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Publications

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Lunar impact basins and crustal heterogeneity: New western limb and far side data from Galileo

Multispectral images of the lunar western limb and far side obtained from Galileo reveal the compositional nature of several prominent lunar features and provide new information on lunar evolution. The data reveal that the ejecta from the Orientale impact basin (900 kilometers in diameter) lying outside the Cordillera Mountains was excavated from the crust, not the mantle, and covers pre-Orientale
Authors
Michael J.S. Belton, James W. Head, Carle m. Pieters, Ronald Greeley, Alfred S. McEwen, G. Neukum, Kenneth P. Klaasen, C.D. Anger, M. H. Carr, C. R. Chapman, M. E. Davies, F. P. Fanale, P.J. Gierasch, R. Greenberg, A. Ingersoll, Torrence Johnson, B. Paczkowski, C.B. Pilcher, J. Veverka

On the characteristics of local geology and their influence on ground motions generated by the Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region, California

Strong ground motions recorded at 34 sites in the San Francisco Bay region from the Loma Prieta earthquake show marked variations in characteristics dependent on crustal structure and local geological conditions. Peak horizontal acceleration and velocity inferred for sites underlain by “rock” generally occur on the transverse component of motion. They are consistently greater with lower attenuatio
Authors
Roger D. Borcherdt, Gary Glassmoyer

Thin, low‐velocity crust beneath the southern Yukon‐Tanana Terrane, east central Alaska: Results from Trans‐Alaska crustal transect refraction/wide‐angle reflection data

A seismic refraction/wide‐angle reflection survey for the Trans‐Alaska Crustal Transect program reveals a thin, reflective crust beneath the southern Yukon‐Tanana terrane (YTT) in east central Alaska. These data are the first detailed refraction survey of the southern YTT and compose a 130‐km‐long reversed profile along the Alaska and Richardson highways. Results from this study indicate that low‐
Authors
Bruce C. Beaudoin, Gary S. Fuis, Walter D. Mooney, Warren J. Nokleberg, Nikolas I. Christensen

The canyon system on Mars

Individual Martian equatorial troughs are described, and their stratigraphy, geomorphology and structure are discussed. Possible origins and the overall sequence of events are addressed. Wall rock, interior layered deposits, irregular floor deposits, fractured floor material, and surficial deposits are examined. Chasma walls, wall stability, pits and pit chains, tributary canyons, and the transiti
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta, A. S. McEwen, Gary D. Clow, Paul E. Geissler, R.B. Singer, R. A. Schultz, Steven W. Squyres

Sedimentology, behavior, and hazards of debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington

Mount Rainier is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range because of its great height, frequent earthquakes, active hydrothermal system, and extensive glacier mantle. Many debris flows and their distal phases have inundated areas far from the volcano during postglacial time. Two types of debris flows, cohesive and noncohesive, have radically different behavior that relates empir
Authors
Kevin M. Scott, Patrick T. Pringle, J.W. Vallance

Fault growth and acoustic emissions in confined granite

The failure process in a brittle granite was studied by using acoustic emission techniques to obtain three dimensional locations of the microfracturing events. During a creep experiment the nucleation of faulting coincided with the onset of tertiary creep, but the development of the fault could not be followed because the failure occurred catastrophically. A technique has been developed that enabl
Authors
David A. Lockner, James D. Byerlee

The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Strong ground motion and ground failure

Professional Paper 1551 describes the effects at the land surface caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake. These effects: include the pattern and characteristics of strong ground shaking, liquefaction of both floodplain deposits along the Pajaro and Salinas Rivers in the Monterey Bay region and sandy artificial fills along the margins of San Francisco Bay, landslides in the epicentral region, and inc
Authors
Thomas L. Coordinated by Holzer

Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology: Calendar Year 1991

This [summary of] U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 92-585 contains a listing of publications authored or co-authored by members of the Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology during 1991. Results of Branch investigations are distributed in a variety of ways, including maps, journal articles, abstracts and U.S.G.S. publications. Copies of U.S.G.S. Open File Reports may generally be obtained from
Authors
Margaret C. Mons-Wengler, Robert N. Oldale