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Geology topics

R.J. Hoffman

Publications and source records attributed to R.J. Hoffman.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Tectonic Speleogenesis of Devils Hole, Nevada, and Implications for Hydrogeology and the Development of Long, Continuous Paleoenvironmental Records

Devils Hole, in southern Nevada, is a surface collapse into a deep, planar, steeply dipping fault-controlled fissure in Cambrian limestone and dolostone. The collapse intersects the water table about 15 m below land surface and the fissure extends at least 130 m deeper. Below water, most of the fissure is lined with a >30-cm-thick layer of dense maxillary calcite that precipitated continuously from groundwater for >500,000 yr. The thick mammillary calcite coat implies a long history of calcite-supersaturated groundwaters, which, combined with the absence of dissolutional morphologies, suggests that Devils Hole was not formed by karst processes. Devils Hole is located in a region of active extension; its tectonic origin is shown by evidence of spreading of its planar opening along a fault and by the orientation of its opening and others nearby, perpendicular to the northwest-southeast minimum principal stress direction of the region. Most Quaternary tectonic activity in the area, including seismicity and Quaternary faults and fractures, occurs on or parallel to northeast-striking structures. The hydrogeologic implications of this primarily structural origin are that fracture networks and caves opened by extensional tectonism can act as groundwater flowpaths functionally similar to those developed by karst processes and that, during active extension, transmissivity can be maintained despite infilling by mineral precipitation. Such extensional environments can provide conditions favorable for accumulation of deposits preserving long, continuous paleoenvironmental records. The precipitates in Devils Hole store chronologies of flow system water-level fluctuations, hydrochemistry, a half-million-yr proxy paleoclimate record, evidence of Devils Hole's tectonic origin, and probably atmospheric circulation.

Quaternary Research↗
USGS2000

Hydrologic and geologic characteristics of the Yucca Mountain site relevant to the performance of a potential repository

Yucca Mountain, located ~100 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been designated by Congress as a site to be characterized for a potential mined geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This field trip will examine the regional geologic and hydrologic setting for Yucca Mountain, as well as specific results of the site characterization program. The first day focuses on the regional setting with emphasis on current and paleo hydrology, which are both of critical concern for predicting future performance of a potential repository. Morning stops will be southern Nevada and afternoon stops will be in Death Valley. The second day will be spent at Yucca Mountain. The field trip will visit the underground testing sites in the "Exploratory Studies Facility" and the "Busted Butte Unsaturated Zone Transport Field Test" plus several surface-based testing sites. Much of the work at the site has concentrated on studies of the unsaturated zone, an element of the hydrologic system that historically has received little attention. Discussions during the second day will compromise selected topics of Yucca Mountain geology, hydrology and geochemistry and will include the probabilistic volcanic hazard analysis and the seismicity and seismic hazard in the Yucca Mountain area. Evening discussions will address modeling of regional groundwater flow, the results of recent hydrologic studies by the Nye County Nuclear Waste Program Office, and the relationship of the geology and hydrology of Yucca Mountain to the performance of a potential repository. Day 3 will examine the geologic framework and hydrology of the Pahute Mesa-Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin and then will continue to Reno via Hawthorne, Nevada and the Walker Lake area.

Nevada↗
USGS1992

Mass-spectrometric 230Th-234U-238U dating of the Devils Hole calcite vein

The Devils Hole calcite vein contains a long-term climatic record, but requires accurate chronologic control for its interpretation. Mass-spectrometric U-series ages for samples from core DH-11 yielded 230 Th ages with precisions ranging from less than 1,000 years (2σ) for samples younger than ∼140 ka (thousands of years ago) to less than 50,000 years for the oldest samples (∼566 ka). The 234 U/ 238 U ages could be determined to a precision of ∼20,000 years for all ages. Calcite accumulated continuously from 566 ka until ∼60 ka at an average rate of 0.7 millimeter per 10 3 years. The precise agreement between replicate analyses and the concordance of the 230 Th/ 238 U and 234 U/ 238 U ages for the oldest samples indicate that the DH-11 samples were closed systems and validate the dating technique in general.

Nevada↗
USGS1990

Reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in and near Stillwater Wildlife Management Area, Churchill County, Nevada, 1986-87

A reconnaissance was initiated in 1986 to determine whether the quality of irrigation-drainage water in and near the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area, Nevada, has caused or has potential to cause harmful effects on human health, fish, wildlife, or other beneficial uses of water. Samples of surface and groundwater, bottom sediment, and biota were collected from sites upstream and downstream from the Fallon agricultural area in the Carson Desert, and analyzed for potentially toxic trace elements. Other analysis included radioactive substances, major dissolved constituents, and nutrients in water, and pesticide residues in bottom sediment and biota. In areas affected by irrigation drainage, the following constituents were found to commonly exceed baseline concentrations or recommended criteria for protection of aquatic life or propagation of wildlife: In water, arsenic, boron, dissolved solids, molybdenum, sodium, and un-ionized ammonia; in bottom sediments, arsenic, lithium, mercury, molybdenum, and selenium; and in biota, arsenic, boron, chromium, copper, mercury, selenium, and zinc. In some wetlands, selenium and mercury appeared to be biomagnified, and arsenic bioaccumulated. Pesticides contamination in bottom sediments and biota was insignificant. Adverse biological effects observed during this reconnaissance included gradual vegetative changes and species loss, fish die-offs, waterfowl disease epidemics, and persistent and unexplained deaths of migratory birds. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1978

An evaluation of problems arising from acid mine drainage in the vicinity of Shasta Lake, Shasta County, California

Streams draining the mined areas of massive sulfide ore deposits in the Shasta Mining Districts of northern California are generally acidic and contain large concentrations of dissolved metals, including iron, copper, and zinc. The streams, including Flat, Little Backbone, Spring, West Squaw, Horse, and Zinc Creeks, discharge into Shasta Reservoir and the Sacramento River and have caused numerous fish kills. The sources of pollution are discharge from underground mines, streams that flow into open pits, and streams that flow through pyritic mine dumps where the oxidation of pyrite and other sulfide minerals results in the production of acid and the mobilization of metals. Suggested methods of treatment include the use of air and hydraulic seals in the mines, lime neutralization of mine effluent, channeling of runoff and mine effluent away from mine and tailing areas, and the grading and sealing of mine dumps. A comprehensive preabatement and postabatement program is recommended to evaluate the effects of any treatment method used. (Woodard-USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗