Geology topics

K. G. Troost

Publications and source records attributed to K. G. Troost.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2004

Deformation of quaternary strata and its relationship to crustal folds and faults, south-central Puget Lowland, Washington State

Folded Quaternary deposits across the south-central Puget Lowland, an area just south of the Seattle fault that extends across the Seattle uplift and its boundary with the adjacent Tacoma basin, provide increased resolution of the character and rate of crustal deformation. They also constrain alternative, and partly incompatible, views of crustal structure previously suggested by geophysical investigations. Tectonic deformation has been progressive for at least the past few hundred thousand years: older sediments display greater deformation than the youngest exposed deposits in the study area. Strain rates across the Seattle uplift have probably been between 0.25 and 1.0 mm/yr during this period, accounting for ???10% of the total strain shortening of the western Washington crust. The Seattle uplift displays Quaternary deformation across its full north-south extent and has structural discontinuities at both its northern and southern boundaries. Previous workers have already established the faulted nature of its northern boundary; exposed Quaternary strata across its southern boundary display intense folding, the location of which generally corresponds to the projection of a "Tacoma fault" suggested by prior geophysical studies. ?? 2004 Geological Society of America.

Geology↗

USGS2004

Geologic Map of the Poverty Bay 7.5' quadrangle, King and Pierce counties, Washington

The Poverty Bay quadrangle lies near the center of the region?s intensively developing urban core. Less than 20 km north lies the city of Seattle; downtown Tacoma lies just southwest of the quadrangle. The map area expresses much of the tremendous range of Quaternary environments and deposits found throughout the central Puget Lowland. Much of the ground surface is mantled by a rolling surface of glacial till deposited during the last occupation of the Puget Lowland by a great continental ice sheet about 14,000 years ago. A complex sequence of older unconsolidated sediments extends far below sea level across most of the quadrangle, with no bedrock exposures at all.

Scientific Investigations Map↗

USGS2002

Magnetostratigraphy, paleomagnetic correlation, and deformation of pleistocene deposits in the south central Puget Lowland, Washington

Paleomagnetic results from Pleistocene sedimentary deposits in the central Puget Lowland indicate that the region has experienced widespread deformation within the last 780 kyr. Three oriented samples were collected from unaltered fine-grained sediments mostly at sea level to determine the magnetostratigraphy at 83 sites. Of these, 47 have normal, 18 have reversed, and 18 have transitional (8 localities) polarities. Records of reversed- to normal-polarity transitions of the geomagnetic field were found in thick sections of silt near the eastern end of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and again at Wingehaven Park near the northern tip of Vashon Island. The transitional horizons, probably related to the Bruhnes-Matuyama reversal, apparently fall between previously dated Pleistocene sediments at the Puyallup Valley type section (all reversed-polarity) to the south and the Whidbey Island type section (all normal-polarity) to the north. The samples, in general, are of sufficient quality to record paleosecular variation (PSV) of the geomagnetic field, and a statistical technique is used to correlate horizons with significant agreement in their paleomagnetic directions. Our data are consistent with the broad structures of the Seattle uplift inferred at depth from seismic reflection, gravity, and aeromagnetic profiles, but the magnitude of vertical adjustments is greatly subdued in the Pleistocene deposits.

Washington↗

USGS1991

Genesis and continuity of quaternary sand and gravel in glacigenic sediment at a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in east-central Illinois

The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety has characterized the Martinsville Alternative Site (MAS) for a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The MAS is located in east-central Illinois approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) north of the city of Martinsville. Geologic investigation of the 5.5-km2 (1380-acre) site revealed a sequence of chiefly Illinoian glacigenic sediments from 6 to 60 m (20-200 ft) thick overlying two major bedrock valleys carved in Pennsylvanian strata. Relatively permeable buried units include basal, preglacial alluvium; a complex of intraglacial and subglacial sediment; englacial deposits; and supraglacial fluvial deposits. Postglacial alluvium underlies stream valleys on and adjacent to the site. In most areas, the buried sand units are confined by low-permeability till, lacustrine sediment, colluvium, and loess. The distribution and thickness of the most extensive and continuous buried sand units have been modified considerably by subglacial erosion, and their distributions have been influenced by the buried bedrock valleys. The most continuous of the various sand units were deposited as preglacial and postglacial alluvium and are the uppermost and lowermost stratigraphic units at the alternative site. Sand units that were deposited in englacial or ice-marginal environments are less continuous. Aquifer pumping tests, potentiometric head data, and groundwater geochemistry analyses indicate minimal interaction of groundwater across localized interconnections of the permeable units. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Environmental Geology and Water Sciences↗