Surface water plays a critical role in meeting Texas’s water demands, particularly for municipal use. In the State of Texas, there are 188 major water reservoirs, 15 major river basins, and 8 coastal basins. These water sources serve as the lifeline of Texas’ urban and agricultural populations. In our study, we will be examining how proximity to these sources affects development, particularly focusing on population density to determine the type of population (urban or agricultural). Our findings have the potential to provide insights that can inform city water departments near major water resources with high population density and aid with water demand and scarcity management.

This study investigates the intricate relationship between population growth and energy demand, aiming to identify trends and patterns that inform future energy planning. Through comprehensive analysis, utilizing data spanning geographical regions of the US and the period 2000-2021, the study assesses the impact of population growth on energy consumption. Data from the US Energy Information Administration will be utilized for electricity and energy data, while data from the US Census will be used for population data. The analysis will focus on examining how population changes affect energy demand, and conversely, how changes in energy demand influence the sources from which energy is produced. This analysis aims to provide insights into predicting future energy usage, production sources, and demand patterns as the population continues to grow. The findings underscore the pressing need for sustainable energy solutions as the population continues to increase, providing valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to navigate the complexities of energy planning and management.

Global climate change, due to increases in greenhouse gas emissions, is a prevailing issue that is projected to continue with heightened impacts on extreme weather events, desertification, and human health. Our project draws connections between resilience to climate change and the molecular composition of organic molecules found in soil.

Through assessments of the carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) content and composition of organic molecules in soils can be determined. Specifically, through assessments of C-number (Cn), H/C and O/C ratios of organic molecules, we can determine how well different soils and soil types can sequester carbon and ultimately support climate resiliency. Higher Cn in organic molecules indicate more carbon storage capacity while lower O/C and H/C ratios in organic molecules indicate more stable carbon that is resistant to release as CO2 to the atmosphere. Our research will compare Cn, O/C and H/C data of organic molecules in soils from across the United States to identify possible trends in carbon sequestration potential across regions of the conterminous US.

The data to be used is raw Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) data from the “One thousand soils for molecular understanding of belowground carbon cycling” project (Bowman et al.). We first plotted the soil samples on Van Krevelen diagrams, which visualize each molecule as a point with O.C and H.C ratios, and we made frequency distributions to understand the largest organic molecular formula for each sample. We then plotted the maximum organic formula from each soil onto a new Van Krevelen diagram, where we compared the different samples to see which ones had higher overall carbon content. We hope to find a connection between soil composition and U.S. regions from which we will then make predictions on potential for carbon sequestration and, ultimately, the ability of these regions to remain resilient and sequester carbon during climate change.

The regional geological framework of the area I am studying involves a possible major northwest-trending Cambrian to Ordovician rift zone with abundant igneous rocks in parts of Colorado. These igneous rocks may be related to large volumes of Cambrian igneous rocks located along the same trend in southern Oklahoma. My project focuses on plutonic igneous intrusions located in the Wet Mountains in the southern part of the Front Range and in the Powderhorn District farther west. The goal of this project is to discover whether the rocks in Colorado formed during the same major magmatic event as those in Oklahoma. I will be studying thin sections of rock samples from Colorado utilizing a petrographic microscope. I will describe and identify the main igneous minerals from the samples, some of which are rare. I will also study the igneous textures and alteration products in the samples. Geochemical studies in progress will build on these results and will allow detailed comparison with the southern Oklahoma igneous rocks.

A major Cambrian rift zone containing abundant igneous rocks is present in southern Oklahoma and trends northwest from the ancient continental margin. Previous geologists have mapped numerous igneous intrusions in Colorado that follow the same trend, ranging from Cambrian to Ordovician in age, and have speculated that these intrusions may be a part of the same rift. These intrusions include abundant igneous dikes of various compositions that originated from deeper magmatic bodies, filling fracture systems in older igneous rocks and Precambrian gneisses. This study involves the microscopic analysis of samples we collected from different dike types, including diabase, trachyte, and lamprophyre. Diabase is a common intrusive basaltic rock that develops coarser grains due to slower cooling and represents partial melt from the mantle that fills fractures in the upper crust. For our samples, trachyte refers to igneous dikes containing large crystals of K-feldspar within a distinctive red-colored, fine-grained matrix. Magmas of this composition are typically associated with intraplate rift zones. Lamprophyre is a rare intrusive igneous rock that has large crystals of biotite and amphibole in a finer matrix of feldspar and mafic minerals. While rare, this rock is also associated with intraplate rift zones. We also sampled one significantly younger basalt dike that intrudes Cenozoic volcanic rock to compare with the much older diabase dike samples.
Nine of our samples come from the Wet Mountains in the southern part of the Front Range in Colorado, and we also have an additional five samples of diabase dikes along the Front Range ~100 km to the north. Analysis of thin sections of these samples under the petrographic microscope will provide insight into their exact mineralogical compositions as well as their igneous textures. This work will provide a framework for geochemical analyses of the dikes, which is currently underway. The results will help determine whether the Colorado intrusions are directly related to the southern Oklahoma rift.