La creciente automatización durante las últimas décadas ha ido invadiendo diversos ámbitos, tanto el científico, como el de la vida cotidiana. Esto no resulta ajeno en las Ciencias Geográficas. El incremento en el volumen y la complejidad de la información medio ambiental ha conducido al uso de las computadoras para el almacenamiento, manipulación y tratamiento de éstos. Entre las aplicaciones geográficas se tienen el empleo de sistemas de gestión de base de datos, aplicaciones estadísticas, la cartografía automatizada y lo más sofisticado se da en los Sistemas de Información Geográfica SIG. Son diversas las áreas y múltiples las aplicaciones de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica, así se tiene tanto en el ámbito del estudio del medio ambiente y recursos naturales, como en la Planificación urbana, Catastro, análisis de redes, análisis de mercado y Cartografía temática entre otras. Este documento contiene la experiencia de aplicación de un SIG en el caso concreto de la Micro-región del Colca, Caylloma (Arequipa). Se ha considerado conveniente dividir el presente trabajo en dos partes: l. Los Sistemas de Información Geográfica. 2. Aplicación a un caso concreto: Cuenca hidrográfica del Colca.   Recent automatisation of different aspects of scientific knowledge and practical  life forain are no to geography. The increment in volume, is well as complexity of environnemental data has favored computer use to keep, manipulate and process information. Among he software sed in geography, we have the data management systems, statistics programmes, automated cartography and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). They are many ways in the study of physical and human space where the GIS are applicable. This paper shows a sample of GIS application to the Colca basin in Cayllorna, Arequipa. Based on Cartography documents exports and field I have elaborated a general map of soil aptitude.

The Atascosa Lookout lava flow is a mid-Tertiary trachyandesite flow that caps the rhyolitic to dacitic volcanic sequence exposed in the Atascosa Mountains of southern Arizona. The flow erupted near the beginning of extension in the southern Basin and Range following the floundering of the Farallon plate and during the development of the San Andreas fault. The flow hosts a variety of disequilibrium crystals and textures including resorbed and overgrown feldspar phenocrysts with inclusion-rich zones, quartz-bearing enclaves, and clusters of plagioclase +/- chromium diopside, magnesian augite, quartz, hornblende, and orthopyroxene crystals and envelopes of contrasting composition with both the groundmass and the enclaves. Current evidence suggests that magma generation and differentiation commonly take place mainly in the lower crust and batches of magma are emplaced and equilibrate across a range of crustal levels. Crystallization depths and temperatures of various phases in the flow were obtained with new and revised geothermometers and geobarometers to examine the petrogenesis of the lava flow. Major elements of parental melts for most of the mineral phases were estimated using thermobarometry equilibrium tests and rare earth and trace element concentrations of parental melts of hornblendes and clinopyroxenes were calculated using known partition coefficients elements. Thermobarometry shows distinct ranges of temperatures and pressures for each component of the flow and calculated parental melts of various phases are distinct from one another. Orthopyroxenes crystallized at depths greater than 25 km, at the highest temperatures from the most mafic parent, estimated to be a picro-basalt. Clinopyroxenes crystallized at 11.5 – 30 km, lower temperatures and a more evolved parent of basalt or trachybasalt composition. Plagioclase crystallized throughout the crust from a range of intermediate melts and hornblendes crystallized 12 – 13 km from a parental melt similar in composition to the groundmass. This study demonstrates the lava flow hosts minerals that crystallized from different parent melts at various crustal levels. Extension and previous magmatism provided a rapid path for magma to ascend, subduing crustal assimilation and enhancing the probability of a diverse crystal cargo that retains the record of the plumbing system beneath a volcanic complex.

Two perspectives are debated in current United States water policy model development. One perspective calls for policy based on normative values, such as an environmental ethic. The second perspective calls for policy based on empirical, quantifiable values, for instance, economic benefits and costs. This theoretical debate arises from differing assumptions about what is problematic in contemporary water policy, and in turn gives rise to many water policy models. Developing such models ostensibly provides frameworks useful for developing real-world water policies. This paper proposes that these water policy models are not in fact useful frameworks for policy applications because the models do not accurately account for the actual circumstances confronting water policy makers. In order to illustrate this hypothesis, a comparison of two water policy models with a set of real-world policy circumstances is made here. The two models, each representing one of the dominant theoretical perspectives, are taken from David Lewis Feldman's Water resources manaiement: In search of an environmental ethic (1991) and Peter Rogers' America's water: Federal roles and responsibilities (1993). Feldman's model was selected to represent the normative perspective, and Rogers' model is selected to represent the empirical perspective. The real-world water policy circumstances selected for this study are those of Malheur Lake Basin, Oregon. This basin was selected because it provides the opportunity to consider a range of water policy issues and problems. This study shows that these two models do not offer adequate frameworks for applications. If water policy models are to provide useful frameworks for applications, model development must more closely consider actual cases.

Bibliography: pages 322-353. / The primary aim of this thesis is to document and explain the 10 000 BP AD 1800 history of the Thukela Basin hunter-gatherers. The primary information for this study comes from my excavation, between 1981 and 1984, of eight rock shelters in the upper Thukela catchment. My aims and theoretical orientation have altered substantially since the project's ,inception. They have changed from being concerned primarily with ecological phenomena to the reconstruction of a regional social history. As part of this redefinition I have developed a critique of South African Later Stone Age (LSA) studies from the early 1960s, arguing that the predominant, ecological, approaches of this period are inadequate in dealing with past human societies. My reasons for adopting a socially orientated historical approach concern the social relevance of archaeology, and the need to generate the best possible insights into past societies. I submit that historical materialism offers a very valuable framework for social historical analysis. The theoretical propositions germane to this study are presented. I then concentrate specifically on Thukela Basirr hunter-gatherer history. The periods dating to before and after 2000 BP are dealt with separately because of the arrival of farmers in the Thukela Basin around AD 500.

The deformation mechanisms responsible for the extension and rifting in Basin and Range extension over the past ~36 Ma, and their relative importance remain debated. Slab rollback, lithospheric body forces, and relative plate motions have all been shown to contribute, but the relative importance of each mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we build three-dimensional (3D) steady state geodynamic models to simulate the full tectonic reconstruction of Basin and Range extension and compare these results with known geologic field observations and other detailed reconstructions of surface deformation. Our modeling approximates lithospheric deformation through Stokes flow in a spherical cap of variable viscosities. By applying reconstructed boundary conditions, crustal thickness, and surface elevation at 17 Ma, and varying lithospheric viscosity we map out the predicted response of the surface motions and lower crustal flow for different assumed lithospheric viscosity contrasts and investigate the origin of core complex formation. Comparisons between predicted model deformation and geologic field observations from metamorphic core complexes and exposed fluorite deposits indicate: (1) The primary driving force of the formation of geologic features in the western US is regional gravitational collapse focused in the lower crust. Plate motions are second order by comparison at this time period and act to rotate velocities near the plate boundary. (2) A weak lower crust facilitates metamorphic core complex formation and extension in the Nevadaplano. Lateral extrusion of the lower crust serves as a mechanism for both core complex formation and the flattening of the Moho that is observed at present day. (3) Lower crustal flow is a contributes to the rotation and tilt of the Colorado Plateau and formation of the Rio Grande Rift.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Geomechanical analysis and integrity assessment of hydrocarbon reservoirs upon depletion and injection are crucial to ensure that CO2 storage projects can be safely implemented. The Bredasdorp Basin in South Africa has great potential for CO2 storage, given its hugely available exploration data. However, there has not been any geomechanical characterization carried out on this basin to determine its integrity issues. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of a carbon storage project in the E-M depleted gas field. The preliminary geological assessment demonstrates that Zone 2 and Zone 3 display acceptable injectivity for CO2 injection of the E-M gas field. Seismic lines display faults that could affect the caprock's integrity during depletion and carbon storage. Geomechanical characterization provides a guideline as to how geomechanical analysis of depleted fields can be done for a safe CO2 sequestration practice. The geomechanical model constructed at a depth of 2570 m indicated that the magnitudes of the principal vertical, minimum, and maximum horizontal stresses in the field are respectively 57 MPa, 41 MPa, and 42-46 MPa. Fault and fracture stabilities were examined before and after depletion. It was found that faults and fractures in compartments C1 and C2 of the reservoir are stable before and after depletion, while normal faults (FNS8 and FNS9) in compartment C3 dipping SW were critically stressed. The minimum sustainable pressure of the reservoir determined by simulating depletion is 6 MPa. Below that, pressure depletion causes normal faulting in reservoir compartments C1 and C2. The maximum sustainable pressure, on the other hand, was found to be 25 MPa. The geomechanical studies also reveal that it is possible that the reservoir experienced compaction of 8 cm during depletion and will experience an uplift of 3.2 cm during 71 years of injection. The economic model of a CO2-enhanced gas recovery project in E-M gas field, the annual expenses (Aexp) of carbon capture and storage range between Zar20 3.31 × 109 and Zar20 4.10 × 109. The annual revenues (RA) were estimated to be Zar20 1.42 × 1010. The cash flow analysis derived from Aexp and RA confirms that enhanced gas recovery could partially offset the cost of CO2 storage if a minimum of 5 % of CO2 fraction is allowed in the natural gas recovered. Geological and geomechanical studies have demonstrated that carbon storage is physically feasible in the E-M gas field. However, the project's completion lies in the among the gas recovered to balance the cost of CO2. http://

Erosion, transportation, and deposition of sediment into receiving waters can have substantial environmental and economic impacts. Sedimentation basins are a remediation technique used to limit sediment transport from earth disturbance activities. Retention efficiency is used as a measure of a sedimentation basin's effectiveness. Several factors influence retention efficiency including the type of principal spillway used. The most common spillway is the perforated riser which dewaters the basin throughout its entire vertical profile. However, a relatively new outlet device, the skimmer, has been developed, which dewaters the basin from the water surface. A laboratory study was conducted to compare the skimmer with the perforated riser for three different soil types and determine if there were any significant differences in the trapping efficiencies of the two outlets. The test basin dewatered over a three hour period. The parameters observed were dewatering rate, effluent sediment concentration, sediment loss rate, and retention efficiency. The skimmer treatments consistently had higher values of sediment retention efficiencies. A statistical analysis performed on the retention efficiency data showed that retention efficiency was not influenced by any combination of outlet and soil type and that outlet was significant at the 5% level. Overall, the skimmer outperformed the perforated riser for all soil types tested. Additionally, retention efficiencies were predicted for shorter dewatering times. The results indicated shorter dewatering times may have smaller impacts on the retention efficiency of basins where the skimmer is utilized rather than the perforated riser. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to analyze the economies of size in farming in the Roosevelt- Myton area of the Uintah Basin and to assess their impact on the financial viability of different size farms . This information will be useful in recommending changes to reclamation law. Farmer interviews were used to obtain cos t s of production for 160 , 320, 640 , and 1280 acre farms . The field data were entered into the Oklahoma State Budget Generator to provide the necessary cost breakdown . This in formation was used to derive a curve approximat ing the long run average cost curve and to determine the viability of different farm sizes. Cash flow problems of beginning farmers are discussed. Conclusions are drawn and implications for existing reclamation law are discussed.

The Arumbera Sandstone forms distinctive strike ridges with dark reddish slopes and orange-white cliffs throughout most of the northeastern Amadeus Basin. It is divisible into four readily mappable informal units. The ridge-forming units, 2 and 4, are divided into three and two subunits, respectively. Unit 1, Subunit 2b, Unit 3 and Subunit 4b are generally comprised of recessive, pale-red to grayish-red, medium- to thin-bedded, fineto medium-grained arkose with major proportions of siltstone and mudshale. These sedimentary bodies are interpreted as a complex system of coastal to nearshore-marine environments including tidal flats, tidal channels, estuaries and beaches. Evidence includes: (1) predominance of alpha-, beta, and cross-stratification with common herringbone laminae, truncated wave-ripple laminae, and flaser bedding; (2) bimodal paleocurrents; (3) records of intermittent, subaerial exposure (desiccation mudcracks, raindrop prints, and casts of gypsum and halite crystals); and (4) rare to abundant trace fossils of probable marine origin. Subunits 2a and 4a are comprised of cliff-forming, white to pinkish-gray, thick-bedded, fine- to medium-grained lithic arkose and arkose. Subunit 2c is also resistant, and is comprised of "maroon" to moderate-red, thick-bedded conglomerate and conglomeratic sandstone with pebbles and small cobbles of chert, quartzite, and vein quartz. These three subunits are interpreted as fluvial sheet sandstones on the basis of: (1) predominance of pi-, omikron-, and lambda cross-stratification; (2) thick bedding and paucity of mudrocks; (3) unimodal, northeastward-oriented paleocurrents with a crude radiating pattern; (4) abundant shale pebbles and wedging channelsand bodies; (5) absence or rarity of trace fossils in the subunits; and (6) sheet-like geometry. The Arumbera Sandstone was probably deposited in a coastal environment perhaps analogous to the delta of modern Godavari River of India. Evidence includes: (1) a pronounced depocenter for the unit in the central part of the study area (1123 m relative to 216 m in the southwest); (2) unidirectional paleocurrents from fluvial sheet sands that radiate to the N, NE, E, and SE; (3) fluvial and coastal deposits in vertical, cyclic succession; and (4) east- and northeast-trending zones of thicker deposits within fluvial sheet sands, which may be distributary lobes. The Arumbera is considered part of the molasse sequence associated with the Late Proterozoic and Early Cambrian Petermann Ranges orogeny. The uplifted Petermann Ranges shed sediment from sedimentary, metamorphic, and plutonic rocks. Terrigenous material was probably transported to the coastal environment of the northeastern Amadeus Basin by braided streams in an environment devoid of vascular terrestrial vegetation. Grain mineralogy and weathering characteristics suggest a hot, semiarid to humid climate throughout this region. Detailed petrographic study of ten thin sections demonstrates the following average sandstone composition: quartz (54%), orthoclase (25%), chert (6%), plagioclase (5%), lithics (4%), microcline (2%), and minor zircon, tourmaline, rutile, magnetite, muscovite, and biotite. Common cementing agents are syntaxial quartz and feldspar overgrowths, chert, hematite, kaolinite, and carbonate. The inferred diagentic sequence is : Eogenetic: (1) mechanical compaction and (2) formation of "dust rims"; Mesogenetic: (3) syntaxial feldspar overgrowths, (4) syntaxial quartz overgrowths, (5) calcite cement, (6) organic maturation(?) and creation of secondary porosity, and (7) pyrite crystals; T elogenetic: (8) kaolinite, and (9) chert. The Arumbera is regarded as of possible Late Proterozoic and probable Early Cambrian age based on the presence of the trace fossils Rangea cf. longea and Phycodes antecedens in Unit 1, Arumberia banksi in Subunit 2b, and Bergauria, Diplichnites, Laevicyclus, Phycodes pedum, Plagiogmus, Psammichnites, Rusophycus and Skolithos in Units 3 and 4. The Arumbera is a potential petroleum reservoir. Suitable source rocks, sealing mechanisms, reservoir porosity and permeability, and stratigraphic and structural traps are present in the northeastern Amadeus Basin. The close association of organic maturation with generation of secondary porosity and tectonic fracturing, both in time and space, also favors the accumulation of petroleum in the Arumbera.

The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is a state institution, but its primary function is collecting money for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, to pay for the Weber Basin Project. Ditferent classes of water users pay markedly different fees for identical Project services. More than half of the water developed by the Project is not used consumptively, yet supply facilities continue to be built in the Basin because they are less expensive to their owners than prices charged for the underused capacity of the Project. Paradoxically, some Basin residents are bitterly resentful of both the District and the Bureau, claiming that water rights formerly their own have, by means of the Project, been stolen. That is, both the enemies and the proponents of the Project adhere to the Western orthodoxy that water i.s scarce and drought imminent. The principal difficulty of this investigation lay in identifying the nature of the problem, for the situation seemed full of contradictions. Consequently, the primary contribution of the dissertation is an explanation of Basin circumstances that accounts for arresting observations without inconsistency or contradiction. The most important hypotheses are, therefore, empirical, or historical and institutional. Economics, according to Richard T. Elya and Frank H. Knight, is a set of principles concerning what ought to be, not empirical description of what ~· Consistent with that perspective, once the nature of the problem is clear, application of economic principles is a prescriptive judgment of how the problem may be resolved. The most important empirical hypotheses are as follows: Water is not scarce in the Weber Basin; neither are storage and conveyance facilities. All are abundant, even redunda nt. Nevertheless, in combination with certain institutional arrangements and a sustained propaganda campaign, this very abundance contributes to persistence of the attitude that water is scarce. Redundant facilities the reby encourage even more unneeded development. What appears on first examination to be a case of misallocated water resources by discriminatory prices, turns out to be a problem of distributing the burden of paying for excessive, unwanted public works. Water itself is a free good in the Basin. Actual distribution of the repayment burden is partly ideological and partly pragmatic; partly a political choice and partly a bureaucratic decision; partly a manifestation of agrarian policy and partly what the traffic will bear. If water is free, it is not an economic good, and not a subject for economic analysis . The Basin has an ample water supply, but water may nevertheless be locally and periodically scarce. The water problem is therefore one of conveyance and timing. Control of timing requires storage. Conveyance requires energy, as well as aqueducts. In the Weber Basin, conveyance energy may be either the controlled flow of falling (mountain) water, or electrically powered pumps tapping abundant groundwater reservoirs. The water development problem is, therefore, an issue of alternative capital facilities for the control and delivery of water (itself abundant). Efficient resource allocation in water development is consequently relevant at the !.!!vestment level; it is not a matter of pricing water. In this case, the major investment decisions have already been implemented, and the problem is one of evaluating distribution of the repayment burden. The relevant economics literature is principles of equitable taxation, and of public utilities' pricing. Application to the Basin situation produces a conclusion that present arrangements are as equitable as could be devised. Further redundant investment (inefficient use of resources), however, could be avoided if the State Engineer's Office took a harder line on requests to drill new wells. The information provided in this work could be the basis for making such a program popularly acceptable.