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At least 667 records · Page 37Linked to original sources
USGS1973

Structure of the continental shelf west of San Francisco, California

The continental shelf west of San Francisco, California is divided into two structural provinces along the offshore extension of the Seal Cove fault, the Farallon and Golden Gate platforms. The Farallon platform lies west of the Seal Cove fault and is characterized by a thick sequence of Tertiary sediments with a maximum thickness of 3.5 km. These sediments are bounded at the edge of the continental shelf by a ridge of Cretaceous granitic rock which crops out at the Farallon Islands. The granitic basement is vertically displaced along the eastern flank of the granitic ridge and along two high angle reverse faults located near Point Reyes. The Point Reyes fault trends east-west and has possibly offset the granitic basement 1500 meters since late Pliocene time. Two northwest trending anticlines lie south of the Point Reyes fault. The eastern boundary of the Tertiary basin is delineated by a structural high composed of deformed basin sediments. This structural high is truncated at the Seal Cove fault. On the Golden Gate platform, the San Andreas fault zone is marked by a near surface graben, showing a maximum vertical displacement of 20 meters, and by a wider linear depression observed to a depth of 700 meters. The Pilarcitos fault continues offshore and joins the San Andreas fault south of Bolinas. The development of the present Tertiary basin under the continental shelf commenced in late Miocene time with. the initial uplift of the Farallon ridge and the compression of the eastern basin margin. Strike-slip faulting on the seal Cove fault in Pliocene time truncated middle Tertiary sediments at the fault and thus formed a distinct structural boundary between the Farallon and Golden Gate platforms. Surface extensional features observed within the San Andreas fault zone are suggestive of strike-slip faulting in late Tertiary time. The compressional high angle reverse faulting at Point Reyes occurred during the late Pliocene orogenic period of the California Coast Ranges.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1977

Distribution of injected wastewater in the saline-lava aquifer, Wailuku-Kahului wastewater treatment facility, Kahului, Maui, Hawaii

Field studies and digital modeling of a lava rock aquifer system near Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, were employed to define and describe the distribution of planned injected wastewater from a secondary treatment facility. The lava rock aquifer contains water that is almost as saline as seawater. The saline water is below a seaward-discharging freshwater lens, and separated from it by a transition zone of varying salinity. Injection of wastewater at an average rate of 6.2 cubic feet per second is planned through wells open only to the aquifer deep within the saline water zone. The lava rock aquifer is overlain by a sequence of residual soil, clay, coral reef deposits, and marine sand that form a low-permeability caprock which semiconfines the lava rock aquifer. A two-dimensional finite-difference model was used to describe initial conditions within the freshwater part of the aquifer, and to indicate response of the freshwater part of the system to injection of wastewater. Steady-state distribution of the wastewater within the saline and the freshwater parts of the lava rock aquifer was simulated by use of a three-dimensional finite-difference model. This model, using vertical-to-horizontal ratios of hydraulic conductivity of 1:10 and 1:100, shows that wastewater with a lesser density than that of either the saline or freshwater aquifer, will form a roughly cylindrical column around the injection well base and rise through the transition zones into the freshwater lens flow system. The column diameter varies with the ratio, and the column, or plume, widens progressively through the transition zone, then maintains virtually constant size through the freshwater part of the lava rock aquifer. Seaward flow within the freshwater lens tends to distort the plume seaward. Under conditions measured and assumed for the study, it is evident that wastewater injected at the planned rate will move upward, then seaward without significant change. After reaching a new steady state, the wastewater will discharge into and through the caprock sequence within an area measuring approximately 1,000 feet inland, 1,000 feet laterally on either side of the injection site, and about 2,000 feet seaward. Little, if any, of the injected wastewater may be expected to reach the upper part of the caprock flow system landward of the treatment plant facility.

Hawaii↗
USGS1979

Marine seismic sonobuoy data from the Bering Sea region

Throughout the field seasons of 1975 to 1978, the Geological Survey carried out an extensive program of seismic sonobuoy research aboard the R/V S.P. LEE over the entire Bering Sea region. 75 successful sonobuoy refraction and wide angle reflection stations were recorded over the shelf areas of Navarin Basin, St. George Basin and Umnak Plateau, and the deep ocean areas of Bowers Basin and the Aleutian Basin. Of these, 18 were in shallow water depths (less than 200 meters), 21 were in intermediate depths (200 to 3000 meters) and 36 were in deep water (greater than 3000 meters). The shortest of the sonobuoy lines is 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) while the longest is almost 42 n.m. (78 km). The average distance 1s 17 n.m. (21 km). These unreversed sonobuoy lines were all recorded with a tuned air gun array and were all shot along single channel, and often multichannel, seismic lines.

Alaska↗