Geophysics and Seismology Commons^™

Results Of Archaeogeophysical Surveying At The Great Friends Meeting House In Newport, Rhode Island, John M. Steinberg, Brian N. Damiata, John W. Schoenfelder, Kathryn A. Catlin, Christine Campbell

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Archaeogeophysical surveys were carried out in October 2010 over a 30 x 50 m grid that was established immediately to the north and west of the north end of the Great Friends Meeting House (GFMH) in Newport, RI. The surveys were conducted using a Geonics EM-38 RT ground conductivity meter and a Malå X3M Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system that was equipped with 500 and 800 MHz antennas. In addition, a resistance survey was performed over a much smaller central area using a Geoscan RM15 resistance meter. From this work three types of geophysical anomalies have been identified: those associated …

Crustal Structure And Evolution Beneath The Colorado Plateau And The Southern Basin And Range Province, Lamuail Bashir

Doctoral Dissertations

"Stacking of about 15,500 P-to-S receiver functions recorded at 72 USArray and other broadband seismic stations placed on the Colorado Plateau and the SBRP in Arizona revealed systematic spatial variations in crustal Vp/Vs, crustal thickness and amplitude of P-to-S converted phases. Our results reveal that the BRP is characterized by a thin crust (28.2 ± 0.5 km), a mean Vp/Vs of 1.761 ± 0.014 and a mean amplitude (R) of P - to - S converted wave (relative to that of the direct P wave) of 0.181 ± 0.014 that are similar to a typical continental crust, consistent with the …

Apparent Weekly And Daily Earthquake Periodicities In The Western United States, And Evolution Of Wadi Kubbania In Egypt, Ali Hadi Atef

Doctoral Dissertations

"The dissertation consists of two separate sections. The first section is on apparent daily and weekly periodicities in earthquake occurrence in the western United State [sic]. Analysis of Apparent Seismicity Rate (ASR) in the western United States confirmed the existence of prominent spectral peaks with a period of 1 and 7 days. The number of recorded earthquakes on Sundays for the duration of 1963-2008 is about 5% higher than that on weekdays, and, more significantly, there is a 9% increase of ASR in the early morning compared with that in the middle of the days. Significant similarities between the spatial …

Encyclopedia Of Snow, Ice And Glaciers, Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

The objective of this encyclopedia is to present the current state of scientific understanding of various aspects of earth’s cryosphere – snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, ice shelves, sea ice, river and lake ice, and permafrost – and their related interdisciplinary connections under one umbrella. Therefore, every effort has been made to provide a comprehensive coverage of cryosphere by including a broad array of topics, such as the atmospheric processes responsible for snow formation; snowfall observations; snow cover and snow surveys; transformation of snow to ice and changes in their properties; classification of ice and glaciers and their worldwide …

Timing, Distribution, Amount, And Style Of Cenozoic Extension In The Northern Great Basin, Christopher D. Henry, Allen J. Mcgrew, Joseph P. Colgan, Arthur W. Snoke, Matthew E. Brueseke

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

This field trip examines contrasting lines of evidence bearing on the timing and structural style of Cenozoic (and perhaps late Mesozoic) extensional deformation in northeastern Nevada. Studies of metamorphic core complexes in this region report extension beginning in the early Cenozoic or even Late Cretaceous, peaking in the Eocene and Oligocene, and being largely over before the onset of “modern” Basin and Range extension in the middle Miocene. In contrast, studies based on low- temperature thermochronology and geologic mapping of Eocene and Miocene volcanic and sedimentary deposits report only minor, localized extension in the Eocene, no extension at all in …

Detection Of The 2010 Chilean Tsunami Using Satellite Altimetry, B. D. Hamlington, R. R. Leben, O. A. Godin, J. F. Legeais, E. Gica, V. V. Titov

CCPO Publications

Tsunamis are difficult to detect and measure in the open ocean because the wave amplitude is much smaller than it is closer to shore. An effective early warning system, however, must be able to observe an impending tsunami threat far away from the shore in order to provide the necessary lead-time for coastal inhabitants to find safety. Given the expansiveness of the ocean, sensors capable of detecting the tsunami must also have very broad areal coverage. The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami was definitively detected in the open ocean from both sea surface height and sea surface roughness measurements provided by satellite …

Lithospheric Control On The Spatial Pattern Of Azores Hotspot Seafloor Anomalies: Constraints From A Model Of Plume-Triple Junction Interaction, Jennifer E. Georgen

OES Faculty Publications

The Azores hotspot is located near a plate boundary triple junction (TJ) consisting of the Terceira Rift (TER) and two branches of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The seafloor expression of the Azores hotspot has a complex spatial pattern. Latitudinal anomalies in seafloor depth and other data along the MAR extend farther to the south of the inferred location of the mantle heterogeneity than to the north. Longitudinal anomalies span a greater distance to the east of the MAR (along the TER) than to the west. A finite element model is used to investigate how the divergence of three plates away …

Applied Palynology: Multidisciplinary Case Studies From Egypt, Gulf Of Mexico And Usa, Mohamed K. Zobaa

Doctoral Dissertations

"Various applications of palynology have been used to study case studies from four different parts of the world, namely northern Egypt, offshore Gulf of Mexico, eastern Tennessee (USA), and New Orleans, Louisiana (USA). In these case studies, palynomorphs (spores, pollen, dinoflagellate cysts, and algae) have been utilized to define zones of hydrocarbon potential, reconstruct paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions, constrain the ages of the studied rock sequences, and express its potential as a replacement proxy for some expensive organic geochemical analyses. The ability to detect past hurricane activities and their associated damage to the geologic record is here presented as a …

The Sorption Of Chemical And Nuclear Contaminants From Soil And Water Using Nanosize Particles Of Hydroxyapatite, Chyrene Joseph

Masters Theses

"High surface area (>200 m²/g) crystals composed of nanosize (30-50nm) hydroxyapatite; (Ca₅(PO₄)₃OH) particles are being investigated as an alternative in cleaing [sic] contaminated groundwater and soil by removing toxic wastes and radionuclides. Static batch tests were carried out at 2, 4, 8, 24 and 120 hour time periods by reacting hydroxyapatite with individual solutions prepared with specific elements to evaluate the applicability of hydroxyapatite in removing potential contaminants. Chemical analyses on leachant solutions, leachate solutions, and post-reaction digested solids were conducted by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy to determine the extent of ion removal. Removal of these ions is expected …

Morpho-Tectonic Analysis Of The Tekeze And The Blue Nile Drainage Systems Of Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau, Ethiopia, Elamin Hassan Dai Ismail

Masters Theses

"This study examines the morpho-tectonic evolution of the drainage system in the northwestern Ethiopian plateau by focusing on the Tekeze and the Blue Nile Rivers. The plateau is underlain by Precambrian crystalline rocks, overlain by Mesozoic sedimentary section that is topped with a 1-3 km thick pile of Oligocene-Quaternary volcanic rocks. It is bounded in the east and southeast by the Afar Depression (AD) and the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). Satellite derived Digital Elevation Models are analyzed using ArcGIS and RiverTools to extract morpho-tectonic parameters of tributaries of the Tekeze and Blue Nile Rivers including Normalized Steepness Index (K_{sn …}

The Origin Of Quartz Glomerocrysts: Insights From The Rhyolite Dike At Medicine Park, Ok, Sedeg Ahmed E. Ahmed

Masters Theses

"The origin of quartz glomerocrysts a distinctive petrographic feature of the rhyolite dike in Medicine Park, Oklahoma, was investigated using transmitted light and cathodoluminescence microscopy to determine if quartz glomerocrysts formed during quartz crystallization or during quartz dissolution. Quartz glomerocrysts are typically comprised of two to six individual phenocrysts of quartz and commonly exhibit subhedral partially embayed crystal forms with very rare euhedral phenocrysts in both glomerocrysts and individual quartz phenocrysts. The size range of the individual quartz phenocrysts are 0.08mm to 1.7mm while the size range is 0.08mm to 3.25mm for quartz glomerocrysts . Cathodoluminescence revealed that individual quartz …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Multi-Spectral Remote Sensing Data For Lithological Mapping In Arid Regions: A Quantitative Approach With Examples From The Makkah Neoproterozoic Region, Saudi Arabia, Nawwaf Awad Al Muntshry

Masters Theses

"This work quantitatively evaluates the effectiveness of multi-spectral remote sensing data for geological mapping in arid regions. For this, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data covering part of the Neoproterozoic Arabian Shield around the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia are used. The Makkah region is dominated by a variety of layered and intrusive rocks covered by unconsolidated sediments. The Landsat TM data have six spectral bands in the visible and near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) with thirty meters spatial resolution.

The Optimum Index Factor (OIF) has been computed to determine the best Red-Green-Blue (RGB) band combination emerging from the …

Geological And Geomorphological Evolution Of The Egyptian Nile Between Aswan And Kom Ombo: A Remote Sensing And Field Study Approach, Leslie Lansbery

Masters Theses

"This work uses field and remote sensing studies to examine structural controls of the Egyptian Nile between Aswan and Kom Ombo (referred here to as AKN). This segment of the Egyptian Nile incises through Cretaceous Nubian sandstone and Precambrian crystalline rocks separated by a shallowly-dipping to theN unconformity. It was only 0.8 Ma that the Egyptian Nile connected to the rest of the sub-Sahara Africa drainage system. Prior to this time, the Egyptian Nile evolved independently through 8 phases: Pre-Eonile (Ma), Eonile (6.0-5. 4 Ma), Gulf Phase (5.4-3.3 Ma), Paleonile Phase (3.3-1.8 Ma), Desert Phase (1.8-0.8 Ma), Prenile Phase (0.8-0.4 …

A Detailed Petrographic Analysis Of The Mt. Sheridan Roosevelt Gabbro And Associated Rock Types, Daniel Russell Lasco

Masters Theses

"The Mt. Sheridan Roosevelt Gabbro of the Wichita Mountains igneous province in Southwestern Oklahoma underwent dynamic crystallization, resulting in three distinct gabbro zones with a range of pegmatite morphologies spread throughout. The three zones are informally named the lower, central, and upper zones. The lower zone consists of a quartz and alkali feldspar poor, plagioclase and pyroxene rich, poorly altered, gabbro cumulate. The central zone is comprised of a heavily altered quartz and alkali feldspar rich gabbro with few cumulate textures. The upper zone is mineralogically and texturally identical to the lower zone, distinguished only by its higher elevation. The …

The Spatial Distribution Of Solar Radiation Under A Melting Arctic Sea Ice Cover, Karen E. Frey, Donald K. Perovich, Bonnie Light

Geography

The sea ice cover of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is currently undergoing a fundamental shift from multiyear ice to first-year ice. Field observations of sea ice physical and optical properties were collected in this region during June-July 2010, revealing unexpectedly complex spatial distributions of solar radiation under the melt-season ice cover. Based on our optical measurements of first-year ice, we found the under-ice light field in the upper ocean to be spatially heterogeneous and dependent on wavelength, ice thickness, and the areal and geometric distribution of melt ponded and bare ice surfaces. Much of the observed complexity in radiation …

Gpu Based Parallel Smoothing Of Seismic Tomography Models, Ivan Gris

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Three-dimensional models of the velocity structure of the Earth's crust are an important and relevant factor for several types of analyses across disciplines. Crustal velocity models are also commonly used to analyze and search for different materials of interest or to determine and differentiate many aspects of life on Earth during different eras.

Seismic tomography techniques, both in two and three dimensions, perform image reconstruction of the crust of the Earth. Seismic tomography algorithms can calculate crustal velocity structure through inversion of traveltimes of seismic waves produced by natural events, such as earthquakes, or controlled source experiments, such as explosions. …

Evidence Of Ancient Rifts Beneath Texas, Keisuke Irie

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Continental rifts are defined as geological features where Earth's lithosphere is pulled away by surface expansion of the Earth. Their physiographic features include linear rift valleys associated with active volcanism. Many rifts fail to split a continent and ancient rifts that failed to split can be found by using seismic waves to image these ancient structures. Using seismic data collected by EarthScope USArray stations in Texas, teleseismic receiver functions was calculated and utilized surface wave dispersion curves to simultaneously invert for the 2D velocity structure beneath each seismic station. EarthScope is a scientific program funded by NSF that provides geophysical …

An Integrated Geological And Geophysical Study Of The Fresh And Brackish Water Boundary In The Hueco Bolson, West Texas, Sandy Stephanie Marrufo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Hueco Bolson in West Texas is located in the Rio Grande rift basin and provides water to El Paso County, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) drilled many wells up to 1000 ft (305) m into this aquifer, which provide 40% of El Paso's water supply. Stratigraphy and sedimentation in active extensional basins have received little study because they are usually buried and this research helped document these processes. The study area within the West Texas region of the Hueco Bolson Aquifer (HBA) lies within a transition zone between the fresh and brackish water sections of …

Joint Geophysical Data Analysis For Geothermal Energy Exploration, Antony Munika Wamalwa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Geophysical data modelling often yields non-unique results and hence the interpretation of the resulting models in terms of underlying geological units and structures is not a straightforward problem. However, if multiple datasets are available for a region of study, an integrated interpretation of models for each of the geophysical data may results to a more realistic geological description. This study not only demonstrates the strength of resistivity analysis for geothermal fields but also the gains from interpreting resistivity data together with other geophysical data such as gravity and seismic data. Various geothermal fields have been examined in this study which …

Evaluating Suspended Dust Particulate Matter From Anthropogenically - Altered Lands, Roberto Velarde

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Substantial dust loads are transported from drylands including the Saharan, Asian, and Chihuahuan Desert deposits by localized to planetary-scale processes to nearby and distal sites. These dusts may carry harmful constituents. To evaluate dust movement patterns and characteristics relative to carried constituents, three studies are presented comprising (A) Localized displacement of uranium and progeny radionuclides from high-grade uranium ore storage piles at Peña Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico; (B) Long-distance transport of plutonium via Saharan and Asian aeolian pathways; and (C) Dust movement patterns in military maneuvering and non-maneuvering areas at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico. Study (A) evaluated surface …