Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Aminostratigraphy And Oxygen Isotope Stratigraphy Of Marine Terrace Deposits Palos Verdes Hills And San Pedro Areas Los Angeles County California, Daniel R. Muhs, Gifford H. Miller, Joseph F. Whelean, George L. Kennedy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Amino acid and oxygen isotope data for fossils from terraces of the Palos Verdes Hills and San Pedro areas in Los Angeles County California shed new light on the ages of terraces sea level history marine paleotemperatures and late Quaternary tectonics in this region Low terraces on the Palos Verdes peninsula correlate with the 80 ka and 125 ka sea level highstands that are also recorded as terraces on other coasts In San Pedro the Palos Verdes sand the deposit on what is mapped as the first terrace by Woodring and others 1946 was previously thought to be a single …

Distribution Of Foraminifera And Pollen In Coastal Depositional Environments Of The Southern Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia, U.S.A., Han Jun Woo

OES Theses and Dissertations

The coastal zone of the southern Delmarva Peninsula exhibits a wide variety of barrier island system subenvironments. This study investigates whether 20 a priori subenvironments can be distinguished from each other on the basis of abiotic environmental variables, pollen assemblages, living foraminiferal populations, and total (living plus dead) foraminiferal assemblages.

The physical data collected from the coastal zone were subjected to canonical variate analysis which discriminated 83% of the stations in 19 groups. These groups were clustered into two internally overlapping sets which represented the inside and outside of the inlet.

Twenty-two pollen types were found in low-energy marsh and …

The Last Interglacial-Glacial Transition In North America: Evidence From Uranium-Series Dating Of Coastal Deposits, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Considerable uncertainty exists as to whether the last interglacial was relatively "short" (~10 ka) or "long" (-20-60 ka), although most investigators generally agree that the last interglacial correlates with all or part of deep-sea oxygen-isotope stage 5. A compilation of reliable U-series ages of marine terrace corals from deposits that have been correlated with isotope stage 5 indicates that there were three relatively high sea-level stands at ca 125-120 ka, ca. 105 ka, and ca. 85-80 ka, and these ages agree with the times of high sea level predicted by the Milankovitch orbital-forcing theory. At a number of localities, however, …

Sr-Isotope Record Of Quaternary Marine Terraces On The California Coast And Off Hawaii, Kenneth R. Ludwig, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, James G. Moore

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Strontium-isotopic ratios of dated corals have been obtained from submerged reefs formed during Quaternary glacial periods off the Hawaiian islands. These data, combined with data from deep-sea sediments, tightly constrain the secular variation of marine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr for the past 800,000 yr. Although long-term trends are apparent, no significant (>0.02‰), rapid (<100,000 yr) excursions in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr were resolved nor did we observe any samples with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr greater than that of modern seawater. Strontium in mollusks from elevated marine terraces formed during interglacial periods on the southern California coast show resolvable and consistent variations in …

Ontong Java Plateau, Leg 130: Synopsis Of Major Drilling Results, W. H. Berger, Loren W. Kroenke, Larry A. Mayer, Shipboard Scientific Party

Affiliate Scholarship

Sixteen holes were drilled at five sites on the northeastern flank of Ontong Java Plateau during Leg 130 (Sites 803 through 807). All of these sites are near the equator, but are at different depths (803: 02°26.0'N, 3410 m; 804: 01°00.3'N, 3861 m; 805: 01°13.7'N, 3188 m; 806: 00°19.1'N, 2520 m; and 807: 03°36.4'N, 2805 m). One of our goals was to obtain a depth transect of Neogene carbonate deposition for reconstructing the history of ocean climate, chemistry, and productivity, and for understanding the origin of acoustic reflectors. Another goal was to achieve considerable penetration into basement for elucidating the …

High-Resolution, Whole-Core Magnetic Susceptibility Data From Leg 130, Ontong Java Plateau, John A. Tarduno, Larry A. Mayer, Robert Musgrave

Affiliate Scholarship

High-resolution, whole-core magnetic susceptibility data, recorded at 3-cm intervals, were obtained for advanced hydraulic piston (APC) cores at Sites 805, 806, and 807 of Leg 130 on the Ontong Java Plateau. In this initial report, we present a preliminary evaluation of these data for their use in core correlations and paleoclimatic studies. The data allow detailed intrasite correlations between the offset APC cores and provide a means for intersite correlations of Pleistocene sediments. Variations in magnetic susceptibility values probably mirror variations in terrestrial influx and may act as proxy indicators of climate. Highly coherent cyclicity, representing Milankovitch orbital frequencies, is …

Land Management Manual. Merredin Advisory District, F. Frost, M Howell

Natural resources published reports

Farming by soil type recognizes that each major soil unit has specific land use capabilities. 'When developing a farm management programme, understanding and appreciating the productive potential and degradation hazard of each soil unit ensures that production systems can be developed which are 'sustainable. The aim of this land management manual is to describe the climatic and geological features of the district and provide definitions of each of the major soil units and 'current management recommendations. The material is designed to be used as an information base for farm planners.

Thes oil units described are for the Merredin advisory district …

Middle Eocene Foraminifera From The Piney Point Formation Of The Virginia And Maryland Coastal Plain, Megan S. Jones

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the foraminiferal fauna, both benthic and planktonic, of the outcropping (45 samples) and subsurface (31 samples) middle Eocene Piney Point Formation in Virginia and Maryland. The primary objective of this study is to further refine the depositional history of the Salisbury Embayment which is represented by the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation. Ninety-six species of benthic and planktonic foraminifera were identified in this study. Of these, several are characteristic of the middle Eocene: Asterigerina texana, Hanzawaia danvillensis, Ceratobulimina exima, Cibicides westi, Chiloguembelitria columbiana, C. stavensis, Testacarinata inconspicua and Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensislmicra. While these were relatively abundant, diagnostic middle …

Pisces Iv Submersible Observations In The Epicentral Region Of The 1929 Grand Banks Earthquake, John E. Hughes Clarke, Larry A. Mayer, David J.W. Piper, Alexander N. Shor

Affiliate Scholarship

The PISCES IVsubmersible was used to investigate the upper continental slope around 44 ON, 56" W, near the epicentre of the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake. Four dives in water depths of 800-2000 m were undertaken to observe speci3c features identijied with the SeaMARC I sidescan system in 1983. Two dives were made in the head of Eastern Valley where pebbly mudstones ofprobable Pleistocene age were recognized outcropping on the seafloor. Constructional features of cobbles and boulders, derived by exhumation and reworking of the pebbly mudstone, were also observed. These include gravel/sand bedforms (transverse waves) on the valley floor. Slope failure …

Lithostratigraphy, Biostratigraphy, And Stable-Isotope Stratigraphy Of Cores From Odp Leg 105 Site Surveys, Labrador Sea And Baffin Bay, D. B. Scott, P. J. Mudie, A. De Vernal, C. Hillaire-Marcel, V. Baki, K. D. Mackinnon, F. S. Medioli, Larry A. Mayer

Affiliate Scholarship

Trigger weight (TWC) and piston (PC) cores obtained from surveys of the three sites drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 105 were studied in detail for benthic foraminiferal assemblages, total carbonate (all sites), planktonic foraminiferal abundances (Sites 645 and 647), and stable isotopes (Sites 646 and 647). These high-resolution data provide the link between modern environmental conditions represented by the sediment in the TWC and the uppermost cores of the ODP holes. This link provides essential control data for interpretating late Pleistocene paleoceanographic records from these core holes. At Site 645 in Baffin Bay, local correlation is difficult because …

The Influence Of Biogenic Silica On Seismic Lithostratigraphy At Odp Sites 642 And 643, Eastern Norwegian Sea, Peter Hempel, Larry A. Mayer, Elliot Taylor, Gerhard Bohrmann, Alan Pittenger

Affiliate Scholarship

Drilling at ODP Sites 642 and 643 revealed a 250 m-thick section of diatomaceous Pliocene to Miocene sediments on the outer Vdring Plateau, eastern Norwegian Sea. These biogenic silica-rich sediments have a significantly lower saturated bulk density than the surrounding sediments, causing a decrease in acoustic impedance, which is seismically expressed as a negative polarity reflection. Variations in sonic velocity, the other key parameter in seismic analysis, is only of secondary importance in creating impedance contrasts in our study. Synthetic seismograms were produced from shipboard physical property measurements corrected for in situ conditions. These synthetic seismograms are in good agreement …

The Uranium-Trend Dating Method: Principles And Application For Southern California Marine Terrace Deposits, Daniel R. Muhs, John N. Rosholt, Charles L. Bush

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Uranium-trend dating is an open-system method for age estimation of Quaternary sediments, using disequilibrium in the ²³⁸U–²³⁴U–²³⁰Th decay series. The technique has been applied to alluvium, colluvium, loess, till, and marine sediments, in this study we tested the U-trend dating method on calcareous marine terrace deposits from the Palos Verdes Hills and San Nicolas Island, California. Independent age estimates indicate that terraces in these areas range from –80 ka to greater than 1.0 Ma. Two low terraces on San Nicolas Island yielded U-trend plots that have a clustered array of points and the ages of …

Dynamics Of Intermediate-Size Stream Outlets, Northern Oregon Coast, Ellen Eberhardt

Dissertations and Theses

This study measured and evaluated the relation of coastal foredune morphology to stream beach outlets, and investigated the processes associated with the stream outlet. Intermediate-size streams were studied, and defined as those that flow across the beach most of the year but have no tidal influence. Fifty-four of these streams were found along the northern Oregon coast between the Columbia River and Yaquina Bay. Crescent Lake Outlet, Saltair Creek and Daley Lake Outlet were chosen as study streams for further investigation.

Geologic And Tectonic Setting Of The Mark Area, R. S. Detrick, P. J. Fox, N. Schulz, R. Pockalny, L. Kong, Larry A. Mayer, W.B. F. Ryan

Affiliate Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Genesis Of Marine Terrace Soils, Barbados, West Indies: Evidence From Mineralogy And Geochemistry, Daniel R. Muhs, Russell C. Crittenden, John N. Rosholt, Charles A. Bush, Kathleen C. Stewart

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Well-developed, clay-rich soils dominated by interstratified kaolinite-smectite are found on the uplifted coral reef terraces on the island of Barbados. The reef limestone is unlikely to have been the soil parent material however, because it is 98 per cent CaCO, and geomorphic evidence argues against the 20 m of reef solution required to produce the soils by this process. The mineralogy of the sand, silt, and clay fractions of the soils, and trace element geochemistry, suggest that aeolian materials carried on the trade winds from Africa, volcanic ash from the island of St. Vincent, and quartz from Tertiary bedrock on …

Slack-Water Deposits And The Magnitude And Frequency Of Flash Floods, Eastern Kentucky, Russell G. Shepherd, Lisa K. Bienkowski

KWRRI Research Reports

The potential for predicting flood magnitude and frequency using sediments deposited in backwater areas during flash floods was investigated on the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky, a region n9torious for flash flooding. Slack-water deposits are abundant in the area at tributary mouths and bedrock channel expansions. They are identifiable on geologic quandrangle maps, and are locally good potential indicators of maximum flood-crest elevations. However, in this humid region, flash floods could not be distinguished from non-flash floods using slack-water sedimentology.

The results from the slack-water deposits studied indicate that they offer limited potential for predicting flash floods because 1) intense …

Cliff-Height And Slope-Angle Relationships In A Chronosequence Of Quaternary Marine Terraces, San Clemente Island, California, Russell Crittenden, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Zusammenfassung. Eine Abfolge quartarer Strandterrassen auf ~an Clemente Island, Kalifornien, liefert einen Rahmen fur die quantitative Analyse der Anderungen an vom Meer verlassenen Kustenkliffen als Funktion der Zeit. Es wurde eine Abschatzung der Anwendbarkeit von BUCKNAM & ANDERSON (1979) log-lin~arer Beziehung zwischen Wandhohe und Hangwinkel durchgefuhrt, indem Brandungskliffhohe und maximale Hangwinkel verwendet wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine regelhafte Zunahme des Hangwinkels mit dem Logarithmus der Kliffhohe, und Kliffe einer bestimmten Hohe zeigen m,it der Zeit eine Abnahmedes maximalen Hangwinkels. 1m ganzen waren die Relationen schwacher als fur FluBterrassen und Bruchstufen in unverfestigten Materialen, aber die Methode kann wahrscheinlich verwendet werden, …

Reconnaissance Bathymetry Of Basins Occupied By Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, Nevada And California, Larry Benson, M. D. Mifflin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Beginning about 12,500 years B.P., Lake Lahontan began to decline (fig. 1: Black Rock Desert data from Davis [1983]; Truckee River Delta data from Born [1972]; tufa data from Benson [1981]; packrat-midden data from Thompson and others [1985]) . As water levels declined, their altitudes fell below sill altitudes (table 1); locations of these sills are shown in figure 2. Today, five surface-water bodies (Black Rock Playa, Humboldt-Carson Sink, Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, Honey Lake) exist in four of the seven subbasins (fig. 2).

The collective surface area of the modern lakes today (1985) totals less than 1,600 km2 . …

Seismic Modelling And Paleoceanography At Dsdp Site 574, Larry A. Mayer, Tom H. Shipley, Fritz Theyer, Roy H. Wilkens, Edward L. Winterer

Affiliate Scholarship

The analysis of high-resolution watergun seismic profiles collected in support of DSDP Leg 85 drilling reveals sev eral major, regionally traceable reflectors that can be correlated over more than 360,000 km2 in the central equatorial Pacific. Synthetic seismograms generated from shipboard physical property measurements (carefully corrected to in situ values) for DSDP Site 574 show excellent agreement with the field records; the agreement suggests that the traveltime to-depth conversion is accurate and permits the precise (± 5 m) location of reflectors in the cored section. The reflectors can be dated (±0.5 Ma) as follows: Orange, 21.5 to 22.5 Ma; Yellow, …

Leachate Monitoring In Naturally Saline Groundwater Chesapeake Landfill Chesapeake Virginia, T. Britt Mcmillan

OES Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater chemistry around the Chesapeake municipal landfill was monitored over a one year period. Ten sample sites as well as two surface water sites were used to monitor water quality. Two wells, one at 3 m and the other at 10 m were located at each site. Surface water samples were taken from the Elizabeth River, north of the landfill, and a tidal channel, west of the landfill. Seven groundwater sites were downgradient of the landfill and three sites were upgradient (control sites).

The landfill overlies a tidal marsh, approximately 100 m south of the intracoastal waterway (Elizabeth River). Dredge …

Foraminiferal Paleoenvironments Of The Eastover Formation (Upper Miocene Virginia), Joann H. Goshorn

OES Theses and Dissertations

Sixty-two taxa representing 29 genera from 39 foraminiferal sample pairs have been documented and analyzed in a paleoenvironmental study of the Eastover Formation in southeastern Virginia. The Eastover Formation consists of a lower Claremont Manor Member, a silt fine-grained sand and an upper Cobham Bay Member, a shelly fine grained sand. Planktonic specimens were rare and indicated a late Miocene to early Pliocene age for the Eastover Formation. Benthics were used to interpret paleoenvironments by comparison with data from the distribution of Recent foraminifera, species diversity, planktonic to benthic ratios, and sediment analyses. The foraminifera indicate that the Eastover Formation …

Soils And The Location Of Cacao Orchards At A Maya Site In Western Belize, Daniel R. Muhs, Robert R. Kautz, J. Jefferson Mackinnon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Cacao was one of the most important crops of the lowland Maya. Ethnohistoric sources document that the Postclassic-Colonial Period Maya settlement of Tipu in western Belize was an important cacao-growing center, yet evidence of where the cacao was grown is not apparent. We analysed the suitability of floodplain, terrace, and bedrock soils for cacao cultivation. Our results indicate that the soils most likely to have been used for cacao growth were those on the modem floodplain of the Macal River, based on their suitable physical and chemical properties. In addition, buried stone walls of Late Classic or Postclassic age that …

An Evaluation Of Uranium-Series Dating Of Fossil Echinoids From Southern California Pleistocene Marine Terraces, Daniel R. Muhs, Los Angeles County Museum Of Natural History, Los Angeles, Ca

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fossil sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus) from Pleistocene marine terraces on the southern California Channel Islands have been dated by the uranium-series method in order to test the suitability of echinoids for dating marine terraces. Results indicate that urchin plates and spines do not behave as closed systems with respect to both uranium and thorium. Calculated ages based on these data do not agree with uranium-series ages (120,000 and 127,000 yrs) obtained previously from corals from the same localities. Thus, fossil sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus) are not considered suitable for uranium-series dating of Pleistocene marine terrace deposits.

Geohydrology Of The High Plains Aquifer In Parts Of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, And Wyoming, Edwin D. Gutentag, Frederick J. Heimes, United States Geological Survey, Richard R. Luckey, John B. Weeks

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The High Plains aquifer, which underlies about 174,000 square miles in parts of eight states, is the principal source of water in one of the Nation's major agricultural areas. About 170,000 wells pump water from the aquifer to irrigate about 13 million acres in the High Plains. In 1978, the United States Geological Survey began a regional study of the High Plains aquifer to provide geohydrologic data and computer models of the aquifer needed to evaluate the effects of ground-water development. This report describes the geohydrology of the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains aquifer consists mainly of hydraulically connected …

Fission Track Dating Of Detrital Zircons From The Scotland Sandstones, Barbados, West Indies, Suzanne Louise Baldwin

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Results of fission track dating of detrital zircons from the Scotland sandstones, Barbados, yield a mixture of ages with several strong groupings from 20-80 Ma, 200-350 Ma, and greater than 500 Ma. Metamict grains were assumed to fall into the greater than 500 Ma population.
The youngest population indicates that the Scotland beds, previously dated by paleontologic methods as Eocene, may actually be as young as late Oligocene. These ages better constrain the timing of deposition for these sediments and support the proposal that the late middle Eocene - early Oligocene Oceanic Fm has overthrust the Scotland beds. This population …

The Influence Of Oceanic Transform Boundaries On The Generation And Evolution Of Oceanic Lithosphere, David G. Gallo

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The first-order geologic and morphologic relationships at, along and proximal to ridge-transform-ridge plate boundaries are used to construct an empirical and speculative tectonic model. The geometry of a ridge-transform intersection necessitates the juxtaposition of relatively cold, thick lithosphere against the truncated end of an accreting plate boundary. The cold face of lithosphere cools the adjacent wedge of asthenosphere rising beneath the axis of accretion and restricts the amount of partial melting thus attenuating the amount of basaltic melt segregated from the asthenosphere per unit time. The manifestation of this cold edge effect is a thinner oceanic crust. At depth, upper …

A Hydrochemical Reconnaissance Study Of The Walker River Basin, California And Nevada, Larry Benson, R. J. Spencer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During 1975 and 1976, a large number of water and sediment samples were collected from the Walker River Basin. Additional surface water samples were collected during 1980 and 1981. Data are given herein for chemical analyses of snowmelt, tributary, river, spring, well, lake, reservoir, lake sediment pore fluid, tufa, lake and river sediment samples. These data provide the basis for consideration of processes which govern the chemical evolution of large closed basin hydrologic systems in the Basin and Range Province of the Southwestern United States.

The Walker River Basin, a part of the Basin and Range Province, is located i~ …

The Geology Of The Oceanographer Transform Fault, Richard H. Moody Jr.

Geology Theses and Dissertations

A detailed survey of the Oceanographer transform fault and environs at 35º N, 35ºW has yielded detailed information with respect to the generation and evolution of seafloor at a slowly accreting plate margin. From this data detailed bathymetric maps and maps of depth to basement have been constructed for a swath of seafloor 1800 km long and 100-200 km wide centered about the offset region. This data was used to subdivide major phases of seafloor spreading during the Tertiary. The ridge crest and all major topographic features near the transform appear to be affected by their proximity to the transform. …

Maine's Whitewater Rapids And Their Relevance To The Critical Areas Program, Janet Mcmahon

Maine Collection

Maine's Whitewater Rapids and Their Relevance to the Critical Areas Program

by Janet McMahon

Planning Report No. 74, Critical Areas Program, 184 State St., Augusta, Maine,

April, 1981 (additions made in October, 1981). Reprinted July, 1983.

Contents: Introduction / Natural History of Whitewater Rapids / Methods / Criteria / Results / Conclusions / General Evaluation of Whitewater Rapids for Inclusion on the Register of Critical Areas / Bibliography / Action Plan

Geologic Investigations In The Cayman Trough And The Nature Of The Plutonic Foundation Of The Oceanic Crust, Janet B. Stroup

Geology Theses and Dissertations

A survey of the literature that deals with the gabbroic rocks believed to comprise the foundation of the oceanic crust indicates that the overwhelming majority of these rocks are recovered from escarpments associated with transform faults. The wide range of mineral and chemical compositions characterizing oceanic gabbroic rocks suggests that the lower oceanic crust is much more heterogeneous in nature than was previously suggested by the results of geophysical investigations. The examination of gabbroic rocks recovered in situ from the walls of the Mid-Cayman Rise rift valley by the submersible ALVIN not only supports the notion that oceanic gabbroic rocks …