Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2481
Timing and geometry of the Chemehuevi Formation reveal a late Pleistocene sediment pulse into the Lower Colorado River Timing and geometry of the Chemehuevi Formation reveal a late Pleistocene sediment pulse into the Lower Colorado River
The Chemehuevi Formation is a distinctive 50−150-m-thick wedge-shaped Pleistocene sedimentary unit deposited by the Colorado River. It lines the perimeters of the river’s floodplains and bedrock canyons for more than 600 km between the mouth of the Grand Canyon and the delta region in the Gulf of California. The formation is composed of a basal tan to light-yellowish-brown and pale...
Authors
Harrison J. Gray, Kyle House, Adam M. Hudson, Jorge A. Vazquez, Ryan S. Crow, Miriam Primus, Shannon A. Mahan, Tammy M. Rittenour, Keith A. Howard
The geometry of fault reactivation and uplift along the central part of the Maacama fault zone, northern California Coast Ranges (USA) The geometry of fault reactivation and uplift along the central part of the Maacama fault zone, northern California Coast Ranges (USA)
Fault reactivation of bedrock structures in active fault zones influences stress state and earthquake rupture phenomena through the introduction of weak slip surfaces that impact fault zone geometry and width. Yet, geometric relationships between modern faults and older reactivated faults are difficult to quantify in rocks that have experienced multiple deformation episodes. We used new...
Authors
Benjamin L. Melosh, Robert J. McLaughlin, Henry Ohlin
Correction to A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes Correction to A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes
In the referenced article, the authors would like to correct text in the first paragraph on page 2571, Figure 9 and its caption. The changes reflect an error made in the processing of the rainfall intensity-duration data used to compare storms to published debris flow triggering thresholds. The correctly processed data does not change the interpretations made in the paper but does...
Authors
Amy E. East, Andrew W. Stevens, Andrew C. Ritchie, Patrick L. Barnard, Pamela L. Campbell‐Swarzenski, Brian D. Collins, Christopher H. Conaway
Chronology and Paleoenvironment of the Tunga Formation, a new lowermost Miocene sequence in the East Pisco Basin of southern Peru Chronology and Paleoenvironment of the Tunga Formation, a new lowermost Miocene sequence in the East Pisco Basin of southern Peru
The East Pisco Basin, occupying the coastal plain of Peru between 13°S and 16°S, is widely known for its extensive Eocene to Quaternary biosiliceous deposits and excellent preservation of fossil marine vertebrates. Biochronologic studies published over the past 35 years record a hiatus of about 13 million years (*32–19 Ma) separating the youngest Paleogene deposits (Otuma Formation) from...
Authors
Thomas J. Devries, John A. Barron, Diana Ochoa, Kristen McDougall
Volcanism and tectonics of young basaltic fields in the eastern California shear zone, California, USA Volcanism and tectonics of young basaltic fields in the eastern California shear zone, California, USA
Circa 12 Ma, there was a fundamental reorganization of magmatism and tectonics in the Mojave Desert, California, USA, from basaltic to rhyolitic fields associated with extensional tectonics to dispersed basaltic monogenetic fields associated with the northwest- or east-striking strike-slip faults. The broad zone of strike-slip faults associated with the San Andreas transform margin...
Authors
David C. Buesch, David M. Miller
New U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Paleozoic metaigneous rocks from western Yukon and eastern Alaska, cross-border synthesis, and implications for tectonic models New U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Paleozoic metaigneous rocks from western Yukon and eastern Alaska, cross-border synthesis, and implications for tectonic models
The tectonic evolution of and relation between the Yukon-Tanana terrane and the Lake George assemblage, as well as other associated tectonic assemblages in western Yukon and eastern Alaska, have been debated for decades. The Yukon-Tanana terrane is widely considered to be an allochthonous rifted fragment derived from the Laurentian continental margin, whereas the Lake George assemblage...
Authors
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, James K. Mortensen
Field evidence and indicators of rockfall fragmentation and implications for mobility Field evidence and indicators of rockfall fragmentation and implications for mobility
Rockfall fragmentation can play an important role in hazard studies and the design of protective measures. However, the current lack of modeling tools that incorporate rock fragmentation mechanics is a limitation to enhancing studies and design. This research investigates the fragmentation patterns of rockfalls and analyzes the resulting distribution of fragment sizes within...
Authors
Camilla Lanfranconi, Paolo Frattini, Federico Agliardi, Greg M. Stock, Brian D. Collins, Giovanni Crosta
Bayesian approaches to proxy uncertainty quantification in paleoecology: A mathematical justification and practical integration Bayesian approaches to proxy uncertainty quantification in paleoecology: A mathematical justification and practical integration
Paleoenvironmental data are essential for reconstructing environmental conditions in the distant past, and these reconstructions strongly depend on proxies and age–depth models. Proxies are indirect measurements that substitute for variables that cannot be directly measured, such as past precipitation. Conversely, an age–depth model is a tool that correlates the observed proxy with a...
Authors
Marco A. Aquino-Lopez, Lysanna Anderson, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernandez, J. Andres Christen
Bedrock geologic map of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and vicinity, southwest Arizona Bedrock geologic map of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and vicinity, southwest Arizona
No abstract available.
Authors
Lisa A. Thompson, Gordon B. Haxel, Donald W. Peterson, Daniel J. May, Richard M. Tosdal, Robert J. Miller, Floyd Gray, Richard A. LeVeque, Paul J. Umhoefer
Subduction zone geometry modulates the megathrust earthquake cycle: Magnitude, recurrence, and variability Subduction zone geometry modulates the megathrust earthquake cycle: Magnitude, recurrence, and variability
Megathrust geometric properties exhibit some of the strongest correlations with maximum earthquake magnitude in global surveys of large subduction zone earthquakes, but the mechanisms through which fault geometry influences subduction earthquake cycle dynamics remain unresolved. Here, we develop 39 models of sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip (SEAS) on variably-dipping planar and...
Authors
James Burkhardt Biemiller, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Dave May, Lydia M. Staisch
Aurora: An open-source Python implementation of the EMTF package for magnetotelluric data processing using MTH5 and mt-metadata Aurora: An open-source Python implementation of the EMTF package for magnetotelluric data processing using MTH5 and mt-metadata
The Aurora software package robustly estimates single station and remote reference electromagnetic transfer functions (TFs) from magnetotelluric (MT) time series. Aurora is part of an open-source processing workflow that leverages the self-describing data container MTH5, which in turn leverages the general mt-metadata framework to manage metadata. These pre-existing packages simplify the
Authors
Karl Kappler, Jared R. Peacock, Gary D. Egbert, Andrew Frassetto, Lindsey Heagy, Anna Kelbert, Laura Keyson, Douglas W. Oldenburg, Timothy Ronan, Justin Sweet
Assessing potential effects of oil and gas development activities on groundwater quality near and overlying the Elk Hills and North Coles Levee Oil Fields, San Joaquin Valley, California Assessing potential effects of oil and gas development activities on groundwater quality near and overlying the Elk Hills and North Coles Levee Oil Fields, San Joaquin Valley, California
Groundwater resources are utilized near areas of intensive oil and gas development in California’s San Joaquin Valley. In this study, we examined chemical and isotopic data to assess if thermogenic gas or saline water from oil producing formations have mixed with groundwater near the Elk Hills and North Coles Levee Oil Fields in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley. Major ion...
Authors
John G. Warden, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Stephens, Tracy Davis, Janice M. Gillespie, Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Andrew G. Hunt, David H. Shimabukuro, Riley Gannon, Lyndsay B. Ball