Date of Award

1985

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Ocean & Earth Sciences

Program/Concentration

Geology

Committee Director

Dennis A. Darby

Committee Member

Joseph H. Rule

Committee Member

G. Richard Whittecar

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.G4T78

Abstract

Fifty three samples were taken from three major rivers and their tributaries in Virginia: the James, Roanoke. and Potomac-Shenandoah Rivers. Samples were obtained from the Valley and Ridge. Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces. The possible source rock types for these samples were determined by comparison of tributary ilmenite composition with drainage basin rock types. Ilmenite element concentration varied with different rock types. Ti was usually high for the ilmenite derived from non-mafic igneous rocks. Mg and Cr were high for the ilmenite from mafic igneous rocks. Zn was low for metamorphic ilmenite. The ilmenite from sedimentary rocks tended to have a high concentration of Ti and a low concentration of Mn and Zn. Ilmenite composition varied among the three rivers. Discriminant. principal component and cluster analysis were used to analyze these differences.

The sources of southeastern Virginia Pleistocene beach deposits were determined by use of a stepwise discriminant analysis of the ilmenite composition for the beach sand compared to the samples from the three rivers. The oldest sampled beach sand. deposited at the Suffolk Scarp. was probably derived from the ancestral James River. Younger beach sands probably have multiple sources.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/r8gx-d836

Download

Share

COinS