Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

M. Rubin

Publications and source records attributed to M. Rubin.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1983

Process and rate of dedolomitization: Mass transfer and C14 dating in a regional carbonate aquifer

Regional dedolomitization is the major process that controls the chemical character of water in the Mississippian Pahasapa Limestone (Madison equivalent) surrounding the Black Hills, South Dakota and Wyoming. The process of dedolomitization consists of dolomite dissolution and concurrent precipitation of calcite; it is driven by dissolution of gypsum. Deuterium and oxygen isotopic data from the ground water, coupled with regional potentiometric maps, show that recharge occurs on the western slope of the Black Hills and that the water flows northward and westward toward the Powder River Basin. A significant part flows around the southern end of the Black Hills to replenish the aquifer to the east of the Hills. Depth of flow was inferred from interpretation of the silica geothermometer based on the temperature-dependent solubilities of quartz and chalcedony in water. Chemical effects of warm water in the Pahasapa Limestone include changes in the solubility products of minerals, conversion of gypsum to anhydrite, solution and precipitation of minerals, and increases in the tendency for outgassing of carbon dioxide. Where sulfate reduction is not important, sulfur isotope data show that (1) in the Mississippian aquifer, most of the sulfate is from dissolution of gypsum and (2) some wells and springs have a hydrologic connection with overlying Permian and Pennsylvanian evaporites. Sulfate ion concentration, a progress variable, shows a strong correlation with pH as a result of the combined effects of the dedolomitization reactions. Mass-balance and mass-transfer calculations were used to adjust 14 C values to determine a range of ground-water flow velocities between 2 and 20 m/yr. These velocities are characteristic of carbonate aquifers. The average rates of dolomite and gypsum dissolution are 1.7 × 10 −4 and 3.4 × 10 −4 mmol/kg of H 2 O/yr, respectively. The precipitation of calcite is occurring at the rate of 3.4 × 10 −4 mmol/kg of H 2 O/yr. The close agreement among the model results demonstrates that dedolomitization is controlling water-rock interactions in this regional carbonate aquifer system.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS1975

Mount St. Helens volcano: Recent and future behavior

Mount St. Helens volcano in southern Washington has erupted many times during the last 4000 years, usually after brief dormant periods. This behavior pattern suggests that the volcano, last active in 1857, will erupt again - perhaps within the next few decades. Potential volcanic hazards of several kinds should be considered in planning for land use near the volcano.

Washington↗
USGS1973

Methane in Lake Kivu: New data bearing on its origin

Lake Kivu, an African rift lake, contains about 50 cubic kilometers of methane (at standard temperature and pressure) in its deep water. Data resulting from two recent expeditions to the lake and a reevaluation of earlier data suggest that most of the methane was formed by bacteria from abiogenetic carbon dioxide and hydrogen, rather than being of volcanic origin or having formed from decomposing organic matter.

Lake Kivu↗
USGS1967

Freshwater peat on the continental shelf

Freshwater peats from the continental shelf off northeastern United States contain the same general pollen sequence as peats from ponds that are above sea level and that are of comparable radiocarbon ages. These peats indicate that during glacial times of low sea level terrestrial vegetation covered the region that is now the continental shelf in an unbroken extension from the adjacent land areas to the north and west.

northeastern United States↗
USGS1965

Ancient oyster shells on the Atlantic continental shelf

Shells of long-dead Crassostrea virginica are reported at 71 stations in depths of 14 to 82 meters. The depths exceed those of the estuaries where the species flourishes. Radiocarbon measurements indicate that the oysters were alive 8000 to 11,000 years ago. It is concluded that the oysters lived in lagoons or estuaries which became submerged when the sea level rose at the end of the latest glacial epoch.

Science↗
USGS1965

Radiocarbon determinations for estimating groundwater flow velocities in central Florida

Carbon-14 activity was determined from HCO 3 - in samples of groundwater obtained from the principal artesian aquifer in Florida. From these data the "age" of water obtained from a series of wells, each progressively farther down gradient on the piezometric surface, was established. Relative carbon-14 ages indicated a velocity of groundwater movement of 23 feet (7 meters) per year for about 85 miles (137 kilometers) of travel. A velocity of 23 feet per year was calculated independently from Darcy's law.

Florida↗
USGS1964

Natural carbon-14 activity of organic substances in streams

Carbon-14 measurements made on organic contaminants extracted from streams show percentages of industrial waste and domestic sewage. The method, used previously for studies of the atmosphere, can be used in studies of pollution sources.

Science↗
USGS1961

Dating desert ground water

Tritium in Arabian rainfall has followed the trend observed in North America with peaks in 1958 and the spring of 1959. These measurements will be useful for future hydrologie studies. Water from wadi gravels averages 10 yr old. Carbon-14 measurements of deep waters indicate ages of several thousand years.

Science↗
USGS1959

Age of marginal Wisconsin drift at Corry, northwestern Pennsylvania

Marl began to accumulate about 14,000 years ago, as determined by radiocarbon dating, in a pond in a kettle hole in Kent drift at Corry, Pa., 9 miles inside the Wisconsin drift margin. This radiocarbon age represents the minimum time since the disappearance of the ice from Corry and confirms an assignment of Cary age to the drift.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1955

Radiocarbon dates of pre-Mankato events in eastern and central North America

1) A group of samples from horizons previously correlated with the upper part of the Cary substage confirms the correlation as reasonable and is consistently related in time to the dates of the peat layer at Two Creeks and subsequent Mankato events. 2) A major glaciation affected the Great Lakes region beginning 25,000 or more yr ago and reaching its maximum extent about 18,000 yr ago. It is represented by drift correlated in Ohio with the Cary substage and, at least in part, with the Tazewell substage; in Illinois and adjacent states it is correlated with most of the Tazewell substage and with the Farmdale loess. 3) The ecology and other associations implied by the dated samples are more consistent with glacial than with nonglacial conditions. 4) The lower till at Sidney, Ohio (W-188), on which is developed a soil considered a correlative of the Fox series soil on gravels and also buried by till of the major glaciation of 25,000 to 18,000 yr ago, indicates an earlier glaciation extensively exposed in Ohio and believed to be an early Wisconsin event. Table 2. List of samples and dates arranged by age groups. [See table in the PDF file] 5) An earlier glaciation, or glaciations, is implied at several localities by peat, gyttja, or wood more than 30,000 yr old, overlain by till. 6) The time interval between the middle group and the old group of samples, which has been determined within conservative radiocarbon limits to be greater than 3000 yr, is possibly of the order of 16,000 yr, as suggested by the depth of leaching at Sidney, Ohio.(The ages of all the samples discussed are listed in Table 2.) 7) An attempt should now be made to fix more closely the dates of the old samples and to reexamine in the field the stratigraphic sequence in the light of the radiocarbon dates discussed.

Science↗