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P.R. Carlson

Publications and source records attributed to P.R. Carlson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

The marine record of the Russell Fiord outburst flood, Alaska, U.S.A

The advance of Hubbard Glacier, near Yakutat, Alaska, U.S.A., in spring 1986 blocked the entrance to Russell Fiord with an ice-and-sediment dam, behind which a lake formed. The water level in Russell Lake rose to 25.5 m a.s.l. The dam catastrophically failed in October 1986, releasing 5.4 km 3 of water into Disenchantment Bay. High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles show a 7.5 km long channel system cut into and buried by glacimarine sediment, represented by continuous, parallel reflections. The chaotic seismic facies filling the channel is interpreted to be debris flow deposits. A gravity core from channel-overbank deposits contained sandy diamicton with mud clasts. Above the channel a 1-2 m thick sediment drape extends across the bay. Laminated mud, fining-upward sand beds and diamicton were recovered from this unit. The sediment-drape deposits were produced by suspension settling from turbid plumes and non-channelized turbidity currents generated by the outburst flood.

Alaska↗
USGS2017

20th-century glacial-marine sedimentation in Vitus Lake, Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.

Vitus Lake, the ice-marginal basin at the southeastern edge of Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., is a site of modern, rapid, glacial-marine sedimentation. Rather than being a fresh-water lake, Vitus Lake is a tidally influenced, marine to brackish embayment connected to the Pacific Ocean by an inlet, the Seal River. Vitus Lake consists of five deep bedrock basins, separated by interbasinal highs. Glacial erosion has cut these basins as much as 250 m below sea level. High-resolution seismic reflection surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993 of four of Vitus Lake's basins reveal a complex, variable three-component acoustic stratigraphy. Although not fully sampled, the stratigraphy is inferred to be primarily glacial-marine units of (1) basal contorted and deformed glacial-marine and glacial sediments deposited by basal ice-contact processes and submarine mass-wasting; (2) acoustically well-stratified glacial-marine sediment, which unconformably overlies the basal unit and which grades upward into (3) acoustically transparent or nearly transparent glacial-marine sediment. Maximum thicknesses of conformable glacial-marine sediment exceed 100 m. All of the acoustically transparent and stratified deposits in Vitus Lake are modern in age, having accumulated between 1967 and 1993. The basins where these three-part sequences of "present-day" glacial-marine sediment are accumulating are themselves cut into older sequences of stratified glacial and glacial-marine deposits. These older units outcrop on the islands in Vitus Lake. In 1967, as the result of a major surge, glacier ice completely filled all five basins. Subsequent terminus retreat, which continued through August 1993, exposed these basins, providing new locations for glacial-marine sediment accumulation. A correlation of sediment thicknesses measured from seismic profiles at specific locations within the basins, with the year that each location became ice-free, shows that the sediment accumulation at some locations exceeds 10 m year -1 .

Alaska↗
USGS2005

Discovery of 100-160-year-old iceberg gouges and their relation to halibut habitat in Glacier Bay, Alaska

Side-scan sonar and multibeam imagery of Glacier Bay, Alaska, revealed complex iceberg gouge patterns at water depths to 135 m on the floor of Whidbey Passage and south to the bay entrance. These previously undiscovered gouges likely formed more than 100 years ago as the glacier retreated rapidly up Glacier Bay. Gouged areas free of fine sediment supported greater biodiversity of Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepsis than nearby sediment-filled gouges, probably due to increased habitat complexity. Small Pacific halibut were forund more frequently in sediment-free gouged areas, presumably due to higher prey abundance. In contrast, large Pacific halibut were found more frequently on soft substrates such as sediment-filled gouges, where they could bury themselves and ambush prey.

American Fisheries Society Symposium↗
USGS2002

Ubiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska

Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbonbiomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound, are all remarkably similar and have characteristics consistent with those of oil products that originated from the Monterey Formation source rocks of California. The carbonisotopic compositions of the tar balls are all closely grouped (<513Cpdb = -23.7 ± 0.2%o), within the range found in crude oils from those rocks, but are distinct from isotopic compositions of 28 samples of residues from the Exxon ValdezoW spill (<513Cpdb = -29.4 ± 0.1%o). Likewise, values for selected biomarker ratios in the tar balls are all similar but distinct from values of residues from the 1989 oil spill. Carbon-isotopic and biomarker signatures generally relate the tar balls to oil products used in Alaska before ~1970 for construction and pavements. How these tar balls with such similar geochemical characteristics became so widely dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the sound is not known with certainty, but the great 1964 Alaska earthquake was undoubtedly an important trigger, causing spills from ruptured storage facilities of California-sourced asphalt and fuel oil into Prince William Sound.

Alaska↗
USGS1999

Growth of a post-Little Ice Age submarine fan, Glacier Bay, Alaska

A small Holocene fan is forming where Queen Inlet, a hanging valley, enters West Arm fjord, Glacier Bay, Alaska. Queen fan formed in the last 80 years following retreat of the Little Ice Age glacier that filled Glacier Bay about 200 yr BP. It was built mainly by a turbidite system originating from Carroll Glacier delta, as the delta formed in the early 1900s at the head of Queen Inlet. The Late Holocene Queen fan is comparable to large Pleistocene fans that formed in the Gulf of Alaska and differs from trough-mouth fans formed by cooler climate glacier systems.

Geo-Marine Letters↗
USGS1999

Development of San Leandro synform and neotectonics of the San Francisco Bay block, California

High-resolution, 24-channel seismic-reflection data show a stratified synform beneath south San Francisco Bay. These seismic-reflection data reveal an eastward-dipping bedrock surface that is about 40 m deep (subbottom) beneath the western south bay, and that reaches a maximum observed depth of 500-800 m (subbottom) below the eastern half of the south bay. An angular unconformity cuts both the synform and underlying bedrock. The age of the unconformity is unknown but may be Pleistocene, when these strata forming the synform were presumably exposed subaerially during lowered sea levels. The synformal strata, the unconformity, and some generally flat-lying and overlying strata are folded near the eastern shore of the bay. This folding may result from movement on the Hayward fault (fault interactions and localized strain partitioning) or from compressional deformation in the East Bay Hills related to NE-SW ('fault-normal') convergence between the Pacific and North American plates. In general, reflections from sediment overlying the unconformity are flat lying (except near the eastern shore of the bay), whereas reflections beneath the unconformity dip eastward. The overlying, flat sediment section fills a shallow basin that is coincident with an elliptical residual gravity low. This low appears to be related to the deeper sedimentary, synformal section based on the spatial correlation between the east-dipping reflections and the gravity anomaly. Projecting the east-dipping reflections to the center of the gravity low suggests that the total section of flat-lying and dipping reflections in the synform may exceed 1000 m. Modeling of the gravity low suggests a total low-density section, about 1.5 km thick, at the center of the synform relative to the surrounding bedrock of presumed Franciscan Complex.High-resolution, 24-channel seismic-reflection data show a stratified synform beneath south San Francisco Bay. These seismic-reflection data reveal an eastward-dipping bedrock surface that is about 40 m deep (subbottom) beneath the western south bay, and that reaches a maximum observed depth of 500-800 m (subbottom) below the eastern half of the south bay. An angular unconformity cuts both the synform and underlying bedrock. The age of the unconformity is unknown but may be Pleistocene, when these strata forming the synform were presumably exposed subaerially during lowered sea levels. The synformal strata, the unconformity, and some generally flat-lying and overlying strata are folded near the eastern shore of the bay. This folding may result from movement on the Hayward fault (fault interactions and localized strain partitioning) or from compressional deformation in the East Bay Hills related to NE-SW (`fault-normal') convergence between the Pacific and North American plates. In general, reflections from sediment overlying the unconformity are flat lying (except near the eastern shore of the bay), whereas reflections beneath the unconformity dip eastward. The overlying, flat sediment section fills a shallow basin that is coincident with an elliptical residual gravity low. This low appears to be related to the deeper sedimentary, synformal section based on the spatial correlation between the east-dipping reflections and the gravity anomaly. Projecting the east-dipping reflections to the center of the gravity low suggests that the total section of flat-lying and dipping reflections in the synform may exceed 1000 m. Modeling of the gravity low suggests a total low-density section, about 1.5 km thick, at the center of the synform relative to the surrounding bedrock of presumed Franciscan Complex.

Marine and Petroleum Geology↗
USGS1998

Natural hydrocarbon background in benthic sediments of Prince William Sound, Alaska: Oil vs coal

The source of the background hydrocarbons in benthic sediments of Prince William Sound (PWS), AK, where the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) occurred, has been ascribed to oil seeps in coastal areas of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). We present evidence that coal is a more plausible source, including (i) high concentrations of total PAH (TPAH), between 1670 and 3070 ng/g, in continental shelf sediments adjacent to the coastal region containing extensive coal deposits; (ii) PAH composition patterns of sediments along with predictive models that are consistent with coal but not oil; (iii) low ratios (<0.2) of triaromatic steranes to methylchrysenes found in sediments and coals, contrasting with the high ratios (11 and 13) found in seep oil; and (iv) bioaccumulation of PAH in salmon collected within 100 m of the Katalla oil seeps but not in filter-feeding mussels collected near oilfield drainages 9 km from the seeps, indicating negligible transport of bioavailable PAH from Katalla seeps to the GOA. In contrast with oil, PAH in coal are not bioavailable, so the presence of coal in these benthic sediments confers no adaptive benefit to biota of the marine ecosystem with respect to PAH insults from anthropogenic sources.The source of the background hydrocarbons in benthic sediments of Prince William Sound (PWS), AK, where the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) occurred, has been ascribed to oil seeps in coastal areas of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). We present evidence that coal is a more plausible source, including (i) high concentrations of total PAH (TPAH), between 1670 and 3070 ng/g, in continental shelf sediments adjacent to the coastal region containing extensive coal deposits; (ii) PAH composition patterns of sediments along with predictive models that are consistent with coal but not oil; (iii) low ratios (<0.2) of triaromatic steranes to methylchrysenes found in sediments and coals, contrasting with the high ratios (11 and 13) found in seep oil; and (iv) bioaccumulation of PAH in salmon collected within 100 m of the Katalla oil seeps but not in filter-feeding mussels collected near oilfield drainages 9 km from the seeps, indicating negligible transport of bioavailable PAH from Katalla seeps to the GOA. In contrast with oil, PAH in coal are not bioavailable, so the presence of coal in these benthic sediments confers no adaptive benefit to biota of the marine ecosystem with respect to PAH insults from anthropogenic sources.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS1998

Carbon isotopic comparisons of oil products used in the developmental history of Alaska

Studies of the fate of oil released into Prince William Sound, AK, as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, have led to an unexpected discovery. In addition to oil-like residues attributed to the spill, the ubiquitous presence of flattened tar balls, the carbon isotopic compositions of which fall within a surprisingly narrow range [??13C(PDB) = -23.7 ?? 0.3??? (n = 65)], were observed on the shorelines of the northern and western parts of the sound. These compositions are similar to those of some oil products [-23.7 ?? 0.7??? (n = 35)] that were shipped from California and used in Alaska for fuel, lubrication, construction, and paving before ~ 1970. These products include fuel oil, asphalt, and lubricants [-23.8 ?? 0.5??? (n = 11)], caulking, sealants, and roofing tar [-23.7 ?? 0.7??? (n = 16)], and road pavements and airport runways [-23.5 ?? 0.9??? (n = 8)]. Fuel oil and asphalt [-23.5 ?? 0.1??? (n = 3)], stored at the old Valdez town site and spilled during the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, appear to be the source of most of the beached tar balls. Oil products with lighter carbon isotopic compositions, between -25 and -30??? (n = 18), appear to have been used more recently in Alaska, that is, after ~ 1970. The source of some of the products used for modern pavement and runways [-29.3 ?? 0.2??? (n = 6)] is likely Alaskan North Slope crude oil, an example of which was spilled in the 1989 oil spill [-29.2??? (n = 1)].

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1997

Evaluation of conditions along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers: An example from Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, Alaska

In the marine environment, stability of the glacier terminus and the location of subglacial streams are the dominant controls on the distribution of grounding-line deposits within morainal banks. A morainal bank complex in Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, SE Alaska, is used to develop a model of terminus stability and location of subglacial streams along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers. This model can be used to interpret former grounding-line conditions in other glacimarine settings from the facies architecture within morainal bank deposits. The Muir Inlet morainal bank complex was deposited between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D., and historical observations provide a record of terminus positions, glacial retreat rates and sedimentary sources. These data are used to reconstruct the depositional environment and to develop a correlation between sedimentary facies and conditions along the grounding line. Four seismic facies identified on the high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles are used to interpret sedimentary facies within the morainal bank complex. Terminus stability is interpreted from the distribution of sedimentary facies within three distinct submarine geomorphic features, a grounding-line fan; stratified ridges, and a field of push ridges. The grounding-line fan was deposited along a stable terminus and is represented on seismic-reflection profiles by two distinct seismic facies, a proximal and a distal fan facies. The proximal fan facies was deposited at the efflux of subglacial streams and indicates the location of former glacifluvial discharges into the sea. Stratified ridges formed as a result of the influence of a quasi-stable terminus on the distribution of sedimentary facies along the grounding line. A field of push ridges formed along the grounding line of an unstable terminus that completely reworked the grounding-line deposits through glacitectonic deformation. Between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D. (39 years), 8.96 x 108 m3 of sediment were deposited within the Muir Inlet morainal bank complex at an average annual sediment accumulation rate of 2.3 x 107 m3/a. This rate represents the annual sediment production capacity of the glacier when the Muir Inlet drainage basin is filled with glacial ice.

Marine Geology↗
USGS1997

Lithofacies and seismic-reflection interpretation of temperate glacimarine sedimentation in Tarr Inlet, Glacier Bay, Alaska

High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles of sediment fill within Tart Inlet of Glacier Bay, Alaska, show seismic facies changes with increasing distance from the glacial termini. Five types of seismic facies are recognized from analysis of Huntec and minisparker records, and seven lithofacies are determined from detailed sedimentologic study of gravity-, vibro- and box-cores, and bottom grab samples. Lithofacies and seismic facies associations, and fjord-floor morphology allow us to divide the fjord into three sedimentary environments: ice-proximal, iceberg-zone and ice-distal. The ice-proximal environment, characterized by a morainal-bank depositional system, can be subdivided into bank-back, bank-core and bank-front subenvironments, each of which is characterized by a different depositional subsystem. A bank-back subsystem shows chaotic seismic facies with a mounded surface, which we infer consists mainly of unsorted diamicton and poorly sorted coarse-grained sediments. A bank-core depositional subsystem is a mixture of diamicton, rubble, gravel, sand and mud. Seismic-reflection records of this subsystem are characterized by chaotic seismic facies with abundant hyperbolic diffractions and a hummocky surface. A bank-front depositional subsystem consists of mainly stratified and massive sand, and is characterized by internal hummocky facies on seismic-reflection records with significant surface relief and sediment gravity flow channels. The depositional system formed in the iceberg-zone environment consists of rhythmically laminated mud interbedded with thin beds of weakly stratified diamicton and stratified or massive sand and silt. On seismic-reflection profiles, this depositional system is characterized by discontinuously stratified facies with multiple channels on the surface in the proximal zone and a single channel on the largely flat sediment surface in the distal zone. The depositional system formed in the ice-distal environment consists of interbedded homogeneous or laminated mud and massive or stratified sand and coarse silt. This depositional system shows continuously stratified seismic facies with smooth and flat surfaces on minisparker records, and continuously stratified seismic facies which are interlayered with thin weakly stratified facies on Huntec records.

Marine Geology↗
USGS1996

Misinterpretation of lateral acoustic variations on high-resolution seismic reflection profiles as fault offsets of Holocene bay mud beneath the southern part of San Francisco Bay, California

We collected high-resolution seismic reflection profiles in the southern part of San Francisco Bay in 1992 and 1993 to investigate possible Holocene faulting along postulated transbay bedrock fault zones. The initial analog records show apparent offsets of reflection packages along sharp vertical boundaries. These records were originally interpreted as showing a complex series of faults along closely spaced, sharp vertical boundaries in the upper 10 m (0.013 s two-way travel time) of Holocene bay mud. A subsequent survey in 1994 was run with a different seismic reflection system, which utilized a higher power source. This second system generated records with deeper penetration (max. 20 m, 0.026 s two-way travel time) and demonstrated that the reflections originally interpreted as fault offsets by faulting were actually laterally continuous reflection horizons. The pitfall in the original interpretations was caused by lateral variations in the amplitude brightness of reflection events, coupled with a long (greater than 15 ms) source signature of the low-power system. These effects combined to show apparent offsets of reflection packages along sharp vertical boundaries. These boundaries, as shown by the second system, in fact occur where the reflection amplitude diminishes abruptly on laterally continuous reflection events. This striking lateral variation in reflection amplitude is attributable to the localized presence of biogenic(?) gas.

Marine and Petroleum Geology↗
USGS1993

Hydrocarbons in oil residues on beaches of islands of Prince William Sound, Alaska

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were measured on oil residues from beaches on six islands in Prince William Sound, Alaska. In addition to altered products from the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, we also found, at two widely separated locations, residues that are similar to each other but chemically distinct from the spilled oil. Terpanes, steranes, monoaromatic steranes, and carbon isotopic compositions of total extracts were most useful in correlating the altered products of the spilled oil. These same parameters revealed that the two non-Valdez samples are likely residues of oil originally produced in California. The results indicate that oil residues currently on the beaches of this estuary have at least two quite different origins.

Marine Pollution Bulletin↗
USGS1993

Possible connection between two Alaskan catastrophes occurring 25 yr apart (1964 and 1989)

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker grounded on Bligh Reef, spilling North Slope crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. Tracking the geochemical fate of this spilled oil has revealed, in addition to weathered products from the spill, minor oil residues on beaches from a distinctly different source. By using carbon isotopic compositions of whole-oil residues as a principal method of identification, we found that the δ 13 C values of Exxon Valdez oil (one sample) and its residues (eight samples from six islands) average -29.3 ±0.1‰. In contrast, the non- Exxon Valdez residues (15 samples from 12 localities) have an average δ 13 C value of -23.8 ±0.1‰. This tight distribution of carbon isotopic values suggests a single event to explain the non- Exxon Valdez residues. This event likely was the Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964. This quake and the subsequent tsunami destroyed asphalt storage facilities at the old Valdez town site, spilling asphalt (δ 13 C = -23.6‰) into Port Valdez fjord. From there the asphalt apparently advanced south into the sound. Thus, the possible connection between two Alaskan catastrophes, separated by 25 yr, is found in the minor oil- like residues that continue to mark the two events on the beaches of Prince William Sound.

Geology↗