Conference Papers

[No abstract available]

Evaporites, including rock salt (halite) and gypsum (or anhydrite), are the most soluble among common rocks; they dissolve readily to form the same types of karst features that commonly are found in limestones and dolomites. Evaporites are present in 32 of the 48 contiguous states in USA, and they underlie about 40% of the land area. Typical evaporite-karst features observed in outcrops...

The US EPA, as a part of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological-Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI) project team, is currently working to assess the impacts of an urban radiological dispersion device (RDD) and to develop containment and decontamination strategies. Three efforts in this area are currently underway: development of a laboratory-scale...

The recent trend in the building industry of Turkey as well as in many European countries is towards utilizing the tunnel form (shear-wall dominant) construction system for development of multi-story residential units. The tunnel form buildings diverge from other conventional reinforced concrete (RC) buildings due to the lack of beams and columns in their structural integrity. The...

In Lake Ontario, factors including the collapse of the burrowing amphipod, Diporeia spp., changes in the distribution and composition of the prey fish community, and occurrence of exotic cladocerans Bythotrephes longimanus and Cercopagis pengoi have led to changes in predation pressure on the remaining native profundal macroinvertebrate, Mysis relicta. We conducted a diet study on three...

Modern agricultural practices in the United States have resulted in nearly unrivaled efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, there is also the potential for release of these compounds to the environment and consequent adverse affects on wildlife and human populations. Since 1993, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program of the U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated water...

Fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing (FO DTS) is an emerging technology for characterizing and monitoring a wide range of important earth processes. FO DTS utilizes laser light to measure temperature along the entire length of standard telecommunications optical fibers. The technology can measure temperature every meter over FO cables up to 30 kilometers (km) long. Commercially...

Geochemical research on natural weathering has often been directed towards explanations of the chemical composition of surface water and ground water resulting from subsurface water-rock interactions. These interactions are often defined as the incongruent dissolution of primary silicates, such as feldspar, producing secondary weathering products, such as clay minerals and oxyhydroxides...

A combination of natural and human factors are driving coastal change and making coastal regions and populations increasingly vulnerable. Sea level, a major agent of coastal erosion, has varied greatly from -120 m below present during glacial period low-stands to + 4 to 6 m above present during interglacial warm periods. Geologic and tide gauge data show that global sea level has risen...

No abstract available.

Gypsum is a highly soluble rock and is dissolved readily to form caves, sinkholes, disappearing streams, and other karst features that typically are also present in limestones and dolomites. Gypsum karst is widespread in the USA and has caused problems at several sites where dams were built, or where dam construction was considered. Gypsum karst is present (at least locally) in most...

Sedimentological analyses of middle Paleozoic epeiric sea successions in North America suggest a hierarchy of discontinuity surfaces and condensed beds of increasing complexity. Simple firmgrounds and hardgrounds, which are comparatively ephemeral features, form the base of the hierarchy. Composite hardgrounds, reworked concretions, authigenic mineral crusts and monomictic...