Geology topics

G.J. Larson

Publications and source records attributed to G.J. Larson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

Seasonal variability in hydrologic-system response to intense rain events, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.

Two rain events at Matanuska Glacier illustrate how subglacial drainage system development and snowpack conditions affect hydrologic response at the terminus. On 21 and 22 September 1995, over 56 mm of rain fell in the basin during a period usually characterized by much drier conditions. This event caused an 8-fold increase in discharge and a 47-fold increase in suspended-sediment concentration. Peak suspended-sediment concentration exceeded 20 kg m-3, suggesting rapid evacuation of stored sediment. While water discharge returned to its pre-storm level nine days after the rain ceased, suspended-sediment concentrations took about 20 days to return to pre-storm levels. These observations suggest that the storm influx late in the melt season probably forced subglacial water into a more distributed system. In addition, subglacially transported sediments were supplemented to an unknown degree by the influx of storm-eroded sediments off hillslopes and from tributary drainage basins. A storm on 6 and 7 June 1997, dropped 28 mm of rain on the basin demonstrating the effects of meltwater retention in the snowpack and englacial and subglacial storage early in the melt season. Streamflow before the storm event was increasing gradually owing to warming temperatures; however, discharge during the storm and the following week increased only slightly. Suspended-sediment concentrations increased only a small amount, suggesting the drainage system was not yet well developed, and much of the runoff occurred across the relatively clean surface of the glacier or through englacial channels.

Annals of Glaciology↗

USGS2017

Late quaternary temporal and event classifications, Great Lakes region, North America

Several temporal and event classifications are used for the Quaternary glacial and interglacial record in the Great Lakes region of North America. Although based on contrasting principles, the classifications, as practiced, are similar to one another in most respects and they differ little from the classification proposed by Chamberlin a century ago. All are based on stratigraphic units having time-transgressive boundaries; thus the associated time spans and events are diachronous. Where application of geochronologic classification based on isochronous boundaries is not practical or useful, we advocate the use of diachronic principles to establish local and regional temporal and event classifications. Diachronic and event classifications based on such principles are proposed herein for the Great Lakes region. Well-established names, including Wisconsin, Sangamon, and Illinois, are used at the episode (or glaciation/interglaciation) rank without significant redefinition. The Hudson Episode (Interglaciation) is introduced for postglacial time, the current interglacial interval. The Wisconsin Episode is divided into the Ontario, Elgin, and Michigan Subepisodes in the eastern and northern parts of the Great Lakes region and into the Athens and Michigan Subepisodes in the southern and western parts of the Great Lakes region. ?? 1997 University of Washington.

Quaternary Research↗

USGS2004

Analysis of modern and Pleistocene hydrologic exchange between Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) and the Saginaw Lowlands area

Two numerical models, one simulating present groundwater flow conditions and one simulating ice-induced hydraulic loading from the Port Huron ice advance, were used to characterize both modern and Pleistocene groundwater exchange between the Michigan Basin and near-surface water systems of Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) and the surrounding Saginaw Lowlands area. These models were further used to constrain the origin of saline, isotopically light groundwater, and porewater from the study area. Output from the groundwater-flow model indicates that, at present conditions, head in the Marshall aquifer beneath Saginaw Bay exceeds the modern lake elevation by as much as 21 m. Despite this potential for flow, simulated ground-water discharge through the Saginaw Bay floor constitutes only 0.028 m 3 s −1 (∼1 cfs). Bedrock lithology appears to regulate the rate of groundwater discharge, as the portion of the Saginaw Bay floor underlain by the Michigan confining unit exhibits an order of magnitude lower flux than the portion underlain by the Saginaw aquifer. The calculated shoreline discharge of groundwater to Saginaw Bay is also relatively small (1.13 m 3 s −1 or ∼40 cfs) because of low gradients across the Saginaw Lowlands area and the low hydraulic conductivities of lodgement tills and glacial-lake clays surrounding the bay. In contrast to the present groundwater flow conditions, the Port Huron ice-induced hydraulic-loading model generates a groundwater-flow reversal that is localized to the region of a Pleistocene ice sheet and proglacial lake. This area of reversed vertical gradient is largely commensurate with the distribution of isotopically light groundwater presently found in the study area. Mixing scenarios, constrained by chloride concentrations and δ 18 O values in porewater samples, demonstrate that a mixing event involving subglacial recharge could have produced the groundwater chemistry currently observed in the Saginaw Lowlands area. The combination of models and mixing scenarios indicates that structural control is a major influence on both the present and Pleistocene flow systems.

Michigan↗

USGS1999

Ground-water, large-lake interactions in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron: A geochemical and isotopic approach

Delineating the nature and extent of ground-water inputs is necessary to understand the hydrochemistry of large lakes. Characterizing the interaction between ground water and large lakes (e.g., the Great Lakes) is facilitated by the use of geochemical and isotopic data. In this study, pore waters were extracted from sediment cores collected from Saginaw Bay and the surrounding Saginaw lowland area; the geochemistry and stable isotope signature of these pore waters were used to identify sources for the water and solutes. Cores from Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw lowland area yielded strong vertical gradients in chloride concentrations, suggesting that a high-chloride source is present at depth. The spatial distribution of cores with elevated chloride concentrations corresponds to the regional distribution of chloride in ground water. Most of the Saginaw lowland area cores contain water with significantly lower δ 18 O values than modern meteoric water, suggesting that the water had been recharged during a much cooler climate. The δ 18 O values measured in pore waters (from Saginaw Bay cores) containing high chloride concentrations are similar to modern meteoric water; however, values lighter than modern meteoric water are encountered at depth. Chloride:bromide ratios, used to distinguish between different chloride sources, identify formation brine as the likely source for chloride. Transport models indicate that a combination of advection and diffusion is responsible for the observed Saginaw lowland area pore-water profiles. Pore-water profiles in Saginaw Bay sediments are produced primarily by diffusion and require significantly less time to evolve. An upward flux of solutes derived from formation brine could occur elsewhere within the Great Lakes region and significantly affect the geochemical cycling of chloride and other contaminants (e.g., trace metals).

Michigan↗