Geology topics

John B. Rapp

Publications and source records attributed to John B. Rapp.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2002

Ubiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska

Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbonbiomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound, are all remarkably similar and have characteristics consistent with those of oil products that originated from the Monterey Formation source rocks of California. The carbonisotopic compositions of the tar balls are all closely grouped (<513Cpdb = -23.7 ± 0.2%o), within the range found in crude oils from those rocks, but are distinct from isotopic compositions of 28 samples of residues from the Exxon ValdezoW spill (<513Cpdb = -29.4 ± 0.1%o). Likewise, values for selected biomarker ratios in the tar balls are all similar but distinct from values of residues from the 1989 oil spill. Carbon-isotopic and biomarker signatures generally relate the tar balls to oil products used in Alaska before ~1970 for construction and pavements. How these tar balls with such similar geochemical characteristics became so widely dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the sound is not known with certainty, but the great 1964 Alaska earthquake was undoubtedly an important trigger, causing spills from ruptured storage facilities of California-sourced asphalt and fuel oil into Prince William Sound.

Alaska↗

USGS1994

Laboratory simulation of hydrothermal petroleum formation from sediment in Escanaba Trough, offshore from northern California

Petroleum associated with sulfide-rich sediment is present in Escanaba Trough at the southern end of the Gorda Ridge spreading axis offshore from northern California within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the U.S. This location and occurrence are important for evaluation of the mineral and energy resource potential of the seafloor under U.S. jurisdiction. In Escanaba Trough, petroleum is believed to be formed by hydrothermal processes acting on mainly terrigenous organic material in Quaternary, river-derived sediment. To attempt to simulate these processes in the laboratory, portions of a Pleistocene gray-green mud, obtained from ∼ 1.5 m below the seafloor at a water depth of ∼ 3250 m in Escanaba Trough, were heated in the presence of water in four hydrous-pyrolysis experiments conducted at temperatures ranging from 250 to 350°C and at a pressure of 350 bar for 1.0–4.5 days. Distributions of n -alkanes, isoprenoid hydrocarbons, triterpanes, and steranes in the heated samples were compared with those in a sample of hydrothermal petroleum from the same area. Mud samples heated for less than 4.5 days at less than 350°C show changes in some, but not all, molecular marker ratios of organic compounds that are consistent with those expected during hydrothermal petroleum formation. Our results suggest that the organic matter in this type of sediment serves as one possible source for some of the compounds found in the hydrothermal petroleum.

California↗

USGS1994

A survey of molecular marker compounds in sediments of San Francisco Bay, California

An areal survey of surficial sediments in San Francisco Bay has been conducted to evaluate the presence of extractable organic compounds. Molecular marker compounds studied include hydrocarbons (PAH's), chlorinated pesticides, and other organic compounds that provide information on sources of organic input into the Bay. Fairly uniform source profiles are seen throughout the Bay. Biomarker profiles contain mature constituents indicating anthropogenic influences and extensive sediment reworking. The dominant input signatures in San Francisco Bay sediment are those of anthropogenic PAH's from combustion and other sources, and long chain n-alkanes and n-aldehydes from terrigenous vascular plants. A comparison of the sums of the combustion PAH's and the terrigenous n-alkanes shows that an anthropogenic influence is dominant in the most urban parts of the Bay close to shore, and in mid-Bay channel areas, and a terrigenous signature is dominant nearshore in San Pablo Bay and at the southernmost station in South Bay.

California↗

USGS1992

Bioaccumulation of hydrocarbons derived from terrestrial and anthropogenic sources in the Asian clam, Potamocorbula amurensis , in San Francisco Bay estuary

An assessment was made in Suisun Bay, California, of the distributions of hydrocarbons in estuarine bed and suspended sediments and in the recently introduced asian clam, Potamocorbula amurensis . Sediments and clams were contaminated with hydrocarbons derived from petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. Distributions of alkanes and of hopane and sterane biomarkers in sediments and clams were similar, indicating that petroleum hydrocarbons associated with sediments are bioavailable to Potamocorbula amurensis . Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments and clams were derived mainly from combustion sources. Potamocorbula amurensis is therefore a useful bioindicator of hydrocarbon contamination, and may be used as a biomonitor of hydrocarbon pollution in San Francisco Bay.

California↗

USGS1988

Organic geothermometry of petroleum from Escanaba Trough, offshore northern California

We have measured the extent of hopane and sterane isomerization and of monoaromatic-steroid-hydrocarbon aromatization in a sample of hydrothermally derived petroleum from the Escanaba Trough, a sediment-covered, volcanically active ridge axis. The results, along with kinetic parameters, predict the possible time-temperature history of the petrolum-forming process for this sample. The extent of these reactions is consistent with petroleum formation by intense heating (about 300–350°C) if the time period of this heating was as short as about 100 yr. Such a time scale is reasonable for hydrothermal-discharge events associated with ridge-crest volcanism.

California↗

USGS1987

Multiple sources of alkanes in Quaternary oceanic sediment of Antarctica

Normal alkanes ( n -C 13 n -C 36 ), isoprenoid hydrocarbons ( i -C 15 , i -C 16 , i -C 18 , i -C 19 , and i -C 20 ) triterpanes (C 27 C 32 ), and (C 27 C 29 ) are present in low concentrations offshore Antarctica in near-surface, Quaternary sediment of the Wilkes Land continental margin and of the western Ross Sea. The distributions of these hydrocarbons are interpreted relative to possible sources and processes. The hydrocarbons appear to be mixtures of primary and recycled material from marine and terrigenous sources. The n -alkanes are most abundant and are characterized by two distinct populations, one of probable marine origin and the other likely from terrigenous, vascular plant sources. Because the continent of Antarctica today is devoid of higher plants, the plant-derived hydrocarbons in these offshore sediments probably came from wind-blown material and recycled Antarctic sediment that contains land-plant remains from an earlier period of time. Isoprenoid hydrocarbons are partially recycled and mainly of marine origin; the dominance of pristane over phytane suggests oxic paleoenvironmental conditions. Both modern and ancient triterpanes and steranes are present, and the distribution of these indicates a mixture of primary and recycled bacterial, algal, and possible higher-plant materials. Although the sampled sediments were deposited during the Quaternary, they apparently contain a significant component of hydrocarbons of pre-Quaternary age.

Organic Geochemistry↗

USGS1976

Amino acids and gases in some springs and an oil field in California

Samples of water and gas were collected from six springs and two wells in the Upper Cretaceous Great Valley sequence and Franciscan Formation underlying the Coast Range of northern California and from four oil wells penetrating Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the Kettleman North Dome oil field. Comparison of the dissolved free amino acid compositions of the waters from the two locations show overlapping ranges with many more similarities than differences. The detection of nonprotein amino acids (sarcosine, β -amino n -butyric acid, and others) indicates the protein degradation is partly chemical rather than strictly biological. Other low molecular weight degradation products (methane, ethane, nonvolatile organic acids, and other organic chelating agents) were found. This may be one mechanism for the transportation of organic matter from the source rocks to the reservoir rocks of an oil deposit.

California↗

USGS1972

Metamorphic assemblages and the direction of flow of metamorphic fluids in four instances of serpentinization

Fluids related to Serpentinization are of at least three types. The first reported (Barnes and O'Neil, 1969) is a fluid of local meteoric origin, the chemical and thermodynamic properties of which are entirely controlled by olivine, orthopyroxene, brucite, and serpentine reactions. It is a Ca +2 -OH −1 type and is shown experimentally to be capable of reacting with albite to yield calcium hydroxy silicates. Rodingites may form where the Ca +2 -OH −1 type waters flow across the ultramafic contact and react with siliceous country rock. The second type of fluid has its chemical composition largely controlled before it enters the ultramafic rocks, but reactions within the ultramafic rocks fix the thermodynamic properties by reactions of orthopyroxene, olivine, calcite, brucite, and serpentine. The precipitation of brucite from this fluid clearly shows that fluid flow allows reaction products to be deposited at a distance from the point of solution. Thus, textural evidence for volume relations during Serpentinization may not be valid. The third type of fluid has its chemical properties fixed in part before the reactions with ultramafic rocks, in part by the reactions of orthopyroxene, olivine, and serpentine and in part by reactions with siliceous country rock at the contact. The reactions of the ultramafic rock and country rock with the fluid must be contemporaneous and require flow to be along the contact. This third type of fluid is grossly supersaturated with talc and tremolite, both found along the contact. The occurrence of magadiite, kenyaite, mountainite, and rhodesite along the contact is probably due to a late stage low-temperature reaction of fluids of the same thermodynamic properties as those that formed the talc and tremolite at higher temperatures. Oxygen isotope analyses of some of these minerals supports this conclusion. Rodingites form from Ca +2 -rich fluids flowing across the contact; talc and tremolite form from silica-rich fluids flowing along the contact. Isotopic analyses of the fluids indicate varied origins including unaltered local meteoric water and connate water. Complexion Spring water may be a sample of only slightly altered Jurassic or Cretaceous sea water.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗