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Publications

Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.

Filter Total Items: 1337

Estimates of the suspended sediment reference concentration (Ca) and resuspension coefficient (γ0) from near-bottom observations on the California shelf

Near-bottom current and suspended sediment measurements above a sandy clayey silt bed on the California continental shelf are used to estimate the near-bed suspended sediment reference concentration, Ca, and the bed shear stress, τ0. A proposed model contends that Ca should be proportional to the normalized excess shear stress acting on the sediment grains and to the availability of erodible grain
Authors
D. E. Drake, D. A. Cacchione

Hydrocarbon gases in sediment of the Voring Plateau, Norwegian Sea

Geochemical studies at three ODP Leg 104 sites on the Wring Plateau help define the distribution of hydrocarbon gases in sediment of this prominent feature of the Norwegian continental margin. Low levels of hydrocarbon gas were encountered in sediment of the outer part of the plateau, but sediment of the inner part of the plateau is very gassy. The molecular composition of inner plateau gases ( >
Authors
Keith A. Kvenvolden, Margaret Golan-Bac, T.J. McDonald, R.C. Pflaum, J.M. Brooks

Organic matter at sites 642, 643, and 644, ODP Leg 104

Sedimentary extractable organic matter was analyzed at three ODP Leg 104 sites in the Norwegian Sea. Organic carbon content ranged from less than 0.1% to a maximum of 1.8%. Extractable organic matter content and unresolved complex mixture concentrations were low and randomly distributed. Low levels of aliphatic (branched and normal) and aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in all of the sediments a
Authors
T.J. McDonald, M.C. Kennicutt, J.M. Brooks, Keith A. Kvenvolden

Organic geochemistry on Leg 104

The Leg 104 organic geochemistry program consisted of monitoring (a) hydrocarbon gases, (b) organic and inorganic carbon, and (c) parameters resulting from Rock-Eval pyrolysis at three sites on the Vdring Plateau. The results amplify some of those obtained earlier on Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 38. In a regional sense there is an inverse correlation between amounts of hydrocarbon gas and
Authors
Keith A. Kvenvolden, T.J. McDonald

Marine magnetic gradiometer: A tool for the seismic interpreter

The marine magnetometer has been used since the early '50s as an ancillary tool on vessels conducting regional and local seismic surveys. Emphasis on marine magnetic data by academia has led to major discoveries about the structure of the earth's crust, such as the association of shallow, crustal magnetic anomalies to seafloor spreading and long-wavelength anomalies to deep crustal origin. The sam
Authors
Richard J. Wold, Alan K. Cooper

Observations in Monterey Canyon and Fan Valley using the submersible Alvin and a photographic sled

No abstract available.
Authors
Stephen L. Eittreim, R.W. Embley, W. R. Normark, H. Gary Greene, C.M. McHugh, W.B. Ryan

Morphodynamic signature of the 1985 hurricane impacts on the northern Gulf of Mexico

Three hurricanes hit Lousiana (LA), Mississippi (MS), Alabama (AL), and the Florida (FL) panhandle in 1985, producing dramatic geomorphic changes in a wide variety of coastal environments. The impact zone for hurricanes Danny, Elena, and Juan stretched 1000 km between the Sabine River in LA to the Apalachicola River in FL. Barrier shorelines experienced repeated intense overwash events, producing
Authors
Shea Penland, John R. Suter, Ashbury H. Sallenger, S. Jeffress Williams, Randolph A. McBride, Karen E. Westphal, P. Douglas Reimer, Bruce E. Jaffe

Morphology and growth history of Delgada Fan: Implications for the Neogene evolution of Point Arena Basin and the Mendocino Triple Junction

Long-range side scan (GLORIA) sonographs and seismic reflection data acquired during a survey of the western U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in 1984, coupled with information from Deep Sea Drilling Project sites, provide new insights into the growth and evolution of the Delgada Fan. Construction of the fan commenced in the latest Miocene (∼6 Ma) following the filling of the Neogene Point Arena Basin.
Authors
D. E. Drake, D. A. Cacchione, J.V. Gardner, D. S. McCulloch, D. Masson

Physiography of the western United States Exclusive Economic Zone

GLORIA (Geologic Long-Range Inclined Asdic) sidescan sonar images were collected over the entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) west of the conterminous United States. The continuous, overlapping, swath-mapping technique provides, for the first time, a reconnaissance plan view off the entire sea floor from the edge of the continental shelf to 370 km from shore. The mid-ocean ridges, transform fault
Authors
D. A. Cacchione, D. E. Drake, Brian D. Edwards, M. E. Field, J. V. Gardner, M. A. Hampton, H. A. Karl, N.H. Kenyon, D.G. Masson, David S. McCulloch

The laboratory albitization of mid-ocean ridge basalt

Complete alteration of fresh mid-ocean ridge basalt to albite + actinolite + smectite took place in the presence of quartz and 3.4m NaCl at 350°C and 400 bars. Significant Na-metasomatism occurred in exchange for Ca + Fe + Mn. In contrast, alteration of the basalt/quartz mixture with a synthetically prepared "natural brine," and basalt with 3.4m NaCl or "natural brine" did not produce significant
Authors
Robert J. Rosenbauer, James L. Bischoff, Robert A. Zierenberg

Amino-acid diagenesis and its implication for late Pleistocene lacustrine sediment, Clear Lake, California

The diagenesis of amino acids in sediments from Clear Lake core CL-80-1 is indicated by changes in amino acid concentrations, compositions, and stereochemistry. Concentrations of total amino acids decrease with depth, but the decrease is not systematic, possibly reflecting a nonuniformity in sedimentary and postdepositional processes affecting the amino acids. Ratios of neutral/acidic amino acids
Authors
D.J. Blunt, Keith A. Kvenvolden
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