North-central Ohio Research Articles

Nature and Significance of Rhomboid Ripples in a Silurian Sabkha Sequence, North-Central Ohio

ABSTRACT Rhomboid ripples, previously unreported in carbonate rocks, are present in intertidal carbonates deposited on a Silurian coastal sabkha (Tymochtee Dolomite, Celotex quarry, north-central Ohio). Unlike modern rhomboid ripples, which form in siliciclastic sand, these probably formed from silt-size grains of carbonate. Formation of the rhomboid ripples required bed-load transport of sediment by water that was very shallow (a few centimeters) and fast moving (Froude number > 1), and contained oblique shock waves created by the ripples themselves. Such flow conditions developed locally as water ran off intertidal flats after high tide. Mudstone drapes on the rhomboid ripples were formed from suspension fallout of carbonate mud, clay, and organic matter following storms, and are not gene ically related to the ripples. The rhomboid ripples, along with abundant low-angle (< 10°) cross-bedding and erosion surfaces, document that much of the original carbonate sediment in the sabkha was subjected to reworking and traction transport resulting from storms and tidal currents.

Conodonts from the Middle Devonian Plum Brook Shale of north-central Ohio

The Plum Brook Shale of north-central Ohio lies disconformably between the Eifelian (lower Middle Devonian) Delaware Limestone and the middle Givetian (upper Middle Devonian) Prout Dolomite. Its diverse conodont fauna indicates that it represents a transgression into the area in earliest Givetian time accompanied by the products of a notable adaptive radiation within two lineages ofIcriodus.One of these (I. expansusGroup) includesI. expansus, I. arkonensisandI. brevis, and complete intergradation of forms suggests that the group at this level involves conspecific ecotypes. A more extensive radiation involved descendants ofI. regularicrescens(I. regularicrescensGroup), including three new species,I. eriensis, I. janeaeandI. ohioensis.Other representatives of this lineage occur here as well as in strata of comparable age in the type region of the Givet Limestone as described by Bultynck (1987). A third lineage is represented byI. excavatusin both areas, but evidence of radiation within this branch is limited to the Givet Limestone. Remarkable diversity also occurs among forms considered herein to involvePolygnathus pseudofoliatusand its descendants. The existence of intermediate forms and shared characteristics between and among the various species, including some that first appeared well before the end of the Eifelian, implies that they may be conspecific ecotypic variants at this level. New morphotypes within this group are treated informally. The greatest overall diversity occurs just above the basal Plum Brook, in strata interpreted to reflect inner-sublittoral conditions. The entire Plum Brook belongs to the upperensensisZone. A considerable part of the type Givetian placed in the LowervarcusSubzone by Bultynck (1987) lies below the lowest occurrence of its index species (P. timorensis); it contains some of the species found in the Plum Brook, and much of this section may also belong to theensensisZone.

Nutrition Risk Assessment and Blood Transfusion

As a measure of physiological fitness, serum albumin aids in the identification of nutrition risk and, therefore potential for effective intervention. This study was undertaken to determine differences in the likelihood of blood transfusion among patients screened for nutrition risk including comparison of serum albumin levels.One hundred and ninety-eight nutrition assessment records, complete with admission values for serum albumin, were retrospectively reviewed for patients admitted to a rural referral center in North Central Ohio. A comparison of serum albumin, red blood cell transfusion, and nutrition risk assessment was completed. The standard screening criteria used by dietitians to evaluate a patient's nutritional status for purposes of assigning nutrition risk categories included, a) weight less than 80% ideal body weight or recent weight loss of 5% or more in 30 days, b) serum albumin less than 3.5g/dl, or c) diagnosis of malnutrition or other diagnosis routinely associated with prolonged poor oral intake. Absence of these risk factors placed a patient in nutrition risk levels I or II, while presence of one or more risk factors placed a patient in nutrition risk levels III or IV Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test.Eighty-one percent (n= 161) of the records reviewed showed evidence of nutrition risk, placing the patients in nutrition risk levels III or IV Serum albumins for level HI and IV patients were not significantly different from those of level I and II patients Twenty patients, all level III and IV nutrition risk, received red blood cell transfusions during the hospital course. As a group, the transfused patients had significantly lower serum albumin levels on admission than non-transfused patients (p<0.01).The results of this study indicate that transfusion of blood products during hospital stay are associated with patients in higher nutrition risk categories. Patients with increased nutrition risk, who subsequently receive transfusions, have overall lower serum albumin levels than non-transfused patients.

TB in Migrant Farmworkers

To the Editor. —The Office of Migrant Health, Department of Health and Human Services, estimates there to be more than 4 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States. Among other health problems, these workers suffer a significantly higher rate of tuberculosis (TB) infection compared with the general population. This also includes a high rate of asymptomatic TB, found to be 33% in Hispanic migrant workers in one typical study. 1 With a lifetime risk of 10% for developing active TB, it is understandable that this high-risk population constitutes one of the top priorities of the Advisory Council for Elimination of Tuberculosis, Department of Health and Human Services. In attempting to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for TB screening, 2 our mobile migrant worker clinic in north central Ohio offered Mantoux tuberculin skin testing to farmworkers and their families from June through September 1993. Approximately

Evaluation of the Hydrologic Component of the ADAPT Water Table Management Model

A subsurface, water table management model ADAPT (Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport) has been developed by combining drainage and subirrigation algorithms from DRAINMOD with the GLEAMS model. In addition, the model incorporates improved snow melt and runoff algorithms, macropore flow due to cracking, and deep seepage. Theory for the hydrologic components of the model is presented together with an evaluation of the model using data from a long-term field experiment at Castalia in North Central Ohio. Predicted surface runoff, subsurface drainage, and combined surface and subsurface drainage are compared with the field observations. In general, the model predictions are within the range of the variations of the observed replications. Sensitivity analysis shows that surface runoff estimates are sensitive to changes in curve number, while subsurface drainage flows are sensitive to deep seepage estimates. Model input requirements are not excessive and the model gives reasonable estimates of the hydrologic component of water table management systems. ADAPT can be used in designing water table management systems and does not require extensive calibration. The pesticide component of ADAPT is currently being evaluated and development of a nutrient component has been initiated.

Glacial Dispersal Rejuvenation on the Allegheny Plateau, North-Central Ohio, Based on Till Carbonate Patterns

ABSTRACT Carbonate contents of tills deposited by ice of the Scioto Lobe decrease in the direction of ice flow from the carbonate rocks of the Central Lowlands across the clastic rocks of the Allegheny Escarpment and then increase over clastic bedrock on the Allegheny Plateau. Thus, the distribution of carbonate in till units does not fit glacial dispersal models in recent literature. Regression analysis of fine carbonate (< 0.074 mm) content with distance down-ice along traverses from the carbonate-clastic contact to the Allegheny Plateau are not statistically significant because of the high carbonate contents of till units on the plateau. However, data from the contact to the escarpment do yield significant regression coefficients. One hypothesis to account for the increased carbonate con ent on the plateau is that entrainment of local shale quickly decreased carbonate concentrations. Because of its low durability relative to carbonate, shale was rapidly comminuted and caused a relative increase in fine carbonate on the plateau. An alternative hypothesis suggests that as soft shales were eroded, the debris content of the basal ice increased, causing the basal ice to stagnate along the escarpment. More active ice from the englacial zone, containing carbonate debris upsheared from the basal zone, may have overridden the stagnant basal ice and may have grounded as basal ice on the plateau. Subsequently, dilution of englacially transported carbonate began in the newly formed basal zone as the glacier moved over the plateau and glacial dispersal continued.

Nest Trees and Productivity of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) at Knox Lake, North-Central Ohio

Nest Trees and Productivity of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) at Knox Lake, North-Central Ohio

Observations on the Ecology, Reproduction and Growth of the Burrowing Crayfish Fallicambarus (Creaserinus) fodiens (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in North-central Ohio

-Breeding (Form I) and nonbreeding (Form II) males were present throughout the year. Occupancy of the same burrow by Form I males and females occurred from April to late October. Eggs were extruded, developed eyed embryo stage by mid-October and overwintered in this condition. Hatching occurred in late March to mid-April. Subadults in November were 20 mm-30 mm carapace length (CL). Molting to adult occurred in the following summer or autumn. Maximum age was over 6 yr and maximum size was 49.3 mm CL. Growth per molt was quite variable; adults averaged 1.39 mm CL. Burrow temperature ranged from near 2 C in February to near 22 C in August at a depth of 106 cm. Coinhabiting and burrow-sharing were interand intraspecific, involved members of the same or opposite sex and on occasion involved more than two crayfish.

The Lima-Indiana Trend--Reservoir Characterization

The Lima-Indiana trend (informal designation) is an arcuate oil- and gas-producing trend that extends from north-central Ohio to east-central Indiana. It was the first giant field in the United States. Since its discovery in 1884 in Findlay, Ohio, nearly 500 MMBO and an estimated 2 tcf of natural gas have been produced from the trend. Production has been documented from the Ordovician Trenton and Black River reservoirs. The trend is located on a broad structural platform overlying the Findlay arch and the northern end of the Cincinnati arch. Reservoir quality is locally highly variable within the trend as illustrated by a 24-fold difference between the most productive areas in the trend (12,000 barrels/acre along the Bowling Green fault zone in Ohio) and the least productive areas (500 barrels/acre over much of the Trenton field in Indiana). Study of cores and logs has shown that this difference in productivity can bibe rectly related to two end members of reservoir character. Reservoirs with the best recovery are in fractured Trenton Limestone associated with tectonic features. Solution porosity in the reservoir rock and mineralization by white sparry dolomite and other minerals is also common along the fracture zones. Porosity and permeability are greatlymore » enhanced in these zones and account for the high productivity. Reservoirs with the poorest recovery are found where the Trenton Limestone has been regionally dolomid to produced a vuggy to intercrystalline pore system with highly variable porosity and permeability. Local reservoir enhancement by regional fractures is suspected, but cannot be documented.« less

Incidence of fin erosion and anomalous fishes in a polluted stream and a nearby clean stream

This study documents the incidence of fin erosion and deformed (anomalous) fishes in two adjacent midwestern streams, north-central Ohio, U.S.A. Clear Fork stream flows through agricultural and forested areas, whereas Rocky Fork stream flows through industrialized Mansfield, Ohio, where it receives industrial and municipal effluents. Four sites on each stream were sampled monthly for fishes during July, 1982 through August, 1983. Incidence of fin erosion was significantly greater (P 0.05). Incidence of fin erosion in fish from polluted sites was inversely correlated with water temperature (P 0.05). Nevertheless, total incidence of deformed fishes at polluted sites (0.53%) seemed to be elevated compared to total incidence at unpolluted sites (0.28%). Comparative studies between fish from streams suspected of being polluted and fish from nearby unpolluted, reference streams should be used to define effects of chronic pollution.

Penecontemporaneous Dolomitization and Preservation of Oncolitic"Stromatoporoids in Lower Middle Devonian of Ohio: ABSTRACT"

Lower Middle Devonian carbonates of north-central Ohio record environments that changed upward from hypersaline supratidal-tidal lagoon (Lucas) to barrier beach to shallow marine (Columbus-Delaware). Within the upper Lucas and lower Columbus, molds of stromatoporoids are common, occurring generally as scattered disoriented remnants in various stages of dissolution. In an areally restricted portion of the upper Lucas, stromatoporoids are much more abundant and are extremely well preserved. Growth forms vary from massive low-profile encrustations to oncolitic spherical to prolate masses. Laminae within the oncolitic forms mimic the overlapping semiconcentric laminar structures of algal oncolites and are interpreted as having formed by similar interrupted upward growth of organic masses that experience episodic movement and overturning. Transport and burial resulted in additional deformation and fracture of semirigid skeletons. The author suggests the encrusting and oncolitic stromatoporoids lived in a tidally influenced channel or flat adjacent to a restricted hypersaline tidal lagoon.

Temporal Characteristics of Fish Assemblage Structure in an Ohio Stream

We examined persistence (constancy of species composition) and stability (constancy of relative species abundances) of a fish assemblage at one site on a fourthorder stream in north-central Ohio. Thirty-eight quantitative samples taken over a 9 yr period indicate that the assemblage was both persistent and stable over that period. Analysis of trophic composition of the assemblage supports the same conclusion. Five groups of species were clearly identified based on clustering of persistence and numerical abundance patterns: permanent/high density, permanent/moderate density, frequent/moderate density, infrequent/low density, and transients. Although the assemblage has some degree of predictability, the mechanisms responsible must be evaluated through other than documentation of long-term pattern.

Bone Development in Creek Chub from a Stream Chronically Polluted with Heavy Metals

Creek chub Semotilus atromaculatus from Rocky Fork, a metal-contaminated stream in north-central Ohio, and Clear Fork, a nearby uncontaminated stream, were studied to determine the effects of chronic heavy metal contamination from industrial and municipal sources on bone development. We examined bone development offish from two contaminated sites in Rocky Fork and from four reference sites – three in Clear Fork and one in Rocky Fork – to evaluate variability among reference sites, and to determine if the clean-water headwater site on Rocky Fork was a suitable reference site for the two downstream contaminated sites. Collagen composition, density, strength, and energy-absorbing capacity of bone were significantly higher in fish from the headwater site on Clear Fork (upstream from an impoundment) than in fish at the other three reference sites. In bones of creek chub from sites in Rocky Fork where the water contained high total concentrations of chromium, copper, iron, nickel, and zinc, the collagen content of bone was lower but density and strength were higher than in bone of fish from the reference site, Some fish also had deformed vertebrae in the caudal peduncle region of the spinal column, which is a condition characteristic of neuromuscular overload of vertebrae, The high concentrations of chromium and zinc in fish from the contaminated sites probably interfered with collagen metabolism and altered the density and mechanical properties of bone, Creek chub at the contaminated sites seem to be tolerant of heavy metal contamination and may be adapting physiologically to the chronic metal stress in their environment.

Cambrian-Ordovician of North-Central Ohio: ABSTRACT

Cambrian-Ordovician of North-Central Ohio: ABSTRACT

July streamflow

Heavy rains of 4–6 inches (∼10–15 cm) during July 1–2, 1987, caused flooding that resulted in damages estimated at $30 million in north central Ohio. No record high discharges were reported for the streams involved, however. In Minneapolis, Minn., where precipitation had been below normal through mid‐July, 8.96 inches (22.36 cm) of rain fell in 24 hours during July 23–24, exceeding the 100‐year 24‐hour rainfall by ∼3 inches (∼7 cm). Total precipitation for the week ending July 25 was 14.49 inches (36.81 cm), which was double that recorded for January 1 through July 18, 1987.

Site-Factor Determinants of the Presettlement Prairie-Forest Border Areas of North-Central Ohio

The Sandusky Plains in Marion, Wyandot, and Crawford Counties, Ohio, were one of the easternmost extensions of the Prairie Peninsula. During the presettlement period, they constituted an enclave or an island of prairies, open woodlands of bur oak and hickory, and closed forests of oak set in the beech-maple forests of the till plains of western Ohio. Prairies were associated with broad, flat depressions on the uplands underlain by fine-textured lacustrine deposits. Because of the low permeability of the soil and the seasonal distribution of precipitation, they were alternately very wet in the spring and very dry in the fall. Fires, originating in the flammable matrix of the grasslands, altered the composition of the surrounding woodlands. On marginal sites, fires favored the development of savannas, whereas on the better-drained sites they may have converted closed forests of beech and maple to closed forests of oak.

Estimating the Extent of Reduction Needed to Statistically Demonstrate Reduced Non-Point Phosphorus Loading to Lake Erie

The need to reduce non-point phosphorus contributions to Lake Erie has led to extensive efforts to implement conservation tillage in the Lake Erie basin. Because annual loads are highly variable, statistical approaches will be required to document the success of conservation tillage and other best management practices in reducing loads. Important management issues are how large a reduction will be required, and how long it will take to achieve the needed reduction. In response to these issues, a method is presented for estimating the amount of change needed to establish a statistically significant reduction, based on the standard t-test. Analysis of data from the Sandusky River, a north-central Ohio tributary of Lake Erie, indicates that the necessary change is about 35% of the current loads. When the loads are adjusted for variations in discharge, the necessary change can be reduced to about 20%. Based on projections of the Army Corps of Engineers of adoption rates of conservation tillage, and the associated effects on phosphorus loads, a 35% change would take 25 years or more, but a 20% change would occur by the end of 8 years. The documentation of these changes will require high quality monitoring data, collected before and during the implementation period with the same sampling strategy.

Water Management Model Evaluation for North Central Ohio

ABSTRACT DATA from a field drainage experiment in North Central Ohio were used to evaluate the reliability of the water management simulation model, DRAINMOD. Predicted and measured outflow volumes were compared for field plots with surface drainage alone, subsurface drainage alone and for combination plots with both sur-face and subsurface drainage. Comparisons were made for four replications of each treatment over a total of eight years. Inputs to the model were climatological, crop, soil property and drainage system parameter data for each treatment. Predicted and measured surface runoff and drainage volumes were in good agreement for all treatments. Devi-ations in predicted and measured volumes for individual drainage events were usually small and, in most cases, about the same magnitude as measured differences be-tween replications.

Gravity Investigation of Suspected Silurian Reef in North-Central Ohio: ABSTRACT

In his 1873 report on Wyandot County, Winchell discusses two unusual exposures of the Niagaran limestone near Carey, Ohio. These were designated as the and the Ridge. Further work by Cumings and Shrock, published in 1928, led to the identification of these ridges as klintar of Silurian age. An active quarrying operation on the North Ridge supplies ample evidence of its origin. The Wyandot Dolomite quarry has uncovered a Silurian reef, exposing parts of the core mass, flank beds, and cap rock. In looking at the West Ridge, any conclusive evidence which once existed has been lost with the filling of abandoned quarries. The purpose of this report is to delineate the suspected reef in the West Ridge by its gravity anomaly. Density determinations performed on samples taken from the North Ridge indicate a small density variation among the facies. Considering this factor, the station spacing was set at 200 ft (61 m) to insure detection of the anomaly. The gravity residual was calculated by least squares analysis on an IMB 370 computer. In this method a mathematical surface is calculated using the Bouguer value. This mathematical surface is fitted to the Bouguer surface and subtracted leaving the residual anomaly as the remainder. Since this system uses a point-to-point analysis, small variations in the residual anomaly should be readily detected. Two lines of these data have been selected for additional analysis by modeling using Talwani's two dimensional approach. The shape of the residual anomaly and the fit between the theoretical profiles and the field profiles, together with the abrupt thickening of the Niagaran section as seen on electric logs, indicate that the West Ridge is a topographic expression of a Silurian reef. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1012------------

Sediment and Chemical Content of Agricultural Drainage Water

ABSTRACT SEDIMENT losses from plots on silty clay soil in north central Ohio varied widely over a 10-year period, but averaged 2548 kg/ha in surface runoff, 1529 kg/ha in deep pipe flow and 218 kg/ha in shallow pipe flow. Losses of N03-N were 12.1, 18.7, and 11.2 kg/ha, for P 2.2, 1.2, and 0.8 kg/ha, and for K 31.6, 22.5, and 8.7 kg/ha, respectively, for the three drainage systems. Sedi-ment losses were higher for bare soil and grass during the dormant season than for fall plowed land. Rain water contained considerably more N03 N, and several times more P than in the pipe drain flow.