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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
USGS1973

Interpretation of depositional environment in the Plympton Formation (Permian), Southern Pequop Mountains, Nevada, from physical stratigraphy and a faunule

Field mapping in the southern part of the Pequop Mountains has shown the presence of a major structural high which has profoundly affected the stratigraphy of Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian beds; lesser effects of this high persisted into the later Permian. Within the Park City Group (Permian), the Plymton Formation, overlying the Kaibab Limestone, is divided informally into five parts. The uppermost Plympton has yielded silicified fossils. The faunule studied is characterized by the scaphopod Plagioglypta and by bellerophontacean and neritacean gastropods, suggestive of a middle Permian age. Specimens are worn, and several lines of evidence suggest that this is a high-energy beach deposit associated with a residual high. The interpretation supplements the field evidence of a hiatus between the Plympton and the overlying Gerster Formation. Other occurrences of elements of the faunule in the equivalent Phosphoria rock complex are noted, but only a few were probably deposited in a high-energy beach environment. A new species of Naticopsis that has the color pattern preserved is named and described.

Nevada↗
USGS1973

Radiometric dating of intrusive rocks in the Cottonwood area, Utah

Recently completed fission-track and K-Ar dating of zircon, sphene, apatite, muscovite, biotite, and hornblende indicate that the Clayton Peak stock was intruded 37-41 m.y. ago, the Alta stock about 32-33 m.y. ago, and the Little Cottonwood stock between 24 and 31 m.y. ago. Pb-a ages on zircon, though showing the same sequence, are about twice as great and are inferred to represent a partial mixing of inherited Precambrian zircons. Acceptance of a middle Tertiary age for the Little Cottonwood stock requires revision of earlier interpretations that it could be as old as Late Cretaceous. K-Ar dates also indicate that the Keetley Volcanics are 32 to 35 m.y. old, and a single date of 37.3 m.y. was obtained on the Traverse Volcanics, suggesting that they are more closely related to volcanic activity in the adjoining Oquirrh Mountains.

Utah↗
USGS2009

Compression-cuticle relationship of seed ferns: Insights from liquid-solid states FTIR (Late Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic, Canada-Spain-Argentina)

Cuticles have been macerated from suitably preserved compressed fossil foliage by Schulze's process for the past 150 years, whereas the physical-biochemical relationship between the "coalified layer" with preserved cuticle as a unit has hardly been investigated, although they provide complementary information. This relationship is conceptualized by an analogue model of the anatomy of an extant leaf: "vitrinite (mesophyll) + cuticle (biomacropolymer) = compression". Alkaline solutions from Schulze's process as a proxy for the vitrinite, are studied by means of liquid-solid states Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition, cuticle-free coalified layers and fossilized cuticles of seed ferns mainly from Canada, Spain and Argentina of Late Pennsylvanian-Late Triassic age are included in the study sample. Infrared data of cuticle and alkaline solutions differ which is primarily contingent on the mesophyll +biomacropolymer characteristics. The compression records two pathways of organic matter transformation. One is the vitrinized component that reflects the diagenetic-post-diagenetic coalification history parallel with the evolution of the associated coal seam. The other is the cuticle that reflects the sum-total of evolutionary pathway of the biomacropolymer, its monomeric, or polymeric fragmentation, though factors promoting preservation include entombing clay minerals and lower pH conditions. Caution is advised when interpreting liquid-state-based FTIR data, as some IR signals may have resulted from the interaction of Schulze's process with the cuticular biochemistry. A biochemical-study course for taphonomy is suggested, as fossilized cuticles, cuticle-free coalified layers, and compressions are responses to shared physicogeochemical factors. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2013

Source mechanisms of persistent shallow earthquakes during eruptive and non-eruptive periods between 1981 and 2011 at Mount St. Helens, Washington

Shallow seismicity between 0 and 3-km depth has persisted at Mount St. Helens, Washington (MSH) during both eruptive and non-eruptive periods for at least the past thirty years. In this study we investigate the source mechanisms of shallow volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes at MSH by calculating high-quality hypocenter locations and fault plane solutions (FPS) for all VT events recorded during two eruptive periods (1981–1986 and 2004–2008) and two non-eruptive periods (1987–2004 and 2008–2011). FPS show a mixture of normal, reverse, and strike-slip faulting during all periods, with a sharp increase in strike-slip faulting observed in 1987–1997 and an increase in normal faulting in 1998–2004. FPS P-axis orientations show a ~ 90° rotation with respect to regional σ1 (N23°E) during 1981–1986 and 2004–2008, bimodal orientations (~ N-S and ~ E-W) during 1987–2004, and bimodal orientations at ~ N-E and ~ S-W from 2008–2011. We interpret these orientations to likely be due to pressurization accompanying the shallow intrusion and subsequent eruption of magma as domes during 1981–1986 and 2004–2008 and the buildup of pore pressure beneath a seismogenic volume (located at 0–1 km) with a smaller component due to the buildup of tectonic forces during 1987–2004 and 2008–2011.

Washington↗
USGS2005

Pitted cones and domes on Mars: Observations in Acidalia Planitia and Cydonia Mensae using MOC, THEMIS, and TES data

Domes and cones with summit pits located in Acidalia Planitia and Cydonia Mensae were studied using MOC and THEMIS images and a TES‐derived thermal inertia map. North of 40.5°N latitude, the features have a dome‐like morphology, and south of that latitude, the morphology is more cone‐like. Layering is apparent in the summit craters of fresher looking southern cones, and asymmetric aprons were observed in some instances. Some of the northern domes also display layering in their summit craters, but asymmetric aprons were not observed. The northern domes can also display multiple summit pits or no summit pits at all and can occur in association with higher‐albedo “pancake” features. The northern domes are higher in albedo but have apparent thermal inertias that are lower than the surrounding plains. The apparent thermal inertia values of the southern cones range from values comparable to the surrounding plains to slightly lower. From the TES thermal inertia map, we infer that the thermal inertia values of the pitted cones are between those of basaltic fine dust and sand, while those of the surrounding plains are closer to that of basaltic sand. While a unique interpretation of the origin of the pitted cones is not possible with the available data, we do not find compelling evidence to suggest an origin related to either basaltic volcanism or ground‐ice. Instead, an origin for these features through some combination of mud volcanism and evaporite deposition around geysers and/or springs is most consistent with the observations.

Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets↗
USGS2001

Seismic tomography shows that upwelling beneath Iceland is confined to the upper mantle

We report the results of the highest-resolution teleseismic tomography study yet performed of the upper mantle beneath Iceland. The experiment used data gathered by the Iceland Hotspot Project, which operated a 35-station network of continuously recording, digital, broad-band seismometers over all of Iceland 1996-1998. The structure of the upper mantle was determined using the ACH damped least-squares method and involved 42 stations, 3159 P-wave, and 1338 S-wave arrival times, including the phases P, pP, sP, PP, SP, PcP, PKIKP, pPKIKP, S, sS, SS, SKS and Sdiff. Artefacts, both perceptual and parametric, were minimized by well-tested smoothing techniques involving layer thinning and offset-and-averaging. Resolution is good beneath most of Iceland from ??? 60 km depth to a maximum of ??? 450 km depth and beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone and near-shore parts of the Reykjanes ridge. The results reveal a coherent, negative wave-speed anomaly with a diameter of 200-250 km and anomalies in P-wave speed, Vp, as strong as -2.7 per cent and in S-wave speed, Vs, as strong as -4.9 per cent. The anomaly extends from the surface to the limit of good resolution at ??? 450 km depth. In the upper ??? 250 km it is centred beneath the eastern part of the Middle Volcanic Zone, coincident with the centre of the ??? 100 mGal Bouguer gravity low over Iceland, and a lower crustal low-velocity zone identified by receiver functions. This is probably the true centre of the Iceland hotspot. In the upper ??? 200 km, the low-wave-speed body extends along the Reykjanes ridge but is sharply truncated beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone. This suggests that material may flow unimpeded along the Reykjanes ridge from beneath Iceland but is blocked beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone. The magnitudes of the Vp, Vs and Vp/Vs anomalies cannot be explained by elevated temperature alone, but favour a model of maximum temperature anomalies <200 K, along with up to ??? 2 per cent of partial melt in the depth range ??? 100-300 km beneath east-central Iceland. The anomalous body is approximately cylindrical in the top 250 km but tabular in shape at greater depth, elongated north-south and generally underlying the spreading plate boundary. Such a morphological change and its relationship to surface rift zones are predicted to occur in convective upwellings driven by basal heating, passive upwelling in response to plate separation and lateral temperature gradients. Although we cannot resolve structure deeper than ??? 450 km, and do not detect a bottom to the anomaly, these models suggest that it extends no deeper than the mantle transition zone. Such models thus suggest a shallow origin for the Iceland hotspot rather than a deep mantle plume, and imply that the hotspot has been located on the spreading ridge in the centre of the north Atlantic for its entire history, and is not fixed relative to other Atlantic hotspots. The results are consistent with recent, regional full-thickness mantle tomography and whole-mantle tomography images that show a strong, low-wave-speed anomaly beneath the Iceland region that is confined to the upper mantle and thus do not require a plume in the lower mantle. Seismic and geochemical observations that are interpreted as indicating a lower mantle, or core-mantle boundary origin for the North Atlantic Igneous Province and the Iceland hotspot should be re-examined to consider whether they are consistent with upper mantle processes.

Geophysical Journal International↗
USGS2007

Potential effects of climate change on surface-water quality in North America

Data from long-term ecosystem monitoring and research stations in North America and results of simulations made with interpretive models indicate that changes in climate (precipitation and temperature) can have a significant effect on the quality of surface waters. Changes in water quality during storms, snowmelt, and periods of elevated air temperature or drought can cause conditions that exceed thresholds of ecosystem tolerance and, thus, lead to water-quality degradation. If warming and changes in available moisture occur, water-quality changes will likely first occur during episodes of climate-induced stress, and in ecosystems where the factors controlling water quality are sensitive to climate variability. Continued climate stress would increase the frequency with which ecosystem thresholds are exceeded and thus lead to chronic water-quality changes. Management strategies in a warmer climate will therefore be needed that are based on local ecological thresholds rather than annual median condition. Changes in land use alter biological, physical, and chemical processes in watersheds and thus significantly alter the quality of adjacent surface waters; these direct human-caused changes complicate the interpretation of water-quality changes resulting from changes in climate, and can be both mitigated and exacerbated by climate change. A rigorous strategy for integrated, long-term monitoring of the ecological and human factors that control water quality is necessary to differentiate between actual and perceived climate effects, and to track the effectiveness of our environmental policies.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗
USGS2008

Characterizing and predicting species distributions across environments and scales: Argentine ant occurrences in the eye of the beholder

Aim: Species distribution models (SDMs) or, more specifically, ecological niche models (ENMs) are a useful and rapidly proliferating tool in ecology and global change biology. ENMs attempt to capture associations between a species and its environment and are often used to draw biological inferences, to predict potential occurrences in unoccupied regions and to forecast future distributions under environmental change. The accuracy of ENMs, however, hinges critically on the quality of occurrence data. ENMs often use haphazardly collected data rather than data collected across the full spectrum of existing environmental conditions. Moreover, it remains unclear how processes affecting ENM predictions operate at different spatial scales. The scale (i.e. grain size) of analysis may be dictated more by the sampling regime than by biologically meaningful processes. The aim of our study is to jointly quantify how issues relating to region and scale affect ENM predictions using an economically important and ecologically damaging invasive species, the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Location: California, USA. Methods: We analysed the relationship between sampling sufficiency, regional differences in environmental parameter space and cell size of analysis and resampling environmental layers using two independently collected sets of presence/absence data. Differences in variable importance were determined using model averaging and logistic regression. Model accuracy was measured with area under the curve (AUC) and Cohen's kappa. Results: We first demonstrate that insufficient sampling of environmental parameter space can cause large errors in predicted distributions and biological interpretation. Models performed best when they were parametrized with data that sufficiently sampled environmental parameter space. Second, we show that altering the spatial grain of analysis changes the relative importance of different environmental variables. These changes apparently result from how environmental constraints and the sampling distributions of environmental variables change with spatial grain. Conclusions: These findings have clear relevance for biological inference. Taken together, our results illustrate potentially general limitations for ENMs, especially when such models are used to predict species occurrences in novel environments. We offer basic methodological and conceptual guidelines for appropriate sampling and scale matching. ?? 2009 The Authors Journal compilation ?? 2009 Blackwell Publishing.

Global Ecology and Biogeography↗
USGS1980

Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Blying Sound and Seward quadrangles, Alaska

These summaries of data on metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences and lists of selected references to them in Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Mines, and State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (and predecessor State and Territorial agencies) reports and maps and a very few journal articles are designed to aid in library research on the mineral resources of the Blying Sound and Seward quadrangles, Alaska. The references listed are selected in the sense that mainly statistical reports such as the annual Minerals Yearbook of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and many annual and biennial reports of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor agencies are not included. Also not included are data on many claims about which little more than their locations is known (for example, localities 206 and 208 in Tysdal, 1978 (MF-880A)). These omissions should not be interpreted as a judgement that the claims are not on valid mineral occurrences, but only that there are insufficient data to describe any mineral deposit that might be present. Geochemical anomalies determined by analyses of rock and stream—sediment samples in which no metallic mineral was identified are also omitted. This report is divided into three parts: a section made up of summaries of data and reference lists arranged alphabetically by occurrence name for each quadrangle; a second section that lists, by quadrangle, synonyms for names in the first section, the names of owners and operators of mines and prospects, and claim names; and a final section that for each quadrangle lists alphabetically by author all references mentioned in the first section and in these introductory paragraphs.

Alaska↗
USGS2008

Hematite spherules at Meridiani: results from MI, Mini-TES, and Pancam

We report on observations of hematite‐bearing spherules at Meridiani Planum made using the Microscopic Imager (MI), Mini‐Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini‐TES), and Panoramic Camera (Pancam) instruments on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Spherules were observed on soil surfaces and in outcrop rocks, both on undisturbed surfaces and in abraded surfaces ground using the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). Spherule size and shape change little along the 850 m eastward traverse from Eagle Crater to Endurance Crater, but spherules decrease and then slightly increase in size along the 6 km traverse from Endurance south to Victoria Crater. Local populations range from submillimeters to several millimeters in diameter. An additional small diameter (100 μ m) size population is possible. An increase in irregular shapes is found near Victoria Crater. This, combined with the size decrease south of Endurance, suggests either a changing depositional environment, or variation in the duration and timing of diagenetic events. The dominant smaller size population observed early in the mission in aeolian areas and ripple crests is observed as the primary size population in abraded outcrop farther south. This suggests that successively younger beds are exposed at the surface along the southward traverse. Stratigraphically higher units removed by erosion could be recorded by the present surface lag deposit. Coordinated systematic observations are used to determine optical and infrared hematite indices of the surface soils in Pancam and Mini‐TES. In spite of the systematic variation seen in MI, both Pancam and Mini‐TES indices are highly variable based on the local surface, and neither show systematic trends south of Endurance. The lack of a 390 cm −1 feature in Mini‐TES spectra suggests concentric or radial interior structure within the spherules at scales too fine for MI to observe. Mini‐TES does not detect any silicate component in the spherules. A bound water component in soils or in exchange with the atmosphere is observed. These spherules have been previously interpreted as concretions formed within what were once water‐saturated, diagenetically altered “dirty evaporate” sandstone sediments. Our observations support this interpretation; however, no single terrestrial analog provides a model that can account for all attributes of the spherules on Mars.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗
USGS2005

Geochemistry and the understanding of ground-water systems

Geochemistry has contributed significantly to the understanding of ground-water systems over the last 50 years. Historic advances include development of the hydrochemical facies concept, application of equilibrium theory, investigation of redox processes, and radiocarbon dating. Other hydrochemical concepts, tools, and techniques have helped elucidate mechanisms of flow and transport in ground-water systems, and have helped unlock an archive of paleoenvironmental information. Hydrochemical and isotopic information can be used to interpret the origin and mode of ground-water recharge, refine estimates of time scales of recharge and ground-water flow, decipher reactive processes, provide paleohydrological information, and calibrate ground-water flow models. Progress needs to be made in obtaining representative samples. Improvements are needed in the interpretation of the information obtained, and in the construction and interpretation of numerical models utilizing hydrochemical data. The best approach will ensure an optimized iterative process between field data collection and analysis, interpretation, and the application of forward, inverse, and statistical modeling tools. Advances are anticipated from microbiological investigations, the characterization of natural organics, isotopic fingerprinting, applications of dissolved gas measurements, and the fields of reaction kinetics and coupled processes. A thermodynamic perspective is offered that could facilitate the comparison and understanding of the multiple physical, chemical, and biological processes affecting ground-water systems.

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS2015

Heat flux from magmatic hydrothermal systems related to availability of fluid recharge

Magmatic hydrothermal systems are of increasing interest as a renewable energy source. Surface heat flux indicates system resource potential, and can be inferred from soil CO 2 flux measurements and fumarole gas chemistry. Here we compile and reanalyze results from previous CO 2 flux surveys worldwide to compare heat flux from a variety of magma-hydrothermal areas. We infer that availability of water to recharge magmatic hydrothermal systems is correlated with heat flux. Recharge availability is in turn governed by permeability, structure, lithology, rainfall, topography, and perhaps unsurprisingly, proximity to a large supply of water such as the ocean. The relationship between recharge and heat flux interpreted by this study is consistent with recent numerical modeling that relates hydrothermal system heat output to rainfall catchment area. This result highlights the importance of recharge as a consideration when evaluating hydrothermal systems for electricity generation, and the utility of CO 2 flux as a resource evaluation tool.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS2019

The Miocene Atastra Creek sinter (Bodie Hills volcanic field, California and Nevada): 4D evolution of a geomorphically intact siliceous hot spring deposit

The Atastra Creek siliceous hot spring deposit, or sinter, occurs in the Paramount-Bald Peak alteration zone, due north of the Bodie precious metals mining district in the Miocene Bodie Hills volcanic field, California and Nevada, U.S.A. Distinctive features include its geomorphically intact geyser vent mounds, the presence of growth-fault-stepped sinter terraces that developed westward along a NNW trending fault, and atypical Hg, Sb and As concentrations. High-temperature (>75 °C), subaerial, proximal apron sinter occurs in two settings – (1) radiating botryoidal geyserite in vent mounds and (2) bedded geyserite (columnar, nodular, size-sorted geyser eggs) intercalated with mid- to low-temperature (<60 °C), middle to distal apron terrace sinter. The active geyser vent mounds migrated from south to north across the apron terrace through time. A newly recognized, visually striking type of sinter – termed silica infiltrate herein – formed directly beneath the subaerial geyserite deposits. It is characterized by mainly parallel, thin, irregular beds of white silica with narrow borders of dark blue-gray silica, as well as swirly to globular white silica, all chaotically linked together by silica ‘necks’ and ‘bridges’. The silica infiltrate permeates the pre-existing sinter, and is interpreted to represent super-heated fluid injections into the immediately overlying geyser vent mounds and pools. The adjacent sinter sheets preserve fluid-flow directions of warm-water channels that traversed the discharge apron, including microbial streamer fabric and wavy laminated sinter with flattened bubbles. More distal sinter textures are recorded by rimmed terracettes with mammillated and palisade microbial fabrics and rare, warm pool-related stromatolites. However, plants are absent, probably due to the high metalloids, in particular As. Post-depositional events include an inferred hydrothermal eruption breccia and an interpreted drop in the water table accompanied by incursion of steam acid condensate, as evidenced by pervasive hydrothermal alteration of the Atastra Creek deposits. Hence, the well-exposed sedimentary facies distributions, well-preserved geomorphology, and stratigraphic and structural relationships together allow an unusually complete, paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Atastra Creek paleohydrothermal deposit.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS2003

Deformation of the Long Valley Caldera, California: Inferences from measurements from 1988 to 2001

Two periods of volcanic unrest occurred between 1989 and 1998 in the Long Valley Caldera, eastern California. Numerous earthquakes were recorded, and these periods of unrest were documented with high-precision geodetic measurements. The first round of unrest started rapidly in late 1989 and slowly decreased in rate through the early 1990s. For this interval there are both leveling and two-color electronic distance meter (EDM) measurements. The second round of unrest started slowly in mid-1997, climaxed in late 1997, and rapidly returned to quiescence by mid-1998. Deformation was recorded by both the two-color EDM and continuous GPS. Both episodes require inflation at 6-7 km beneath the resurgent dome, and both episodes had roughly 0.1 m extension across the resurgent dome. In addition, the data presented here suggest that there is a deeper, 10-20 km, inflation source beneath the south moat of the caldera. For both episodes, the better-resolved inflation beneath the resurgent dome is a near-vertical, prolate spheroid rather than an isotropic source, which suggests that magma came up through vertical cracks. However, the modeling suggests that the location changed with the depth from 6.0 to 6.7 km for the later episode. In contrast to the earlier episode, the 1997-1998 episode has additional deformation in the south moat, where the simplest model is that of a right-lateral slip on a steeply dipping plane that is defined by the location of earthquakes in the south moat. Models of the time-dependent behavior suggest that slip on this fault occurred from late November through December 1997, corresponding to the time of greatest moment release by the earthquake swarm in the south moat. Confounding the interpretation of these data is an active geothermal field near the center of the EDM network and adjacent to the south moat and resurgent dome. Additional modeling of leveling and EDM data within the geothermal field during a period of low rate of inflation of the dome suggests some methods of adjustments to the EDM data during the inflation episodes. ?? 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1999

P wave crustal velocity structure in the greater Mount Rainier area from local earthquake tomography

We present results from a local earthquake tomographic imaging experiment in the greater Mount Rainier area. We inverted P wave arrival times from local earthquakes recorded at permanent and temporary Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network seismographs between 1980 and 1996. We used a method similar to that described by Lees and Crosson [1989], modified to incorporate the parameter separation method for decoupling the hypocenter and velocity problems. In the upper 7 km of the resulting model there is good correlation between velocity anomalies and surface geology. Many focal mechanisms within the St. Helens seismic zone have nodal planes parallel to the epicentral trend as well as to a north-south trending low-velocity trough, leading us to speculate that the trough represents a zone of structural weakness in which a moderate ( M 6.5–7.0) earthquake could occur. In contrast, the western Rainier seismic zone does not correlate in any simple way with anomaly patterns or focal mechanism fault planes, leading us to infer that it is less likely to experience a moderate earthquake. A ∼10 km-wide low-velocity anomaly occurs 5 to 18 km beneath the summit of Mount Rainier, which we interpret to be a signal of a region composed of hot, fractured rock with possible small amounts of melt or fluid. No systematic velocity pattern is observed in association with the southern Washington Cascades conductor. A midcrustal anomaly parallels the Olympic-Wallowa lineament as well as several other geophysical trends, indicating that it may play an important role in regional tectonics.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2008

Shoaling of nonlinear internal waves in Massachusetts Bay

The shoaling of the nonlinear internal tide in Massachusetts Bay is studied with a fully nonlinear and nonhydrostatic model. The results are compared with current and temperature observations obtained during the August 1998 Massachusetts Bay Internal Wave Experiment and observations from a shorter experiment which took place in September 2001. The model shows how the approaching nonlinear undular bore interacts strongly with a shoaling bottom, offshore of where KdV theory predicts polarity switching should occur. It is shown that the shoaling process is dominated by nonlinearity, and the model results are interpreted with the aid of a two-layer nonlinear but hydrostatic model. After interacting with the shoaling bottom, the undular bore emerges on the shallow shelf inshore of the 30-m isobath as a nonlinear internal tide with a range of possible shapes, all of which are found in the available observational record. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Masschusetts↗
USGS2019

Ar-Ar age constraints on the timing of Havre Trough opening and magmatism

The age and style of opening of the Havre Trough back-arc system is uncertain due to a lack of geochronologic constraints for the region. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of 19 volcanic rocks from across the southern Havre Trough and Kermadec Arc was conducted in three laboratories to provide age constraints on the system. The results are integrated and interpreted as suggesting that this subduction system is young (<2 Ma) and coeval with opening of the continental Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand. Arc magmatism was broadly concurrent across the breadth of the Havre Trough.

Kermadec Arc–Havre Trough↗
USGS2022

Depositional models for two Tertiary coal-bearing sequences in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA

Depositional controls on peat-forming environments which produce thick (>10m) coal beds can be inferred from relationships between coal bed geometry, maceral composition and associated lithologies. Study of these relationships within sedimentary sequences associated with the Wyodak-Anderson (Palaeocene) and the Felix (Eocene) sub-bituminous coal beds in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA suggests two modes of fluvially controlled peat accumulation. The Wyodak-Anderson peat is interpreted to have formed in restricted parts of the floodplain that were separated by deposits of contemporaneous, anastomosed channels. The channels and associated sediments maintained their position through time because they were confined by thick deposits of raised Wyodak-Anderson peat. In contrast, the Felix coal bed is interpreted to have formed as a raised but widespread peat on an abandoned platform of meander-belt sands. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two different fluvial depositional settings that produced anomalously thick (>10m) coal deposits in the intermontane Powder River Basin of Wyoming, USA. These models may be useful as predictive tools for coal exploration and production.

Wyoming↗