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At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Aeromagnetic expression of the central Nagssugtoqidian Orogen, South-East Greenland

The Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian Orogen is one of the principal tectonic features related to the assembly of Nuna, extending across Greenland from east to west and forming an orogenic belt separating the North Atlantic Craton on the south from the Rae Craton on the north. In South-East Greenland, the Ammassalik Intrusive Complex (AIC) (∼1910 to 1870 Ma) occupies the central part of the orogenic belt, was formed by subduction- and magmatic arc-related processes, and has significant potential for undiscovered deposits of critical minerals. Previous interpretations of aeromagnetic data have been hindered by terrain effects, and we use a novel mix of geophysical analysis tools to develop new tectonomagmatic interpretations of the central Nagssugtoqidian Orogen in South-East Greenland. These interpretations extend into areas covered by ocean and ice. Results show that Archean rocks of the juxtaposed North Atlantic (Isertoq Terrane) and Rae (Kuummiut Terrane) Cratons are relatively weakly magnetized (with the exception of rocks of the Schweizerland Terrane) and have a NW-striking structural fabric that likely formed or was enhanced during the Nagssugtoqidian Orogeny. The AIC is structurally complex, with weakly magnetized metasedimentary rocks, and both weakly and strongly magnetized intrusions, arrayed in a NW-striking tectonic fabric. The strongly magnetized intrusions are largely concealed and distributed in a broader and more spatially complex fashion than previously known, suggesting that additional areas may be considered for mineral exploration. Strongly magnetized NW-striking dikes are imaged within the AIC, where they are spatially closely related to the strongly magnetized intrusions, and extend southward into the North Atlantic Craton (Isertoq Terrane). This spatial pattern of arc magmatism is consistent with previously developed models of SW-directed subduction that preceded collision during the Nagssugtoqidian Orogeny. The strongly magnetized Ammassalik Batholith (∼1670 Ma) and related intrusions form a cluster of plutons within ∼ 50 km of the Nagssugtoqidian suture. Their tectonomagmatic setting is unknown, although are speculatively related to delamination of a lithospheric keel formed during the Nagssugtoqidian Orogeny ∼ 200 m.y. prior. Numerous strongly magnetized NNE-striking Paleogene dikes, related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, are imaged cutting most other geologic units.

Greenland↗

Importance of coastal change variables in determining vulnerability to sea- and lake-level change

In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey began conducting scientific assessments of coastal vulnerability to potential future sea- and lake-level changes in 22 National Park Service sea- and lakeshore units. Coastal park units chosen for the assessment included a variety of geological and physical settings along the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Alaska, Caribbean, and Great Lakes shorelines. This research is motivated by the need to understand and anticipate coastal changes caused by accelerating sea-level rise, as well as lake-level changes caused by climate change, over the next century. The goal of these assessments is to provide information that can be used to make long-term (decade to century) management decisions. Here we analyze the results of coastal vulnerability assessments for several coastal national park units. Index-based assessments quantify the likelihood that physical changes may occur based on analysis of the following variables: tidal range, ice cover, wave height, coastal slope, historical shoreline change rate, geomorphology, and historical rate of relative sea- or lake-level change. This approach seeks to combine a coastal system's susceptibility to change with its natural ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, and it provides a measure of the system's potential vulnerability to the effects of sea- or lake-level change. Assessments for 22 park units are combined to evaluate relationships among the variables used to derive the index. Results indicate that Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico parks have the highest vulnerability rankings relative to other park regions. A principal component analysis reveals that 99% of the index variability can be explained by four variables: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, water-level change rate, and mean significant wave height. Tidal range, ice cover, and historical shoreline change are not as important when the index is evaluated at large spatial scales (thousands of kilometers). ?? 2010 Coastal Education and Research Foundation.

Journal of Coastal Research↗

Shore zone land use and land cover: Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site

Anderson's 1972 United States Geological Survey classification in modified form was applied to the barrier-island coastline within the CARETS region. High-altitude, color-infrared photography of December, 1972, and January, 1973, served as the primary data base in this study. The CARETS shore zone studied was divided into six distinct geographical regions; area percentages for each class in the modified Anderson classification are presented. Similarities and differences between regions are discussed within the framework of man's modification of these landscapes. The results of this study are presented as a series of 19 maps of land-use categories. Recommendations are made for a remote-sensing system for monitoring the CARETS shore zone within the context of the dynamics of the landscapes studied.

Natural Resources Report↗

The Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) network of the U.S. Geological Survey—Past and future implementation of storm-response monitoring, data collection, and data delivery

After Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the northeastern Atlantic coast of the United States on October 29, 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) carried out scientific investigations to assist with protecting coastal communities and resources from future flooding. The work included development and implementation of the Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) network consisting of more than 900 monitoring stations. The SWaTH network was designed to greatly improve the collection and timely dissemination of information related to storm surge and coastal flooding. The network provides a significant enhancement to USGS data-collection capabilities in the region impacted by Hurricane Sandy and represents a new strategy for observing and monitoring coastal storms, which should result in improved understanding, prediction, and warning of storm-surge impacts and lead to more resilient coastal communities. As innovative as it is, SWaTH evolved from previous USGS efforts to collect storm-surge data needed by others to improve storm-surge modeling, warning, and mitigation. This report discusses the development and implementation of the SWaTH network, and some of the regional stories associated with the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, as well as some previous events that informed the SWaTH development effort. Additional discussions on the mechanics of inundation and how the USGS is working with partners to help protect coastal communities from future storm impacts are also included.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachuse↗

Data for a regional approach to the development of an effects-based nutrient criterion for wadable streams

States are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish nutrient criteria (concentrations of nutrients above which water quality is deteriorated) as part of their water-quality regulations. A study of wadable streams in the Mid-Atlantic Region was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Department of the Environment, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to help define current concentrations of nutrients in streams with the goal of associating different nutrient-concentration levels with their effects on water quality. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, diel concentrations of dissolved oxygen, nutrient concentrations, concentrations of chlorophyll a in attached algae, and algal-community structure were measured at 46 stream sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Data from this work can be used by individual state agencies to define nutrient criteria. Quality-control measures for the study included submitting blank samples, duplicate samples, and reference samples for analysis of nutrients, total organic carbon, chlorophyll a, and algal biomass. Duplicate and split samples were submitted for periphyton identifications. Three periphyton split samples were sent to an independent lab for a check on periphyton identifications. Neither total organic carbon nor nutrients were detected in blank samples. Concentrations of nutrients and total organic carbon were similar for most duplicate sample pairs, with the exception of a duplicate pair from Western Run. Concentrations of ammonia plus organic nitrogen for this duplicate pair differed by as much as 34 percent. Total organic carbon for the duplicate pair from Western Run differed by 102 percent. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory performance on the only valid reference sample submitted was excellent; the relative percent difference values were no larger than 5 percent for any constituent analyzed. For periphyton identifications, duplicate samples had Jaccard Coefficient of Community values slightly greater than 0.5. This indicates the periphyton sampling protocol used provided a sample that was only moderately reproducible. Jaccard Coefficients for three periphyton samples split between two independent labs were 0.2, 0.11, and 0.08. These very low values suggest a poor concurrence on species identifications performed by the two labs. As a result of these quality-control samples, the slides prepared for diatom identifications were sent to the Academy of Natural Sciences for re-identification. Caution is urged when interpreting periphyton-community information from this study. This report and the raw data from the study are available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds257

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia↗

USGS east-coast sediment analysis: Procedures, database, and GIS data

Preface Sediments off the eastern United States vary markedly in texture - the size, shape, and arrangement of their grains. For descriptive purposes, however, it is typically most useful to classify these sediments according to their grain-size distributions. Starting in 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) began a joint program to study the marine geology of the continental margin off the Atlantic coast of the United States. As part of this program and numerous subsequent projects, thousands of sediment samples were collected and analyzed for grain size. This report describes the field methods used to collect marine sediment sample, the laboratory methods used to determine and characterize grain-size distributions, and presents these data in several formats that can be readily employed by interested parties. By entering data into usSEABED, a large data compilation and mining program (Reid and others, 2005), this study also responds to an increasing demand for regional information on sea-floor sedimentary character with applications to aggregate resources suitable for beach nourishment and coastal restoration, benthic habitat mapping, and sediment transport studies. To this end, the report is divided into three sections: the first discusses field and laboratory procedures, the second contains the grain-size data, and the third provides a GIS data catalog that lists the available data layers and FGDC-compliant metadata.

Open-File Report↗

Hydrogeologic framework of the Virginia coastal plain

This report defines the hydrogeologic framework of the Virginia Coastal Plain and is a product of a comprehensive regional study to define the geology, hydrology, and geochemistry of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system extending from North Carolina to Long Island, New York. The Virginia Coastal Plain consists of an eastward-thickening wedge of generally unconsolidated, interbedded sands and clays, ranging in age from Early Cretaceous to Holocene. These sediments range in thickness from more than 6,000 feet beneath the northeastern part of the Eastern Shore Peninsula to nearly 0 feet along the Fall Line. Eight confined aquifers, eight confining units, and an uppermost water table aquifer are delineated as the hydrogeologic framework of the Coastal Plain sediments in Virginia. The nine regional aquifers, from oldest to youngest, are lower, middle, and upper Potomac, Brightseat, Aquia, Chickahominy-Piney Point, St. Marys-Choptank, Yorktown-Eastover, and Columbia. The Brightseat is a newly identified and correlated aquifer of early Paleoceneage. This study is one of other, similar studies of the Coastal Plain areas in North Carolina, Maryland-Delaware, New Jersey, and Long Island, New York. These combined studies provide a system of hydrogeologic units that can be identified and correlated throughout the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Data for this study were collected and analyzed from October 1979 to May 1983. The nine aquifers and eight confining units are identified and delineated by use of geophysical logs, drillers' information, and stratigraphic and paleontologic data. By correlating geophysical logs with hydrologic, stratigraphic, and paleontologic data throughout the Coastal Plain, a comprehensive multilayered framework of aquifers and confining units, each with distinct lithologic properties, was developed. Cross sections show the stratigraphic relationships of aquifers and confining units in the hydrogeologic framework of the Virginia Coastal Plain. Maps show confining-unit thicknesses and altitudes of aquifer tops, provide the basis for assigning aquifers to screened intervals of observation and production wells, and are used for the development of a comprehensive observation-well network in the Virginia Coastal Plain.

Virginia↗

Textural analysis of marine sediments at the USGS Woods Hole Science Center; methodology and data on DVD

Marine sediments off the eastern United States vary markedly in texture (i.e., the size, shape, composition, and arrangement of their grains) due to a complex geologic history. For descriptive purposes, however, it is typically most useful to classify these sediments according to their grain-size distributions. In 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey began a program to study the marine geology of the continental margin off the Atlantic coast of the United States. As part of this program and numerous subsequent projects, thousands of sediment grab samples and cores were collected and analyzed for grain size at the Woods Hole Science Center. USGS Open-File Report 2005-1001 (Poppe et al., 2005), available on DVD and online, describes the field methods used to collect marine sediment samples as well as the laboratory methods used to determine and characterize grain-size distributions, and presents these data in several formats that can be readily employed by interested parties. The report is divided into three sections. The first section discusses procedures and contains pictures of the equipment, analytical flow diagrams, video clips with voice commentary, classification schemes, useful forms and compiled and uncompiled versions of the data-acquisition and data-processing software with documentation. The second section contains the grain-size data for more than 23,000 analyses in two “flat-file” formats, a data dictionary, and color-coded browse maps. The third section provides a GIS data catalog of the available point, interpretive, and baseline data layers, with FGDC-compliant metadata to help users visualize the textural information in a geographic context.

Conference Paper↗

The Eocene-Oligocene sedimentary record in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Implications for climate and sea-level changes on the western Atlantic margin

A multidisciplinary investigation of the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eyreville core from the Chesapeake Bay impact basin was conducted in order to document environmental changes and sequence stratigraphic setting. Planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy indicate that the Eyreville core includes an expanded upper Eocene (Biozones E15 to E16 and NP19/20 to NP21, respectively) and a condensed Oligocene-Miocene (NP24-NN1) sedimentary sequence. The Eocene-Oligocene contact corresponds to a =3-Ma-long hiatus. Eocene- Oligocene sedimentation is dominated by great diversity and varying amounts of detrital and authigenic minerals. Four sedimentary intervals are identified by lithology and mineral content: (1) A 30-m-thick, smectite- and illite-rich interval directly overlies the Exmore Formation, suggesting long-term reworking of impact debris within the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. (2) Subsequently, an increase in kaolinite content suggests erosion from soils developed during late Eocene warm and humid climate in agreement with data derived from other Atlantic sites. However, the kaolinite increase may also be explained by change to a predominant sediment input from outside the Chesapeake Bay impact structure caused by progradation of more proximal facies belts during the highstand systems tract of the late Eocene sequence E10.Spectral analysis based on gamma-ray and magnetic susceptibility logs suggests infl uence of 1.2 Ma low-amplitude oscillation of the obliquity period during the late Eocene. (3) During the latest Eocene (Biozones NP21 and E16), several lithological contacts (clay to clayey silt) occur concomitant with a prominent change in the mineralogical composition with illite as a major component: This lithological change starts close to the Biozone NP19/20-NP21 boundary and may correspond to sequence boundary E10-E11 as observed in other northwest Atlantic margin sections. It could result from a shift to more distal depositional environments and condensed sedimentation during maximum fl ooding, rather than refl ecting a climatic change in the hinterland. The distinct 1% increase of the oxygen isotopes may correspond to the short-term latest Eocene "precursor isotope event." (4) The abrupt increase of sediment grainsize, carbonate content, and abundance of authigenic minerals (glauconite) across the major unconformity that separates Eocene from Oligocene sediments in the Eyreville core refl ects deposition in shallower settings associated with erosion, winnowing, and reworking. Sediments within the central crater were affected by the rapid eustatic sea-level changes associated with the greenhouse-icehouse transition, as well as by an abrupt major uplift event and possibly enhanced current activity on the northwestern Atlantic margin. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Chesapeake Bay↗

Map of mean annual runoff for the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic United States, water years 1951-80

A map of mean annual runoff for States within the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic United States was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Direct/Delayed Response Project being conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This map shows mean annual runoff during water years 1951-80. Mean annual runoff from the northeastern region during 1951-80 ranged from less than 12 to greater than 40 inches. Runoff from the southeastern region runoff ranged from less than 12 to greater than 55 inches. In the mid-Atlantic region ranged from less than 10 to greater than 40 inches. Error analysis using 93 gaging stations not used for preparing the runoff map showed that the runoff map could be used to predict runoff with an average error of less than 10%. Errors in runoff estimation averaged about 12% if the locations of the gaging stations were used to estimate runoff instead of computing an area-weighted average over the basin. If the locations of the gaging stations were used to estimate runoff, there also was a significant negative bias of the errors that did not occur if the centroid or a weighted average runoff of the drainage basin were used. The runoff map is expected to be more accurate in areas that have a relatively high concentration of gaging stations and little topographic variability, such as part of the Northeast. Based on these criteria, the least reliably mapped areas would be in the Smokey Mountains along the North Carolina- Tennessee border.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

Using a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States

Sea-level rise is an ongoing phenomenon that is expected to continue and is projected to have a wide range of effects on coastal environments and infrastructure during the 21st century and beyond. Consequently, there is a need to assemble relevant datasets and to develop modeling or other analytical approaches to evaluate the likelihood of particular sea-level rise impacts, such as coastal erosion, and to inform coastal management decisions with this information. This report builds on previous work that compiled oceanographic and geomorphic data as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) for the U.S. Atlantic coast, and developed a Bayesian Network to predict shoreline-change rates based on sea-level rise plus variables that describe the hydrodynamic and geologic setting. This report extends the previous analysis to include the Gulf and Pacific coasts of the continental United States and Alaska and Hawaii, which required using methods applied to the USGS CVI dataset to extract data for these regions. The Bayesian Network converts inputs that include observations of local rates of relative sea-level change, mean wave height, mean tide range, a geomorphic classification, coastal slope, and observed shoreline-change rates to calculate the probability of the shoreline-erosion rate exceeding a threshold level of 1 meter per year for the coasts of the United States. The calculated probabilities were compared to the historical observations of shoreline change to evaluate the hindcast success rate of the most likely probability of shoreline change. Highest accuracy was determined for the coast of Hawaii (98 percent success rate) and lowest accuracy was determined for the Gulf of Mexico (34 percent success rate). The minimum success rate rose to nearly 80 percent (Atlantic and Gulf coasts) when success included shoreline-change outcomes that were adjacent to the most likely outcome. Additionally, the probabilistic approach determines the confidence in calculated outcomes as the probability of the most likely outcome. The confidence was highest along the Pacific coast and it was lowest along the Alaskan coast.

Open-File Report↗

Evaluation of the geologic and hydrologic factors related to the waste-storage potential of Mesozoic aquifers in the southern part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, South Carolina and Georgia

The report describes the subsurface distribution of rocks of Cretaceous to Late Jurassic( ) age in the Atlantic Coastal Plain , South Carolina, and Georgia, and examines their potential for deep-well waste storage into th part of the regional sediment mass which lies below the deepest zones containing usable ground waters. For the study, usable ground water is considered to be that which contains less than 10,000 mg/L dissolved solids. Using a group of geohydrologic parameters derived from or combining 21 categories of basic data, established from study and interpretation of well cuttings and geophysical logs, a series of 32 regional maps and 8 stratigraphic cross sections was constructed. For each of the eight geologic units delineated in the subsurface, the maps illustrate the distribution of waste-storage potential in terms of areal extent, depth below land surface, sand-shale geometry, and the approximate sodium chloride concentration of a unit 's nonusable ground water. In areas where the geologic units contain nonusable ground water, the depth below land surface and the thickness of potential waste-storage reservoir and reservoir-seal combinations are variable. The range in variability appears to be broad enough to meet the need for a wide choice among the geologic requirements that would normally be considered in selecting specific waste-storage sites for detailed examination. (Woodard-USGS)

Georgia, South Carolina↗

Developing landscape-indicator models for pesticides and nutrients in streams of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

Collaborative research between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Landscape Ecology Branch, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began in 1999 to relate land use, geology, and other geographic variables to water quality and aquatic ecology in small streams of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. Results of the study will include landscape-indicator models (see inset) for stream ecological condition and for concentrations of pesticides and nutrients in ground water discharging to small streams. A base network of 174 small (typically first-order) streams was designed across a gradient of hydrogeologic and land-use settings. Additional sites were selected to represent natural watershed conditions and to relate results from the base network to downstream conditions and seasonal hydrologic variability. Benthic-community and habitat assessments were conducted at each stream; water samples from all streams were analyzed for selected pesticides, pesticide metabolites, nutrients, and major ions.

Fact Sheet↗

Federal interagency nature‐like fishway passage design guidelines for Atlantic coast diadromous fishes

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have collaborated to develop passage design guidance for use by engineers and other restoration practitioners considering and designing nature‐like fishways (NLFs). The primary purpose of these guidelines is to provide a summary of existing fish swimming and leaping performance data and the best available scientific information on safe, timely and effective passage for 14 diadromous fish species using Atlantic Coast rivers and streams. These guidelines apply to passage sites where complete barrier removal is not possible. This technical memorandum presents seven key physical design parameters based on the biometrics and swimming mode and performance of each target fishes for application in the design of NLFs addressing passage of a species or an assemblage of these species. The passage parameters include six dimensional guidelines recommended for minimum weir opening width and depth, minimum pool length, width and depth, and maximum channel slope, along with a maximum flow velocity guideline for each species. While these guidelines are targeted for the design of step‐pool NLFs, the information may also have application in the design of other NLF types being considered at passage restoration sites and grade control necessary for infrastructure protection upstream of some dam removals, and in considering passage performance at sites such as natural bedrock features.

Atlantic Ocean↗

Geologic conditions in the Baltimore Canyon Trough area: A summary of U.S.G.S. second-year environment studies

Geologic studies of the outer Continental Shelf off the Middle Atlantic States (Baltimore Canyon Trough Area) have been carried out for two years to assess conditions and hazards which might cause or distribute oil spills and other potential pollution associated with petroleum exploration and development. These detailed investigations were requested and funded by the Bureau of Land Management to carry out its responsibility under the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (67 Stat 462) of 1953 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Because of the energy crisis, these studies had to be mounted quickly so that a substantial body of data would be available for making decisions concerning environmental constraints on potential lease tracts. Indeed, pertinent data were available prior to Lease Sale #40 in the Middle Atlantic in August 1976. This was in part due to the alacrity of BLM's Environmental Division management, and in part due to the depth of USGS' experience in the area. For example, geophysical data and bottom samples had been collected since 1962 as part of the Geological Survey's role to "conduct geological and geophysical exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf" (43 U.S.C. 1340). At the advent of the energy crisis, the Atlantic-Gulf Coast Branch focused in-house resources and environmental assessment efforts on the Middle Atlantic OCS area. Thus, considerable information was available to guide the needed detailed studies.

Baltimore Canyon Trough area↗

Landslide monitoring in the Atlantic Highlands area, New Jersey

Shallow and deep-seated landslides have occurred episodically on the steep coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands area (Boroughs of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands) in New Jersey. The oldest documented deep-seated landslide occurred in April 1782 and significantly changed the morphology of the bluff. However, recent landslides have been mostly shallow in nature and have occurred during large storms with exceptionally heavy rainfall. These shallow landslides have resulted in considerable damage to residential property and local infrastructure and threatened human safety. The recent shallow landslides in the area (locations modified from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) consist primarily of slumps and flows of earth and debris within areas of historical landslides or on slopes modified by human activities. Such landslides are typically triggered by increases in shallow soil moisture and pore-water pressure caused by sustained and intense rainfall associated with spring nor’easters and late summer–fall tropical cyclones. However, the critical relation between rainfall, soil-moisture conditions, and landslide movement has not been fully defined. The U.S. Geological Survey is currently monitoring hillslopes within the Atlantic Highlands area to better understand the hydrologic and meteorological conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation.

New Jersey↗