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Full-Text Articles in Geology

Studies Of Quaternary Depositional Systems Of The Coastal Plain And Inner Continental Shelf Along The Georgia Bight: South Carolina And Georgia, U.S.A., Joshua H. Long Jun 2020

Studies Of Quaternary Depositional Systems Of The Coastal Plain And Inner Continental Shelf Along The Georgia Bight: South Carolina And Georgia, U.S.A., Joshua H. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Quaternary stratigraphy of the continental shelf offshore of South Carolina consists of stratigraphic units deposited in coastal plain, shallow marine, and shelfal environments bound by composite erosional surfaces that developed in response to numerous glacioeustatic cycles and overprinted by regional uplift. These units are commonly distributed laterally rather than stacked vertically, a function of the long-term, low shelf gradient and the resulting lack of accommodation. This study integrates high-resolution geological and geophysical data sets acquired offshore and onshore with existing data onshore into a comprehensive conceptual model describing the Quaternary geologic evolution of the coastal plain and continental shelf …


Regional Stratigraphy And Distribution Of The Coastal Group, St. Elizabeth Parish, Southwestern Jamaica, Brett M. Kenning May 2018

Regional Stratigraphy And Distribution Of The Coastal Group, St. Elizabeth Parish, Southwestern Jamaica, Brett M. Kenning

MSU Graduate Theses

This contribution examines the characteristics and ages of sedimentary units in the Coastal Group located along the southwestern Jamaica coast between Great Pedro Bluff and Fort Charles Bay in southwestern St. Elizabeth Parish. The coastline is characterized by laterally discontinuous low cliff exposures, separated by modern beach deposits and tectonically raised shore platforms composed of the White Limestone Group (mid-Eocene to mid-Miocene) and coral rudstone to floatstone and calcareous sandstone of the Coastal Group (late Pleistocene). Electron-Spin Resonance spectroscopy conducted on corals collected from a coral rudstone to floatstone facies yielded an estimated age of 120 ka. The coral facies …


On The Importance Of Stratigraphic Control For Vertebrate Fossil Sites In Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa: Examples From New Mammuthus Finds On San Miguel Island, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Daniel R. Muhs, John P. Mcgeehin Sep 2016

On The Importance Of Stratigraphic Control For Vertebrate Fossil Sites In Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa: Examples From New Mammuthus Finds On San Miguel Island, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Daniel R. Muhs, John P. Mcgeehin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Quaternary vertebrate fossils, most notably mammoth remains, are relatively common on the northern Channel Islands of California. Well-preserved cranial, dental, and appendicular elements of Mammuthus exilis (pygmy mammoth) and Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) have been recovered from hundreds of localities on the islands during the past half-century or more. Despite this paleontological wealth, the geologic context of the fossils is described in the published literature only briefly or not at all, which has hampered the interpretation of associated 14C ages and reconstruction of past environmental conditions. We recently discovered a partial tusk, several large bones, and a tooth enamel plate …


Sedimentology And Paleoecology Of Fossil-Bearing, High-Latitude Marine And Glacially Influenced Deposits In The Tepuel Basin, Patagonia, Argentina, Kathryn N. Pauls May 2014

Sedimentology And Paleoecology Of Fossil-Bearing, High-Latitude Marine And Glacially Influenced Deposits In The Tepuel Basin, Patagonia, Argentina, Kathryn N. Pauls

Theses and Dissertations

The glacial and non-glacial intervals of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) are of great interest because they are our best deep time analogue for Pleistocene climate change. The changes and adaptations of the biota, as seen in the rock record, can serve as a proxy for understanding future trends in Earth's climate system. Most of the known LPIA marine faunal data come from low-latitudinal regions, and thus have been used as a global proxy. However, modern organisms in the low-latitudes (far-field basins) respond differently to a changing climate relative to marine organisms in the polar regions (near-field basins). In …


Loess Records, Daniel R. Muhs, Stephen R. Cattle, Onn Crouvi, Denis-Didier Rousseau, Jimin Sun, Marcelo A. Zárate Jan 2014

Loess Records, Daniel R. Muhs, Stephen R. Cattle, Onn Crouvi, Denis-Didier Rousseau, Jimin Sun, Marcelo A. Zárate

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is aeolian sediment, dominated by silt-sized particles, that is identifiable in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and as such constitutes one of the most important archives of long-term dust deposition. Large tracts of loess cover Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and smaller loess bodies are found covering parts of Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. Loess thickness, particle size, and carbonate content decrease downwind from sources, trends that are powerful tools for reconstructing paleowinds. Many loess sections consist of relatively thick …


Geologic Setting And Stratigraphy Of The Ziegler Reservoir Fossil Site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Ian M. Miller, Kirk R. Johnson, Jeffrey S. Honke, Paul E. Carrara, Daniel R. Muhs, Gary Skipp, Bruce Bryant Jan 2014

Geologic Setting And Stratigraphy Of The Ziegler Reservoir Fossil Site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Ian M. Miller, Kirk R. Johnson, Jeffrey S. Honke, Paul E. Carrara, Daniel R. Muhs, Gary Skipp, Bruce Bryant

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The geologic setting of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site is somewhat unusual—the sediments containing the Pleistocene fossils were deposited in a lake on top of a ridge. The lake basin was formed near Snowmass Village, Colorado (USA) when a glacier flowing down Snowmass Creek Valley became thick enough to overtop a low point in the eastern valley wall and entered the head of Brush Creek Valley. When the glacier retreated at about 155–130 ka, near the end of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6, the Brush Creek Valley lobe left behind a moraine that impounded a small alpine lake. The lake …


Updated Glacial Chronology Of The South Fork Hoh River Valley, Olympic Peninsula, Washington Through Detailed Stratigraphy And Osl Dating, Cianna E. Wyshnytzky, Tammy M. Rittenour, Glenn D. Thackray Mar 2013

Updated Glacial Chronology Of The South Fork Hoh River Valley, Olympic Peninsula, Washington Through Detailed Stratigraphy And Osl Dating, Cianna E. Wyshnytzky, Tammy M. Rittenour, Glenn D. Thackray

Cianna E Wyshnytzky

Four glacial advances are preserved and exposed in the stratigraphy of the South Fork Hoh River valley. The oldest of these advances extended beyond the South Fork valley into the Hoh River valley. The three younger advances are preserved in the stratigraphy cut bank exposures in the valley and geomorphically by moraines and outwash plains. One of these advances represents a re-advance to the same terminal position of the previous advance and has not previously been recognized in this valley or other glaciated valleys in the western Olympic Mountains. This finding advocates for a detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic approach to …


Chronology And Provenance Of Last-Glacial (Peoria) Loess In Western Iowa And Paleoclimatic Implications, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Helen M. Roberts, Stephen S. Harlan, James B. Paces, Richard L. Reynolds Jan 2013

Chronology And Provenance Of Last-Glacial (Peoria) Loess In Western Iowa And Paleoclimatic Implications, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Helen M. Roberts, Stephen S. Harlan, James B. Paces, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Geologic archives show that the Earth was dustier during the last glacial period. One model suggests that increased gustiness (stronger, more frequent winds) enhanced dustiness. We tested this at Loveland, Iowa, one of the thickest deposits of last-glacial-age (Peoria) loess in the world. Based on K/Rb and Ba/Rb, loess was derived not only from glaciogenic sources of the Missouri River, but also distal loess from non-glacial sources in Nebraska. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages provide the first detailed chronology of Peoria Loess at Loveland. Deposition began after ~27 ka and continued until ~17 ka. OSL ages also indicate that mass …


Paleoclimatic Implications Of Oxygen Isotope And Sedimentological Study Of Late Miocene And Early Pliocene Sediments From The South Atlantic, Western Indian Ocean, And The Gulf Of Aden, Kathryn M. Scanlon Jan 1979

Paleoclimatic Implications Of Oxygen Isotope And Sedimentological Study Of Late Miocene And Early Pliocene Sediments From The South Atlantic, Western Indian Ocean, And The Gulf Of Aden, Kathryn M. Scanlon

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Previous work by many authors has implied that the Antarctic ice sheet underwent a major expansion in the latest Miocene. It was intended in the present study to use the oxygen isotope event, which could be expected to accompany this glacial expansion, as a stratigraphic marker to aid in the correlation of several DSDP Sites. Samples were taken at approximately 100,000 year intervals throughout the latest Miocene and early Pliocene sections at Sites 237 and 249 in the western Indian Ocean, Site 360 in the South Atlantic and Site 231 in the Gulf of Aden. Oxygen isotope analyses were done …