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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: 1331

Structure of the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge from seismic reflection records

Twenty-four-channel seismic reflection records were obtained from the axial region of the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge. Two profiles are normal to the strike of the spreading center and intersect the ridge at latitude 44°40′N and 45°05′N; a third profile extends south along the ridge axis from latitude 45°20′N and crosses the Blanco Fracture Zone. Processing of the axial portions of the cross-strik
Authors
Janet L. Morton, Norman H. Sleep, William R. Normark, Donald H. Tompkins

Storm‐dominated bottom boundary layer dynamics on the Northern California Continental Shelf: Measurements and predictions

Measurements of near‐bottom velocity profiles in 85 m water depth during a storm on the continental shelf off northern California using the GEOPROBE tripod in December 1979 provided estimates of shear velocities, , and roughness lengths, , when the near‐bottom velocity profiles were logarithmic. These estimates agree within 90% confidence intervals with values computed from a simple near‐bottom co
Authors
D. A. Cacchione, W.D. Grant, D. E. Drake, S.M. Glenn

Critical behavior of dilute NaCl in H2O

The compositions of the saturated vapor and liquid phases are measured for the system NaCl-H2O at 380°C, which is close to the critical point of pure water. The shape of the phase equilibrium curve is classical, which confirms a conclusion reached earlier on the basis of less accurate data. This implies that the long-range forces introduced by the NaCl suppress the non-classical effects present in
Authors
Kenneth S. Pitzer, James L. Bischoff, Robert J. Rosenbauer

Submersible observations along the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge: 1984 Alvin program.

In September 1984, the research submersible Alvin provided direct observations of three major hydrothermal vent areas along the southernmost segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JFR). The submersible operations focused on specific volcanologie, structural, and hydrothermal problems that had been identified during the preceding 4 years of photographic, dredging, acoustic imaging, and geophysical stud
Authors
William R. Normark, Janet L. Morton, Stephanie L. Ross

Ferromanganese crusts

No abstract available.
Authors
Frank T. Manheim, James R. Hein

Internal-wave currents as a mechanism to account for large sand waves in Navarinsky Canyon head, Bering Sea

Sand waves are found in the heads of four of five large submarine canyons that incise the northern continental margin of the Bering Sea. The sand waves occur in a restricted depth zone of about 175-490 m. Those in Navarinsky Canyon, the area surveyed in most detail, are best developed in water depths of 300-375 m; they average 5 m in height and about 650 m in wavelength, with crests oriented subpa
Authors
H. A. Karl, D. A. Cacchione, P. R. Carlson

Isotopic composition of interstitial fluids in sediment of the Nankai Trough, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 87

The isotopic compositions of dissolved CO2 and CH4 in sediments of the Nankai Trough indicate that CH4 is formed during early diagenesis by microbial reduction of CO2 . At the shallowest sampled depths, the CO2 dissolved in the pore water is unusually enriched in 12C (δ13C = - 35.2‰), indicating contribution of CO2 from oxidation of CH4 . The most intense microbiological activity appears to be con
Authors
G. E. Claypool, A.K. Vuletich, Keith A. Kvenvolden

Comment and Reply on “Gas hydrates on the northern California continental margin”: REPLY

No abstract available.
Authors
Michael E. Field, Keith A. Kvenvolden

Submarine fissure eruptions and hydrothermal vents on the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge: preliminary observations from the submersible Alvin

The submersible Alvin was used to investigate 3 active hydrothermal discharge sites along the S Juan de Fuca Ridge in September 1984. The hydrothermal zones occur within a 10-30m-deep, 30-50m-wide cleft marking the center of the axial valley. This cleft is the eruptive locus for the axial valley. The hydrothermal vents coincide with the main eruptive vents along the cleft. Each hydrothermal zone h
Authors
W. R. Normark

GLORIA II sonograph mosaic of the western U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone

In 1983 the United States declared sovereign rights and jurisdiction over living and nonliving resources in an area extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) seaward from its shores. In response to the establishment of this Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has implemented a program, called EEZ‐Scan, to systematically map the EEZ, using the Geological Long‐ Range Incline
Authors
D. A. Cacchione, D. E. Drake, B. Edwards, M. Field, J. Gardner, M. Hampton, H. Karl, David S. McCulloch, Neil H. Kenyon, D. Masson

Gas hydrates on the northern California continental margin

The inner continental margin of northern California is underlain by a well-defined and extensive acoustic reflector that crosses other reflectors and mimics the surface of the sea floor. This bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) lies at a typical subsurface depth of about 250 m and has been mapped continuously beneath the Klamath Plateau and upper slope (water depths of 800 to 1200 m) for a distance
Authors
Michael E. Field, Keith A. Kvenvolden