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Publications

Scientific literature and information products produced by Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff.

Filter Total Items: 1740

Submarine canyon initiation by downslope-eroding sediment flows: Evidence in late Cenozoic strata on the New Jersey continental slope Submarine canyon initiation by downslope-eroding sediment flows: Evidence in late Cenozoic strata on the New Jersey continental slope

Multibeam bathymetry and seismic reflection profiles of the New Jersey continental slope reveal a series of abandoned and now-buried submarine canyons that have apparently influenced the development of modern canyons. The buried canyons are infilled along nine slope-wide unconformities separating upper-middle Miocene to Pleistocene sediments that thin downslope. Canyons infilled during...
Authors
Lincoln F. Pratson, William B. F. Ryan, Gregory S. Mountain, David C. Twichell

Deglaciation, lake levels, and meltwater discharge in the Lake Michigan basin Deglaciation, lake levels, and meltwater discharge in the Lake Michigan basin

The deglacial history of the Lake Michigan basin, including discharge and routing of meltwater, is complex because of the interaction among (1) glacial retreats and re-advances in the basin (2) the timing of occupation and the isostatic adjustment of lake outlets and (3) the depositional and erosional processes that left evidence of past lake levels. In the southern part of the basin, a...
Authors
Steven M. Colman, J.A. Clark, L. Clayton, A.K. Hansel, C.E. Larsen

Identification of marine hydrates in situ and their distribution off the Atlantic coast of the United States Identification of marine hydrates in situ and their distribution off the Atlantic coast of the United States

Natural gas hydrates, mostly methane hydrates, occur within seafloor sediments almost everywhere in the world’s oceans where water depths exceed 300 to 500 m, and hydrates in this setting probably contain very large quantities of methane.’ Gas hydrates have been identified in marine sediments by coring and by the response that they create in seismic reflection profiles. Our research has...
Authors
William P. Dillon, Myung W. Lee, Dwight F. Coleman

Fluid expulsion sites on the Cascadia accretionary prism: mapping diagenetic deposits with processed GLORIA imagery Fluid expulsion sites on the Cascadia accretionary prism: mapping diagenetic deposits with processed GLORIA imagery

Point-discharge fluid expulsion on accretionary prisms is commonly indicated by diagenetic deposition of calcium carbonate cements and gas hydrates in near-surface (
Authors
Bobb Carson, Erol Seke, Valerie F. Paskevich, Mark L. Holmes

Habitat impacts of offshore drilling, eastern Gulf of Mexico Habitat impacts of offshore drilling, eastern Gulf of Mexico

In this survey six offshore exploratory drill sites in a variety of environments and water depths were examined using a small research submersible. Sites varied from locations off northwest Florida to as far west as offshore Alabama. Water depths ranged from 21 m (70 ft) to 149 m (489 ft), and bottom sediments ranged from carbonate mud to Shelly quartz sand and silt to hard limestone...
Authors
Eugene A. Shinn, Barbara H. Lidz, Christopher D. Reich

Biogenic silica in Lake Baikal sediments: results from 1990-1992 American cores Biogenic silica in Lake Baikal sediments: results from 1990-1992 American cores

The Lake Baikal Paleoclimate Project is a joint Russian-American program established to study the paleoclimate of Central Asia. During three summer field seasons, duplicate Russian and American cores were taken at a number of sites in different sedimentary environments in the lake. Eight cores returned to the U.S. were quantitatively analyzed for biogenic silica using a single-step 5...
Authors
Susan J. Carter, Steven M. Colman

Indicators of sewage contamination in sediments beneath a deep-ocean dump site off New York Indicators of sewage contamination in sediments beneath a deep-ocean dump site off New York

The world's largest discharge of municipal sewage sludge to surface waters of the deep sea has caused measurable changes in the concentration of sludge indicators in sea-floor sediments, in a spatial pattern which agrees with the predictions of a recent sludge deposition model. Silver, linear alkylbenzenes, coprostanol, and spores of the bacterium Clostridium perfringens, in bottom...
Authors
Michael H. Bothner, H. Takada, I.T. Knight, R. T. Hill, B. Butman, J.W. Farrington, R.R. Colwell, J. F. Grassle

A rock-magnetic record from Lake Baikal, Siberia: Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change A rock-magnetic record from Lake Baikal, Siberia: Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change

Rock-magnetic measurements of sediment cores from the Academician Ridge region of Lake Baikal, Siberia show variations related to Late Quaternary climate change. Based upon the well-dated last glacial-interglacial transition, variations in magnetic concentration and mineralogy are related to glacial-interglacial cycles using a conceptual model. Interglacial intervals are characterized by...
Authors
J.A. Peck, J.W. King, Steven M. Colman, V.A. Kravchinsky

A crisis in waste management, economic vitality, and a coastal marine environment: Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay A crisis in waste management, economic vitality, and a coastal marine environment: Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay

Discharge of sewage sludge and effluent from 43 communities in the greater Boston metropolitan area has helped make the harbor one of the most polluted in the nation. As part of a court-mandated plan to end pollution of the harbor, effluent will no longer be discharged into the harbor, but instead, by 1995 it will be discharged into Massachusetts Bay through a record-long 15.34 km tunnel...
Authors
F.T. Manheim, B. Butman

Seismic character of gas hydrates on the Southeastern U.S. continental margin Seismic character of gas hydrates on the Southeastern U.S. continental margin

Gas hydrates are stable at relatively low temperature and high pressure conditions; thus large amounts of hydrates can exist in sediments within the upper several hundred meters below the sea floor. The existence of gas hydrates has been recognized and mapped mostly on the basis of high amplitude Bottom Simulating Reflections (BSRs) which indicate only that an acoustic contrast exists at...
Authors
Myung W. Lee, D. R. Hutchinson, Warren F. Agena, William P. Dillon, J. J. Miller, B.A. Swift

A sediment budget for southern Lake Michigan: source and sink models for different time intervals A sediment budget for southern Lake Michigan: source and sink models for different time intervals

We have constructed a sediment budget for the southern Lake Michigan basin for sand and for mud during three time periods: the past 100, 5,000, and 10,000 years. For the modern (100-year) sediment budget, accountable sediment sources add up to 93 percent of the calculated sinks. The mud budget has a source deficit of about 40%, probably due to errors in mud:sand ratios and (or) to other...
Authors
Steven M. Colman, D.S. Foster
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