Three broadly interrelated problems of critical significance to the proper interpretation of melt inclusion (MI) data are addressed in this thesis. The first issue, the petrogenesis of anorthitic plagioclase phenocrysts in MORB lavas, has relevance due to the presence of numerous MI in many high-An feldspars. This problem was addressed...
Oregon’s High Lava Plains Province (HLP) has strongly bimodal basalt and rhyolitic volcanism. The Province caps the northern margin of the Basin and Range Province and serves as a transitional region between westward extension of the Basin and Range Province and unextended crust to the north . The High Lava...
Geomorphic change along the lower Clackamas River is occurring at
a millennial scale due to climate change; a decadal scale as a result River
Mill Dam operation; and at an annual scale since 1996 due to a meander
cutoff. Channel response to these three mechanisms is incision.
Holocene strath terraces,...
This project explores mechanisms governing the invasion of fluvial systems by two
contrasting exotic species in stream networks of steep, relatively remote forested landscapes
of western Oregon. This research addresses hypotheses relating limitations of seed source
locations, seed transport processes, and sink availability to the distributions of scotch broom
(Cytisus...
Feeder dikes to the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) large igneous province provide a rare opportunity to examine magma transport through the shallow crust during flood basalt eruptions. Over 70% of the CRBG erupted from the Chief Joseph dike swarm, which is exposed across southeastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and western...
This dissertation focuses on the role of ice sheets in the transition during the middle Pleistocene (-1.2 Ma) from 41-kyr glacial cycles to 100-kyr glacial cycles. This research evaluates the hypothesis that the middle Pleistocene transition (MPT) was related to the glacial erosion of a regolith mantle and the subsequent...
The Willamette Silt is a surficial geologic unit composed of successive Missoula Flood Deposits that underlies 3100 km2 (1200 mil) of arable land in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The Willamette Silt protects the underlying regionally important Willamette
Aquifer from agricultural contamination while acting as a semi-confining unit and a...
The northwestern corner of the Basin and Range Province (NWBR) lies in southeast Oregon where extensive Late Miocene, mafic to bimodal basalt-rhyolite volcanism and extensional faults dominate a stark and arid landscape. Near Lake Abert, the Late Miocene volcanic section abuts Early Miocene, dominantly intermediate composition volcanoes at the Coleman...
In steep headwater basins of the Oregon Coast Range (OCR), debris flows episodically deliver material from low-order tributary basins to larger catchments. Much of this material is stored in valleys and gradually removed by fluvial processes. Quantifying the transfer of material from hillslopes to mainstem channels is essential in understanding...
This thesis presents a detailed seismotectonic investigation of the Himalayan region and the Tibetan plateau as part of project HiCLIMB to explore the state of stress and the kinematics of the world’s largest continental collision zone. Using full regional waveforms for moment tensor inversion, source parameters for 107 earthquakes were...
