Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2014, Geological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

The Eocene Bridger Formation is the uppermost fluvial unit exposed in the lacustrine Greater Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming. It is characterized by thick sequences of siliciclastic mudstones, sandstones, and thin limestones; the limestones have been interpreted previously as transgressive lake deposits linked to the upper Laney Member of the Green River Formation, an overfilled lake deposit. The stratigraphic interval studied is in the Bridger B unit in the Devil's Playground Quadrangle; it included the Golden Bench Limestone and five unnamed limestone units immediately above and below it. These limestones are not laterally continuous and have variable thicknesses though they appear to have lateral continuity from aerial photographs. Ground truthing of the discontinuity of limestones and their relationship to their associated mudstones and sandstones in the Bridger B suggest deposition instead in the distal floodplains of an anastomosing river system that flowed toward the upper Laney Member lake.

Committee: Elizabeth Gierlowski-Kordesch (Advisor) Subjects: Geological; Geology; Limnology; Sedimentary Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Earth Sciences

Our understanding of the Earth's multimillion-year carbon cycle, with primary implications for the evolution of life, depends on our ability to decipher information encoded in chemical signals of shallow marine sediments. This dissertation attempts to develop our knowledge of two main topics: (1) the causes of multimillion-year global climate change in terms of changes in the sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and (2) the causes and meaning of post-depositional alteration of shallow marine sediments with respect to chemical proxy records of the evolution of global (and/or local) Earth processes. To this end, this work applies radiogenic strontium and neodymium (87Sr/86Sr, εNd(t)) and stable calcium (δ44/40Ca) isotopic records in bulk carbonate rocks and conodont apatite from Middle–Late Ordovician (Darriwilian–Katian stages; ~470–450 million years ago, abbrev. Ma) sections in the Antelope Range, central Nevada; Clear Spring, Maryland; and the Fjacka and Kargarde sections of the Siljan district, Dalarna province, central Sweden. Bulk rock samples from the tropical Middle–Late Ordovician setting of the Antelope Range, Nevada were analyzed for proxy records of regional and global continental weathering source lithology (87Sr/86Sr and εNd(t)) which were paired with published paleotemperature proxy measurements (δ18O) of conodont apatite from the same section. This paired suite of proxy records is used to test the hypothesis that low-latitude island arc accretion during the Middle–Late Ordovician Taconic Orogeny enhanced the weatherability of Earth's crust, increasing the rate of CO2 removal by the weathering of mafic silicate minerals and producing the global cooling observed in the Middle–Late Ordovician paleotemperature record. These records show coeval inflections in 87Sr/86Sr and εNd(t) values at ~463 Ma that reveal the influence of tectonic uplift and enhanced weathering of mafic ophiolite provinces on the Taconic margin. This change in weather (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Saltzman (Advisor); Audrey Sawyer (Committee Member); Elizabeth Griffith (Committee Member); William Ausich (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemistry; Earth; Geochemistry; Geology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Environment and Natural Resources

Since the beginning of time Earth's carbon cycle has self-regulated, experiencing periods of warming and cooling with changing amounts of carbon in the atmosphere. Today, human activity is rapidly changing the climate through the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2). To prevent disastrous outcomes caused by climate change, it is vital to halt greenhouse gas emissions, however, this is only one part of the solution. To keep global temperatures from increasing more than 2° C, CO2 removal must also be an integral part of the solution. The objectives of this research were to conduct a laboratory experiment and investigate the carbonation of concrete within soil as a viable option to sequester atmospheric carbon, analyze how concrete carbonation changes with fragment size, and understand the environmental impacts of adding concrete to soil. Soil samples from Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Center were collected and placed into 30 cm columns with different mixtures of crushed recycled concrete to test concrete in soil as an enhanced weathering material. Four different treatments were tested and were comprised of 1) 100% soil (S samples), 2) 90% soil and 10% concrete by weight of 0.25-0.71 mm diameter fragments (F samples), 3) 90% soil and 10% concrete by weight of 8 mm diameter fragments (L samples), and 4) 100% concrete composed of 8 mm diameter fragments (C samples). Four replications of each treatment were tested for a total of 16 samples. Approximately 40 cm3 of deionized water was added to each sample every day from a drip irrigation system for a total amount of 940-990 mm yr-1 throughout the experiment to simulate the amount of precipitation received by Columbus, OH in one year, with leachate continuously collected underneath the columns. After 16 weeks, the soil and concrete mixtures were removed from the columns and tests were conducted on the soil and leachate samples. The results from this study show that con (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rattan Lal (Advisor); Berry Lyons (Committee Member); M. Scott Demyan (Committee Member); Matt O'Reilly (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Climate Change; Environmental Science; Soil Sciences

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2021, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Amplitude anomalies in pre-stack seismic data have widely been used in the oil and gas industry as a risk analysis tool when exploring for hydrocarbons. AVO analysis is most often applied to poorly consolidated Tertiary rocks due to the compressibility of these strata when natural gas and porosity are present. In contrast, well-lithified carbonate rocks are less prone to producing a pre-stack amplitude response due to the rigidity of their frame. Pre-stack seismic data of a 2-D seismic profile were conditioned and interpreted to identify amplitude variation with offset (AVO) attributes corresponding to the presence of hydrocarbons within the North Vernon Limestone (NVL) interval in the Illinois Basin. The seismic data were acquired over the Glen Ayr oil field in Vigo County, Indiana, and in the Old Hill oil field in Clay County, Indiana prior to wells being drilled. Production in both fields is from porous dolomites draped by tight limestone or dolomites over a Silurian reef complex We show that with appropriate pre-stack data conditioning subtle AVO responses in Illinois Basin carbonates may indicate the presence of hydrocarbons. Seismic line CM-46-12 (Clay) and CM-27-14 (Vigo) were both analyzed using AVO attributes to identify anomalous zones that may relate to the presence of hydrocarbons. Seismic Line CM-27-14 was further interpreted using pre-stack inversion to provide additional information pertaining to the reservoir rock properties. The results on both seismic lines show strong, negative AVO gradients along the NVL interval, whereas nonproductive intervals exhibit either positive or no amplitude gradient. Pre-stack inversion of lime CM-27-14 shows high impedance zones which are consistent with the presence of tight dolomite atop the reef structure. Low-impedance, low VP/VS ratio zones correlate to the hydrocarbon bearing porosity zones of the NVL interval.

Committee: Ernest C. Hauser Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Paul McColgan Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Doyle R. Watts Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Geophysics

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Geology

The Middle Silurian-aged Guelph Formation pinnacle reefs and associated deposits of the Michigan basin (U.S.A.) are a prolific hydrocarbon play, valued for its potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon sequestration. Recent work has aided in resolving reef growth models and complex architecture, however previous studies have been focused on reef development, largely overlooking depositional controls of the leeward debris apron development and implications for reservoir development. This study hypothesizes that the leeward debris apron of Guelph Formation pinnacle reefs accumulated with depositional controls and architectural elements like those of larger, line-fed slope apron systems of carbonate platform margins. This study utilizes a case study well, which was laterally deviated leeward of the reef pinnacle and captured the leeward slope profile of a Guelph Formation pinnacle reef. This study uses 70 m of whole core, 117 core plugs, 16 mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) curves, 21 thin sections, in addition to a suite of geophysical wireline logs, including borehole image logs, to build a depositional model for the leeward debris apron and evaluate controls on reservoir quality. Core analysis of sedimentary deposits recovered from the well identified 16 lithofacies, interpreted to have been deposited within six facies associations including reef zone, tempestite, debrite-turbidite, subtidal back-reef, intertidal, and supratidal. Stratigraphic analysis revealed that the leeward debris apron developed within two distinct growth stages: (1) a stage correlative to active reef growth and accumulation of the debris apron and (2) a peritidal stage of deposition. Reef growth deposits (stage one) consisted of deepening upward sedimentary successions comprised of skeletal framestones, floatstones, rudstones, grainstones, wackestones and intraclastic conglomerates. The vertical succession of these deposits was interpreted to represent the lateral shift of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Evans (Advisor); Margaret Yacobucci (Committee Member); Yuning Fu (Committee Member); Kurt Panter (Other) Subjects: Geology; Petroleum Geology; Sedimentary Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1985, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Chemistry

Hydrogen-bond donor (HBD) catalysis has emerged as a remarkable platform for the activation of reactants through non-covalent interactions. This class of organocatalysts provides a sustainable alternative to transition metal catalysis and avoids the difficulties associated with trace metal removal. Classically, HBD catalyst interactions proceed in two major pathways: direct activation or anion recognition. Enhanced HBD catalysts that display improved performance under both modes of action allow for the discovery of new reactivity patterns that have previously been unattainable. Two new classes of elegantly designed non-covalent catalysts have been explored in the synthesis and functionalization of heterocycles. Boronate ureas, an internal Lewis acid assisted urea, are particularly well suited for the direct activation of molecules containing nitro-functionality. Donor-acceptor cyclopropanes are useful building blocks in synthetic chemistry due to the electronic nature of the strained ring and the intrinsic functionality. Boronate ureas were applied toward development of the first cycloaddition of nitrones with nitrocyclopropane carboxylates in the presence of an enhanced non-covalent catalyst. The highly functionalized 1,2-oxazinane core synthesized in this single step is a prominent scaffold in many bioactive targets. With this strategy, a small library of oxazinane products has been synthesized in up to 99% yield and 4:1 dr. A second class of enhanced catalysts, silanediols, have a propensity to recognize the ether functionality. This molecular recognition was exploited in the context of direct epoxide activation for carbon dioxide fixation. Typically, with organocatalytic cyclic carbonate formation, very few types of functional groups are able to affect this transformation under mild conditions; often, high temperatures, long reaction times, and high pressures of carbon dioxide are necessary for desired product formation. With only 10 mol % of a silanediol (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anita Mattson (Advisor); Thaliyil Rajanbabu (Committee Member); David Nagib (Committee Member) Subjects: Organic Chemistry

MS, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

A 3-inch diameter, 102 meter core was collected from the Butte Valley Lake near Siskiyou, California in the fall of 1991 as part of a USGS project to study Quaternary climatic conditions in western North America. The floor of Butte Valley lies at an altitude of 4200 feet and has been the site of a lake for at least 3-million years, with deposits ranging in age from Pliocene to Holocene and exceeding 900-feet in thickness. It is presently subject to active, extensional tectonism. Ostracode samples from this core now reside at Kent State University. Analysis of fresh water ostracodes from this core address changes in the Butte Valley paleolake. Changes in ostracode species type and abundance provide insight into the impact of paleoclimate and tectonic changes of the Pacific Northwest. The Butte Valley data has been compared with existing studies from large Quaternary western North American pluvial lakes. This study addresses paleoclimate and tectonic activity and their relation to Pleistocene climate oscillations (and the uplift of the coast range), dominant reproductive strategies (sexual vs. parthenogenetic) as indicators for paleoclimate and ecosystem stability, and assemblage consistency with the distribution of extant northern hemisphere ostracode taxa.

Committee: Alison Smith (Advisor); Daniel Holm (Committee Member); Donald Palmer (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Paleoclimate Science

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

The main goal of this research is to provide physical evidence of reverse flow(s), from the Arctic to the North Pacific Ocean, after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This is primarily essential to studies concerned with understanding how the fluctuations in strength of the Southern Ocean Wind (SOW), in conjunction with an open Bering Strait, alter the direction of water flow through the Bering Strait. Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) derivative spectroscopy; quotient normalization and varimax rotated principal component analysis of diffuse spectral reflectance (DSR) measurements from 234 surface core samples and 2 piston cores, in addition to the USGS spectral library, were used to extract and identify these lithological compositions (in order of importance) within the study location. These compositions are chlorite + muscovite; goethite + phycoerythrin + phycocyanin; smectite; calcite+dolomite; and illite + Chlorophyll a. The Geostatistical tool, kriging, was utilized in creating the sedimentary maps of all the components. These maps were used to determine these components' modern spatial patterns. This aided in the evaluation and downcore interpretation of the component most suited for this study. The illite in illite + Chlorophyll a assemblage was deemed to be the appropriate water mass tracer for a reverse flow from the Arctic into the North Pacific; this is because of its prominence and abundance in the Mackenzie River drainage basin and on the west Arctic Sea shelf. The illite denotes these periods of meltwater pulses (MWP): MWP 1A, ~14,600 and 13,800 Cal yrs. BP, separated by the Older Dryas; MWP 1B, ~11,000-9,200 Cal yrs. BP; and MWP 1C, ~8,000 Cal yrs. BP. The timing of these pulses along with previously published data on the Bering Sea shelf and the North Pacific Ocean enabled these deductions: 1) the initial opening of the Bering Strait and the flow direction after the LGM; 2) the source of these meltwater pulses and the mechanism that might drive (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joseph Ortiz (Advisor); Alison Smith (Committee Member); Elizabeth Griffith (Committee Member); John Portman (Committee Member) Subjects: Geochemistry; Geographic Information Science; Geology; Geophysics

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 1991, Materials Science and Engineering

Niobium-doped cerium (IV) oxide was studied as an alternative cathode material for molten carbonate fuel cells. Studies of corrosion by molten (Li,K)2CO3 eutectic in air and controlled atmospheres have been conducted, as well as microstructural studies (TEM, SEM) and DC electrical conductivity measurements. The corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of niobium-doped cerium oxide was strongly affected by material preparation procedures. Silicate grain boundary phases, attributed to contamination from grinding during powder preparation, served as a sink for the dopant and were readily attacked by the molten carbonate. As a result, materials prepared from mixed oxides showed poor corrosion resistance and low electrical conductivity. Ce0.992Nb0.008O 2-x prepared using a hydroxide co-precipitation method contained little or no silicate phases, and exhibited electrical conductivity above the target value of 0.1 Ω-1cm-1 at 650°C in air. W- and Ta-doped ceria showed much higher electrical conductivity: 2.5 Ω-1cm-1 at 640°C for 0.26%W; 0.24 Ω-1cm-1 at 650°C for 1.35%Ta; and 0.13 Ω-1cm-1 at 644°C for 0.8%Nb doped CeO2. Ce was found to be stable (<2 ppm) in the molten (Li,K)2CO3 eutectic at 650°C after 500 h in air, and after 300 h at 1 atm total pressure with pO2 = 0.25 atm and pCO2 ranging from 0.75 to 0.15 atm (balance argon). Nb was detected in the melt at levels ranging 2 to 42 ppm. The corrosion of Nb appears to occur by a basic dissolution mechanism. Finally, it can be concluded that Nb doped ceria can be a good alternative as a cathode material for motel carbonate fuel cell when it is prepared by techniques which avoid silicate intergranular phases.

Committee: Mark DeGuire (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Geology

Epibionts seem to be more common in siliciclastic units than in carbonate units. To evaluate this difference, the paleontology of the Middle Devonian Dundee Formation has been explored. A total of 245 brachiopod specimens were collected from a fossiliferous horizon of the Dundee Formation exposed at Whitehouse Quarry and identified to the generic level. Brachiopod genera identified were Strophodonta, Rhipidomella, Rhynchotrema, Atrypa, and Mucrospirifer. All the brachiopod shells were examined under a stereomicroscope for evidence of epibionts, and preferred host taxa were determined. Epibionts are absent on all the brachiopod shells except some Rhipidomella shells. Further examination of these Rhipidomella shells under 100x magnification showed evidence of biotic interactions in 21 out of 48 specimens. Large boreholes were produced by worm borers, scars were left on a few specimens by worms, branching grooves were the traces of soft-bodied ctenostome bryozoans, and sheet-like encrustation was produced by an indeterminate group of bryozoans. Ctenostome bryozoans had a commensal relationship with their host while a few worms had a parasitic relation with the host. While one might expect encrustation on hardgrounds within this carbonate unit, field work has determined that much of the Dundee Formation was extensively bioturbated, implying a soft substrate. It may be that bioturbation mixed shells down into the substrate before epibionts could attach.

Committee: Margaret Yacobucci (Advisor) Subjects: