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Geology topics

A. Cox

Publications and source records attributed to A. Cox.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2016

Dynamic simulation and numerical analysis of hurricane storm surge under sea level rise with geomorphologic changes along the northern Gulf of Mexico

This work outlines a dynamic modeling framework to examine the effects of global climate change, and sea level rise (SLR) in particular, on tropical cyclone-driven storm surge inundation. The methodology, applied across the northern Gulf of Mexico, adapts a present day large-domain, high resolution, tide, wind-wave, and hurricane storm surge model to characterize the potential outlook of the coastal landscape under four SLR scenarios for the year 2100. The modifications include shoreline and barrier island morphology, marsh migration, and land use land cover change. Hydrodynamics of 10 historic hurricanes were simulated through each of the five model configurations (present day and four SLR scenarios). Under SLR, the total inundated land area increased by 87% and developed and agricultural lands by 138% and 189%, respectively. Peak surge increased by as much as 1 m above the applied SLR in some areas, and other regions were subject to a reduction in peak surge, with respect to the applied SLR, indicating a nonlinear response. Analysis of time-series water surface elevation suggests the interaction between SLR and storm surge is nonlinear in time; SLR increased the time of inundation and caused an earlier arrival of the peak surge, which cannot be addressed using a static (“bathtub”) modeling framework. This work supports the paradigm shift to using a dynamic modeling framework to examine the effects of global climate change on coastal inundation. The outcomes have broad implications and ultimately support a better holistic understanding of the coastal system and aid restoration and long-term coastal sustainability.

Earth's Future↗
USGS2012

Paleomagnetic investigation of some volcanic rocks from the McMurdo volcanic province, Antarctica

Paleomagnetic data for lava flows from sporadic but long-lived eruptions in the McMurdo Sound region are combined with previously published geologic and geochronologic data to determine the general eruptive sequence of the area. Lava flows in the Walcott Bay area were erupted during the Gauss Normal, Matuyama Reversed, and Brunhes Normal Polarity Chrons. The youngest flows on Black Island probably erupted near the boundary between the Gilbert and Gauss chrons. The most recent activity was concentrated on the volcanic edifices of Mounts Morning and Discovery and on Ross Island where Mount Erebus is currently active. Combining virtual geomagnetic poles calculated for 39 units sampled during this study with those of eight flows that were published previously yields a mean paleomagnetic pole at 87.3°N, 317.3°E (α 95 = 6.3°). The ancient geomagnetic field dispersion about this mean pole is 23.5°, with upper and lower limits of 95% confidence equal to 27.4° and 20.5°, respectively. This value probably is a reasonable estimate of secular variation for the Antarctic continent during Pliocene and Pleistocene time.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS1981

Continental accretion: From oceanic plateaus to allochthonous terranes

Some of the regions of the anomalously high sea-floor topography in today's oceans may be modern allochthonous terranes moving with their oceanic plates. Fated to collide with and be accreted to adjacent continents, they may create complex volcanism, cut off and trap oceanic crust, and cause orogenic deformation. The accretion of plateaus during subduction of oceanic plates may be responsible for mountain building comparable to that produced by the collision of continents.

Science↗
USGS1977

Additional results on palaeomagnetic stratigraphy of the Koobi Fora Formation, east of Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf), Kenya

The magnetostratigraphy of the hominid-bearing sediments exposed east of Lake Turkana has been strengthened by new palaeomagnetic results. Ages obtained from several tuffs by the 40Ar/39Ar method suggest an approxmate match between the observed magnetozones and the geomagnetic polarity time scale; however, the palaeomagnetic results are also compatible with a younger chronology suggested by conventional K-Ar dating of the KBS Tuff. ?? 1977 Nature Publishing Group.

Nature↗
USGS1971

Paleomagnetism of San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Isla San Cristobal, the most easterly of the Galapagos Islands, consists of two parts: a large volcano constitutes the southwest half of the island and an irregular apron of small cones and flows makes up the northeast half. As some of the younger flows on the flanks of the large volcano are reversely magnetized, the minimum age of the volcano is 0.7 my, which is the age of the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal boundary. The true age is probably several times greater. The cones and flows to the northeast are all normally magnetized. The between-site angular dispersion of virtual poles is 11.3° - a value consistent with mathematical models for the latitude dependence of geomagnetic secular variation.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1971

Pacific geomagnetic secular variation

We have considered several different types of records of long-period geomagnetic secular variation: direct measurements made in geomagnetic observatories; paleomagnetic measurements on Hawaiian lava flows with accurately known ages in the interval 0 to 200 years; paleomagentic measurements on Hawaiian lava flows with loosely determined ages within the interval 200 to 10,000 years ago; and worldwide paleomagnetic measurements of the average geomagnetic angular dispersion recorded in lava flows that formed during the past 0.7 million years. All these magnetic records indicate that, during this time, the nondipole component of the earth's field was lower in the central Pacific than elsewhere, as it is today. This, in turn, indicates that there is some type of inhomogeneity in the lower mantle which is coupled to the earth's core in such a way as to suppress the generation of the nondipole field beneath the central Pacific. With the present incomplete state of knowledge about the processes that give rise to the earth's field, it is uncertain whether undulations in the core-mantle interface or lateral variations in the composition and physical state of the lower mantle are ultimately responsible for the pattern of secular variation seen at the earth's surface.

Hawaii↗
USGS1969

A paleomagnetic study of secular variation in New Zealand

Ancient secular variation in New Zealand was determined from paleomagnetic measurements on 22 volcanic formations with ages of less than 0.68 m.y. The angular standard deviation from the field of an axial dipole is 13.2° with 95% confidence limits between 10.9° and 16.7°. The angular standard deviation of the corresponding virtual geomagnetic poles is 19.6° with confidence limits between 16.2° and 24.7°. These values are larger than those predicted by most models for secular variation. No difference was detected between the angular secular variation in New Zealand and that at the same latitude in North America.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1967

Geomagnetic polarity epochs: Nunivak Island, Alaska

New paleomagnetic and potassium-argon dating measurements have been made of basalt flows from Nunivak Island, Alaska, with the following results. (1) The best estimate of the age of the Brunhes/Matuyama polarity epoch boundary is found to be 0.694 m.y. (2) The best estimate of the age of the Gauss/Gilbert boundary is 3.32 m.y. (3) Three normally magnetized flows with ages from 0.93 to 0.88 m.y. are in accord with previous estimates of the age and duration of the Jaramillo normal event. (4) One normally magnetized flow with an age of 1.65 ± 0.09 m.y. supplies additional evidence for the Gilsá normal event. (5) Two new normal events are identified within the Gilbert reversed epoch, the “Cochiti normal event” with an age of 3.7 m.y. and the “Nunivak normal event” with an age of 4.1 m.y.

Alaska↗
USGS1967

Pliocene geomagnetic polarity epochs

A paleomagnetic and K-Ar dating study of 44 upper Miocene and Pliocene volcanic units from the western United States suggests that the frequency of reversals of the earth's magnetic field during Pliocene time may have been comparable with that of the last 3.6 m.y. Although the data are too limited to permit the formal naming of any new polarity epochs or events, four polarity transitions have been identified: the W10 R/N boundary at 3.7 ± 0.1m.y. , the A12 N/R boundary at 4.9 ± 0.1m.y. , the W32 N/R boundary at 9.0 ± 0.2m.y. , and the W36 R/N boundary at 10.8 ± 0.3 − 1.0m.y . The loss of absolute resolution of K-Ar dating in older rocks indicates that the use of well defined stratigraphic successions to identify and date polarity transitions will be important in the study of Pliocene and older reversals.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1963

Geomagnetic polarity epochs: Sierra Nevada II

Ten new determinations on volcanic extrusions in the Sierra Nevada with potassium-argon ages of 3.1 million years or less indicate that the remanent magnetizations fall into two groups, a normal group in which the remanent magnetization is directed downward and to the north, and a reversed group magnetized up and to the south. Thermomagnetic experiments and mineralogic studies fail to provide an explanation of the opposing polarities in terms of mineralogic control, but rather suggest that the remanent magnetization reflects reversals of the main dipole field of the earth. All available radiometric ages are consistent with this field-reversal hypothesis and indicate that the present normal polarity epoch (N1) as well as the previous reversed epoch (R1) are 0.9 to 1.0 million years long, whereas the previous normal epoch (N2) was at least 25 percent longer.

California↗