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

Filter Total Items: 1679

Physical oceanography of continental shelves

Knowledge of the physical oceanography of continental shelves has increased tremendously in recent years, primarily as a result of new current and hydrographic measurements made in locations where no comparable measurements existed previously. In general, observations from geographically distinct continental shelves have shown that the nature of the flow may vary considerably from region to region
Authors
J. S. Allen, Robert C. Beardsley, J. Blanton, William C. Boicourt, Bradford Butman, L. K. Coachman, Adriana Huyer, Thomas H. Kinder, Thomas C. Royer, J. Schumacher, Robert L. Smith, W. Sturges, Clinton D. Winant

Bedform distribution and inferred sand transport on Georges Bank, United States Atlantic continental shelf.

Four bedform provinces have been identified using sidescan-sonar and echo-sounding techniques: large sand waves superimposed on sand ridges, small sand waves, megaripples, and featureless seafloor. Sand-wave asymmetry and surface-sediment texture have been used to infer bedload transport paths and although the asymmetry of megaripples could not be determined, the occurrence of megaripples between
Authors
D. C. Twichell

Regional significance of pre-Wisconsinan till from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

A major pre-Wisconsinan glacial event is the only possible source of the lower till on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The till occurs near the late Wisconsinan drift border and below fossiliferous marine beds of oxygen-isotope stage 5 (Sangamonian) age. It is considered to be Illinoian in age, but the evidence is tenuous. The till is correlated with the lower till of New England, and its presenc
Authors
R. N. Oldale, D.M. Eskenasy

Evidence for a postglacial low relative sea-level stand in the drowned delta of the Merrimack River, Western Gulf of Maine

A submerged delta of the Merrimack River, located offshore between Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and the New Hampshire border, indicates a postglacial low relative see-level stand of about -47 m. The low stand is inferred to date to 10,500 yr B.P., but a lack of age control makes this assignment uncertain. A curve based on a late Wisconsinan, high relative sea-level stand of +32m at 13,000 yr B.P., a l
Authors
R. N. Oldale, L. E. Wommack, A.B. Whitney

Geology of the head of Lydonia Canyon, U.S. Atlantic outer continental shelf

The geology of the part of Lydonia Canyon shoreward of the continental shelf edge on the southern side of Georges Bank was mapped using high-resolution seismic-reflection and side-scan sonar techniques and surface sediment grab samples. The head of the canyon incises Pleistocene deltaic deposits and Miocene shallow marine strata. Medium sand containing some coarse sand and gravel covers the shelf
Authors
David C. Twichell

Characteristics of resuspended sediment from Georges Bank collected with a sediment trap

A sediment trap was deployed 3 m from the bottom at a water depth of 62 m on the southern flank of Georges Bank (41°02·2′N, 67°33·5′W) from 30 September 1978 to 10 March 1979 to qualitatively determine the size of sediments resuspended from the bottom by winter storms and to determine if seasonal changes in the phytoplankton could be observed in the trapped sediment.Bulk X-ray analyses of the trap
Authors
C. M. Parmenter, Michael H. Bothner, B. Butman

Biological control of the removal of abiogenic particles from the surface ocean

Concurrent measurements of particle concentrations in the near-surface water and of particle fluxes in the deep water of the Sargasso Sea show a close coupling between the two for biogenic components. The concentrations of suspended matter appear to follow an annual cycle similar to that of primary production and deepwater particle flux. Although the concentration of particulate aluminum in the su
Authors
W.G. Deuser, P.G. Brewer, T.D. Jickells, R.F. Commeau

Quaternary geology of the Rhode Island inner shelf

Five sedimentary units and three erosional unconformities identified in high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles reveal the stratigraphic framework and Quaternary history of the inner continental shelf south of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Late Tertiary to early Pleistocene rivers eroded the pre-Mesozoic bedrock and the Upper Cretaceous to lower Tertiary coastal plain and continental shelf s
Authors
S. W. Needell, C. J. O'Hara, H. J. Knebel

Talc in the suspended matter of the northwestern Atlantic

Knowledge of the distribution, concentration, and composition of suspended particulate matter in seawater is important to the understanding of sedimentation processes on the Continental Shelf. Because the surfaces of both organic and inorganic particles have high affinities for pollutants, such as certain trace metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and petroleum (Bothner et al., 1981a), suspended matt
Authors
Lawrence J. Poppe, John C. Hathaway, Carol M. Parmenter

Earthquakes in the Orozco transform zone: seismicity, source mechanisms, and tectonics

As part of the Rivera Ocean Seismic Experiment, a network of ocean bottom seismometers and hydrophones was deployed in order to determine the seismic characteristics of the Orozco transform fault in the central eastern Pacific. We present hypocentral locations and source mechanisms for 70 earthquakes recorded by this network. All epicenters are within the transform region of the Orozco Fracture Zo
Authors
Anne M. Tréhu, Sean C. Solomon

Furrowed outcrops of Eocene chalk on the lower continental slop offshore New Jersey

A sea bottom of middle Eocene calcareous claystone cut by downslope-trending furrows was observed during an Alvin dive to the mouth of Berkeley Canyon on the continental slope off New Jersey. The furrows are 10 to 50 m apart, 4 to 13 m deep, linear, and nearly parallel in water depths of 2,000 m. They have steep walls and flat floors 3 to 5 m wide, of fine-grained sediment. Mid-range sidescan-sona
Authors
James M. Robb, John R. Kirby, John C., Jr. Hampson, Patricia R. Gibson, Barbara Hecker

Geology report for proposed oil and gas lease sale No. 90; continental margin off the southeastern United States

This report summarizes our general knowledge of the geology and petroleum potential, as well as potential problems and hazards associated with development of petroleum resources, within the area proposed for nominations for lease sale number 90. This area includes the U.S. eastern continental margin from Raleigh Bay, just south of Cape Hatteras, to southern Florida, including the upper Continental
Authors
William P. Dillon