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At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
USGS2014

Molecular identification of erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV) from the blood of Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii )

Viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN) is a condition affecting the red blood cells of more than 20 species of marine and anadromous fishes in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. Among populations of Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii ) on the west coast of North America the disease causes anemia and elevated mortality in periodic epizootics. Presently, VEN is diagnosed by observation of typical cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in stained blood smears from infected fish. The causative agent, erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV), is unculturable and a presumed iridovirus by electron microscopy. In vivo amplification of the virus in pathogen-free laboratory stocks of Pacific herring with subsequent virus concentration, purification, DNA extraction, and high-throughput sequencing were used to obtain genomic ENV sequences. Fragments with the highest sequence identity to the family Iridoviridae were used to design four sets of ENV-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers. Testing of blood and tissue samples from experimentally and wild infected Pacific herring as well as DNA extracted from other amphibian and piscine iridoviruses verified the assays were specific to ENV with a limit of detection of 0.0003 ng. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses of a 1448 bp fragment of the putative DNA polymerase gene supported inclusion of ENV in a proposed sixth genus of the family Iridoviridae that contains other erythrocytic viruses from ectothermic hosts. This study provides the first molecular evidence of ENV's inclusion within the Iridoviridae family and offers conventional PCR assays as a means of rapidly surveying the ENV-status of wild and propagated Pacific herring stocks.

Veterinary Microbiology↗
USGS1970

Quartz gabbro and anorthositic gabbro: Markers of offset along the San Andreas fault in the California Coast Ranges

Large-scale lateral movement on the San Andreas fault zone is suggested by the distribution of gabbroic rocks that may be slivered remnants of oceanic crust. Distinctive and unusual hornblende quartz gabbro and anorthositic gabbro that are virtually identical both petrographically and chemically are exposed at Logan and Gold Hill in the Coast Ranges along the San Andreas fault. The hornblende quartz gabbro is made up of labradorite to bytownite plagioclase, hornblende, and quartz, with very minor biotite and pyroxene, and accessory metallic opaques and apatite. The coarse-grained anorthositic gabbro with anorthositic layers and associated gneiss is made up mainly of labradorite to bytownite plagioclase, hornblende, lesser clinopyroxene, and, locally, orthopyroxene. The present 100 mi of separation between these two gabbro bodies is probably due to displacement along the San Andreas fault of what was originally one gabbro mass. Somewhat similar quartz gabbro and anorthositic gabbro associated with ultramafic rocks near Eagle Rest Peak in the San Emigdio Mountains may represent a source for the Logan and Gold Hill slivers. This suggests a minimum right-lateral movement of about 200 mi on the San Andreas fault zone. Anorthositic gabbro clasts from Cretaceous conglomerate in the Gualala area have strong resemblance to gabbroic rocks at Logan, Gold Hill, and Eagle Rest Peak and speculatively suggest 350 mi of right-lateral movement on the fault zone. It is tentatively suggested that the gabbro clasts of Gualala may have been shed from a large area of exposed gabbroic oceanic crust, pieces of which occur as fault slivers at Gold Hill and Logan. It is further suggested that the Eagle Rest Peak locality may be a relatively in-place exposure of this gabbroic oceanic crust that lies near a continental-oceanic interface. This interface, thought to represent a fossil subduction zone between Franciscan and Sierran basements, appears to be overlain depositionally by Eocene sedimentary rocks. If these Eocene deposits do “seal over” the possible subduction zone, it suggests that movement on such a zone ceased before the Eocene deposition, and that the new and different pattern of right-lateral movement on the San Andreas fault zone probably began sometime later.

California↗
USGS2017

Links between atmosphere, ocean, and cryosphere from two decades of microseism observations on the Antarctic Peninsula

The lack of landmasses, climatological low pressure, and strong circumpolar westerly winds between the latitudes of 50°S to 65°S produce exceptional storm‐driven wave conditions in the Southern Ocean. This combination makes the Antarctic Peninsula one of Earth's most notable regions of high‐amplitude wave activity and thus, ocean‐swell‐driven microseism noise in both the primary (direct wave‐coastal region interactions) and secondary (direct ocean floor forcing due to interacting wave trains) period bands. Microseism observations are examined across 23 years (1993–2015) from Palmer Station (PMSA), on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and from East Falkland Island (EFI). These records provide a spatially integrative measure of both Southern Ocean wave amplitudes and the interactions between ocean waves and the solid Earth in the presence of sea ice, which can reduce wave coupling with the continental shelf. We utilize a spatiotemporal correlation‐based approach to illuminate how the distribution of sea ice influences seasonal microseism power. We characterize primary and secondary microseism power due to variations in sea ice and find that primary microseism energy is both more sensitive to sea ice and more capable of propagating across ocean basins than secondary microseism energy. During positive phases of the Southern Annular Mode, sea ice is reduced in the Bellingshausen Sea and overall storm activity in the Drake Passage increases, thus strongly increasing microseism power levels.

Antarctic Penninsula↗
USGS2003

Chlorine-36 in groundwater of the United States: Empirical data

Natural production of the radionuclide chlorine - 36 ( 36 Cl) has provided a valuable tracer for groundwater studies. The nuclear industry, especially the testing of thermonuclear weapons, has also produced large amounts of 36 Cl that can be detected in many samples of groundwater . In order to be most useful in hydrologic studies, the natural production prior to 1952 should be distinguished from more recent artificial sources. The object of this study was to reconstruct the probable preanthropogenic levels of 36 Cl in groundwater in the United States . Although significant local variations exist, they are superimposed on a broad regional pattern of 36 Cl/Cl ratios in the United States . Owing to the influence of atmospherically transported ocean salt, natural ratios of 36 Cl/total Cl are lowest near the coast and increase to a maximum in the central Rocky Mountains of the United States .

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS2009

Regional variations in water quality and relationships to soil and bedrock weathering in the southern Sacramento Valley, California, USA

Regional patterns in ground- and surface-water chemistry of the southern Sacramento Valley in California were evaluated using publicly available geochemical data from the US Geological Survey's National Water Information System (NWIS). Within the boundaries of the study area, more than 2300 ground-water analyses and more than 20,000 surface-water analyses were available. Ground-waters from the west side of the Sacramento Valley contain greater concentrations of Na, Ca, Mg, B, Cl and SO 4 , while the east-side ground-waters contain greater concentrations of silica and K. These differences result from variations in surface-water chemistry as well as from chemical reactions between water and aquifer materials. Sediments that fill the Sacramento Valley were derived from highlands to the west (the Coast Ranges) and east (the Sierra Nevada Mountains), the former having an oceanic provenance and the latter continental. These geologic differences are at least in part responsible for the observed patterns in ground-water chemistry. Thermal springs that are common along the west side of the Sacramento Valley appear to have an effect on surface-water chemistry, which in turn may affect the ground-water chemistry.

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS1982

K-Ar geochronology of basement rocks on the northern flank of the Huancabama deflection, Ecuador

The Huancabamba deflection, a major Andean orocline located at the Ecuador-Peru border, constitutes an important geologic boundary on the Pacific coast of South America. Crust to the north of the deflection is oceanic and the basement is composed of basic igneous rocks of Cretaceous age, whereas crust to the south is continental and felsic rocks of Precambrian to Cretaceous age make up the basement. The northern flank of the Huancabamba Deflection in El Oro Province, Ecuador, is underlain by Precambrian polymetamorphic basic rocks of the Piedras Group; shale, siltstone, sandstone, and their metamorphosed equivalents in the Tahuin Group (in part of Devonian age); concordant syntectonic granitic rocks; quartz diorite and alaskite of the Maroabeli pluton; a protrusion of serpentinized harzburgite that contains a large inclusion of blueschist-facies metamorphic rocks, the Raspas Formation, and metamorphic rocks north of the La Palma fault. Biotite from gneiss of the Tahuin Group yields a Late Triassic K-Ar age (210 ? 8 m.y.). This is interpreted as an uplift age and is consistent with a regional metamorphism of Paleozoic age. A nearby sample from the Piedras Group that yielded a hornblende K-Ar age of 196 ? 8 m.y. was affected by the same metamorphic event. Biotite from quartz diorite of the mesozonal Maroabeli pluton yields a Late Triassic age (214 ? 6 m.y.) which is interpreted as an uplift age which may be only slightly younger than the age of magmatic crystallization. Emplacement of the pluton may postdate regional metamorphism of the Tahuin Group. Phengite from politic schist of the Raspas Formation yields an Early Cretaceous K-Ar age (132 ? 5 m.y.). This age is believed to date the isostatic rise of the encasing serpentinized harzburgite as movement along a subjacent subduction zone ceased, and it is synchronous with the age of the youngest lavas of a coeval volcanic arc in eastern Ecuador. A Late Cretaceous K-Ar age (74.4 ? 1.1 m.y.) from hornblende in amphibolite north of the La Palma fault shows that rocks there are distinct from the superficially similar rocks of the Tahuin Group to the south. Biotite from schist in the Eastern Andean Cordillera yields an Early Eocene age (56.6 ? 1.6 m.y.). Metamorphic rocks in the northern part of the Eastern Andean Cordillera are Cretaceous in age and were metamorphosed in part in early Tertiary time. They are unrelated to and were metamorphosed later than any of the diverse rocks exposed on the northern flank of the Huancabamba Deflection.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Geochemistry of coastal permafrost and erosion-driven organic matter fluxes to the Beaufort Sea near Drew Point, Alaska

Accelerating erosion of the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast is increasing inputs of organic matter from land to the Arctic Ocean, and improved estimates of organic matter stocks in eroding coastal permafrost are needed to assess their mobilization rates under contemporary conditions. We collected three permafrost cores (4.5–7.5 m long) along a geomorphic gradient near Drew Point, Alaska, where recent erosion rates average 17.2 m year −1 . Down-core patterns indicate that organic-rich soils and lacustrine sediments (12–45% total organic carbon; TOC) in the active layer and upper permafrost accumulated during the Holocene. Deeper permafrost (below 3 m elevation) mainly consists of Late Pleistocene marine sediments with lower organic matter content (∼1% TOC), lower C:N ratios, and higher δ 13 C values. Radiocarbon-based estimates of organic carbon accumulation rates were 11.3 ± 3.6 g TOC m −2 year −1 during the Holocene and 0.5 ± 0.1 g TOC m −2 year −1 during the Late Pleistocene (12–38 kyr BP). Within relict marine sediments, porewater salinities increased with depth. Elevated salinity near sea level (∼20–37 in thawed samples) inhibited freezing despite year-round temperatures below 0°C. We used organic matter stock estimates from the cores in combination with remote sensing time-series data to estimate carbon fluxes for a 9 km stretch of coastline near Drew Point. Erosional fluxes of TOC averaged 1,369 kg C m −1 year −1 during the 21st century (2002–2018), nearly doubling the average flux of the previous half-century (1955–2002). Our estimate of the 21st century erosional TOC flux year −1 from this 9 km coastline (12,318 metric tons C year −1 ) is similar to the annual TOC flux from the Kuparuk River, which drains a 8,107 km 2 area east of Drew Point and ranks as the third largest river on the North Slope of Alaska. Total nitrogen fluxes via coastal erosion at Drew Point were also quantified, and were similar to those from the Kuparuk River. This study emphasizes that coastal erosion represents a significant pathway for carbon and nitrogen trapped in permafrost to enter modern biogeochemical cycles, where it may fuel food webs and greenhouse gas emissions in the marine environment.

Alaska↗
USGS1979

Seismic refraction study of the continental edge off the eastern United States

Three long, strike-parallel, seismic-refraction profiles were made on the continental shelf edge, slope and upper rise off New Jersey during 1975. The shelf edge line lies along the axis of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA), while the continental rise line lies 80 km seaward of the shelf edge. Below the unconsolidated sediments (1.7–3.6 km/sec), high-velocity sedimentary rocks (4.2–6.2 km/sec) were found at depths of 2.6–8.2 km and are inferred to be cemented carbonates. Although multichannel seismic-reflection profiles and magnetic depth-to-source data predicted the top of oceanic basement at 6–8 km beneath the shelf edge and 10–11 km beneath the rise, no refracted events occurred as first arrivals from either oceanic basement (layer 2, approximately 5.5 km/ sec) or the upper oceanic crust (layer 3A, approximately 6.8 km/sec). Second arrivals from 10.5 km depth beneath the shelf edge are interpreted as events from a 5.9 km/sec refractor within igneous basement. Other refracted events from either layers 2 or 3A could not be resolved within the complex second arrivals. A well-defined crustal layer with a compressional velocity of 7.1–7.2 km/sec, which can be interpreted as oceanic layer 3B, occurred at 15.8 km depth beneath the shelf and 12.9 km beneath the upper rise. A well-reversed mantle velocity of 8.3 km/sec was measured at 18–22 km depth beneath the upper continental rise. Comparison with other deep-crustal profiles along the continental edge of the Atlantic margin off the United States, specifically in the inner magnetically quiet zone, indicates that the compressional wave velocities and layer depths determined on the U.S.G.S. profiles are very similar to those of nearby profiles. This suggests that the layers are continuous and that the interpretation of the oceanic layer 3B under the shelf edge east of New Jersey implies progradation of the shelf outward over the oceanic crust in that area. This agrees with magnetic anomaly evidence which shows the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly landward of the shelf edge off New Jersey and with previous seismic reflection data which reveal extensive outbuilding of the shelf edge during the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, probably by carbonate bank-margin accretion.

East Coast Magnetic Anomaly↗
USGS2014

Air-sea interactions during strong winter extratropical storms

A high-resolution, regional coupled atmosphere–ocean model is used to investigate strong air–sea interactions during a rapidly developing extratropical cyclone (ETC) off the east coast of the USA. In this two-way coupled system, surface momentum and heat fluxes derived from the Weather Research and Forecasting model and sea surface temperature (SST) from the Regional Ocean Modeling System are exchanged via the Model Coupling Toolkit. Comparisons are made between the modeled and observed wind velocity, sea level pressure, 10 m air temperature, and sea surface temperature time series, as well as a comparison between the model and one glider transect. Vertical profiles of modeled air temperature and winds in the marine atmospheric boundary layer and temperature variations in the upper ocean during a 3-day storm period are examined at various cross-shelf transects along the eastern seaboard. It is found that the air–sea interactions near the Gulf Stream are important for generating and sustaining the ETC. In particular, locally enhanced winds over a warm sea (relative to the land temperature) induce large surface heat fluxes which cool the upper ocean by up to 2 °C, mainly during the cold air outbreak period after the storm passage. Detailed heat budget analyses show the ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux dominates the upper ocean heat content variations. Results clearly show that dynamic air–sea interactions affecting momentum and buoyancy flux exchanges in ETCs need to be resolved accurately in a coupled atmosphere–ocean modeling framework.

Ocean Dynamics↗
USGS2019

Wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream

Hurricanes interact with the Gulf Stream in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) through a wide variety of processes, which are crucial to understand for prediction of open-ocean and coastal hazards during storms. However, it remains unclear how waves are modified by large-scale ocean currents under storm conditions, when waves are aligned with the storm-driven circulation and tightly coupled to the overlying wind field. Hurricane Matthew (2016) impacted the US southeast coast, causing extensive coastal change due to large waves and elevated water levels. The hurricane traveled on the continental shelf parallel to the SAB coastline, with the right side of the hurricane directly over the Gulf Stream. Using the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport Modeling System, we investigate wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew and the Gulf Stream. The model simulates ocean currents and waves over a grid encompassing the US east coast, with varied coupling of the hydrodynamic and wave components to isolate the effect of the currents on the waves, and the effect of the Gulf Stream relative to storm-driven circulation. The Gulf Stream modifies the direction of the storm-driven currents beneath the right side of the hurricane. Waves transitioned from following currents that result in wave lengthening, through negative current gradients that result in wave steepening and dissipation. Wave-current interaction over the Gulf Stream modified maximum coastal total water levels, and changed incident wave directions at the coast by up to 20°, with strong implications for the morphodynamic response and stability of the coast to the hurricane.

East Coast, Gulf Coast↗
USGS2015

Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series data catalog

In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 initiated the Puget Sound Scientific Studies and Technical Investigations Assistance Program, which was designed to support research for implementing the Puget Sound Action Agenda. The Action Agenda was created because Puget Sound was designated as one of 28 estuaries of National Significance under section 320 of the Clean Water Act, and its overall goal is to restore the environment of the Puget Sound Estuary by 2020. The Southern Salish Sea Mapping Project was funded through the Assistance Program request for proposal process which also supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, and includes the recommendations of the Marine Protected Areas Work Group to the Washington State Legislature. These recommendations include a Puget Sound and coast-wide marine conservation needs assessment, gap analysis of existing Marine Protected Areas and recommendations for action. Four areas with recently acquired National Ocean Service hydrographic data are included in the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series (fig. 1), each to be published individually as USGS Open File Reports at a scale of 1:40,000. The map products display seafloor geoforms, substrate, and biotopes using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard. This data catalog contains much of the data used to prepare the SIMs in the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series. Other data that were used to prepare the maps were compiled from previously published sources (for example, sediment samples and seismic reflection profiles) and are not included in this data series.

Washington↗
USGS2009

Hurricane Ike: Observations and analysis of coastal change

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with the storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, and wave climate. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of the energy that is transferred to the ocean and expressed as storm surge, mean currents, and large waves. Waves and currents are the processes most responsible for moving sediments in the coastal zone during extreme storm events. Storm surge, the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to attack parts of the coast not normally exposed to those processes. Coastal geomorphology, including shapes of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes, is equally important to the coastal change observed during extreme storm events. Relevant geomorphic variables include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes), strives to provide hazard information to those interested in the Nation's coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. As part of the National Assessment, observations were collected to measure coastal changes associated with Hurricane Ike, which made landfall near Galveston, Texas, on September 13, 2008. Methods of observation included aerial photography and airborne topographic surveys. This report documents these data-collection efforts and presents qualitative and quantitative descriptions of hurricane-induced changes to the shoreline, beaches, dunes, and infrastructure in the region that was heavily impacted by Hurricane Ike.

Texas↗
USGS2022

Kittlitz’s murrelet seasonal distribution and post-breeding migration from the Gulf of Alaska to the Arctic Ocean

Kittlitz’s Murrelets ( Brachyramphus brevirostris ) nest during summer in glaciated or recently deglaciated (post-Wisconsin) landscapes. They forage in adjacent marine waters, especially those influenced by glacial meltwater. Little is known of their movements and distribution outside the breeding season. To identify post-breeding migrations of murrelets, we attached satellite transmitters to birds (n = 47) captured at sea in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands during May – July 2009 – 15 and tracked 27 birds that migrated from capture areas. Post-breeding murrelets migrated toward the Bering Sea, with short periods of movement (median 2 d) separated by short stopovers (median 1 d). Travel speeds averaged 79.4 km d-1 (83.5 SD, 449.1 maximum). Five Kittlitz’s Murrelets tagged in Prince William Sound in May migrated to the Bering Sea by August and four continued north to the Arctic Ocean, logging 2500 – 4000 km of travel. Many birds spent 2‒3 weeks with little movement along coasts of the Alaska Peninsula or eastern Bering Sea during late August through September, also the pre-basic molt period. Ship-based surveys, many of which were conducted concurrently with our telemetry studies, confirmed that substantial numbers of Kittlitz’s Murrelets migrate into the Arctic Ocean during autumn. They also revealed that some birds spend winter and spring in the Bering Sea in association with ice-edge, polynya, or marginal ice zone habitats before returning to summer breeding grounds. We conclude that this species is best characterized as a sub-Arctic and Arctic species, which has implications for future risk assessments and threat mitigation.

Alaska↗
USGS2020

A century of intermittent eco‐evolutionary feedbacks resulted in novel trait combinations in invasive Great Lakes alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus)

Species introductions provide opportunities to quantify rates and patterns of evolutionary change in response to novel environments. Alewives ( Alosa pseudoharengus ) are native to the East Coast of North America where they ascend coastal rivers to spawn in lakes and then return to the ocean. Some populations have become landlocked within the last 350 years and diverged phenotypically from their ancestral marine population. More recently, alewives were introduced to the Laurentian Great Lakes (~150 years ago), but these populations have not been compared to East Coast anadromous and landlocked populations. We quantified 95 years of evolution in foraging traits and overall body shape of Great Lakes alewives and compared patterns of phenotypic evolution of Great Lakes alewives to East Coast anadromous and landlocked populations. Our results suggest that gill raker spacing in Great Lakes alewives has evolved in a dynamic pattern that is consistent with responses to strong but intermittent eco‐evolutionary feedbacks with zooplankton size. Following their initial colonization of Lakes Ontario and Michigan, dense alewife populations likely depleted large‐bodied zooplankton, which drove a decrease in alewife gill raker spacing. However, the introduction of large, non‐native zooplankton to the Great Lakes in later decades resulted in an increase in gill raker spacing, and present‐day Great Lakes alewives have gill raker spacing patterns that are similar to the ancestral East Coast anadromous population. Conversely, contemporary Great Lakes alewife populations possess a gape width consistent with East Coast landlocked populations. Body shape showed remarkable parallel evolution with East Coast landlocked populations, likely due to a shared response to the loss of long‐distance movement or migrations. Our results suggest the colonization of a new environment and cessation of migration can result in rapid parallel evolution in some traits, but contingency also plays a role, and a dynamic ecosystem can also yield novel trait combinations.

Great Lakes↗
USGS2009

Hurricane Gustav: Observations and analysis of coastal change

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with a storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, currents, and wave field. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of the energy that is transferred to the ocean and expressed as storm surge, mean currents, and surface waves. Waves and currents are the processes most responsible for moving sediments in the coastal zone during extreme storm events. Storm surge, which is the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to attack parts of the coast not normally exposed to these processes. Coastal geomorphology, including shapes of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes, is also a significant aspect of the coastal change observed during extreme storms. Relevant geomorphic variables include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project ( http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes ) strives to provide hazard information to those concerned about the Nation’s coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. As part of the National Assessment, observations were collected to measure morphological changes associated with Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana, on September 1, 2008. Methods of observation included oblique aerial photography, airborne topographic surveys, and ground-based topographic surveys. This report documents these data-collection efforts and presents qualitative and quantitative descriptions of hurricane-induced changes to the shoreline, beaches, dunes, and infrastructure in the region that was heavily impacted by Hurricane Gustav.

Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi↗
USGS1992

Subsidence of Surtsey volcano, 1967-1991

The Surtsey marine volcano was built on the southern insular shelf of Iceland, along the seaward extension of the east volcanic zone, during episodic explosive and effusive activity from 1963 to 1967. A 1600-m-long, east-west line of 42 bench marks was established across the island shortly after volcanic activity stopped. From 1967 to 1991 a series of leveling surveys measured the relative elevation of the original bench marks, as well as additional bench marks installed in 1979, 1982 and 1985. Concurrent measurements were made of water levels in a pit dug on the north coast, in a drill hole, and along the coastline exposed to the open ocean. These surveys indicate that the dominant vertical movement of Surtsey is a general subsidence of about 1.1??0.3 m during the 24-year period of observations. The rate of subsidence decreased from 15-20 cm/year for 1967-1968 to 1-2 cm/year in 1991. Greatest subsidence is centered about the eastern vent area. Through 1970, subsidence was locally greatest where the lava plain is thinnest, adjacent to the flanks of the eastern tephra cone. From 1982 onward, the region closest to the hydrothermal zone, which is best developed in the vicinity of the eastern vent, began showing less subsidence relative to the rest of the surveyed bench marks. The general subsidence of the island probably results from compaction of the volcanic material comprising Surtsey, compaction of the sea-floor sediments underlying the island, and possibly downwarping of the lithosphere due to the laod of Surtsey. The more localized early downwarping near the eastern tephra cone is apparently due to greater compaction of tephra relative to lava. The later diminished local subsidence near the hydrothermal zone is probably due to a minor volume increase caused by hydrous alteration of glassy tephra. However, this volume increase is concentrated at depth beneath the bottom of the 176-m-deep cased drillhole. ?? 1992 Springer-Verlag.

Bulletin of Volcanology↗
USGS1970

Submarine basalt from the Revillagigedo Islands region, Mexico

Ocean-floor dredging and submarine photography in the Revillagigedo region off the west coast of Mexico reveal that the dominant exposed rock of the submarine part of the large island-forming volcanoes (Roca Partida and San Benedicto) is a uniform alkali pillow basalt; more siliceous rocks are exposed on the upper, subaerial parts of the volcanoes. Basalts dredged from smaller seamounts along the Clarion fracture zone south of the Revillagigedo Islands are tholeiitic pillow basalts. Pillows of alkali basalts are more vesicular than Hawaiian tholeiitic pillows collected from the same depths. This difference probably reflects a higher original volatile content of the alkali basalts. Manganese-iron oxide nodules common in several dredge hauls generally contain nucleii of rhyolitic pumice or basalt pillow fragments. The pumice floated to its present site from subaerial eruptions, became waterlogged and sank, and was then coated with manganese-iron oxides. The thickness of palagonite rinds on the glassy pillow fragments is proportional to the thickness of manganese-iron oxide layers, and both are a measure of the age of the nodule. Both oldest basalts (10–100 m.y.) and youngest (less than 1 m.y.) are along the Clarion fracture zone, whereas basalts from Roca Partida and San Benedicto volcanoes are of intermediate age.

Marine Geology↗
USGS2021

Foraging in marine habitats increases mercury concentrations in a generalist seabird

Methylmercury concentrations vary widely across geographic space and among habitat types, with marine and aquatic-feeding organisms typically exhibiting higher mercury concentrations than terrestrial-feeding organisms. However, there are few model organisms to directly compare mercury concentrations as a result of foraging in marine, estuarine, or terrestrial food webs. The ecological impacts of differential foraging may be especially important for generalist species that exhibit high plasticity in foraging habitats, locations, or diet. Here, we investigate whether foraging habitat, sex, or fidelity to a foraging area impact blood mercury concentrations in western gulls ( Larus occidentalis ) from three colonies on the US west coast. Cluster analyses showed that nearly 70% of western gulls foraged primarily in ocean or coastal habitats, whereas the remaining gulls foraged in terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Gulls that foraged in ocean or coastal habitats for half or more of their foraging locations had 55% higher mercury concentrations than gulls that forage in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Ocean-foraging gulls also had lower fidelity to a specific foraging area than freshwater and terrestrial-foraging gulls, but fidelity and sex were unrelated to gull blood mercury concentrations in all models. These findings support existing research that has described elevated mercury levels in species using aquatic habitats. Our analyses also demonstrate that gulls can be used to detect differences in contaminant exposure over broad geographic scales and across coarse habitat types, a factor that may influence gull health and persistence of other populations that forage across the land-sea gradient.

California, Oregon↗