Characterizing an Artificial-Recharge Site in a Desert Environment Using Time-Domain Electromagnetics - Matt Burgess; M.S. Candidate, Advisors Dr. George Jiracek, Dr. Paul Bedrosian (USGS): Time-domain electromagnetics (TEM) were applied to characterize the subsurface in the vicinity of a proposed artificial hydraulic recharge site. Because of the investment involved, it is important to know the possible barrier effect of a major fault situated near the proposed recharge site. In this...

Southern Coyote Creek Fault to Superstition Hills Fault: New Insight to the San Jacinto Fault System - Afton Van Zandt; M.S. Candidate, Advisors Dr.Rob Mellors , Dr. Thomas K. Rockwell, and Dr. Douglas A. Stow: The Superstition Hills fault (SHF) is an active fault in the San Jacinto fault zone that also creeps aseismically. 58 interferograms from ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellite data (descending, track 356, frame 2943) spanning a time period from 1992 to 2000 were analyzed to measure...

Study of crustal structure in the Caucasus and Caspian regions using receiver functions - Rumi Takedatsu; B.S. Candidate- Advisor Dr.Rob Mellors: The Eurasia-Arabia collision has created complex tectonics and structure in the Caucasus and Caspian region. In particular, Caspian Basin has a very different lithospheric structure from the surrounding region and the origin of the basin and nearby structures, such as the Kura Depression, are not well understood. This study will map the main...

Potential Controls Affecting Gastropod Biomass in the the High Intertidal Zones at Neighboring Locations - Tiffany Schillereff; B.S. Candidate, Advisor Dr.Stephen Schellenberg: San Diego California’s coastlines include rocky intertidal zones that contain an abundance of the Class Gastropoda. What are the potential controls on gastropod abundance and size? Do wave energy, anthropogenic impact, substrate lithology and predation play a role? The locations in this study were Bathtub...

Crustal Structure of the Caucasus/Caspian region using gravity and receiver functions - Jason Ricketts; B.S. Candidate, Advisor Dr.Rob Mellors: The area west of the South Caspian basin is an area of complex and uncertain tectonic structure. Thick sediments within the Kura Depression mask the basement and its subsurface geology is poorly constrained. Forward modeling of receiver functions provides initial constrains. However, a good match is sometimes difficult due to the thick...

Paleoenvironments, Paleoecology, and Exceptional Preservation in Burgess Shale-type Deposits - Robert Gaines; Department of Geology, Pomona College: Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposits occur worldwide and offer a remarkable window on the initial Phanerozoic radiation of the Metazoa. However, BST deposits also represent significant deviations from the constraints that govern the typical operation of the fossil record. These deviations remain to be adequately accounted for,...

LA's Future Earthquake; Kim Bak Olsen - Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University

Stromatolites: Myths and Legends; Stromatolites are classically interpreted as “organo-sedimentary structures”, where layers and doming/branching result from microbial mats. As such, they could be considered quintessential ‘astrobiologic’ structures—a stromatolite, as a macroscopic manifestation of microbial processes, would be much easier to image remotely (on Mars, for example) than a microbe. While there is no doubt that some (perhaps most) stromatolites on Earth were formed...

Utilization of Geological Techniques to Help Solve an Archaeological Puzzle: When Did People Arrive in North America? Eleanora (Norrie) Robbins Department of Geological Sciences San Diego State University Knut Fladmark hypothesized that as soon as boat technology was developed 40,000 years ago, people probably traveled the oceans. The 40,000-year-ago shoreline is now below 150-160 ft (50 m) of water and an unknown thickness of sediment. So evidence for boat transport by maritime...

A Physical Model for Widespread Near-Surface and Fault Zone Damage Induced by Earthquakes - Seismic observations indicate that material velocities at shallow depths decrease over a large area after large earthquakes. The reductions are widespread, and occur at distances of up to several source dimensions. A persistent low-velocity fault zone has also been documented extensively from seismic and geodetic observations, in which the velocity drops further after large earthquakes. Dynamic...