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Nora Nieminski (Former Employee)

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Sun sets over a mountain ridge.

Science Seminar Series Archives

A list of past science seminars hosted by the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Science Seminar Series Archives

A list of past science seminars hosted by the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Learn More
link
A computed-generated image showing the Queen Charlotte Fault and nearshore area, using bathymetry and lidar data

Coastal and Marine Geohazards of the U.S. West Coast and Alaska

Coastal and marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. These underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis. The tectonically active west coast of the Americas is prone to such hazards, as it lies along the boundaries of major tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust—the North American, Caribbean...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 3-D CT Core Imaging Laboratory, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Big Sur Landslides, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization, Subduction Zone Science
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Coastal and Marine Geohazards of the U.S. West Coast and Alaska

Coastal and marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. These underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis. The tectonically active west coast of the Americas is prone to such hazards, as it lies along the boundaries of major tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust—the North American, Caribbean...
Learn More

Sediment core data from offshore southern Cascadia during field activity 2019-643-FA

This data release contains sediment core data including core imagery, multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data, and radiocarbon age data. Sediment cores were collected offshore northern California during U.S. Geological Survey cruise 2019-643-FA aboard the M/V Bold-Horizon. The cores were collected along with geophysical data to evaluate potential hazards (e.g., active fault systems, slope instabiliti
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Compiled onshore and offshore paleoseismic data along the Cascadia Subduction zone

The USGS Powell Center Cascadia earthquake hazards working group compiled published onshore and offshore paleoseismic data along the Cascadia subduction zone, spanning sites from Vancouver Island to the Mendocino triple junction. Evidence for megathrust rupture includes coastal land-level change, tsunami inundation, onshore shaking proxies such as landslides or liquefaction, and offshore shaking p
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis

Radiocarbon age dating of biological material from cores collected off central California in 1999, 2006, and 2019

Results of radiocarbon age dating of planktic and benthic foraminifera collected from cores obtained in 1999, 2006, and 2019 offshore central California in the vicinity of Morro Bay.
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multichannel minisparker seismic-reflection and chirp subbottom data collected offshore Northern California during USGS field activity 2019-643-FA

High-resoulution multichannel seismic-reflection (MCS) and Chirp sub-bottom data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2019 offshore Humboldt County of northern California to expand data coverage along the southern Cascadia Margin. Data were acquired to characterize offshore faults and to study sediment distribution. MCS and Chirp data were collected coincidentally and were used to deter
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Donated ROV vibracore and sampling data collected during Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute cruises in 2019 offshore of south-central California

This dataset includes photographs of vibracores that were collected by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in February 2019 and November 2019 aboard the R/V Western Flyer using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts. The collection of these cores was funded entirely by MBARI, and the cores have been donated to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The cores were collected i
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background
Science crew on research cruise
Science crew on research cruise
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Science crew on research cruise

Science crew on research cruise

USGS scientists on the back deck of M/V Bold Horizon in San Francisco Bay: (back row, standing: left to right) Brandon Nasr, Danny Brothers, Travis Alonghi (USGS student contractor), Gerry Hatcher, Jenna Hill, Pete Dal Ferro, and Jenny McKee; (front row, kneeling: left to right) USGS scientists Janet Watt and Nora Nieminski.

By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Science crew on research cruise

Science crew on research cruise

USGS scientists on the back deck of M/V Bold Horizon in San Francisco Bay: (back row, standing: left to right) Brandon Nasr, Danny Brothers, Travis Alonghi (USGS student contractor), Gerry Hatcher, Jenna Hill, Pete Dal Ferro, and Jenny McKee; (front row, kneeling: left to right) USGS scientists Janet Watt and Nora Nieminski.

By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Pockmarks offshore Big Sur, California provide evidence for recurrent, regional, and unconfined sediment gravity flows

Recent surface ship multibeam surveys of the Sur Pockmark Field, offshore Central California, reveal >5,000 pockmarks in an area that is slated to host a wind farm, between 500- and 1,500-m water depth. Extensive fieldwork was conducted to characterize the seafloor environment and its recent geologic history, including visual observations with remotely operated vehicles, sediment core sampling, an
Authors
E. Lundsten, Charles K. Paull, R. Gwiazda, S. Dobbs, D.W. Caress, Linda A. Kuhnz, M. Walton, N. Nieminski, Mary McGann, Thomas Lorenson, Guy R. Cochrane, Jason A. Addison
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Spatial distribution and variability of lobe facies in a large sand-rich submarine fan system: Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group, Namibia

The deposits of the upper Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group of central-western Namibia represent a large siliciclastic deep-water depositional system that showcases the intricacies of facies and architectural relationships from bed-scale to fan-system-scale. The lack of vegetation in the Namib Desert and regular east–west repetition of folded stratigraphy (reflecting ca 50% tectonic shortening) prov
Authors
Nora Maria Nieminski, Tim McHargue, Jared T. Gooley, Andrea Fildani, Donald R Lowe
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Time-lapse seafloor surveys reveal how turbidity currents and internal tides in Monterey Canyon interact with the seabed at centimeter-scale

Here we show how ultra-high resolution seabed mapping using new technology can help to understand processes that sculpt submarine canyons. Time-lapse seafloor surveys were conducted in the axis of Monterey Canyon, ∼50 km from the canyon head (∼1,840 m water depth) over an 18-month period. These surveys comprised 5-cm resolution multibeam bathymetry, 1-cm resolution lidar bathymetry, and 2-mm resol
Authors
Monica Wolfson-Schwehr, Charles K. Paull, David W. Caress, Roberto Gwiazda, Nora Maria Nieminski, Peter J. Talling, Cristian Carvajal, Stephen M. Simmons, Giancarlo Troni
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment gravity flow frequency offshore central California diminished significantly following the Last Glacial Maximum

A high-resolution multibeam survey from a portion of the San Simeon Channel (offshore Morro Bay, California) captured a zone of recurring troughs and ridges adjacent to prominent submarine meander bends. Through an integrated study using surveying data, sediment core analysis, radiocarbon dating, and stable isotope measurements, we hypothesize that turbidity current event frequency was higher duri
Authors
Stephen C. Dobbs, Charles K. Paull, Eve M. Lundsten, Roberto Gwiazda, David W. Caress, Mary McGann, Marianne M. Coholich, Maureen A.L. Walton, Nora Maria Nieminski, Timothy McHargue, Steven A. Graham
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Detrital zircon provenance of the Cretaceous-Neogene East Coast Basin reveals changing tectonic conditions and drainage reorganization along the Pacific margin of Zealandia

The Upper Cretaceous–Pliocene strata of New Zealand record ~100 m.y. of Zealandia’s evolution, including development of the Hikurangi convergent margin and Alpine transform plate boundary. A comprehensive, new detrital zircon U-Pb data set (8315 analyses from 61 samples) was generated along a ~700 km transect of the East Coast Basin of New Zealand. Age distributions were analyzed and interpreted i
Authors
Jared T. Gooley, Nora Maria Nieminski
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization

Linking direct measurements of turbidity currents to submarine canyon-floor deposits

Submarine canyons are conduits for episodic and powerful sediment density flows (commonly called turbidity currents) that move globally significant amounts of terrestrial sediment and organic carbon into the deep sea, forming some of the largest sedimentary deposits on Earth. The only record available for most turbidity currents is the deposit they leave behind. Therefore, to understand turbidity

Authors
Katherine L. Maier, Jenny Gales, Charles K. Paull, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Peter J. Talling, Stephen Simmons, Roberto Gwiazda, Mary McGann, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Michael Clare, Jingping Xu, Daniel Parsons, James P. Barry, Monica Wolfson-Schwher, Nora M. Nieminski, Esther J. Sumner
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Research Expedition Collects Cores, Geophysical Data from Cascadia Subduction Zone

Research Expedition Collects Cores, Geophysical Data from Cascadia Subduction Zone

To better understand the geophysical characteristics and seismic history of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, USGS researchers conduct fieldwork at sea to...

Read Article
PCMSC scientists invited to present at the National Seismic Hazard Map Workshop

PCMSC scientists invited to present at the National Seismic Hazard Map Workshop

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center research geologist Jenna Hill to present recent offshore work on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Read Article

Science and Products

link
Sun sets over a mountain ridge.

Science Seminar Series Archives

A list of past science seminars hosted by the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Science Seminar Series Archives

A list of past science seminars hosted by the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Learn More
link
A computed-generated image showing the Queen Charlotte Fault and nearshore area, using bathymetry and lidar data

Coastal and Marine Geohazards of the U.S. West Coast and Alaska

Coastal and marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. These underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis. The tectonically active west coast of the Americas is prone to such hazards, as it lies along the boundaries of major tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust—the North American, Caribbean...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 3-D CT Core Imaging Laboratory, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Big Sur Landslides, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization, Subduction Zone Science
link

Coastal and Marine Geohazards of the U.S. West Coast and Alaska

Coastal and marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. These underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis. The tectonically active west coast of the Americas is prone to such hazards, as it lies along the boundaries of major tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust—the North American, Caribbean...
Learn More

Sediment core data from offshore southern Cascadia during field activity 2019-643-FA

This data release contains sediment core data including core imagery, multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data, and radiocarbon age data. Sediment cores were collected offshore northern California during U.S. Geological Survey cruise 2019-643-FA aboard the M/V Bold-Horizon. The cores were collected along with geophysical data to evaluate potential hazards (e.g., active fault systems, slope instabiliti
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Compiled onshore and offshore paleoseismic data along the Cascadia Subduction zone

The USGS Powell Center Cascadia earthquake hazards working group compiled published onshore and offshore paleoseismic data along the Cascadia subduction zone, spanning sites from Vancouver Island to the Mendocino triple junction. Evidence for megathrust rupture includes coastal land-level change, tsunami inundation, onshore shaking proxies such as landslides or liquefaction, and offshore shaking p
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis

Radiocarbon age dating of biological material from cores collected off central California in 1999, 2006, and 2019

Results of radiocarbon age dating of planktic and benthic foraminifera collected from cores obtained in 1999, 2006, and 2019 offshore central California in the vicinity of Morro Bay.
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multichannel minisparker seismic-reflection and chirp subbottom data collected offshore Northern California during USGS field activity 2019-643-FA

High-resoulution multichannel seismic-reflection (MCS) and Chirp sub-bottom data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2019 offshore Humboldt County of northern California to expand data coverage along the southern Cascadia Margin. Data were acquired to characterize offshore faults and to study sediment distribution. MCS and Chirp data were collected coincidentally and were used to deter
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Donated ROV vibracore and sampling data collected during Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute cruises in 2019 offshore of south-central California

This dataset includes photographs of vibracores that were collected by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in February 2019 and November 2019 aboard the R/V Western Flyer using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts. The collection of these cores was funded entirely by MBARI, and the cores have been donated to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The cores were collected i
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background
Science crew on research cruise
Science crew on research cruise
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Science crew on research cruise

Science crew on research cruise

USGS scientists on the back deck of M/V Bold Horizon in San Francisco Bay: (back row, standing: left to right) Brandon Nasr, Danny Brothers, Travis Alonghi (USGS student contractor), Gerry Hatcher, Jenna Hill, Pete Dal Ferro, and Jenny McKee; (front row, kneeling: left to right) USGS scientists Janet Watt and Nora Nieminski.

By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
A group of people stand, smiling for the camera, on the deck of a ship at sea with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Science crew on research cruise

Science crew on research cruise

USGS scientists on the back deck of M/V Bold Horizon in San Francisco Bay: (back row, standing: left to right) Brandon Nasr, Danny Brothers, Travis Alonghi (USGS student contractor), Gerry Hatcher, Jenna Hill, Pete Dal Ferro, and Jenny McKee; (front row, kneeling: left to right) USGS scientists Janet Watt and Nora Nieminski.

By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Pockmarks offshore Big Sur, California provide evidence for recurrent, regional, and unconfined sediment gravity flows

Recent surface ship multibeam surveys of the Sur Pockmark Field, offshore Central California, reveal >5,000 pockmarks in an area that is slated to host a wind farm, between 500- and 1,500-m water depth. Extensive fieldwork was conducted to characterize the seafloor environment and its recent geologic history, including visual observations with remotely operated vehicles, sediment core sampling, an
Authors
E. Lundsten, Charles K. Paull, R. Gwiazda, S. Dobbs, D.W. Caress, Linda A. Kuhnz, M. Walton, N. Nieminski, Mary McGann, Thomas Lorenson, Guy R. Cochrane, Jason A. Addison
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Spatial distribution and variability of lobe facies in a large sand-rich submarine fan system: Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group, Namibia

The deposits of the upper Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group of central-western Namibia represent a large siliciclastic deep-water depositional system that showcases the intricacies of facies and architectural relationships from bed-scale to fan-system-scale. The lack of vegetation in the Namib Desert and regular east–west repetition of folded stratigraphy (reflecting ca 50% tectonic shortening) prov
Authors
Nora Maria Nieminski, Tim McHargue, Jared T. Gooley, Andrea Fildani, Donald R Lowe
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Time-lapse seafloor surveys reveal how turbidity currents and internal tides in Monterey Canyon interact with the seabed at centimeter-scale

Here we show how ultra-high resolution seabed mapping using new technology can help to understand processes that sculpt submarine canyons. Time-lapse seafloor surveys were conducted in the axis of Monterey Canyon, ∼50 km from the canyon head (∼1,840 m water depth) over an 18-month period. These surveys comprised 5-cm resolution multibeam bathymetry, 1-cm resolution lidar bathymetry, and 2-mm resol
Authors
Monica Wolfson-Schwehr, Charles K. Paull, David W. Caress, Roberto Gwiazda, Nora Maria Nieminski, Peter J. Talling, Cristian Carvajal, Stephen M. Simmons, Giancarlo Troni
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment gravity flow frequency offshore central California diminished significantly following the Last Glacial Maximum

A high-resolution multibeam survey from a portion of the San Simeon Channel (offshore Morro Bay, California) captured a zone of recurring troughs and ridges adjacent to prominent submarine meander bends. Through an integrated study using surveying data, sediment core analysis, radiocarbon dating, and stable isotope measurements, we hypothesize that turbidity current event frequency was higher duri
Authors
Stephen C. Dobbs, Charles K. Paull, Eve M. Lundsten, Roberto Gwiazda, David W. Caress, Mary McGann, Marianne M. Coholich, Maureen A.L. Walton, Nora Maria Nieminski, Timothy McHargue, Steven A. Graham
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Detrital zircon provenance of the Cretaceous-Neogene East Coast Basin reveals changing tectonic conditions and drainage reorganization along the Pacific margin of Zealandia

The Upper Cretaceous–Pliocene strata of New Zealand record ~100 m.y. of Zealandia’s evolution, including development of the Hikurangi convergent margin and Alpine transform plate boundary. A comprehensive, new detrital zircon U-Pb data set (8315 analyses from 61 samples) was generated along a ~700 km transect of the East Coast Basin of New Zealand. Age distributions were analyzed and interpreted i
Authors
Jared T. Gooley, Nora Maria Nieminski
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization

Linking direct measurements of turbidity currents to submarine canyon-floor deposits

Submarine canyons are conduits for episodic and powerful sediment density flows (commonly called turbidity currents) that move globally significant amounts of terrestrial sediment and organic carbon into the deep sea, forming some of the largest sedimentary deposits on Earth. The only record available for most turbidity currents is the deposit they leave behind. Therefore, to understand turbidity

Authors
Katherine L. Maier, Jenny Gales, Charles K. Paull, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Peter J. Talling, Stephen Simmons, Roberto Gwiazda, Mary McGann, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Michael Clare, Jingping Xu, Daniel Parsons, James P. Barry, Monica Wolfson-Schwher, Nora M. Nieminski, Esther J. Sumner
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Research Expedition Collects Cores, Geophysical Data from Cascadia Subduction Zone

Research Expedition Collects Cores, Geophysical Data from Cascadia Subduction Zone

To better understand the geophysical characteristics and seismic history of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, USGS researchers conduct fieldwork at sea to...

Read Article
PCMSC scientists invited to present at the National Seismic Hazard Map Workshop

PCMSC scientists invited to present at the National Seismic Hazard Map Workshop

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center research geologist Jenna Hill to present recent offshore work on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Read Article
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