Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) provides a new alternative to destructive methods of raw material characterization, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), neutron activation analysis (NAA), and traditional thin section petrography, although its effectiveness on coarse-grained materials, such as granite, has been questioned. This project addressed this question by determining the effectiveness of pXRF in characterizing granites from Belize and in sourcing granite ground stone tools from Maya sites in Belize. Geochemical fingerprints were defined for three potential source areas (granite plutons in the Maya Mountains of Belize) using outcrop samples. Samples were analyzed using pXRF, XRF, electron microprobe (EMPA), and thin section analyses. PXRF data from archaeological collections of granite ground stone tools from sites in Belize were then compared to the pluton geochemical signatures. There were two principle results of this research. First, analyses indicated that pXRF can accurately characterize the geochemistry of granites from Belize on a suite of elements. Second, this research demonstrated that the Maya of Belize exploited multiple granite outcrops and participated in different kinds of exchange networks to acquire granite, sometimes acquiring stone from the nearest outcrops and sometimes not. While Mountain Pine Ridge was the dominant source outcrop that was exploited, Cockscomb Basin and Hummingbird Ridge granites were also quarried or scavenged. Sometimes the closest source was used, as is the case at Alabama, who exploited the locally available Cockscomb Basin granite. Through this study it appears that the nearest pluton was not always used. Instead Mountain Pine Ridge granite tools were imported from a greater distance, implying that there were additional factors, such as economic partners and changing political powers, which lead to Mountain Pine Ridge granite being the most pervasive in most archaeological collections within Belize.

The Middle Cambrian Ute Formation includes some 200 m of cyclically alternating carbonates and mud rocks. These are arranged in eight to nine, meter-scale, shallowing-upwards packages, representing deposition under predominantly subtidal conditions. The packages consist of vertical sequences of shale, silty limestone, oncolitic packstone, and oolitic grainstone that exhibit little variance in this general pattern. Small-scale unconformities separate the packages. The inferred depositional environment consists of an intrashelf basin that has a peritidal platform near its margins. The craton, which supplied most of the terrigenous sediment, was situated to the south (Cambrian orientation), and located near the equator. One cycle includes a stromatolite biostrome that is distributed across more than 1500 km2 in northern Utah and southern Idaho. Stromatolites range from mound-like to club-shaped to columnar and reach up to 2 min vertical dimension, and 0.15 min diameter. These large columnar structures were apparently established just basinward of an oolitic shoal. These ancient stromatolites, which are in many ways similar to those stromatolites recently reported from the Bahamas, contain many clues that suggest that they grew in normal marine conditions. These findings require a rethinking of the commonly held belief that Phanerozoic columnar stromatolites are indicators of restricted, hypersaline conditions. Analysis of several orders of laminae in Ute Formation stromatolites indicates periodicity in accumulation from which yearly accumulation rates may be inferred. Values obtained for growth rate range from 4.39-4.88 cm/yr. Such rates of accumulation are in accord with those documented for ancient stromatolites from the Bitter Springs Formation. Thus, even considering the occurrence of hiatal surfaces within the stromatolites, the duration of the columnar-stromatolite horizon probably encompasses 10-2 - 10-3 yr. The biostrome's position in the sequence of cycles and the changes in stromatolite morphology across depositional dip suggest that the biostrome may be essentially isochronous across its outcrop area and, thus, may be viewed as a bioevent horizon. The stromatolites also contribute to a better understanding of the paleogeography of the study area during the Middle Cambrian by providing information on relative energy levels and flow directions. (212 pages)

The southeastern part of the Black Pine Mountains is located in the southeastern part of Cassia County, southern Idaho. The Utah-Idaho state line is three miles south of the studied area and the Cassia-Oneida county line bounds it on the east. The area is nearly square and encompasses about 30 square miles. Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary rocks are exposed within the area. Limestone, dolomitic limestime, quartzite, and beeded chert represent the Jefferson Formation of Devonian age. It is 400 feet thick, however, the base is not exposed. The Milligen Formation is Early Mississippian in age and is black argillite with interbedded orthoquartzite. The Milligen is about 1,850 feed thick. The Late Mississippian White Knob Formation is 2,400 feet thick and has two members. The lower member is limestone interbedded with calcareous siltstone. Massive blue-gray limestone with some chert nodules characterizes the upper member. The undifferentiated Pennsylvanian-Permian unit is 1,800 feet of mostly sandy limestone. Quartzite and calcareous sandstone are also present. Tertiary rocks are present in the form of an orangish-white tuff which is considered part of the Salt Lake Formation. Lake Bonneville Group, alluvial, and landslide deposits represent the Quaternary System. Most of these are unconsolidated silt, sand, and gravel deposits. However, the Lake bonneville Group displays a tightly cemented shore-line deposit in places. The effects of metamorphism are common in the area. The Milligen shows signs of contact and tectonic metamorphism. In places it has been bleached or altered to slate and phyllite. The White Knob Formation has been marblized at several locations. Igneous activity has emplaced two small dikes on the eastern flank of the Black Pine Mountains. Although they are highly altered, the original rock was apparently a diabase. The structure of the area is complex. Three low-angle thrust faults are present which are generally situated along bedding planes. The lower thrust fault separates the Jefferson and Milligen formations. The middle thrust fault intervenes at the Milligen-White Knob contact, Locally, this thrust fault has cut out the lower member of the White Knob. The upper thrust fault is present at the base of the undifferentiated Pennsylvanian-Permian strata. The upper thrust fault overlies the White Knob and, locally, the Milligen. Several high-angle faults are present which displace the low-angle thrust faults. A major range-front fault is present on the southeastern side of the range. Displacement on it may be as much as 6,500 feet. Mineralization in the area occurred during two episodes. The first was guided by fractures related to Laramide structure. This episode was characterized by mesothermal deposits of sphalerite, tetrahedrite, and jamesonite. Following the first mineral deposition Basin-.and-Range faulting began. New fract!lres provided a locus for mesothermal and epithermal deposits of the second episode. Calcite, barite, and gold were deposited at this time. Emplantation of the dikes probably accompanied this episode. (81 pages)

First excavated in 1938, the site of Muscupiabit (CA-SBR-425/H) has long been a subject of archaeological research in the San Bernardino Mountains. Previous excavations at the site have either been unpublished or limited in scope. A primary goal was to obtain a radiocarbon date for the site, giving a definitive age to the site. Other goals included determining the population size of Muscupiabit as well as the function of the site and its place in the Serrano settlement system. To obtain dateable material, an excavation was conducted in hopes of locating a thermal feature. An intact thermal feature was found and charcoal was recovered. In order to adequately address the proposed research questions, museum collections were used to gain a larger sample size. A large quantity of artifacts had been excavated in the 1980s but were never analyzed. Between those excavations and the 2017 excavations, 7 units were analyzed. Additionally, population records from the Spanish mission system were analyzed to address research questions about population size. Based on a radiocarbon date, shell bead types, and population records, it appears that Muscupiabit was occupied in the late 17th/early 18th century and was likely abandoned by 1815. Despite its location along a trade route, the site does not appear to have been controlling trade. Muscupiabit was intermarried with other villages but it’s level of political independence cannot be determined at this time.

The area of souther Elhorn Mountain, a previously unmapped area, is located north of Malad City, Idaho, in the Bannock Range. The mapped area is within the Basin and Range province. The mapped area measures 5.9 miles in the north-south direction and approximately 8.8 miles in the east-west direction. The oldest stratigraphic unit, in the mapped area, is the Ute Formation of Middle Cambrian age. Other units of Cambrian age, in ascending order, are: Blacksmith Formation, Bloomington Formation, Nounan Formation, and St. Charles Formation. The units of Ordovician age are the Garden City and the Swan Peak Formations. The youngest unit of Paleozoic age, in the mapped area, is the Fish Haven-Laketown Formation of Ordovician-Silurian age. The Paleozoic units are composed predominantly of limestone and dolomite; some unites contain varied amounts of quartzite and shale. The Salt Lake Formation and associated volcanic rocks of Tertiary age are present locally in the mapped area. Lake Bonnevill Group, colluvial deposits, and alluvial deposits, all of Quaternary age, are also present. A thrust fault, folds, and normal faults are present in the mapped area. A bedding-plane thrust fault is present between the Bloomington and Nounan Formations. A broad anticline is suggested by the attitudes of the Paleozoic rocks of southern Elkhorn Mountain. Small-scale folds are exposed locally. The normal faults are of two major trends, northwest and north. These fault sets are contemporaneous and they cut Salt Lake Formation. These sets intersect and form numerous fault blocks. The normal faults cut the thrust fault and the fold. Thus, the thrust fault and the fold are isolated within various fault blocks throughout the area. The marginal normal faults are responsible for the present topography. Remnant blocks of a major landslide are also present. The structural features of the area are the result of two major structural events, the older Laramide orogeny and the more recent Basin and Range faulting. The Laramide orogeny, active from Late Jurassic to early Eocene, was responsible for the thrust faulting and folding. The Basin and Range faulting, active from Oligocene to Holocene, was responsible for the normal faults and the landslide. Marginal normal faults are probably active at the present time. (101 pages)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Hassan Babaie, committee chair; Pamela Burnley, Timothy La Tour, Zhi Young Yin, committee members. Electronic text (143 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.)) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Dec. 11, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-143).

Graduation date: 1989

Improved monitoring of forest biomass is needed to quantify natural and anthropogenic effects on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Landsat's temporal and spatial coverage, fine spatial grain, and long history of earth observations provide a unique opportunity for measuring biophysical properties of vegetation across large areas and long time scales. However, like other multi-spectral data, the relationship between single-date reflectance and forest biomass weakens under certain canopy conditions. Because the structure and composition of a forest stand at any point in time is linked to the stand's disturbance history, one potential means of enhancing Landsat's spectral relationships with biomass is by including information on vegetation trends prior to the date for which estimates are desired. The purpose of this research was to develop and assess a method that links field data, airborne lidar, and Landsat-derived disturbance and recovery history for mapping of forest biomass and biomass change. Our study area is located in eastern Oregon (US), an area dominated by mixed conifer and single species forests. In Chapter 2, we test and demonstrate the utility of Landsat-derived disturbance and recovery metrics to predict current forest structure (live and dead biomass, basal area, and stand height) for 51 field plots, and compare the results with estimates from airborne lidar and single-date Landsat imagery. To characterize the complex nature of long-term (insect, growth) and short-term (fire, harvest) vegetation changes found in this area, we use annual Landsat time series between 1972 and 2010. This required integrating Landsat data from MSS (1972-1992) and TM/ETM+ (1982-present) sensors. In Chapter 2, we describe a method to bridge spectral differences between Landsat sensors, and therefore extent Landsat time-series analyses back to 1972. In Chapter 3, we extend and automate our approach and develop maps of current (2009) and historic (1993-2009) live forest biomass. We use lidar data for model training and evaluate the results with forest inventory data. We further conduct a sensitivity analysis to determine the effects of forest structure, time-series length, terrain and sampling design on model predictions. Our research showed that including disturbance and recovery trends in empirical models significantly improved predictions of forest biomass, and that the approach can be applied across a larger landscape and across time for estimating biomass change. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Nov. 29, 2011 - Nov. 29, 2012

Natural regeneration is used to restock trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) cutblocks and factors controlling regeneration are areas of interest and concern to the forest industry. Harvest operations in Manitoba require that coarse woody debris, or slash, be left and distributed in cutblocks. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of slash loading on soil temperatures and aspen regeneration, and implications for harvest operations in the Duck Mountain area. Early sucker growth, initiation, and soil temperatures were surveyed in six winter and six summer cutblocks under different levels of slash loadings. A growth chamber study, using field temperature data as a guideline, examined the effects of diurnal temperature variation on sucker initiation and production. In winter and summer cutblocks, mean depths to sucker initiation from the parent root were 4.6 + 2.4 cm and 3.4 + 2.1 cm, respectively, and initiation of suckers occurred mainly from parental roots located in the LFH layer. Daily mean soil temperatures during the growing season were significantly lower under higher levels of slash (difference of 3.6 oC during May). Higher amounts of slash also significantly shortened the length of the growing season (89 fewer days above 0 oC in one season) and decreased the number of suckers produced (150 000 ha1 decreased to 14 000 ha-1), sucker volume (decreased by 256 cm3m-2) and leaf area index (decreased by 0.9). There was no difference in sucker production between any diurnal temperature treatments in the growth chamber study. Shallow depth to sucker initiation has important implications for harvest operations using heavy machinery especially those occurring during the summer season. Moderate levels of slash in summer cutblocks, and heavy levels of slash in winter cutblocks limit sucker growth. Although slash decreases diurnal temperature amplitudes, this may not be the reason for the decrease in sucker production associated with increased levels of slash. Both soil temperature and early sucker growth are strongly affected by slash loading; by monitoring harvest operations and the distribution of slash within cutblocks, the negative effect of heavy machine traffic and heavy piles of slash can be reduced and ensure successful forest regeneration.

Wind transport and sublimation of snow particles are common phenomena across high altitude and latitude cold regions and play important roles in hydrological and atmospheric water and energy budgets. In spite of this, blowing snow processes have not been incorporated in many mesoscale hydrological models and land surface schemes. A physically based blowing snow model, the Prairie Blowing Snow Model (PBSM), initially developed for prairie environments was used to model snow redistribution and sublimation by wind over two sites representative of mountainous regions in Canada: Fisera Ridge in the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges in Alberta, and Granger Basin in the Yukon Territory. Two models were used to run PBSM: the object-oriented hydrological model, Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling Platform (CRHM) and Environment Canadas hydrological-land surface scheme, Modélisation Environmentale Communautaire Surface and Hydrology (MESH). PBSM was coupled with the snowcover energy and mass-balance model (SNOBAL) within CRHM. Blowing snow algorithms were also incorporated into MESH to create MESH-PBSM. CRHM, MESH and MESH-PBSM were used to simulate the evolution of snowcover in hydrological response units (HRUs) over both Fisera Ridge and Granger Basin.<p> To test the models of blowing snow redistribution and ablation over a relatively simple sequence of mountain topography, simulations were run from north to south over a linear ridge in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Fisera Ridge snowcover simulations with CRHM were performed over two winters using two sets of wind speed forcing: (1) station observed wind speed, and (2) modelled wind speed from a widely applied empirical, terrain-based windflow model. Best results were obtained when using the site meteorological station wind speed data. The windflow model performed poorly when comparing the magnitude of modelled and observed wind speeds. Blowing snow sublimation, snowmelt and snowpack sublimation quantities were considerably overestimated when using the modelled wind speeds. As a result, end-of-winter snow accumulation was considerably underestimated on windswept HRUs. MESH and MESH-PBSM were also used to simulate snow accumulation and redistribution over these same HRUs. MESH-PBSM adequately simulated snow accumulation in the HRUs up until the spring snowmelt period. MESH without PBSM performed less well and overestimated accumulation on windward slopes and the ridge top whilst underestimating accumulation on lee slopes. Simulations in spring were degraded by a large overestimation of melt by MESH. The early and overestimated melt warrants a detailed examination that is outside the scope of this thesis.<p> To parameterize snow redistribution in a mountain alpine basin, snow redistribution and sublimation by wind were calculated for three winters over Granger Basin using CRHM. Snow transport fluxes were distributed amongst HRUs using inter-HRU snow redistribution allocation factors. Three snow redistribution schemes of varying complexity were evaluated. CRHM model results showed that end-of-winter snow accumulation can be most accurately simulated when the inter-HRU snow redistribution schemes take into account wind direction and speed and HRU aerodynamic characteristics, along with the spatial arrangement of HRUs in the catchment. As snow transport scales approximately with the fourth power of wind speed (u4), inter-HRU snow redistribution allocation factors can be established according to the predominant u4 direction over a simulation period or can change at each time step according to an input measured wind direction. MESH and MESH-PBSM were used to simulate snow accumulation and ablation over these same HRUs. MESH-PBSM provided markedly better results than MESH without blowing snow algorithms.<p> That snow redistribution by wind can be adequately simulated in computationally efficient HRUs over mountainous terrain has important implications for representing snow transport in large-scale hydrology models and land surface schemes. Snow redistribution by wind caused mountain snow accumulation to vary from 10% to 161% of seasonal snowfall within a headwater catchment in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and blowing snow sublimation losses ranged from 10 to 37% of seasonal snowfall.