Geology topics

D. F. Siems

Publications and source records attributed to D. F. Siems.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2008

Major and EDXRF Trace Element Chemical Analyses of Volcanic Rocks from Lassen Volcanic National Park and Vicinity, California

This open-file report presents WDXRF major-element chemical data for late Pliocene to Holocene volcanic rocks collected from Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity, California. Data for Rb, Sr, Ba, Y, Zr, Nb, Ni, Cr, Zn and Cu obtained by EDXRF are included for many samples. Data are presented in an EXCEL spreadsheet and are keyed to rock units as displayed on the Geologic Map of Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity (Clynne and Muffler, in press). Location of the samples is given in latitude and longitude in degrees and decimal minutes and in decimal degrees.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2005

The 2003 phreatomagmatic eruptions of Anatahan volcano - Textural and petrologic features of deposits at an emergent island volcano

Stratigraphic and field data are used in conjunction with textural and chemical evidence (including data from scanning electron microscope, electron microprobe, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and instrumental neutron activation analysis) to establish that the 2003 eruption of Anatahan volcano was mainly phreatomagmatic, dominated by explosive interaction of homogeneous composition low-viscosity crystal-poor andesite magma with water. The hydromagmatic mode of eruption contributed to the significant height of initial eruptive columns and to the excavation and eruption of altered rock debris from the sub-volcanic hydrothermal system. Volatile contents of glass inclusions in equilibrium phenocrysts less abundances of these constituents in matrix glass times the estimated mass of juvenile magma indicate minimum emissions of 19 kt SO2 and 13 kt Cl. This petrologic estimate of SO2 emission is an order-of-magnitude less than an estimate from TOMS. Similarly, inferred magma volumes from the petrologic data are an order of magnitude greater than those modeled from deformation data. Both discrepancies indicate additional sources of volatiles, likely derived from a separate fluid phase in the magma. The paucity of near-source volcanic-tectonic earthquakes preceding the eruption, and the dominance of sustained long-period tremor are attributed to the ease of ascent of the hot low-viscosity andesite, followed by a shallow phreatomagmatic mode of eruption. Phreatomagmatic eruptions are probably more common at emergent tropical island volcanoes, where shallow fresh-water lenses occur at near-sea-level vents. These relations suggest that phreatomagmatic explosions contributed to the formation of many of the near-sea-level craters and possibly even to the small calderas at the other Mariana islands.

Northern Mariana Islands↗

USGS2004

Rear-arc vs. arc-front volcanoes in the Katmai reach of the Alaska Peninsula: A critical appraisal of across-arc compositional variation

Physical and compositional data and K-Ar ages are reported for 14 rear-arc volcanoes that lic 11-22 km behind the narrowly linear volcanic front defined by the Mount Katmai-to-Devils Desk chain on the Alaska Peninsula. One is a 30-km3 stratocone (Mount Griggs; 51-63% SiO2) active intermittently from 292 ka to Holocene. The others are monogenetic cones, domes, lava flows, plugs, and maars, of which 12 were previously unnamed and unstudied; they include seven basalts (48-52% SiO2), four mafic andesites (53-55% SiO2), and three andesite-dacite units. Six erupted in the interval 500-88 ka, one historically in 1977, and five in the interval 3-2 Ma. No migration of the volcanic front is discernible since the late Miocene, so even the older units erupted well behind the front. Discussion explores the significance of the volcanic front and the processes that influence compositional overlaps and differences among mafic products of the rear-arc volcanoes and of the several arc-front edifices nearby. The latter have together erupted a magma volume of about 200 km3, at least four times that of all rear-arc products combined. Correlation of Sr-isotope ratios with indices of fractionation indicates crustal contributions in volcanic-front magmas (0.7033-0.7038), but lack of such trends among the rear-arc units (0.70298-0.70356) suggests weaker and less systematic crustal influence. Slab contributions and mantle partial-melt fractions both appear to decline behind the front, but neither trend is crisp and unambiguous. No intraplate mantle contribution is recognized nor is any systematic across-arc difference in intrinsic mantle-wedge source fertility discerned. Both rear-arc and arc-front basalts apparently issued from fluxing of typically fertile NMORB-source mantle beneath the Peninsular terrane, which docked here in the Mesozoic. Springer-Verlag 2004.

Alaska↗

USGS2004

Isotopic, geochemical, and temporal characterization of Proterozoic basement rocks in the Quitovac region, northwestern Sonora, Mexico: Implications for the reconstruction of the southwestern margin of Laurentia

A detailed geochemical characterization of 19 representative Proterozoic basement rocks in the Quitovac region in northwestern Sonora, Mexico, has identified two distinct Paleoproterozoic basement blocks that coincide spatially with the previously proposed Caborca and "North America" blocks. New U-Pb zircon geochronology revises their age ranges, the Caborca (1.78-1.69 Ga) and "North America" (1.71-1.66 Ga) blocks at Quitovac, and precludes a simple age differentiation between them. In addition, Grenvillian-age granitoids (ca. 1.1 Ga), spatially associated with the Caborca block have been identified at Quitovac. Nd isotopes and major- and trace-element geochemistry support the distinction of these Paleoproterozoic blocks. Granitoids of the "North America" block are characterized by depleted εNd values (3.4-3.9) and younger Nd model ages (1800-1740 Ma) and have lower K2O, Y, Rb, Ba, Th, REE, and Fe/Mg values than coeval rocks of the Caborca block. The Caborca block granitoids are likewise characterized by slightly less depleted εNd (0.6-2.6) and older Nd model ages (2070-1880 Ma). Despite the subtle differences, granitoids from both the Caborca and "North America" blocks exhibit island arc-like affinities. We propose that the Proterozoic basement rocks from the Quitovac region are an extension of the Proterozoic crustal provinces in the southwestern United States. Specifically, rocks of the Caborca block exhibit an affinity to rocks of either the Yavapai province or the Mojave-Yavapai transition zone, whereas rocks of the "North America" block have signatures similar to those of the Mazatzal province or possibly the Yavapai province of Arizona. The new isotopic ages and geochemical data do not support the existence of the Late Jurassic Mojave-Sonora megashear at Quitovac, as originally proposed. However, the Quitovac region accounts only for a small fraction of the Proterozoic basement in Sonora, so these findings do not eliminate the possibility of a megashear elsewhere in northern Sonora. Our new data create the possibility of alternative hypotheses for the distribution of Paleoproterozoic crustal provinces in southwestern North America that affect reconstructions of the original southwestern margin of Laurentia, and reduce uncertainties in the configuration, timing, and existence of the Proterozoic supercontinent, Rodinia.

Quitovac↗

USGS2001

Chemical composition of strata of the Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale Member of the Permian Phosphoria Formation: Channel-composited and individual rock samples of measured section J and their relationship of measured sections A and B, central part of Rasmussen Ridge, Caribou County, Idaho

This study, one in a series, reports bulk chemical composition of rock samples collected from a core, referred to as Measured Section J, drilled at a site that subsequently was developed into the Enoch Valley phosphate mine in southeastern Idaho. The core is continuous and cuts through the entire thickness of the Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale Member of the Phosphoria Formation. The steeply dipping Meade Peak extends from 182 to 495 feet below the ground surface, which is the greatest below-ground depth of rock that has been sampled to date. The core was drilled before the start of mining, and the rocks consequently have not been exposed to the atmosphere or surficial weathering processes or fractured as a result of mining as are the rocks from other described sections. Hence, this section of the Meade Peak in the core is the least altered section of this member sampled in this series of studies. The channel-sampled rocks from Section J form a set of contiguous intervals across the entire thickness of the Meade Peak. These channel samples characterize?in ascending order?the lower phosphate ore, interlayered middle waste shale, upper phosphate ore, and upper waste shale units of the member. The Section J channel-sample suite includes 3 composite samples of the uppermost 7 feet of the Grandeur Tongue of the Permian Park City Formation, a dolomitic unit that directly underlies the Meade Peak. It also includes an analysis of a 0.1 foot section of chert directly overlying the Meade Peak. The concentrations of the chemical elements in the channel samples are compared with those of Measured Sections Aand B that were obtained from the same mine. In addition to the channel samples, 85 rock samples were selected from the core to address specific geochemical questions that resulted from examination of the core. For example, several of these samples correspond to cored rock that had unusual concentrations of various elements that were determined using a hand-held, x-ray fluorescence instrument. Other individual samples consist of several samples taken within a short interval of the core that leads to an abrupt change in lithology. Overall, the rocks from Measured Section J exhibit the least alteration from interaction with ground water compared with rocks from any of the measured sections that have been described in our previous studies.

Idaho↗

USGS2001