Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 7494

Historical shoreline mapping (I): improving techniques and reducing positioning errors Historical shoreline mapping (I): improving techniques and reducing positioning errors

A critical need exists among coastal researchers and policy-makers for a precise method to obtain shoreline positions from historical maps and aerial photographs. A number of methods that vary widely in approach and accuracy have been developed to meet this need. None of the existing methods, however, address the entire range of cartographic and photogrammetric techniques required for...
Authors
E. Robert Thieler, William W. Danforth

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

Meteoroid mayhem in Ole Virginny: Source of the North American tektite strewn field Meteoroid mayhem in Ole Virginny: Source of the North American tektite strewn field

New seismic reflection data from Chesapeake Bay reveal a buried, 85-km-wide, 1.5-2.0-km-deep, peak-ring impact crater, carved through upper Eocene to Lower Cretaceous sedimentary strata and into underlying pre-Mesozoic crystalline basement rocks. A polymictic, late Eocene impact breccia, composed mainly of locally derived sedimentary debris (determined from four continuous cores)...
Authors
C. Wylie Poag, David S. Powars, Lawrence J. Poppe, Robert B. Mixon

The role of magmas in the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits The role of magmas in the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits

Magmatic fluids, both vapour and hypersaline liquid, are a primary source of many components in hydrothermal ore deposits formed in volcanic arcs. These components, including metals and their ligands, become concentrated in magmas in various ways from various sources, including subducted oceanic crust. Leaching of rocks also contributes components to the hydrothermal fluid—a process...
Authors
Jeffrey W. Hedenquist, Jacob B. Lowenstern

Characteristics of the near-bottom suspended sediment field over the continental shelf off northern California based on optical attenuation measurements during STRESS and SMILE Characteristics of the near-bottom suspended sediment field over the continental shelf off northern California based on optical attenuation measurements during STRESS and SMILE

Time-series measurements of current velocity, optical attenuation and surface wave intensity obtained during the Sediment Transport Events on Shelves and Slopes (STRESS) experiments, combined with shipboard measurements of conductivity, temperature and optical attenuation obtained during the Shelf Mixed Layer Experiment (SMILE), provide a description of the sediment concentration field...
Authors
J.H. Trowbridge, B. Butman, R. Limeburner

Surface degassing and modifications to vesicle size distributions in active basalt flows Surface degassing and modifications to vesicle size distributions in active basalt flows

The character of the vesicle population in lava flows includes several measurable parameters that may provide important constraints on lava flow dynamics and rheology. Interpretation of vesicle size distributions (VSDs), however, requires an understanding of vesiculation processes in feeder conduits, and of post-eruption modifications to VSDs during transport and emplacement. To this end...
Authors
K. V. Cashman, M. T. Mangan, S. Newman

Six years of change in Lake Nyos, Cameroon, yield clues to the past and cautions for the future Six years of change in Lake Nyos, Cameroon, yield clues to the past and cautions for the future

The catastrophic release of gas from Lake Nyos, Cameroon, in 1986 caused substantial but incomplete mixing of the stratified water column. The post-release evolution of water-column structure has been monitored through April 1992. Changes began immediately after the event as rainfall and inflow brought dilute fluid into the surface layer. Inflow and surface mixing have gradually deepened...
Authors
William C. Evans, L. D. White, M. L. Tuttle, G.W. Kling, G. Tanyileke, R. L. Michel

The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 — Hydrologic disturbances The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 — Hydrologic disturbances

Seismic events have long been known to cause changes in the level of oceans, streams, lakes, and the water table. The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 induced significant hydrologic changes that were qualitatively similar to those changes observed for the Loma Prieta earthquake. What is different is that the hydrologic data sets collected from the Loma Prieta event have enough...

Hydrothermal systems of the Cascade Range, north-central Oregon Hydrothermal systems of the Cascade Range, north-central Oregon

Quaternary volcanoes of the Cascade Range form a 1,200- kilometer-long arc that extends from southern British Columbia to northern California. The section of the Cascade Range volcanic arc in central Oregon is characterized by relatively high Quaternary volcanic extrusion rates and hot-spring discharge rates. Stableisotope data and measurements of hot-spring heat discharge indicate that...
Authors
S. E. Ingebritsen, Robert H. Mariner, David R. Sherrod

An updated numerical simulation of the ground-water flow system for the Castle Lake debris dam, Mount St. Helens, Washington, and implications for dam stability against heave An updated numerical simulation of the ground-water flow system for the Castle Lake debris dam, Mount St. Helens, Washington, and implications for dam stability against heave

A numerical simulation of the ground-water flow system in the Castle Lake debris dam, calibrated to data from the 1991 and 1992 water years, was used to estimate factors of safety against heave and internal erosion. The Castle Lake debris dam, 5 miles northwest of the summit of Mount St. Helens, impounds 19,000 acre-ft of water that could pose a flood hazard in the event of a lake...
Authors
Evelyn A. Roeloffs
Was this page helpful?