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Nora Nieminski

My research interests are broadly focused around stratigraphic and tectonic characterization of sedimentary basins. I am interested in the evolution of sedimentary systems in the context of intrinsically-related regional tectonics in addition to grain-scale processes inferred from deposits.

My current research is focused on dispersal of sediment along the southern Cascadia margin, striving to understand the relationships between submarine mass failure events and sediment supply/source when tectonic or climatic changes impart imbalance on the stability of continental shelves. This work combines modern sediment cores, sediment provenance data, geochronology, and geophysical/remote sensing data to study regional tectonism, basin evolution, and stratigraphy, facilitating a better understanding of geohazards along the Cascadia margin.

Expertise

Sedimentology/stratigraphy, detrital geochronology, seafloor processes, tectonics

Professional Experience

  • 2019–present: USGS Mendenhall Research Fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Santa Cruz, CA

  • 2017–2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, Stanford University/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

  • 2014: Geoscience Intern, Chevron, Houston, Texas

  • 2012: Geoscience Intern, ConocoPhillips, Houston, Texas

Education and Certifications

  • 2017: Ph.D. – Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University

  • 2011:  B.S. & B.A. – Geoscience & French, University of Utah

Science and Products

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An ad for an upcoming seminar with the title at top, image in middle, and speaker name and information at bottom.

Science Seminar Series

Welcome to the Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center (PCMSC) Seminar Series! Our seminars are on the first and third Tuesday of every month, usually from 10:00 – 11:00 am Pacific Time (1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern) via Microsoft Teams. Please check each seminar announcement closely, as times may change. In addition, we also co-host a special “Coastal Change Hazards” seminar on the second Tuesday every...
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Science Seminar Series

Welcome to the Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center (PCMSC) Seminar Series! Our seminars are on the first and third Tuesday of every month, usually from 10:00 – 11:00 am Pacific Time (1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern) via Microsoft Teams. Please check each seminar announcement closely, as times may change. In addition, we also co-host a special “Coastal Change Hazards” seminar on the second Tuesday every...
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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
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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
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A building after an earthquake has crumbled the roof and brick walls, the interior is now visible.

U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards

Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
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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
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U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards

Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
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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
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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
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
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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
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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
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

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

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

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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.

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Science and Products