Geology topics

W.S. Moore

Publications and source records attributed to W.S. Moore.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Dynamics of submarine groundwater discharge and associated fluxes of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the coastal zone (Okatee River estuary, South Carolina)

Multiple techniques, including thermal infrared aerial remote sensing, geophysical and geological data, geochemical characterization and radium isotopes, were used to evaluate the role of groundwater as a source of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the Okatee River estuary, South Carolina. Thermal infrared aerial remote sensing surveys illustrated the presence of multiple submarine groundwater discharge sites in Okatee headwaters. Significant relationships were observed between groundwater geochemical constituents and 226 Ra activity in groundwater with higher 226 Ra activity correlated to higher concentrations of organics, dissolved inorganic carbon, nutrients, and trace gases to the Okatee system. A system-level radium mass balance confirmed a substantial submarine groundwater discharge contribution of these constituents to the Okatee River. Diffusive benthic flux measurements and potential denitrification rate assays tracked the fate of constituents in creek bank sediments. Diffusive benthic fluxes were substantially lower than calculated radium-based submarine groundwater discharge inputs, showing that advection of groundwater-derived nutrients dominated fluxes in the system. While a considerable potential for denitrification in tidal creek bank sediments was noted, in situ denitrification rates were nitrate-limited, making intertidal sediments an inefficient nitrogen sink in this system. Groundwater geochemical data indicated significant differences in groundwater chemical composition and radium activity ratios between the eastern and western sides of the river; these likely arose from the distinct hydrological regimes observed in each area. Groundwater from the western side of the Okatee headwaters was characterized by higher concentrations of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, inorganic nutrients and reduced metabolites and trace gases, i.e. methane and nitrous oxide, than groundwater from the eastern side. Differences in microbial sulfate reduction, organic matter supply, and/or groundwater residence time likely contributed to this pattern. The contrasting features of the east and west sub-marsh zones highlight the need for multiple techniques for characterization of submarine groundwater discharge sources and the impact of biogeochemical processes on the delivery of nutrients and carbon to coastal areas via submarine groundwater discharge.

South Carolina↗

USGS2008

The release of dissolved actinium to the ocean: A global comparison of different end-members

The measurement of short-lived 223Ra often involves a second measurement for supported activities, which represents 227Ac in the sample. Here we exploit this fact, presenting a set of 284 values on the oceanic distribution of 227Ac, which was collected when analyzing water samples for short-lived radium isotopes by the radium delayed coincidence counting system. The present work compiles 227Ac data from coastal regions all over the northern hemisphere, including values from ground water, from estuaries and lagoons, and from marine end-members. Deep-sea samples from a continental slope off Puerto Rico and from an active vent site near Hawaii complete the overview of 227Ac near its potential sources. The average 227Ac activities of nearshore marine end-members range from 0.4??dpm m- 3 at the Gulf of Mexico to 3.0??dpm m- 3 in the coastal waters of the Korean Strait. In analogy to 228Ra, we find the extension of adjacent shelf regions to play a substantial role for 227Ac activities, although less pronounced than for radium, due to its weaker shelf source. Based on previously published values, we calculate an open ocean 227Ac inventory of 1.35 * 1018??dpm 227Acex in the ocean, which corresponds to 37??moles, or 8.4??kg. This implies a flux of 127??dpm m-2 y- 1 from the deep-sea floor. For the shelf regions, we obtain a global inventory of 227Ac of 4.5 * 1015??dpm, which cannot be converted directly into a flux value, as the regional loss term of 227Ac to the open ocean would have to be included. Ac has so far been considered to behave similarly to Ra in the marine environment, with the exception of a strong Ac source in the deep-sea due to 231Paex. Here, we present evidence of geochemical differences between Ac, which is retained in a warm vent system, and Ra, which is readily released [Moore, W.S., Ussler, W. and Paull, C.K., 2008-this issue. Short-lived radium isotopes in the Hawaiian margin: Evidence for large fluid fluxes through the Puna Ridge. Marine Chemistry]. Another potential mechanism of producing deviations in 227Ac/228Ra and daughter isotope ratios from the expected production value of lithogenic material is observed at reducing environments, where enrichment in uranium may occur. The presented data here may serve as a reference for including 227Ac in circulation models, and the overview provides values for some end-members that contribute to the global Ac distribution. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Marine Chemistry↗

USGS2001

Using multiple geochemical tracers to characterize the hydrogeology of the submarine spring off Crescent Beach, Florida

A spectacular submarine spring is located about 4 km east of Crescent Beach, FL, in the Atlantic Ocean. The single vent feature of Crescent Beach Spring provides a unique opportunity to examine onshore–offshore hydrogeologic processes, as well as point source submarine ground water discharge. The Floridan aquifer system in northeastern Florida consists of Tertiary interspersed limestone and dolomite strata. Impermeable beds confine the water-bearing zones under artesian pressure. Miocene and younger confining strata have been eroded away at the vent feature, enabling direct hydrologic communication of Eocene ground water with coastal bottom waters. The spring water had a salinity of 6.02, which was immediately diluted by ambient seawater during advection/mixing. The concentration of major solutes in spring water and onshore well waters confirm a generalized easterly flow direction of artesian ground water. Nutrient concentrations were generally low in the reducing vent samples, and the majority of the total nitrogen species existed as NH 3 . The submarine ground water tracers, Rn-222 (1174 dpm l −1 , dpm), methane (232 nM) and barium (294.5 nM) were all highly enriched in the spring water relative to ambient seawater. The concentrations of the reverse redox elements U, V and Mo were expectedly low in the submarine waters. The strontium isotope ratio of the vent water ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr=0.70798) suggests that the spring water contain an integrated signature indicative of Floridan aquifer system ground water. Additional Sr isotopic ratios from a series of surficial and Lower Floridan well samples suggest dynamic ground water mixing, and do not provide clear evidence for a single hydrogeologic water source at the spring vent. In this karst-dominated aquifer, such energetic mixing at the vent feature is expected, and would be facilitated by conduit and fractured flow. Radium isotope activities were utilized to estimate flow-path trajectories and to provide information on potential travel times between an onshore well and the spring. Using either 223 Ra and 224 Ra or 228 Ra, and qualifying this approach with several key assumptions, estimates of water mass travel times from an upper Floridan well in Crescent Beach to the submarine vent feature (distance=4050 m) are in the order of ∼0.01–0.1 m min −1 .

Florida↗

USGS1981

Manganese cycles and the origin of manganese nodules, Oneida Lake, New York, U.S.A.

Oneida Lake is a large shallow lake in central New York that is characterized by high algal productivity and concentrated deposits of freshwater manganese nodules. Budgets for Mn in the lake and its tributaries show a net loss of 23 metric tons of manganese within the lake per year with ???95% deposited in manganese nodules and the rest incorporated in the sediments. Erosion of nodules in the shallow well-oxygenated central part of the lake produces fragments of nodules as well as Mn-coated sand grains that are transported to adjacent deeper, more reducing parts of the lake where they sink into the anoxic sediments and MnO2 is reduced to Mn2+. This produces a high concentration of Mn2+ in the pore waters of these sediments and Mn2+ diffuses back into the water column. Growth of manganese nodules in Oneida Lake is characterized by periods of rapid accretion (> 1 mm 100 yr.) alternating with periods of no-growth or erosion. Rapid growth of nodules may be aided by the stripping of Mn from the water column by algae and bacteria. In addition, the high algal productivity of Oneida Lake produces a high-pH high-oxygen environment during the summer months that is maintained throughout the water column in the central part of the lake by almost continuous wind mixing. Thus, the cycle of Mn within the lake involves an interaction of the weather, the biota, the sediments, the nodules, and Mn dissolved in the lake and interstitial waters. ?? 1981.

Chemical Geology↗

USGS1981

Fluxes of metals to a manganese nodule: Radiochemical, chemical, structural, and mineralogical studies

Fluxes of metals to the top and bottom surfaces of a manganese nodule were determined by combining radiochemical ( 230 Th, 231 Pa, 232 Th, 238 U, 234 U) and detailed chemical data. The top of the nodule had been growing in its collected orientation at 4.7 mm Myr −1 for at least 0.5 Myr and accreting Mn at 200 μg cm −2 kyr −1 . The bottom of the nodule had been growing in its collected orientation at about 12 mm Myr −1 for at least 0.3 Myr and accreting Mn at about 700 μg cm −2 yr −1 . Although the top of the nodule was enriched in iron relative to the bottom, the nodule had been accreting Fe 50% faster on the bottom. 232 Th was also accumulating more rapidly in the bottom despite a 20-fold enrichment of 230 Th on the top. The distribution of alpha-emitting nuclides calculated from detailed radiochemical measurements matched closely the pattern revealed by 109-day exposures of alpha-sensitive film to the nodule. However, the shape and slope of the total alpha profile with depth into the nodule was affected strongly by 226 Ra and 222 Rn migrations making the alpha-track technique alone an inadequate method of measuring nodule growth rates. Diffusion of radium in the nodule may have been affected by diagenetic reactions which produce barite, phillipsite and todorokite within 1 mm of the nodule surface; however, our sampling interval was too broad to document the effect. We have not been able to resolve the importance of nodule diagenesis on the gross chemistry of the nodule.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1980

Growth rates of manganese nodules in Oneida Lake, New York

226 Ra is used to document the growth histories of six manganese nodules from Oneida Lake, New York. Detailed sectioning and analysis reveal that there are discontinuous gradients in 226 Ra content in these samples. These gradients result from periods of rapid growth (>1 mm/100 years) separated by periods of no growth of erosion. Although the 226 Ra “age” of the nodules approximates the age of Oneida Lake, the nodules are not sediment-covered because they occur only in areas of the lake where fine-grained sediments are not accumulating.

New York↗