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USGS2009

Submarine canyon and fan systems of the California Continental Borderland

Late Quaternary turbidite and related gravity-flow deposits have accumulated in basins of the California Borderland under a variety of conditions of sediment supply and sea-level stand. The northern basins (Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and San Pedro) are closed and thus trap virtually all sediment supplied through submarine canyons and smaller gulley systems along the basin margins. The southern basins (Gulf of Santa Catalina and San Diego Trough) are open, and, under some conditions, turbidity currents flow from one basin to another. Seismic-reflection profiles at a variety of resolutions are used to determine the distribution of late Quaternary turbidites. Patterns of turbidite-dominated deposition during lowstand conditions of oxygen isotope stages 2 and 6 are similar within each of the basins. Chronology is provided by radiocarbon dating of sediment from two Ocean Drilling Program sites, the Mohole test-drill site, and large numbers of piston cores. High-resolution, seismic-stratigraphic frameworks developed for Santa Monica Basin and the open southern basins show rapid lateral shifts in sediment accumulation on scales that range from individual lobe elements to entire fan complexes. More than half of the submarine fans in the Borderland remain active at any given position of relative sea level. Where the continental shelf is narrow, canyons are able to cut headward during sea-level transgression and maintain sediment supply to the basins from rivers and longshore currents during highstands. Rivers with high bedload discharge transfer sediment to submarine fans during both highstand and lowstand conditions. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Variability of the Southern California wave climate and implications for sediment transport

We analyzed wave and wind data from 18 buoys in the Southern California Bight to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the regional wave climate. Point Conception shelters most of the Bight from being directly impacted by North Pacific weather. The wave height inside the sheltered zone and to the east of the Channel Islands is less than half the wave height in the open ocean to the west. Within the sheltered Bight, storm waves (by proxy of being greater than the 95th percentile wave height for more than 6 hours) are mainly from the west, but long period swells (T p >15 seconds) are mainly from the south-southwest. There are on average two to four storms during each winter month (November-March) and fewer than two storms per month for the rest of the year. The Channel Islands selectively block the westerly swells and make the wave climate in the Santa Barbara Channel different from the rest of the sheltered Bight. A statistically significant wave-height minimum exists in the area offshore Dana Point and Oceanside. The multiyear (2-23 years) wave-data records from all 18 buoys show negligible temporal trend, positive or negative. Like the wave climate, the long-term probability of sediment transport on the continental shelves of the Bight displays large difference between the sheltered and open-ocean (near Point Conception) sites. The return period of incipient sediment motion on the sheltered shelf breaks (one to five months) is at least two orders of magnitude longer than that on the Point Conception shelf break (0.6 day). Similar to the spatial distribution of wave heights, there is a systematic return-period maximum on the shelf off Dana Point and Oceanside. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Coastal ocean transport patterns in the central Southern California Bight

In the past decade, several large programs that monitor currents and transport patterns for periods from a few months to a few years were conducted by a consortium of university, federal, state, and municipal agencies in the central Southern California Bight, a heavily urbanized section of the coastal ocean off the west coast of the United States encompassing Santa Monica Bay, San Pedro Bay, and the Palos Verdes shelf. These programs were designed in part to determine how alongshelf and cross-shelf currents move sediments, pollutants, and suspended material through the region. Analysis of the data sets showed that the current patterns in this portion of the Bight have distinct changes in frequency and amplitude with location, in part because the topography of the shelf and upper slope varies rapidly over small spatial scales. However, because the mean, subtidal, and tidal-current patterns in any particular location were reasonably stable with time, one could determine a regional pattern for these current fields in the central Southern California Bight even though measurements at the various locations were obtained at different times. In particular, because the mean near-surface flows over the San Pedro and Palos Verdes shelves are divergent, near-surface waters from the upper slope tend to carry suspended material onto the shelf in the northwestern portion of San Pedro Bay. Water and suspended material are also carried off the shelf by the mean and subtidal flow fields in places where the orientation of the shelf break changes abruptly. The barotropic tidal currents in the central Southern California Bight flow primarily alongshore, but they have pronounced amplitude variations over relatively small changes in alongshelf location that are not totally predicted by numerical tidal models. Nonlinear internal tides and internal bores at tidal frequencies are oriented more across the shelf. They do not have a uniform transport direction, since they move fine sediment from the shelf to the slope in Santa Monica Bay, but carry suspended material from the mid-shelf to the beach in San Pedro Bay. It is clear that there are a large variety of processes that transport sediments and contaminants along and across the shelf in the central Southern California Bight. However, because these processes have a variety of frequencies and relatively small spatial scales, the dominant transport processes tend to be localized and have dissimilar characteristics even in adjacent regions of this small part of the coastal ocean. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Recent developments in understanding the tectonic evolution of the Southern California offshore area: Implications for earthquake-hazard analysis

During late Mesozoic and Cenozoic time, three main tectonic episodes affected the Southern California offshore area. Each episode imposed its unique structural imprint such that early-formed structures controlled or at least influenced the location and development of later ones. This cascaded structural inheritance greatly complicates analysis of the extent, orientation, and activity of modern faults. These fault attributes play key roles in estimates of earthquake magnitude and recurrence interval. Hence, understanding the earthquake hazard posed by offshore and coastal faults requires an understanding of the history of structural inheritance and modifi-cation. In this report we review recent (mainly since 1987) findings about the tectonic development of the Southern California offshore area and use analog models of fault deformation as guides to comprehend the bewildering variety of offshore structures that developed over time. This report also provides a background in regional tectonics for other chapters in this section that deal with the threat from offshore geologic hazards in Southern California. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Submarine landslides of the Southern California Borderland

Conventional bathymetry, sidescan-sonar and seismic-reflection data, and recent, multibeam surveys of large parts of the Southern California Borderland disclose the presence of numerous submarine landslides. Most of these features are fairly small, with lateral dimensions less than ??2 km. In areas where multibeam surveys are available, only two large landslide complexes were identified on the mainland slope- Goleta slide in Santa Barbara Channel and Palos Verdes debris avalanche on the San Pedro Escarpment south of Palos Verdes Peninsula. Both of these complexes indicate repeated recurrences of catastrophic slope failure. Recurrence intervals are not well constrained but appear to be in the range of 7500 years for the Goleta slide. The most recent major activity of the Palos Verdes debris avalanche occurred roughly 7500 years ago. A small failure deposit in Santa Barbara Channel, the Gaviota mudflow, was perhaps caused by an 1812 earthquake. Most landslides in this region are probably triggered by earthquakes, although the larger failures were likely conditioned by other factors, such as oversteepening, development of shelf-edge deltas, and high fluid pressures. If a subsequent future landslide were to occur in the area of these large landslide complexes, a tsunami would probably result. Runup distances of 10 m over a 30-km-long stretch of the Santa Barbara coastline are predicted for a recurrence of the Goleta slide, and a runup of 3 m over a comparable stretch of the Los Angeles coastline is modeled for the Palos Verdes debris avalanche. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Potential earthquake faults offshore Southern California, from the eastern Santa Barbara Channel south to Dana Point

Urban areas in Southern California are at risk from major earthquakes, not only quakes generated by long-recognized onshore faults but also ones that occur along poorly understood offshore faults. We summarize recent research findings concerning these lesser known faults. Research by the U.S. Geological Survey during the past five years indicates that these faults from the eastern Santa Barbara Channel south to Dana Point pose a potential earthquake threat. Historical seismicity in this area indicates that, in general, offshore faults can unleash earthquakes having at least moderate (M 5-6) magnitude. Estimating the earthquake hazard in Southern California is complicated by strain partitioning and by inheritance of structures from early tectonic episodes. The three main episodes are Mesozoic through early Miocene subduction, early Miocene crustal extension coeval with rotation of the Western Transverse Ranges, and Pliocene and younger transpression related to plate-boundary motion along the San Andreas Fault. Additional complication in the analysis of earthquake hazards derives from the partitioning of tectonic strain into strike-slip and thrust components along separate but kinematically related faults. The eastern Santa Barbara Basin is deformed by large active reverse and thrust faults, and this area appears to be underlain regionally by the north-dipping Channel Islands thrust fault. These faults could produce moderate to strong earthquakes and destructive tsunamis. On the Malibu coast, earthquakes along offshore faults could have left-lateral-oblique focal mechanisms, and the Santa Monica Mountains thrust fault, which underlies the oblique faults, could give rise to large (M ??7) earthquakes. Offshore faults near Santa Monica Bay and the San Pedro shelf are likely to produce both strike-slip and thrust earthquakes along northwest-striking faults. In all areas, transverse structures, such as lateral ramps and tear faults, which crosscut the main faults, could segment earthquake rupture zones. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Recent faulting in the Gulf of Santa Catalina: San Diego to Dana Point

We interpret seismic-reflection profiles to determine the location and offset mode of Quaternary offshore faults beneath the Gulf of Santa Catalina in the inner California Continental Borderland. These faults are primarily northwest-trending, right-lateral, strike-slip faults, and are in the offshore Rose Canyon-Newport-Inglewood, Coronado Bank, Palos Verdes, and San Diego Trough fault zones. In addition we describe a suite of faults imaged at the base of the continental slope between Dana Point and Del Mar, California. Our new interpretations are based on high-resolution, multichannel seismic (MCS), as well as very high resolution Huntec and GeoPulse seismic-reflection profiles collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 1998 to 2000 and MCS data collected by WesternGeco in 1975 and 1981, which have recently been made publicly available. Between La Jolla and Newport Beach, California, the Rose Canyon and Newport-Inglewood fault zones are multistranded and generally underlie the shelf break. The Rose Canyon fault zone has a more northerly strike; a left bend in the fault zone is required to connect with the Newport-Inglewood fault zone. A prominent active anticline at mid-slope depths (300-400 m) is imaged seaward of where the Rose Canyon fault zone merges with the Newport-Inglewood fault zone. The Coronado Bank fault zone is a steeply dipping, northwest-trending zone consisting of multiple strands that are imaged from south of the U.S.-Mexico border to offshore of San Mateo Point. South of the La Jolla fan valley, the Coronado Bank fault zone is primarily transtensional; this section of the fault zone ends at the La Jolla fan valley in a series of horsetail splays. The northern section of the Coronado Bank fault zone is less well developed. North of the La Jolla fan valley, the Coronado Bank fault zone forms a positive flower structure that can be mapped at least as far north as Oceanside, a distance of ??35 km. However, north of Oceanside, the Coronado Bank fault zone is more discontinuous and in places has no strong physiographic expression. The San Diego Trough fault zone consists of one or two well-defined linear fault strands that cut through the center of the San Diego Trough and strike N30??W. North of the La Jolla fan valley, this fault zone steps to the west and is composed of up to four fault strands. At the base of the continental slope, faults that show recency of movement include the San Onofre fault and reverse, oblique-slip faulting associated with the San Mateo and Carlsbad faults. In addition, the low-angle Oceanside detachment fault is imaged beneath much of the continental slope, although reflectors associated with the detachment are more prominent in the area directly offshore of San Mateo Point. North of San Mateo Point, the Oceanside fault is imaged as a northeast-dipping detachment surface with prominent folds deforming hanging-wall strata. South of San Mateo point, reflectors associated with the Oceanside detachment are often discontinuous with variable dip as imaged in WesternGeco MCS data. Recent motion along the Oceanside detachment as a reactivated thrust fault appears to be limited primarily to the area between Dana and San Mateo Points. Farther south, offshore of Carlsbad, an additional area of folding associated with the Carlsbad fault also is imaged near the base of the slope. These folds coincide with the intersection of a narrow subsurface ridge that trends at a high angle to and intersects the base of the continental slope. The complex pattern of faulting observed along the base of the continental slope associated with the San Mateo, San Onofre, and Carlsbad fault zones may be the result of block rotation. We propose that the clockwise rotation of a small crustal block between the Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon and Coronado Bank fault zones accounts for the localized enhanced folding along the Gulf of Santa Catalina margin. Prominent subsurface basement ridges imaged offshore of Dana Point m

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Characteristics of Southern California coastal aquifer systems

Most groundwater produced within coastal Southern California occurs within three main types of siliciclastic basins: (1) deep (>600 m), elongate basins of the Transverse Ranges Physiographic Province, where basin axes and related fluvial systems strike parallel to tectonic structure, (2) deep (>6000 m), broad basins of the Los Angeles and Orange County coastal plains in the northern part of the Peninsular Ranges Physiographic Province, where fluvial systems cut across tectonic structure at high angles, and (3) shallow (75-350 m), relatively narrow fluvial valleys of the generally mountainous southern part of the Peninsular Ranges Physiographic Province in San Diego County. Groundwater pumped for agricultural, industrial, municipal, and private use from coastal aquifers within these basins increased with population growth since the mid-1850s. Despite a significant influx of imported water into the region in recent times, groundwater, although reduced as a component of total consumption, still constitutes a significant component of water supply. Historically, overdraft from the aquifers has caused land surface subsidence, flow between water basins with related migration of groundwater contaminants, as well as seawater intrusion into many shallow coastal aquifers. Although these effects have impacted water quality, most basins, particularly those with deeper aquifer systems, meet or exceed state and national primary and secondary drinking water standards. Municipalities, academicians, and local water and governmental agencies have studied the stratigraphy of these basins intensely since the early 1900s with the goals of understanding and better managing the important groundwater resource. Lack of a coordinated effort, due in part to jurisdictional issues, combined with the application of lithostratigraphic correlation techniques (based primarily on well cuttings coupled with limited borehole geophysics) have produced an often confusing, and occasionally conflicting, litany of names for the various formations, lithofacies, and aquifer systems identified within these basins. Despite these nomenclatural problems, available data show that most basins contain similar sequences of deposits and share similar geologic histories dominated by glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations, and overprinted by syndepositional and postdepositional tectonic deformation. Impermeable, indurated mid-Tertiary units typically form the base of each siliciclastic groundwater basin. These units are overlain by stacked sequences of Pliocene to Holocene interbedded marine, paralic, fluvial, and alluvial sediment (weakly indurated, folded, and fractured) that commonly contain the historically named "80-foot sand," "200-foot sand," and "400-foot gravel" in the upper part of the section. An unconformity, cut during the latest Pleistocene lowstand (?? 18 O stage 2; ca. 18 ka), forms a major sequence boundary that separates these units from the overlying Holocene fluvial sands and gravels. Unconfined aquifers occur in amalgamated coarse facies near the bounding mountains (forebay area). These units are inferred to become lithologically more complex toward the center of the basins and coast line, where interbedded permeable and low-permeability alluvial, fluvial, paralic, and marine facies contain confined aquifers (pressure area). Coastal bounding faults limit intrabasin and/or interbasin flow in parts of many basins. ?? 2009 Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Stratigraphic controls on saltwater intrusion in the Dominguez Gap area of coastal Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Basin is a densely populated coastal area that significantly depends on groundwater. A part of this groundwater supply is at risk from saltwater intrusion—the impetus for this study. High-resolution seismic-reflection data collected from the Los Angeles–Long Beach Harbor Complex have been combined with borehole geophysical and descriptive geological data from four nearby ~400-m-deep continuously cored wells and with borehole geophysical data from adjacent water and oil wells to characterize the Pliocene to Holocene stratigraphy of the Dominguez Gap coastal aquifer system. The new data are shown as a north-south, two- dimensional, sequence-stratigraphic model that is compared to existing lithostratigraphic models of the Los Angeles Basin in an attempt to better understand pathways of saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers.

California↗
USGS2009

Review of impacts of contaminated sediment on microfaunal communities in the Southern California Bight

A comparison of foraminiferal faunal trends in pristine and impacted regions on the continental shelf and slope of the Southern California Bight, as well as variations in the temporal foraminiferal distribution patterns from 1955 to 1998, suggest that the benthic microfaunal communities have been greatly affected by the presence of contaminated sediment near the major outfall sites. Six species were most impacted: Trochammina pacifica, Bulimina denudata, Eggerella advena, Buliminella elegantissima, Nonionella stella, and Nonionella basispinata. The silver contaminant-tolerant and organic-waste indicating species Trochammina pacifica and Bulimina denudata dominated the outfall regions in the mid-century but declined in abundance in the 1990s after sewage treatment and sludge disposal activities improved. Over the same time period, the abundance of Eggerella advena, a pioneer colonizer of formerly impacted waste-discharge sites tolerant of most trace-metal and organic contaminants, increased dramatically on the shelf, whereas Buliminella elegantissima, a nitrogen-favoring taxon, dominated the nearshore regions except at the pristine site. In contrast, the contaminant-sensitive species Nonionella stella and Nonionella basi-spinata dominated the shelf assemblages in pristine to low-impacted areas in the late 1950s and early 1960s but were rare to absent near the outfalls, even after remediation efforts were put into effect. Although most other species patterns, as well as the amphipod survival and sea urchin fertilization tests, show that the enhanced sewage treatment programs improved sediment conditions, the inability of Nonionella stella and Nonionella basispinata to reinhabit formerly colonized areas suggests that not all faunal trends have returned to pre- or early-outfall levels even with remediation. The sensitivity of foraminifers to the presence of contaminated sediments suggests that they are a useful tool in evaluating the impact of anthropogenic contamination on microfaunal communities.

California↗
USGS2009

Petrology and geochronology of crustal xenoliths from the Bering Strait region: Linking deep and shallow processes in extending continental crust

Petrologic, geochemical, and metamorphic data on gneissic xenoliths derived from the middle and lower crust in the Neogene Bering Sea basalt province, coupled with U-Pb geochronology of their zircons using sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe-reverse geometry (SHRIMP-RG), yield a detailed comparison between the P-T-t and magmatic history of the lower crust and magmatic, metamorphic, and deformational history of the upper crust. Our results provide unique insights into the nature of lithospheric processes that accompany the extension of continental crust. The gneissic, mostly maficxenoliths (constituting less than two percent of the total xenolith population) from lavas in the Enmelen, RU, St. Lawrence, Nunivak, and Seward Peninsula fields most likely originated through magmatic fractionation processes with continued residence at granulite-facies conditions. Zircon single-grain ages (n ??? 125) are interpreted as both magmatic and metamorphic and are entirely Cretaceous to Paleocene in age (ca. 138-60 Ma). Their age distributions correspond to the main ages of magmatism in two belts of supracrustal volcanic and plutonic rocks in the Bering Sea region. Oscillatory-zoned igneous zircons, Late Cretaceous to Paleocene metamorphic zircons and overgrowths, and lack of any older inheritance in zircons from the xenoliths provide strong evidence for juvenile addition of material to the crust at this time. Surface exposures of Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks locally reached upper amphibolite-facies (sillimanite grade) to granulite-facies conditions within a series of extension-related metamorphic culminations or gneiss domes, which developed within the Cretaceous magmatic belt. Metamorphic gradients and inferred geotherms (??30-50 ??C/km) from both the gneiss domes and xenoliths aretoo high to be explained by crustal thickening alone. Magmatic heat input from the mantle is necessary to explain both the petrology of the magmas and elevated metamorphic temperatures. Deep-crustal seismic-reflection and refraction data reveal a 30-35-km-thick crust, a sharp Moho and refl ective lower and middle crust. Velocities do not support a largely mafic (underplated) lower crust, but together with xenolith data suggest that Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene maficintrusions are likely increasingly important with depth in the crust and that the elevated temperatures during granulite-facies metamorphism led to large-scale flow of crustal rocks to produce gneiss domes and the observed subhorizontal refl ectivity of the crust. This unique combined data set for the Bering Shelf region provides compelling evidence for the complete reconstitution/re-equilibration of continental crust from the bottom up during mantle-driven magmatic events associated with crustal extension. Thus, despite Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks at the surface and Alaska's accretionary tectonic history, it is likely that a significant portion of the Bering Sea region lower crust is much younger and related to post-accretionary tectonic and magmatic events. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Mesozoic magmatism in an upper- to middle-crustal section through the Cordilleran continental margin arc, eastern Transverse Ranges, California

The eastern Transverse Ranges provide essentially continuous exposure for >100 km across the strike of the Mesozoic Cordilleran orogen. Thermobarometric calculations based on hornblende and plagioclase compositions in Mesozoic plutonic rocks show that the fi rst-order distribution of rock units resulted from differential Laramide exhumation. Mesozoic supracrustal rocks are preserved in the relatively little exhumed eastern part of the eastern Transverse Ranges and south-central Mojave Desert, and progressively greater rock uplift and exhumation toward the west exposed rocks originating at mid-crustal depths. The eastern Transverse Ranges thus constitute a tilted, nearly continuously exposed crustal section of the Mesozoic magmatic arc and framework rocks from subvolcanic levels to paleodepths as great as ??22 km. The base of this tilted arc section is a moderately east-dipping sheeted magmatic complex >10 km in width by 70 km in length, constructed structurally beneath, yet synchronous with Late Jurassic and Cretaceous upper-crustal plutons. Geochronology and regional structural relations thus suggest that arc magmas generated in the lower crust of this continental arc interacted in a complex mid-crustal zone of crystallization and mixing; products of this zone were parental magmas that formed relatively homogeneous upper crustal felsic plutons and fed lavas and voluminous ignimbrites. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Deep drilling in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure - An overview

The late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure lies buried at moderate depths below Chesapeake Bay and surrounding landmasses in southeastern Virginia, USA. Numerous characteristics made this impact structure an inviting target for scientific drilling, including the location of the impact on the Eocene continental shelf, its threelayer target structure, its large size (??85 km diameter), its status as the source of the North American tektite strewn field, its temporal association with other late Eocene terrestrial impacts, its documented effects on the regional groundwater system, and its previously unstudied effects on the deep microbial biosphere. The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project was designed to drill a deep, continuously cored test hole into the central part of the structure. A project workshop, funding proposals, and the acceptance of those proposals occurred during 2003-2005. Initial drilling funds were provided by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Supplementary funds were provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate, ICDP, and USGS. Field operations were conducted at Eyreville Farm, Northampton County, Virginia, by Drilling, Observation, and Sampling of the Earth's Continental Crust (DOSECC) and the project staff during September-December 2005, resulting in two continuously cored, deep holes. The USGS and Rutgers University cored a shallow hole to 140 m in April-May 2006 to complete the recovered section from land surface to 1766 m depth. The recovered section consists of 1322 m of crater materials and 444 m of overlying postimpact Eocene to Pleistocene sediments. The crater section consists of, from base to top: basement-derived blocks of crystalline rocks (215 m); a section of suevite, impact melt rock, lithic impact breccia, and cataclasites (154 m); a thin interval of quartz sand and lithic blocks (26 m); a granite megablock (275 m); and sediment blocks and boulders, polymict, sediment-clast-dominated sedimentary breccias, and a thin upper section of stratified sediments (652 m). The cored postimpact sediments provide insight into the effects of a large continental-margin impact on subsequent coastal-plain sedimentation. This volume contains the first results of multidisciplinary studies of the Eyreville cores and related topics. The volume is divided into these sections: geologic column; borehole geophysical studies; regional geophysical studies; crystalline rocks, impactites, and impact models; sedimentary breccias; postimpact sediments; hydrologic and geothermal studies; and microbiologic studies. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2009

Geologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A and C cores, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Postimpact sediments, 444 to 0 m depth

A 443.9-m-thick, virtually undisturbed section of postimpact deposits in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure was recovered in the Eyreville A and C cores, Northampton County, Virginia, within the "moat" of the structure's central crater. Recovered sediments are mainly fine-grained marine siliciclastics, with the exception of Pleistocene sand, clay, and gravel. The lowest postimpact unit is the upper Eocene Chickahominy Formation (443.9-350.1 m). At 93.8 m, this is the maximum thickness yet recovered for deposits that represent the return to "normal marine" sedimentation. The Drummonds Corner beds (informal) and the Old Church Formation are thin Oligocene units present between 350.1 and 344.7 m. Above the Oligocene, there is a more typical Virginia coastal plain succession. The Calvert Formation (344.7-225.4 m) includes a thin lower Miocene part overlain by a much thicker middle Miocene part. From 225.4 to 206.0 m, sediments of the middle Miocene Choptank Formation, rarely reported in the Virginia coastal plain, are present. The thick upper Miocene St. Marys and Eastover Formations (206.0-57.8 m) appear to represent a more complete succession than in the type localities. Correlation with the nearby Kiptopeke core indicates that two Pliocene units are present: Yorktown (57.8-32.2 m) and Chowan River Formations (32.2-18.3 m). Sediments at the top of the section represent an upper Pleistocene channel-fill and are assigned to the Butlers Bluff and Occohannock Members of the Nassawadox Formation (18.3-0.6 m).

Chesapeake Bay↗