The Tugaloo terrane in the eastern Blue Ridge, located in the high-grade southern Appalachian crystalline core,contains small internal basement massifs, the Neoproterozoic Tallulah Falls Formation, and Paleozoic granitoid plutons. Detailed geologic mapping in the Lake Toxaway and eastern Big Ridge quadrangles was done to better understand the regional tectonic history. Whole-rock geochemistry was used to determine similarities between the augen phase of the 1.15 Ga Toxaway Gneiss and the 1.15 Ga Wiley Gneiss of northeastern Georgia. The study found that all eastern Blue Ridge orthogneisses are similar and probably share a source. The previously identified Whiteside, Looking Glass, and Pink Beds plutons, and the newly identified Horseshoe Rock and Round Mountain plutons were also characterized. All plutons are low-K, catazonal granodiorites and trondhjemites that plot as volcanic arc or syncollisional granites on tectonic discrimination diagrams. The Looking Glass, Pink Beds, and Round Mountain plutons were dated using U-Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronology, and their ages are 333 + 16 Ma, 371.3 + 4.2 Ma, and 342.5 + 2.4 Ma, respectively. Zircon saturation temperature estimates for these plutons, and a Whitney and Stormer two-feldspar estimate for the Round Mountain pluton, indicate that they intruded at 700-800° C. Whole-rock geochemistry was used to constrain the origin of amphibolites and hornblende gneisses around the Toxaway dome. One sample was a metabasalt with MORB composition, like other eastern Blue Ridge samples. Two other samples have a metasedimentary protolith . Migmatitic aureoles found in the amphibolite facies rocks around the Whiteside, Looking Glass, and Horseshoe Rock plutons are syn-intrusional and represent a zone of contact metasomatism. The new pluton ages constrain the regional deformation history. At least 6 deformations are recognized in the eastern Blue Ridge. Dominant regional foliation is traditionally attributed to the second event (~466 Ma). However, foliations measured within all plutons are identical to foliations measured in the surrounding rock, indicating that foliations had to form after the youngest pluton intruded (~333 Ma), and that Alleghanian deformation was dominant in this region. These observations do not explain cross-cutting relationships observed around older plutons and raise new questions about southern Appalachian tectonics.

With the depletion of the existing reservoirs and the decline in oil discoveries during the last few decades, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods have gained a lot of attention. Among the various improved recovery methods, waterflooding is by far the most widely used. However, the presence of reservoir heterogeneity such as high permeability streaks often leads to premature breakthrough and poor sweep resulting in reduced oil recovery. This underscores the need for a prudent reservoir management, in terms of optimal production and injection rates, to maximize recovery. The increasing deployment of smart well completions and i-field has inspired many researchers to develop algorithms to optimize the production/injection rates along intervals of smart wells. However, the application of rate control for other EOR methods has been relatively few. This research aims to extend previous streamline-based rate optimization workflow to polymer flooding and CO2 flooding. The objective of the approach is to maximize sweep efficiency and minimize recycling of injected fluid (polymer/CO2) by delaying its breakthrough. This is achieved by equalizing the front arrival time at the producers using streamline time-of-flight. Arrival time is rescaled to allow for optimization after breakthrough of injected fluid. Additionally, we propose an accelerated production strategy to increase NPV over sweep efficiency maximization case. The optimization is performed under operational and facility constraints using a sequential quadratic programming approach. The geological uncertainty has been accounted via a stochastic optimization framework based on the combination of the expected value and variance of a performance measure from multiple realizations. Synthetic and field examples are used extensively to demonstrate the practical feasibility and robustness of our approach for application to EOR processes.

Copano Bay is a shallow (< 2-3 m), microtidal estuary in south central Texas. In an effort to both determine the distribution as well as investigate the controls on the distribution of oyster reefs, a geophysical survey of Copano Bay was conducted in June and July 2007. Surficial sediment analysis confirms that the recent sedimentation in Copano Bay is comprised of mostly estuarine mud with little sand or shell, large extents of oyster reefs and smaller areas of sand. Seismic stratigraphy analyses verify that the first oyster reefs in Copano Bay formed atop topographic highs in the Pleistocene surface. About 6 ka, sea level rise slowed to near its present rate and sediment supply decreased tremendously to Copano Bay decreasing the amount of suspended sediment. The first oyster reefs began forming around this time using these fluvial terraces as suitable substrate. Once the initial reefs were established, additional reefs began forming atop these initial reefs, or on the eroded shell hash material from the initial reefs. During this time of slow sea level rise and low sediment input to the bay, oyster reefs thrived and reef and shell hash material covered a majority of the bay surface. Once climate change increased sediment input to the bay, the reefs began to decrease in size due to siltation. The reefs have continued to decrease in size causing a 64 percent reduction in oyster reef and shell hash area from approximately 4.8 ka to today.

Coal beds are one of the most promising reservoirs for geologic carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration, as CO₂ can strongly adsorb onto organic matter and displace methane; however, little is known about the long-term fate of CO₂ sequestered in coal beds. The "2800' sand" of the Olla oil field is a coal-bearing, oil and gas-producing reservoir of the Paleocene–Eocene Wilcox Group in north-central Louisiana. In the 1980s, this field, specifically the 2800' sand, was flooded with CO₂ in an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project, with 9.0×10⁷m³ of CO₂ remaining in the 2800' sand after injection ceased. This study utilized isotopic and geochemical tracers from co-produced natural gas, oil and brine from reservoirs located stratigraphically above, below and within the 2800' sand to determine the fate of the remaining EOR-CO₂, examining the possibilities of CO₂ migration, dissolution, mineral trapping, gas-phase trapping, and sorption to coal beds, while also testing a previous hypothesis that EOR-CO₂ may have been converted by microbes (CO₂-reducing methanogens) into methane, creating a microbial "hotspot". Reservoirs stratigraphically-comparable to the 2800' sand, but located in adjacent oil fields across a 90-km transect were sampled to investigate regional trends in gas composition, brine chemistry and microbial activity. The source field for the EOR-CO₂, the Black Lake Field, was also sampled to establish the δ¹³C-CO₂ value of the injected gas (0.9‰ +/- 0.9‰). Four samples collected from the Olla 2800' sand produced CO₂-rich gas with δ¹³C-CO₂ values (average 9.9‰) much lower than average (pre-injection) conditions (+15.9‰, average of sands located stratigraphically below the 2800' sand in the Olla Field) and at much higher CO₂ concentrations (24.9 mole %) than average (7.6 mole %, average of sands located stratigraphically below the 2800' sand in the Olla Field), suggesting the presence of EOR-CO₂ and gas-phase trapping as a major storage mechanism. Using δ¹³C values of CO₂ and dissolved organic carbon (DIC), CO₂ dissolution was also shown to be a major storage mechanism for 3 of the 4 samples from the Olla 2800' sand. Minor storage mechanisms were shown to be migration, which only affected 2 samples (from 1 well), and some EOR-CO₂ conversion to microbial methane for 3 of the 4 Olla 2800' sand samples. Since methanogenesis was not shown to be a major storage mechanism for the EOR-CO₂ in the Olla Field (CO₂ injection did not stimulate methanogenesis), samples were examined from adjacent oil fields to determine the cause of the Olla microbial "hot-spot". Microbial methane was found in all oil fields sampled, but indicators of methanogenesis (e.g. alkalinity, high δ¹³C-DIC values) were the greatest in the Olla Field, and the environmental conditions (salinity, pH, temperature) were most ideal for microbial CO₂ reduction in the Olla field, compared to adjacent fields.

abstract: Ascraeus Mons (AM) is the northeastern most large shield volcano residing in the Tharsis province on Mars. AM has a diameter of ~350 km and reaches a height of 16 km above Mars datum, making AM the third largest volcano on Mars. Previous mapping of a limited area of these volcanoes using HRSC images (13-25 m/pixel) revealed a diverse distribution of volcanic landforms within the calderas, along the flanks, rift aprons, and surrounding plains. The general scientific objective for which mapping was based was to show the different lava flow morphologies across AM to better understand the evolution and geologic history. A 1: 1,000,000 scale geologic map of Ascraeus Mons was produced using ArcGIS and will be submitted to the USGS for review and publication. Mapping revealed 26 units total, broken into three separate categories: Flank units, Apron and Scarp units, and Plains units. Units were defined by geomorphological characteristics such as: surface texture, albedo, size, location, and source. Defining units in this manner allowed for contact relationships to be observed, creating a relative age date for each unit to understand the evolution and history of this large shield volcano. Ascraeus Mons began with effusive, less viscous style of eruptions and transitioned to less effusive, more viscous eruptions building up the main shield. This was followed by eruptions onto the plains from the two main rift aprons on AM. Apron eruptions continued, while flank eruptions ceased, surrounding and embaying the flanks of AM. Eruptions from the rifts wane and build up the large aprons and low shield fields. Glaciers modified the base of the west flank and deposited the Aureole material. Followed by localized recent eruptions on the flanks, in the calderas, and small vent fields. Currently AM is modified by aeolian and tectonic processes. While the overall story of Ascraeus Mons does not change significantly, higher resolution imagery allowed for a better understanding of magma evolution and lava characteristics across the main shield. This study helps identify martian magma production rates and how not only Ascraeus Mons evolved, but also the Tharsis province and other volcanic regions of Mars. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geological Sciences 2017

Viable cysts collected from natural sediments were induced to excyst. Ten cyst-theca relationships, first established elsewhere, were confirmed for British Columbia (B.C.). These were: Gonyaulax tamarensis, Protoperidinium aspidotum, P. claudicans, P. conicoides, P. conicum, P. cf. denticulatum, P. leonis, P. oblongum, and P. punctulatum. Five cyst-theca relationships were established for the first time: Peridiniopsis cf. hainanensis, Protoperidinium sp. nov., P. thorianum, and two apparently new species of Gonyaulax. P. pentagonum was found to have a cyst different from the cyst of this species in the Atlantic. Forty-five samples from Recent sediments were collected along the coast of B.C. Twenty-three of the samples had very few cysts. Hidden Basin was the chief source of viable cysts for the excystment experiments. Ten cyst-based taxa were described from the sediment samples. These were: Operculodinium centrocarpum, the cyst of Scrippsiella faeroense (= Micrhystridium bifurcatum), Spiniferites belerius, S. bentori, S. bulloideus, S. elongatus, S. membranaceus, S. nodosum, and S. ramosus. Tanyosphaeridium sp. has been recorded previously as the cyst of Polykrikos schwarzi. Two new cyst-based taxa are described for the first time. These are a cyst of Protoperidinium sp., and Spiniferites "sp. A". Cyst assemblages in the Recent sediments of B.C. were similar to many temperate estuarine and neritic areas. Some cysts which are characteristic of these areas in other regions, have not yet been found in B.C. The relative importance of some cysts also varies from that found in similar sediments elsewhere. The dominance of Operculodinium centrocarpum in many of the cyst assemblages, including B.C., is a pattern typical of temperate estuarine conditions. Some cysts appear to be characteristically associated with fjord environments. Scrippsiella faeroense, for example, has been found in Norwegian fjords and Scottish sea lochs as well as some B.C. fjords and inlets. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

Detailed mapping (1:24,000), measured sections, and clast counts in conglomerates of the Duchesne River Formation and Bishop Conglomerate in the Vernal NW quadrangle in northeastern Utah reveal the middle Cenozoic stratigraphic geometry, the uplift and unroofing history of the eastern Uinta Mountains, and give evidence for the pulsed termination of Laramide uplift. The Unita Mountains are an EW-trending reverse fault bounded and basement-cored, Laramide uplift. The oldest unit of the Duchesne River Formation, the Eocene Brennan Basin Member, contains 80-90% Paleozoic clasts and <20% Precambrian clasts. Proximal to the Uinta uplift the conglomerates of this member are dominated by Paleozoic Madison Limestone clasts (70-90% of all clasts). Farther out into the basin, Paleozoic clasts still dominate in Brennan Basin Member conglomerates, but chert clasts are more abundant (up to 43%) showing the efficiency of erosion of the carbonate clasts over a short distance (~5 km). Conglomerates in the progressively younger Dry Gulch Creek, Lapoint, and Starr Flat members show a significant upward increase in Precambrian clasts with 34-73% Uinta Mountain Group and 8-63% Madison Limestone. Duchesne River Formation has a significant increase in coarse-grained deposits from the southern parts of the quadrangle (20-50% coarse) to the northern parts (75% coarse) nearer the Uinta uplift. The lower part of the Duchesne River Formation exhibits a fining upward sequence representing a tectonic lull. Clast count patterns show that pebbly channel deposits in the south maintain similar compositions to their alluvial fan counterparts. To the north, the fine-grained Lapoint and Dry Gulch Creek members of the Duchesne River Formation appear to pinch out completely. This can be explained by erosion of these fine-grained deposits or by lateral facies shifts before deposition of the next unit. Starr Flat Member conglomerates were deposited above Lapoint Member siltstones and represent southward progradation of alluvial fans away from the uplifting mountain front. Similarities in composition and sedimentary structures have caused confusion surrounding the contact between the Starr Flat Member and the overlying Bishop Conglomerate. Within the Vernal NW quadrangle, we interpret this contact as an angular unconformity (the Gilbert Peak Erosion Surface) developed on the uppermost tilted red siltstone of the Starr Flat Member sometime after 37.9 Ma. Stratigraphic and structural relationships reveal important details about the development of a Laramide mountain range: 1) sequential unroofing sequences in the Duchesne River Formation, 2) progradation of alluvial fans to form the Starr Flat Member, 3) and the unconformable nature of the Gilbert Peak Erosion Surface lead to the conclusion that there were at least 3 distinct episodes of uplift during the deposition of these formations. The last uplift episode upwarped the Starr Flat Member constraining the termination of Laramide uplift in the Uinta Mountains to be after deposition of the Starr Flat Member and prior to deposition of the horizontal Bishop Conglomerate starting at about 34 Ma. This, combined with 40Ar/39Ar ages of 39.4 Ma from the Dry Gulch Creek and Lapoint member, show that slab rollback related volcanism was occurring to the west while the Uinta Mountains were being uplifted on Laramide faults. These new 40Ar/39Ar ages constrain the timing of deposition and clarify stratigraphic relationships within the Duchesne River Formation; they suggest a significant unconformity of as much as 4 m.y. between the Duchesne River Formation and the overlying Bishop Conglomerate, which is 34-30 Ma in age, and show that Laramide uplift continued after 40 Ma in this region.

By only considering records of climate and glaciers over the period that humans have been monitoring them, one might think that climate normally changes quite rapidly, and that glaciers have always been small. But in the not-so-distant past, an ice sheet covered the Southern Andes, flowing across the southern tip of the continent, and in some places, even terminating into the Atlantic Ocean. Glaciers rewrite the surfaces they inhabit, leaving behind indicators of their past behavior. By studying the landforms they create, we can reconstruct climates of the past. Here I present unique and novel glacier-climate reconstructions over southern and central Patagonia using a state-of-the-art dating approach tied to high resolution spatial mapping and glaciological modeling. The main goal of this thesis is to constrain the precise timing and character of the past advances of three glaciers in Patagonia. To this end, I present new precise 10Be surface exposure datasets from two paleo outlet glacier lobes (at 45°S and 53°S), totaling 71 new moraine boulder ages. In these two valleys, I am able to reconstruct the last three major glaciations (MIS 6, 4, 2), as well as provide a constraint for the last two terminations (T1, T2). At a third site, I create a novel dataset to reconstruct the behavior of the Calluqueo glacier (48°S) from ~7,000 years ago to the present. All three sites are eastwards of the main Andes mountain range, spanning from southernmost Patagonia (53°S) to central Patagonia (45°S). To achieve my thesis objectives, I employed recent improvements in the 10Be exposure dating method, and tied the geochronological studies to new, high resolution maps of the glacial geomorphology created by the former glaciers and associated processes. We find in central Patagonia, the Ñirehuao glacier lobe was most extensive potentially during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8, but certainly prior to MIS 6, followed by a major advance during MIS 6. This study presents one of the first directly dated records of a MIS 6 glacier expansion in Patagonia at 153±5.1 ka, where the glacier may have been in retreat at 137±4.2 ka. During the last glacial cycle, the glacier was most extensive during the middle of MIS 2, at 23.6±0.9 ka. The southernmost section of the Ice Sheet, at Estrecho de Magallanes, was more extensive during Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4) than during MIS 2, representing the first direct dating of the MIS 4 glacier culmination in South America. Similar to the MIS 2 glacial maximum, within MIS 4 there were multiple advances that we date (6 samples) to between 67.5±2.1 and 62.1±2.0 ka. Inboard of the MIS 4 moraine complex, we date a sequence of geomorphically distinct MIS 2 moraines that represent separate major periods of glacial stability. The MIS 2 maximum extent occurred by 27.4±0.8 ka and was followed by at least four more full glacial culminations over a hundred miles beyond the Andes mountains. About 18 km inboard of the main MIS 2 landforms, the sequence is followed by smaller-scale recessional moraine crests that we date to 18.0±0.8 ka, indicating the glacier was in net retreat at this time. In order to estimate the climate conditions necessary to drive the glacier advances that we date and map, we apply the University of Maine Ice Sheet Model to the Estrecho de Magallanes and Ñirehuao records. Tentative results suggest that the Magallanes lobe may have reached mapped inner and outer MIS 2 moraines with a climate that had approximately 4.5°C and 5.5°C cooler summers, respectively, assuming about 25% less annual precipitation relative to modern conditions. A new record at Calluqueo, in central Patagonia, allows us to reconstruct Holocene (interglacial) glacier changes. Using 33 new 10Be ages with unprecedented precision, geomorphic mapping and historical imagery, we find that the Calluqueo glacier sat at its mid-Holocene maximum extent from ~6,900 until ~6,700 years before the present. Major moraine forming advances subsequently culminated at least seven more times, averaging every 500±31 years, between 5,620±203 and 3,120±106 years ago. A hiatus in moraine formation occurred from 3,120±106 until 1,160±50 years ago (860 CE). Major retreat occurred between 1600-1800 CE, followed by stability from 1800-1940 CE, and pronounced ongoing retreat since after 1940 CE. For the Holocene period, this record represents one of the first precise, directly-dated glacier histories from central Patagonia, and one of the few available for all of Patagonia. The timing of advances of the Calluqueo glacier has little in common with the glacial histories from the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting an inter-hemispheric asynchronicity. All together, we reconstruct the timing of glacial maxima at three sites in terrestrial Patagonia from 53°S to 45°S, with unprecedented precision, from pre-MIS 6 to the present day.