Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file and four media files (media file 1.pdf, media file 2.pdf, media file 3.pdf, and media file 4.pdf) Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 25, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1998. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-192).

The Wind River gold prospect is located in TSN, R7E of Skamania County, Washington, and is an epithermal gold-quartz vein system hosted in volcanic rocks of the Ohanapecosh Formation, a late Eocene to middle Oligocene unit of calcalkaline chemical composition. Andesitic pyroclastic rocks of the Ohanapecosh Formation are the host of mineralization in the study area, and form the lowest of several stratigraphic subunits. These pyroclastic rocks are overlain by two sequences of lava flows which cap the ridges and are folded by an anticlinal warp over the length of Paradise Ridge, plunging gently to the southeast. Toward the west, the number of flows decreases and the proportion of intercalated pyroclastic rocks increases. Numerous dikes cut the pyroclastic rocks at the Wind River prospect. Geochemical data show these dikes to have been feeders for the overlying lava flows. Differing degrees of alteration of the dikes relative to the most intensely altered pyroclastic rocks which they cut indicates a complex history of overlapping hydrothermal and volcanic activity at the prospect.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 28, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-99).

No description available.

Holocene climate likely influenced prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence and mobility as changing climate patterns affected food resources. Of interest here is whether climate-driven resource variability influenced peoples in the central Rocky Mountains. This study employed the z-score model to predict how foragers coped with resource variability. The exercise enabled exploration of the relationship between climate, resources, and foraging strategies at High Rise Village (48FR5891), an alpine residential site in Wyoming's Wind River Range occupied between 2800-250 cal B.P. The test was applied to occupations dating to the Medieval Warm Period (1150-550 cal B.P.) and the Little Ice Age (550-100 cal B.P.). Using regional characterizations of temporal variability for these climate periods, a z-score model was employed to develop predictions of how foragers coped with resource variability and predictability during both periods. The model predicted foraging decisions at High Rise Village that managed the risk of caloric shortfall during the slow-changing Medieval Warm Period and the highly variable Little Ice Age. Predictions for each period were tested against corresponding archaeological expectations for subsistence remains, mobility and technology requirements, and the frequency of site use. Further, this study employed a dendroclimatological study to locally characterize the climate periods and test model assumptions of their contrasting patterns of variability. The dendroclimatological study corroborates model assumptions and finds that the Medieval Warm Period was a period of multidecadal climatic variability and resource predictability while the Little Ice Age was characterized by short-term variability and resource unpredictability. Poor preservation of subsistence remains hampered the archaeological study. However, as expected, lithic and chronometric data indicate the site was used residentially and relatively frequently during the Medieval Warm Period, and that use decreased during the Little Ice Age. Medieval use of the site appears to be by Uinta Phase (1800-900 cal B.P.) foragers from the adjacent lowlands, and likely related to regional population pressure, as well as resource accessibility and predictability at High Rise Village. A dramatic decrease in site use predates the Little Ice Age and is likely related to regional population decrease and not LIA conditions at High Rise Village.

Master of Science / Geology / Matthew E. Brueseke / The Upper Wind River Basin (UWRB) is located in north-central Wyoming, to the south of the Yellowstone National Park boundary and east of Jackson Hole. Both Lava Mountain and Spring Mountain are Quaternary volcanoes in the UWRB. Lava Mountain is a shield volcano composed of 26 separate lavas capped by a scoria cone. Spring Mountain is located about ~36 km east of Lava Mountain, north of Dubois, WY, where eruptions of basalt cut through Paleocene and Eocene strata. The goal of this study aims to reconstruct the petrogenesis of magmas erupted at both volcanoes using geochemical, petrographic, and isotopic analyses. Important local events in geologic history played a large role in the development of the UWRB. This includes a long history of ancient and Cenozoic subduction, regional extension, and also the migration of the North American plate over the Yellowstone hotspot. The few previous studies on Lava Mountain claim the rocks are mafic in composition, however this was based solely on reconnaissance geological mapping. Geochemical evidence presented in this thesis show Lava Mountain rocks range from basaltic andesite to dacite. Basaltic andesite and dacite are interstratified at the base until approximately 2774 m; the rest of the volcano is andesite. All Lava Mountain samples are largely aphanitic and crystal-poor. Conversely, at Spring Mountain, localized normal faulting controls the location of eruptions of olivine-rich basalt. Petrographic analysis for both Lava Mountain and Spring Mountain display a range of evidence for open system processes, including sieved and/or resorbed pyroxenes, olivines and feldspars, as well as xenocrysts that suggest an influence from crustal assimilation. A petrogenetic model is introduced that discusses how Lava Mountain magma production occurred via fractional crystallization of basalt to dacite, then magma mixing of basaltic andesite and dacite, coupled with small amounts of crustal assimilation, to form the locally erupted andesites. All samples, including Spring Mountain basalts, have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopes of 0.70608 and 0.70751, with ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopes of 0.51149 and 0.51157 and εNd values of -18 to -22. Pb isotopes plot to the left of the Geochron and directly on to slightly above the Stacey-Kramers curve. Strontium, neodymium, and lead isotope data suggest that Spring Mountain basalts are melts of ancient (e.g., 2.8 Ga Beartooth province) lithospheric mantle. The high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values and exceptionally low εNd values separate the UWRB rocks from both Yellowstone and Snake River Plain volcanics, and suggest they originated from a different magma source. Finally, thermal evidence suggests melting genesis for UWRB rocks may not be Yellowstone plume related; rather it is more likely linked to Cenozoic extension.

A reliable embedded real-time system has many requirements to fulfil. It must meet target deadlines in a number of situations, most of them in a situation that puts heavy stress on the system. To meet these demands, numerous tests have been created which test the hardware for any possible errors the developers might think of, in order to maximise system reliability and stability. These tests will take a lot of time to execute, and as system complexity grows, more tests are introduced leading to even longer testing times. In this thesis, a method to reduce the testing time of the software and, to a lesser extent, the hardware is examined. By using the full system simulator Simics, an existing industry system from ABB was integrated and tests were performed. A proof of concept test suite for automatic redundancy tests was also implemented. By looking at the test results, it was concluded that the method shows promise. However, problems with the average latency and performance troubles with Simics shows that more work must be put into this research before the system can be run at full speed.

No description available.

The Cretaceous Mowry Shale is an organic-rich, siliceous marine shale, and as such is a known source rock in the Western United States. Studies have documented that total organic carbon (TOC) in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming increases to the southeast. These studies cover large areas with limited sample sets. In this study, over 250 samples were collected near Lander, Wyoming to address spatial heterogeneity of TOC within the Mowry Shale at a much finer scale than previously examined. Samples were collected along five vertical sections at three localities, and following correlation of the vertical sections, which was strongly aided by the presence of regional bentonite horizons, samples were collected laterally from the same unit at regular 25-foot intervals. These samples were analyzed using pyrolysis and x-ray diffraction techniques. Average TOC values are fairly consistent within the study area (1.65%, with a range of 2.10% to 1.15%). Average Tmax values for vertical and lateral samples is 433 °C with a standard deviation of 7.25 °C suggesting immature to very early oil window thermal maturity. Kerogen types are determined to be dominantly type III, suggesting a dominance of terrestrial input, becoming slightly more mixed type II/III to the southeast. Redox-sensitive trace metals such as uranium, thorium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, and molybdenum values all suggest a slightly oxygenated sediment water interface during time of deposition. These pyrolysis and trace metal data suggest that the study area was in a prograding proximal marine/prodeltaic depositional environment during Upper Mowry time with influences from higher energy bottom flows. Lateral homogeneity of strata and the low variability in geochemical character across the study area suggest that the local basin in the study area was not segmented by structural or oceanographic conditions. While efforts were made to collect unaltered outcrop samples (digging back into what appeared to be unfractured, unaltered rock), alteration or weathering of organic material is a concern for source rock evaluation of near-surface outcrops. In order to address this concern, a 5-foot-deep trench was dug back into the outcrop at the target horizon in one locality. Samples were taken at regular three-inch intervals from this trench as it was excavated to determine the effect of weathering on TOC in the study area. Based on pyrolysis results, TOC was affected by weathering only along fracture sets (several samples intersected fractures in the shallow subsurface) and did not appreciably increase from the surface to a depth of five feet. Due to the impermeable nature of shale rock, decreases of TOC due to weathering appear to be limited to the immediate surface of samples and along fracture sets.