Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston, Mass., 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-187).

Mudstones compose nearly 70% of the volume of sedimentary basins, yet they are among the least studied of sedimentary rocks. Their low permeability and high compressibility contribute to overpressure around the world. Despite their fundamental importance in geologic processes and as seals for anthropogenic-related storage, a systematic, process-based understanding of the interactions between porosity, compressibility, permeability, and pore-size distribution in mudstones remains elusive. I use sediment mixtures composed of varying proportions of natural mudstone such as Boston Blue Clay or Nankai mudstone and silt-sized silica to study the effect of composition on permeability and compressibility during burial. First, to recreate natural conditions yet remove variability and soil disturbance, I resediment all mixtures in the laboratory to a total stress of 100 kPa. Second, in order to describe the systematic variation in permeability and compressibility with clay fraction, I uniaxially consolidate the resedimented samples to an effective stress equivalent to about 2 km of burial under hydrostatic conditions. Scanning electron microscope images provide insights on microstructure. My experiments illuminate the controls on mudstone permeability and compressibility. At a given porosity, vertical permeability increases by an order of magnitude for clay contents ranging from 59% to 34% by mass whereas compressibility reduces by half at a given vertical effective stress. I show that the pore structure can be described by a dual-porosity system, where one rock fraction is dominated by silt where large pores are present and the majority of flow occurs and the other fraction is dominated by clay where limited flow occurs. I use this concept to develop a coupled compressibility-permeability model in order to predict porosity, permeability, compressibility, and coefficient of consolidation. These results have fundamental implications for a range of problems in mudstones. They can be applied to carbon sequestration, hydrocarbon trapping, basin modeling, overpressure distribution and geometry as well as morphology of thrust belts, and an understanding of gas-shale behavior. / text

This document examines the life and string pedagogical contributions of German-American violinist, composer, and pedagogue Julius Eichberg (1824-1893). Biographical information about Eichberg is presented to demonstrate his expertise in the areas of education and performance, as well as to provide some context for his compositions. As little has been written about Eichberg and his contributions to music and music education, much of the information gathered about his life and musical background was found in primary sources in the form of scrapbooks compiled by Eichberg and his daughter. These scrapbooks are housed in the Special Collections at the Boston Public Library. Three of Eichberg's intermediate-level chamber works were selected for the dual purposes of examining their pedagogical worth and editing and clarifying the fingerings and bowings for use by current string students. The American String Teachers' Association Certificate Advancement Program guidelines and the Christina Placilla/Kenneth Law String Quartet grading guidelines were used in conjunction with one another to determine the appropriate placement of the three selected Eichberg works in the extant chamber repertoire. The document includes both facsimiles of the original works transferred from microfilm and the newly edited parts.

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<p>Methane is an important greenhouse gas, and an ideal target for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Unlike carbon dioxide, methane has a relatively short atmospheric lifetime, so reductions in methane emissions could have large and immediate impacts on anthropogenic radiative forcing. A more detailed understanding of the global methane budget could help guide effective emissions reductions efforts.</p><p>Humans have greatly altered the methane budget. Anthropogenic methane sources are approximately equal in flux to natural sources, and the current atmospheric methane concentration is ~2.5 times pre-industrial levels. The advent of hydraulic fracturing and resulting increase in unconventional natural gas extraction have introduced new uncertainties in the methane budget. At the same time, the next few decades could be a crucial period for controlling greenhouse gas emissions to avoid irreversible and catastrophic changes in global climate. Natural gas could provide lower-carbon fossil energy, but the climate benefits of this fuel source are highly dependent on the associated methane emissions. In this context of increasing uncertainty and growing necessity, quantifying the impact of natural gas extraction and use on the methane budget is an essential step in making informed decisions about energy.</p><p>In the work presented here, I track methane in the environment to address several areas of uncertainty in our present understanding of the methane budget. I apply the tools of methane analysis in a variety of environments, from rural groundwater supplies to an urban atmosphere, and at a range of scales, from individual point sources to regional flux. I first show that carbon isotopes of methane and co-occurrence of ethane are useful techniques for differentiating a range of methane sources. In so doing, I also show that leaks from natural gas infrastructure are a major source of methane in my study area, Boston, MA. I then build on this work by applying the same methane carbon isotope and ethane signatures to partition methane flux for the Boston metro region. I find that 88% of the methane enhancement in the atmosphere above Boston is due to pipeline natural gas. </p><p>In the final portion of this thesis and the two appendices, I move from the distribution side of the natural gas production chain to extraction, specifically addressing the potential impacts from hydraulic fracturing in my home state of North Carolina. I combine the methane source identification techniques of the previous sections with additional geochemical analyses to document the pre-drilling water quality in the Deep River Triassic Basin, an area which could be drilled for natural gas in the future. This data set is unique in that North Carolina has no pre-existing commercial oil and gas extraction, unlike other states where unconventional gas extraction is currently taking place. This research is, to my knowledge, the first to examine the hydrogeology of the Deep River Basin, in addition to providing an important background data set that could be used to track changes in water quality accompanying hydraulic fracturing in the region in the future.</p> / Dissertation

Thesis (B. Arch.)--Roger Williams University, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online via Digital Commons @ RWU.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-355). Available also from the ProQuest website.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding Graduate School of Religion, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-241).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding Graduate School of Religion, 1990. / This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #018-0031. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-241).