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H.E. Clifton

Publications and source records attributed to H.E. Clifton.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1992

Evidence from Cd/Ca ratios in foraminifera for greater upwelling off California 4,000 years ago

UPWELLING of nutrient-rich Pacific deep water along the North American west coast is ultimately driven by the temperature difference between air masses over land and over the ocean. The intensity of upwelling, and biological production in the region, could therefore be affected by anthropogenic climate change. Examination of the geological record is one way to study the link between climate and upwelling. Because Pacific deep water is enriched in cadmium, dissolved cadmium concentrations in coastal water off central California reflect the intensity of upwelling. By demonstrating that the Cd/Ca ratio in the shell of a benthic foraminifer, Elphidiella hannai, is proportional to the Cd concentration in coastal water, we show here that foraminiferal Cd/Ca ratios can be used to detect past changes in mean upwelling intensity. Examination of a sediment core from the mouth of San Francisco Bay reveals that foraminiferal Cd/Ca decreased by about 30% from 4,000 years ago to the present, probably because of a reduction in coastal upwelling. This observation is consistent with predictions of atmospheric general circulation models that northwesterly winds, which drive upwelling, became weaker over this period as summer insolation of the Northern Hemisphere decreased.

Nature↗
USGS1988

Seismic stratigraphy and late Quaternary shelf history, south-central Monterey Bay, California

The south-central Monterey Bay shelf is a high-energy, wave-dominated, tectonically active coastal region on the central California continental margin. A prominent feature of this shelf is a sediment lobe off the mouth of the Salinas River that has surface expression. High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles reveal that an angular unconformity (Quaternary?) underlies the entire shelf and separates undeformed strata above it from deformed strata below it. The Salinas River lobe is a convex bulge on the shelf covering an area of approximately 72 km 2 in water depths from 10 to 90 m. It reaches a maximum thickness of 35 m about 2.5 km seaward of the river mouth and thins in all directions away from this point. Adjacent shelf areas are characterized by only a thin (2 to 5 m thick) and uniform veneer of sediment. Acoustic stratigraphy of the lobe is complex and is characterized by at least three unconformity-bounded depositional sequences. Acoustically, these sequences are relatively well bedded. Acoustic foresets occur within the intermediate sequence and dip seaward at 0.7° to 2.0°. Comparison with sedimentary sequences in uplifted onshore Pleistocene marine-terrace deposits of the Monterey Bay area, which were presumably formed in a similar setting under similar processes, suggests that a general interpretation can be formulated for seismic stratigraphic patterns. Depositional sequences are interpreted to represent shallowing-upwards progradational sequences of marine to nonmarine coastal deposits formed during interglacial highstands and/or during early stages of falling sea level. Acoustic foresets within the intermediate sequence are evidence of seaward progradation. Acoustic unconformities that separate depositional sequences are interpreted as having formed largely by shoreface planation and may be the only record of the intervening transgressions.

Marine Geology↗
USGS1984

Tidal-cycle changes in oscillation ripples on the inner part of an estuarine sand flat

Oscillation ripples form on subaqueous sand beds when wave-generated, near-bottom water motions are strong enough to move sand grains. The threshold of grain motion is the lower bound of the regime of oscillation ripples and the onset of sheet flow is the upper bound. Based on the relation between ripple spacing and orbital diameter, three types of symmetrical ripples occur within the ripple regime. In the lower part of the ripple regime (orbital ripples), spacing is proportional to orbital diameter; in the upper part (anorbital ripples) spacing is independent of orbital diameter. Between these regions occurs a transitional region (suborbital ripples). Oscillation ripples develop on a sandy tidal flat in Willapa Bay, Washington, as a result of waves traversing the area when it is submerged. Because wave energy is usually low within the bay, the ripples are primarily orbital in type. This means that their spacing should respond in a systematic way to changes in wave conditions. During the high-water parts of some tidal cycles, ripples near the beach decrease in spacing during the latter stage of the ebb tide while ripples farther offshore do not change. Observations made over several tidal cycles show that the zone of active ripples shifts on- or offshore in response to different wave conditions. Detailed bed profiles and current measurements taken during the high-water part of spring tides show the manner in which the oscillation ripples change with changes in orbital diameter. Changes in ripple spacing at the study site could be correlated with changes in orbital diameter in the manner suggested by the criterion for orbital ripples. However, there appeared to be a lag time between a decrease in orbital diameter and the corresponding decrease in ripple spacing. Absence of change during a tidal cycle could be attributed to orbital velocities below the threshold for grain motion that negated the effects of changes in orbital diameter. Because changes in sand-flat ripples depend both upon changes in orbital diameter and upon the magnitude of the orbital velocity, exposed ripples were not necessarily produced during the preceding high tide. In fact, some ripples may have been just produced, while others, farther offshore, may have been produced an unknown number of tides earlier. Therefore, when interpreting past wave conditions over tidal flats from low-tide ripples, one must remember that wave periods have to be short enough to produce velocities greater than the threshold velocity for the orbital diameters calculated from the observed ripple spacings.

Washington↗
USGS1984

Spilled oil and infaunal activity - Modification of burrowing behavior and redistribution of oil

A series of experiments in Willapa Bay, Washington, indicates the degree to which the presence of spilled oil modifies the burrowing behavior of infauna and the extent to which the animals redistribute oil into intertidal sediment. Small amounts of North Slope crude oil introduced at low tide directly into burrow openings (mostly made by the crustacean Callianassa) resulted in a limited and temporary reduction in the number of burrow openings. In contrast, a layer of oil-saturated sand 1 cm thick buried about 5 cm below the sediment surface sharply reduced the number of burrow openings. After a year, the few new burrows penetrated only the margins of the experimental plot, and bioturbation below the buried oil-saturated sand layer declined dramatically. The experiments suggest that small amounts of oil temporarily stranded by tides in themselves have no long-range effect on burrowing behavior. The fauna, however, are capable of introducing measurable amounts of oil into the subsurface, where it is retained long after the rest of the stranded oil had washed away. A buried layer of oil-saturated sand greatly reduces infaunal activity; the oil presents an effective barrier that can persist for years. The oil incorporated into the sediment from burrow openings showed evidence of degradation after 7 months. In contrast the layer of buried oil remained essentially undergraded after a period of two years, even though oil in lower concentrations above the layer was degraded after a period of one year. This variation in degree of degradation of the buried oil, as well as the heterogeneity of oil distribution wherever the oil has been incorporated from the surface, emphasises the importance of careful sampling in any attempt to locate or monitor the presence of spilled oil in the substrate.In a series of experiments in Willapa Bay, Washington, small amounts of North Slope crude oil introduced at low tide directly into burrow openings resulted in a limited and temporary reduction in the number of burrow openings. In contrast, a layer of oil-saturated sand 1 cm thick buried about 5 cm below the sediment surface sharply reduced the number of burrow openings. After a year, the few new burrows penetrated only the margins of the experimental plot, and bioturbation below the buried oil-saturated sand layer declined dramatically. The experiments suggest that small amounts of oil temporarily stranded by tides in themselves have no long-range effect on burrowing behavior. The oil incorporated into the sediment from burrow openings showed evidence of degradation after 17 months. In contrast, the layer of buried oil remained essentially undegraded after a period of two years. Refs.

Marine Environmental Research↗
USGS1982

Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Surface Sediments of Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, Washington

Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor are two adjacent estuaries along the coast of Washington state. Willapa Bay is a recreational area minimally affected by industry; Grays Harbor, on the other hand, is moderately industrialized. Aliphatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments from these two estuaries reflect the differences in human activities. For example, the mean concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons for seven stations in Willapa Bay is 1,000 ?g/g (relative to organic carbon) while in Grays Harbor this mean concentration for six stations is 1,900 ?g/g. The difference is attributed mainly to the greater urban and industrial pollution in Grays Harbor. The gas chromatographic records of aliphatic hydrocarbons also reflect the extent of hydrocarbon pollution by the presence of a chromatographically unresolved mixture of hydrocarbons. This kind of mixture is more evident in sediments from Grays Harbor, and in both estuaries it is more concentrated in sediments collected nearest to urban centers.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1980

Modern sedimentary facies of the open Pacific coast and Pleistocene analogs from Montery Bay, California

Depositional processes and sedimentary structures of wave-dominated Pacific coastal environments vary systematically with water depth. The depth-limited open-coast facies identifiable by their sedimentary structures are the inner shelf, barred or nonbarred nearshore, beach, and coastal dune facies. These facies are most commonly preserved in shallowing-upward progradational sequences. The vertical sequence of sedimentary structures preserved in marine terrace deposits in the northern Monterey Bay region is very similar to that predicted on the basis of the modern facies. Few marine sediments deposited during the marine transgression that accompanied rising sea level were preserved. Most of the the marine and eolian sediments form a progradational sequence deposited mainly during intervals of falling sea level. In contrast, the sediments that form the adjacent fluvial terraces were deposited mainly during periods of rising sea level and became entrenched during the subsequent lowering of sea level. In combination, these fluvial, marine, and eolian deposits provide a record of a complete eustatic cycle. The recognition of the role of changing sea level in controlling patterns of coastal sedimentation and landform development during the Quaternary allows the development of a generalized model for Quaternary sedimentation along a wave-dominated coastline. The application of this model has aided in the interpretation of older Pleistocene sediments in the region (e.g. the Aromas Sand). It also has resulted in the recognition of at least eleven glacio-eustatic cycles preserved in the stratigraphic record of the Monterey Bay area during the Quaternary.

California↗
USGS1979

Amino-acid racemizarion in Quaternary shell deposits at Willapa Bay, Washington

Extents of racemization ( d l "> dl ratios) of amino acids in fossil Saxidomus giganteus (Deshayes) and Ostrea lurida Carpenter were measured on shell deposits exposed at 21 sites on the east side of Willapa Bay, Washington. Amino acids from Saxidomus show less variability in d Spl "> dSpl ratios and, therefore, are of greater use in correlation and age estimation than are amino acids from Ostrea . Shells of two different ages, about 120,000 ± 40,000 yr old and about 190,000 ± 40,000 yr old, are present. These ages correspond to Stages 5 and 7 of the marine isotope record defined by Shackleton and Opdyke in 1973 and hence the shell deposits likely formed during two different high stands of sea level. The stratigraphic record at Willapa Bay is consistent with this interpretation.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1973

Role of reef fauna in sediment transport and distribution - Studies from Tektite I and II

1. Reef organisms may play a major role in the transport and distribution of sediment on the sea floor adjacent to coral reefs. 2. Some fish such as Malacanthus plumieri (Bloch) selectively transport and collect certain types of sediment (such as larger coral and shell fragments). 3. The random movement of crawling or burrowing organisms may cause a large amount of sediment to be shifted laterally on the sea floor. On slopes, a net downhill displacement may result. 4. The surface configuration and internal structure of the sediment is rapidly changed by faunal mixing. Ripple marks formed by waves or currents are obliterated by the activity of organisms in only a few weeks in the environment studied. Internal structure (bedding) near the sediment-water interface is similarly destroyed in a short period of time. 5. Larger clasts (including empty shells) on the sea floor tend to be buried by faunal undermining. The rate of burial depends primarily on the grain size of the substrate. 6. The random movement of fauna on the sea floor may produce a predominantly concave-up orientation of pelecypod shells and shell fragments on the sea floor - the opposite of that produced by the activity of waves or currents. ?? 1973 Biologischen Anstalt Helgoland.

Helgoländer Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen↗
USGS1970

Tektite 1, man-in-the-sea project: Marine Science Program

The Tektite experiment was designed to provide data for a number of behavioral, biomedical, and engineering studies in addition to the marine sciences program. Conditions for some of these studies were not altogether compatible with the program for the marine sciences. For example, isolation imposed by human behavioral studies precluded physical contact with the surface team, even though such contact was physically possible and desirable for the conduct of the marine sciences program. Isolation also imposed on the scientific team the duty of all in-habitat maintenance, both scheduled and unscheduled, thereby taking substantial time from scientific research. In addition, between 10 and 20 percent of the waking time was devoted to performance of psychological tests required for the biomedical studies. Most of the experiments were directed toward detecting potentially adverse changes and thus were accepted as necessary and desirable. The only health problem to affect the scientific program during the dive was a minor external ear infection contracted by all the divers. Nonetheless, the experiment demon. strated, at least to our satisfaction, the advantages of underwater habitation and saturation diving for biological and geological research. A major advantage is the opportunity for continuous monitoring of organisms or processes. In addition, underwater habitation provides for considerably more research time in the water than surface diving or intermittent bottom dwelling, and this advantage increases greatly as the depth of habitation increases. Even in the relatively shallow depths at which Tektite 1 was conducted, the undersea team could spend appreciably more time at work in the water than their colleagues on the surface. Finally, Tektite 1 demonstrated that the scientist who lives in the sea need not have the extensive qualifications of a professional diver. Of the four scientists of the in-habitat team, only Crew Chief Waller was so qualified; the other three had used scuba as a research tool, but on a relatively limited basis. Any healthy, well-conditioned marine scientist with a basic diving background is capable of extending his research into the shallow sea on a full-time basis. It is hoped that many such scientists will in the future be able to utilize the undersea laboratory.

Science↗
USGS1969

Beach lamination: Nature and origin

A distinctive two-fold sedimentation unit characterizes lamination in the upper swash zone of beaches. Within the unit a fine and/or a heavy mineral rich layer at the base grades upward into a coarser and/or a heavy mineral poor layer at the top. This distinctive type of lamination results from grain segregation within bed flow during wave backwash.

Marine Geology↗