Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2354
Holocene sedimentary architecture and paleoclimate variability at Mono Lake, California
Mono Lake occupies an internally drained basin on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, and it is sensitive to climatic changes affecting precipitation in the mountains (largely delivered in the form of snowpack). Efforts to recover cores from the lake have been impeded by coarse tephra erupted from the Mono Craters, and by disruption of the lake floor due to the uplift of Paoha Island ~300 yr a
Authors
Susan H Zimmerman, Sidney R. Hemming, Scott W. Starratt
Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow
Numerical simulations of hazard cascades downstream from moraine-dammed lakes commonly must specify linkages between models of discrete processes such as wave overtopping, dam breaching, erosion, and downstream floods or debris flows. Such linkages can be rather arbitrary and can detract from the ability to accurately conserve mass and momentum during complex sequences of events. Here we describ
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
Post-12 Ma deformation of the lower Colorado River corridor, southwestern USA: Implications for diffuse transtension and the Bouse Formation
Structural evidence presented here documents that deformation was ongoing within the lower Colorado River corridor (southwestern USA) during and after the latest Miocene Epoch, postdating large-magnitude extension and metamorphic core complex formation. Geometric and kinematic data collected on faults in key geologic units constrain the timing of deformation in relation to the age of the Bouse For
Authors
Jacob Thacker, Karl Karlstrom, Laura Crossey, Ryan S. Crow, Colleen Cassidy, L. Sue Beard, John Singleton, Evan Strickland, Nikki Seymour, Michael Wyatt
Geophysical characterization of a Proterozoic REE terrane at Mountain Pass, eastern Mojave Desert, California
Mountain Pass, California (USA), located in the eastern Mojave Desert, hosts one of the world’s richest rare earth element (REE) deposits. The REE-rich terrane occurs in a 2.5-km-wide, northwest-trending belt of Mesoproterozoic (1.4 Ga) stocks and dikes, which intrude a larger Paleoproterozoic (1.7 Ga) metamorphic block that extends ∼10 km southward from Clark Mountain to the eastern Mescal Range.
Authors
Kevin Denton, David A. Ponce, Jared R. Peacock, David M. Miller
Depth to bedrock based on modeling of gravity data of the eastern part of Edwards Air Force Base, California
We describe a gravity survey acquired to determine the thickness of basin-fill deposits (depth to bedrock) and to delineate geologic structures that might influence groundwater flow beneath the eastern part of Edwards Air Force Base, California. Inversion of these gravity data combined with geologic map and well information provides an estimate of the thickness of basin-fill deposits (defined here
Authors
Victoria Langenheim, Andrew Morita, Allen H. Christensen, Geoffrey Cromwell, Christopher P. Ely
High-resolution and accurate topography reconstruction of Mount Etna from Pleiades satellite data
The areas characterized by dynamic and rapid morphological changes need accurate topography information with frequent updates, especially if these are populated and involve infrastructures. This is particularly true in active volcanic areas such as Mount (Mt.) Etna, located in the northeastern portion of Sicily, Italy. The Mt. Etna volcano is periodically characterized by explosive and effusive er
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Marina Bisson, Claudia Spinetti, Maria Fabrizia Buongiorno, Oleg Alexandrov, Thomas Cecere
Effects of Cenozoic subduction along the outboard margin of the Northern Cordillera: Derived from e-book on the Northern Cordillera (Alaska and Western Canada) and adjacent marine areas
This article describes the regional effects of Cenozoic subduction along the outboard margin of the Northern Cordillera (Alaska, USA, and Western Canada), and thereby acquaints the reader with several chapters of the e-book Dynamic Geology of the Northern Cordillera (Alaska, Western Canada, and Adjacent Marine Areas). This article and the e-book are written for earth-science students and teachers.
Authors
Warren J. Nokleberg, David Scholl, Thomas K. Bundtzen, David B. Stone
Neotectonic and paleoseismic analysis of the northwest extent of Holocene surface deformation along the Meers Fault, Oklahoma
TheMeers fault (Oklahoma) is one of fewseismogenic structures with evidence for Holocene
surface rupture in the stable continental region of North America. The 37-kilometer-long
southeast section of the full 54-kilometer-long Meers fault is interpreted to be Holocene
active. The 17-kilometer-long northwest section is considered Quaternary active, but not
Holocene active.We reevaluate surface expre
Authors
Kristofer T. Hornsby, Ashley R. Streig, S. Bennett, Jefferson C. Chang, Shannon A. Mahan
Unravelling the tectonics of Pearya Terrane, Nunavut: GEM-2 Western Arctic Project, report of activities 2018
GSC scientists were part of an international team of researchers who visited bedrock outcrops on northernmost Ellesmere Island in the summer of 2017. The purpose of the expedition was to document and sample the rocks of Pearya terrane and study the tectonic history of the terrane in order to better reconstruct the past stages of continental drift that formed the Arctic Ocean.
Authors
Thomas Hadlari, Nicole M. Rayner, Thomas E. Moore
The Bouse Formation: A controversial Neogene archive of the evolving Colorado River: A scientific drilling workshop report (Feb. 28-March 3, 2019-Bluewater Resort, Parker, Arizona, USA
Neogene deposits of the lower Colorado River valley, especially the Miocene(?) and early Pliocene Bouse Formation, have been the focus of intense debate regarding the early paleoenvironmental history of this important continental-scale river system in southwestern North America and its integration with the proto-Gulf of California. Fine-grained units within these Neogene deposits also hold a promi
Authors
Andrew S. Cohen, Colleen Cassidy, Ryan S. Crow, Jordon Bright, Laura Crossey, Rebecca Dorsey, Brian F. Gootee, Kyle House, Keith A. Howard, Karl Karlstrom, Philip Pearthree
Low O2 level enhances CH4-derived carbon flow into microbial communities in landfill cover soils
CH4 oxidation in landfill cover soils plays a significant role in mitigating CH4 release to the atmosphere. Oxygen availability and the presence of co-contaminants are potentially important factors affecting CH4 oxidation rate and the fate of CH4-derived carbon. In this study, microbial populations that oxidize CH4 and the subsequent conversion of CH4-derived carbon into CO2, soil organic C and bi
Authors
Ruo He, Yao Su, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Yi-Xuan Chu, Jing Wang, Ruo-Chan Ma, Donglei Wu, Liang-Tong Zhan, Ian Charold Herriott, Mary Beth Leigh
Using stream-side groundwater discharge for geochemical exploration in mountainous terrain
Groundwater chemistry has been predominantly used in geochemical exploration studies to identify mineralized targets concealed under transported cover in areas with gentle topography. Another potentially valuable ap-plication that has received little attention is using groundwater chemistry to identify deposits concealed within mountain ridges. A number of geochemical exploration studies have empl
Authors
Andrew H. Manning, Jean Morrison, Richard Wanty, Christopher T. Mills