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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS2021

Geometry of the Bushveld Complex from 3D potential field modelling

A full three-dimensional (3D) potential field model of the central and southern Bushveld Complex reveals information about the Complex in areas obscured by younger geological cover. Previously, two-dimensional gravity models and a few magnetic models limited to certain sections of the Bushveld Complex have been used to propose geometries for the Rustenburg Layered Suite, especially in the western and eastern lobes. These models were often used to support different emplacement models. Although these models provided valuable information, two-and-a-half-dimensional (2.5D) potential field modelling is not well suited to modelling complex 3D geology. Also, in most cases, only the magnetic or gravity data were modelled, but jointly modelling both data sets better constrains the results, as was shown recently for a 3D model of the northern lobe. Joint 3D modelling of regional gravity and magnetic data combined with published crustal thickness models derived from broadband seismic tomography studies and constrained by density and susceptibility data, geologic mapping, boreholes and seismic reflection data were used to create a 3D model of the central and southeastern sections of the Bushveld Complex, as well as the southern part of the northern lobe. The model shows a complex geometry with thick continuous Rustenburg Layered Suite S in most of the western and southeastern lobes, but less continuous Rustenburg Layered Suite in the eastern lobe. Large domes or thick granites and granophyre in the latter interrupt the continuity of the Rustenburg Layered Suite and the western and eastern lobes are strictly speaking only partially connected in places. However, they are not separate intrusions, but one disconnected by pre-existing and synmagmatic updoming. Three possible feeders were modelled in the northern, western, and south-eastern lobes.

Precambrian Research↗
USGS2000

Characterization of U(VI)-carbonato ternary complexes on hematite: EXAFS and electrophoretic mobility measurements

We have measured U(VI) adsorption on hematite using EXAFS spectroscopy and electrophoresis under conditions relevant to surface waters and aquifers (0.01 to 10 μM dissolved uranium concentrations, in equilibrium with air, pH 4.5 to 8.5). Both techniques suggest the existence of anionic U(VI)-carbonato ternary complexes. Fits to EXAFS spectra indicate that U(VI) is simultaneously coordinated to surface FeO 6 octahedra and carbonate (or bicarbonate) ligands in bidentate fashions, leading to the conclusion that the ternary complexes have an inner-sphere metal bridging (hematite-U(VI)-carbonato) structure. Greater than or equal to 50% of adsorbed U(VI) was comprised of monomeric hematite-U(VI)-carbonato ternary complexes, even at pH 4.5. Multimeric U(VI) species were observed at pH ≥ 6.5 and aqueous U(VI) concentrations approximately an order of magnitude more dilute than the solubility of crystalline β-UO 2 (OH) 2 . Based on structural constraints, these complexes were interpreted as dimeric hematite-U(VI)-carbonato ternary complexes. These results suggest that Fe-oxide-U(VI)-carbonato complexes are likely to be important transport-limiting species in oxic aquifers throughout a wide range of pH values.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS2002

Simulation of the mobility of metal-EDTA complexes in groundwater: The influence of contaminant metals

Reactive transport simulations were conducted to model chemical reactions between metal−EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) complexes during transport in a mildly acidic quartz−sand aquifer. Simulations were compared with the results of small-scale tracer tests wherein nickel−, zinc−, and calcium−EDTA complexes and free EDTA were injected into three distinct chemical zones of a plume of sewage-contaminated groundwater. One zone had a large mass of adsorbed, sewage-derived zinc; one zone had a large mass of adsorbed manganese resulting from mildly reducing conditions created by the sewage plume; and one zone had significantly less adsorbed manganese and negligible zinc background. The chemical model assumed that the dissolution of iron(III) from metal−hydroxypolymer coatings on the aquifer sediments by the metal−EDTA complexes was kinetically restricted. All other reactions, including metal−EDTA complexation, zinc and manganese adsorption, and aluminum hydroxide dissolution were assumed to reach equilibrium on the time scale of transport; equilibrium constants were either taken from the literature or determined independently in the laboratory. A single iron(III) dissolution rate constant was used to fit the breakthrough curves observed in the zone with negligible zinc background. Simulation results agreed well with the experimental data in all three zones, which included temporal moments derived from breakthrough curves at different distances downgradient from the injections and spatial moments calculated from synoptic samplings conducted at different times. Results show that the tracer cloud was near equilibrium with respect to Fe in the sediment after 11 m of transport in the Zn-contaminated region but remained far from equilibrium in the other two zones. Sensitivity studies showed that the relative rate of iron(III) dissolution by the different metal−EDTA complexes was less important than the fact that these reactions are rate controlled. Results suggest that the published solubility for ferrihydrite reasonably approximates the Fe solubility of the hydroxypolymer coatings on the sediments. Aluminum may be somewhat more soluble than represented by the equilibrium constant for gibbsite, and its dissolution may be rate controlled when reacting with Ca−EDTA complexes.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS2010

The problem of complex eigensystems in the semianalytical solution for advancement of time in solute transport simulations: a new method using real arithmetic

In the numerical modeling of groundwater solute transport, explicit solutions may be obtained for the concentration field at any future time without computing concentrations at intermediate times. The spatial variables are discretized and time is left continuous in the governing differential equation. These semianalytical solutions have been presented in the literature and involve the eigensystem of a coefficient matrix. This eigensystem may be complex (i.e., have imaginary components) due to the asymmetry created by the advection term in the governing advection-dispersion equation. Previous investigators have either used complex arithmetic to represent a complex eigensystem or chosen large dispersivity values for which the imaginary components of the complex eigenvalues may be ignored without significant error. It is shown here that the error due to ignoring the imaginary components of complex eigenvalues is large for small dispersivity values. A new algorithm that represents the complex eigensystem by converting it to a real eigensystem is presented. The method requires only real arithmetic.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2020

Conservative plumage masks extraordinary phylogenetic diversity in the Grallaria rufula (Rufous Antpitta) complex of the humid Andes

The Grallaria rufula complex is currently considered to consist of 2 species, G. rufula (Rufous Antpitta) and G. blakei (Chestnut Antpitta). However, it has been suggested that the complex, populations of which occur in humid montane forests from Venezuela to Bolivia, comprises a suite of vocally distinct yet morphologically cryptic species. We sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial DNA for 80 individuals from across the distribution of the complex to determine the extent of genetic variation between and within described taxa. Our results revealed 18 geographically coherent clades separated by substantial genetic divergence: 14 within rufula, 3 within blakei, and 1 corresponding to G. rufocinerea (Bicolored Antpitta), a species with distinctive plumage found to be nested within the complex. Neither G. rufula nor G. blakei as presently defined was monophyletic. Although 6 of the 7 recognized subspecies of G. rufula were monophyletic, several subspecies contained substantial genetic differentiation. Genetic variation was largely partitioned across recognized geographic barriers, especially across deep river valleys in Peru and Colombia. Coalescent modeling identified 17 of the 18 clades as significantly differentiated lineages, whereas analyses of vocalizations delineated 16 biological species within the complex. The G. rufula complex seems unusually diverse even among birds of the humid Andes, a prime location for cryptic speciation; however, the extent to which other dispersal-limited Andean species groups exhibit similar degrees of cryptic differentiation awaits further study.

Auk↗
USGS1991

Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary plutonism and deformation in the Skagit Gneiss Complex, north Cascade Range, Washington and British Columbia

The Skagit Gneiss Complex forms a more-or-less continuous terrane within the northern, more deeply eroded part of the North Cascade Range. The complex comprises abundant plutons intruded at mid-crustal depths into a variety of metamorphosed supracrustal rocks of both oceanic and volcanic-arc origin. A plethora of syntectonic pegmatite, small plutons, and granitic dikes gives the complex a migmatitic aspect. U-Pb zircon ages from gneissic plutons within and near the Skagit Gneiss Complex indicate magmatic crystallization between 75 and 60 Ma. Deformation, recrystallization, and migmatization in part postdate intrusion of the 75-60 Ma plutons. This latest Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary plutonism and migmatization may reflect thermal relaxation following early Late Cretaceous orogeny documented else-where in the North Cascades. The complex was ductilely extended northwest-southeast shortly after intrusion of granite dikes at ∼45 Ma, but before emplacement of the earliest (∼34 Ma) plutons of the Cascade arc. Outcrops of Late Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary plutons, migmatites of the Skagit Gneiss Complex, and rocks with young ductile deformation are roughly coextensive, all apparently marking a region of greater middle Eocene unroofing. Unroofing was apparently contemporaneous with east-west extension in the Okanogan region to the east and north-south and northwest-southeast strike-slip faulting within the North Cascades.

Washington↗
USGS1996

Recurrent eruption and subsidence at the Platoro caldera complex, southeastern San Juan volcanic field, Colorado: New tales from old tuffs

Reinterpretation of a voluminous regional ash-flow sheet (Masonic Park Tuff) as two separate tuff sheets of similar phenocryst-rich dacite erupted from separate source calderas has important implications for evolution of the multicyclic Platoro caldera complex and for caldera-forming processes generally. Masonic Park Tuff in central parts of the San Juan field, including the type area, was erupted from a concealed source at 28.6 Ma, but widespread tuff previously mapped as Masonic Park Tuff in the southeastern San Juan Mountains is the product of the youngest large-volume eruption of the Platoro caldera complex at 28.4 Ma. This large unit, newly named the “Chiquito Peak Tuff,” is the last-erupted tuff of the Treasure Mountain Group, which consists of at least 20 separate ash-flow sheets of dacite to low-silica rhyolite erupted from the Platoro complex during a 1 m.y. interval (29.5−28.4 Ma). Two Treasure Mountain tuff sheets have volumes in excess of 1000 km 3 each, and five more have volumes of 50–150 km 3 . The total volume of ash-flow tuff exceeds 2500 km 3 , and caldera-related lavas of dominantly andesitic composition make up 250-500 km 3 more. A much greater volume of intermediate-composition magma must have solidified in subcaldera magma chambers. Most preserved features of the Platoro complex-including postcollapse asymmetrical trap-door resurgent uplift of the ponded intracaldera tuff and concurrent infilling by andesitic lava flows-postdate eruption of the Chiquito Peak Tuff. The numerous large-volume pre-Chiquito Peak ash-flow tuffs document multiple eruptions accompanied by recurrent subsidence; early-formed caldera walls nearly coincide with margins of the later Chiquito Peak collapse. Repeated syneruptive collapse at the Platoro complex requires cumulative subsidence of at least 10 km. The rapid regeneration of silicic magmas requires the sustained presence of an andesitic subcaldera magma reservoir, or its rapid replenishment, during the 1 m.y. life span of the Platoro complex. Either case implies large-scale stoping and assimilative recycling of the Tertiary section, including intracaldera tuffs.

Colorado↗
USGS2014

Petrology and chemistry of the Green Acres gabbro complex near Winchester, Riverside County, California

The Cretaceous Green Acres layered igneous complex, northeast of Winchester, California, is composed of a suite of olivine- and hornblende-bearing gabbros in the Peninsular Ranges batholith within the Perris tectonic block. A consistent mineral assemblage is observed throughout the complex, but there is considerable textural and modal heterogeneity. Both preclude a consistent set of principles based on appearance and mineralogy on which to delineate map units. Distinct changes in the chemistry of olivine, pyroxene, and hornblende, however, serve to define discrete mappable units, and the complex has been divided into five geochemical map units on this basis. Limited whole-rock data show the Green Acres complex is chemically comparable to other Peninsular Ranges batholith gabbroic rocks, and rare earth element (REE) concentrations and patterns are typical of magmas generated in convergent margin settings. For the complex as a whole, olivine is Fo 80–35 , plagioclase is An 100–64 , clinopyroxene is Wo 49–41 En 48–38 Fs 18–6 and Wo 36–26 En 65–42 Fs 30–8 , and orthopyroxene is Wo 5–0 En 78–42 Fs 50–21 , where Fo is forsterite, An is anorthite, Wo is wollastonite, En is enstatite, and Fs is ferrosilite. The Mg/(Mg + ΣFe) atomic ratio in hornblende ranges from 0.84 to 0.50. Magmatic lineations and modal and textural layering are prevalent throughout the complex. Mineral chemistry does not change in any systematic way within and between layers in any map unit. Although the strike of layering varies, in any map unit at any given location it is the same in all units irrespective of intrusive order. Thin dikes, typically late-stage hornblende gabbro, commonly intrude parallel to layering. The strikes of magmatic lineations and modal layers are consistent with the populations of strikes of fabrics in the metamorphic basement as well as tectonic features in surrounding, postgabbro granitic rocks. These relations imply that the regional state of stress at the time of gabbro emplacement played a role in layer formation in conjunction with thermal and hydraulic pressure perturbations.

California↗
USGS2025

The Hardscrabble Creek complex: A newly discovered, mostly buried, Mesoproterozoic mafic-ultramafic pluton in the Wet Mountains, Colorado, USA

The origin of prolific ca. 1.4 Ga ferroan magmatism between the southwestern USA and eastern Canada is enigmatic and has been explained by various models, including extensional, mantle plume, and convergent plate-margin models. Rare mafic plutons are associated with the ferroan plutons, which may help constrain their mantle source and tectonic setting. In the southwestern USA, only two such mafic plutons are known to exist. We present the first evidence for a third, mostly buried, potentially layered, mafic-ultramafic Mesoproterozoic pluton, informally referred to as the Hardscrabble Creek complex, in the central Wet Mountains of Colorado, USA. Recent geophysical data show an elliptical magnetic and gravity high spatially coincident with local gabbroic outcrops. New field and petrographic analyses of these exposed rocks reveal that they consist of ultramafic to mafic cumulates, including orthopyroxenite, olivine norite, norite, and anorthosite. High-precision U-Pb dating of zircon from orthopyroxenite and norite yield weighted mean 206 Pb/ 238 U dates of 1352.36 ± 1.60 Ma and 1352.37 ± 1.71 Ma, respectively. These dates indicate that the complex formed over a narrow timeframe, after the adjacent 1362 ± 7 Ma ferroan San Isabel Granite, and during the waning stages of the regional ca. 1.4 Ga ferroan magmatism. Whole-rock geochemistry and Nd-Sr-Pb isotope compositions of samples from the Hardscrabble Creek complex are similar to those of the San Isabel Granite, suggesting that they were derived from the same or a similar mantle source. The mineral chemistry of the samples is comparable to Proterozoic massif-type anorthosites and related mafic intrusions, indicating that the Hardscrabble Creek complex and San Isabel Granite together represent a rare anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite (AMCG) suite in the southwestern USA. The Hardscrabble Creek complex is unique because it formed ~80 m.y. after the other few mafic plutons in the southwestern USA, and it contains an ultramafic section that is absent from these plutons and rare to the AMCG suite in general. A combination of arc-like whole-rock geochemistry, chondrite uniform reservoir-like Nd-Sr-Pb isotopes, and ocean island basalt (OIB)-like zircon trace element chemistry suggests that the complex was derived from a partial melt of OIB-like mantle and interacted with metasomatically enriched lithospheric mantle. The enriched lithospheric mantle signature, combined with the long ~160 m.y. duration of magmatism in the region, is consistent with a period of protracted convergent tectonism.

Colorado↗
USGS2012

Updating the debate on model complexity

As scientists who are trying to understand a complex natural world that cannot be fully characterized in the field, how can we best inform the society in which we live? This founding context was addressed in a special session, “Complexity in Modeling: How Much is Too Much?” convened at the 2011 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. The session had a variety of thought-provoking presentations—ranging from philosophy to cost-benefit analyses—and provided some areas of broad agreement that were not evident in discussions of the topic in 1998 (Hunt and Zheng, 1999). The session began with a short introduction during which model complexity was framed borrowing from an economic concept, the Law of Diminishing Returns, and an example of enjoyment derived by eating ice cream. Initially, there is increasing satisfaction gained from eating more ice cream, to a point where the gain in satisfaction starts to decrease, ending at a point when the eater sees no value in eating more ice cream. A traditional view of model complexity is similar—understanding gained from modeling can actually decrease if models become unnecessarily complex. However, oversimplified models—those that omit important aspects of the problem needed to make a good prediction—can also limit and confound our understanding. Thus, the goal of all modeling is to find the “sweet spot” of model sophistication—regardless of whether complexity was added sequentially to an overly simple model or collapsed from an initial highly parameterized framework that uses mathematics and statistics to attain an optimum (e.g., Hunt et al., 2007). Thus, holistic parsimony is attained, incorporating “as simple as possible,” as well as the equally important corollary “but no simpler.”

GSA Today↗
USGS1980

Geology of a zone of metamorphic core complexes in southeastern Arizona

An elongate northwest-trending zone of batholith-size metamorphic core complexes extends some 130 km from the Rincon Mountains to the Picacho Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The complexes are characterized by undeformed to gneissic granitic intrusions, gneissic to phyllonitic xenoliths and wall rocks derived mainly from Precambrian granitic rock, shallow-dipping foliation, and remarkably uniform directions of lineation. Parts of this zone have been recognized and studied extensively for more than 30 yr, but there remains a divergence of opinion about the age, depth of emplacement, and origin of the complexes. Field relations indicate that host rocks as young as or younger than Mesozoic were involved in cataclasis. K-Ar and fission-track ages indicate that the complexes were at temperatures uniformly in excess of 400°C in the middle Tertiary (20 to 30 m.y. ago) and that the bedrock between and very near the complexes was not thermally affected. Tertiary plutons characteristically associated with the high-grade metamorphic rocks are also cataclastically deformed, and stratigraphic depths to the top of metamorphic terranes were no more than 6 km and possibly less than 3 km. These and other data suggest to some that the complexes developed during intrusion of composite batholiths at shallow depth in an anisotropic stress field during the middle Tertiary. On the other hand, Rb-Sr and U-Th-Pb techniques yielded older ages (≥44 m.y.) for some samples. These and additional data suggest to others that major development of cataclasis preceded the middle Tertiary and included regional thrusting.

Arizona↗
USGS2024

The impact of source time function complexity on stress drop estimates

Earthquake stress drop—a key parameter for describing the energetics of earthquake rupture—can be estimated in several different, but theoretically equivalent, ways. However, independent estimates for the same earthquakes sometimes differ significantly. We find that earthquake source complexity plays a significant role in why theoretically (for simple rupture models) equivalent methods produce different estimates. We apply time‐ and frequency‐domain methods to estimate stress drops for real earthquakes in the SCARDEC (Seismic source ChAracteristics Retrieved from DEConvolving teleseismic body waves, Vallée and Douet, 2016 ) source time function (STF) database and analyze how rupture complexity drives stress‐drop estimate discrepancies. Specifically, we identify two complexity metrics—Brune relative energy (BRE) and spectral decay—that parameterize an earthquake’s complexity relative to the standard Brune model and strongly correlate with the estimate discrepancies. We find that the observed systematic magnitude–stress‐drop trends may reflect underlying changes in STF complexity, not necessarily trends in actual stress drop. Both the decay and BRE parameters vary systematically with magnitude, but whether this magnitude–complexity relationship is real remains unresolved.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗
USGS2015

Spatial complexity reduces interaction strengths in the meta-food web of a river floodplain mosaic

Theory states that both the spatial complexity of landscapes and the strength of interactions between consumers and their resources are important for maintaining biodiversity and the 'balance of nature.' Spatial complexity is hypothesized to promote biodiversity by reducing potential for competitive exclusion; whereas, models show weak trophic interactions can enhance stability and maintain biodiversity by dampening destabilizing oscillations associated with strong interactions. Here we show that spatial complexity can reduce the strength of consumer-resource interactions in natural food webs. By sequentially aggregating food webs of individual aquatic habitat patches across a floodplain mosaic, we found that increasing spatial complexity resulted in decreases in the strength of interactions between predators and prey, owing to a greater proportion of weak interactions and a reduced proportion of strong interactions in the meta-food web. The main mechanism behind this pattern was that some patches provided predation refugia for species which were often strongly preyed upon in other patches. If weak trophic interactions do indeed promote stability, then our findings may signal an additional mechanism by which complexity and stability are linked in nature. In turn, this may have implications for how the values of landscape complexity, and the costs of biophysical homogenization, are assessed.

Ecology↗
USGS2013

P-T-t conditions, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions and detrital zircon geochronology of the Massabesic Gneiss Complex, New Hampshire: isotopic and metamorphic evidence for the identification of Gander basement, central New England

We present new evidence for the assignment of the Neoproterozoic Massabesic Gneiss Complex of New Hampshire to the Gander terrane rather than the Avalon terrane. The majority of Avalonian (sensu stricto) igneous and meta-igneous rocks as defined in Maritime Canada have positive whole-rock ɛ Nd compared to more negative values for Gander rocks, although there is a region of overlap in ɛNd between the two terranes. Our samples from areas in Connecticut previously thought to be Avalonian and samples from the Willimantic dome have the same isotopic signatures as Maritime Canada Avalon. In contrast, samples from the Clinton dome of southern Connecticut plots exclusively in the Gander field. The majority of the orthogneiss samples from Lyme dome (coastal Connecticut), Pelham dome (central Massachusetts) and Massabesic Gneiss Complex also plot in the Gander field, with a few samples plotting in the overlap zone between Gander and Avalon. U-Pb age distributions of detrital zircon populations from quartzites from the Massabesic Gneiss Complex more closely approximate the data from the Lyme Dome rather than Avalon. Additionally, the similarity of the P-T-t path for the rocks of the Massabesic Gneiss Complex (established by thermobarometry and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of amphibole, muscovite, biotite and K-feldspar) with that established in the Ganderian Lyme dome of southern Connecticut strengthens the assignment of these rocks to a single Gander block that docked to Laurentia during the Salinic Orogeny. The identification of Ganderian isotopic signatures for these rocks all of which show evidence for Alleghanian metamorphism, supports the hypothesis that Neoproterozoic Gander lower crustal rocks underlie southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and that all rocks of the overlying Central Maine trough that largely escaped high-grade Alleghanian metamorphism are allochthonous. We suggest that during the Alleghanian, the docking of Gondwana caused Avalon to wedge into Gander, metamorphosing and partially melting the Massabesic Gneiss Complex to the observed P-T-t conditions, with the complex forming an uplifted sheet that was back-thrusted over the Avalonian wedge.

New Hampshire↗
USGS1980

Intrusions and intrusive complexes in an ophiolite near San Luis Obispo; a chemical and petrologic study

The San Luis Obispo ophiolite is a sequence of mafic and ultramafic rocks that lie as a thrust-like slice on top of Franciscan melange in the southern California Coast Range. The ophiolite comprises the classic Steinmann Trinity of basal serpentinized ultramafic rocks overlain sequentially by spilitized pillow lavas and cherts. The ophiolite is intruded by numerous diabasic dikes and several large intrusive complexes that contain peridotite, gabbro, diabase and felsic rocks. Field relations indicate that this ophiolite originated as a sequence of submarine volcanic flows and breccia units extruded onto an ultramafic basement. Later the volcanic and ultramafic rocks were intruded along their contact by mafic magma that crystallized as a stratiform complex of cumulate peridotite and gabbro. Next, this stratiform complex was intruded by diorite and albite-granite (trondhjemite) sills, which may have been produced by partial melting of gabbros in the upper levels of the stratiform complex. Finally all earlier units were intruded by diabasic sills and dikes that probably were late feeders for the pre-existing volcanic unit. All the ophiolite rocks underwent subsequent highly localized brecciation, under greenschist-facies conditions, in which felsic rocks were incipiently melted by frictional heating. The host rocks and intrusions were metamorphosed at low temperature and the mafic rocks were altered by Na- and Si-metasomatism. Despite this pervasive alteration, evidences of the formational stages of the ophiolite are preserved in disequilibrium mineral assemblages, primarily within mafic and ultramafic rocks of the intrusive complexes. Whole-rock analyses of the ophiolite suite indicate that alteration has obscured but not obliterated the original chemical character of the mafic rocks. The ophiolite diabases and basalts contain up to 6 weight percent Na 2 0 and 58 percent Si0 2 , in contrast to normal Si0 2 contents of 50 percent or less and Na 2 0 contents of less than 3 percent for unaltered oceanic and continental tholeiite basalts. However, the low K 2 0 contents (less than 0.8 percent) of all units in the ophiolite suite indicate that these rocks are not part of an alkalic kindred, but rather are altered tholeiites. Compositions of relict amphibole and plagioclase in the mafic rocks indicate that the ophiolite formed in a high-temperature environment and the deep seated rocks were metamorphosed under amphibolite-facies conditions. A later change in the environmental conditions allowed subsequent low-temperature (greenschist facies) metamorphism and metasomatism. The structure and chemistry of the San Luis Obispo ophiolite support the hypothesis that this body may represent a fragment of oceanic crust and mantle. The volcanic rocks and the intrusive complexes probably formed at a mid-ocean ridge, where conditions of high heat-flow provided the requisite high-temperature environment and promoted the production of mafic magmas. The change to low-temperature conditions probably was due to inception or acceleration of crustal spreading at that portion of the ridge where this ophiolite formed. The nature of brecciation in the ophiolite indicates that the low-temperature environment also was one of greater tectonic disturbance, relative to conditions at the ridge. This tectonically active environment probably corresponds to an island arc where the ophiolite-bearing plate was subducted in an adjacent trench. The absence of a high-pressure mineral assemblage in the San Luis Obispo ophiolite suggests that this segment of ocean-crust and upper mantle was not buried in a subduction zone, but rather was rafted on top of subduction melange (Franciscan Formation) into its present position.

California↗
USGS2002

Magnitude and extent of arsenic and thallium concentrations in ground water and sediments at the Charleston Naval Complex, North Charleston, South Carolina, 1994-99

Water-quality samples were collected quarterly during 1994-99 from 604 wells screened in the surficial aquifer system beneath the Charleston Naval Complex, North Charleston, South Carolina. Arsenic and thallium were selected for analysis because concentrations of these metals in some wells consistently exceeded the established (2001) drinking water maximum contaminant levels of 10 and 2 micrograms per liter, respectively. The analysis was conducted to determine the magnitude and spatial distribution of arsenic and thallium in ground water at the Charleston Naval Complex and to quantify arsenic and thallium concentrations in a dated sediment core from Shipyard Creek marsh near the southern boundary of the Naval Complex. The surficial aquifer system beneath the Charleston Naval Complex consists of an unconfined upper surficial aquifer and a confined lower surficial aquifer. Hydraulic connection between the two aquifers is limited or nonexistent throughout the system at the Naval Complex. The Charleston Naval Complex is divided into nine operational units designated as zones A through I. Arsenic and thallium concentration data were compiled and interpreted for the two surficial aquifers within each zone. Mean arsenic (n=603) and thallium (n=604) concentrations were calculated for water samples from each well screened in the upper and lower surficial aquifers. In the upper surficial aquifer, mean arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.9 to 339 micrograms per liter and exceeded 10 micrograms per liter in 29 percent of the wells. In the lower surficial aquifer, mean arsenic concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 97.4 micrograms per liter and exceeded 10 micrograms per liter in 23 percent of the wells. The greatest number of water samples with mean arsenic concentrations exceeding 10 micrograms per liter were collected from wells in the upper surficial aquifer at zone E in the northwestern part of the study area. Well clusters, defined as three or more wells in a solid-waste management unit or area of concern, where the mean arsenic concentration exceeded 10 micrograms per liter, were identified in association with 12 sites in the upper surficial aquifer-solid-waste management unit 039 (a drum-storage area) in zone A; solid-waste management units 044 (coal-storage area) and 047 (burning dump) in zone C; solid-waste management unit 065 (lead-storage area) and area of concern 556 (dry docks 3 and 4) in zone E; areas of concern 609 (building 1346 gas station) and 613 (locomotive shop) in zone F; solid-waste management units 006 (public works storage yard) and 008 (oil sludge pit), and area of concern 709 (fuel-delivery system wells 12, 13, and 14) in zone G; and solid-waste management units 009 (closed landfill) and 196 (south landfill) in zone H. One well cluster was identified in the lower surficial aquifer in association with solidwaste management unit 009 (closed landfill) in zone H. Mean thallium concentrations in water from all wells ranged from less than 1.6 to 32.6 micrograms per liter in water samples from the upper surficial aquifer, and from less than 1.6 to 67.7 micrograms per liter in water samples from the lower surficial aquifer. Mean thallium concentrations equal to or greater than 10 micrograms per liter were present in water samples from 21 of 604 wells (3.5 percent). Of the 21 wells, 14 wells were located at solid-waste management unit 009 (closed landfill) in zone H near Shipyard Creek, 8 wells in the upper aquifer, and 6 wells in the lower aquifer. One well cluster where thallium exceeded 10 micrograms per liter was identified in association with solid-waste management unit 009 (closed landfill) in the upper surficial aquifer. Mean arsenic and thallium concentrations in water were calculated for all wells screened in one aquifer and located in a single zone, and are referred to as zone mean concentration in this report. Zone mean arsenic concentrations in all nine zones ranged from 3.2 to 18 micrograms per liter in water samples from the upper surficial aquifer and from 2.7 to 22 micrograms per liter in water samples from the lower surficial aquifer. Zone mean thallium concentrations in all nine zones ranged from 3.2 to 13 micrograms per liter in water samples from the upper surficial aquifer and from 3.2 to 14 micrograms per liter in water samples from the lower surficial aquifer. Ground-water samples rarely had elevated (equal to or greater than 10 micrograms per liter) concentrations of both arsenic and thallium. Water samples had coincident elevated arsenic and thallium concentrations in 10 wells in zone H, 1 well in zone A, and 1 well in zone B. Sediment quality at Shipyard Creek marsh was investigated by collecting an 11.8-foot -long sediment core (SYC-1) adjacent to zone I. The mean arsenic concentration in sediment samples from SYC-1 (n= 160) was 3.05 milligrams per kilogram plus or minus 0.92. The mean arsenic concentration and standard deviation calculated for SYC-1 sediment samples fall within the standard error for the background mean arsenic concentration reported for South Carolina sediments (1.5 milligrams per kilogram plus or minus 2. 7). All but one sample (core depth =50 inches) was less than the threshold-effects level of 7.24 milligrams per kilogram. Acid extracts of the sediment samples were analyzed for thallium concentration, but none were detected. These data indicate no obvious change in arsenic or thallium concentrations with depth in the core.

South Carolina↗
USGS2024

Forest bird populations at the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai'i

E ndemic Hawaiian forest birds have experienced dramatic population declines. The Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Refuge Complex) was established for the conservation of endangered forest birds and their habitats. Surveys have been conducted at two units of the Refuge Complex to monitor forest bird populations and their response to management actions. We analyzed survey data from 1987 to 2019 at the Hakalau Forest Unit (HFU) and from 1995 to 2019 at the Kona Forest Unit (KFU). We analyzed three strata at HFU: open-forest, closed-forest, and afforested-pasture, and two strata at KFU: upper (>1,524 m elevation) and lower (<1,524 m). In all years, ‘i‘iwi Vestiaria coccinea , ‘apapane Himatione sanguinea , and Hawai'i ‘amakihi Chlorodrepanis virens virens were the most abundant species at HFU. Three endangered forest bird species, Hawai'i ‘ākepa Loxops coccineus , ‘alawī Loxops mana (also known as Hawai'i creeper) and ‘akiapōlā‘au Hemignathus wilsoni , had much lower densities. The most abundant species at KFU was ‘apapane, followed by Hawai'i ‘amakihi at much lower densities. We found a continuation of several trends observed in previous analyses at HFU up to 2012, with most species’ trends upward in afforested-pasture stratum, stable in the open-forest stratum, and downward in the closed-forest stratum. However, more species were showing downward trends in all three strata during the most recent decade. Results were mixed at KFU, with most species’ trends downward in the upper stratum and upward in the lower stratum. Populations of endangered species were either locally extirpated at KFU or in numbers too low to reliably estimate population abundance. The Refuge Complex is important for conservation of forest birds on Hawai'i Island. Our results show that HFU supports the majority of three endangered forest bird species. Threats to forest birds at the Refuge Complex appear to be having a negative impact. These threats include habitat loss, disease, feral ungulates, and nonnative predators. Continuing and enhancing management actions, such as forest restoration and removal of invasive species, could help mitigate these impacts and allow the Refuge Complex to remain a key site for forest bird conservation in Hawai'i.

Hawaii↗
USGS2020

Precious and base metal mineralization within the lower stratigraphy of the Stillwater Complex: New targets defined and old targets revisited

Group Ten Metals is exploring for base and precious metals within the Stillwater Complex, a 2.7 Ga layered mafic/ultramafic intrusion, host to the world-class Sibanye platinum group element (PGE) mines. Group Ten controls approximately 25 kilometers of strike length of prospective mafic and ultramafic rocks in the western portion of the Complex. The property includes multiple target types and individual prospects. Stillwater Complex magmatic stratigraphy is divided into three major series based on the proportions of cumulus minerals—Basal, Ultramafic and Banded. Group Ten explores primarily within the lower third of the intrusion, from the Basal Series at the footwall contact, upwards into the Ultramafic Series which is divided into a lower Peridotite Zone and an upper Bronzitite Zone. Rocks of the Peridotite Zone are repetitive, laterally continuous and layered sequences of olivine, chromite and pyroxene cumulates. This model was developed in the eastern portion of the Complex. Mapping in the western portion of the Complex indicates that the Peridotite Zone is thinner than to the east and with cyclic units not as regularly developed. Group Ten has reviewed data from over 50 years of historical exploration in light of different commodity focus, land positions, analytical menus, and petrogenetic models to define a series of exploration targets. A six hole, 1,600 meter diamond drilling program targeting the Iron Mountain sector was completed in 2019; results are discussed in more detail below. At Iron Mountain the primary targets are Ni-Cu-PGE magmatic sulfides located within the Basal Series and lower Peridotite Zone, near the basal contact of the Complex. Important objectives included establishing the PGE tenor of sulfide mineralization drilled by AMAX in the 1970’s and penetrating basement rock rafts known to conceal mineralized (but not previously analyzed) ultramafic rocks beneath. Drilling also tested the PGE-enriched A-B chromitite package which rests stratigraphically above the previously tested zones. At Chrome Mountain, magmatic layering was disturbed or destroyed over large areas along a WNW axis that may be an artifact of early magma chamber deformation or result from much later, Laramide tectonism. Correlation of marker units, for example chromitite seams, are problematic in the disturbed area; these rocks are termed the Hybrid Unit. In addition, normal igneous stratigraphy appears to be intruded by discordant dunite masses, pyroxenite pegmatoids and magmatic breccias. This unusual assemblage of rock types is accompanied by significant and previously underappreciated PGE mineralization related to chromite schlieren and minor but persistent base metal sulfides.

Conference Paper↗