Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 2695

A new model for the emplacement of Columbia River basalts as large, inflated pahoehoe lava flow fields

Extensive flows of the Columbia River Basalt (CRB) Group in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are dominantly inflated compound pahoehoe sheet lavas. Early studies recognized that CRB lavas are compound pahoehoe flows, with textures suggesting low flow velocities, but it was thought that the great thickness and extent of the major flows required very rapid emplacement as turbulent floods of lava over a
Authors
S. Self, Th. Thordarson, L. Keszthelyi, G.P.L. Walker, K. Hon, M.T. Murphy, P. Long, S. Finnemore

Observed discrepancy between geodolite and GPS distance measurements

Comparison of contemporaneous measurements of 84 distances in the range of 10 to 50 km by both Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geodolite (an electro-optical distance-measuring instrument) indicates that the Geodolite measurements are systematically longer by 0.283 ?? 0.100 parts per million of the measured distance. Quoted uncertainty is 1 standard deviation. This amounts to 11.3 ?? 4.0 mm at
Authors
J. C. Savage, M. Lisowski, W. H. Prescott

Growth of the Tongariro volcanic complex: New evidence from K-Ar age determinations

New K-Ar age determinations indicate that the exposed portion of the Tongariro volcanic complex has grown steadily since at least 275 ka, with intervals of vigorous cone growth at 210-200.130-70. and 25 ka to the present day.
Authors
B.J. Hobden, Bruce F. Houghton, M. A. Lanphere, I.A. Nairn

Differentiation and magma mixing on Kilauea's east rift zone: A further look at the eruptions of 1955 and 1960. Part II. The 1960 lavas

New and detailed petrographic observations, mineral compositional data, and whole-rock vs glass compositional trends document magma mixing in lavas erupted from Kilauea's lower east rift zone in 1960. Evidence includes the occurrence of heterogeneous phenocryst assemblages, including resorbed and reversely zoned minerals in the lavas inferred to be hybrids. Calculations suggest that this mixing, w
Authors
T. L. Wright, Rosalind Tuthill Helz

Thermal conductivity of water-saturated rocks from the KTB pilot hole at temperatures of 25 to 300°C

The conductivitites of selected gneiss (two) and amphibolite (one) core samples have been measured under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure with a needle‐probe. Water‐saturated thermal conductivity measurements spanning temperatures from 25 to 300°C and hydrostatic pressures of 0.1 and 34 MPa confirm the general decrease in conductivity with increasing temperature but deviate signific
Authors
D. Pribnow, C.F. Williams, J. H. Sass, R. Keating

Chemical and isotopic characteristics of fluids along the cameroon volcanic line, cameroon

Results of the chemical and isotopic analysis of the water and gases discharged from volcanic crater lakes and soda springs located along the Cameroon Volcanic Line were used to characterize and infer their genetic relationships. Variations in the solute compositions of the waters indicate the dominant influence of silicate hydrolysis. Na+ (40-95%) constitutes the major cation in the springs while
Authors
G.Z. Tanyileke, M. Kusakabe, William C. Evans

Analysis of fractures intersecting Kahi Puka Well 1 and its relation to the growth of the island of Hawaii

As part of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project, Kahi Puka Well 1 penetrated about 275 m of Mauna Loa basalts overlying a sequence of Mauna Kea flow units as it was drilled and cored to a total depth of 1053 m below land surface. A borehole televiewer (BHTV) was run in most of the well in successive stages prior to casing in order to obtain magnetically oriented acoustic images of the borehole w
Authors
Roger H. Morin, Frederick L. Paillet

Kulshan caldera: A quaternary subglacial caldera in the North Cascades, Washington

Calderas that collapse during large pyroclastic eruptions are anomalously rare in the Cascade arc. Recognition of the early Pleistocene 4.5 × 8 km Kulshan caldera, filled with rhyodacite ignimbrite at the northeast foot of Mount Baker, brings to only three the Quaternary calderas identified in the Cascades. A near-vertical ring fault cut in basement rocks of the North Cascades encloses 30 km2 of i
Authors
W. Hildreth

Coral ages and island subsidence, Hilo drill hole

A 25.8-m-thick sedimentary section containing coral fragments occurs directly below a surface lava flow (the -1340 year old Panaewa lava flow) at the Hilo drill hole. Ten coral samples from this section dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. (AMS) radiocarbon and five by thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) 23øTh/U methods show good agreement. The calcareous unit is 9790 years old at the
Authors
J. G. Moore, B. L. Ingram, K. R. Ludwig, D. A. Clague

A catastrophic flood caused by drainage of a caldera lake at Aniakchak Volcano, Alaska, and implications for volcanic hazards assessment

Aniakchak caldera, located on the Alaska Peninsula of southwest Alaska, formerly contained a large lake (estimated volume 3.7 × 109 m3) that rapidly drained as a result of failure of the caldera rim sometime after ca. 3400 yr B.P. The peak discharge of the resulting flood was estimated using three methods: (1) flow-competence equations, (2) step-backwater modeling, and (3) a dam-break model. The r
Authors
C. F. Waythomas, J. S. Walder, R. G. McGimsey, C. A. Neal

Three-dimensional P and S wave velocity structure of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

The three‐dimensional P and S wave structure of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, and the underlying crust to depths of 7–8 km is determined from 6219 P wave and 4008 S wave first‐arrival times recorded by a 30‐station seismograph network deployed on and around the volcano. First‐arrival times are calculated using a finite‐difference technique, which allows for flexible parameterization of the slowness mod
Authors
H. M. Benz, B. A. Chouet, P.B. Dawson, J.C. Lahr, R.A. Page, J.A. Hole

Waters associated with an active basaltic volcano, Kilauea, Hawaii: Variation in solute sources, 1973-1991

Chemical and isotopic analyses of samples collected from a December 1962-m-deep research borehole at the summit of Kilauea Volcano provide unique time-series data for composition of waters in the uppermost part of its hydrothermal system. These waters have a distinctive geochemical signature: a very low proportion of chloride relative to other anions compared with other Hawaiian waters—thermal (•3
Authors
R. I. Tilling, B.F. Jones