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S. E. Box

Publications and source records attributed to S. E. Box.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Late Cretaceous inoceramid bivalves of the Kuskokwim Basin, southwestern Alaska, and their implications for basin evolution

Upper Cretaceous rocks of the Kuskokwim Group are exposed in a large region of southwestern Alaska and are mainly composed of deformed turbidite deposits that contain few fossils other than inoceramid bivalves. This paper documents the taxonomy of the inoceramids in the Kuskokwim Group, develops an inoceramid biostratigraphy based on known ranges in other regions, and analyzes biogeographic patterns, paleoecology, and depositional history of the Kuskokwim Group. Most of the inoceramid bivalves present in the Kuskokwim Group are of Cenomanian and Turonian age, and an assemblage of species typical of late Turonian age rocks is particularly well developed. Only two localities appear to be as young as Santonian age. The following 16 species or subspecies are discussed and illustrated in detail: Birostrina tamurai Matsumoto and Noda, Inoceramus virgatus Schlüter, I. pennatulus Pergament, I. pictus minus Matsumoto, I. cf. I. yabei Nagao and Matsumoto, I. ? sp. aff. I. costatus Nagao and Matsumoto, I. hobetsensis Nagao and Matsumoto, I. longealatus Tröger, I. frechi Flegel, I. waltersdorfensis waltersdorfensis Andert, I. cf. I. waltersdorfensis hannovrensis Heinz, I. kuskokwimensis n. sp., Mytiloides cf. M. opalensis (Böse), M. teraokai (Matsumoto and Noda), M. cf. M. incertus (Jimbo), and Sphenoceramus naumanni (Yokoyama). In addition, a specimen with affinities to Mytiloides striatoconcentricus carpathicus (Simionescu) and a specimen that may belong to the I. (Cremnoceramus?) rotundatus–I. ( C .) erectus lineage are illustrated. Most of the taxa present in the Kuskokwim region are found in other regions of the North Pacific, particularly Japan and eastern Siberia, or are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Only one species, I. kuskokwimensis n. sp., is new and may be endemic. North Pacific taxa are predominant in the Kuskokwim region, but intervals near the Cenomanian–Turonian Stage boundary and in the upper Turonian contain taxa characteristic of Europe and the Western Interior basin of North America; some of these taxa have not been recorded previously in the North Pacific region. Turonian heteromorph ammonite assemblages associated with inoceramids in the finer grained facies of the Kuskokwim region are similar to those found in coeval rocks of Japan and Germany. The depositional area of the Kuskokwim Group can be broken into two northeast-trending subbasins, the Kuskokwim River subbasin to the northwest and the Mulchatna River subbasin to the southeast, connected by the Nushagak Hills corridor. Within the Kuskokwim River subbasin, deposition apparently started earlier in the north (middle Cenomanian) than in the south (late Cenomanian to early Turonian), and prograding deltaic sedimentation along the western margin also appears to have started earlier in the north. No marine fossils younger than latest Turonian to earliest Coniacian are known from the Kuskokwim River subbasin. The youngest fossils identified are Santonian in age and are from deep-water deposits in the Nushagak Hills corridor. Few fossils are known from the Mulchatna River subbasin and age control is limited.

Journal of Paleontology↗
USGS2012

Tectonic setting of the Yukon-Koyukuk basin and its borderlands, western Alaska

The Yukon-Koyukuk basin of western Alaska is composed of an arcuate belt of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous subduction-related volcanic and plutonic rocks (Koyukuk terrane) flanked by deep subbasins filled with mid-Cretaceous terrigenous sedimentary rocks. The basin is bordered on three sides by metamorphosed Proterozoic and Paleozoic continental rocks (Seward, Arctic Alaska, and Ruby terranes) and is separated from the metamorphic borderlands by a narrow, highly tectonized belt of oceanic crust and mantle rocks (composite Angayucham-Tozitna terrane). The oceanic and mantle rocks, which dip inward beneath the basin and are thrust outward onto the borderlands, are divided into three separate thrust panels: (1) a structurally lowest panel (Slate Creek) composed of phyllite and metagraywacke of probable Devonian age, (2) a middle panel (Narvak) composed of imbricated basalt, chert, and gabbro of Devonian to Early Jurassic age, and (3) a structurally highest panel (Kanuti) composed of gabbro and peridotite of probable Middle and Late Jurassic age. The three thrust panels appear to represent a reversely stacked sequence that progresses from continental slope deposits in the lower panel to cumulus and mantle peridotites in the upper. Metamorphic mineral K-Ar ages from garnet amphibolite on the sole of the upper panel suggest that the upper panel was emplaced on the middle panel in the Middle to Late Jurassic. Subsequent accretion of all three panels to the continental rocks of the borderlands occurred in the latest Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, synchronous with arc volcanism within the basin. Arc volcanism waned and the accretionary phase ended in the middle of Early Cretaceous time. Uplift and erosion of the metamorphic borderlands and the obducted oceanic rocks began in late Early Cretaceous and was accompanied by the rapid filling of two flanking subbasins with turbiditic sediments. In the latest Early Cretaceous and early Late Cretaceous, shallow marine and nonmarine conglomerates were deposited around the margins of the basin, and a prograding delta was built out from the southeast margin of the basin across the turbiditic subbasins and the remnant volcanic arc. In the Late Cretaceous, western Alaska was subjected to strong east-west compression which severely deformed both the Yukon-Koyukuk basin and the borderlands. Several widespread magmatic episodes in the mid- and Late Cretaceous and in early Tertiary transgress the basin boundaries and stitch together the accreted arc and oceanic terranes and the continental borderlands.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Igneous history of the Koyukuk terrane, western Alaska: Constraints on the origin, evolution, and ultimate collision of an accreted island arc terrane

The Koyukuk terrane of western Alaska consists of volcanic, volcaniclastic, and plutonic rocks which range from Late Paleozoic to Early Cretaceous in age. The terrane crops out in a U-shaped belt which is roughly paralleled by outer belts of ultramafic rocks, oceanic plate basalts and cherts, and retrograded blueschist facies rocks of continental protolith. These rocks have been interpreted as components of a volcanic arc terrane that collided with the North American continental margin in Early Cretaceous time. The Koyukuk terrane consists of four time-stratigraphic units: (1) pre-Middle Jurassic basalts, (2) Middle and Late Jurassic granitic rocks, (3) lower Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks, and (4) upper Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Limited chemical data from the basalts of unit 1 indicate that they were erupted in a nonarc tectonic environment, possibly in an oceanic island or back arc setting. Units 2, 3, and 4 have the characteristics of subduction-related volcanic rocks (i.e., depleted Nb and Ta and enriched alkaline elements, relative to the light rare earth elements). Unit 3 contains tholeiitic, calc-alkaline, and alkaline rocks with chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns that range from flat (La N /Yb N = 1) to highly light rare earth element enriched (La N /Yb N > 15). The highly alkaline or shoshonitic lavas were erupted toward the end of unit 3 time (Valanginian) during the final stages of arc-continent collision. These alkaline lavas could have been derived by very small degrees of partial melting of a similar source to that of the earlier arc lavas. Unit 4 lavas are also alkaline or shoshonitic, but their incompatible element composition indicates that they were derived from a different source than that of the earlier arc lavas. These late alkaline lavas are chemically similar to crosscutting mid-Cretaceous plutons whose isotopic compositions (Arth et al., this issue ( a )) suggest derivation by partial melting of distinctly older subcontinental lithosphere. We speculate that the parental magmas of unit 4 lavas may also have been derived by partial melting of this subcontinental mantle which was underthrust beneath the Koyukuk arc terrane during the final stage of arc-continent collision.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2011

Fossil locations and data for the Taylor Mountains, and parts of the Bethel, Goodnews, and Dillingham quadrangles, southwestern Alaska

Information about fossils collected by U.S. Geological Survey, State of Alaska, academic, and industry geologists that have been reported in literature or archived in reports from the former U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Paleontology and Stratigraphy are compiled on a plate and table in this report to provide comprehensive paleontologic age data for the Taylor Mountains quadrangle area in southwestern Alaska. The reports used to compile the table in this report were submitted by recognized paleontologic experts. Some of the information is derived from reports that date back almost 100 years. Many of the data are available in more detail in the Alaska Paleontological Database (http://www.alaskafossil.org/). The 287 entries in this table are shown on the accompanying plate, on which symbols representing the entries are color-coded by geologic age. This report represents the most comprehensive and most recently updated compilation of paleontologic data for this area.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Crustal controls on magmatic-hydrothermal systems: A geophysical comparison of White River, Washington, with Goldfield, Nevada

The White River altered area, Washington, and the Goldfield mining district, Nevada, are nearly contemporaneous Tertiary (ca. 20 Ma) calc-alkaline igneous centers with large exposures of shallow (<1 km depth) magmatic-hydrothermal, acid-sulfate alteration. Goldfield is the largest known high-sulfidation gold deposit in North America. At White River, silica is the only commodity exploited to date, but, based on its similarities with Goldfield, White River may have potential for concealed precious and/or base metal deposits at shallow depth. Both areas are products of the ancestral Cascade arc. Goldfield lies within the Great Basin physiographic province in an area of middle Miocene and younger Basin and Range and Walker Lane faulting, whereas White River is largely unaffected by young faults. However, west-northwest–striking magnetic anomalies at White River do correspond with mapped faults synchronous with magmatism, and other linear anomalies may reflect contemporaneous concealed faults. The White River altered area lies immediately south of the west-northwest–striking White River fault zone and north of a postulated fault with similar orientation. Structural data from the White River altered area indicate that alteration developed synchronously with an anomalous stress field conducive to left-lateral, strike-slip displacement on west-northwest–striking faults. Thus, the White River alteration may have developed in a transient transtensional region between the two strike-slip faults, analogous to models proposed for Goldfield and other mineral deposits in transverse deformational zones. Gravity and magnetic anomalies provide evidence for a pluton beneath the White River altered area that may have provided heat and fluids to overlying volcanic rocks. East– to east-northeast–striking extensional faults and/or fracture zones in the step-over region, also expressed in magnetic anomalies, may have tapped this intrusion and provided vertical and lateral transport of fluids to now silicified areas. By analogy to Goldfield, geophysical anomalies at the White River altered area may serve as proxies for geologic mapping in identifying faults, fractures, and intrusions relevant to hydrothermal alteration and ore formation in areas of poor exposure.

Nevada, Washington↗
USGS2003

Modeling precipitation and sorption of elements during mixing of river water and porewater in the Coeur d'Alene River basin

Reddish brown flocs form along the edge of the Coeur d'Alene River when porewater drains into river water during the annual lowering of water level in the basin. The precipitates are efficient scavengers of dissolved elements and have characteristics that may make metals associated with them bioavailable. This work characterizes the geochemistry of the porewater and models the formation and composition of the flocs. Porewater is slightly acidic, has suboxic to anoxic characteristics, tends to have higher alkalinity, and contains elevated concentrations of many constituents relative to river water. Laboratory mixing experiments involving porewater and river water were done to produce the precipitates. Thermodynamic predictions using PHREEQC indicate that predicted amounts of ferrihydrite and gibbsite agree with removal of Fe and Al. Predictions of element removal by adsorption onto ferrihydrite are consistent with observed removal using a combination of surface complexation constants for the generalized two-layer model (As and Se), alternative surface constants derived from experiments at high sorbate-to-sorbent ratios (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn), and adjusted surface constants to fit experimental data (Cr, Mo, and Sb). This new set of surface complexation constants needs further testing in other contaminated systems.

Idaho↗
USGS2000

A study of porewater in water saturated sediments of levee banks and marshes in the lower Coeur d'Alene River valley, Idaho: Sampling, analytical methods, and results

This report contains information about the composition of interstitial porewater and solids from water saturated, metal contaminated levee banks at the river's edge and marshes in the lower Coeur d'Alene River valley. Data include pH, alkalinity, and concentrations of sulfate and metals (arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], copper [Cu], iron [Fe], mercury [Hg], manganese [Mn], lead [Pb], antimony [Sb], and zinc [Zn]) in porewater and sulfur (S), carbon (C), and metal contents of associated solids. The results indicate that the pH of the porewater in all of the sediments is less than the pH of the Coeur d'Alene River. Dissolved concentrations of Mn and Fe are elevated in all of the porewater and levels of sulfate in porewater are below detection limits in almost all marsh sediments and in levee banks at the 2 sites furthest downstream. These observations suggest that levee bank and marsh sediments are suboxic or anoxic below the surface. Concentrations of dissolved Cd are greater in the Coeur d'Alene River than in porewater, while concentrations of As are greater in the porewater relative to the Coeur d'Alene River. Some concentrations of Cu, Pb, Sb, and Zn in porewater are lower, while others are higher, than dissolved concentrations in the Coeur d'Alene River. In addition, leaching experiments (i.e., Standard Elutriate Tests [SET]) were done in the laboratory to evaluate potential water quality impacts resulting from the addition of oxygen and water to these sediments. The intent of the experiments was to simulate how metal concentrations in water may be affected during dredging of contaminated sediments in the lower Coeur d'Alene River valley. The results indicate that there are releases of protons, sulfate, As, Mn, Pb, Sb, and Zn from the majority of levee bank and marsh sediments during leaching by Coeur d'Alene River water. At a water to sediment ratio of 4 to 1, most values of pH and dissolved concentrations of Cd, Fe, Pb, and Zn in the leaching solutions exceed the freshwater aquatic life standards for water of a hardness of 100 mg CaCOa/L. This work was funded by the U.S. EPA and was done to support their Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study of the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River basins.

Idaho↗
USGS1999

Assessing the influence of reacting pyrite and carbonate minerals on the geochemistry of drainage in the Coeur d'Alene mining district

The relative abundance of minerals that react to generate or consume acid in mineralized areas is critical in determining the quality of water draining from such areas. This work examines the fundamental reactions that influence the pH and composition of drainage from mine adits and tailings piles. We construct triangle diagrams that predict stoichiometric relationships between concentrations of dissolved SO4 dissolved Ca and Mg, and either alkalinity or acidity by considering reactions involving the oxidation of pyrite, dissolution of carbonate minerals, and precipitation of iron oxide and iron hydroxysulfate minerals. Drainage data from the Coeur d'Alene mining district are used to test our stoichiometric approach. Comparisons between theoretical predictions and drainage data indicate that the range of pH values in the mining district is due to reacting pyrite to carbonate mineral ratios that range from near 0/1 to 1/1. Calcite and ankerite are the dominant carbonate minerals that buffer the acid produced during pyrite oxidation and ferrihydrite or schwertmannite precipitation.The relative abundance of minerals that react to generate or consume acid in mineralized areas is critical in determining the quality of water draining from such areas. This work examines the fundamental reactions that influence the pH and composition of drainage from mine adits and tailings piles. We construct triangle diagrams that predict stoichiometric relationships between concentrations of dissolved SO4, dissolved Ca and Mg, and either alkalinity or acidity by considering reactions involving the oxidation of pyrite, dissolution of carbonate minerals, and precipitation of iron oxide and iron hydroxysulfate minerals. Drainage data from the Coeur d'Alene mining district are used to test our stoichiometric approach. Comparisons between theoretical predictions and drainage data indicate that the range of pH values in the mining district is due to reacting pyrite to carbonate mineral ratios that range from near 0/1 to 1/1. Calcite and ankerite are the dominant carbonate minerals that buffer the acid produced during pyrite oxidation and ferrihydrite or schwertmannite precipitation.

Idaho↗
USGS1998

Drainage from adits and tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho; sampling, analytical methods and results

This report contains information about collecting, handling, and analyzing waters draining from adits and seeping from beneath tailings piles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district during August 1996, November 1996, and June 1997. Data include temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, flow, and total acid soluble and dissolved (<0.45 \im) major and trace ion concentrations for 11 adits and 5 tailings deposits. Interpretations of these data will be discussed in other publications.

Idaho↗