Scott Frazier
M.S. 1997
Thesis title:
- Lithogenic and Pedogenic Features in Weathered Granitic Bedrock and Their Influence on Water Flow and Virus Transport
Currently:
- Soil Scientist, Jones & Stokes, Sacramento, CA.
- http://www.jonesandstokes.com
Publication from thesis research:
- Frazier, C.S., and R.C. Graham. 2000. Pedogenic transformation of fractured granitic bedrock, southern California. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 64:2057-2069.
- Frazier, C.S., R.C. Graham, P.J. Shouse, M.V. Yates, and M.A. Anderson. 2002. A Field study of water flow and virus transport in weathered granitic bedrock. Vadose Zone J. 1:113-124.
- Granitic bedrock is widespread globally and is an important soil parent material. In upland regions unaffected by Pleistocene glaciation, granitic rock is often deeply weathered and is a much thicker regolith than the overlying soil. The environmental significance of weathered bedrock is not well known.
- Scott's research sought to determine the processes involved in converting bedrock to soil, and to discover how lithogenic and pedogenic features influence the movement of environmental contaminants
Field instrumentation used in the application of waterborne tracers: blue dye, bacteriophage virus, and bromide.
Cross section through bedrock after application of tracers. Wetting front and blue dye stains show that water moves preferentially down through fractures and laterally into the rock matrix.
Scott with electric chipping hammer used to dig through bedrock during post-application sampling.
Photomicrograph of a thin section cut from weathered bedrock adjacent to a fracture. Porosity (shown in blue) results from weathering and root penetration along the fracture margin.