PhD Dissertations - DO NOT EDIT: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 57
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Liquid Flow and Gas Diffusion in Natural Rocks: Experimental and Simulation Studies
(2023-08-24)Natural rocks, as key components in energy and environmental geosciences, play crucial roles in groundwater extraction, geological storage of high-level nuclear waste, geothermal energy mining, and petroleum exploration ... -
Experimental and theoretical studies of fluid-solid coupling processes of tight rock media
(2023-08-24)**Please note that the full text is embargoed until 8/1/2025** ABSTRACT: This study covers the application of continuum mechanics in the realm of rock work in geological studies. Continuum mechanics encompasses two major ... -
Petrophysical Studies on Woodford Shale in Oklahoma and Wolfcamp Shale in Texas: A Multiple-Approach Methodology
(2022-05-09)The successful development of oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs in the United States proves the high petroleum potential that shale rock reserves. Petrophysical studies on shale rocks are an important part of ... -
MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-APPROCH INVESTIGATIONS OF PETROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND FLUID FLOW IN NATURAL ROCKS
(2022-05-09)Natural rock is one of the most important geological attributes on the Earth that have been widely related to human daily life in various aspects. Rocks are usually utilized with respect to their petrophysical properties ... -
Investigating the frictional properties of organic matter and pore structure of organic-rich shales with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy
(2022-12-19)Understanding geomechanical properties of shales, such as stiffness properties and fracture toughness, is important in different areas of petroleum industry-related activities including fracturing efficiency, petroleum ... -
A GLIMPSE INTO THE CLIMATE, SEASONALITY, HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE, CARBONATE CHEMISTRY AND MARINE ECOSYSTEM SHIFT OF THE PRE-PETM AND THE PETM USING NCAR CESM1.2
(2023-05-19)**Please note that the full text is embargoed until 05/16/2025** ABSTRACT: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 my ago, 170,000y event) is characterized by a negative δ13C excursion into the atmosphere. This ... -
Machine Learning-based Methods for the Segmentation of Scanning Electron Microscopy Images of Fine-Grained Shale Samples
(2022-12-15)The segmentation of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images is critical yet time-consuming for geological studies, as it will need to differentiate the boundaries for different mineral objects to facilitate subsequent ... -
A Comprehensive Analysis of the Evolution of Coastal Flooding in Texas and Louisiana for Application in Risk Assessment
(2022-12-09)Coastal communities of the northern Gulf of Mexico have historically been at risk of flooding from tropical cyclone induced storm surge and extreme precipitation. Relative sea level rise resulting from a combination of ... -
AGE, PROVENANCE AND TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS OF LATE PALEOZOIC VOLCANIC TUFFS IN SOUTHWEST LAURENTIA
(2022-08-17)Assembly of the supercontinent Pangea is among the most important tectonic events in late Paleozoic Earth history. The diachronous Laurentia-Gondwana collision destroyed the intervening subduction zone(s) of the Rheic ... -
REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED DUMPSITE SOIL: AN EVALUATION OF SOIL AMENDMENTS IN COMBINATION WITH PHYTOREMEDIATION
(2022-08-24)Contamination of soils and water from open dump site leachate is a frequent problem in developing nations. Water supplies are threatened when water percolates through the waste, bringing with it a variety of substances, ... -
Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Child Neurodevelopment
(2021-12-10)Pregnant women are exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) primarily via ingestion of contaminated food, water, and house dust. PFAS in pregnant women can be transferred to their child through the placenta ... -
Modelling PM2.5 concentrations and spatial correlation with weather conditions and adult asthma in north Texas in 2014
(2020-05-29)The questions to be answered by this study are whether weather conditions correlate with PM2.5 concentrations, and whether there is a correlation between asthma-related hospital admissions and PM2.5 concentrations. The ... -
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Asthma Hospitalizations and Associated Factors in Eastern Texas, 2005-2012
(2019-12-09)The prevalence of asthma is increasing for both adult and children in eastern Texas. This study examines the spatial and temporal differences in asthma hospital discharge rates and its association with socioeconomic risk ... -
Controlling factors of river water stable isotope compositions and middle to late Cenozoic deposition and surface uplift history of the southern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.
(2019-09-03)The Cenozoic topographic evolution of the Rocky Mountains (Rockies) and Great Plains in the western U.S.A. reflect a combination of mantle geodynamic, crustal deformation and surface erosional processes. This region was ... -
Variability and Temporal Trends of Semivolatile Organic Compounds in Biological and Environmental Media
(2020-08-28)Exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in indoor environments and its potential impact on human health have been receiving increased public attention, because people in developed countries spend over 80% of ... -
Investigation of petrophysical properties and fluid migration in unconventional oil/gas reservoirs
(2019-05-07)Petrophysics deals with the physical and chemical properties of petroleum-bearing rocks and their interactions with associated fluids. The investigation of petrophysical properties of interest, such as porosity, specific ... -
TWO CRETACEOUS TALES OF THE LAND AND THE SEA
(2019-05-07)The Cretaceous Period (145-66 Ma), with no magnetic reversal for ~79 Ma, is generally termed as the Cretaceous Normal Superchron or the Magnetic Quiet Zone. There is evidence of at least two major large scale, global ... -
TRACING PALEOZOIC SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENT DISPERSAL TO THE FORT WORTH AND MIDLAND BASINS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOGEOGRAPHY AND ORGANIC MATTER ACCUMULATION
(2019-05-14)The Fort Worth and Midland Basins in central and West Texas are major petroleum-producing systems in North America. The provenances of the thick Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in both basins are poorly constrained, although ... -
Fusulinid and conodont biostratigraphy of the Upper Pennsylvanian–Cisuralian Riepe Spring Limestone, Spruce Mountain Ridge, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A.
(2018-12-06)The Upper Pennsylvanian-Cisuralian (lower Permian) mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata exposed at Spruce Mountain Ridge, Elko County, Nevada, record the shallow-marine microfauna and oscillating depositional history of ... -
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT ASTHMA RELATED EMERGENCY ROOM DISCHARGES IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS IN 2010 - 2014
(2019-12-06)Asthma is a common chronic disease of the airways characterized by recurrent reversible airway obstruction. More than 25 million Americans have asthma. In this study, factors associated with adult asthma related emergency ...