Independent and original research is a valuable part of an undergraduate education as a Geology major, and all Geology majors complete a research project during their senior year. Senior research provides students the opportunity to explore a particular sub-discipline of geology in detail and to apply the research skills that they have mastered in their geology coursework to a specific research question they find fascinating.
Submit Your Geology Senior Thesis
Geology Senior Theses are restricted to On-Campus Access Only and not available by ILL.
Geology Senior Theses from 2013
Geology of the Catoctin Formation in the eastern Blue Ridge, central Virginia: Petrogenesis and tectonic signature, Thomas Alex Johnson
Reconstructing the age and paleoenvironment of a Crassostrea virginica reef deposit at Holland Point, Virginia, Kristopher M. Kusnerik
Development of cosmogenic 22Na as a clock for stream water age in Virginia's Costal Plain, Nancy E. Lauer
Death at Jamestown 1607: A Geochemical Analysis of As, Fe, and DOC in the Jamestown Aquifer, Glencora A. Maccubbin
Sediment analysis, x-radiography and acoustics methods to reveal sediment laminations on a fine-scale in the York River estuary, Dominique M. Paxton
Geology of the Mesozoic midway Mills Basin and Mayo Creek, Virginia Piedmont, Jacob Rosenthal
Kinematic Analysis of Ductile Deformation in the Goochland Terane, Virginia, Stephan Simmons
Hydrology and water quality in the unconfined aquifer beneath Jamestown Fort site, Virginia, Kyle A. Stark
Global Sediment Lifting of Martian Dust Devils, Peter Steele
Utilizing GIS to Study Concentrated Flow from Agricultural Fields in the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Sarah Young
Geology Senior Theses from 2012
The Kinematic History of Brittle Deformation in the Petersburg Granite, Richmond, Virginia area, Megan Ambrose
Ephemeral Organic Carbon Fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay from Agricultural Runoff on the Virginia Coastal Plain, Emma Katherine Caverly
Characteristics of Ooids in the Middle to Late Cambrian Elbrook Formation, Virginia, Lydia P. G. Cuker
Tracking Mineralogical Changes in Stream Sediment Composition in the Vicinity of Willis Mountain, Stephen Dronfield
Assessing Retention Time of Lead in Montane New England O Horizons, Tess Engebreston
Using GIS to Quantify Riparian Buffer Bypassing in the Coastal Plain of Virginia within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Lyndsey Karin Funkhouser
Investigation of Pleistocene Oyster Population Structure and Growth Rates in a Piankatank River Reef (Virginia), Amanda Grant
Structural Analysis of Brittle Deformation in the Eastern Blue Ridge, central Virginia, Molly E. Hahn
Brittle Deformation in the Hylas Zone, eastern Piedmont, Virginia, John Hollis
Magnetic Anomalies in the eastern Blue Ridge, central Virginia: a Magnetic Interpretation of Subsurface Structure, Benjamin Huff
Origin and Tectonic Significance of the Albemarle-Nelson Soapstone Belt and Associated Metagabbros in Central Virginia, Andrea Jensen
A Comparison of Task Value in Introductory Geology and its Role in Student Learning and Retention, Erin Kwon
Structural Geology of the Scottsville Mesozoic Basin, Virginia, Kevin Quinlan
Predicting Flow and Measuring Fluxes in Riparian Buffer Bypassing Channels, Charles Reilly
Hydrologic and Geochemical Variables and their Effect on Groundwater Quality at Jamestown Fort, Virginia, R. Douglas Rowland
Sexual Dimorphism and species selection in Late Cretaceous fossil ostracodes from the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain, Christine M. Solon
Variability of erodibility in bedrock-floored channels produced by differential weathering, Matthew S. Sparacino
Geology Senior Theses from 2011
Motivation and Academic Interests of Students in Three Introductory Geology Courses at the College of William and Mary, Caitlin Broznak
Taphonomy of Miocene Cetacean Vertebrae from Carmel Church Quarry, Virginia, Christina J. Byrd
Kinematic and temporal history of brittle deformation in the Blue Ridge province, north central Virginia, Mary Catherine Cox
Restoring the Blue Ridge: Cross Section Construction and Restoration, Central Virginia, Grace Dawson
A Field Mineralogical and Geochemical Investigation Of the Maidens Gneiss near Amelia, Virginia, Christina Nicole Hancox
Nutrient and Sediment Loss from Agricultural Fields by Channel Bypassing of riparian Buffers, Isaac Hopkins
Dating Deformation: Thermochronology and Chemical and Mineralogical Changes in the blue Ridge Basement Complex in Virginia, Chelsea E. Jenkins
Using in situ Measurements to Assess the Variability of Weathering on Bedrock-Floored Channels, Lauren Lamp
The Taphonomy, Paleoecology and Depositional Environment of Vertebrate Microfossil Bonebeds from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation in Garfield County, Montana, Sean Michael Moran
Mineralogical and Geochemical Constraints on the Origin of Ferruginous Quartzites in the Chopawamsic Terrane, Piedmont, Virginia, Bradley J. Peters
Late Quaternary Ostracode Assemblages from the Central Artic Ocean: A Paleoclimate/Paleoceanographic Reconstruction for the Last 50ka, Robert K. Poirier
A Morphological and Phylogenetic Examination of the Miocene and Pliocene Bivalve Genus Chesapecen, Judith A. Sclafani
Structural Analysis of the Buffards Formation, Piedmont Province, Central Virginia, Matthew Scott
Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury and Lead Contamination to Soils Across and Elevation Gradient in Vermont, USA, Clare Stankwitz
Geology Senior Theses from 2010
Textural and Chemical Constraints on the Origin of Epidote in Granitic Pegmatites, Angela Catherine Cota
Mercury in Lake Matoaka: An Investigation of Contamination Sources and Pathways, Caitlin Dronfield
Timing and Magnitude o Soil Erosion in Owens Valley, California: A Combined 137Cs and 210 Pbex Approach, Guy Nathaniel Evans
Using In Situ Be Soil Profiles to Date Fluvial Terraces of the South Fork, Shenandoah River, VA, Jonathan L. Garber
