Mike Zaleha
Associate Professor of Geology
Sedimentology & Basin Analysis

Department of Geology
Wittenberg University
Springfield, OH 45501-0720

Office Phone: 937-327-7331
e-mail: mzaleha@wittenberg.edu
FAX: 937-327-6487

My specialities are physical sedimentology, stratigraphy, and basin analysis, with emphasis on intra- and extrabasinal controls on basin filling. I teach courses in sedimentology, sedimentary petrography, historical geology, introductory courses for majors and non-majors, and field seminar. In general, my research interest are basin-filling processes, including local, tectonic, eustatic, & climatic affects on alluvial sedimentation; evolution and dynamics of sedimentary basins; and processes and deposits of modern and ancient fluvial (river) subenvironments, including main channel, floodplain, lacustrine, & pedogenic.

My current research concerns the depositional responses of Early Cretaceous rivers to basin-scale subsidence and small-scale syndepositional faults and folds in Wyoming. Results show that the alluvial stratigraphy of conglomerates deposited in the foredeep in western Wyoming, where sediment accumulation rates were relatively high, contrasts with that of stratigraphically equivalent conglomerates in central and eastern Wyoming that were deposited in the forebulge and backbulge depozones, where sediment accumulation rates were relatively low. In the forebulge and backbulge depozones, stratigraphic sections are relatively thin, dominated by sandstones and mudstones, and channel deposits tend to be laterally connected for distances on the order of many 10's of kms to over 100 km. In the foredeep, the stratigraphic section is more than an order of magnitude thicker, dominated by mudstone, and conglomerates are not as laterally extensive. These results support some alluvial stratigraphy models that indicate that, under certain conditions, higher sediment accumulation rates result in lower channel-belt interconnectedness.

Additionally, the alluvial stratigraphy of some deposits in the forebulge and backbulge depozones was effected locally by small-scale syndepositional faults and folds. Where movement on these structures caused locally high subsidence rates, channel-belt deposits tend to be connected laterally and vertically. Where local subsidence rates were lower, channel-belt deposits are typically isolated or laterally connected. Channel avulsion was apparently controlled by the effects of surface deformation and depositional topography. Hence, the alluvial stratigraphy was controlled by the interactions of local differential subsidence and deposition. However, the alluvial stratigraphy in these structural zones is commonly comparable to that in areas where structures are absent and the alluvial stratigraphy is governed more by intrinsic fluvial processes and regional subsidence. Hence, the two cases are not easily distinguished solely on the basis of alluvial stratigraphy. All of this research has implications for reservoir characterization and compartmentalization of fluvial rocks, evolution of the Sevier orogen and associated foreland basin, and fluvial basins elsewhere.

I am also involved in several projects imaging fluvial, glaciofluvial, and glacial deposits using our new electrical resistivity ground imaging system (ERGI). ERGI is a relatively new technique for acquiring geological profiles of the shallow subsurface by injecting electrical currents into the ground. ERGI is sensitive to properties of Earth materials such as rock and sediment composition, grain size, water content, and composition of that water. Our results show that fluvial, glaciofluvial, and glacial deposits can be readily differentiated. Additionally, these sediments are easily discerned from the bedrock on which they were deposited. This research is being expanded to help decipher the post-glacial valley-filling history in Ohio and elsewhere. We also have used ERGI to image buried karst topography and caves in Ohio and Kentucky.

In addition to my teaching and research, I have reviewed numerous manuscripts for the Journal of Sedimentary Research, Sedimentology, Sedimentary Geology, and IAS Special Publication from the 6th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, and proposals for the National Science Foundation.

Education
Ph.D., 1994, Binghamton University (formerly SUNY-Binghamton)
M.S., 1988, Ohio University
B.S., 1984, Muskingum College

Field Work
Fluvial & glacial stratigraphy, Pleistocene & Holocene, Ohio, Missouri, New York, 2004-Present.
Fluvial sedimentology, Cretaceous Cloverly/Lakota Fms., Wyoming, 1995-Present.
Fluvial sedimentology, Fawn River, northeast Indiana, 1999.
Modern floodplain stratigraphy, New York & Pennsylvania, 1993-1994.
Fluvial sedimentology, Miocene Siwaliks, Pakistan, 1988-1991.
Fluvial sedimentology, Devonian Catskills, New York & Pennsylvania, 1988-1989.
Sedimentology, Cretaceous Hell Creek Fm., Montana, 1985-1986.

Memberships
SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology)
International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS)
Geological Society of America (GSA)

Publications
Zaleha, M.J., in review, Sevier orogenesis and nonmarine basin filling: implications of new stratigraphic correlations of Lower Cretaceous strata throughout Wyoming, U.S.A.: Geological Society of America Bulletin.

Zaleha, M.J., and Wiesemann, S.A., 2005, Hyperconcentrated flows and gastroliths: sedimentology of diamictites and wackes of the upper Cloverly Formation, Lower Cretaceous, Wyoming, U.S.A.: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 75, p. 43-54.

Zaleha, M.J., Way, J.N., and Suttner, L.J., 2001, Effects of syndepositional faulting and folding on Early Cretaceous rivers and alluvial architecture (Lakota and Cloverly Formations, Wyoming, U.S.A):
Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 71, p. 880-894.

Zaleha, M.J., 1997, Fluvial and lacustrine palaeoenvironments of the Miocene Siwalik Group, Khaur area, northern Pakistan: Sedimentology, v. 44, p. 349-368.

Zaleha, M.J., 1997, Intra- and extrabasinal controls on fluvial deposition in the Miocene Indo-Gangetic foreland basin, northern Pakistan: Sedimentology, v. 44, p. 369-390.

Zaleha, M.J., 1997, Siwalik paleosols (Miocene, northern Pakistan): genesis and controls on their formation: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 67, p. 821-839.

Technical Reports
Zaleha, M.J., 1999, Assessment of flow, sediment dynamics, and deposits of the Fawn River near Orland, Indiana: Prepared for Dan Willard of Dinosaur, Inc., Bloomington, IN, 46p.

Hays, C.T., and Anderson, C.M., (with contributions by Pope, M., Zaleha, M., and Knapp, T.), 1994, Cultural resource management survey, 1993 Highway Program, Paragraph 4 site examinations, PIN 9041.12.101, Susquehanna River crossing, eastern Tioga and western Broome Counties, New York: Binghamton University Public Archaeology Facility Report, submitted to The New York State Museum, State Education Department.

Anderson, C.M., Prezzano, S.C., Zaleha, M., and Kastl, R., 1993, Cultural resource management survey, 1993 Highway Program, Paragraph 3 reconnaissance, PIN 9041.12.101, Susquehanna River crossing, eastern Tioga and western Broome Counties, New York: Binghamton University Public Archaeology Facility Report, submitted to The New York State Museum, State Education Department.

Hays, C.T., and Zaleha, M.J., 1993, Phase I archaeology survey, Nicholson Borough sewer project, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania: Binghamton University Public Archaeology Facility Report
ER 93-0846-1311-A, 65p.

Hohman, C.D., and Kastl, R., (with contributions by Zaleha, M.J.), 1993, Cultural resource management survey, 1993 Highway Program, Paragraph 3 archaeological reconnaissance, alternate modifications and deep testing, PIN 3802.10.101 (Baldwinsville bypass), Village of Baldwinsville and Towns of Lysander and Van Buren, Onondaga County, New York: Binghamton University Public Archaeology Facility Report, submitted to The New York State Museum, State Education Department.

Zaleha, M.J., 1993, Geological/geomorphological report of archaeological sites near the airport north of Norwich, New York: Prepared for Pratt & Pratt Archaeological Consultants Inc., Cazenovia, NY, 13p.

Abstracts
Zaleha, M.J., 2005, Fluvial responses to large-scale basin subsidence versus small-scale syndepositional structures, Sevier foreland basin, U.S.A.: 8th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, Delft, The Netherlands, in press.

Zaleha, M.J., Ritter, J.B., Rumschlag, J.H., 2005, Resolving fluvial, glaciofluvial, and glacial deposits using electrical resistivity ground imaging (ERGI): 8th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, Delft, The Netherlands, in press.

Zaleha, M.J., 2003, Sevier orogenesis and nonmarine basin filling: implications of new stratigraphic correlations of Lower Cretaceous strata throughout Wyoming: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, no. 7, p. 175.

McCullough, L.N., Ritter, J.B., Zaleha, M.J., 2003, Habit, formation, and implications of elongate calcite concretions, Victoria, Australia: Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research 2003, Salt Lake City, Utah, 8 ms p. [also presented at Keck Geology Consortium Symposium, April, 2003, Beloit, WI]

Wiesemann, S.A., Zaleha, M.J., Elliott, W.S., Jr., and Suttner, L.J., 2000, Tectonic significance and depositional processes of diamictites within the upper Cloverly Formation, Lower Cretaceous, Wyoming: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7, p. A-305.

Elliott, W.S., Jr., Pratt, L.M., Wiesemann, S.A., and Zaleha, M.J., 2000, Environmental control of clay mineral content in mudstones of the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of central Wyoming: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7, p. A-458.

Zaleha, M.J., Suttner, L.J., Nolan, C., and Yokoyama, C., 1998, Basin physiography, filling, and dynamics of the nonmarine portion of the Cordilleran Foreland Basin, Cloverly/Lakota Formations (Lower Cretaceous), Wyoming, U.S.A.: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,
v. 30, no. 7, p. A-193.

Zaleha, M.J., Suttner, L.J., Way, J.N., and Furer, L.C., 1998, Intrabasinal structural controls on the hydraulics of Early Cretaceous rivers and on the connectivity and geometry of their channel deposits, Central Cordilleran Foreland Basin, Wyoming [extended abstract]: AAPG/SEPM Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City.

Bridge, J.S., Behrensmeyer, A.K., Khan, I.A., Willis, B.J., and Zaleha, M.J., 1997, Evolution of Miocene fluvial environments in northern Pakistan [extended abstract]: Third Geosas Workshop on the Siwaliks
of South Asia, Islamabad, Pakistan, March 1-6.

Khan, I., Zaleha, M., and Bridge, J.S., 1993, Evolution of Miocene fluvial environments in northern Pakistan, in, Yu, B., and Fielding, C.R., eds., Modern and ancient rivers: their importance to mankind: Fifth International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, Brisbane, p. 63.

Zaleha, M.J., 1992, Local and regional controls on the formation of Siwalik paleosols, northern Pakistan: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 24, p. A349.

Zaleha, M.J., and Fastovsky, D.E., 1987, Evolution of fluvial systems in the Hell Creek Formation,
Late Cretaceous, E. Montana: SEPM Annual Midyear Meeting Abstracts, p. 94.

Zaleha, M.J., and Kovach, J., 1985, Strontium concentrations in deer antlers from eastern Ohio,
western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia: Ohio Journal of Science, v. 85, no. 2, p. 5-6.