Geomorphology Commons^™

Review Of Land Capability Assessment For The Swan Valley, Peter Tille, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

Land capability review for the Swan Valley.

The land capability review of the Swan Valley examined and updated previous soil and capability studies done in the area, which are still considered highly relevant for the planning requirements of the Swan Valley. As a result we have updated information on the potential for irrigated agriculture in the Swan Valley which will guide decision-making in the future.

This review uses a modified version of a new approach to presenting information for land use planning, developed by DAFWA in the Mid West region.

The main findings of the review include:

• The alluvial terraces …

A Decade Of Modern Cave Surveying With Terrestrial Laser Scanning: A Review Of Sensors, Method And Application Development, Idrees Mohammed Oludare, Biswajeet Pradhan

International Journal of Speleology

During the last decade, the need to survey and model caves or caverns in their correct three-dimensional geometry has increased due to two major competing motivations. One is the emergence of medium and long range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology that can collect high point density with unprecedented accuracy and speed, and two, the expanding sphere of multidisciplinary research in understanding the origin and development of cave, called speleogenesis. Accurate surveying of caves has always been fundamental to understanding their origin and processes that lead to their current state and as well provide tools and information to predict future. Several …

Slope Failure Detection Through Multi-Temporal Lidar Data And Geotechnical Soils Analysis Of The Deep-Seated Madrone Landslide, Coast Range, Oregon, Michael Scott Marshall

Dissertations and Theses

Landslide hazard assessment of densely forested, remote, and difficult to access areas can be rapidly accomplished with airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) data. An evaluation of geomorphic change by lidar-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) coupled with geotechnical soils analysis, aerial photographs, ground measurements, precipitation data, and numerical modeling can provide valuable insight to the reactivation process of unstable landslides. A landslide was selected based on previous work by Mickleson (2011) and Burns et al. (2010) that identified the Madrone Landslide with significant volumetric changes. This study expands on previous work though an evaluation of the timing and causation of …

Sandstones And Utah’S Canyon Country: Deposition, Diagenesis, Exhumation, And Landscape Evolution, David Loope, Richard Kettler, Kendra Murray, Joel Pederson, Peter Reiners

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

South-central Utah’s prominent sandstones and deeply dissected landscapes are the focus of this four-day trip, which begins and ends in Grand Junction, Colorado. Studies of the apatite grains in sandstones adjacent to igneous intrusions are revealing new information on the timing and rate of Cenozoic erosion. Iron-oxide-cemented concretions in other rocks record how reduced-iron carbonates and subsurface microbes interacted when near-surface, oxygenated waters started to flush the reducing, CO₂-rich waters from Colorado Plateau aquifers. New geochronologic techniques that are being applied to the plateau rocks have the potential to expand our knowledge of how diagenetic episodes relate to …

Aquifers Of Nebraska I: The Codell Aquifer In Northeastern Nebraska, Dana Divine, R. Matthew Joeckel, Sue Olafsen Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Sea Lamprey Mating Pheromone Registered By U.S. Environmental Protection Agency As First Vertebrate Pheromone Biopesticide, Marc Gaden, Marisa Lubeck

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Ann Arbor, MI – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered a sea lamprey mating pheromone, 3kPZS, as the first ever vertebrate pheromone biopesticide in late December, 2015. Like an alluring perfume, the mating pheromone is a scent released by male sea lampreys to lure females onto nesting sites. Research and development of the mating pheromone was funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, with additional support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, in collaboration with federal government, university, and private industry partners.

Paleoearthquakes Of The Past ~6000 Years At The Dead Mouse Site, West-Central Denali Fault At The Nenana River, Alaska, Joseph K. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Denali fault (DF) in south-central Alaska is a major right lateral strike-slip fault that parallels the Alaska Range for much of its length. This fault represents the largest seismogenic source for interior Alaska but due to its remote location and difficulty of access, a dearth of paleoearthquake (PEQ) information exists for this important feature. The fault system is over 1200 km in length and identification of paleoseismic sites that preserve more that 2-3 PEQs has proven challenging. In 2012 and 2015, we developed the ‘Dead Mouse’ site, which provides the first long PEQ record west of the 2002 rupture …

Spatiotemporal Slip Rate Variations Along Surprise Valley Fault In Relation To Pleistocene Pluvial Lakes, Brian N. Marion

All Master's Theses

Using mapped paleoshoreline features with high-resolution topographic data and obtained radiocarbon dates on paleoshoreline tufas, I documented precise fault offsets of dated features over the last 25 ka along the Surprise Valley Fault (SVF). Fault offset measured in three lake sections within Surprise Valley ranged from 3.6 m in the southern section to 14.4 m in the central section. The offset paleoshorelines are dated to the late Pleistocene (<22 >ka) and were formed during the latest impoundment of pluvial Lake Surprise since the last glacial maximum. Slip rates vary along strike, assuming a fault dip of 68° with 0.25 ± …

Investigating Taphonomic Changes Of Deposits And Modeling Of The 2010 Earthquake And Tsunami In South-Central Chile, Alexandra Carranco Ruiz

All Master's Theses

South-central Chile has an extensive written catalog of historic earthquakes and tsunamis, but such records can be subject to inconsistencies. Dated tsunami deposits are more objective data that provide hard evidence of past tsunamis. The inland extent of deposits from past tsunamis (paleodeposits) can be used in tsunami modeling to reveal characteristics of the source earthquake, but these deposits may have undergone taphonomic processes since initial deposition. Therefore, to determine how tsunami deposits change during burial and preservation and the potential limitations of using paleodeposits in modeling, I investigated the modern 2010 M_w 8.8 Maule earthquake and tsunami as …

Late Glacial And Holocene History Of The Penobscot River In The Penobscot Lowland, Maine, Roger Leb. Hooke, Paul R. Hanson, Danile F. Belknap, Alice R. Kelley

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

When the Laurentide ice sheet retreated rapidly (~150 m/a) across the Penobscot Lowland between ~16 and ~15 ka, the area was isostatically depressed and became inundated by the sea. Silt and clay were deposited, but no significant moraines or deltas were formed. The Penobscot River was reborn at ~14 ka when ice retreated onto land in the upper reaches of the river’s East Branch. As isostatic rebound exceeded sea level rise from melting ice, the river extended itself southward. Between ~13.4 and 12.8 ka, it established a course across marine clay and underlying glacial till in the Lowland. Its gradient …

Investigating Coastal Erosion Variability And Framework Geology Influence Along The Grand Strand, South Carolina, Aundrea Marie Dolan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing erosional pressures along coastal systems require a better understanding of the mechanisms of natural and human-induced alterations. This is especially important in sediment-starved coastal systems where the effects from geologic framework may exert a disproportionate influence on shoreline behavior. Existing studies into geologic framework and shoreline variability are comprehensive and well documented; yet analysis into the spatial relationships between shoreline variability, lower shoreface morphodynamics, and framework in South Carolina is limited. The Grand Strand region of South Carolina has an extensive set of geophysical data, such as CHIRP seismic, sidescan sonar, borehole logs, and inner shelf cores. In addition, …

Reconstructing Late Pleistocene And Holocene Paleoenvironments Using Playa-Lunette System Sediments Within The Harney Basin Of Southeastern Oregon, Usa, Joe Collins

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Paleoenvironmental investigations of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene in the Harney Basin of eastern Oregon have been limited to date. This Dissertation investigates and links the stratigraphy of Rimrock Draw Rockshelter (35HA3855) (RDR) and two surrounding playas, Rimrock Lake and Hay Lake, located on the western margin of the Harney Basin, in order to identify paleoenvironmental shifts during the last ~20 kyr. An emphasis also is given to demonstrating the potential for playas in the Harney Basin to record changes in paleoclimate, as well as the application of multivariate statistics to interpret paleoenvironments from sedimentary grain size data. Stratigraphy …

New Hampshire Beaches: Sediment Characterization, Larry G. Ward, Kaitlyn A. Mcpherran, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Maxlimer Coromoto Vallee-Anziani

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The grain size of the natural sediment composing the major New Hampshire beaches under summer equilibrium conditions was determined as a first step in assessing the optimal sediment size that would be needed for beach nourishment. In summer, 2015, seven major beaches including Wallis Sands, Foss Beach, Jenness Beach, North Hampton Beach, North Beach, Hampton Beach, and Seabrook Beach were sampled along three to five transects extending from the dunes or engineering structures (e.g., seawalls) to the low water line. In addition, the beach cross-section was profiled using a rover GPS system or the Emery method (profile rods and the …

Assessing Shoreline Change And Vegetation Cover Adjacent To Back-Barrier Shoreline Stabilization Structures In Georgia Estuaries, Katherine R. Wakefield

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Anthropogenic stabilization of erosional shorelines by hard-armoring structures is used for protection of property, especially if buildings, historical monuments, cultural resources, or other infrastructure are present. The post-installation effects of shoreline stabilization structures on adjacent shorelines in the back-barrier marshes of coastal Georgia are a concern, and interest in living shorelines as erosion control devices has increased because of their use of natural materials and vegetation. AMBUR shoreline analysis software was used to calculate pre-and post-installation shoreline change rates of shorelines adjacent to riprap and bulkhead structures. There was no significant difference between the post-installation shoreline change rates of the …

Automatic Detection And Quantification Of Bluff Erosion Events In Single Image Series, Martin D. Hellwig

Graduate Masters Theses

Many communities along coastlines and riverbanks are threatened by water erosion and hence an accurate model to predict erosion events is needed in order to plan mitigation strategies. Such models need to rely on readily available meteorological data that may or may not be correlated with the occurrence of erosion events. In order to accurately study these potential correlations, researchers need a quantified time series index indicating the occurrence and magnitude of erosion in the studied area. We show that such an index can be obtained by creating and analyzing a single image series using relatively cheap consumer grade digital …

Debris Flow Susceptibility Map For Mount Rainier, Washington Based On Debris Flow Initiation Zone Characteristics From The November, 2006 Climate Event In The Cascade Mountains, Kassandra Lindsey

Dissertations and Theses

In November 2006 a Pineapple Express rainstorm moved through the Pacific Northwest generating record precipitation, 22 to 50 cm in the two-day event on Mt. Rainier. Copeland (2009) and Legg (2013) identified debris flows in seven drainages in 2006; Inter Fork, Kautz, Ohanapecosh, Pyramid, Tahoma, Van Trump, and West Fork of the White River. This study identified seven more drainages: Carbon, Fryingpan, Muddy Fork Cowlitz, North Puyallup, South Mowich, South Puyallup, and White Rivers. Twenty-nine characteristics, or attributes, associated with the drainages around the mountain were collected. Thirteen were used in a regression analysis in order to develop a susceptibility …

Apparent Glacially Induced Structural Controls On Limestone Conduit Development In Ohio Caverns, United States, Adrienne M. Watts, Ira D. Sasowsky

International Journal of Speleology

Rock discontinuities such as bedding planes and joints are important controls on the form that caves take. We examined structural controls on the development of Ohio Caverns. The cave formed in Devonian limestone underlying a small bedrock knob (Mt. Tabor) within the Interior Lowland province, United States. The area has been overridden by continental glaciation multiple times. The bedrock is pervasively fractured, with many curved and wavy near-vertical fractures showing many different orientations. In the case of Ohio Caverns, it appears that the controlling fractures in map view may not be joints sensu stricto, but rather some combination of …

Submarine Channel Evolution Linked To Rising Salt Dome, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf Of Mexico, Rachel C. Carter

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

By examining halokinetics and channel evolution in a deep-water system, we investigate how submarine channel morphology is affected by changing seascape linked to diapirism. The study area is located in Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico (GOM), situated directly off the continental slope in a prominent salt dome region. Interactions of salt domes with submarine channels in the GOM are poorly documented. Utilizing 3D seismic data and seismic geomorphology techniques, a long-lived Plio-Pleistocene submarine channel system has been investigated to develop a relationship between variable phases of salt movement and plan-form morphology of preserved channels.

We suggest that halokinetics acts as …

Quaternary Chronology And Stratigraphy Of Mickey Springs, Oregon, Leslie Allen Mowbray

Dissertations and Theses

Mickey Springs in the Alvord Desert, southeast Oregon, is analogous to other Basin and Range hydrothermal systems where the requisite conditions of heat source and permeable pathways are met through crustal thinning due to normal faulting. This study examines the morphology and lifespan of near-surface spring features through use of ground penetrating radar, thermoluminescence (TL) dating, and elevation modeling. Duration of hydrothermal activity at Mickey Springs has not previously been determined, and age determinations of sinter at the site are conflicting. The reason for and timing of this change in silica saturation in the hydrothermal fluid has not been resolved. …

The Genesis Of A Lava Cave In The Deccan Volcanic Province (Maharashtra, India), Nikhil R. Pawar, Amod H. Katikar, Sudha Vaddadi, Sumitra H. Shinde, Sharad N. Rajaguru, Sachin V. Joshi, Sanjay P. Eksambekar

International Journal of Speleology

Lava tubes and channels forming lava distributaries have been recognized from different parts of western Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP). Openings of smaller dimension have been documented from the pāhoehoe flows around Pune, in the western DVP. A small lava cave is exposed in Ghoradeshwar hill, near Pune. Detailed field studies of the physical characteristics, structure and morphology of the flows hosting the lava tube has been carried out. This is the first detailed documentation of a lava cave from the DVP. The lava cave occurs in a compound pāhoehoe flow of Karla Formation, characterized by the presence of lobes, toes …