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At least 739 records · Page 41Linked to original sources

USGS2019

A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data

With the increasing use of detrital geochronology data for provenance analyses, we have also developed new constraints on the age of otherwise undateable sedimentary deposits. Because a deposit can be no older than its youngest mineral constituent, the youngest defensible detrital mineral age defines the maximum depositional age of the sampled bed. Defining the youngest `defensible' age in the face of uncertainty (e.g., analytical and geological uncertainty, or sample contamination) is challenging. The current standard practice of finding multiple detrital minerals with indistinguishable ages provides confidence that a given age is not an artifact; however, we show how requiring this overlap reduces the probability of identifying the true youngest component age. Barring unusual complications, the principle of superposition dictates that sedimentary deposits must get younger upsection. This fundamental constraint can be incoporated into the analysis of depositional ages in sedimentary sections through the use of Bayesian statistics, allowing for the inference of bounded estimates of true depositional ages and uncertainties from detrital geochronology so long as some minimum age constraints are present. We present two approaches for constructing a Bayesian model of deposit ages, first solving directly for the ages of deposits with the prior constraint that the ages of units must obey stratigraphic ordering, and second describing the evolution of ages with a curve that represents the sediment accumulation rate. Using synthetic examples we highlight how this method preforms in less-than-ideal circumstances. In an example from the Magallanes Basin of Patagonia, we demonstrate how introducing other age information from the stratigraphic section (e.g., fossil assemblages or radiometric dates) and formalizing the stratigraphic context of samples provides additional constraints on and information regarding depositional ages or derived quantities (e.g., sediment accumulation rates) compared to isolated analysis of individual samples.

Frontiers in Earth Science↗

USGS2019

Formation pressure and fluid flow measurements in marine gas hydrate reservoirs, NGHP-02 expedition, offshore India

Open Hole Modular Dynamic Testing (MDT) measurements were conducted in a gas hydrate-bearing sand-rich reservoir offshore India during the National Gas Hydrate Program 02 (NGHP-02) Expedition. The primary goal of this test was to obtain effective reservoir petrophysical properties in the presence of gas hydrates. The test plan included a series of pre-hydrate dissociation flow and build-up (shut-in) tests, and an attempt to dissociate gas hydrate in a sand-rich reservoir by depressurization to collect formation fluid samples and to further characterize in situ gas hydrate stability conditions. Schlumberger’s wireline MDT tool was used in a dual-packer configuration to isolate the formation being tested. This paper presents the results of the open hole MDT measurements that were conducted in Hole NGHP-02-23-C in Krishna-Godavari Basin at a water depth of 2553.5 m. The MDT dual packer test was conducted in 27 cm (10.63 in) diameter open hole section of the borehole within a 1-m interval isolated between two inflatable packers with the midpoint of the test interval at 2853.0 meter below rig floor (mbrf) (271.0 meter below sea floor (mbsf)). This was the first gas hydrate MDT test ever conducted in ultradeep water to characterize a gas hydrate reservoir system. Pre-hydrate dissociation testing was performed with a drawdown period (depressurization) of 20 minutes followed by a build-up (shut-in) of 20 minutes. The measured formation pressure was 4090.7 psia and the formation fluid (i.e., water) mobility was calculated at 1.98 mD/cP. During the second dissociation phase of the same test a maximum pressure drawdown of 840 psia was achieved; however, falling short of the 1120 psia drawdown required for dissociation. During the dissociation test the flow line pressure stabilized at a flowing pressure of 3250 psia which can be attributed to the relatively high mobility of the free water phase in the hydrate-bearing reservoir. Good quality formation pressure and near well bore mobility data was acquired that yielded a “high confidence” reservoir effective radial permeability-thickness product of 0.2 mD.m (or a horizontal effective permeability of 0.1 mD assuming a reservoir thicknees of 1.8 m) using pressure transient analysis (radial flow regime was achieved) despite unstable borehole conditions and complex operations in these shallow unconsolidated sedimentary sections.

Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology↗

USGS1997

Synthesis and revision of groups within the Newark Supergroup, eastern North America

The Newark Supergroup currently includes nine stratigraphic groups, each of which applies to part or all of the rock column of only one or a few basins. Because the group nomenclature within the Newark Supergroup is neither inclusive nor parallel in its concepts, nearly half of the strata within the Newark Supergroup lacks any group placement. A new system is proposed herein that (1) establishes unambiguous group boundaries, (2) places all Newark Supergroup strata into groups, (3) reduces the number of group names from nine to three, (4) creates parallelism between groups and three major successive tectonic events that created the rift basins containing the Newark Supergroup, and (5) coincidentally provides isochronous or nearly isochronous group boundaries. These proposed groups are (1) the Chatham Group (Middle Triassic to basal Lower Jurassic sedimentary rocks), (2) the Meriden Group (Lower Jurassic extrusive volcanic and sedimentary rocks), and (3) the Agawam Group (new name) (Lower Jurassic sedimentary rocks above all early Mesozoic igneous intrusive and extrusive rocks).

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

USGS1992

Calibration of the latest Eocene-Oligocene geomagnetic polarity time scale using 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dated ignimbrites

A discontinuous record of late Eocene-Oligocene geomagnetic polarity has been determined using high-precision (±<0.15 m.y.) 40 Ar/ 39 Ar sanidine dating and a paleomagnetic study of 37-27 Ma ignimbrites in New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas. This record provides age control for several geomagnetic polarity reversals that occurred during three periods of intense ignimbrite volcanism: 36.8-33.5 Ma, 32.7-31.4 Ma, 29.1-26.9 Ma. The relative timing of these polarity reversals permits four possible correlations with the geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS). The preferred correlation yields calibration ages for Chron C10R (28.0-29.0 Ma) and Chron C13R (34.4-33.1 Ma) that indicate an Eocene-Oligocene boundary age near 33.4 Ma, some 0.3-0.6 m.y. younger than boundary ages indicated by other recently proposed GPTS calibrations based on terrestrial and marine sedimentary sequences.

Geology↗

USGS2000

Last interglacial reef growth beneath Belize barrier and isolated platform reefs

We report the first radiometric dates (thermal-ionization mass spectrometry) from late Pleistocene reef deposits from offshore Belize, the location of the largest modern reef complex in the Atlantic Ocean. The results presented here can be used to explain significant differences in bathymetry, sedimentary facies, and reef development of this major reef area, and the results are significant because they contribute to the knowledge of the regional geology of the eastern Yucatán. The previously held concept of a neotectonically stable eastern Yucatán is challenged. The dates indicate that Pleistocene reefs and shallow-water limestones, which form the basement of modern reefs in the area, accumulated ca. 125–130 ka. Significant differences in elevation of the samples relative to present sea level (>10 m) have several possible causes. Differential subsidence along a series of continental margin fault blocks in combination with variation in karstification are probably the prime causes. Differential subsidence is presumably related to initial extension and later left-lateral movements along the adjacent active boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. Increasing dissolution toward the south during Pleistocene sea-level lowstands is probably a consequence of higher precipitation rates in mountainous southern Belize.

Geology↗

USGS1983

Aeromagnetic map and interpretation of geophysical data from the Condrey Mountain Roadless Area, Siskiyou County, California

The Condrey Mountain Roadless Area lies within the Klamath Mountains geologic province, a province composed of four eastward-dipping imbricate thrust slices or belts consisting predominantly of marine arc-related volcanic and sedimentary rocks, but also including significant amounts of ultramafic and other ophiolitic rocks (Irwin, 1981). From west to east the four Klamath Mountains thrust slices are called the western Jurassic belt, the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt, the central metamorphic belt, and the eastern Klamath belt. The Condrey Mountain Road less Area is located within a structural window in the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt, a window in which the structural dome comprised of the Condrey Mountain Schist is exposed (Coleman and others, 1983). North, east and south of the roadless area, the Condrey Mountain Schist is separated from the overlying western Paleozoic and Triassic belt by a low-angle regional thrust, whereas to the west the two units are in high-angle fault contact (Coleman and others, 1983). The Condrey Mountain schist consists mainly of sedimentary and volcanic rocks metamorphosed to greenschist facies. Metasedimentary rocks are exposed over most of the eastern and central parts of the structural window. Metavolcanic rocks occupy the western part of the window but also occur in small exposures within the metasedimentary rocks and along the eastern and southern margins of the window. Tabular bodies of metaserpentinite, the largest of which crops out near White Mountain, are contained within the metasedimentary rocks. Densities of hand samples from 11 sites scattered throughout the Condrey Mountain window average 2.66±0.05 g/cm 3 . The four samples of metavolcanic rocks yielded a higher average density than the seven samples of metasedimentary rocks (2.71±0.04 g/cm 3 versus 2.63±0.03 g/cm 3 ). Along the western edge of the Condrey Mountain Road less Area, numerous narrow north-trending zones of mineralized schist extend from near Copper Butte on the south, northward to Elliot Creek (Coleman and others, 1983). These zones contain abundant pyrite mineralization associated with pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, qalena, and sphalerite. The Blue Ledge mine area, 2 mi north-northeast of Copper Butte, is located in a zone of mineralized schist. The western Paleozoic and Triassic belt that nearly surrounds the Condrey Mountain Schist is a melange of sedimentary, volcanic, and ultramafic rocks metamorphosed to amphibolite facies (Coleman and others, 1983). Only two samples of the metamorphic melange were collected near the Condrcy Mountain Road less Area, but extensive sampling of this unit southwest of the roadless area yielded an average sample density of 2.86±0.15 g/cm 3 (112 samples) (Jachens and others, 1983).

California↗

USGS1956

Non-pegmatitic resources of beryllium in United States

During the period from 1948 to 1950 the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a program of field and laboratory research w determine the mode of occurrence of beryllium in non-pegmatitic rocks and mineral deposits as part of the Beryllium Program of the Division of Raw Materials of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Approximately 23 man months were spent in the field collecting samples from 146 localities in 15 states; a total of 680 samples were collected and analyzed for beryllium. Additional samples collected by the Geological Survey. U.S. Bureau of Mines, various state Geological Surveys and other institutions. and private companies were analyzed for beryllium. In total, the beryllium content of 1,238 samples from about 600 localities in the United States is compiled in the final report which is being prepared for publication by the U.S. Geological Survey. The main topics discussed are: uses and properties of beryllium; methods of analysis and mineralogy of beryllium; occurrence of beryllium in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, pyrometasomatic and related deposits, vein deposits, and hot spring deposits; the genesis of beryllium deposits; and a description of the deposits examined. This abstract and table 1 summarize the more pertinent economic data. Beryllium is more abundant than arsenic, gold, silver, and molybdenum in the lithosphere, but its chemical and physical properties prohibit its concentration in minerals which are common w large commercial vein and replacement deposits. There are 29 minerals in which beryllium is an essential constituent but of these only beryl, mined from granite pegmatites, is an ore of beryllium., Beryl also occurs disseminated in granites and high-temperature veins. The other 28 minerals occur as rare constituents in syenite and granite pegmatites, granites, and pyrometasomatic deposits. Beryllium, as a trace constituent, has been detected in 49 minerals but recovery of the beryllium requires metallurgical methods as yet unknown.

Trace Elements Investigations↗

USGS1987

The U.S. Midcontinent: a new frontier for mineral exploration.

The north-central US Midcontinent is underlain by a considerable thickness of sedimentary rocks, mostly Paleozoic, which lie upon a heterogeneous basement of Precambrian granitoid and metamorphic rocks. This article describes a representative sample of Midcontinent geology and explains why the authors believe this region is a 'new frontier' for mineral exploration and discovery. -Authors

Episodes↗

USGS1974

Barium in hybrid granitoid rocks of the southern Snake Range, Nevada

In a magmatic environment, barium usually substitutes for potassium in the crystallizing silicates, and the two increase together in rocks late in the differentiation sequence. Results of this study show the opposite trend in an equivalent of a large part (63-76 percent SiO 2 ) of the classic differentiation sequence that resulted mainly from assimilation of chemically distinct host rocks. The barium content of the hybrid granitoid rock appears to be controlled mainly by the barium contents of the various sedimentary rock types assimilated.

Nevada↗

USGS2016

Assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system From Long Island, New York, to North Carolina

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear regional assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system in 2010 as part of its ongoing regional assessments of groundwater availability of the principal aquifers of the Nation. The goals of this national assessment are to document effects of human activities on water levels and groundwater storage, explore climate variability effects on the regional water budget, and provide consistent and integrated information that is useful to those who use and manage the groundwater resource. As part of this nationwide assessment, the USGS evaluated available groundwater resources within the NACP aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to northeastern North Carolina. The northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province depends heavily on groundwater to meet agricultural, industrial, and municipal needs. The groundwater assessment of the NACP aquifer system included an evaluation of how water use has changed over time; this evaluation primarily used groundwater budgets and development of a numerical modeling tool to assess system responses to stresses from future human uses and climate trends. This assessment focused on multiple spatial and temporal scales to examine changes in groundwater pumping, storage, and water levels. The regional scale provides a broad view of the sources and demands on the system with time. The sub-regional scale provides an evaluation of the differing response of the aquifer system across geographic areas allowing for closer examination of the interaction between different aquifers and confining units and the changes in these interactions under pumping and recharge conditions in 2013 and hydrologic stresses as much as 45 years in the future. By focusing on multiple scales, water-resource managers may utilize this study to understand system response to changes as they affect the system as a whole. The NACP aquifer system extends from Long Island to northeastern North Carolina, and includes aquifers primarily within New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The seaward-dipping sedimentary wedge that underlies the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province forms a complex groundwater system. Although the NACP aquifer system is recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey as one of the smallest of the 66 principal aquifer systems in the Nation, it ranks 13th overall in terms of total groundwater withdrawals and is 7th in population served. Despite abundant precipitation [about 45 inches per year (in/yr)], the supply of fresh surface water in this region is limited because many of the surface waters in this area are brackish estuaries, contributing to why many communities in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province rely heavily on groundwater to meet their water needs. Increases in population and changes in land use during the past 100 years have resulted in diverse increased demands for freshwater throughout the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province with groundwater serving as a vital source of drinking water for the nearly 20 million people who live in the region. Total groundwater withdrawal in 2013 was estimated to be about 1,300 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) and accounts for about 40 percent of the drinking water supply with the densely populated areas tending to have the highest rates of withdrawals and, therefore, being most susceptible to effects from these withdrawals over time. Water levels in many of the confined aquifers are decreasing by as much as 2 feet per year (ft/yr) in response to extensive development and subsequent increased withdrawals throughout the region. Total water-level decreases (drawdowns) are more than 100 feet (ft) in some aquifers from their predevelopment (before 1900) levels. These drawdowns extend across state lines and under the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, creating the potential for interstate aquifer management issues. Regional water-resources managers in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province face challenges beyond competing local domestic, industrial, agricultural, and environmental demands for water. Large changes in regional water use have made the State-level management of aquifer resources more difficult because of hydrologic effects that extend beyond State boundaries. The northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province is underlain by a wedge of unconsolidated to partially consolidated sediments that are typically thousands of feet thick along the coastline with a maximum thickness of about 10,000 ft near the edge of the continental shelf. The NACP aquifer system consists of nine confined aquifers and nine confining units capped by an unconfined surficial aquifer that is bounded laterally from the west by the contact between Coastal Plain sediments and the upland Piedmont bedrock. This aquifer system extends to the east to the limit of the Continental Shelf, however, the boundary between fresh and saline groundwater is considered to be much closer to the shoreline and varies vertically by aquifer. Precipitation over the region for average conditions from 2005 to 2009 is about 61,800 Mgal/d, but about 70 percent of it is lost to evapotranspiration resulting in an inflow of about 19,600 Mgal/d entering the groundwater system as aquifer recharge. Most of this recharge enters the aquifer system and flows through the shallow unconfined aquifer and either discharges to streams or directly to coastal waters without reaching the deep, confined aquifer system. In addition to recharge from precipitation, other sources of water include the return of wastewater from domestic septic systems of about 240 Mgal/d, about 60 Mgal/d of water released from storage in the confined system, and about 30 Mgal/d of lateral inflow at the boundary between freshwater and saltwater in response to pumping for conditions in 2013. The outflow needed to balance the inflows was subdivided between streamflow, discharge to tidal portions of streams, and coastal discharge. The hydrologic budget developed for current [2013] conditions determined that 93 percent of the total outflow was to surface waters with about 70 percent divided evenly between streamflow and shallow coastal discharge and 23 percent as discharge to tidal waters. The remaining 7 percent of the total outflow components include withdrawals from both the surficial and confined aquifers of the groundwater system. The groundwater availability assessment of the NACP aquifer system highlights the importance of analyses at both the regional and local scales to understand how changes in land use, water use, and climate have affected groundwater resources and how these resources may change in the future. The investigation included assessments of the regional changes in water levels and budgets across State lines, the importance of considering storage change in the confining units, the response of the aquifer system to a continuation of current [2013] hydrologic stresses into the future, and the potential effects of climate change and sea-level rise on the aquifer system. The Potomac aquifer group includes two of the most widely used aquifers in the NACP aquifer system, the Potomac-Patapsco and Potomac-Patuxent regional aquifers, providing about 24 percent of the total groundwater used in the region. Withdrawals from large pumping centers in this deep, confined aquifer group have resulted in substantial decreases in water-levels across state lines, particularly between southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina as well as between southern New Jersey and northern Delaware where water levels in the Potomac-Patapsco aquifer have decreased by as much as 200 ft and 50 ft, respectively from predevelopment to current [2013] conditions. This response in water levels also is reflected in changes in water budgets where, for example, about 20 percent of the total response to pumping in Virginia is met by inducing flow from adjacent States. Understanding and quantifying these hydrologic effects that extend beyond State boundaries is critical for the State- and regional-level management of aquifer resources. The cumulative storage loss from the intervening confining units throughout the entire NACP aquifer system was about 35 percent of the total storage loss from predevelopment to current [2013] conditions. In geographic areas such as Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland, and New Jersey, the water released from storage in the confining units makes up the majority of the total storage release from the groundwater system and is becoming proportionally more important over time as the surficial aquifer approaches equilibrium with respect to pumping and recharge stresses as of 2013. Storage loss from the confining units is of particular concern because, unlike in the sands that comprise the confined aquifers, water removed from the clayey confining unit sediments cannot be replenished as these units gradually compress. This non-recoverable storage loss, if great enough, can result in land subsidence where these units are thick and the release from storage is relatively large and contributes to increased concerns for sea-level rise in areas such as the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Groundwater usage increased dramatically in the NACP aquifer system during post-World War II era from the mid-1940s to early the 1980s, with withdrawals increasing from about 400 Mgal/d to more than 1,300 Mgal/d. Although groundwater withdrawals have been relatively constant since the early 1980s, about half of the total groundwater withdrawn from the NACP aquifer system since 1900 was withdrawn in the past 30 years. An analysis of the response of the groundwater system to a continuation of the current [2013] pumping for an additional 30 years into the future shows that the flow system continues to adjust in terms of changes in water budget components, water levels, and the boundary between freshwater and saltwater as it approaches equilibrium. The largest change in water budget components is the reduction in the amount of water released from storage. Across the entire NACP aquifer system, the reduction of storage release from 7 to 4 percent of the total water budget change is accounted for by reductions in groundwater discharge to streams and coastal waters. Locally, a similar response is calculated for each of the geographic areas except for Virginia where the amount of water released from storage accounts for about 25 percent of the total change in water budget. This finding suggests that the groundwater flow system in Virginia is not approaching equilibrium under the current [2013] stresses and, therefore, water levels will continue to decrease even if the pumping remains constant. An analysis of the change in water levels in the Potomac-Patapsco aquifer as pumping is continued 30 years into the future reveals that the largest decreases in water levels throughout the NACP aquifer system will occur in the southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina parts of the study area. It is these areas that also see the greatest potential for increased lateral movement of saline groundwater in the deep, confined portion of the groundwater flow system in response to a continuation of the current [2013] pumping rates. The potential effects of long-term climate change and variability on the hydrologic system and availability of water resources in the NACP aquifer system continue to be of serious societal concern. These concerns include the effects of changes in aquifer recharge and in sea-level rise on the groundwater flow system. An assessment of the potential effects of a prolonged drought during current [2013] pumping conditions indicated that the reductions in recharge associated with droughts, including additional irrigation withdrawals required to meet increased crop water demand, have the greatest effects on water levels and streamflows in the surficial aquifer, and changes in water levels in the confined aquifers primarily resulted from the increased withdrawals associated with increased irrigation pumping; this response was most apparent in the Delmarva Peninsula. These results suggest that water levels may not be susceptible to the effects of droughts in the confined aquifers of the NACP aquifer system not used for irrigation, unlike in the unconfined surficial aquifer. A second analysis also was conducted to assess the effects of sea-level rise on the groundwater system throughout the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province because recent analyses of the relative rates of sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast indicate that the Mid-Atlantic region represents a hot spot with anomalously higher rates of sea-level rise than observed elsewhere in the United States. Groundwater levels rose from 0 to 3 ft in response to a 3-ft simulated change in sea-level position, with the largest response occurring along the shoreline and away from non-tidal streams. About 37 percent (or 10,000 square miles) of the area of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province may experience about a 0.5-ft or more increase in water levels with the 3-ft increase in sea-level position, whereas about 18 percent (almost 5,000 square miles) of land of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province may experience a 2-ft or more increase in water levels with the 3-ft increase in sea-level position. These increases in the water table are of particular concern in low-lying areas where the unsaturated (vadose) zone is already thin, thus creating concerns for groundwater inundation of subsurface infrastructure, such as basements, septic systems, and subway systems. This increase in the water table also will likely alter the distribution of groundwater discharge to surface-water bodies thus increasing groundwater flow to streams that would have otherwise discharged directly to coastal waters. Throughout the NACP aquifer system, this redistribution of groundwater discharge results in an additional 2 percent of base flow in streams. Although the increases in groundwater discharge to streams (and corresponding decreases in discharge to coastal waters) calculated for the entire NACP aquifer system and its geographic areas represent only a small increase compared with current [2013] conditions, this redistribution of groundwater discharge from the coast to streams locally can alter the delivery of freshwater input to coastal receiving waters and have ecohydrological implications on the sensitive ecosystems which rely on a balance of groundwater discharge and surface-water flow.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Ca↗

USGS2022

Bedrock geologic map of the Crown Point quadrangle, Essex County, New York, and Addison County, Vermont

The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Crown Point quadrangle consists of deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Adirondack Highlands unconformably overlain by weakly deformed lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Champlain Valley. The Mesoproterozoic rocks occur on the eastern edge of the Adirondack Highlands and represent an extension of the Grenville Province of Laurentia. Granulite facies Mesoproterozoic paragneiss, marble, and amphibolite hosted the emplacement of granitic orthogneiss at approximately 1.18–1.15 giga-annum (Ga, billion years before present). The earliest of four phases of deformation (D1) is characterized by gneissosity, rarely preserved F1 isoclinal folds, and migmatite in the host rocks. Subsequent D2 deformation produced a composite penetrative gneissosity, migmatite, and isoclinal F2 folds. Towards the end of D2, felsic magmatism (including the regionally extensive Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, abbreviated “LMG”) spread by penetrative migration as semiconcordant alkali feldspar granite sheets subparallel to S2 into previously deformed lithologies. The LMG crystallized at approximately 1.15 Ga and displays synkinematic F2 folds thus constraining the time of D2 deformation. Exhumation during D3 produced F3 folds exhibited in regional domes and basins, such as the Keeney Mountain synform, local reactivation of the S2 foliation, partial melting, metamorphism, metasomatism, iron ore remobilization, and intrusion of magnetite-bearing pegmatite both as layer-parallel sills and crosscutting dikes. D4 created NE- and NW-trending boudinage, local high-grade ductile shear zones, and crosscutting granitic pegmatite dikes. Kilometer (km)-scale lineaments readily observed in lidar data are Ediacaran mafic dikes and Phanerozoic brittle faults. The Paleozoic rocks are part of the Early Cambrian to Late Ordovician great American carbonate bank on the ancient margin of Laurentia. Cambrian-Ordovician stratigraphy records an approximately 1-km-thick section and a transition from synrift clastics to passive margin peritidal carbonate buildups to gradually deeper water subtidal to shelf carbonates during foreland basin development associated with the Taconic orogeny. The Paleozoic rocks are weakly folded and block faulted. Large areas of the Champlain Valley are covered by undifferentiated glacial deposits, some of which contain mapped landslides. The map also shows waste rock piles and tailings from historical mining operations and large areas of artificial fill. This study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the bedrock geology in the Adirondack Highlands, establish a modern framework for 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic mapping in the Adirondacks, provide a context for historical iron mines in the eastern Adirondacks, and update the stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley in New York and Vermont. This Scientific Investigations Map of the Crown Point 7.5-minute quadrangle consists of a map sheet, an explanatory pamphlet, and a geographic information system database that includes bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information. The map sheet includes a bedrock geologic map, a correlation of map units, a description of map units, an explanation of map symbols, three cross sections, and a simplified surficial geologic map that includes lidar percent slope. The explanatory pamphlet includes a discussion of the geology. The bedrock geologic map on the map sheet is multi-layered and has been designed to enable the user to turn off the surficial map layer to view the concealed bedrock map units.

New York, Vermont↗

USGS2010

Effects of topographic position and geology on shaking damage to residential wood-framed structures during the 2003 San Simeon earthquake, western San Luis obispo county, California

A statistical evaluation of shaking damage to wood-framed houses caused by the 2003 M6.5 San Simeon earthquake indicates that both the rate and severity of damage, independent of structure type, are significantly greater on hilltops compared to hill slopes when underlain by Cretaceous or Tertiary sedimentary rocks. This increase in damage is interpreted to be the result of topographic amplification. An increase in the damage rate is found for all structures built on Plio-Pleistocene rocks independent of topographic position, and this is interpreted to be the result of amplified shaking caused by geologic site response. Damage rate and severity to houses built on Tertiary rocks suggest that amplification due to both topographic position and geologic site response may be occurring in these rocks, but effects from other topographic parameters cannot be ruled out. For all geologic and topographic conditions, houses with raised foundations are more frequently damaged than those with slab foundations. However, the severity of damage to houses on raised foundations is only significantly greater for those on hill slopes underlain by Tertiary rocks. Structures with some damage-resistant characteristics experienced greater damage severity on hilltops, suggesting a spectral response to topographic amplification. ?? 2010, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

Earthquake Spectra↗

USGS1981

Sedimentary framework of the Potomac River estuary, Maryland

Analyses of seismic-reflection profiles, sediment cores, grab samples, and side-scan sonar records, along with previously collected borehole data, reveal the characteristics, distribution, and geologic history of the shallow strata beneath the Potomac River estuary. The lowermost strata are sediments of the Chesapeake Group (lower Miocene to lower Pleistocene) that crop out on land near the shore but are buried as much as 40 m below the floor of the estuary. The top of these sediments is an erosional unconformity that outlines the Wisconsinan valley of the Potomac River. This valley has a sinuous trend, a flat bottom, a relief of 15 to 34 m, and axial depths of 34 to 54 m below present sea level. During the Holocene transgression of sea level, the ancestral valley was filled with as much as 40 m of sandy and silty, fluvial-to-shallow estuarine sediments. The fill became the substrate for oyster bars in the upper reach and now forms most marginal slopes of the estuary. Since sea level approached its present position (2,000 to 3,000 yr ago), the main channel has become the locus of deposition for watery, gray to black clay or silty clay, and waves and currents have eroded the heterogeneous Quaternary sediments along the margins, leaving winnowed brown sand on shallow shoreline flats. Pb-210 analyses indicate that modern mud is accumulating at rates ranging from 0.16 to 1.80 cm/yr, being lowest near the mouth and increasing toward the head of the estuary. This trend reflects an increased accumulation of fine-grained fluvial sediments near the turbidity maximum, similar to that found in nearby Chesapeake Bay. The present annual accumulation of mud is about 1.54 million metric tons; the cumulative mass is 406 million metric tons.

Maryl↗

USGS2013

Geologic map of the Glen Canyon Dam 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, Coconino County, northern Arizona

The Glen Canyon Dam 30’ x 60’ quadrangle is characterized by nearly flat lying to gently dipping Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary strata that overlie tilted Proterozoic strata or metasedimentary and igneous rocks similar to those exposed at the bottom of Grand Canyon southwest of the quadrangle. Mississippian to Permian rocks are exposed in the walls of Marble Canyon; Permian strata and minor outcrops of Triassic strata form the surface bedrock of House Rock Valley and Marble Plateau, southwestern quarter of the quadrangle. The Paleozoic strata exposed in Marble Canyon and Grand Canyon south of the map are likely present in the subsurface of the entire quadrangle but with unknown facies and thickness changes. The Mesozoic sedimentary rocks exposed along the Vermilion and Echo Cliffs once covered the entire quadrangle, but Cenozoic erosion has removed most of these rocks from House Rock Valley and Marble Plateau areas. Mesozoic strata remain over much of the northern and eastern portions of the quadrangle where resistant Jurassic sandstone units form prominent cliffs, escarpments, mesas, buttes, and much of the surface bedrock of the Paria, Kaibito, and Rainbow Plateaus. Jurassic rocks in the northeastern part of quadrangle are cut by a sub-Cretaceous regional unconformity that bevels the Entrada Sandstone and Morrison Formation from Cummings Mesa southward to White Mesa near Kaibito. Quaternary deposits, mainly eolian, mantle much of the Paria, Kaibito, and Rainbow Plateaus in the northern and northeastern portion of the quadrangle. Alluvial deposits are widely distributed over parts of House Rock Valley and Marble Plateau in the southwest quarter of the quadrangle. The east-dipping strata of the Echo Cliffs Monocline forms a general north-south structural boundary through the central part of the quadrangle, separating Marble and Paria Plateaus west of the monocline from the Kaibito Plateau east of the monocline. The Echo Cliffs Monocline continues north of the quadrangle into southern Utah. The gentle north- and northeast-dipping Mesozoic strata on the Kaibito and Rainbow Plateaus are partly interrupted by northwest-trending, broad-based, ill-defined synclines and anticlines. These broad-based structures form mesas and buttes near anticlinal crests and deeply incised drainages in synclinal valleys. The 1,300-ft-thick (396-m-thick) Navajo Sandstone erodes into a maze of tributary slot canyons in the northeastern part of the quadrangle. Mesozoic strata in the extreme northeast corner of the quadrangle dip gently southwest due to the influence of the Monument Upwarp in southeastern Utah and by an intrusive uplift (laccolith) that forms Navajo Mountain, a prominent 10,388 ft (3,166 m) landmark just northeast of the quadrangle.

Arizona↗

USGS2011

Significance of zircon U-Pb ages from the Pescadero felsite, west-central California coast ranges

Weathered felsite is associated with the late Campanian–Maastrichtian Pigeon Point Formation near Pescadero, California. Poorly exposed, its age and correlation are uncertain. Is it part of the Pigeon Point section west of the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault? Does it rest on Nacimiento block basement? Is it dextrally offset from the Oligocene Cambria Felsite, ∼185 km to the southeast? Why is a calc-alkaline hypabyssal igneous rock intrusive into the outboard accretionary prism? To address these questions, we analyzed 43 oscillatory-zoned zircon crystals from three incipiently recrystallized pumpellyite ± prehnite ± laumontite-bearing Pescadero felsite samples by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry (SHRIMP-RG) and laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Thirty-three zircons gave late Mesozoic U-Pb ages, with single-grain values ranging from 81 to 167 Ma; ten have pre-Mesozoic, chiefly Proterozoic ages. A group of the four youngest Pescadero zircons yielded an apparent maximum igneous age of ca. 86–90 Ma. Reflecting broad age scatter and presence of partly digested sandstone inclusions, we interpret the rest of the zircons (perhaps all) as xenocrysts. Twenty-three zircons were separated and analyzed from two samples of the similar Cambria Felsite, yielding a unimodal 27 Ma U-Pb age. Clearly, the origin of the Upper Oligocene Cambria Felsite is different from that of the Upper Cretaceous Pescadero felsite; these rocks are not correlated, and do not constrain displacement along the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault. Peak ages differ slightly, but relative probability curves for Mesozoic and pre-Mesozoic Pescadero zircons compare well, for example, with abundant U-Pb age data for detrital zircons from Franciscan metaclastic strata ∼100 km to the east in the Diablo Range–San Francisco Bay area, San Joaquin Great Valley Group turbidites, Upper Cretaceous Nacimiento block Franciscan strata, and Upper Cretaceous forearc units of the Transverse Ranges. Based on zircon U-Pb ages, geologic and petrographic relations, the Pescadero felsite and a capping, sheared metaconglomerate underlie the Pigeon Point Formation. We infer that the magma formed by anatexis of Franciscan or Great Valley clastic sedimentary rocks originating from a parental Mesozoic Sierran-Mojave-Salinian calc-alkaline arc. The felsite erupted during Late Cretaceous time, was metamorphosed to pumpellyite-prehnite grade within the subduction zone, and then was rapidly exhumed, weakly zeolitized, and exposed before Pigeon Point forearc deposition. Pescadero volcanism apparently reflects a previously unrecognized ca. 86–90 Ma felsic igneous event in the accretionary margin.

California↗

USGS2026

Preliminary bedrock geologic map of the Port Henry quadrangle, Essex County, New York, and Addison County, Vermont

Introduction The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Port Henry quadrangle consists of deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Adirondack Highlands unconformably overlain by weakly deformed lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Champlain Valley. The Mesoproterozoic rocks occur on the eastern edge of the Adirondack Highlands and represent an extension of the Grenville Province of Laurentia. Mesoproterozoic paragneiss, marble, and amphibolite hosted the emplacement of an anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite (AMCG) suite, now exposed mostly as orthogneiss, at approximately 1.18–1.15 Ga (giga-annum). In the Port Henry quadrangle, the AMCG metaigneous rocks (Yhg, Ygb, Yanw) intruded older, mostly metasedimentary rocks of the Grenville Complex during the middle to late Shawinigan orogeny (~1,160–1,150 Ma [mega-annum]). All rocks were subsequently metamorphosed to upper amphibolite to granulite facies conditions during the 1,080–1,050 Ma Ottawan orogeny. New mapping reveals four periods of deformation: (1) D1 produced rarely preserved isoclinal folds in the paragneiss and marble and predates AMCG magmatism. (2) Subsequent D2 deformation produced the dominant gneissic fabric preserved in the rock, recumbent folding, and deformed all the Proterozoic units in the map area. Syn- to late-D2 felsic magmatism resulted in the regionally extensive Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, which hosts numerous magnetite ore bodies. (3) Mylonitic extensional shear zones and core complex formation marked the beginning of D3 deformation. Protracted D3 deformation resulted in F3 upright folding, dome and basin formation, pegmatite intrusion, reactivation of the S2 foliation, partial melting, metamorphism, metasomatism, iron-ore remobilization, and intrusion of magnetite-bearing pegmatite both as layer-parallel sills and crosscutting dikes. (4) D4 created northeast- and northwest-trending local high-grade ductile shear zones and boudinage, northwest-trending regional kilometer (km)-wide ductile shear zones, and crosscutting granitic pegmatite dikes. The development of the late-stage regional shear zones (D4) was likely due to the continuation of extensional doming and uplift from upper amphibolite facies conditions at the end of the Ottawan orogeny. The majority of iron-ore deposits in the Port Henry and adjacent Witherbee quadrangles are in the hanging wall of these extensional shear zones. In the Port Henry quadrangle, the km-wide Cheney Mountain shear zone is the result of D4 deformation. Kilometer-scale lineaments readily observed in lidar data are Ediacaran mafic dikes and Phanerozoic brittle faults. The Paleozoic rocks are part of the Early Cambrian to Late Ordovician carbonate bank on the ancient margin of Laurentia. The approximately 1-km-thick Cambrian to Ordovician stratigraphy records a transition from synrift clastics to passive-margin peritidal carbonate buildups to gradually deeper-water subtidal- to shelf-carbonates during foreland basin development associated with the Taconic orogeny. The Paleozoic rocks are weakly folded and block faulted. Large areas of the Champlain Valley are covered by undifferentiated glacial deposits, some of which contain mapped landslides. The map also shows waste rock piles and tailings from historical mining operations. This study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the bedrock geology in the Adirondack Highlands, establish a modern framework for 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic mapping in the Adirondacks, provide a context for historical iron mines in the eastern Adirondacks, and update the stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley in New York and Vermont. This Open-File Report includes a bedrock geologic map; a description of map units; a correlation of map units; and a geographic information system database that includes bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information.

New York, Vermont↗

USGS1984

Wave-formed structures and paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Wave-formed sedimentary structures can be powerful interpretive tools because they reflect not only the velocity and direction of the oscillatory currents, but also the length of the horizontal component of orbital motion and the presence of velocity asymmetry within the flow. Several of these aspects can be related through standard wave theories to combinations of wave dimensions and water depth that have definable natural limits. For a particular grain size, threshold of particle movement and that of conversion from a rippled to flat bed indicate flow-velocity limits. The ratio of ripple spacing to grain size provides an estimate of the length of the near-bottom orbital motion. The degree of velocity asymmetry is related to the asymmetry of the bedforms, though it presently cannot be estimated with confidence. A plot of water depth versus wave height (h-H diagram) provides a convenient approach for showing the combination of wave parameters and water depths capable of generating any particular structure in sand of a given grain size. Natural limits on wave height and inferences or assumptions regarding either water depth or wave period based on geologic evidence allow refinement of the paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The assumptions and the degree of approximation involved in the different techniques impose significant constraints. Inferences based on wave-formed structures are most reliable when they are drawn in the context of other evidence such as the association of sedimentary features or progradational sequences.

Marine Geology↗

USGS1993

Prediction of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins

To estimate the undiscovered hydrocarbon potential of sedimentary basins, quantitative play assessments specific for each location in a region may be obtained using geostatistical methods combined with the theory of classification of geological objects, a methodology referred to as regionalization. The technique relies on process modeling and measured borehole data as well as probabilistic methods to exploit the relationship between geology (the "predictor") and known hydrocarbon productivity (the "target") to define prospective stratigraphic intervals within a basin. It is demonstrated in case studies from the oil-producing region of the western Kansas Pennsylvanian Shelf and the gas-bearing Rotliegend sediments of the Northeast German Basin. ?? 1993 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Mathematical Geology↗