Geology topics

Research about Oklahoma;Texas

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Oklahoma;Texas.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2013

Spatio-temporal spawning and larval dynamics of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) population in a North Texas Reservoir: implications for invasions in the southern United States

Zebra mussels were first observed in Texas in 2009 in a reservoir (Lake Texoma) on the Texas-Oklahoma border. In 2012, an established population was found in a near-by reservoir, Ray Roberts Lake, and in June 2013, settled mussels were detected in a third north Texas reservoir, Lake Lewisville. An established population was detected in Belton Lake in September 2013. With the exception of Louisiana, these occurrences in Texas mark the current southern extent of the range of this species in the United States. Previous studies indicate that zebra mussel populations could be affected by environmental conditions, especially increased temperatures and extreme droughts, which are characteristic of surface waters of the southern and southwestern United States. Data collected during the first three years (2010–12) of a long-term monitoring program were analyzed to determine if spatio-temporal zebra mussel spawning and larval dynamics were related to physicochemical water properties in Lake Texoma. Reproductive output of the local population was significantly related to water temperature and lake elevation. Estimated mean date of first spawn in Lake Texoma was approximately 1.5 months earlier and peak veliger densities were observed two months earlier than in Lake Erie. Annual maximum veliger density declined significantly during the study period (p < 0.0001). A population crash occurred as a result of thermal stress and variability of lake elevation. In summer 2011, water temperatures peaked at 34.3°C and lake elevation declined to the lowest level recorded during the previous 18 years, which resulted in desiccation of substantial numbers of settled mussels in littoral zones. Veliger spatial distributions were associated with physicochemical stratification characteristics. Veligers were observed in the deepest oxygenated water after lake stratification, which occurred in late spring. Results of this study indicate environmental conditions can influence variability of population sizes and spatial distributions of zebra mussels along the current southern frontier of their geographic range. Although the future population size trajectory and geographic range are uncertain, increased temperatures and intermittent, extreme droughts likely will affect spatio-temporal dynamics of established populations if zebra mussels spread farther into the southern and southwestern United States.

Oklahoma;Texas↗

USGS1989

Horizontal stresses from well-bore breakouts and lithologies associated with their formation, Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle

Orientations of crustal stresses are inferred from stress-induced well-bore breakouts in three areas in the south-central United States: the eastern part of the Anadarko basin in central Oklahoma, the Marietta basin in south-central Oklahoma, and the Bravo dome area of the central Texas Panhandle. Inferred directions of maximum horizontal principal stress (SH max ) are ENE for the eastern Anadarko basin, and NE for the Marietta basin and the Bravo dome area. For the Bravo dome area, the magnitudes of the three principal stresses (S 1 , S 2 , S 3 ) are known from existing hydraulic-fracturing (hydrofrac) measurements, and a normal-faulting stress regime (S V > SH max > SH min ) is implied. For the eastern Anadarko basin and the Marietta basin, the magnitudes of the principal stresses are not known. Because Quaternary left-lateral oblique slip on the Meers fault in south-central Oklahoma suggests strike-slip (SHmax > Sv > SHmin) and reverse faulting (SH max > SH min > S V ), the study region is inferred to be a possible transition zone between areas of extensional and compressional stresses. Breakout data from the eastern Anadarko basin yield a single consistent SH max orientation. Data from the Marietta basin and the Bravo dome area have bimodal-orthogonal distributions consisting of breakouts and orthogonal sets of well-bore enlargement orientations. Orthogonal trends in the data are probably related to drilling-induced hydraulic fracturing of the well bore, or to preexisting natural fractures or joint sets intersecting the well bore. On the dipmeter log, breakouts and fracture enlargements have elliptical cross sections of similar size and shape. Orthogonally oriented well-bore enlargements are differentiated by comparing their long-axis orientations with directions of known or inferred horizontal stress. Dispersion, or data scatter, among enlargement orientations (bimodal data sets) increases the standard deviations for many well data sets from the Marietta basin and the Bravo dome area. In these two areas, some dispersion may reflect variation in stress conditions across fault-bounded blocks and the orientations of fractures or joints within these blocks. Although breakouts and fracture enlargements formed in all parts of the thick sequences of sedimentary rocks logged, they occurred primarily in limestone, shale, and dolomitic rocks, reflecting the abundance of these rock types in the study areas.

Oklahoma;Texas↗

USGS1987

Synopsis of wetland functions and values: bottomland hardwoods with special emphasis on eastern Texas and Oklahoma

Bottomland hardwood wetlands are the natural cover type of many floodplain ecosystems in the southeastern United States. They are dynamic, productive systems that depend on intermittent flooding and moving water for maintenance of structure and function. Many of the diverse functions performed by bottomland hardwoods (e.g., flood control, sediment trapping, fish and wildlife habitat) are directly or indirectly valued by humans. Balanced decisions regarding bottomland hardwoods are often hindered by a limited ability to accurately specify the functions being performed by these systems and, furthermore, by an inability to evaluate these functions in economic terms. This report addresses these informational needs. It focuses on the bottomland hardwoods of eastern Texas and Oklahoma, serving as an introduction and entry to the literature. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for reference to the original literature. The first section of the report is a review of the major functions of bottomland hardwoods, grouped under the headings of hydrology, water quality, productivity, detritus, nutrients, and habitat. Although the hydrology of these areas is diverse and complex, especially with respect to groundwater, water storage at high flows can clearly function to attenuate peak flows, with possible reductions in downstream flooding damage. Water moving through a bottomland hardwood system carries with it various organic and inorganic constituents, including sediment, organic matter, nutrients, and pollutants. When waterborne materials are introduced to bottomland hardwoods (from river flooding or upland runoff), they may be retained, transformed, or transported. As a result, water quality may be significantly altered and improved. The fluctuating and flowing water regime of bottomland hardwoods is associated with generally high net primary productivity and rapid fluxes of organic matter and nutrients. These, in turn, support secondary productivity in the bottomland hardwoods and downstream through detrital export. A large number of studies detail the extensive utilization of bottomland hardwoods by animals. Several basic habitat components contribute to this support function, including: 1. Fluctuating water levels and permanent bodies of water, 2. Hard mast (e.g., acorns), 3. Dens and cavities, 4. High soil fertility, 5. Diversity of food and cover, 6. Predominance of woody plant communities, 7. Close proximity of diverse structural features, and 8. Linear features providing movement corridors. The second section of the report focuses on the bottomlands of eastern Texas and Oklahoma, including topics such as climate, soils, water resources, historical perspective, vegetation, and fauna. Considerable attention is given to structural characteristics in this section, in order to provide contrasts with bottomland hardwood ecosystems in other areas. In general, the bottomland hardwoods of eastern Texas and Oklahoma are very similar to those elsewhere in the southeastern United States. Differences include the occurrence and relative importance of some community types and plant species and the greater importance of reservoir construction as a source of bottomland hardwoods loss in eastern Texas and Oklahoma. Again, information on faunal utilization is extensive relative to the information available concerning other functions.

Oklahoma;Texas↗

USGS1945

Chemical analyses of surface waters in Oklahoma, September - December, 1944

A preliminary survey of the industrial quality of surface waters in Oklahoma was started in August, 1944, by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Resources and Planning Board, with the Oklahoma A. & M. College, Engineering Experiment Station and Department of Chemistry. From September to December, 1944, three hundred and fifteen samples were obtained at eighty-four points where gages are maintained for measurement of discharge. Daily samples were collected at six stations, namely: Illinois River near Gore, Oklahoma Cimarron River near Oilton, Oklahoma Canadian River near Whitefield, Oklahoma Washita River near Durwood, Oklahoma Red River near Gainesville, Texas Red River at Denison Dam, Texas Sport samples were collected at the remainder of the stations. The analyses of the spot samples were made largely in a laboratory provided by the Oklahoma A. & M. College, under the supervision of Dr. O.M. Smith, Head, Department of Chemistry; Dr. S.R. Wood, Associate Professor of Chemistry; and W.W. Hastings, U.S. Geological Survey. The daily samples were analyzed in the water resources laboratory of the Geological Survey at Austin, Texas. These data have been summarized in a report to the Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, March 1, 1945. The streams of Oklahoma are classified into two major drainage basins: the Arkansas River and the Red River and their tributaries. The attached analyses are arranged in geographical order for their respective drainage basins, with records listed in downstream order for stations on the main stem first, followed by the analyses for the tributaries. When available, the mean daily discharge is given for the analyses.

Oklahoma;Texas↗

USGS1919

A contribution to the geology of northeastern Texas and southern Oklahoma

The region in central and northeastern Texas and southern Oklahoma known as the Black and Grand prairies abounds in features of interest to physiographers, geologists, and paleontologists, and the pioneer investigators of this region must have experienced renewed satisfaction in each day's exploration. The reports of Joseph A. Taff, Robert T. Hill, and others, published chiefly under the auspices of State and Federal surveys, represent with approximate accuracy at most places the general distribution of the outcrops of the formations in this region, and contain detailed descriptions of many sections that constitute a mine of useful information. The reader of the present paper is urged, therefore, to hold as most important the general excellence of the earlier reports of these authors and to relegate the inaccuracies and mistakes to which his attention will be called to the relatively unimportant place in which they belong, remembering at the same time that a future generation of investigators may find our own shortcomings as great as those we now criticize.

Oklahoma;Texas↗