Geophysics and Seismology Commons^™

Georgetown Lake Seismic Survey, Timothy Clayton Rodriguez

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

A near surface seismic survey was performed in order to locate the Georgetown Thrust Fault. The location of the thrust fault relative to Georgetown Lake has been previously proposed by field mapping methods (Lonn et al.,2004). A seismic survey could be useful to identify the thrust fault because of possible geologic discontinuities at the boundaries of the thrust fault that could give rise to diffraction energy indicative of the presence of those discontinuities. The Montana Tech summer field camp recorded a seismic survey along the southern edge of Georgetown Lake. This report focuses on the optimal processing methods for near …

Zircon U-Pb Ages And Hf Isotopes Of The Askot Klippe, Kumaun, Northwest India: Implications For Paleoproterozoic Tectonics, Basin Evolution And Associated Metallogeny Of The Northern Indian Cratonic Margin, Subhadip Mandal, Delores M. Robinson, Matthew J. Kohn, Subodha Khanal, Oindrila Das, Sukhanjan Bose

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Throughout the Himalayan thrust belt, klippen of questionable tectonostratigraphic affinity occur atop Lesser Himalayan rocks. Integrated U-Pb ages, Hf isotopic, and whole rock trace element data establish that the Askot klippe, in northwest India, is composed of Paleoproterozoic lower Lesser Himalayan rocks, not Greater Himalayan rocks, as previously interpreted. The Askot klippe consists of 1857 ± 19 Ma granite-granodiorite gneiss, coeval 1878 ± 19 Ma felsic volcanic rock, and circa 1800 Ma Berinag quartzite, representing a small vestige of a Paleoproterozoic (circa 1850 Ma) continental arc, formed on northern margin of the north Indian cratonic block. Detrital zircon from Berinag …

Evaluation Of Glaciogenic Cloud Seeding Using Trace Chemistry, James M. Fisher, Marion L. Lytle, Shawn G. Benner

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Glaciogenic cloud seeding with silver iodide (AgI) has been used to enhance precipitation for over 60 years. Assessments of AgI impact and dispersion are often quantified using atmospheric processes models with impact assessed by comparing models with and without the inclusion of cloud seeding modules. However, there is inherent uncertainty in these models. Quantifying AgI distribution in the snowpack following cloud seeding can both validate and improve model performance. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the capacity to document the dispersion of AgI by measuring silver (Ag) enrichments in snow.

This study develops clean field and laboratory procedures …

Stratigraphic Analysis Of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Using Magnetic Susceptibility, Geochemical Comparison, And Gamma Ray Spectroscopy, Jennifer Kenyon

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Crop Modeling For Assessing And Mitigating The Impacts Of Extreme Climatic Events On The Us Agriculture System, Zhenong Jin

Open Access Dissertations

The US agriculture system is the world’s largest producer of maize and soybean, and typically supplies more than one-third of their global trading. Nearly 90% of the US maize and soybean production is rainfed, thus is susceptible to climate change stressors such as heat waves and droughts. Process-based crop and cropping system models are important tools for climate change impact assessments and risk management. As data- science is becoming a new frontier for agriculture growth, the incoming decade calls for operational platforms that use hyper-local growth monitoring, high-resolution real-time weather and satellite data assimilation and cropping system modeling to help …

Present Day Plate Boundary Deformation In The Caribbean And Crustal Deformation On Southern Haiti, Steeve Symithe

Open Access Dissertations

The Caribbean plate and its boundaries with North and South America, marked by subduction and large intra-arc strike-slip faults, are a natural laboratory for the study of strain partitioning and interseismic plate coupling in relation to large earth- quakes. In this work, I use the available campaign and continuous GPS measurements in the Caribbean to derive a regional velocity field expressed in a consistent reference frame. I use this velocity field as input to a kinematic model where surface velocities result from the rotation of rigid blocks bounded by locked faults accumulating inter- seismic strain, while allowing for partial locking …

Gps Constraints On Interplate Locking Within The Makran Subduction Zone, Elyse Frohling, Walter Szeliga

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The Makran subduction zone is one of the last convergent margins to be investigated using space-based geodesy. While there is a lack of historical and modern instrumentation in the region, a sparse sampling of continuous and campaign measurements over the past decade has allowed us to make the first estimates of convergence rates. We combine GPS measurements from 20 stations located in Iran, Pakistan and Oman along with hypocentral locations from the International Seismological Centre to create a preliminary 3-D estimate of the geometry of the megathrust, along with a preliminary fault-coupling model for the Makran subduction zone. Using a …

Crustal And Upper-Mantle Structure Beneath Ice-Covered Regions In Antarctica From S-Wave Receiver Functions And Implications For Heat Flow, C. Ramirez, Andrew A. Nyblade, S. E. Hansen, Douglas A. Wiens, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Richard C. Aster, Audrey D. Huerta, Partick Shore, Terry Wilson

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

S-wave receiver functions (SRFs) are used to investigate crustal and upper-mantle structure beneath several ice-covered areas of Antarctica. Moho S-to-P (Sp) arrivals are observed at ~6–8 s in SRF stacks for stations in the Gamburtsev Mountains (GAM) and Vostok Highlands (VHIG), ~5–6 s for stations in the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) and the Wilkes Basin (WILK), and ~3–4 s for stations in the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS) and the Marie Byrd Land Dome (MBLD). A grid search is used to model the Moho Sp conversion time with Rayleigh wave phase velocities from 18 to 30 s period to estimate crustal …

Upper Mantle Structure Of Central And West Antarctica From Array Analysis Of Rayleigh Wave Phase Velocities, David S. Heeszel, Douglas A. Wiens, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Richard C. Aster, Ian W.D. Dalziel, Audrey D. Huerta, Andrew A. Nyblade, Terry J. Wilson, J. Paul Winberry

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The seismic velocity structure of Antarctica is important, both as a constraint on the tectonic history of the continent and for understanding solid Earth interactions with the ice sheet. We use Rayleigh wave array analysis methods applied to teleseismic data from recent temporary broadband seismograph deployments to image the upper mantle structure of central and West Antarctica. Phase velocity maps are determined using a two–plane wave tomography method and are inverted for shear velocity using a Monte Carlo approach to estimate three-dimensional velocity structure. Results illuminate the structural dichotomy between the East Antarctic Craton and West Antarctica, with West Antarctica …

Carbon Isotope Discrimination In C3 Land Plants Is Independent Of Natural Variations In PCo2, M. J. Kohn

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The δ¹³C of terrestrial C3 plant tissues and soil organic matter is important for understanding the carbon cycle, inferring past climatic and ecological conditions, and predicting responses of vegetation to future climate change. Plant δ¹³C depends on the δ¹³C of atmospheric CO₂ and and mean annual precipitation (MAP), but an unresolved decades-long debate centres on whether terrestrial C3 plant δ¹³C responds to p_CO2. In this study, the p_CO2-dependence of C3 land plant δ¹³C was tested using isotopic records from low- and high-p_{CO …}

Advancements In The Measurement Of The Cryosphere Using Geophysics — Introduction, Andrew D. Parsekian, John Bradford, Georgios Tsoflias, Steven Arcone, Bernd Kulessa

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Frozen regions of the earth are known as the cryosphere. The arctic, Antarctica, permafrost, ice sheets, and glaciers are some of the most challenging places to measure subsurface parameters, but they can also be some of the most important places to science and engineering research due to their susceptibility to environmental change. Ground-based, airborne, and space-borne geophysical methods are deployed to observe targets below the ground or in ice that may be difficult or impossible to measure using conventional direct observations and measurements. The papers in this special section address recent advances in instrumentation development and deployment and computational capabilities …

Stratigraphy, Sedimentology And Reservoir Modeling Of The Late Devonian Berea Sandstone/Siltstone In Northeastern Kentucky And Southeastern Ohio, Forrest Christopher Mattox

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Berea Sandstone is a Late Devonian unit that interfingers with and overlies the Bedford Shale. In the study area, the Bedford-Berea sequence averages 120 feet thick based on geophysical logs. The Bedford Shale makes up roughly 45 feet of the interval and the Berea Sandstone makes up the remaining 75 feet. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have caused the Berea to become one of the largest oil producing formations in Kentucky to date. Depositional models proposed for the Bedford-Berea sequence fail to explain the vertical successions of sedimentary structures observed in outcrop and thickness patterns within the subsurface. Thus, …

Muang Rae Geothermal System: Drilling And Borehole Geophysics, 1000-M Core Hole Into Granitic Rock, Amphoe Pai, Mae Hong Son Province, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Kriangsak Pirarai, Aranya Fuangswasdi, Wiboon Kaentao, Albert Waibel, Fongsaward S. Singharajwarapan

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2015, a 1-km core hole was drilled into granitic rock at the Muang Rae geothermal area. Previous drilling in 1993 to 200 m was unsuccessful in obtaining flows, but one of the “dry” wells began flowing in August, 2013 at 9.75 L/s of 96.9°C water from a fracture zone 80 m deep. In the sandy bed of the Pai River, 150 m south of that well is a 600-m long line of hot seeps, oriented NE, with highest temperature measured at 94.5°C. Geology is foliated Triassic (?) granitic rock cut by a NE-SW-trending normal fault zone (dip 65° NW) …

Experimental Study Of The Flow Of Ferrofluid In A Porous Media Under A Magnetic Field, Muskaan Khurana

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research presents results from a laboratory-scale experimental setup that was designed to visualize the behavior of ferrofluid percolation through a porous media. Ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions made of magnetic particles of a few nanometers and stabilized in carrier liquids like water or mineral oil. Ferrofluids get magnetized and align themselves in the direction of a magnetic field when a field gradient is applied.

With the help of this experiment we investigate the viability of controlling fluid flow in porous medium by a magnetic field in vicinity. The experiments show that ferrofluids can be used as a transporting media to …

Reservoir Estimation In The Penobscot 3d Seismic Volume Using Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion, Offshore Nova Scotia, Canada, Mengchu Xiao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Penobscot study area is located offshore Nova Scotia, Canada. There are two wells, which penetrate the highest potentially commercial bodies in the Abenaki Formation. In order to investigate the potential for locating additional hydrocarbon reservoirs, well log data was used and the Penobscot 3D seismic dataset was analyzed using Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion. From the well log data, low GR and SP values are an indication of a permeable sand layer, which provides the target zone in this study. Impedance – porosity crossplots gave the relationship between impedance and porosity, where a low impedance sand layer is correlated with …

Climatic Cycles Recorded In Glacially Influenced Rhythmites Of The Gowganda Formation, Huronian Supergroup, Tim S. Howe, Patricia L. Corcoran, Fred Longstaffe, Elizabeth A. Webb, R Gerhard Pratt

Earth Sciences Publications

The Gowganda Formation of the 2.45–2.2 Ga Huronian Supergroup contains glacially-induced, varve-like rhythmites that potentially preserve a detailed record of climatic conditions during the Paleoproterozoic Era. Four rhythmic couplet thickness records were measured at two outcrops near Wharncliffe, Ontario for the purpose of time-series analysis. The couplets, which range from 1 to 32 mm thick, are composed of alternating layers of siltstone and claystone. Time-series analysis of the couplet thickness records using the MTM Toolkit of Mann and Lees (1996) consistently revealed periodicities in the range of 2.2–2.9 couplets per cycle, which is consistent with climatic cycles such as the …

Disaster Prevention Literacy Among School Administrators And Teachers: A Study On The Plan For Disaster Prevention And Campus Network Deployment And Experiment In Taiwan, Sung-Chin Chung, Cherng-Jyh Yen

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Taiwan is located at the high-risk region of natural disasters with the frequently occurred earthquakes. The importance of the disaster prevention education on campus is made even more obvious by the fact that natural disasters often occur during the school days. Given the leading roles the school administrators and teachers playing in the disaster prevention education of their pupils, this study purposed to investigate how disaster prevention literacy was among them and how disaster prevention literacy differed across various background variables of them. Furthermore, the current study also examined if disaster prevention literacy changed by participation in the disaster prevention …

Integrated Geophysical Approach Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography And Multichannel Analysis Of Surface Wave In Assessing Wilson Spring Development, Ibrahim E. Ahmed

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research investigated fractured zones leading to preferential flow paths of Wilson Spring. In this context, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data and multi-channel analyses of surface waves (MASW) data were acquired at studied site with the purpose of mapping a variable depth to top of bedrock and geological structures.

Interpretation of the boreholes, MASW, and ERT data indicated that a depth to top of rock does vary significantly at the studied site due to many solution-widened fractures. Multiple near-vertical solution-widened fractures were mapped in the studied site based on the interpretation of the ERT data. The mapped solution-widened fractures appear …

The Martian Surface Radiation Environment- A Comparison Of Models And Msl/Rad Measurements, Daniel Matthiä, Bent Ehresmann, Henning Lohf, Jan Köhler, Cary Zeitlin, Jan Appel, John W. Wilson

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Context: The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has been measuring the radiation environment on the surface of Mars since August 6th 2012. MSL-RAD is the first instrument to provide detailed information about charged and neutral particle spectra and dose rates on the Martian surface, and one of the primary objectives of the RAD investigation is to help improve and validate current radiation transport models.

Aims: Applying different numerical transport models with boundary conditions derived from the MSL-RAD environment the goal of this work was to both provide predictions for the particle spectra and the radiation …

Kinds Of Volcanoes, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

By definition, a volcano is a conical structure that builds around a volcanic vent. A volcanic vent is an opening from which molten rock and gases erupt. According to the definition, there is no size requirement. There are volcanoes that you can span with your legs while on the other hand, there is Mt. Fiji.