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At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Late Mississippian gastropods of the Chainman Shale, west-central Utah

The Chainman Shale of Mississippian (Osagean to late Chesterian) age, well exposed in the Confusion Range of western Utah, has yielded a profusion of fossils during investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in the past 30 years. Conspicuous among these fossils are gastropods, which range in age from latest Meramecian to late Chesterian. In west-central Utah, not far from the State boundary, the Chainman outcrop belt stretches from Granite Mountain south to the northern part of the Needle Range, a distance of69 miles (110 km). The Chainman thickens from north to south; the section at Granite Mountain is 1,315 feet (401 m) thick and that at Jensen Wash in the Burbank Hills, 2,203 feet (671 m). The rocks of the Chainman Shale record a general though irregular shallowing of the area from moderate depths of 330 feet (100 m) or so to quite shallow depths of perhaps locally little more than 3-6 feet (1-2 m). Most of the gastropods occur with ammonoids in a facies of shale or shale containing phosphatic limestone concretions, In this lutaceous facies, Glabrocingulum is predominant and Lunulazona and Retispira are common; these genera are represented by a succession of species. A thick limestone unit is present in some areas in the upper part of the formation, particularly in the vicinity of Skunk Spring, where it is 318 feet (97 m) thick. This limestone unit represents a calcareous shoal facies having an entirely different gastropod fauna, characterized by Catazona and species of Naticopsis. The Chainman Shale could be easily zoned by gastropods, but we are not proposing such azonation. A framework of ammonoid and foraminiferal zones already is available, and we prefer to regard the gastropod assemblages as part of this framework. The assemblages are confined to the major ammonoid and foraminiferal zones, and only three of the gastropod species seem to range across major zonal boundaries. These species are Bellerophon (Bellerophon vespertinus Gordon and Yochelson and Straparollus (Euomphalus intermedius Gordon and Yochelson, both of which are present in Mamet Foraminifer Zones 17 and 18, and Bellazona polita n. sp., which locally seems to range from Mamet Foraminifer Zone 16s into the basal part of Zone 17. Eight assemblages, seven of them in ascending stratigraphic order, are recognized within the gastropod fauna of the Chainman Shale; the eighth assemblage is a facies equivalent of the sixth highest. The seven mud-dwelling assemblages are characterized mainly by species of Glabrocingulum and Lunulazona, which together account for 80 percent of the gastropod specimens in our Chainman collections. The eighth assemblage, that in the shallow-water carbonate facies, is the one characterized by Catazona and species of Naticopsis. The lowermost gastropod assemblage, that of Lunulazona nodomarginata (McChesney), includes 10 species and is restricted to the northern end of the study area, where it occurs in the upper part of the Goniatites americanus Ammonoid Zone, in beds equivalent to the lower part of Mamet's Foraminifer Zone 16i. We regard the entire G. americanus Zone as late Meramecian in age. All the zones higher in the Chainman are Chesterian in age. The second assemblage is that of Lunulazona costata Sadlick and Neilsen, which includes six gastropod species; it occurs in the Goniatites granos us Ammonoid Zone, equivalent to Mamet's Foraminifer Zone 16s. Three gastropod assemblages are recognized within the Paracravenoceras barnettense Ammonoid Zone, equivalent to Mamet's Foraminifer Zone 17. The earliest, that of Lunulazona sadlicki, includes five species; the intermediate, that of Glabrocingulum hosei n. sp., four species; and the highest, that of Glabrocingulum confusionense n, sp., two species (the second being G. hosei). Two laterally equivalent facies-controlled assemblages are present within the Cravenoceras hesperium Ammonoid Zone, most of which is equivalent to Mamet's Foraminifer Zone 18

Professional Paper↗
USGS1989

Studies of geology and hydrology in the Basin and Range Province, Southwestern United States, for isolation of high-level radioactive waste - Basis of characterization and evaluation

The geologic and hydrologic factors in selected regions of the Basin and Range province were examined to identify prospective areas for further study that may provide isolation of high-level radioactive waste from the accessible environment. The six regions selected for study were characterized with respect to the following guidelines: (1) Potential repository media; (2) Quaternary tectonic conditions; (3) climatic change and geomorphic processes; (4) ground-water conditions; (5) ground-water quality; and (6) mineral and energy resources. The repository medium will function as the first natural barrier to radionuclide travel by virtue of associated slow ground-water velocity. The principal rock types considered as host media include granitic, intermediate, and mafic intrusive rocks; argillaceous rocks; salt and anhydrite; volcanic mudflow (laharic) breccias; some intrusive rhyolitic plugs and stocks; partially zeolitized tuff; and metamorphic rocks. In the unsaturated zone, the permeability and hydrologic properties of the rocks and the hydrologic setting are more important than the rock type. Media ideally should be permeable to provide drainage and should have a minimal water flux The ground-water flow path from a repository to the accessible environment needs to present major barriers to the transport of radionuclides. Factors considered in evaluating the ground-water conditions include ground-water traveltimes and quality, confining beds, and earth materials favorable for retardation of radionuclides. Ground-water velocities in the regions were calculated from estimated hydraulic properties of the rocks and gradients. Because site-specific data on hydraulic properties are not available, data from the literature were assembled and synthesized to obtain values for use in estimating ground-water velocities. Hydraulic conductivities for many rock types having granular and fracture permeability follow a log-normal distribution. Porosity for granular and very weathered crystalline rock tends to be normally distributed; porosity of fractured crystalline rock probably follows a log-normal distribution. The tectonic setting needs to prevent an increase in radionuclides to the accessible environment. Data on historic seismicity and heat flow, Quaternary faults, volcanism, and uplift were used to assess the tectonic conditions. Long-term late Cenozoic rates of vertical crustal movement in the Basin and Range province range from less than 2 meters per 104 years to greater than 20 meters per 104 years. Shortterm rates of vertical movement may be more than an order of magnitude greater, based on geodetic leveling. Changes in tectonic and climatic processes may potentially cause changes in hydrologic conditions and geomorphology that could affect the integrity of a deep, mined repository either adversely or beneficially. The transition from a full-glacial climate to the current interglacial condition has occurred within the past 15,000 years. Reconstructions of the last full-glacial climate indicate that, at that time, there was greater water availability for runoff and vegetation growth than there is now. Based on the increased water availability and depending on seasonal distribution of precipitation, on soil characteristics, on topography, and on other characteristics, ground-water recharge during the full-glacial climate is estimated to have been possibly 2 to 10 or more times the modern rate. During the full-glacial climate, more than 100 lakes occupied closed basins in the province. Any increase in ground-water recharge and refilling of Pleistocene lakes will tend to decrease the distance of ground-water flow and its time of travel. The unsaturated zone this zone is considered a potential host medium where the thickness is greater than 150 m will be decreased by these changes. In contrast, incision of streams and other geomorphic, tectonic, or climatically induced changes that lower the ground-water discharge level will tend to increase the thickness of the unsaturated zone. Aggradation in basinal troughs may either decrease or increase the thickness of the unsaturated zone. Aggradation in basins that causes the ground-water discharge level to rise will tend to decrease the thickness of unsaturated zone in the adjacent uplands; aggradation in basins where the ground-water discharge level remains the same or is lowered will increase the unsaturated thickness of basin fill. Records show that, throughout late Cenozoic time in the Basin and Range province, continued vertical crustal movements have tended to maintain mountain ranges and closed basins, whereas aggradation of the basins and erosion of the mountain ranges have tended to decrease the topographic relief. Maximum rates of denudation for small basins in areas climatically similar to the Basin and Range province are about 2 meters per 104 years. For sites unaffected by stream incision and scarp retreat, a conservative estimate of erosion affecting long-term changes in depth of burial would appear to be 2 meters per 104 years, or, equal to the long-term rate of vertical crustal movement where greater than 2 meters per 104 years. The response of the ground-water conditions to climatic and geomorphically induced boundary conditions is significant from the points of: (1) The potential maximum change in the ground-water flow system; (2) the time of response of the ground-water system; and (3) the present state of the ground-water system as a result of past changes. Effects of longterm climatic and tectonic changes on hydrologic and geomorphic conditions differ from area to area, and rates of change of geomorphic and hydrologic conditions may vary significantly. Therefore, sitespecific studies need to be made to assess the long-term integrity of deep, mined repositories.

Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Te↗
USGS1990

Studies of geology and hydrology in the Basin and Range Province, Southwestern United States, for isolation of high-level radioactive waste - Characterization of the Bonneville region, Utah and Nevada

The Bonneville region of the Basin and Range province in westcentral Utah and adjacent Nevada includes several basins lying south of the Great Salt Lake Desert. Physiographically, the region consists of linear, north-trending mountain ranges separated by valleys, many of which are closed basins underlain by thick sequences of fill. Surface drainage of open basins and ground-water flow is to the Great Salt Lake Desert. In structure and composition the ranges are faulted Paleozoic rocks, locally intruded by Mesozoic and Tertiary plugs and stocks. In the southern and northeastern parts of the region, volcanic rocks are widespread and form large parts of some mountain ranges. The Paleozoic sedimentary rocks include great thicknesses of carbonate rocks which compose a significant aquifer in the region Media considered to have potential for isolation of high-level radioactive waste in the region include intrusive rocks, such as granite; ash-flow tuff; and basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows. These rock types, basin fill, and possibly other rock types, may have potential as host media in the unsaturated zone. Quaternary tectonism in the region is evidenced by seismic activity, local areas of above-normal geothermal heat flow, Quaternary faulting, late Cenozoic volcanic activity, and active vertical crustal movement. The Bonneville region is part of a large ground-water flow system that is integrated partly through basin-fill deposits, but largely through an underlying carbonate-rock sequence. The region includes: (1) several topographically closed basins with virtually no local surface discharge that are drained by the underlying carbonate-rock aquifer; (2) closed basins with local surface discharge by evapotranspiration; and (3) basins open to the Great Salt Lake Desert that discharge by groundwater underflow and evapotranspiration. The carbonate-rock aquifer discharges to large springs in the Desert and in basins tributary to the Desert. The climate is arid to semiarid with the greatest precipitation in the mountain ranges. Most recharge probably occurs by infiltration of runoff as it leaves the mountains, although some recharge probably occurs directly to the carbonate rocks in the mountain areas. The concentration of dissolved solids in ground water is generally less than 500 milligrams per liter. Dissolved-solids concentrations increase in the Great Salt Lake Desert and in major valleys adjoining the Desert. The predominant chemical constituents in ground water are calcium, magnesium, and sodium bicarbonate. Chloride-type water is associated with the higher dissolved-solids content of water in and near the Great Salt Lake Desert. The majority of the mineral occurrences containing base- and precious-metal deposits in the Bonneville region are of Tertiary age. Fluorspar is the primary industrial mineral. Coal, oil, and gas have not been produced in significant amounts.

Nevada, Utah↗
USGS1990

Studies of geology and hydrology in the Basin and Range Province, Southwestern United States, for isolation of high-level radioactive waste - Evaluation of the regions

Six regions in the Basin and Range province, ranging in size from 21,600 to 80,000 square kilometers, were evaluated to identify prospective hydrogeologic environments for isolation of high-level radioactive waste. Prospective hydrogeologic environments were evaluated on the basis of the surface distribution of potential host rocks, late Cenozoic tectonic activity, hydrogeologic characteristics, and mineral and energy resources. These regions were selected as prospective for this study from a screening of the Basin and Range province. The six regions have certain characteristics that appear favorable for isolation of radioactive waste. The scant precipitation and great potential for water loss by evaporation and transpiration results in little surface runoff and ground-water recharge. This, combined with other hydrogeologic factors, results in areas within the regions that have thick unsaturated zones and long ground-water flow paths and traveltimes. Potential host media in the unsaturated zone include crystalline rocks, volcanic rocks, and basin fill. Potential host media in the saturated zone are predominantly crystalline igneous rocks but also include argillaceous rocks, evaporitic rocks, intracaldera tuffs, and laharic breccias.

Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Te↗