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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

Heat flow near Charleston, South Carolina

As part of a study of the geology and geophysics of the Charleston, South Carolina, area, thermal conductivity, thermal gradient, and heat flow were determined in a 742 meter, continuously cored, test hole. The hole is located 41 km west-northwest of Charleston near Clubhouse Corners, Figure 1, directly over a gravity and magnetic high and the possible hypocenter of the 1889 Charleston earthquake. Drilling began January 13, 1975, and the hole penetrated 750 meters of Cenozoic and Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks finally bottoming in 42 meters of amygdaloidal basalts. Core recovery was 70% in sedimentary formations and 100% in the basalts. Detailed systematic studies of the core and the area surrounding the borehole were presented at the Symposium: Geology and Geophysics of Charleston, South Carolina, Area, held at the annual meeting of the Northeastern and Southeastern sections of the Geological Society of America during the week of March 25-27, 1976. Results from the thermal study are summarized in this report.

South Carolina↗

Bedrock and structural geologic maps of eastern Candor Sulci, western Ceti Mensa, and southeastern Ceti Mensa, Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris region of Mars

This map product contains a set of three 1:18,000-scale maps showing the geology and structure of study areas in the western Candor Chasma region of Valles Marineris, Mars. These maps are part of an informal series of large-scale maps and map-based topical studies aimed at refining current understanding of the geologic history of western Candor Chasma. The map bases consist of digital elevation models and orthorectified images derived from High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) data. These maps are accompanied by geologic cross sections, colorized elevation maps, and cutouts of HiRISE images showing key superposition relations. Also included in this product is a Correlation of Map Units that integrates units across all three map areas, as well as an integrated Description of Map Units and an integrated Explanation of Map Symbols. The maps were assembled using ArcGIS software produced by Environmental Systems Research Institute (http://www.esri.com). The ArcGIS projects and databases associated with each map are included online as supplemental data.

Scientific Investigations Map↗

Preliminary peak stage and streamflow data at selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgages for flooding in the central and southeastern United States during December 2015 and January 2016

Flooding occurred in the central and southeastern United States during December 2015 and January 2016. The flooding was the result of more than 20 inches of rain falling in a 19 day period from December 12 to December 31, 2015. U.S. Geological Survey streamgages recorded 23 peaks of record during the subsequent flooding, with a total of 172 streamgages recording peaks that ranked in the top 5 all time for the period of record.

Open-File Report↗

New models for Paleoproterozoic orogenesis in the Cheyenne belt region: Evidence from the geology and U-Pb geochronology of the Big Creek Gneiss, southeastern Wyoming

The disputed age of the deep crust of the Colorado Province is central to hypotheses for Paleoproterozoic crustal growth in the region. We studied the high-grade Big Creek Gneiss, southeastern Wyoming, as a potential exposure of pre-1780 Ma basement rocks. New geologic mapping and U-Pb geochronological data indicate that the Big Creek Gneiss exposes a deeper, but coeval, level of the Green Mountain arc relative to the predominantly supracrustal section to the west. The Big Creek Gneiss is composed of: supracrustal rocks; a ca. 1780 Ma Green Mountain arc-correlative, bimodal intrusive suite; a ca. 1763 Ma extensional(?) bimodal intrusive suite; and widespread ca. 1630 Ma pegmatitic leucogranite. The mafic member of the younger bimodal suite is documented here for the first time. U-Pb zircon ages from migmatite leucosomes indicate penetrative deformation of the Big Creek Gneiss at ca. 1750 Ma. We find that the postarc intrusive suite is mantle-involved, implying a second period of crustal growth. Shortening postdates arc magmatism by ~20 m.y., implying that termination of arc magmatism and accretion were separate events. Finally, criteria previously used to constrain the polarity of subduction for the Green Mountain arc are not reliable. We propose two competing models: (1) southward-dipping Green Mountain arc subduction (present coordinates), with slab breakoff-related magmatism following arc accretion; or (2) northward-dipping subduction, with extensional postarc magmatism. In both models, high-temperature deformation coincides with accretion along the Cheyenne belt, and extensional magmatism is an important component of crustal growth. We prefer the northward-dipping subduction model because it can be better integrated with regional tectonic events and published isotopic compositions of the igneous rocks. ?? 2010 Geological Society of America.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

Saline aquifer mapping project in the southeastern United States

In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study of saline aquifers in the southeastern United States to evaluate the potential use of brackish or saline water from the deeper portions of the Floridan aquifer system and the underlying Coastal Plain aquifer system (Fig. 1). The objective of this study is to improve the overall understanding of the available saline water resources for potential future development. Specific tasks are to (1) develop a digital georeferenced database of borehole geophysical data to enable analysis and characterization of saline aquifers (see locations in Fig. 1), (2) identify and map the regional extent of saline aquifer systems and describe the thickness and character of hydrologic units that compose these systems, and (3) delineate salinity variations at key well sites and along section lines to provide a regional depiction of the freshwater-saltwater interfaces. Electrical resistivity and induction logs, coupled with a variety of different porosity logs (sonic, density, and neutron), are the primary types of borehole geophysical logs being used to estimate the water quality in brackish and saline formations. The results from the geophysical log calculations are being compared to available water-quality data obtained from water wells and from drill-stem water samples collected in test wells. Overall, the saline aquifer mapping project is helping to improve the understanding of saline water resources in the area. These aquifers may be sources of large quantities of water that could be treated by using reverse osmosis or similar technologies, or they could be used for aquifer storage and recovery systems.

Florida, Georgia↗

Hypothesis: Many earthquakes in the central and southeastern United States are causally related to mafic intrusive bodies

Assessment of earthquake hazards in the United States is based largely upon knowledge acquired in the seismically active parts of the western United States. Earthquakes in the central and southeastern United States are seismologically and geologically very anomalous, however, compared with those in the western United States. For example, shallow earthquakes of magnitude 7-f in the western United States in general have tectonic surface faulting associated with them. No tectonic surface faulting, however, has been found to be associated with the New Madrid, Mo., earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, several of which had estimated magnitudes of 7-f. The lack of surface faulting is, in part, responsible for the fact that the New Madrid earthquakes have not been related with certainty to any particular geologic structural element, which makes assessment of the seismic hazards associated with possible similar future earthquakes very difficult. Geologic and seismologic data from the central and southeastern United States, however, suggest a spatial correlation between mafic intrusive rocks and seismic activity. An additional supportive correlation is that the trend of many dikes coincides with the trend of nodal planes in many fault-plane solutions. These correlations differ greatly from the direct correlation of earthquakes with faults in the western United States. Consideration of different concepts of earthquake sources in the central and southeastern. United States seems necessary- The preferred concept is that local high-stress concentrations, which may result in earthquakes, occur at or close to the contact of mafic intrusives and their felsic host rocks. Ancient rift zones may have been the primary control of the location of the mafic intrusives. Implications of a causal relation between mafic intrusives and seismicity are that more useful seismo-tectonic maps may be possible and that the source dimensions of the earthquakes would be small. Because of low attenuation, however, effects of earthquakes in the central and southeastern United States, even if relatively small because of smaller source dimensions, must be considered hazardous.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗