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Geology topics

B. H. Lidz

Publications and source records attributed to B. H. Lidz.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1991

Paleoshorelines, reefs, and a rising sea: South Florida, USA

The porous limestone bedrock, thin sediment cover, and tectonic stability of the Florida Platform during the past 15 ka BP provide an exceptionally suitable setting for reconstruction of paleoshorelines and onshore projection of future shorelines in a rising-sea scenario. Paleoshorelines for 8, 6, 4 and 2 ka BP show that 1) a series of limestone islands formed, then drowned, along the outer platform; 2) a distinct trough, called Hawk Channel, separated the outer islands from shore; 3) the lower Keys flooded earlier and more rapidly than the rest of the Keys; and 4) Florida Bay and tidal passes through the middle Keys into the bay developed within the past 4 ka BP. Projection of future shorelines onto land shows that most land forming the Florida Keys would flood in a rise of 1 to 2 m and that a rise of little more than 5 m would submerge all land. Offshore reefs would die, while nearshore reefs would shift landward as the mainland shoreline migrated northward. -from Authors

Florida↗
USGS1990

Methods of measurement of exploratory well impacts, offshore Florida

Six offshore oil well tests were drilled off Key West in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two wells were drilled on coral bottom, two on carbonate sand, and two on mixed turtle grass and gorgonian/sponge hardbottom. After locating the sites with a proton magnetometer; several underwater assessment methods were used to measure the ecological impacts of drilling. Because of differing environments and bottom types, no single method was applicable at every site.

Florida↗
USGS1989

Whitings, a sedimentologic dilemma

Whitings, drifting clouds of water, milky because of suspended carbonate, have been claimed to originate from either the action of bottom-feeding fish or direct precipitation of calcium carbonate. Five cruises during different seasons were made to the Great Bahama Bank to collect data pertinent to the controversy. Measurements of particulate concentrations average 10 mg/liter with a maximum of 20 mg/liter of carbonate sediment suspended in whiting water, compared with an average of 1.5 mg/liter for clear water outside the whitings. The particles are dominantly acicular aragonite, but Mg calcite composes as much as 20 percent of some whitings. Sedimentation rates, measured with fixed and drifting sediment traps, were as great as 34 g/m 2 /hr. Sediment suspended in whitings aggregated into silt- and sand-size fioccules and settled to the bottom of settling tanks within six hours, even on a rocking ship. Sediment in artificial whitings, created by stirring sediment from the bottom with a shrimp trawl, settled to the bottom in about the same time. Natural whitings, on the other hand, were never observed to dissipate. Because sedimentation from whitings occurs at rates sufficient to cause dissipation of the whitings within six hours, we conclude that the natural whitings are continually replenished by direct precipitation. The search for fish in whitings utilized sidescan sonar and fathometer imaging, shrimp trawls, rotenone, remote video, and direct scuba observation. These methods and 25 years of casual observations leading to this study indicate that fish are not involved in the formation of most Bahamian whitings. Several whitings were found over rocky or sandy bottoms where there was no mud available for fish to suspend. The distance of these whitings from areas of muddy bottom precluded their having been made elsewhere by fish. Stable carbon- and oxygen-isotopic analyses and Delta 14 C activity are interpreted to indicate that the suspended sediment in whitings contains some precipitated calcium carbonate and is not merely bottom sediment stirred into suspension. Estimates indicate that the amount of new carbonate produced in whitings on the Great Bahama Bank is substantially higher than that arising from algal production. Consequently, the amount of sediment transported to deep water may be much greater than previously thought.

Journal of Sedimentary Petrology↗
USGS1989

Diagnostic foraminiferal assemblages of Florida Bay and adjacent shallow waters: a comparison

Ecologic studies of benthic Foraminifera in Florida Bay indicate that 1) the bay is a specialized restricted platform interior environment; 2) its fauna is divisible into 3 subfaunas: nearshore, mudbank, and "lake', 3) substrate, currents, wave intensity, and wave direction affect local distribution but do not alter regional patterns; and 4) faunal assemblages rather than individual species of Foraminifera are diagnostic environmental indicators as many species range over several faunal zones. -from Authors

Bulletin of Marine Science↗
USGS1982

Biostratigraphy and paleoenvironment of Miocene- Pliocene hemipelagic limestone: Kingshill Seaway, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

The Kingshill Limestone and younger carbonate rocks constitute the central portion of St. Croix, forming the remains of an ancient seaway that was flanked by emergent highlands. The seaway has been filled with thick epipelagic sediments alternating with carbonate turbidites and ash falls and capped with shallow-water reefal and terrigenous debris. Planktonic foraminifera indicate that ages of these rocks range sequentially in a SW direction from the middle Miocene to lower Pliocene. Scanning electron micrographs illustrate 42 species and subspecies of pelagic foraminifera and 13 selected paleoenvironmentally significant aberrant forms.-from Author

Journal of Foraminiferal Research↗
USGS1977

Topographic control and accumulation rate of some Holocene coral reefs: south Florida and Dry Tortugas

Core drilling and examination of underwater excavation on 6 reef sites in south Florida and Dry Tortugas revealed that underlying topography is the major factor controlling reef morphology. Carbon-14 dating on coral recovered from cores enables calculation of accumulation rates. Accumulation rates were found to range from 0.38 m/1000 years in thin Holocene reefs to as much as 4.85 m/1000 years in thicker buildups. Cementation and alteration of corals were found to be more pronounced in areas of low buildup rates than in areas of rapid accumulation rates. Acropora palmata, generally considered the major reef builder in Florida, was found to be absent in most reefs drilled. At Dry Tortugas, the more than 13-meter thick Holocene reef did not contain A. palmata. The principal reef builders in this outer reef are the same as those which built the Pleistocene Key Largo formation, long considered to be fossilized patch reef complex.

Florida↗