Geology topics

A. K. Shah

Publications and source records attributed to A. K. Shah.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

Geophysical, geochemical, and mineralogical data from the Pebble Cu-Au-Mo porphyry deposit area, southwest Alaska: Contributions to assessment techniques for concealed mineral resources

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey began a multidisciplinary study in southwest Alaska to investigate the setting and detectability of mineral deposits in concealed volcanic and glacial terranes. The study area hosts the world-class Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, and through collaboration with the Pebble Limited Partnership, a range of geophysical and geochemical investigations was carried out in proximity to the deposit. The deposit is almost entirely concealed by tundra, glacial deposits, and post-mineralization volcanic rocks. The discovery of mineral resources beneath cover is becoming more important because most of the mineral resources at the surface have already been discovered. Research is needed to identify ways in which to assess for concealed mineral resources. This report presents the uninterpreted geophysical measurements and geochemical and mineralogical analytical data from samples collected during the summer field seasons from 2007 to 2010, and makes the data available in a single Geographic Information System (GIS) database.

Alaska↗

USGS2009

Gravity investigations of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure

The Chesapeake Bay impact structure is a complex impact crater, ??85 km in diameter, buried beneath postimpact sediments. Its main structural elements include a central uplift of crystalline bedrock, a surrounding inner crater filled with impact debris, and an annular faulted margin composed of block-faulted sediments. The gravity anomaly is consistent with that of a complex impact consisting of a central positive anomaly over the central uplift and an annular negative anomaly over the inner crater. An anomaly is not recognized as being associated with the faulted margin or the outer edge of the structure. Densities from the Eyreville drill core and modeling indicate a density contrast of ??0.3-0.6 g cm -3 between crystalline basement and the material that fills the inner crater (e.g., Exmore breccia and suevite). This density contrast is somewhat higher than for other impact structures, but it is a function of the manner in which the crater fill was deposited (as a marine resurge deposit). Modeling of the gravity data is consistent with a depth to basement of ??1600 m at the site of Eyreville drill hole and 800 m at the central uplift. Both depths are greater than the depth at which crystalline rocks were encountered in the cores, suggesting that the cored material is highly fractured para-allochthonous rock. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗

USGS2009

Megablocks and melt pockets in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure constrained by magnetic field measurements and properties of the Eyreville and Cape Charles cores

We use magnetic susceptibility and remanent magnetization measurements of the Eyreville and Cape Charles cores in combination with new and previously collected magnetic field data in order to constrain structural features within the inner basin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. The Eyreville core shows the first evidence of several-hundred-meter-thick basement-derived megablocks that have been transported possibly kilometers from their pre-impact location. The magnetic anomaly map of the structure exhibits numerous short-wavelength (<2 km) variations that indicate the presence of magnetic sources within the crater fill. With core magnetic properties and seismic reflection and refraction results as constraints, forward models of the magnetic field show that these sources may represent basementderived megablocks that are a few hundred meters thick or melt bodies that are a few dozen meters thick. Larger-scale magnetic field properties suggest that these bodies overlie deeper, pre-impact basement contacts between materials with different magnetic properties such as gneiss and schist or gneiss and granite. The distribution of the short-wavelength magnetic anomalies in combination with observations of small-scale (1-2 mGal) gravity field variations suggest that basement-derived megablocks are preferentially distributed on the eastern side of the inner crater, not far from the Eyreville core, at depths of around 1-2 km. A scenario where additional basement-derived blocks between 2 and 3 km depth are distributed throughout the inner basin-and are composed of more magnetic materials, such as granite and schist, toward the east over a large-scale magnetic anomaly high and less magnetic materials, such as gneiss, toward the west where the magnetic anomaly is lower-provides a good model fi t to the observed magnetic anomalies in a manner that is consistent with both gravity and seismic-refraction data. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗

USGS2005

New surveys of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure suggest melt pockets and target-structure effect

We present high-resolution gravity and magnetic field survey results over the 85-km-diameter Chesapeake Bay impact structure. Whereas a continuous melt sheet is anticipated at a crater this size, shallow-source magnetic field anomalies of ???100 nT instead suggest that impact melt pooled in kilometer-scaled pockets surrounding the base of a central peak. A central anomaly of ???300 nT may represent additional melt or rock that underwent shock-induced remagnetization. Models predict that the total volume of the melt ranges from ???0.4 to 10 km3, a quantity that is several orders of magnitude smaller than expected for an impact structure this size. However, this volume is within predictions given a transient crater of diameter of 20-40 km for a target covered with water and sedimentary deposits such that melt fragments were widely dispersed at the time of impact. Gravity data delineate a gently sloping inner basin and a central peak via a contrast between crystalline and sedimentary rock. Both features are ovoid, oriented parallel to larger preimpact basement structures. Conceptual models suggest how lateral differences in rock strength due to these preimpact structures helped to shape the crater's morphology during transient-crater modification. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

Geology↗