Browsing W&L Dept. of Earth and Environmental Geoscience (formerly Geology) by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 28
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Analyzing the Relationships Between Aqueous Manganese and Geological Factors in Groundwater in the Shenandoah Valley (thesis)
Manganese (Mn) can be either harmful or beneficial to human health, depending on the phase and concentration that the element is found in. In recent years research has indicated that low level chronic exposure to aqueous ... -
Approximating Meteoric (10)Be Using the Concentration of Acid-Extractable Grain Coatings: A Case Study Tracing Erosion Depth on Dominica, Lesser Antilles (thesis)
Surface process studies on Dominica have emphasized landslide research in order to improve hazard mitigation, but a deficit exists in understanding the general geomorphic processes. The goal of this study is to characterize ... -
Aptian/Albian Sediment Volume and Accumulation Rates, Alaska North Slope and Beaufort Shelf, from Sequence Stratigraphic Interpretation and Modeling (thesis)
We present a regional sequence-stratigraphic interpretation of the Torok-Nanushuk clinothem in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPRA), Alaskan state lands and Beaufort shelf using 2-D seismic reflection data, ... -
Assessing the Impact of Soil on Manganese Contamination in Springs and Groundwater in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia (thesis)
A substantial fraction of the Shenandoah Valley, VA population relies on ground and spring water for domestic use. Manganese (Mn) is of particular concern in groundwater, as low-level chronic exposure to aqueous Mn ... -
Can Changes in the Larval Developmental Modes of Olivella in the Caribbean Neogene Be Used as a Reliable Productivity Proxy? (thesis)
The Closure of the Isthmus of Panama functions as an excellent natural experiment because of our knowledge of the geologic record and the changing environment that influence the temperature, salinity, nutrients, and ... -
Chronological Persistence of Acropora cervicornis at Coral Gardens, Belize (thesis)
Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral) is an important framework-building scleractinian coral that dominated many Caribbean reefs throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. Acropora spp. suffered collapse throughout the ... -
Dating of Lacustrine molluscan Subfossil Assemblages Using AAR Techniques to Contextualize the Introduction of Zebra Mussels to a Wisconsin Lake
In order to accurately track paleoecological change, researchers must first gain detailed knowledge of respective sample dates and thus the degree of time-averaging among those samples. Understanding the degree of ... -
The Effect of Amazon and Orinoco Rivers on the Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity Cycles off Barbados: A Record from Montastrea sp. and Siderastrea sp. Corals (thesis)
Four Mantastrea sp. coral cores and four Siderastrea sp. coral cores were collected from the west coast of Barbados in June-July 2009. Samples were cut [at] Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and x-rayed ... -
Estimating Soil Carbon Content of Grazing Lands in Rockbridge County, Virginia Using Statistical and Machine Learning Techniques (thesis)
In recent years, organizations have explored various methods of quantifying soil carbon to document carbon flux or provide economic incentive to farmers utilizing management practices that sequester carbon in their soil. ... -
An Experimental Determination of the Incorporation of Trace Metals into Calcite (thesis)
A new experimental method to synthesize calcite crystals via aqueous slow diffusion was used to examine the level of incorporation of six different trace metal (Co, Mn, Pb, Hg, As, Se) contaminants in calcite. The aqueous ... -
Geochemical Variability of Obsidian in Western New Mexico with Laboratory- Based pXRF (thesis)
Mule Creek and Mt. Taylor, located in southwestern and western New Mexico respectively, are obsidian source regions for archaeological lithic artifacts. Trace element concentrations can be used to distinguish obsidian from ... -
GeoEye-1 Multispectral Satellite Imagery Classification: An Accurate Method for Identifying Populations of Acropora spp. Corals Prior to a Field Study (thesis)
In recent decades Caribbean coral reefs have experienced drastic decline in live coral cover. Some of the main framework-building coral species Acropora cervicornis, Acropora palmata, and the new hybrid species Acropora ... -
Hf and Pb Isotope Data for Mafic Lava Flows from the Three Sisters and Newberry Regions of the Central Oregon Cascades (thesis)
The Cascade arc is an end member convergent margin in which the young and slowly subducting slab is hotter than in most subduction zones. Consequently, the timing and location of slab contribution, namely dehydration, is ... -
High Resolution Isotope Sclerochronology Reflects Seasonal Cycle Changes at Rocky Point, Belize Between the Last Interglacial and Present
The last Pleistocene interglacial period is thought to be characterized by warmer temperatures, higher precipitation, higher sea level and lower ice volume than today due to different orbital forcing parameters at that ... -
Impacts of Low-Head Dam Construction and Removal with Little Channel Sediment Storage: Case Study from the Maury River, Virginia
Dam removal projects are becoming more frequent as awareness of the negative ecological consequences increases and dams begin to fail. However, due to the potential threats of post-removal channel migration, bank erosion, ... -
Influence of Late Jurassic Inversion Structures on Sedimentary Basin Uplift, Chukchi Shelf, Offshore Alaska (thesis)
This thesis examines the existence of a reactivated fault interpreted to be an inversion structure associated with a Jurassic tectonic event in the Chukchi Shelf off the NW coast of Alaska. Brookian, Jurassic, Ellesmerian, ... -
Influence of the Kingak Formation Ultimate Shelf Margin on Frontal Structures of the Brooks Range in National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (thesis)
Well and seismic data in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) demonstrate that the Jurassic—Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale is present throughout NPRA. Several southward progradational depositional sequences within ... -
Kink-Band and Velocity-Boundary Interference (thesis)
The established techniques for constructing and restoring balanced cross sections using flexural slip work well for modeling simple faults and folds, but these methods show weaknesses when applied to more complicated ... -
Late Paleocene-Eocene Syn-Orogenic Fluvial Sedimentation and Detrital Fission Track Thermochronology of Laramide Syn-Orogenic Sediments, Denver Basin, CO (thesis)
This study investigates the Laramide foreland syn-orogenic sediments preserved in the Denver Basin, CO and interprets the Late Cretaceous-Eocene tectonic and climate history of Central Colorado. This thesis is divided into ... -
Mangrove Management Strategies for Social and Ecological Integrity
This research seeks to determine if mangrove restoration projects successfully contribute to improved ecological and social well-being in case-studies from three different countries: Colombia, Vietnam, and Kenya. By comparing ...