Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Keeping Pace With Relative Sea Level Rise: Marsh Platform Monitoring Shows Minimal Sediment Deficit Along The Louisiana Coast, Kelly Marie Sanks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent reports estimate that the marshes of the Mississippi Delta receive just 30% of the sediment necessary to sustain current land area1. An extensive monitoring campaign by the USGS and LCPRA provides direct measurements of sediment accumulation, subsidence rates, and deposit characteristics along the coast over the past 10 years2, allowing us to directly evaluate this sediment balance. By interpolating bulk density, organic fraction, and vertical accretion rates from 273 sites, a direct measurement of organic and inorganic sediment accumulation can be made. Results show that a total of 82 MT/year of sediment is delivered to the coast. Using a …

Crustal Seismic Anisotropy Of The Ruby Mountains Core Complex And Surrounding Northern Basin And Range, Justin T. Wilgus

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Metamorphic core complexes (MCC) are distinctive uplifts that expose deeply exhumed and deformed crustal rocks due to localized extensional deformation. Consequently, their detailed structure provide a window into deep crustal mechanics. The North American Cordillera contains numerous MCC, one of which is the Ruby Mountains core complex (RMCC) located in the highly extended northern Basin and Range. To constrain the extent to which anisotropy below the RMCC deviates from the regional Basin and Range average and test the depth dependence of crustal anisotropy we conduct a radial anisotropy investigation below the RMCC and surrounding northern Basin and Range. Data from …

A Regional Survey Of River-Plume Sedimentation On The Mississippi River Delta Front, Andrew J. Courtois

LSU Master's Theses

Many studies of the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) have shown historic declines in sediment load over the last few decades. Recent studies also reported that ~50% of the suspended load during floods is sequestered within the delta. While the impact of declining sediment load on wetland loss is relatively well documented, submarine sedimentary processes on the delta front during this recent period of are understudied. To better understand modern sediment dispersal and deposition across the Mississippi River Delta Front, 31 multicores were collected in June 2017 from locations extending offshore from the main river outlets in water depths of 25-280 …

Mass-Transport Deposits In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico And Their Implications For Hydrocarbon Exploration, Michael Raymond Arthur

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study investigates Mio-Pliocene mass-transport deposits (MTDs) in an understudied, hydrocarbon-rich region of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The research utilizes a high-quality 3D seismic dataset with an area of 635 km2, along with wireline logs and biostratigraphic data. With the help of quantitative seismic geomorphology techniques, detailed mapping of MTDs suggests a complex erosional and depositional history. Deposition of a MTD unit resulted in a 180 m topographic high that substantially influenced the distribution and morphology of subsequent MTDs, specifically the bifurcation of later mass-transport flows. This bifurcation contributed to the generation of a non-shielded erosional remnant with an …

Unroofing History Of The Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau: Insights From Low-Temperature Apatite Thermochronology, Shelby Bowden

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The geology of Ethiopia is dominated by the Ethiopian Plateau that is similar in elevation to, but aerially larger than, the Colorado Plateau. Several rivers have incised through the plateau, creating gorges that reach up to 1.5 km in depth. The plateau uplifted to its current elevation and was subsequently incised sometime after the Oligocene flood basalt event that signaled the arrival of the African Superplume below Kenya and Ethiopia. Due to its size and extent, published climate modeling has indicated that Late Cenozoic plateau formation could have been a driving force in the East African Cenozoic climate changes. Although …

New Insights Into Carboniferous Cyclothems. The Fourth Biennial Field Conference Of The American Association Of Petroleum Geologists (Aapg) Midcontinent Section Fourth Biennial Field Conference Abstracts And Guidebook, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Christopher R. Fielding

Conservation and Survey Division

The term “cyclothem” was coined by Wanless & Weller (1932) to describe repetitive stratigraphic successions of Carboniferous age in Illinois. Nonetheless, comparable rhythmicity had been identified in Carboniferous rocks both in the central and eastern USA, and in Europe during the preceding century. Cyclothems were found to comprise repetitive vertical successions of sandstones, heterolithic (thinly interbedded) sandstones and mudrocks, mudrocks, limestones, and coals, in many cases with pedogenic overprinting of these lithologies. As usage of the term “cyclothem” increased, so did the diversity of successions to which the term was applied, to the point where many geologists advocated abandonment of …

Linking Petrophysical And Geomechanical Characterization To Production Behavior In The Haynesville Shale, Silas O'Silas

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

In recent years, the Haynesville shale has become a target for natural gas exploitation, especially with the advent of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Located in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, it is believed to be one of the largest producing natural gas plays in the U.S., with estimated recoverable reserves of around 75 TCF according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2011). Current total daily production for the entire play is around 5.4 Bcf/d. The economic potential of the Haynesville shale gas play is propelled by recent gradual rebounds in natural gas prices, increased industrial utilization of gas, and …

The Occurrence Of The Greta Sandstone, Frio Formation (Late Oligocene), Texas Gulf Coastal Plain, Sean C. Kincade

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Greta sandstone is an informal lithostratigraphic unit of the upper Frio Formation (Oligocene) that occurs across the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain. The Greta sandstone has been known to geologists since it was first drilled in the 1930’s, yet there has been very little research into this un-depleted and overlooked reservoir. This study provides insights into the lateral distribution and reservoir facies of the Greta sandstone. The unit represents an aggradational to transgressive barrier sandstone package grading up to mud-rich open marine inner shelf deposits. The interval is easily recognizable in well logs based on its strong SP and Gamma-ray …

Review Of Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards And Risk Reduction In The Modern World, Kira H. Hamman

Numeracy

Timothy H. Dixon. 2017. Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards and Risk Reduction in the Modern World. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press) 300 pp. ISBN 978-1108113663.

In Curbing Catastrophe, Timothy H. Dixon explores commonalities among natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the meltdown at Fukushima. He identifies communication failure between scientists and policy makers as a major culprit in the devastation that results from such events and offers strategies for improving that communication. He includes optional in-depth scientific and quantitative examinations of the events and the resulting devastation, making the book appropriate for use …

Caveats To Exogenous Organic Delivery From Ablation, Dilution, And Thermal Degradation, Chris Mehta, Anthony Perez, Glenn Thompson, Matthew A. Pasek

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

A hypothesis in prebiotic chemistry argues that organics were delivered to the early Earth in abundance by meteoritic sources. This study tests that hypothesis by measuring how the transfer of organic matter to the surface of Earth is affected by energy-dissipation processes such as ablation and airbursts. Exogenous delivery has been relied upon as a source of primordial material, but it must stand to reason that other avenues (i.e., hydrothermal vents, electric discharge) played a bigger role in the formation of life as we know it on Earth if exogenous material was unable to deliver significant quantities of organics. For …

A Geophysical Delineation Of A Normal Fault Within The Gulf Coastal Plain, Montgomery County, Texas, Danielle Minteer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf Coast of Texas has been a known hydrocarbon basin for many years with various structural trapping mechanisms such as anticlines, faults and salt domes. While most large salt domes have been extensively studied in the Gulf Coastal Plain, many smaller normal faults have not been studied in detail. This research study employs an integrated geophysical approach to mapping the Big Barn fault in Montgomery County, Texas. This fault is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain and is approximately 20 miles north of Houston, Texas. Most normal faults in the Gulf Coastal Plain formed as a result of the …

Understanding The Late Mesoproterozoic Earth System From The Oldest Strata In Grand Canyon: C-Isotope Stratigraphy And Facies Analysis Of The 1254 Ma Bass Formation, Grand Canyon Supergroup, Az., Usa, Erin C. Lathrop

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rocks provide insight into ancient times before complex animals existed. The oldest sedimentary rocks in Grand Canyon (the Bass Formation) allow us to glimpse into what things might have been like over a billion years ago. These rocks record the time known as the Mesoproterozoic Era (1.6 to 1.0 billion years ago), otherwise known as the ‘boring billion’. These rocks are thought to be the right age to indicate the end of an oddly stable world when continents were quiet and life was calm, yet they predate younger rocks that record extreme events. The Bass Formation, some of the only …

Structural Cross Sections And Subsurface Maps Of The Atoka Formation In The Northern Arkoma Basin, Western And Northwestern Arkansas, David Nance

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is one of several peripheral foreland basins situated on the front of the Ouachita orogenic fold and thrust belt. The transition from the foredeep to the Ozark Plateaus is a short one in terms of latitude. The Atoka Formation in Arkansas comprises the bulk of the sediments in the Arkoma Basin. Three divisions of the Atoka Formation have been informally assigned as the Upper, Middle, and Lower based on differences in sedimentary response to tectonic processes that occurred during the formation and subsidence of the Arkoma Basin. In the Arkansas portion of the Arkoma Basin, the lower …

Structural Geology Of The Caddo Gap Area, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas, Martin Messmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Caddo Gap quadrangle is located on the southern margin of the Benton Uplift, the orogenic core of the Ouachita Mountains. Recent field mapping focused on delineating stratigraphic and structural relationships in the southern part of the quadrangle to improve existing reconnaissance-scale maps of the area. New structures were discovered that provide further information about the structural evolution of the Ouachita fold and thrust belt.

Field work included mapping the three informal members (Lower, Middle and Upper) of the Arkansas Novaculite. Major folds within the study area include the Nelson Mountain Anticline and two synclinal folds (“South Caddo Mountain” and …

Identifying Evidence For Explosive Volcanism On Mars Through Geomorphologic And Thermophysical Observations, Gabriel Cecilio Garcia

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Accurately identifying the products of explosive volcanism on Mars is critical for unraveling the evolution of the martian crust and interior. Recent work using high-resolution datasets suggest explosive volcanic processes may have dominated over effusive activity in early martian history. However, distinguishing the products of explosive volcanism from non-volcanic sediments remains challenging since both are similar in thermophysical and geomorphologic datasets.

The objective of this study is to identify geomorphologic and thermophysical characteristics of possible explosive volcanic deposits on Apollinaris Mons, one of the best-known candidates for explosive volcanism on Mars, using visible and thermal infrared imaging datasets. These geomorphic …

Grain Size Analysis Of Massie’S Creek Near Flax Pond And Community Park, Andrew R. Rivera

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The goal of this research is to better understand the stream bed conditions at the confluence of North Fork and South Fork Massie’s Creek next to Community Park in downtown Cedarville, OH. Stream depth as well as sediment type where determined as a result of field work done for this project. The depth data was then used to create a contour map of the pool behind the low-head dam that defines the lower boundary of the confluence area. Sediment distribution is represented on this map based on laboratory particle size analysis and gross piratical size analysis done in the field. …

Evaluation Of Academic And Social Engagement In A Technology-Based Collaborative Approach To Inclusive Geoscience Field Learning, Anita Marie Stone Marshall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Field learning is an important aspect of geoscience education to teach or reinforce concepts and skills, and the highly social experience of field work can improve learning outcomes, create networks to support future academic success, and promote a sense of belonging in the geosciences. However, field learning presents significant barriers to participation for students with physical disabilities. The introduction of digital data collection and communication devices into traditional field work settings has created new opportunities to expand access to field learning experiences such as remote collaboration; a method of undertaking field work through collaborative teamwork and the use of digital …

Mapping Bedrock Topography Of The Portage And Schoolcraft Nw 7.5’ Quadrangles, Kalamazoo Co. Mi, Using The Hvsr Passive Seismic Method, Benjamin B. Seiderman

Masters Theses

This study utilizes the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) technique to map bedrock topography in the Portage and Schoolcraft NW quadrangles, Kalamazoo Co., MI, looking for buried bedrock valleys. Glacial sediment-landform assemblages dominate the study area, due to multiple advances of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). Tunnel valleys, which are one type of buried valley, are eroded by subglacial meltwater and commonly filled with the coarser varieties of glacial outwash, making them potential aquifers. The HVSR technique measures the ratio of horizontal to vertical ground motion, excited by ambient seismic noise, resulting in a peak at the resonance frequency. …

Geologic Mapping Of The Bronson North And Bronson South 7.5-Minute Quadrangles, Branch County, Michigan, Karl John Backhaus

Masters Theses

This study contributes to a better understanding of the glacial history of southwest Michigan through detailed surficial geologic and bedrock topography mapping within the Bronson North and Bronson South Quadrangles in Branch County, Michigan. This project was supported during the summer of 2017 by the USGS EDMAP program in conjunction with the Michigan Geological Survey. Hand-auger borings, grain size analysis tests, passive seismic depth-to-bedrock measurements, and ground penetrating radar transects were collected for this study. There are 350 feet of bedrock relief from west to east across the quadrangles, including a bedrock cuesta of Mississippian Coldwater Shale. This cuesta underlies …

Geochemical And Petrological Investigation Of The Prospective Ni-Cu-Pge Mineralization At The Echo Lake Intrusion In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Usa, Alexander J. Koerber

Masters Theses

The Echo Lake Intrusion is located in Houghton and Ontonagon counties in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. The intrusion is approximately 200 m below the surface and covers approximately 18 km2 in lateral extent. It is associated with the magmatic activities of a 1.1 Ga geologic event called the Midcontinent Rift. The rift is responsible for the formation of Ni-Cu ± PGE deposits in the Lake Superior Region. Based on its association with the Midcontinent Rift and a Cu and PGE enriched layer, the Echo Lake intrusion is identified as a prospect for an economic magmatic sulfide deposit.

The …

Identifying The Origins Of Volcanic Ash Deposits Using Their Chemical And Physical Compositions, Emmanuel Soto

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent ocean sediments collected offshore Chile by Ocean Drilling Program Leg 202 contained layers of volcanic ash of unknown origin. These deposits may have originated from sources in the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) within the Andean Volcanic Belt to the east, or from explosive volcanoes in the southwestern Pacific transported by westerly prevailing winds. In this study, mineral and glass textures and compositions of Leg 202 ashes were evaluated to try to determine the sources of the ash layers. Ash fragments were imaged and analyzed for major elements using an SEM with X-Ray detector and for trace elements using LA-ICPMS. …

Effect Of A Pre-Existing Lattice Preferred Orientation On The Strength Of Quartzite, Casey Braccia

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Ductile deformation of the middle to lower crust during interseismic periods influences loading of brittle faults in the upper crust. Quartz is a common mineral in the middle to lower continental crust and is thought to significantly affect the strength of this zone. Quartz deformed by dislocation creep produces a crystallographic alignment of quartz grains, or lattice preferred orientation (LPO), because deformation is easier along specific crystallographic planes and directions. However, formation of a LPO may cause the strength of the quartz aggregates to be anisotropic, approaching the properties of a single crystal.

In order to determine the viscous anisotropy …

Geometry, Timing, And Kinematics Of Neogene Extensional And Transtensional Structures Of Southern Death Valley: Implications For Regional Reconstructions And A Corrective Method For Rigid Body Rotations, Zachariah Fleming

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chapter 1:Advancements in computing capabilities over the last decade have allowed for the routine creation of Structure from Motion-Multiview Stereo (SfM-MVS) terrain models that can serve as base for high resolution geologic mapping. Outcrops models developed from these systems are high-resolution, photo-realistic 3D base providing unprecedented capability for geometric analysis. Yet, before this technology becomes a mainstay of field geology, the potential errors associated with it must be well understood. Here, we compare orientation measurements from multi-point analyses on the SfM-MVS point clouds to those taken in the field with the objective of resolving the geometry of complex folds within …

Encrusting Sclerobiont Paleoecology And Bioerosion Of Oysters In The Type Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Of Southwestern France, Macy A. Conrad

Senior Independent Study Theses

The Campanian Stage of the Upper Cretaceous was established by Henri Coquand in 1857 based on a sequence of richly fossiliferous shallow water carbonates in the Charente and Charente-Maritime departments of southwestern France. One of the most common macrofossils is the gryphaeid oyster Pycnodonte vesicularis (Lamarck, 1806), which often forms extensive shell beds. This bivalve lived primarily on soft marly substrates, forming hard substrate islands. They frequently supported sclerobiont communities comprising encrusters (diverse cheilostome and cyclostome bryozoans, foraminiferans, oysters, bivalves, sabellid and serpulid polychaetes, calcareous sponges), borers (the sponge borings Entobia, the worm borings Maeandropolydora and Caulostrepsis, the barnacle borings …

Geochemical Modeling Of Fractional Magma Crystallization, Luke Varner

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

Modern day geologists use many different modeling programs such as Geospatial Information Systems in addition to R (programming language) for a wide array of applications such as: projecting collected data for mapping, visualization, and trend prediction. Computational power for these modeling programs is derived from Calculus, Probability, and Statistics. The purpose of this paper is to provide a site-specific geochemical analysis of an igneous rock formation composed of two specific compositions allowing for the predictions of rock formation derived from the resultant geochemical model.

An Inter-Watershed Comparison Study Of Bedrock Controls On Shallow Subsurface Flow And Streamflow Response, Robert Livesay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bedrock controls on watershed response have been actively studied in recent years, however, most conclusions are based on surface water analysis leaving unresolved questions about the nature of bedrock flow paths and ultimately their control on watershed response. In this study, we investigated bedrock controls on watershed response by simultaneously monitoring the hydrology of two adjacent watersheds underlain by dissimilar geologic formations (monzonite vs. meta-sandstone) and by characterizing subsurface conditions through bedrock drilling and fracture mapping. We hypothesized, when soils saturate, the underlying bedrock geology may influence the partitioning of shallow subsurface flow (SSF) between soil and bedrock flow paths, …

Conical Folds -- An Artifact Of Using Simple Geometric Shapes To Describe A Complex Geologic Structure, Avery Joseph Welker

Masters Theses

"Accurate representation of the 3D shapes of natural folds is essential to characterization of the dynamic models for fold formation. Geometrical analysis of folds commonly relies upon analyzing patterns defined by the variation in the orientation of poles to planar surfaces deformed by a shortening event when plotted using graphical calculators (e.g., stereogram, polar tangent diagrams) to interpret the shape of folds. Stereograms for which orientation data define small circles are classified as non-cylindrical regular folds and are interpreted as "conical folds," where the shape of the fold is represented by a cone that terminates at a point. Utilizing similar …

Future Nuisance Flooding In Norfolk, Va, From Astronomical Tides And Annual To Decadal Internal Climate Variability, A. G. Burgos, B. D. Hamlington, P. R. Thompson, R. D. Ray

OES Faculty Publications

Increasing sea level rise will lead to more instances of nuisance flooding along the Virginia coastline in the coming decades, causing road closures and deteriorating infrastructure. These minor flood events can be caused by astronomical tides alone, in addition to internal climate variability on annual to decadal timescales. An assessment of nuisance flooding from these two effects is presented up until the year 2050 for Norfolk, Virginia. The analysis of water levels indicates that nuisance flooding from tides alone in conjunction with a medium-high sea level scenario will result in flooding beginning in 2030 with frequency increasing thereafter. The addition …

Spatial And Temporal Characterization Of The Petrified Springs Fault, Central Walker Lane, Nevada: Documenting Middle Miocene Dextral Slip, Andrew Hoxey

All Master's Theses

The Central Walker Lane, NV is an active dextral shear zone superimposed on the western boundary of the Basin and Range extensional province. Approximately 25% of dextral shear along the Pacific-North American plate boundary accommodated in the Walker Lane, a NW-striking, intracontinental dextral fault system in eastern California- western Nevada. In the Central Walker Lane, shear is accommodated on five major NW- striking faults, one of which is the Petrified Springs fault, with poorly constrained slip magnitudes, slip rates, and initiation ages. We completed new detailed geologic mapping, combined with structural studies, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology document offset …

William Anderson.Jpg

Dr. William P. Anderson Jr.

No abstract provided.