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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2024

Hydrogeologic framework and extent of saltwater intrusion in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties, Long Island, New York

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear cooperative study with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate the sustainability of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer system through hydrogeologic mapping, compilation of groundwater chloride concentrations, and groundwater flow modeling. In the initial phase of the islandwide study, the hydrogeologic framework and extent of saltwater intrusion in aquifers in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties on western Long Island, N.Y., were investigated. The aquifer system underlying western Long Island has been under stress from pumping of public, irrigation (golf course), and industrial supply wells. Saltwater intrusion has occurred from surrounding embayments (East River, Long Island Sound, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean) due to pumping. Eighteen boreholes were drilled and cores taken during 2019–21 to collect hydrogeologic, geochemical, and geophysical data to delineate the complex subsurface hydrogeology and extent of saltwater intrusion within the study area. Evaluation of the new cores, reexamination of legacy core descriptions, and analysis of borehole geophysical logs was used to refine the previously published hydrogeologic framework of Pleistocene and Cretaceous unconsolidated sediments in the area, including delineation of a previously undefined hydrogeologic unit between the Magothy aquifer and the Raritan confining unit, herein named the “upper Raritan aquifer.” The upper Raritan aquifer was first recognized in southeastern Nassau County from an analysis of about 50 closely spaced boreholes with high-resolution core descriptions and gamma-ray (gamma) logs. Further analysis of borehole logs across the study area indicated that the upper Raritan aquifer was also present in Kings and Queens Counties. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging was used for the first time on Long Island to provide estimates of the hydraulic properties of the major aquifer and confining units. Unlike other geophysical logs that record responses to the rock matrix and fluid properties and are strongly dependent on mineralogy, NMR logs record responses to the presence of hydrogen protons in the formation fluid to determine water fraction and pore-size distribution. NMR log analysis provided estimates of the clay-bound, capillary-bound, and mobile water fractions and hydraulic conductivity of aquifers and confining units penetrated by five wells in Nassau County. Pumpage for public-supply and industrial wells on Long Island began in the 1870s with small, localized suppliers of populated areas in Kings and Queens Counties. By 1904–16, pumpage for public water supply in Kings County averaged 21 million gallons per day, and averaged 37 million gallons per day in Queens County, mostly from the upper glacial aquifer. Saltwater intrusion was reported as early as the beginning of the 20th century and included the upper glacial-Jameco-Magothy and Lloyd-North Shore aquifer systems. By 1936, pumping in central Kings County created a major cone of depression in the water table extending to the south shore of much of Kings County and into southwestern Queens County. Saltwater intrusion has caused the shutdown of public-supply wells in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties. A large saltwater intrusion wedge in the Lloyd aquifer was indicated in southern Queens County in the early part of the 20th century, and the saltwater interface may have been onshore predevelopment. Most of Kings and Queens Counties are intruded with saltwater in both the upper glacial-Jameco-Magothy and Lloyd-North Shore aquifers systems. Saltwater increased during the 20th century and continues to increase to the present (2023) in the Lloyd-North Shore aquifer system in Great Neck and Manhasset Neck in northern Nassau County. A major wedge of saltwater intrusion in the upper glacial-Jameco-Magothy aquifer in southwestern Nassau County appears to be increasing.

New York↗
USGS2014

Vegetation controls on weathering intensity during the last deglacial transition in southeast Africa

Tropical climate is rapidly changing, but the effects of these changes on the geosphere are unknown, despite a likelihood of climatically-induced changes on weathering and erosion. The lack of long, continuous paleo-records prevents an examination of terrestrial responses to climate change with sufficient detail to answer questions about how systems behaved in the past and may alter in the future. We use high-resolution records of pollen, clay mineralogy, and particle size from a drill core from Lake Malawi, southeast Africa, to examine atmosphere-biosphere-geosphere interactions during the last deglaciation (~18–9 ka), a period of dramatic temperature and hydrologic changes. The results demonstrate that climatic controls on Lake Malawi vegetation are critically important to weathering processes and erosion patterns during the deglaciation. At 18 ka, afromontane forests dominated but were progressively replaced by tropical seasonal forest, as summer rainfall increased. Despite indication of decreased rainfall, drought-intolerant forest persisted through the Younger Dryas (YD) resulting from a shorter dry season. Following the YD, an intensified summer monsoon and increased rainfall seasonality were coeval with forest decline and expansion of drought-tolerant miombo woodland. Clay minerals closely track the vegetation record, with high ratios of kaolinite to smectite (K/S) indicating heavy leaching when forest predominates, despite variable rainfall. In the early Holocene, when rainfall and temperature increased (effective moisture remained low), open woodlands expansion resulted in decreased K/S, suggesting a reduction in chemical weathering intensity. Terrigenous sediment mass accumulation rates also increased, suggesting critical linkages among open vegetation and erosion during intervals of enhanced summer rainfall. This study shows a strong, direct influence of vegetation composition on weathering intensity in the tropics. As climate change will likely impact this interplay between the biosphere and geosphere, tropical landscape change could lead to deleterious effects on soil and water quality in regions with little infrastructure for mitigation.

PLoS ONE↗
USGS2002

A 1500-year record of climatic and environmental change in Elk Lake, Clearwater County, Minnesota II: Geochemistry, mineralogy, and stable isotopes

Most of the sediment components that have accumulated in Elk Lake, Clearwater County, northwestern Minnesota, over the past 1500 years are authigenic or biogenic (CaCO3, biogenic SiO2, organic matter, iron and manganese oxyhydroxides, and iron phosphate) and are delivered to the sediment-water interface on a seasonal schedule where they are preserved as distinct annual laminae (varves). The annual biogeochemical cycles of these components are causally linked through the 'carbon pump', and are recapitulated in longer-term cycles, most prominently with a periodicity of about 400 years. Organic carbon is fixed in the epilimnion by photosynthetic removal of CO2, which also increases the pH, triggering the precipitation of CaCO3. The respiration and degradation of fixed organic carbon in the hypolimnion consumes dissolved oxygen, produces CO2, and lowers the pH so that the hypolimnion becomes anoxic and undersaturated with respect to CaCO3 during the summer. Some of the CaCO3 produced in the epilimnion is dissolved in the anoxic, lower pH hypolimnion and sediments. The amount of CaCO3 that is ultimately incorporated into the sediments is a function of how much is produced in the epilimnion and how much is consumed in the hypolimnion and the sediments. Iron, manganese, and phosphate accumulate in the anoxic hypolimnion throughout the summer. Sediment-trap studies show that at fall overturn, when iron-, manganese-, and phosphate-rich bottom waters mix with carbonate- and oxygen-rich surface waters, precipitation of iron and manganese oxyhydroxides, iron phosphate, and manganese carbonate begins and continues into the winter months. Detrital clastic material in the sediments of Elk Lake deposited over the last 1500 years is a minor component (<10% by weight) that is mostly wind-borne (eolian). Detailed analyses of the last 1500 years of the Elk Lake sediment record show distinct cycles in eolian clastic variables (e.g. aluminum, sodium, potassium, titanium, and quartz), with a periodicity of about 400 years. The 400-yr cycle in eolian clastic material does not correspond to the 400-yr cycles in redox-sensitive authigenic components, suggesting that the clastic component is responding to external forcing (wind) whereas the authigenic components are responding to internal forcing (productivity), although both may ultimately be forced by climate change. Variations in the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of CaCO3 are small but appear to reflect small variations in ground water influx that are also driven by external forcing.

Journal of Paleolimnology↗
USGS1997

Use of geochemical mass balance modelling to evaluate the role of weathering in determining stream chemistry in five mid-Atlantic watersheds on different lithologies

The importance of mineral weathering was assessed and compared for five mid-Atlantic watersheds receiving similar atmospheric inputs but underlain by differing bedrock. Annual solute mass balances and volume-weighted mean solute concentrations were calculated for each watershed for each year of record. In addition, primary and secondary mineralogy were determined for each of the watersheds through analysis of soil samples and thin sections using petrographic, scanning electron microscope, electron microprobe and X-ray diffraction techniques. Mineralogical data were also compiled from the literature. These data were input to NETPATH, a geochemical program that calculates the masses of minerals that react with precipitation to produce stream water chemistry. The feasibilities of the weathering scenarios calculated by NETPATH were evaluated based on relative abundances and reactivities of minerals in the watershed. In watersheds underlain by reactive bedrocks, weathering reactions explained the stream base cation loading. In the acid-sensitive watersheds on unreactive bedrock, calculated weathering scenarios were not consistent with the abundance of reactive minerals in the underlying bedrock, and alternative sources of base cations are discussed.

Hydrological Processes↗
USGS2017

East African weathering dynamics controlled by vegetation-climate feedbacks

Tropical weathering has important linkages to global biogeochemistry and landscape evolution in the East African rift. We disentangle the influences of climate and terrestrial vegetation on chemical weathering intensity and erosion at Lake Malawi using a long sediment record. Fossil pollen, microcharcoal, particle size, and mineralogy data affirm that the detrital clays accumulating in deep water within the lake are controlled by feedbacks between climate and hinterland forest composition. Particle-size patterns are also best explained by vegetation, through feedbacks with lake levels, wildfires, and erosion. We develop a new source-to-sink framework that links lacustrine sedimentation to hinterland vegetation in tropical rifts. Our analysis suggests that climate-vegetation interactions and their coupling to weathering/erosion could threaten future food security and has implications for accurately predicting petroleum play elements in continental rift basins.

Geology↗
USGS2007

Selected plant microfossil records of the terminal Cretaceous event in terrestrial rocks, western North America

Terrestrial or nonmarine rocks of western North America preserve a record of major disruption and permanent alteration of plant communities precisely at the K-T boundary - in the same rocks that preserve geochemical and mineralogical evidence of the terminal Cretaceous impact event. Plant microfossil records from many localities show abrupt disappearance of pollen species (= plant extinctions) closely associated with impact ejecta deposits containing iridium and shocked quartz. Localities discussed in detail in this review are Starkville South, Clear Creek North, Old Raton Pass, and Sugarite in the Raton Basin of Colorado and New Mexico; West Bijou in the Denver Basin, Colorado; Sussex in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming; and Pyramid Butte and Mud Buttes in the Williston Basin, North Dakota. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology↗
USGS2023

The Far-Field imprint of the late Paleozoic Ice Age, its demise, and the onset of a dust-house climate across the Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin, Texas

The late Paleozoic is a period of pronounced climatic and tectonic change, characterized by the onset and disappearance of continental-scale glaciers across polar Gondwana, the formation of Pangea, and widespread large igneous province volcanism. The low-latitude equatorial tropics are assumed to be places of persistent warm and wet climatic conditions throughout the Phanerozoic, which through intense silicate weathering, exert a major influence on Earth’s climate via the consumption of atmospheric carbon through carbonic hydrolytic weathering, formation of clay minerals and deliverability of alkalinity to ocean basins. Here we investigate the late Paleozoic sedimentary record of the Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin in order to refine the climatic and provenance record of this region. The Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin was situated within the equatorial tropics throughout the late Paleozoic and was connected to the open ocean through a network of fluvial systems that drained into the marine Midland Basin. We present new U-Pb zircon geochronology (19 samples, 2591 analyses) and sedimentary petrography (11 samples, 5800 grain counts), which we integrate with previously published paleobotany, paleosol chemistry and clay mineralogy to provide a holistic climate and tectonic record from this region. We observe major changes in sedimentary processes that we attribute to the formation of Pangea, eustatic changes linked to a dynamic high-latitude glaciation and teleconnections with low latitude hydrology, and a long-term shift in the Earth climate system all of which result in a dynamic sediment provenance history. Late Pennsylvanian and earliest Permian deposits are enriched in zircons with local affinity and interpreted to reflect local uplift and repeat incision across the basin margin, the latter a result of glacioeustatic forcing during an “everwet” climate. A major paleoenvironmental shift occurs in the late early Permian, which is reflected by the transition from fluvial to mixed fluvial-aeolian and ultimately aeolian dominant sedimentation by the late Permian. The transition from fluvial to aeolian dominant sedimentation is accompanied by a change in clay chemistry, sedimentary rock textual maturity, paleosol morphology and a threefold increase in Paleozoic zircons in the mid to late Permian strata. Widespread loess deposits across equatorial Pangea during the Permian have been used to argue for the possibility of equatorial glaciers situated in highland settings during the early Permian. Conversely, our data suggest initiation of a substantial component of aeolian deposition across the field areas, which is coincident with widespread ice loss across high latitude Gondwana, and ultimately highlights the teleconnections between high latitude glaciation and the low latitude hydrologic cycle.

Texas↗
USGS2011

Performance of ground-penetrating radar on granitic regoliths with different mineral composition

Although ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is extensively used to characterize the regolith, few studies have addressed the effects of chemical and mineralogical compositions of soils and bedrock on its performance. This investigation evaluated the performance of GPR on two different granitic regoliths of somewhat different mineralogical composition in the San Jacinto Mountains of southern California. Radar records collected at a site where soils are Alfisols were more depth restricted than the radar record obtained at a site where soils are Entisols. Although the Alfisols contain an argillic horizon, and the Entisols have no such horizon of clay accumulation, the main impact on GPR effectiveness is related to mineralogy. The bedrock at the Alfisol site, which contains more mafic minerals (5% hornblende and 20% biotite), is more attenuating to GPR than the bedrock at the Entisol site, where mafic mineral content is less (<1% hornblende and 10% biotite). Thus, a relatively minor variation in bedrock mineralogy, specifically the increased biotite content, severely restricts the performance of GPR. Copyright ?? 2011 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Soil Science↗
USGS1974

Mercury's surface: Preliminary description and interpretation from Mariner 10 pictures

The surface morphology and optical properties of Mercury resemble those of the moon in remarkable detail and record a very similar sequence of events. Chemical and mineralogical similarity of the outer layers of Mercury and the moon is implied; Mercury is probably a differentiated planet with a large iron-rich core. Differentiation is inferred to have occurred very early. No evidence of atmospheric modification of landforms has been found. Large-scale scarps and ridges unlike lunar or Martian features may reflect a unique period of planetary compression near the end of heavy bombardment by small planetesimals.

Science↗
USGS1994

A rock-magnetic record from Lake Baikal, Siberia: Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change

Rock-magnetic measurements of sediment cores from the Academician Ridge region of Lake Baikal, Siberia show variations related to Late Quaternary climate change. Based upon the well-dated last glacial-interglacial transition, variations in magnetic concentration and mineralogy are related to glacial-interglacial cycles using a conceptual model. Interglacial intervals are characterized by low magnetic concentrations and a composition that is dominated by low coercivity minerals. Glacial intervals are characterized by high magnetic concentrations and increased amounts of high coercivity minerals. The variation in magnetic concentration is consistent with dilution by diatom opal during the more productive interglacial periods. We also infer an increased contribution of eolian sediment during the colder, windier, and more arid glacial conditions when extensive loess deposits were formed throughout Europe and Asia. Eolian transport is inferred to deliver increased amounts of high coercivity minerals as staining on eolian grains during the glacial intervals. Variations in magnetic concentration and mineralogy of Lake Baikal sediment correlate to the SPECMAP marine oxygen-isotope record. The high degree of correlation between Baikal magnetic concentration/mineralogy and the SPECMAP oxygen-isotope record indicates that Lake Baikal sediment preserves a history of climate change in central Asia for the last 250 ka. This correlation provides a method of estimating the age of sediment beyond the range of the radiocarbon method. Future work must include providing better age control and additional climate proxy data, thereby strengthening the correlation of continental and marine climate records. ?? 1994.

Lake Baikal↗
USGS2003

Preliminary Mineralogic and Stable Isotope Studies of Altered Summit and Flank Rocks and Osceola Mudflow Deposits on Mount Rainier, Washington

About 5600 years ago part of Mount Rainier?s edifice collapsed with the resultant Osceola Mudflow traveling more than 120 km and covering an area of at least 505 km2. Mineralogic and stable isotope studies were conducted on altered rocks from outcrops near the summit and east flank of the volcano and samples of clasts and matrix from the Osceola Mudflow. Results of these analyses are used to constrain processes responsible for pre-collapse alteration and provide insight into the role of alteration in edifice instability prior to the Osceola collapse event. Jarosite, pyrite, alunite, and kaolinite occur in hydrothermally altered rock exposed in summit scarps formed by edifice collapse events and in altered rock within the east-west structural zone (EWSZ) of the volcano?s east flank. Deposits of the Osceola Mudflow contain clasts of variably altered and unaltered andesite within a clay-rich matrix. Minerals detected in samples from the edifice are also present in many of the clasts. The matrix includes abundant smectite, kaolinite and variably abundant jarosite. Hydrothermal fluid compositions calculated from hydrogen and oxygen isotope data of alunite, and smectite on Mount Rainier reflect mixing of magmatic and meteoric waters. The range in the dD values of modern meteoric water on the volcano (-85 to 155?) reflect the influence of elevation on the dD of precipitation. The d34S and d18OSO4 values of alunite, gypsum and jarosite are distinct but together range from 1.7 to 17.6? and -12.3 to 15.0?, respectively; both parameters increase from jarosite to gypsum to alunite. The variations in sulfur isotope composition are attributed to the varying contributions of disproportionation of magmatic SO2, the supergene oxidation of hydrothermal pyrite and possible oxidation of H2S to the parent aqueous sulfate. The 18OSO4 values of jarosite are the lowest recorded for the mineral, consistent with a supergene origin. The mineralogy and isotope composition of alteration minerals define two and possibly three environments of alteration. At deeper levels magmatic vapor, H2S, SO2 and other gases from venting magmas migrated upward and condensed into the meteoric water. Disproportionation of SO2 into aqueous sulfate and H2S resulted in acid-sulfate (alunite + kaolinite + pyrite) and related argillic and propylitic alteration envelopes in a magmatic hydrothermal environment. At shallow levels H2S reacted with andesite to form pyrite that is associated with smectite along fractures on both the flanks and upper edifice. It is not clear to what extent H2S was oxidized by atmospheric O2 to form aqueous sulfate in a steam-heated environment. Near the ground surface, pyrite is oxidized by atmospheric oxygen resulting in soluble iron-and aluminum-hydroxysulfates. These supergene hydroxysulfates, which may also form around fumaroles from the oxidation of H2S, are subject to continuous solution and redeposition.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2006

Mineralogical characterization of protolith and fault rocks from the SAFOD Main Hole

Washed cuttings provide a continuous record of the rocks encountered during drilling of the main hole of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Both protolith and fault rocks exhibit a wide variety of mineral assemblages that reflect variations in some combination of lithology, P-T conditions, deformation mechanisms, and fluid composition and abundance. Regions of distinct neomineralization bounded by faults may record alteration associated with fluid reservoirs confined by faults. In addition, both smectites occurring as mixed-layer phases and serpentine minerals are found in association with active strands of the San Andreas Fault that were intersected during drilling, although their rheological influence is not yet fully known. Faults containing these mineralogical phases are prime candidates for continuous coring during Phase 3 of SAFOD drilling in the summer of 2007. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Geophysical Research Letters↗
USGS2009

Biostratigraphy of selected K/T boundary sections in southwestern North Dakota, USA: Toward a refinement of palynological identification criteria

The Cretaceous/Tertiary ( K / T ) boundary corresponds to one of the very few unique events in the geological record discovered to date, representing a single traceable timeline across the world. This timeline, coincident with the geochemical and mineralogical singularities caused by the impact of a large extraterrestrial body, is also coincident with the end-Cretaceous extinction event in North America. This precise timeline gives an ideal context for comparing the trends recorded by the different groups of the terrestrial fossil record during the K / T extinction event. However, in southwestern North Dakota , numerous studies conducted on excellent exposures of the K / T boundary showed that the geochemical and mineralogical criteria associated with the impact are rarely preserved. For that reason, palynology is preferred as a simple and efficient way for identifying the K / T boundary . In this context, a previously undescribed outcrop section from southwestern North Dakota was found to preserve an extensive record of the continental K / T boundary with miospores and plant megafossils, as well as microvertebrates and large vertebrate elements. Preliminary studies on the fossil associations recovered from this site showed an inconsistency between the Paleocene age given by the vertebrate and megafloral component and the Cretaceous age given by the palynological record. This issue is investigated in this paper, with a major emphasis on the description and analysis of the palynological record associated with sedimentological and paleoenvironmental data. Results shows that palynologically, the K / T boundary is placed more accurately using relative abundance variations of selected taxa.

North Dakota↗
USGS2011

Magmatic-vapor expansion and the formation of high-sulfidation gold deposits: Chemical controls on alteration and mineralization

Large bulk-tonnage high-sulfidation gold deposits, such as Yanacocha, Peru, are the surface expression of structurally-controlled lode gold deposits, such as El Indio, Chile. Both formed in active andesite–dacite volcanic terranes. Fluid inclusion, stable isotope and geologic data show that lode deposits formed within 1500 m of the paleo-surface as a consequence of the expansion of low-salinity, low-density magmatic vapor with very limited, if any, groundwater mixing. They are characterized by an initial ‘Sulfate’ Stage of advanced argillic wallrock alteration ± alunite commonly with intense silicification followed by a ‘Sulfide’ Stage — a succession of discrete sulfide–sulfosalt veins that may be ore grade in gold and silver. Fluid inclusions in quartz formed during wallrock alteration have homogenization temperatures between 100 and over 500 °C and preserve a record of a vapor-rich environment. Recent data for El Indio and similar deposits show that at the commencement of the Sulfide Stage, ‘condensation’ of Cu–As–S sulfosalt melts with trace concentrations of Sb, Te, Bi, Ag and Au occurred at > 600 °C following pyrite deposition. Euhedral quartz crystals were simultaneously deposited from the vapor phase during crystallization of the vapor-saturated melt occurs to Fe-tennantite with progressive non-equilibrium fractionation of heavy metals between melt-vapor and solid. Vugs containing a range of sulfides, sulfosalts and gold record the changing composition of the vapor. Published fluid inclusion and mineralogical data are reviewed in the context of geological relationships to establish boundary conditions through which to trace the expansion of magmatic vapor from source to surface and consequent alteration and mineralization. Initially heat loss from the vapor is high resulting in the formation of acid condensate permeating through the wallrock. This Sulfate Stage alteration effectively isolates the expansion of magmatic vapor in subsurface fracture arrays from any external contemporary hydrothermal activity. Subsequent fracturing is localized by the embrittled wallrock to provide high-permeability fracture arrays that constrain vapor expansion with minimization of heat loss. The Sulfide Stage vein sequence is then a consequence of destabilization of metal-vapor species in response to depressurization and decrease in vapor density. The geology, mineralogy, fluid inclusion and stable isotope data and geothermometry for high-sulfidation, bulk-tonnage and lode deposits are quite different from those for epithermal gold–silver deposits such as McLaughlin, California that formed near-surface in groundwater-dominated hydrothermal systems where magmatic fluid has been diluted to less than about 30%. High sulfidation gold deposits are better termed ‘Solfataric Gold Deposits’ to emphasize this distinction. The magmatic-vapor expansion hypothesis also applies to the phenomenology of acidic geothermal systems in active volcanic systems and equivalent magmatic-vapor discharges on the flanks of submarine volcanoes.

Ore Geology Reviews↗
USGS2024

Likely ferromagnetic minerals identified by the Perseverance rover and implications for future paleomagnetic analyses of returned Martian samples

Although Mars today does not have a core dynamo, magnetizations in the Martian crust and in meteorites suggest a magnetic field was present prior to 3.7 billion years (Ga) ago. However, the lack of ancient, oriented Martian bedrock samples available on Earth has prevented accurate estimates of the dynamo's intensity, lifetime, and direction. Constraining the nature and lifetime of the dynamo are vital to understanding the evolution of the Martian interior and the potential habitability of the planet. The Perseverance rover, which is exploring Jezero crater, is providing an unprecedented opportunity to address this gap by acquiring absolutely oriented bedrock samples with estimated ages from ∼2.3 to >4.1 Ga. As a first step in establishing whether these samples could contain records of Martian paleomagnetism, it is important to determine their ferromagnetic mineralogy, the grain sizes of the phases, and the forms of any natural remanent magnetization. Here, we synthesize data from various Perseverance instruments to achieve those goals and discuss the implications for future laboratory paleomagnetic analyses. Using the rover's instrument payload, we find that cored samples likely contain iron oxides enriched in Cr and Ti. The relative proportions of Fe, Ti, and Cr indicate that the phases may be titanomagnetite or Fe-Ti-Cr spinels that are ferromagnetic at room temperature, but we cannot rule out the presence of non-ferromagnetic ulvöspinel, ilmenite, and chromite due to signal mixing. Importantly, the inferred abundance of iron oxides in the samples suggests that even <1 mm-sized samples will be easily measurable by present-day magnetometers.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets↗
USGS1984

Fossils of hydrothermal vent worms from Cretaceous sulfide ores of the Samail ophiolite, Oman

Fossil worm tubes of Cretaceous age preserved in the Bayda massive sulfide deposit of the Samail ophiolite, Oman, are apparently the first documented examples of fossils embedded in massive sulfide deposits from the geologic record. The geologic setting of the Bayda deposit and the distinctive mineralogic and textural features of the fossiliferous samples suggest that the Bayda sulfide deposit and fossil fauna are remnants of a Cretaceous sea-floor hydrothermal vent similar to modern hot springs on the East Pacific Rise and the Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Science↗
USGS1996

Lithologic and ground-water data for monitoring wells in the Santa Clara-Calleguas ground-water basin, Ventura County, California, 1989-95

Twenty-three multiple-well (nested) monitoring sites were constructed in the western part of the Santa Clara-Calleguas Hydrologic Unit and ground-water basin between October 1989 and May 1994. This report is a compilation of the data collected at these sites from October 1989 through April 1995 and includes location and design of the monitoring sites, lithologic data, geophysical logs, ground-water-level measurements, and water-quality analyses. Grain-size distribution and mineralogical analyses also are included. Ninety-nine piezometers were installed at the 23 sites to enable collection of depth-dependent data. Lithologic logs were compiled from descriptions of drill cuttings for each site and from observations recorded during logging. Generalized stratigraphic columns were compiled by grouping similar lithologic units. Grain-size and mineralogical analyses were used to identify and characterize the various lithologic units and to distinguish changes among them. Geophysical logs provided information on the character of the lithologic units and on the presence and chemical characteristics of ground water. Water levels were measured periodically during 1989-94. Water-quality data were collected periodically during 1989-95.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2009

Compositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs

Sediments in Marshall and Hidden Lakes in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah contain records of atmospheric mineral-dust deposition as revealed by differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of lake sediments relative to Precambrian clastic rocks in the watersheds. In cores spanning more than a thousand years, the largest changes in composition occurred within the past approximately 140 years. Many elements associated with ore deposits (Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, In, Mo, Pb, S, Sb, Sn, and Te) increase in the lake sediments above depths that correspond to about AD 1870. Sources of these metals from mining districts to the west of the Uinta Mountains are suggested by (1) the absence of mining and smelting of these metals in the Uinta Mountains, and (2) lower concentrations of most of these elements in post-settlement sediments of Hidden Lake than in those of Marshall Lake, which is closer to areas of mining and the densely urbanized part of north-central Utah that is termed the Wasatch Front, and (3) correspondence of Pb isotopic compositions in the sediments with isotopic composition of ores likely to have been smelted in the Wasatch Front. A major source of Cu in lake sediments may have been the Bingham Canyon open-pit mine 110 km west of Marshall Lake. Numerous other sources of metals beyond the Wasatch Front are likely, on the basis of the widespread increases of industrial activities in western United States since about AD 1900. In sediment deposited since ca. AD 1945, as estimated using 239+240 Pu activities, increases in concentrations of Mn, Fe, S, and some other redox-sensitive metals may result partly from diagenesis related to changes in redox. However, our results indicate that these elemental increases are also related to atmospheric inputs on the basis of their large increases that are nearly coincident with abrupt increases in silt-sized, titanium-bearing detrital magnetite. Such magnetite is interpreted as a component of atmospheric dust, because it is absent in catchment bedrock. Enrichment of P in sediments deposited after ca. AD 1950 appears to be caused largely by atmospheric inputs, perhaps from agricultural fertilizer along with magnetite-bearing soil.

Utah↗