Rocks of Paleozoic, Tertiary, and Quaternary age are represented in the northern part of the Malad Range. The Paleozoic rocks are represented by thirteen formations that are characterized lithologically by quartzites, shales, and carbonates. The oldest formation in the mapped area of Paleozoic age is the Brigham Formation, and the youngest formation is the Jefferson Formation of late Devonian age. The rocks of Tertiary age are conglomerates, shales, and limestones and are represented by the Wasatch Formation, the Salt Lake Formation, and boulders. Quaternary rocks include sediments of the Lake Bonneville Group and alluvium. The faults in the mapped area were formed during two periods of movement. The east-west-trending faults, northeast-trending faults, and northwest-trending faults are a consequence of compressional forces during Laramide orogenic activity. The north-south-trending faults were the result of Basin and Range block faulting during middle and late Tertiary times.

Understanding the nature of Colorado River deposits in Grand Canyon helps reveal how the river responds to changes in its Colorado Plateau tributaries and Rocky Mountain headwaters. This study focused on Holocene alluvial deposits associated with archaeological sites excavated near Ninemile Draw in Glen Canyon and at Tanner Bar in eastern Grand Canyon. Two previously-developed conceptual models of deposition were tested based on previous work. Previous researchers have suggested that Holocene alluvial deposits in Grand Canyon are a series of inset aggradational packages that correlate to valley fills and arroyo-cutting cycles in Colorado Plateau tributaries and are laterally consistent throughout the river corridor. An alternate hypothesis is that alluvial packages record paleoflood sequences along the Colorado River with no Holocene change in river grade. In this model, deposits are preserved more variably as a function of local hydrologic geometry, and they should be less correlatable. Detailed stratigraphic columns of terrace deposits and several stratigraphic panels of archaeological trenches, combined with facies interpretations, were used to reconstruct a high-resolution alluvial history at two locations. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating methods were used at both locations with consistent results. At both sites, the sediment includes multiple depositional facies of mainstem and local-source material, and it consists of stratal packages bound by unconformities. These stratigraphic relations, combined with geochronology, lead to the interpretation that the alluvium is composed of six correlatable alluvial packages at overlapping heights above river level throughout the canyon. The four older packages include facies that imply aggradation throughout the river corridor, suggesting oscillations in river grade. The youngest two packages consist only of mainstem flood deposits. These packages suggest that preservation of deposits over the past ~1 ky has not been driven by aggradation, although incision since ~1 ky is possible. Comparison of the interpreted chronostratigraphy to climate records suggests that this large river's grade has not responded visibly to smaller century to millennial-scale climate oscillations. This work is the first to document that the alluvial record in Grand Canyon spans the entire Holocene, and conclusions support to both previous conceptual models of deposition.

Censuses of two 20-acre plots in upper Logan Canyon, Utah, were made by the spot-mapping method during 1970 and 1971 to determine the differences in composition and density of breeding-bird populations in aspen stands of significantly different density and stature. The less dense stand of greater average d.b.h., average height and per cent ground cover had 20 breeding species totalling 615 pairs per 100 acres (expressed as equivalent territories). The more dense stand of smaller trees and brushy undergrowth had 14 breeding species with 267.5 equivalent territories per 100 acres. Nine species were found on both areas. Observations of foraging height were made concurrently with recordings of time spent at various methods of feeding- ground, vi foliage, bark, hover, and hawking- for the birds of the more open stand. Comparison showed that more ground- and low bush-nesters were present on the dense, brushy stand whereas more cavity-nesters were found in the larger trees. Cavity excavation was limited to trees of greater d.b.h. and cavity-dependent birds were thus limited by nest-hole availability. The horizontal, heavy branch stubs preferred by pewees and tree swallows and the high perches and open areas of the olive-sided flycatcher were also limited to the less dense stand. Cassin's finches and pine siskins were not found in the dense stand which had fewer invading conifers and was farther from conifer stands. Attributes of the terrain, foraging sites, nest sites, and location of perches were analyzed as possible proximate factors of habitat selection within aspen.

Building out of recent scholarship that examines the way colonialism has altered Aboriginal peoples relationships with the land, this thesis employs the theories of historical anthropologist Marshall Sahlins, historical philosopher R.G. Collingwood, and historical consciousness with ethnohistorical methods to explore the ways Native people have worked to protect and regain their connections with certain places. In particular, it examines change and continuity in the ways that the Stó:lõ Coast Salish in South Western British Columbia have understood and continue to understand a place called I:yem, located four kilometres north of Yale in the Fraser Canyon. Following a historiographical chapter, two case studies are used to access past and present Stó:lõ understandings of I:yem. The first case study examines the 1938 erection of a memorial there (which incorporated and blended aspects of Roman Catholicism with an articulation of a distinct Stó:lõ identity and assertion of rights) to see how I:yem was understood at the time. The creation of the I:yem Memorial illuminates those aspects of Stó:lõ relationships with I:yem that were considered non-negotiable in the face of rapid change and conflict, namely the continued importance of fishing and ancestors. The second case study, based on oral interviews that I conducted during the joint University of Victoria/University of Saskatchewan Stó:lõ Ethnohistory Fieldschool in June 2007, focuses on the current significance of I:yem and its memorial. Today the Stó:lõ place a greater emphasis on the importance of re-establishing personal connections with the Fraser Canyon in general, rather than in identifying those specific aspects of the relationships that are collectively and communally non-negotiable and in need of being preserved. Over the past seventy years the Aboriginal people of the Fraser Canyon and Valley have employed innovative means to regain and preserve attachments to their places. This thesis explores these processes, fundamentally demonstrating the importance Stó:lõ people attribute to maintaining relationships with place in the face of change.

Environmental economics is the application of economic principles to the study of how natural resources are developed and managed. The methodologies used attempt to value ecosystem services provided by healthy, functioning natural lands and ecosystems. Ecosystem services attributed to natural lands contribute significant human welfare benefits that go largely undervalued or misrepresented in the decision-making process for the development of land. As environmental valuation methodologies and techniques continue to advance, policy decisions will be better able to create outcomes that maximize benefits for targeted populations and landscapes. The purpose of this paper is to first describe the methodologies used in environmental economics. These methodologies will then be applied to the Big Cottonwood Canyon Watershed located to the east of Salt Lake City, Utah. The case study will describe the ecosystem services provided by the watershed and value them. Using these values, the study focuses on the proposed development of SkiLink, a gondola system that would connect two separate ski resorts in two separate canyons – the Solitude Mountain Resort, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Canyons Resort, located near Park City, Utah. The debate over the proposed SkiLink focuses on weighing its potential contribution to Utah’s economy against its potential environmental consequences. Based on a detailed analysis of the economic benefits and ecosystem losses created by the proposal, a cost-benefit analysis of the project will be presented along with recommendations for further study of potential development that would likely accompany the building of SkiLink.

Building out of recent scholarship that examines the way colonialism has altered Aboriginal peoples relationships with the land, this thesis employs the theories of historical anthropologist Marshall Sahlins, historical philosopher R.G. Collingwood, and historical consciousness with ethnohistorical methods to explore the ways Native people have worked to protect and regain their connections with certain places. In particular, it examines change and continuity in the ways that the Stó:lõ Coast Salish in South Western British Columbia have understood and continue to understand a place called I:yem, located four kilometres north of Yale in the Fraser Canyon. Following a historiographical chapter, two case studies are used to access past and present Stó:lõ understandings of I:yem. The first case study examines the 1938 erection of a memorial there (which incorporated and blended aspects of Roman Catholicism with an articulation of a distinct Stó:lõ identity and assertion of rights) to see how I:yem was understood at the time. The creation of the I:yem Memorial illuminates those aspects of Stó:lõ relationships with I:yem that were considered non-negotiable in the face of rapid change and conflict, namely the continued importance of fishing and ancestors. The second case study, based on oral interviews that I conducted during the joint University of Victoria/University of Saskatchewan Stó:lõ Ethnohistory Fieldschool in June 2007, focuses on the current significance of I:yem and its memorial. Today the Stó:lõ place a greater emphasis on the importance of re-establishing personal connections with the Fraser Canyon in general, rather than in identifying those specific aspects of the relationships that are collectively and communally non-negotiable and in need of being preserved. Over the past seventy years the Aboriginal people of the Fraser Canyon and Valley have employed innovative means to regain and preserve attachments to their places. This thesis explores these processes, fundamentally demonstrating the importance Stó:lõ people attribute to maintaining relationships with place in the face of change.

In this study, vertical profiles of velocity and hydrographic properties measured by the Lowered ADCP and CTD, respectively are used to calculate the vertical eddy diffusivity K based on small-scale turbulence theory. Two methods are used to estimate K, that is, the Thorpe scale analysis method (designated as Kz) and vertical wave number shear spectral method (designated as Ksh). Four different experiments with different flow conditions and bathymetry, i.e., internal tides, deep open-ocean, nonlinear internal waves and Kuroshio, are conducted and their K values are estimated and discussed. The internal tides at the mouth of Kao-Ping Submarine Canyon (KPSC) are observed during July and December (spring tide) of 2008. In each cruise the LADCP/CTD casts are repeated every two hours and last 27 and 40 hours, respectively. The results indicate the existence of strong, semi-diurnal internal tides with vertical displacement of 50~100 m and the nature of first baroclinic mode. Turbulent mixing during flood is significantly stronger than that during ebb. Note that in the winter experiments the Kz can reach 0.01 m2 s-1, which is even larger than the reported Kz values in other submarine canyons of the world, suggesting strong mixing processes are taking place in the KPSC. From the LADCP/CTD data of the joint hydrographic survey on May 2008 at SEATS station of the South China Sea, the estimated average values of Kz and Ksh in the upper 3000 m are about 3¡Ñ10-4 m2 s-1 and 1.8¡Ñ10-4 m2 s-1, respectively. The average value of Kz near the ocean bottom increases to 2.5¡Ñ10-3 m2 s-1. These estimated Kz are somewhat larger than the reported values in the open ocean. On the other hand, Kz values between 300 and 700 m deep are almost zero, indicating that turbulent mixing is inhibited in the stratified layer. Nonlinear internal waves are tracked in the South China Sea during May 2007. Our results show that after the internal solitons passed in the deep waters, the Kz profiles change significantly, surface mixing is weak, and Kz increases gradually from 400 m deep to the ocean bottom. In the shallow water region, shoaling effect of the nonlinear internal waves lead to enhanced energy dissipation and higher values of Kz, with the maximum value reaches 1 m2 s-1 near 180m depth. The flow structure of Kuroshio current between Taiwan and Lanyu is observed in October 2007. The results show that Kz in the surface layer is high (~10-2 m2 s-1), obviously due to strong Kuroshio flows there. At the 3000 m deep submarine trench near Lanyu, the Kz in the bottom layer is also very high (~ 1 m2 s-1 ), indicating that effective turbulent mixing in the bottom layer is mainly due to topography, which has similar level as the nonlinear internal waves.

This research investigated the accumulation of metals (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd and Fe) in sediment of Gao-ping River and Gao-ping submarine canyon. Both Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Soil Quality Guidelines by Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were used to assess the extent of risk of these metals to the local ecological system. The results found no significant correlation between concentration of metals and volatile solid as well as particle size. It is noted that significant contaminations in zinc and lead were observed in sediments from both Gao-ping River and the starting point of Gao-ping submarine canyon, which concentrations exceeded the guidelines of Effect Range-Medium (ERM) by NOAA. Very likely, this is resulted from the metal and electroplating factories in the catchment area of Gao-ping River. It also provides evidence of the role of Gao-ping submarine canyon in accumulation of terrestrial and anthropogenic pollutants.

The purpose of this research is to understand the sinking particle dynamics in the Gaoping Submarine Canyon (GPSC), the change of their geochemical character, and their causal relationship with dynamic parameters. Also this research inquires into the significance of sedimentary environment, transport process, and the influence of non-tidal actions (turbidity current) in the sedimentary environment. The field experiments including LADCP moorings, T6KP(1/10/-3/20), and T7KP (7/7-9/11) sediment traps moorings were deployed in the GPSC to collect the time-series data of sinking particle and related dynamic parameters. Parameters of discrete sediment analysis were used to build continuous time-series data by interpolation, and time series analysis applied to understand the change of physical and geochemical character and their correlation with dynamic parameters. The results showed that sinking particles of different grain-size classes confront different forces in the canyon and their grain-size distribution structures are influenced accordingly. Vertical component of the flow has more influences on coarse particles, while the along canyon flow component has more influences on fine particles. The influence of semidiurnal tide on sinking particle is not clearly resoloved, but spring tide and neap tide affect them significantly. GPSC is normally a stable deposition environment dominated by tidal currents. Particle-reactive materials vary upon with clay concentration, coarse paericles vary upon with the flow field, and the change of benthic nepheloid layer thickness during spring and neap tide cycle affects the vertical distribution of particle size-groups near the bottom of canyon. The particle in the upper (rim) and lower (near the bottom) canyon belong to different transport and dynamic regimes. The upper part was affected by upwelling and shelf processes, while the lower part was affected by tidal currents. In case of episodic event, if surge-like turbidity flows pass near the canyon floor, in the waxing phase, the sinking particle would be affected by the strong momentum of resuspension and mixing which leads to a dramatic change of geochemical character of these particles. In turbidity current event, coarse sand and silt are the major particle sizes with low clay content, suspended sediment concentration about 4.41 g / l. The fluctuation of time series analysis by HHT found a frequency between 2.1~9.8 clcle per day. In the waning phase, dynamics and geochemical character of sinking particle will gradually return to those variations in tidal dominance. In winter, most sinking particles in GPSC are the source material (particles of biological origin) coming from the off-sea with the upcanyon flow during spring tide period. In summer, most sinking particles in GPSC are the terrigenous material (higher organic matter) output from the Gaoping River during typhoons, and flowing to the South China Sea along the canyon with turbidity flow.

Gas hydrate is a potential energy source that has recently been the subject of much academic and industrial research. The search for deep-water gas hydrate involves many challenges that are especially apparent in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, where the sub-seafloor is a complex structure of shallow salt diapirs and sheets underlying heavily deformed shallow sediments and surrounding diverse minibasins. Here, we consider the effect these structural factors have on gas hydrate occurrence in Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon blocks of the Gulf of Mexico. This was accomplished by first mapping the salt and shallow deformation structures throughout the region using a 2D grid of seismic reflection data. In addition, major deep-rooted faults and shallow-rooted faults were mapped throughout the area. A shallow sediment deformation map was generated that defined areas of significant faulting. We then quantified the thermal impact of shallow salt to better estimate the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) thickness. The predicted base of the GHSZ was compared to the seismic data, which showed evidence for bottom simulating reflectors and gas chimneys. These BSRs and gas chimneys were used to ground-truth the calculated depth of the base of GHSZ. Finally, the calculated GHSZ thickness was used to estimate the volume of the gas hydrate reservoir in the area after determining the most reasonable gas hydrate concentrations in sediments within the GHSZ. An estimate of 5.5 trillion cubic meters of pure hydrate methane in Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon was obtained.