This study addresses the availability of total solar irradiance at the earth's surface during varying weather conditions . Two years of irradiance and meteorological data were collected at mountain and valley sites along 40° North latitude in the Rocky Mountains of Utah and Colorado. Generalized cases of recurring seasonal weather episodes and the associated t o t al irradiance a re identified and discussed , including local mesoscale phenomena (orographic clouds , valley fog, etc.) unique to mountainous regions . The generalized cases can be useful in long- range energy assessment planning. The east and west slopes of the Rocky Mountains are shown to have similar annual average solar energy potential , however the seasonal differences reveal unique climates which require different considerations for each slope. Short -term relationships between cloudiness and t o t al irradiance are developed for the mountainous region, providing a tool for forecasting solar irradiance using a cloudiness forecast. Total irradiance is shown to correlate much better to opaque sky cover than co total cloud cover . The relationships on the east and west slopes are similar , however greater variations a re observed with elevation between the moun t ain and valley sites . Short- term forecasting of irradiance is found to be limited due t o unreliable cloudiness fore-casting techniques , tho ugh satellite imagery trajectories are more reliable than numerical methods.

A small mountain watershed located in the Wasatch Mountains of North Central Utah is calibrated to a lumped, deterministic simulation model which is capable of predicting daily streamflow and stream temperature. The input information required is daily precipitation and maximum and minimum air temperatures. In this study, the area of watershed modeling is reviewed in general and as it specifically applies to the study watershed. The degree of correlation between observed data and predicted output is only mediocre. The model remains unverified for streamflow prediction and is poorly verified for stream temperature.

Topics in geology, which inevitably excite professional discussion and even tempered debate, often present challenging targets for the exploratory jabs of Master's degree candidates. The Portland Hills Silt and the controversy concerning its genesis provides just such an object. Although the physical descriptions of the silt are generally in agreement, they remain somewhat generalized and, at present, no single definition is generally accepted. Moreover, incongruities concerning structural and textural details--notably, the presence of minor stratification and/or scattered pebbles in the silt--have resulted in considerable disagreement regarding its mode of origin.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND LINDGREN. / Bibliography: leaves 136-139. / by Dale Richard Durran. / Ph.D.

The following is a book of poetry, born of the chaos in leaving home and discovering loneliness within the confines of my own body. Sustaining a mixed vernacular, that of the rural Midwest, the Bible, medicine, and the strange, this book seeks a sympathy with illness and with those who suffer its symptoms. I drew much upon my childhood in particular the years spent going on rounds with my father at the local hospital.

This thesis attempted to study the bottom productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively with reference to the distribution of bonthos. The study of the bottom fauna in large reservior lakes is a relatively new field. This work will give more information on an unknown field than previously existed, although its scope is not intend to be exhaustive.

Morphological variation between geographically distant populations has long been recognized. The primary objective of this study was to test whether nonrandom shifts in morphology have occurred across a 150-year time span in two rare, endangered plant species Geum radiatum and Houstonia montana. During the last century the vegetation on Roan Mountain has undergone numerous environmental pressures that may have produced morphological shifts. A diverse suite of morphological characters was measured from both species. Characters included vegetative and reproductive structures. Herbarium specimens and direct field measurements were the sources of material used. Results indicated a significant increase in size across time in the majority of characters measured. Results of this study challenge standard taxonomic practices, present questions pertaining to the relationship between genetics and morphology, and raise issues concerning conservation and management strategies of endangered plant populations.

The Cedar Mountain Formation contains the most diverse record of Early Cretaceous dinosaurs in the western hemisphere. However, analyses of its faunas have been hindered because 1) most taxa are based on incomplete/fragmentary materials or incomplete descriptions, 2) most sites and some horizons preserve few taxa, and 3) the stratigraphy and geochronology are poorly understood. To help resolve these stratigraphic and correlation problems U-Pb LA-ICP-MS detrital zircon ages were obtained at significant sites and horizons. These dates indicate all sites at or near the base of the formation are no older than 122 to 124 Ma, thus all basal stratigraphic packages are time equivalent. Detrital zircons coarsely bracket the temporal span of the Ruby Ranch Member between about 115 Ma to 111 Ma while the base of the Mussentuchit Member is dated between 108 to 104 Ma and the top of the member is Cenomanian in age. Multivariate analyses utilizing Simpson and Raup-Crick similarity index and pair-group moving algorithms reveal that formationfs faunas fall into two groups. These groups are compared statistically with European, Asian, and Morrison faunas. Results indicate (1) that there is no close relationship between the Yellow Cat fauna and the Morrison Formation fauna and (2) corroborate long-standing hypotheses that the Yellow Cat fauna has European ties and the Mussentuchit fauna has Asian ties. Detrital zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages were used in this study to approximate the time of deposition of strata because volcanic ashes are rarely preserved in the formation. The ability to select the youngest crystals in a sample prior to applying analytical methods could substantially reduce the number of crystals and cost required to obtain these dates. To this end, the hypothesis that the most pristine, unabraded crystals should be younger than abraded crystals was tested by imaging detrital zircons via SEM, ranking the crystals by the degree of abrasion, and determining their ages. Results of this study partly corroborate the hypothesis in that there is a correlation between the degree of abrasion and ages – obviously abraded crystals are most likely the oldest while pristine to slightly abraded crystals are usually the youngest in a given sample.

Electrophoretic patterns on polyacrylamide gels of blood serum proteins from 74 mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni Girard) were examined for differences as they pertained to two geographically isolated populations, age, and sex. Serum samples were acquired from two supposedly isolated populations, the lower Provo River and the lower Weber River. Comparisons among gels were made on the basis of protein distribution as indicated by number of fractions and their density. Serum proteins showed marked intraspecific differences between the males as well as the females of each population. No variations were found which could be attributed to degree of maturity. Definite pattern differences were observed between the sexes of each population. Individual pattern variations within each group studied were observed.

<p> New U-Pb ages from the Barberton Mountain Land document an 800 m.y. period of Archean magmatism (ca. 3540 Ma to ca. 2740 Ma) that can be divided into five distinct episodes. Magmatic activity during Episode I includes tonalite-trondhjemite gneisses such as the Steynsdorp pluton (3509 +8/-7 Ma) and a tectonically interleaved sliver (3538 +4/-2 Ma) located at the base of the Onverwacht Group. Trondhjemitic magmatism of Episode II is synchronous with volcanism and inferred D1 thrusting of the Onverwacht Group and is represented by plutons such as the Doornhoek (3448 ± 4 Ma), Theespruit (3443 +4/-3 Ma), and Stolzburg (3459 +5/-4 Ma). A quartz-feldspar porphyry dyke, related to Episode II, intrudes the Komati Formation of the Onverwacht Group and yields an age of 3467 +12/-7 Ma. D2-related thrusting, volcanism, sedimentation, and tonalitic plutonism in the north-central part of the Barberton greenstone belt (BGB) occurred during Episode III and are recorded by an ignimbrite which was deposited between the Fig Tree and Moodies Groups during regional deformation (3227 ± 1 Ma), by pre- and post-tectonic porphyries (3227 Ma), and by the emplacement of the Kaap Valley tonalite (3227 ± 1 Ma). Episode IV is characterized by the intrusion of large sheet-like potassic batholiths to the north and south of the BGB and syenitic plutonism at ca. 3107 Ma, and by D3-related deformation at the northern margin of the BGB. Gold mineralization also appears to coincide in time with this episode. The last known period of Archean magmatic activity in the BGB is represented by late phase granite magmatism at ca. 2740 Ma (Episode V).</p> <p> Epsilon Nd values range from +1.3 to -0.7 in rocks varying in composition from gabbro to granodiorite that were emplaced during Episodes I to IV. A gabbro from the Komati Formation, with a baddeleyite age of 3352 +6/-5 Ma, has an ϵNd of +1.3, which is the only value to fall on a depleted mantle growth curve. This value is similar to ϵNd data obtained by others for ca. 3450 Ma basalts from the Onverwacht Group. Three Episode IV plutons have identical ϵNd values of -0.5, and a granite pluton from Episode V has an ϵNd of -4.3, indicating a source compatible with remelting of older crust.</p> <p> In summary, the protracted evolution of the Barberton Mountain Land occurred in a series of discrete events widely separated in time. Each event is characterized by a number of geological processes (magmatism, volcanism, sedimentation) that appear to coincide in time with thrust-related deformation as a result of compressional tectonics. The duration of the main period of crustal growth occurred over ≈365 m.y. from ca. 3470 Ma, with the formation of the main Onverwacht sequence and its associated tonalitic-trondhjemitic rocks through ca. 3230 Ma, with the intrusion of the Kaap Valley tonalite and D2 thrust-related deformation, to ca. 3105 Ma, with the widespread emplacement of sheet-like potassic batholiths bordering the Barberton greenstone belt.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)