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At least 1,567 records · Page 87Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Desert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA

One of the enduring questions in the field of paleohydrology is how quickly desert wetland ecosystems responded to past episodes of abrupt climate change. Recent investigations in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada have revealed that wetlands expanded and contracted on millennial and sub-millennial timescales in response to changes in climate during the late Quaternary. Here, we evaluate geologic evidence from multiple localities in the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin that suggests the response of wetland systems to climate change is even faster, occurring at centennial, and possibly decadal, timescales. Paleowetland deposits at Dove Springs Wash, Mesquite Springs, and Little Dixie Wash, California, contain evidence of multiple wet and dry cycles in the form of organic-rich black mats, representing periods of past groundwater discharge and wet conditions, interbedded with colluvial, alluvial, and aeolian sediments, each representing dry conditions. Many of these wet-dry cycles date to within the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone (12.9–11.7 ka), marking the first time intra -YD hydrologic variability has been documented in paleowetland deposits. Our results illustrate that desert wetland ecosystems are exceptionally sensitive to climate change and respond to climatic perturbations on timescales that are relevant to human society.

Arizona, California, Nevada↗
USGS2012

Igneous activity, metamorphism, and deformation in the Mount Rogers area of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina: A geologic record of Precambrian tectonic evolution of the southern Blue Ridge Province

Mesoproterozoic basement in the vicinity of Mount Rogers is characterized by considerable lithologic variability, including major map units composed of gneiss, amphibolite, migmatite, meta-quartz monzodiorite and various types of granitoid. SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology and field mapping indicate that basement units define four types of occurrences, including (1) xenoliths of ca. 1.33 to ≥1.18 Ga age, (2) an early magmatic suite including meta-granitoids of ca. 1185–1140 Ma age that enclose or locally intrude the xenoliths, (3) metasedimentary rocks represented by layered granofels and biotite schist whose protoliths were likely deposited on the older meta-granitoids, and (4) a late magmatic suite composed of younger, ca. 1075–1030 Ma intrusive rocks of variable chemical composition that intruded the older rocks. The magmatic protolith of granofels constituting part of a layered, map-scale xenolith crystallized at ca. 1327 Ma, indicating that the lithology represents the oldest, intact crust presently recognized in the southern Appalachians. SHRIMP U-Pb data indicate that periods of regional Mesoproterozoic metamorphism occurred at 1170–1140 and 1070–1020 Ma. The near synchroneity in timing of regional metamorphism and magmatism suggests that magmas were emplaced into crust that was likely at near-solidus temperatures and that melts might have contributed to the regional heat budget. Much of the area is cut by numerous, generally east- to northeast-striking Paleozoic fault zones characterized by variable degrees of ductile deformation and recrystallization. These high-strain fault zones dismember the terrane, resulting in juxtaposition of units and transformation of basement lithologies to quartz- and mica-rich tectonites with protomylonitic and mylonitic textures. Mineral assemblages developed within such zones indicate that deformation and recrystallization likely occurred at greenschist-facies conditions at ca. 340 Ma.

North Carolina, Virginia↗
USGS2011

Peninsular terrane basement ages recorded by Paleozoic and Paleoproterozoic zircon in gabbro xenoliths and andesite from Redoubt volcano, Alaska

Historically Sactive Redoubt volcano is an Aleutian arc basalt-to-dacite cone constructed upon the Jurassic–Early Tertiary Alaska–Aleutian Range batholith. The batholith intrudes the Peninsular tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is considered to have developed on oceanic basement and to have accreted to North America, possibly in Late Jurassic time. Xenoliths in Redoubt magmas have been thought to be modern cumulate gabbros and fragments of the batholith. However, new sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb ages for zircon from gabbro xenoliths from a late Pleistocene pyroclastic deposit are dominated by much older, ca. 310 Ma Pennsylvanian and ca. 1865 Ma Paleoproterozoic grains. Zircon age distributions and trace-element concentrations indicate that the ca. 310 Ma zircons date gabbroic intrusive rocks, and the ca. 1865 Ma zircons also are likely from igneous rocks in or beneath Peninsular terrane basement. The trace-element data imply that four of five Cretaceous–Paleocene zircons, and Pennsylvanian low-U, low-Th zircons in one sample, grew from metamorphic or hydrothermal fluids. Textural evidence of xenocrysts and a dominant population of ca. 1865 Ma zircon in juvenile crystal-rich andesite from the same pyroclastic deposit show that this basement has been assimilated by Redoubt magma. Equilibration temperatures and oxygen fugacities indicated by Fe-Ti–oxide minerals in the gabbros and crystal-rich andesite suggest sources near the margins of the Redoubt magmatic system, most likely in the magma accumulation and storage region currently outlined by seismicity and magma petrology at ∼4–10 km below sea level. Additionally, a partially melted gabbro from the 1990 eruption contains zircon with U-Pb ages between ca. 620 Ma and ca. 1705 Ma, as well as one zircon with a U-Th disequilibrium model age of 0 ka. The zircon ages demonstrate that Pennsylvanian, and probably Paleoproterozoic, igneous rocks exist in, or possibly beneath, Peninsular terrane basement. Discovery of Pennsylvanian gabbro similar in age to Skolai arc plutons 500 km to the northeast indicates that the Peninsular terrane, along with the Wrangellia and Alexander terranes, has been part of the Wrangellia composite terrane since at least Pennsylvanian time. Moreover, the zircon data suggest that a Paleoproterozoic continental fragment may be present in the mid-to-upper crust in southern Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2001

Three-dimenstional crustal velocity structure beneath the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia

The Strait of Georgia is a topographic depression straddling the boundary between the Insular and Coast belts in southwestern British Columbia. Two shallow earthquakes located within the strait ( M = 4.6 in 1997 and M = 5.0 in 1975) and felt throughout the Vancouver area illustrate the seismic potential of this region. As part of the 1998 Seismic Hazards Investigation of Puget Sound (SHIPS) experiment, seismic instruments were placed in and around the Strait of Georgia to record shots from a marine source within the strait. We apply a tomographic inversion procedure to first-arrival traveltime data to derive a minimum-structure 3-D P -wave velocity model for the upper crust to about 13 km depth. We also present a 2-D velocity model for a profile orientated across the Strait of Georgia derived using a minimum-parameter traveltime inversion approach. This paper represents the first detailed look at crustal velocity variations within the major Cretaceous to Cenozoic Georgia Basin, which underlies the Strait of Georgia. The 3-D velocity model clearly delineates the structure of the Georgia Basin. Taking the 6 km s −1 isovelocity contour to represent the top of the underlying basement, the basin thickens from between 2 and 4 km in the northwestern half of the strait to between 8 and 9 km at the southeastern end of the study region. Basin velocities in the northeastern half are 4.5–6 km s −1 and primarily represent the Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group. Velocities to the south are lower (3–6 km s −1 ) because of the additional presence of the overlying Tertiary Huntingdon Formation and more recent sediments, including glacial and modern Fraser River deposits. In contrast to the relatively smoothly varying velocity structure of the basin, velocities of the basement rocks, which comprise primarily Palaeozoic to Jurassic rocks of the Wrangellia Terrane and possibly Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Coast Belt, show significantly more structure, probably an indication of the varying basement rock lithologies. The 2-D velocity model more clearly reveals the velocity layering associated with the recent sediments, Huntingdon Formation and Nanaimo Group of the southern Georgia Basin, as well as the underlying basement. We interpret lateral variation in sub-basin velocities of the 2-D model as a transition from Wrangellian to Coast Belt basement rocks. The effect of the narrow, onshore–offshore recording geometry of the seismic experiment on model resolution was tested to allow a critical assessment of the validity of the 3-D velocity model. Lateral resolution throughout the model to a depth of 3–5 km below the top of the basement is generally 10–20 km.

British Columbia↗
USGS2007

Neogene transpressional foreland basin development on the north side of the central alaska range, usibelli group and nenana gravel, tanana basin

Neogene strata of the Tanana basin provide a long-term record of a northwardpropagating, transpressional foreland-basin system related to regional shortening of the central Alaska Range and strike-slip displacement on the Denali fault system. These strata are ???2 km thick and have been deformed and exhumed in thrust faults that form the foothills on the north side of the Alaska Range. The lower part of the sedimentary package, the Usibelli Group, consists of 800 m of mainly Miocene strata that were deposited in fluvial, lacustrine, and peat bog environments of the foredeep depozone of the foreland-basin system. Compositional data from conglomerate and sandstone, as well as recycled Upper Cretaceous palynomorphs, indicate that the Miocene foreland-basin system was supplied increasing amounts of sediment from lithologies currently exposed in thrust sheets located south of the basin. The upper part of the sedimentary package, the Nenana Gravel, consists of 1200 m of mainly Pliocene strata that were deposited in alluvial-fan and braidplain environments in the wedge-top depozone of the foreland-basin system. Compositional data from conglomerate and sandstone, as well as 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of detrital feldspars in sandstone and from granitic clasts in conglomerate, indicate that lithologies exposed in the central Alaska Range provided most of the detritus to the Pliocene foreland-basin system. 40Ar/39Ar dates from detrital feldspar grains also show that two main suites of plutons contributed sediment to the Nenana Gravel. Detrital feldspars with an average age of 56 Ma are interpreted to have been derived from the McKinley sequence of plutons located south of the Denali fault. Detrital feldspars with an average age of 34 Ma are interpreted to have been derived from plutons located north of the Denali fault. Plutons located south of the Denali fault provided detritus for the lower part of the Nenana Gravel, whereas plutons located north of the Denali fault began to contribute sediment during deposition of the upper part of the Nenana Gravel. This age distribution documented in detrital feldspars of the Nenana Gravel is interpreted as representing a progressive northward exhumation of plutons that were located south of the Pliocene Tanana basin. In contrast to previous studies, we interpret the Usibelli Group and Nenana Gravel to represent a continuum in the evolution of a transpressional foreland basin that began during Miocene time on the north side of the Alaska Range. Copyright ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2018

Drainage network structure and hydrologic behavior of three lake-rich watersheds on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska

Watersheds draining the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska are dominated by permafrost and snowmelt runoff that create abundant surface storage in the form of lakes, wetlands, and beaded streams. These surface water elements compose complex drainage networks that affect aquatic ecosystem connectivity and hydrologic behavior. The 4676 km 2 Fish Creek drainage basin is composed of three watersheds that represent a gradient of the ACP landscape with varying extents of eolian, lacustrine, and fluvial landforms. In each watershed, we analyzed 2.5-m-resolution aerial photography, a 5-m digital elevation model, and river gauging and climate records to better understand ACP watershed structure and processes. We show that connected lakes accounted for 19 to 26% of drainage density among watersheds and most all channels initiate from lake basins in the form of beaded streams. Of the > 2500 lakes in these watersheds, 33% have perennial streamflow connectivity, and these represent 66% of total lake area extent. Deeper lakes with over-wintering habitat were more abundant in the watershed with eolian sand deposits, while the watershed with marine silt deposits contained a greater extent of beaded streams and shallow thermokarst lakes that provide essential summer feeding habitat. Comparison of flow regimes among watersheds showed that higher lake extent and lower drained lake-basin extent corresponded with lower snowmelt and higher baseflow runoff. Variation in baseflow runoff among watersheds was most pronounced during drought conditions in 2007 with corresponding reduction in snowmelt peak flows the following year. Comparison with other Arctic watersheds indicates that lake area extent corresponds to slower recession of both snowmelt and baseflow runoff. These analyses help refine our understanding of how Arctic watersheds are structured and function hydrologically, emphasizing the important role of lake basins and suggesting how future lake change may impact hydrologic processes.

Alaska↗
USGS2001

Paleoliquefaction studies in continental setting; geologic and geotechnical factors in interpretations and back-analysis

Paleoliquefaction research in the last 15 years has greatly improved our ability to interpret the paleoseismic record throughout some large geographic areas, especially in regions of infrequent large earthquakes. Paleoliquefaction studies have been used extensively in the central and eastern U.S. to assess seismic hazards, and could be used elsewhere to good purpose because paleoliquefaction studies in some field settings can reveal more than other methods, such as fault studies, about the prehistoric strength of shaking and earthquake magnitude. We present guidelines for the conduct of a paleoliquefaction study in continental deposits, mainly in terms of the geologic/seismologic setting and geotechnical properties, because a successful interpretation requires factors from all these disciplines. No single discipline suffices alone. Their interactions must be appreciated in order to understand why seismically induced liquefaction features are found in some locales and not in others. The guidelines that we present also relate to three primary issues for which liquefaction features are especially useful for interpretations: Where was the tectonic source? What was the strength of shaking? And what was the magnitude? In discussing these issues we focus on the following aspects of level-ground liquefaction: (1) mechanisms that form seismic liquefaction features in the field; (2) field settings where liquefaction features should be present if strong seismic shaking has occurred; (3) field settings where an absence of liquefaction features indicates an absence of strong seismic shaking; (4) how liquefaction features should be used to interpret the tectonic source locale of a paleo-earthquake; and (5) how effects of liquefaction can be used to back-calculate the strength of shaking as well as earthquake magnitude. Several methods are available to back-calculate the strength of shaking and earthquake magnitude, and the most commonly used methods are presented and critiqued. Our critique of these methods points out the uncertainties attending each. Paleoliquefaction/paleoseismic case histories are presented to illustrate potential uncertainties in back-calculations and procedures to overcome these uncertainties. Reasonable confidence in paleoseismic interpretation generally requires using multiple methods of back-analysis, and achieving similar results from each method. An alternate approach can be used for paleo-earthquakes that were large enough to have caused liquefaction in a variety of geologic settings, in which there were differing factors affecting surface ground motions and liquefaction susceptibility. For this situation, a method such as the cyclic-stress method can be used to make back-calculations that can be cross-checked with results from other settings.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1980

Petroleum-resource appraisal and discovery rate forecasting in partially explored regions

PART A: A model of the discovery process can be used to predict the size distribution of future petroleum discoveries in partially explored basins. The parameters of the model are estimated directly from the historical drilling record, rather than being determined by assumptions or analogies. The model is based on the concept of the area of influence of a drill hole, which states that the area of a basin exhausted by a drill hole varies with the size and shape of targets in the basin and with the density of previously drilled wells. It also uses the concept of discovery efficiency, which measures the rate of discovery within several classes of deposit size. The model was tested using 25 years of historical exploration data (1949-74) from the Denver basin. From the trend in the discovery rate (the number of discoveries per unit area exhausted), the discovery efficiencies in each class of deposit size were estimated. Using pre-1956 discovery and drilling data, the model accurately predicted the size distribution of discoveries for the 1956-74 period. PART B: A stochastic model of the discovery process has been developed to predict, using past drilling and discovery data, the distribution of future petroleum deposits in partially explored basins, and the basic mathematical properties of the model have been established. The model has two exogenous parameters, the efficiency of exploration and the effective basin size. The first parameter is the ratio of the probability that an actual exploratory well will make a discovery to the probability that a randomly sited well will make a discovery. The second parameter, the effective basin size, is the area of that part of the basin in which drillers are willing to site wells. Methods for estimating these parameters from locations of past wells and from the sizes and locations of past discoveries were derived, and the properties of estimators of the parameters were studied by simulation. PART C: This study examines the temporal properties and determinants of petroleum exploration for firms operating in the Denver basin. Expectations associated with the favorability of a specific area are modeled by using distributed lag proxy variables (of previous discoveries) and predictions from a discovery process model. In the second part of the study, a discovery process model is linked with a behavioral well-drilling model in order to predict the supply of new reserves. Results of the study indicate that the positive effects of new discoveries on drilling increase for several periods and then diminish to zero within 2? years after the deposit discovery date. Tests of alternative specifications of the argument of the distributed lag function using alternative minimum size classes of deposits produced little change in the model's explanatory power. This result suggests that, once an exploration play is underway, favorable operator expectations are sustained by the quantity of oil found per time period rather than by the discovery of specific size deposits. When predictions of the value of undiscovered deposits (generated from a discovery process model) were substituted for the expectations variable in models used to explain exploration effort, operator behavior was found to be consistent with these predictions. This result suggests that operators, on the average, were efficiently using information contained in the discovery history of the basin in carrying out their exploration plans. Comparison of the two approaches to modeling unobservable operator expectations indicates that the two models produced very similar results. The integration of the behavioral well-drilling model and discovery process model to predict the additions to reserves per unit time was successful only when the quarterly predictions were aggregated to annual values. The accuracy of the aggregated predictions was also found to be reasonably robust to errors in predictions from the behavioral well-drilling equation.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2019

Late-Glacial paleoecology of the Middle Susitna Valley, Alaska: Environmental context for human dispersal

We present here the results of multi-proxy analyses (sediment geochemistry, diatoms, and pollen) from sediment cores collected at four lakes in the middle Susitna Valley, Alaska. These lakes form a transect from the tundra to the boreal forest. The retrieved cores span from ~12,000 cal yr BP to the present, with age control provided by radiometric dates and tephra deposits, some of which are newly identified. Results indicate that deglaciation occurred before 12,000 cal yr BP and that by that time, the lakes were deep, productive, and surrounded by shrub tundra. The lake with the highest sampling resolution indicates a brief climatic reversal ~11,500 cal yr BP with decreased diatom-inferred lake level and lowered lake productivity, and reduced shrub presence. During the early to middle Holocene, all of the sedimentary records provide evidence of climatic amelioration with tree expansion and productive lakes. A middle to late Holocene climatic deterioration with reduced trees and a shallower, less productive lake is also indicated. In addition, the prominent Watana tephra at ~4,000 cal yr BP likely reduced lake productivity and affected the vegetation. Even though the region was relatively productive soon after deglaciation, people did not occupy the region until ~11,000 cal yr BP, about 1000 years later, and then only sparsely. By the middle and late Holocene, the region was more densely populated and this shift in human occupancy presumably reflects changes in resource abundance, especially caribou. Whether the Watana ashfall influenced caribou abundance and thus people, is still under investigation, but given the tephra’s effect on vegetation and lake productivity, it seems likely.

Alaska↗
USGS2006

Detrital zircon provenance of the Late Triassic Songpan-Ganzi complex: Sedimentary record of collision of the North and South China blocks

Using detrital zircon geochronology, turbidite deposystems fed from distinct sediment sources can be distinguished within the Songpan-Ganzi complex, a collapsed Middle to Late Triassic turbidite basin of central China. A southern Songpan-Ganzi deposystem initially was sourced solely by erosion of the Qinling-Dabie orogen during early Late Triassic time, then by Qinling-Dabie orogen, North China block, and South China block sources during middle to late Late Triassic time. A northern Songpan-Ganzi system was sourced by erosion of the Qinling-Dabie orogen and the North China block throughout its deposition. These separate deposystems were later tectonically amalgamated to form one complex and then uplifted as the eastern Tibet Plateau. ?? 2006 Geological Society of America.

Geology↗
USGS1974

Molluscan phylogeny: The paleontological viewpoint

Stasek theorized that the extant mollusks are the progeny of three separate lineages that separated before the phylum was well established. He wrote that no known intermediate forms, fossil or living, bridge the "enormous gaps between any two of the three lineages," and therefore treated each as a separate subphylum. These subphyla are (i) the subphylum Aculifera Hatscheck 1891, containing only the class Aplacophora, derived from the most primitive ancestors of the Mollusca; (ii) the subphylum Placophora von Jhering 1876, containing only the class Polyplacophora, and emphasizing the pseudometamerism of its more advanced premollusk ancestor; and (iii) the subphylum Conchifera Gegenbaur 1878, containing the Monoplacophora and the other classes derived from it. We point out that the Polyplacophora may be derived from the Monoplacophora instead of a more primitive ancestral stock. We also suggest that the Conchifera can be separated into two major lineages, each worthy of the rank of subphylum. The fossil record indicates that the Monoplacophora gave rise to the Gastropoda, Cephalopoda, Rostroconchia, and possibly Polyplacophora, and that the Pelecypoda and Scaphopoda are derived from the Rostroconchia. These last three classes thus form a lineage that diverged from the Monoplacophora in the Early Cambrian. They emphasized a shell form that in all groups is primitively open at both ends, allowing the gut to remain relatively straight, with an anterior mouth and posterior anus. They became burrowing (infaunal) deposit or filter feeders. We coin the term Diasoma (through-body) for the subphylum containing these three classes (Rostroconchia, Pelecypoda, and Scaphopoda). The remaining three classes (Monoplacophora, Gastropoda, and Cephalopoda) emphasize a conical univalved shell, usually twisted into a spiral. The relatively small single aperture forces the anus to lie close to the mouth, and the gut is bent into a "U." Most are surface-dwelling (epifaunal) grazers or carnivores. We coin the name Cyrtosoma (hunchback-body) for the subphylum containing these three classes. Strictly speaking, the cyrtosomes are the ancestors of the diasomes but, in fact, both subphyla appeared and began to diversify within a few million years in the Early Cambrian.

Science↗
USGS1974

Mineral resources of Du Noir Addition, Washakie Wilderness area, Fremont County, Wyoming

The Du Noir Addition to the Washakie Wilderness area consists of 34,200 acres (13,840 hectares) of scenic mountainous terrain that adjoins the Teton Wilderness and Washakie Wilderness areas. The area was studied in 1973 by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines to evaluate its mineral, fuel, and geothermal energy potential. This evaluation is based on a search of the geologic literature, claim and production records, and fieldwork including mapping, inspection of claims and prospects, interpretation of aeromagnetic maps, and analyses of bedrock and stream-sediment samples. Flat-lying Eocene volcaniclastic rocks of the Absaroka volcanic field are exposed in about two-thirds of the Du Noir Addition. These volcanics unconformably overlie the deeply eroded, northwest-trending Du Noir anticline in which Paleozoic marine strata of Devonian through Permian age are exposed. Of lesser importance are small deposits of Eocene non-volcanic conglomerate, and basaltic intrusive and extrusive rocks of late Pliocene and possibly younger age. The results of this study indicate that the mineral, fuel, and geothermal potential of the Du Noir Addition are minimal. Low-grade copper-molybdenum mineralization occurs outside the addition, associated with intrusive rocks, but no indications of alteration or mineralization were found within the study area. Anomalous, but not economically important, concentrations of molybdenum and uranium were found in Permian and Eocene carbonaceous shales. Phosphate rock in the Phosphoria Formation occurs in beds too thin to constitute a resource. Large amounts of very pure limestone are present in the Madison Limestone, but equally pure limestone, much closer to transportation facilities, is found throughout this part of Wyoming. That part of the Du Noir anticline in the addition is too deeply eroded to be a likely reservoir of oil and gas. Present data indicates a low potential for geothermal energy in or near the addition.

Wyoming↗
USGS2000

USGS research on three mid-latitude glaciers

Low- and mid-latitude regions of the earth are home to 80 to 90 percent of the world's population. Because of this, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a research program to study the geochemistry of precipitation, snow, ice, and runoff samples from mid-latitude glaciers in Kyrghyzstan, Nepal, and the United States, Areas of research, such as ground-water studies, reconstructing paleoclimate records, describing anthropogenic input of chemicals to the environment, and modeling global climate, are important to the well being of the worlds' population and can be supplemented by the collection and chemical analysis of snow and ice cores. Nearly all the constituents that compose snow and ice-core samples contribute vital information, whether it be the microbial communities that flourish in snow, radionuclides present in various amounts in all the samples, or location-specific deposits of mercury and nitrate. This work is hastened by the fact that mid-latitude glaciers, and the information preserved in them, are rapidly disappearing as a result of global warming. Research collaboration for this project includes 12 national and 7 international universities, and 4 government agencies. Funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the USGS.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2003

Mapping hydrothermally altered rocks at Cuprite, Nevada, using the advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (Aster), a new satellite-imaging system

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is a 14-band multispectral instrument on board the Earth Observing System (EOS), TERRA. The three bands between 0.52 and 0.86 ??m and the six bands from 1.60 and 2.43 ??m, which have 15- and 30-m spatial resolution, respectively, were selected primarily for making remote mineralogical determinations. The Cuprite, Nevada, mining district comprises two hydrothermal alteration centers where Tertiary volcanic rocks have been hydrothermally altered mainly to bleached silicified rocks and opalized rocks, with a marginal zone of limonitic argilized rocks. Country rocks are mainly Cambrian phyllitic siltstone and limestone. Evaluation of an ASTER image of the Cuprite district shows that spectral reflectance differences in the nine bands in the 0.52 to 2.43 ??m region provide a basis for identifying and mapping mineralogical components which characterize the main hydrothermal alteration zones: opal is the spectrally dominant mineral in the silicified zone; whereas, alunite and kaolinite are dominant in the opalized zone. In addition, the distribution of unaltered country rocks was mapped because of the presence of spectrally dominant muscovite in the siltstone and calcite in limestone, and the tuffaceous rocks and playa deposits were distinguishable due to their relatively flat spectra and weak absorption features at 2.33 and 2.20 ??m, respectively. An Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) image of the study area was processed using a similar methodology used with the ASTER data. Comparison of the ASTER and AVIRIS results shows that the results are generally similar, but the higher spectral resolution of AVIRIS (224 bands) permits identification of more individual minerals, including certain polymorphs. However, ASTER has recorded images of more than 90 percent of the Earth's land surface with less than 20 percent cloud cover, and these data are available at nominal or no cost. Landsat TM images have a similar spatial resolution to ASTER images, but TM has fewer bands, which limits its usefulness for making mineral determinations.

Economic Geology↗
USGS2011

Hydrologic conditions and terrestrial laser scanning of post-fire debris flows in the San Gabriel Mountains, CA, U.S.A.

To investigate rainfall-runoff conditions that generate post-wildfire debris flows, we instrumented and surveyed steep, small watersheds along the tectonically active front of the San Gabriel Mountains, California. Fortuitously, we recorded runoff-generated debris-flows triggered by one spatially restricted convective event with 28 mm of rainfall falling over 62 minutes. Our rain gages, nested hillslope overland-flow sensors and soil-moisture probes, as well as a time series of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) revealed the effects of the storm. Hillslope overland-flow response, along two ~10-m long flow lines perpendicular to and originating from a drainage divide, displayed only a 10 to 20 minute delay from the onset of rainfall with accumulated totals of merely 5-10 mm. Depth-stratified soil-moisture probes displayed a greater time delay, roughly 20- 30 minutes, indicating that initial overland flow was Hortonian. Furthermore, a downstream channel-monitoring array recorded a pronounced discharge peak generated by the passage of a debris flow after 18 minutes of rainfall. At this time, only four of the eleven hillslope overlandflow sensors confirmed the presence of surface-water flow. Repeat TLS and detailed field mapping using GPS document how patterns of rainsplash, overland-flow scour, and rilling contributed to the generation of meter-scale debris flows. In response to a single small storm, the debris flows deposited irregular levees and lobate terminal snouts on hillslopes and caused widespread erosion of the valley axis with ground surface lowering exceeding 1.5 m.

California↗
USGS2016

Relations between rainfall–runoff-induced erosion and aeolian deposition at archaeological sites in a semi-arid dam-controlled river corridor

Process dynamics in fluvial-based dryland environments are highly complex with fluvial, aeolian, and alluvial processes all contributing to landscape change. When anthropogenic activities such as dam-building affect fluvial processes, the complexity in local response can be further increased by flood- and sediment-limiting flows. Understanding these complexities is key to predicting landscape behavior in drylands and has important scientific and management implications, including for studies related to paleoclimatology, landscape ecology evolution, and archaeological site context and preservation. Here we use multi-temporal LiDAR surveys, local weather data, and geomorphological observations to identify trends in site change throughout the 446-km-long semi-arid Colorado River corridor in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, where archaeological site degradation related to the effects of upstream dam operation is a concern. Using several site case studies, we show the range of landscape responses that might be expected from concomitant occurrence of dam-controlled fluvial sand bar deposition, aeolian sand transport, and rainfall-induced erosion. Empirical rainfall-erosion threshold analyses coupled with a numerical rainfall–runoff–soil erosion model indicate that infiltration-excess overland flow and gullying govern large-scale (centimeter- to decimeter-scale) landscape changes, but that aeolian deposition can in some cases mitigate gully erosion. Whereas threshold analyses identify the normalized rainfall intensity (defined as the ratio of rainfall intensity to hydraulic conductivity) as the primary factor governing hydrologic-driven erosion, assessment of false positives and false negatives in the dataset highlight topographic slope as the next most important parameter governing site response. Analysis of 4+ years of high resolution (four-minute) weather data and 75+ years of low resolution (daily) climate records indicates that dryland erosion is dependent on short-term, storm-driven rainfall intensity rather than cumulative rainfall, and that erosion can occur outside of wet seasons and even wet years. These results can apply to other similar semi-arid landscapes where process complexity may not be fully understood.

Arizona↗
USGS2000

Sedimentary record of the California Current system, middle Miocene to Holocene: A synthesis of Leg 167 results

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 167, the California continental margin was drilled from about 30°N to 42°N to sample high-resolution paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic records in the California Current system. Because of typically high sedimentation rates along the margin (80 to >200 m/m.y.), drilling has proved necessary to collect late Pleistocene sedimentary records that usually are sampled by standard piston cores in other oceanic regions. Triple piston coring on Leg 167 enabled us to construct continuous submillennial paleoceanographic records to about 2 Ma. In the offshore drill sites, continuous records were constructed into the Miocene. The oldest sediments recovered on Leg 167 have an age of ~14 Ma. The California margin has an active diagenetic system driven by the degradation of organic matter. Leg 167 drilling provided a means to quantify the diagenetic processes within the deep sediment column and to study the links between sediment diagenesis and primary productivity. This synthesis chapter also documents the oceanographic variability along the California margin at all time scales, from 10 3 to 10 6 yr. Millennial-scale variability is found in Santa Barbara Basin (drilled during Leg 146) and in nearby basins drilled during Leg 167. Leg 167 cores also captured millennial-scale variability in the northern and central California margin. Orbitally forced insolation changes invoke a strong response throughout the California margin. Sea-surface temperature (SST) measured by the alkenone U k' 37 paleothermometer is highly coherent with the oxygen isotope record, being cold in glacials and much warmer in interglacials. Faunal and floral plankton assemblages vary strongly on the glacial-interglacial scale. Coastal plant communities show a glacial-interglacial variability that is most pronounced in the north, near the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. Major changes in the sediments prior to the Pleistocene mark major late Neogene oceanographic events. Opaline silica burial in the middle and upper Miocene sections have step-like drops from high opal deposition in the middle Miocene. One major drop occurs at ~11 Ma and is roughly correlative with the eastern equatorial Pacific Miocene carbonate crash. A second major drop occurs at about 8 Ma, equivalent in age to the end of the Monterey Formation. A third drop occurs slightly younger than the end of the Miocene. A lower Pliocene interval, roughly from 5 to 4.2 Ma, is low in all biogenic components. It separates the Miocene high-opal sediments from upper Pliocene high-carbonate sediments. High CaCO 3 deposition occurred all along the entire California margin in the late Pliocene, but CaCO 3 burial dropped abruptly with the beginning of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (2.6 Ma).

Baja California, California↗
USGS1985

Seismotectonic map of the Puget Sound region, Washington

The Puget Sound region is a seismically active area with hundreds of earthquakes occurring each year (Crosson, 1974, 1975, Crosson and Millard, 1975, Crosson and Noson, 1978a, 1978b, 1979). Most of the earthquakes are so small that they can be detected only by sensitive seismographs such as those operated by the University of Washington. Not all of the earthquakes have been small, however, for several damaging ones have occurred in historic time. Little is known about the geologic structures responsible for generating these earthquakes, and knowledge of the causative structures is fundamental to an adequate evaluation of the earthquake risks for the Puget Sound region. The purpose of this map is to summarize the current knowledge about tectonic deformation, seismicity, and the tectonic framework of the Puget Sound region in order to provide a basis for detailed geologic and geophysical studies that will lead to better understanding of the structures and forces responsible for generating earthquakes in the area. This map is a compilation of all known and inferred faults, including what is known about their age of movement. Also shown are some deformed deposits of Quaternary age and earthquake epicenters. Few of the faults have been studied in sufficient detail to establish whether or not they have been active or inactive during late Tertiary or Quaternary time, but most of the faults are the result of tectonic forces that were active during early and middle Tertiary time. These faults may or may not be related to the tectonic forces responsible for the current seismicity. Approximately 5 percent of the earthquakes recorded in the Puget Sound region originated at depths of 40 Km or more (Crosson, 1972, fig. 11), and these are probably not directly related to exposed or near-surface structures. Most of the earthquakes occur at shallower depths and may be associated with near-surface structures, but no earthquakes have been definitely identified with mapped faults.

Washington↗