Geology topics
Research about South Carolina
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including South Carolina.
New Paleogene pollen species from the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains
Four new pollen species are described on the basis of specimens from the Paleocene to early middle Eocene interval of the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains. The species and their known geologic and geographic ranges are Trivestibulopollenitcs fissuratus (Midwayan to early Sabinian, Claibornian?; gulf coast?, Georgia to South Carolina); Pseudoplicapollis limitata (Midwayan to late Sabinian; gulf coast to Massachusetts), Tricolpitcs asper (early Midwayan to early Claibornian; gulf coast to Massachusetts), and Tricolpites redactus (early Midwayan to early Sabinian; South Carolina to Massachusetts).
Schlumberger electric soundings in the Charleston, S.C. earthquake area
No abstract available.
Studies related to the Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of 1886: A preliminary report
PART A: The seismic history of the southeastern United States is dominated by the 1886 earthquake near Charleston, S.C. An understanding of the specific source and the uniqueness of the neotectonic setting of this large earthquake is essential in order to properly assess seismic hazards in the southeastern United States. Such knowledge will also contribute to the fundamental understanding of intraplate earthquakes and will aid indirectly in deciphering the evolution of Atlantic-type continental margins. The 15 chapters in this volume report on the first stage of an ongoing multidisciplinary study of the Charleston earthquake of 1886. The Modified Mercalli intensity for the 1886 earthquake was X in the meizoseismal area, an elliptical area 35 by 50 km, the center of which was Middleton Place. Seismic activity is continuing today in the Middleton Place-Summerville area at a higher level than prior to 1886. The present seismicity is originating at depths of 1 to 8 km, mostly in the crystalline basement beneath sedimentary rocks of the Coastal Plain. The crystalline basement beneath the Charleston-Summerville area is not simply a seaward extension of crystalline rocks of the Appalachian orogen that are exposed in the Piedmont to the northwest, but has a distinctive magnetic signature that does not reflect Appalachian orogenic trends. The area underlain by this distinctive geophysical basement, the Charleston block, may represent a broad zone of Triassic and (or) Jurassic crustal extension formed during the early stages of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The Charleston block is characterized in part by prominent, roughly circular magnetic and gravity highs that are thought to reflect maflc or ultramafic plutons. A continuously cored borehole put down over the shallowest (about 1.5 km deep) of these magnetic anomalies on the edge of the meizoseismal area bottomed at 792 m in amygdaloidal basalt. Although the K-Ar ages of about 100 m.y. for the basalt are consistent with the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) age of the overlying Cape Fear Formation, this must be a minimum age as a result of chemical alteration. The interpreted magmatic composition of the basalt most closely resembles the high-Ti quartz-normative tholeiites of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic age from eastern North America; age of the basalt is probably similar. Various geophysical surveys suggest that Coastal Plain sedimentary rocks do not simply dip homoclinally to the southeast on a gently dipping basement surface but are disturbed by structures not yet clearly deciphered. The present stress regime of the Charleston-Summerville area appears to be one of NE-SW. compression rather than of extension as it presumably was in the Mesozoic. The present stress regime seems similar to that of much of the eastern United States. Comparison of several seismic source areas in eastern North America shows that epicenters are typically near the periphery of positive gravity features interpreted to represent mafic or ultramafic bodies. Earthquakes may be caused by the concentration of regional stress around the peripheries of these inhomogeneities in an otherwise more homogeneous plate. Whether the inhomogeneities are more or less rigid than the. surrounding material is uncertain. PART B: In 1889, C. E. Dutton published all his basic intensity data for the 1886 Charleston, S.C., shock but did not list what intensity values he assigned to each report, nor did he show the distribution of the locations of these data reports on his isoseismal map. The writer and two other seismologists have each independently evaluated Dutton's 1,300 intensity reports (at least two of the. three interpreters agreed on intensity values for 90 percent of the reports), and the consensus values were plotted and contoured. One map was prepared on which contours emphasized the broad regional pattern of effects (with results similar to Dutton's) ; another map was contoured to depict the more
Uranium and phosphate resources in Cooper Formation in the Charleston region, South Carolina
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Geochemical reconnaissance using heavy minerals from small streams in central South Carolina
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Heat flow near Charleston, South Carolina
As part of a study of the geology and geophysics of the Charleston, South Carolina, area, thermal conductivity, thermal gradient, and heat flow were determined in a 742 meter, continuously cored, test hole. The hole is located 41 km west-northwest of Charleston near Clubhouse Corners, Figure 1, directly over a gravity and magnetic high and the possible hypocenter of the 1889 Charleston earthquake. Drilling began January 13, 1975, and the hole penetrated 750 meters of Cenozoic and Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks finally bottoming in 42 meters of amygdaloidal basalts. Core recovery was 70% in sedimentary formations and 100% in the basalts. Detailed systematic studies of the core and the area surrounding the borehole were presented at the Symposium: Geology and Geophysics of Charleston, South Carolina, Area, held at the annual meeting of the Northeastern and Southeastern sections of the Geological Society of America during the week of March 25-27, 1976. Results from the thermal study are summarized in this report.
Geophysical logs for a deep test hole, Clubhouse Crossroads No. 2, Dorchester County, South Carolina
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Water resources data for South Carolina, water year 1975
Water resources data for the 1975 water year for South Carolina consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels in wells. This report contains discharge records for 56 gaging stations; stage only records for 4 gaging stations; stage and contents for 11 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 19 gaging stations and 4 ungaged stations; and water levels for 26 observation wells. Also included are 25 crest-stage partial-record stations. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in South Carolina.
Lakes Marion-Moultrie stream system investigation, South Carolina : Part II-Simulation Studies
A stream-reservoir model was developed to simulate the operation of the Lakes Marion-Moultrie, South Carolina, reservoir system. The reservoir system is operated under the assumption of a 3-day prior knowledge of inflows. This information is attainable from the ooperational reservoir-inflow forecasting model developed in the Part I report. The model, developed for this part of the study, incorporates an inflow component, a diversion-canal component, and a reservoir system component and is capable of evaluating the performance of the reservoir systemem for a variety of operating rule conditions. All model components were verified using observed reservoir input and output data for a 6-year (1967-72 water years) period. In addition, a long-term 31-year simulation under present rule of operation was performed and the results summarized statistically. The model may be used for simulating other rule curves of operation for planning studies of reservoir system performance. (See also W75-05646) (Woodard-USGS)
Earthquake history of South Carolina
An estimated $23 million damage was caused by one of the great earthquakes in United States history in 1886. Charleston, S.C, and nearby cities suffered most of the damage, although points as far as 160 km away were strongly shaken. Many of the 20 earthquakes of intensity V or greater (Modified Mercalli scale) that centered within South Carolina occurred near Charleston. A 1924 shock in the western part of the State was felt over 145,000 km 2 . Several earthquakes outside the State borders were felt strongly in South Carolina.
Gravity studies in the Carolina slate belt near the Haile and Brewer mines, north-central South Carolina
The Bouguer gravity map of part of the Carolina slate belt near the Haile and Brewer mines in South Carolina shows anomalies related to rock units. The most conspicuous of the anomalies coincide with coarse-grained granitic plutons. Mathematically calculated models using an iterative three-dimensional solution of the gravity anomalies show that these plutons are steep-sided intrusive bodies that constrict at depth to small pipes or roots. The plutons are emplaced in and are probably largely confined to a unit of volcaniclastic rocks. The volcaniclastic rocks are probably 6,000 m to 10,000 m thick and similar in composition to those exposed in the vicinity of the plutons.
Simple Bouguer gravity map of part of the Carolina slate belt including the Haile and Brewer mine areas, north-central South Carolina
No abstract available.
Geophysical logs from a geologic test hole near Charleston, South Carolina
On March 2, 1975, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a series of geophysical well logs in the Charleston Project Deep Core Hole No. 1 located at Latitude 32° 53.2 'N and Longitude 80° 21 . 5'W in Dorchester County near Charleston, South Carolina. The land surface is at an elevation of 5.4 m (18 ft) above mean sea level. The total depth of the test hole is 793 m (2,600 ft) and the geophysical logs were recorded through fresh barite mud to the bottom. The deep geologic. test hole penetrated the entire section of Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments and extended about 40 m (130 ft) into basement rock composed of basalt flows. The purpose of the logging is to assist in the interpretation of the depositional environments, stratigraphy, structural, and geological history of the onshore and offshore areas surrounding Charleston, S.C. The purpose of this report is to make the uninterpretated geophysical recordings of the entire log suite publicly available . The logs available are shown in table 1, along with the operating depth intervals, total footage, scale, units of measure, combination log, and other pertinent data.
Hydrologic Unit Map -- 1974, state of South Carolina
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Faults related to seismicity off the coast of South Carolina
Seismic reflection profiles taken parallel to the continental margin off the coast of South Carolina show that faults probably are present in the Tertiary rocks of the margin and that they are located on the trend of seismic activity which passes through the state.