic CO₂ and injection into depleted oil/gas reservoirs or saline formations with an impermeable cap rock to prevent the buoyant migration of CO₂. The risk of eventual CO₂ migration through these low permeability cap rocks adds expensive monitoring costs to this traditional sequestration strategy. Another method for CO₂ sequestration utilizes the reaction of CO₂ with mafic and ultramafic rocks. CarbFix, a sequestration project in Iceland, has …

Geomorphic History And Preservation Of Archaeologically Significant Areas In The Hanford Reach Of The Columbia River, Washington State, Benjamin Deans

All Master's Theses

Archaeological sites near rivers may be preserved through burial, altered by exposure, or destroyed through erosion. Preserved because of the unusual needs of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Reach is the only remaining free-flowing reach of the Columbia River and ideal for research into the geomorphic settings of archaeological sites along this river. The 1894 (742,000 cfs [20,900 m³/s]) and 1948 (690,000 cfs [19,000 m³/s]) floods were the largest in the historical record through the reach, but their relationship with geomorphic change and site preservation are less understood. To understand how floods have preserved and destroyed …

The Effects Of Channel Incision And Land Use On Surface-Water/Groundwater Interactions In The Teanaway River Basin, Washington, Usa, Joseph Petralia

All Master's Theses

The Teanaway River basin, a major tributary to the Yakima River, is host to several restoration projects with the intention of returning the river channel to a more natural state and improving riparian habitat. These projects may also increase aquifer storage and potentially increase summertime streamflows. This study of the Teanaway Valley Family Farm, an 88-hectare parcel on the main-stem Teanaway River that was recently purchased by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, provides hydrogeologic data that will inform these restoration projects. Following the purchase of this land, ten wells were installed within and slightly above the floodplain in order …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Floodplain Topography And Channel Avulsion: Evidence From The Devonian Catskill Formation, North-Central Pennsylvania, Usa, Molly O'Halloran

Honors Theses

Topographic complexity on floodplains can route flow, control sediment dispersal, and influence channel behavior, but studying floodplain-channel interactions in modern rivers is challenging because of human modifications and the short timescales of observable data. This project assesses the link between different types of floodplain microtopography and avulsion style in the Devonian Catskill Formation, north-central Pennsylvania, where thick stacks of fluvial strata provide a lengthy record of channel-floodplain interaction. Using a combination of field observations and computer modeling, this study identifies sedimentary features indicative of floodplain complexity and analyzes their impact on avulsion style at fourteen Catskill Formation outcrops.

Based on …

Geology Of The Porter Gap 7.5–Minute Quadrangle, Alabama, And Stretched Pebble Analysis Within The Western Blue Ridge Of The Southern Appalachians, Tessa Mills

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Porter Gap 7.5–minute quadrangle in eastern Alabama contains portions of the undifferentiated sedimentary Knox Group of the Valley and Ridge province, the metamorphic Talladega Group of the western Blue Ridge, and the metamorphic Ashland Supergroup of the eastern Blue Ridge. Three major faults separate the rock units, including the Talladega-Cartersville fault, the Hillabee thrust fault, and the Hollins Line fault. Deformation and metamorphism of rocks within the Talladega Group occurred during the middle to late Mississippian (~334–320 Ma) recorded by stretched pebbles within the Cheaha Quartzite member of the Lay Dam Formation. Stretched pebbles within the Cheaha Quartzite have …

Ecosystem Damage Leading To A Possible Human Extinction, Meagan Wilburn, Matthew Balentine

Scholar's Day

While there are many factors that could lead to possible human extinction, the interaction between humans and the planet is something that needs to be monitored and changed, in order to prevent any more harm to the environment. By shaping the ecosystem and environment in a way that only benefits humans, there has been a tremendous loss of biodiversity. This will affect humans’ way of life. As everything is connected, it is important to understand the risks of how humans are treating the planet, so conservation efforts can be implemented based on the current state of the environment.

Application Of Machine Learning In Geophysics: Ranking Teleseismic Shear Wave Splitting Measurements And Classifying Different Types Of Earthquakes, Yanwei Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"During the past decades, applications of Machine Learning have been explosively developed to solve various academic and industrial problems, and over-human performance has been shown in diverse areas. In geophysical research, Machine Learning, especially Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), has been applied in numerous studies and demonstrated considerable potential. In this study, we applied CNN to solve two geophysical problems, ranking teleseismic shear splitting (SWS) measurements and classifying different types of earthquakes.

For ranking teleseismic SWS measurements, we utilized a CNN-based method to automatically select reliable SWS measurements. The CNN was trained by human-verified teleseismic SWS measurements and tested using synthetic …

The Economic Contribution Of Utah's Energy And Mining Industries, Tanner J. Mccarty, Zuyi Wang, Man-Keun Kim, James Evans

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Utah’s abundant energy and mineral resources are used to heat homes, drive industry, and keep the lights on. Effectively managing these energy and mineral resources and their associated supply chains requires knowledge of their economic value and how they currently contribute to Utah’s economy. This report calculates the total economic contribution of Utah’s energy and mining industries for 2019 and 2020. Each industry makes substantial contributions to Utah’s gross domestic product, employment, and tax base. Table 1 displays each industry’s economic contribution to Utah’s economy.

Collectively, these industries contributed over 10% to Utah's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), supported over …

Viscous Anisotropy Of Wet Olivine Aggregates, Megan Ryan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I will deform natural olivine aggregates (Anita Bay dunite) cores in various orientations relative to a natural mineral alignment in the rock under both dry and wet conditions. Different orientations in regards to this mineral alignment will produce deformation on different slip systems. Stress measurements will be taken during the deformation of the samples in order to characterize any changes in viscous anisotropy observed due to the changes in slip system. Anita Bay dunite is a proxy for the main mineral found in the mantle wedge of subduction zones. Therefore, understanding the transformation of viscosity and slip systems in this …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 47, 2022, Department Of Geography, Geology, And The Environment

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Devonian Upper Ocean Redox Trends Across Laurussia: Testing Potential Influences Of Marine Carbonate Lithology On Bulk Rock I/Ca Signals, Ruliang He, Maya Elrick, James Day, Wanyi Lu, Zunli Lu

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

The Devonian is characterized by major changes in ocean-atmosphere O2 concentrations, colonialization of continents by plants and animals, and widespread marine anoxic events associated with rapid d13C excursions and biotic crises. However, the long-term upper ocean redox trend for the Devonian is still not well understood. This study presents new I/Ca data from well-dated Lower Devonian through Upper Devonian limestone sections from the Great Basin (western Laurussia) and the Illinois Basin (central Laurussia). In addition, to better address potential influences of lithology and stratigraphy on I/Ca redox signals, I/Ca data are reported here as carbonate lithology-specific. Results indicate that lithologic …

Effect Of Pre-Existing Fault Orientation On Strain Localization In A Foliated Granitic Gneiss, Geoffrey Hilliard

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The effect of fault orientation relative to the applied stress on reactivation of pre-existing brittle faults instead of forming new faults is well-explained by Mohr-Coulomb theory. However, Mohr-Coulomb theory does not explain the effect of orientation on reactivation of faults with a ductile rheology and no work has been performed to assess the effect of orientation of a pre-existing ductile fault on fault strength. In order to determine how rock strength and localization of strain into a ductile fault is affected when the orientation of the pre-existing fault (artificial fault) is changed, experiments were performed on pre-faulted cores of a …

Strange Stones Of Skull Creek: Basalt Glacial Erratics And Omars In Eastern Nebraska, Robert M. Joeckel, Jesse T. Korus, Judith Turk, C. C. Arps, N. V. Arps, Leslie M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

We describe unusual stream- reworked glacially transported rocks (erratics) from a locality 50 km east of the limit of all pre- Illinoian (pre- 190 ka) Pleistocene glaciations in the central USA. Almost all these erratics consist of the igneous rock basalt, and of those, the vast majority have at least one fl at, smooth face. Some have two or more such faces that meet at obtuse angles along one or more well- defi ned, straight edges. We attribute these features, as well as laminations, plumose marks, and other features, to columnar jointing in ancient lava fl ows and shallow intrusions. …

The Impact Of Sampling Methodology On Soil Bulk Density Measurement By The Clod Method, Aldi J. Airori, Trinity Baker, Judith Turk

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The clod method is a widely used and accurate bulk density method. However, its use is limited to sampling from soil pits. This study was conducted to: 1) determine whether clods collected from cores provide similar bulk density measurements to those collected from soil pits and 2) evaluate the impact of various clod bulk density methods on carbon stock calculation. Clods were collected from soil pits, 5.1 cm soil cores, and 8.9 cm soil cores. Three-dimensional laser scanning was used to measure the volume of the soil clods before and after oven-drying and bulk density was calculated as the dry …

Mis 5e Sea-Level History Along The Pacific Coast Of North America, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The primary last interglacial, marine isotope substage (MIS) 5e records on the Pacific coast of North America, from Washington (USA) to Baja California Sur (Mexico), are found in the deposits of erosional marine terraces. Warmer coasts along the southern Golfo de California host both erosional marine terraces and constructional coral reef terraces. Because the northern part of the region is tectonically active, MIS 5e terrace elevations vary considerably, from a few meters above sea level to as much as 70m above sea level. The primary paleo-sea-level indicator is the shoreline angle, the junction of the wave-cut platform with the former …

Microplastics In Mangrove Sediments At Maeklong River Mouth, Samut Songkhram Province, Pattraporn Chaisanguansuk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Microplastics are omnipresent in our environment. Living organisms were affected by microplastic pollution. This study was investigated microplastic in mangrove environments because there are accumulated various substances from land and sea. Moreover, mangrove is an important ecosystem that is a habitat for marine life and benthic organism. Our study area is the Maeklong River mouth, Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand. Surface sediments from 3 stations were collected from the Maeklong River area and 2 core sediments were collected from the Maeklong River mouth and the Queen Sirikit Park. Sediment samples were analyzed by Loss on ignition (LOI) and grain size distribution. …