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1,066 records · Page 60Linked to original sources
USGS1976

Late Pleistocene and Holocene depositional trends, processes, and history of Astoria deep-sea fan, Northeast Pacific

The asymmetrical Astoria Fan (110 × 180 km) developed off the Columbia River and Astoria submarine canyon during the Pleistocene. Morphology, stratigraphy, and lithology have been outlined for a Pleistocene turbidite, and a Holocene hemipelagic sedimentary regime to generate geologically significant criteria for comparison with ancient equivalent deposits. Both gray silty clay of the Late Pleistocene and olive-gray clay of the Early Holocene are interrupted by turbidites. The few deeply incised fan valleys of the more steeply sloping upper fan contain thick, muddy and very poorly sorted sand and gravel beds that usually have poorly developed internal sedimentary structures. The numerous shallower fan valleys and distributaries of the flatter middle and lower fan contain thick, clean, and moderately sorted medium to fine sands that are vertically graded in texture, composition and well-developed internal sedimentary structures. Tuffaceous turbidites (containing Mazama ash, 6600 B.P.) can be traced as thick deposits (ca. 30–40 cm) throughout the Astoria Channel system and as thin correlative interbeds (ca. 1–2 cm) in interchannel areas. Similarly, sand/shale ratios are high throughout the fan valleys and the middle and lower fan areas of distributaries, but are low in the upper-fan interchannel areas. These depositional trends indicate that high-density turbidity currents carry coarse traction loads that remain confined in upper but not lower fan valleys. Fine debris selectively sorts out from channelized flows into overbank suspension flows that spread over the fan and deposit clayey silt. A high content of mica, plant fragments, and glass shards (if present) characterizes deposits of the overbank flows, a major process in the building of upper fan levees and interchannel areas. In the Late Pleistocene, turbidity currents funneled most coarse-grained debris through upper channels to depositional sites in middle and lower fan distributaries that periodically shifted, anastomosed and braided to spread sand layers throughout the area. At this time, depositional rates were many times greater (>50 cm/1000 years) than in the Holocene (8 cm/1000 years). During the Holocene rise of sea level, the shoreline shifted, the Columbia River sediment was trapped, and turbidity-current activity slackened from one major event per 6 years in the Late Pleistocene, to one per 1000 years in the Early Holocene, to none since the Mt. Mazama eruption (ca. 6600 B.P.). Turbidites became muddier and deposited as thick beds within main channels, in part explaining Holocene deposition rates three times greater there (25 cm/1000 years) than in interchannel regions. Turbid-layer debris, funneled through channel systems and trapped from flows off the continental terrace, also contributed to rapid sedimentation in valleys; however, less than 2% of the suspended sediment load of the Columbia River has been trapped in fan valleys during the Holocene. By the Late Holocene, continuous particle-by-particle deposition of hemipelagic clay with a biogenous coarse fraction was the predominant process on the fan. These hemipelagites contain progressively more clay size and less terrigenous debris offshore, and are finer grained, richer in planktonic tests and dominated by radiolarians compared to the foraminiferal-rich Pleistocene clays. The hemipelagic sedimentation of interglacial times, however, is insignificant compared to turbidite deposition of glacial times.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1991

Cenozoic prograding sequences of the Antarctic continental margin: a record of glacio-eustatic and tectonic events

Sedimentary sections up to 6-14 km thick lie beneath many areas of the Antarctic continental margin. The upper parts of the sections contain up to 6 km of Cenozoic glacial and possibly non-glacial sequences that have prograded the continental shelf up to 85 km. We describe the Cenozoic sequences using two general categories based on their acoustic geometries. Type IA sequences, which account for most prograding of the Antarctic continental shelf, have complex sigmoidal geometries and some acoustic characteristics atypical of low-latitude margins, such as troughs and mounds lying parallel and normal to the shelf edge and high velocities (2.0-2.6 km/s) for flat layers within 150 m of the seafloor. Type IIA sequences, which principally aggrade the paleoshelf, lie beneath type IA sequences and have mostly simple geometries and gently dipping reflections. The prograding sequences are commonly located near the seaward edges of major Mesozoic and older margin structures. Relatively rapid Cenozoic subsidence has occurred due to the probable rifting in the Ross Sea, thermal subsidence in the Antarctic Peninsula, and isostatic crustal flexure in Wilkes Land. In Prydz Bay and the Weddell Sea, prograding sequences cover Mesozoic basins that have undergone little apparent Cenozoic tectonism. Grounded ice sheets are viewed by us, and others, as the principal mechanism for depositing the Antarctic prograding sequences. During the initial advance of grounded ice the continental shelf is flexurally overdeepened, the inner shelf is heavily eroded, and gently dipping glacial strata are deposited on the shelf (i.e type IIA sequences). The overdeepened shelf profile is preserved (a) during glacial times, by grounded ice sheets episodically crossing the shelf, eroding sediments from onshore and inner shelf areas, and depositing sediments at the front of the ice sheet as outer shelf topset-banks and continental slope foreset-aprons (i.e. type IA sequences), and (b) during interglacial times, like today, by little or no clastic sedimentation on the continental shelf other than beneath retreated ice shelves lying far from the continental sheld edge. Ice streams carve broad depressions across the shelf and carry abundant basal sediments directly to the continental shelf edge, thereby creating troughmouth fans and sheet-like prograding sequences (i.e. type IA sequences). Numerous acoustic unconformities and multiple overcompacted layers within the prograding sequences suggest major fluctuations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The available drilling and seismic interpretations provide the following history: (1) Cenozoic ice sheets have existed in places near the continental shelf since middle to late Eocene time. (2) A grounded Antarctic ice sheet first expanded to the continental shelf edge, with probable overdeepening of the outer shelf, in late Eucene to early Oligocene time in Prydz Bay, possibly in early Miocene time in the Ross Sea, and at least by middle Miocene time in the Weddell Sea. (3) The relative amounts of shelf prograding and inferred ice-volume variations (and related sea-level changes) have increased since middle to late Miocene time in the eastern Ross Sea, Prydz Bay, and possibly Weddell Sea. Our analysis is preliminary. Further acoustic surveys and scientific drilling are needed to resolve the proximal Antarctic record of glacio-eustatic, climatic, and tectonic events recorded by the prograding sequences.

Marine Geology↗
USGS2005

Oceanographic conditions structure forage fishes into lipid-rich and lipid-poor communities in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA

Forage fishes were sampled with a mid-water trawl in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA, from late July to early August 1996 to 1999. We sampled 3 oceanographically distinct areas of lower Cook Inlet: waters adjacent to Chisik Island, in Kachemak Bay, and near the Barren Islands. In 163 tows using a mid-water trawl, 229437 fishes with fork length <200 mm were captured. More than 39 species were captured in lower Cook Inlet, but Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus, juvenile Pacific herring Clupea pallasi, and juvenile walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma comprised 97.5% of the total individuals. Both species richness and species diversity were highest in warm, low-salinity, weakly stratified waters near Chisik Island. Kachemak Bay, which had thermohaline values between those found near Chisik Island and the Barren Islands, had an intermediate value of species richness. Species richness was lowest at the Barren Islands, an exposed region that regularly receives oceanic, upwelled water from the Gulf of Alaska. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to compute axes of species composition based on an ordination of pairwise site dissimilarities. Each axis was strongly rank-correlated with unique groups of species and examined separately as a function of environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, depth), area, and year. Oceanographic parameters accounted for 41 and 12% of the variability among forage fishes indicated by Axis 1 and Axis 2, respectively. Axis 1 also captured the spatial variability in the upwelled area of lower Cook Inlet and essentially contrasted the distribution of species among shallow, nearshore (sand lance, herring) and deep, offshore (walleye pollock) habitats. Axis 2 captured the spatial variability in forage fish communities from the north (Chisik Island) to the south (Barren Islands) of lower Cook Inlet and essentially contrasted a highly diverse community dominated by salmonids and osmerids (warmer, less saline) with a fish community dominated by Pacific sand lance (colder, more saline). Axis 3 reflected the negative spatial association of capelin Mallotus villosus and Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus. Correlations of year with Axes 1 and 3 indicate that from 1996 to 1999 the forage fish community significantly decreased in lipid-poor gadids (walleye pollock and Pacific cod), and significantly increased in lipid-rich species such as Pacific sand lance, Pacific herring, and capelin.

Alaska↗
USGS1966

Geologic effects of the March 1964 earthquake and associated seismic sea waves on Kodiak and nearby islands, Alaska

Kodiak Island and the nearby islands constitute a mountainous landmass with an aggregate area of 4,900 square miles that lies at the western border of the Gulf of Alaska and from 20 to 40 miles off the Alaskan mainland. Igneous and metamorphic rocks underlie most of the area except for a narrow belt of moderately to poorly indurated rocks bordering the Gulf of Alaska coast and local accumulations of unconsolidated alluvial and marine deposits along the streams and coast. The area is relatively undeveloped and is sparsely inhabited. About 4,800 of the 5,700 permanent residents in the area live in the city of Kodiak or at the Kodiak Naval Station. The great earthquake, which occurred on March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. Alaska standard time (March 28,1964, 0336 Greenwich mean time), and had a Richter magnitude of 8.4-8.5, was the most severe earthquake felt on Kodiak Island and its nearby islands in modern times. Although the epicenter lies in Prince William Sound 250 miles northeast of Kodiak—the principal city of the area—the areal distribution of the thousands of aftershocks that followed it, the local tectonic deformation, and the estimated source area of the subsequent seismic sea wave, all suggest that the Kodiak group of islands lay immediately adjacent to, and northwest of, the focal region from which the elastic seismic energy was radiated. The duration of strong ground motion in the area was estimated at 2½ minutes. Locally, the tremors were preceded by sounds audible to the human ear and were reportedly accompanied in several places by visible ground waves. Intensity and felt duration of the shocks during the main earthquake and aftershock sequence varied markedly within the area and were strongly influenced by the local geologic environment. Estimated Mercalli intensities in most areas underlain by unconsolidated Quaternary deposits ranged from VIII to as high as IX. In contrast, intensities in areas of upper Tertiary rock ranged from VII to VIII, and in areas of relatively well indurated lower Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks, from VI to VII. Local subsidence of as much as 10 feet was widespread in noncohesive granular deposits through compaction, flow, and sliding that resulted from vibratory loading during the earthquake. This phenomenon, which was largely restricted to saturated beach and alluvial deposits or artificial fill, was locally accompanied by extensive cracking of the ground and attendant ejection of water and water-sediment mixtures. Numerous landslides, including a wide variety of rockfalls, rockslides, and flows along steep slopes, were triggered by the long-duration horizontal and vertical accelerations during the earthquake. The landslides are most numerous in a narrow belt along the southeast coast of Kodiak Island and the nearby offshore islands. Their abundance appears to be related to an area underlain predominantly by Tertiary rocks. Temporary and permanent changes of level occurred after the earthquake in some wells, lakes, and streams throughout the area; ice was cracked, and the salinity of a few wells increased. Permanent change of water level at some localities appears to be related to readjustments of fracture porosity by earthquake-induced movements of bedrock blocks. Increased salinity of wells in coastal areas resulted from encroachment of seawater into aquifiers after subsidence during the earthquake, and to flooding of watersheds by seismic sea waves. Vertical displacements, both downward and upward, occurred throughout the area as a result of crustal warping along a northeast-trending axis. Most of Kodiak and all of Afognak, Shuyak, and adjacent islands are within a regional zone of subsidence whose trough plunges gently northeastward and approximately coincides with the mountainous backbone of Kodiak Island. Subsidence in excess of 6 feet occurred throughout the northern part of the zone-a maximum subsidence of 6½ feet having occurred on Marmot and, eastern Afognak Islands. Southeast of the axis of tectonic tilting, uplift of at least 2lh feet occurred in a narrow zone that includes most of the southeasterly capes of Kodiak Island, the southeastern half of Sitkalidak Island, and Sitkinak Island. The uplift is inferred to extend offshore over much or all of the continental shelf adjacent to the Kodiak group of islands. Within the affected area, tectonic subsidence, which was locally augmented by surficial subsidence of unconsolidated. deposits, caused widespread inundation of shorelines and attendant damage to intertidal organisms, nearshore terrestrial vegetation, and salmon-spawning areas. The most devastating effect of the earthquake on Kodiak Island and nearby islands resulted from seismic sea waves that probably originated along a linear zone of differential uplift in the Gulf of Alaska. A train of at least seven seismic sea waves, having initial periods of 50–55 minutes, struck along all the southeast coast of the island group from 38 to 63 minutes after the earthquake. The southeast shores were repeatedly washed by destructive waves having runup heights along exposed coasts of perhaps as much as 40 feet above existing tide level, and of 8–20 feet along protected shores. Runup heights of the waves were much less on the northwest and southwest sides of the islands, and no wave damage was incurred there. Locally, high-velocity currents that accompanied the waves caused intense erosion and redistribution of unconsolidated natural and artificial shore deposits and of shallow sea-floor deposits. The Alaska earthquake was the greatest natural catastrophe to befall the Kodiak Island area in historic time. The combination of seismic shock and the earthquake-related tectonic deformation and seismic sea waves took 18 lives, destroyed property worth about $45 million, and resulted in estimated losses of income to the fishing industry of an additional $5 million. Most of the damage and all of the loss of life were directly attributable to the seismic sea waves that crippled the city of Kodiak, wiped out the village of Kaguyak, and destroyed most of the village of Old Harbor and parts of the villages of Afognak and Uzinki. Bridges and segments of the highways in the vicinity of the city of Kodiak were washed out, and parts of the Kodiak Naval Station were inundated and damaged. Especially serious to all the damaged communities was the loss of fishing boats, seafood processing plants, and other waterfront installations, which had been the mainstay of the economy. Additional heavy losses resulted from the combined regional tectonic and local surficial subsidence that occurred during the earthquake. Widespread shoreline flooding by high tides necessitated raising, protecting, or removing many installations otherwise undamaged by the earthquake or waves. Structural damage attributable to seismic shock during the earthquake was relatively light and was restricted to areas underlain by saturated unconsolidated deposits. The chief structural failure in the area as a result of shaking was the collapse of part of a cannery built on saturated beach deposits that were partially liquefied during the earthquake. Minor structural damage resulted from differential settlement and cracking of the ground on natural granular deposits and artificial fills. The overwhelming majority of structures are constructed on indurated bedrock; none of these sustained damage other than small losses resulting from shifting about and breakage of their contents.

Alaska↗