Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
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High-precision 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum dating of sanidine from the Middle Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein of the Appalachian basin High-precision 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum dating of sanidine from the Middle Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein of the Appalachian basin
40Ar/39Ar plateau age spectra of seven sanidine samples from the Fire Clay tonstein (Middle Pennsylvanian), collected along a 300-km traverse in the Appalachian basin, range from 310.3 to 311.4 Ma. All plateau ages agree, within the limits of analytical precision, with their respective total gas ages. This agreement, together with the reproducibility between samples, suggests the...
Authors
Michael J. Kunk, Charles L. Rice
40Ar/39Ar chronology and volcanology of silicic volcanism in the Davis Mountains, Trans-Pecos Texas 40Ar/39Ar chronology and volcanology of silicic volcanism in the Davis Mountains, Trans-Pecos Texas
Field studies and 40Ar/39Ar dating reveal that silicic volcanism in the Davis Mountains part of the Trans-Pecos Texas volcanic field occurred in six episodes at 0.3 m.y. intervals between 36.8 and 35.3 Ma. Additionally, two groups of silicic intrusions were emplaced at 34.6 and 32.8 Ma. This episodicity is similar to that determined for volcanic fields dominated by ash-flow tuffs, yet...
Authors
Christopher D. Henry, Michael J. Kunk, W. C. McIntosh
40Ar 39Ar age constraints on neogene sedimentary beds, Upper Ramparts, half-way Pillar and Canyon village sites, Porcupine river, east-central Alaska 40Ar 39Ar age constraints on neogene sedimentary beds, Upper Ramparts, half-way Pillar and Canyon village sites, Porcupine river, east-central Alaska
40Ar/39Ar ages of volcanic rocks are used to provide numerical constraints on the age of middle and upper Miocene sedimentary strata collected along the Porcupine River. Intercalated sedimentary rocks north of latitude 67°10′N in the Porcupine terrane of east-central Alaska contain a rich record of plant fossils. The fossils are valuable indicators of this interior region's paleoclimate...
Authors
Michael J. Kunk, H. Rieck, T. D. Fouch, L. David Carter
The Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein of the Appalachian basin—Its distribution, biostratigraphy, and mineralogy The Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein of the Appalachian basin—Its distribution, biostratigraphy, and mineralogy
The Middle Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein, mostly kaolinite and minor accessory minerals, is an altered and lithified volcanic ash preserved as a thin, isochronous layer associated with the Fire Clay coal bed. Seven samples of the tonstein, taken along a 300-km traverse of the central Appalachian basin, contain cogenetic phenocrysts and trapped silicate-melt inclusions of a rhyolitic...
Authors
C. L. Rice, Harvey E. Belkin, T.W. Henry, R. E. Zartman, Michael J. Kunk
Mechanistic solutions to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico Mechanistic solutions to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico
Two mechanistic models—which are unlike the traditional plate-tectonic landfill models used for most proposed Pangea reconstructions of the Yucatán block—relate the Mesozoic opening of the Gulf of Mexico directly to the movement of the North and South American plates: (1) a previous piggyback model in which Yucatán moves with South America out of the western gulf and (2) a new edge...
Authors
Hans Schouten, Kim D. Klitgord
Diet affects body composition of chinook salmon Diet affects body composition of chinook salmon
Hatchery-reared salmonids often contain proportionally greater amounts of body lipid (storage fat) and proportionally lesser amounts of body protein (muscle) and ash (bone) than do their wild counterparts of equal size. The effect of body composition on postrelease survival and subsequent return of mature adults is presently unknown. High lipid deposits may benefit the fish by providing...
Authors
B. Lellis
Falcon versus grouse: flight adaptations of a predator and its prey Falcon versus grouse: flight adaptations of a predator and its prey
Several falcons were trained to fly along a 500 m course to a lure. The air speeds of the more consistent performers averaged about 1.5 times their calculated minimum power speeds, and occasionally reached 2.1 times the minimum power speed. Wing beat frequencies of all the falcons were above those estimated from earlier field observations, and the same was true of wild Sage Grouse...
Authors
C.J. Pennycuick, M.R. Fuller, J.J. Oar, S.J. Kirkpatrick
In my experience: Improved capture techniques for psittacines In my experience: Improved capture techniques for psittacines
Four methods for capturing psittacines were developed and tested in Puerto Rico from 1991-1993. Elevated mist nets at canopy height in scrub-forest or mangrove habitat captured fewer nontarget birds and possibly more parakeets than mist nets at ground level. Playback of conspecific calls may have attracted parakeets to the net area and reduced the need to erect more than six 12-m long...
Authors
J.M. Meyers
The howling: Dealing with the wolf boom The howling: Dealing with the wolf boom
No abstract available.
Authors
L.D. Mech
Use of geoelectrical methods in groundwater pollution surveys in a coastal environment Use of geoelectrical methods in groundwater pollution surveys in a coastal environment
The pollution of coastal aquifers by old landfills can contaminate valuable and scarce water resources in the freshwater lens utilized seasonably by overcrowded communities. The pollutants will ultimately flow into the sea where they may also cause a coastal water pollution problem. We have detected pollution in the freshwater lens from a sanitary landfill near Provincetown, Cape Cod...
Authors
R.K. Frohlich, D.W. Urish, J. Fuller, M. O’Reilly
Habitat preferences of Peromyscus spp. in a mixed boreal ecosystem Habitat preferences of Peromyscus spp. in a mixed boreal ecosystem
No abstract available.
Authors
S. Garman, A.F. O'Connell, J.H. Connery