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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS1983

Geochemistry of the Chattanooga shale, Dekalb County, central Tennessee.

This Upper Devonian shale is of interest because of its unusual enrichment in trace elements, especially U; a new chemical analysis for major, minor and trace elements is presented. Stable isotopes of carbon (organic) show delta 13C approx -29per mille and for total sulphur show -21 to -27per mille delta 34S. The organic matter was found to range from dominantly marine (Dowelltown member) to dominantly terrestrial (Gassaway member) by extraction-column chromatography-GS and also by pyrolysis-GS of kerogen. Trace elements U, Mo, Co, Zn, Cu, Ni, V, As and Hg are enriched in the organic- and sulphide-rich units. This enrichment can be related to a euxinic depositional environment, to a very slow sedimentation rate (approx 2 mm/1000 years), to the type of organic matter that varied from mainly marine to terrestrial, and to the source of the metals, which shows abundance variations that originated, at least in part, from volcanic ash layers.-R.S.M.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS1981

Clay mineralogy of weathering profiles from the Carolina Piedmont.

Saprolite profiles (12) that formed over various crystalline rocks from the Charlotte 1o X 2o quadrangle showed overall similarity in their clay mineralogy to depths of 6 to 45 m indicating control by weathering processes rather than by rock type. Most saprolite contained 10-25% clay, and ranged 3 to 70%. Kaolinite and halloysite composed = or >75% of the clay fraction of most samples. The ratio kaolinite:halloysite ranged widely, from 95% kaolinite to 90% halloysite, independent of depth. Clay-size mica was present in all profiles, and ranged 5-75% over a sericite schist. Mixed-layer mica-smectite and mica-vermiculite were subordinate; discrete smectite and vermiculite were rare. The abundance of halloysite indicates a continuously humid environment since the time of profile formation, because of the rapidity with which halloysite dehydrates irreversibly. -R.S.M.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS1984

A new occurrence of telluride minerals in South Carolina

A study of drill cores from the Haile gold mine, Lancaster County, South Carolina, has revealed grains containing large amounts of Te with various combinations of Pb, Ag and Au in pyrite. These telluride minerals have so far not been identified. The nearby Brewer mine, on the basis of chemical evidence, also contains tellurides. The probable telluride localities in South Carolina are now expanded to three, significantly increasing the few reports of Te minerals from the Au deposits of the southeastern Piedmont, many of which are now considered to be volcanogenic. The occurrence of telluride minerals in gold ore from the Haile-Brewer area may help to explain the divergence in Au/Ag ratios reported in chemical analyses of drill core, ore samples and production records. Te, in addition, may be useful in geochemical exploration programmes in the SE Piedmont, including programmes using heavy mineral concentrates derived from stream alluvium. -R.S.M.

South Carolina↗
USGS2000

Regoliths of the middle-Atlantic Piedmont and evolution of a polymorphic landscape

The regolith overlying the alumino-silicate rocks of the middle-Atlantic Piedmont Province consists primarily of saprolite with a thin veneer of diamictons of colluvial origin. Thickness and distribution of the saprolite is related to landform and lithology. For example, on uplands isovolumetric weathering of the Loch Raven Schist produces saprolite averaging 55 ft (17 m) thick. On Port Deposit Gneiss, saprolite beneath uplands averages 42 ft (13 m) in thickness. The saprolite results from the reaction of alumino-silicate rocks with through-flowing groundwater. Chemical weathering of the rock results in clay and resistate minerals, residual rock layers, corestones, and pinnacles. Surface erosion of saprolite with quartzite and metagraywacke residual layers may produce a 'washboard' topography. Surface erosion of a metagabbro saprolite containing corestones and pinnacles results in a surface with lag deposits of corestones and emergent pinnacles. The diamicton material comes from the underlying saprolite, weathered rock and bedrock. Generally, diamictons are thinner on uplands and upper slopes, and thicker at the base of slopes and in hollows and gathering areas of first-order streams. The saprolite and colluvium reflect response of geomorphic processes (chemical weathering, fluvial incision, and periglacial processes) to rock lithology and landscape. The modifications to the landscape have been driven by neotectonic crustal warping and alternating periglacial-humid temperate climates. Altogether these varied interactions have resulted in a Holocene polymorphic landscape.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS2000

Regolith in the Piedmont Upland Section, Piedmont Province, York, Lancaster, and Chester Counties, southeastern Pennsylvania

Regolith has been mapped in the Piedmont Upland Section of the Piedmont Province in York, Lancaster, and Chester Counties, southeastern Pennsylvania. The Piedmont Upland Section is an area of rounded hills and flat-floored valleys developed by weathering and erosion of schist, gneiss, metaquartzite, and other metamorphic rocks. In situ regolith includes weathered rock and saprolite. Transported regolith includes alluvium, colluvium, fluvial terrace deposits, and anthropogenic deposits. Weathered rock occurs almost everywhere except where erosion has exposed unweathered bedrock in valley bottoms. Thin colluvium occurs discontinuously on hill tops and side slopes while thicker colluvium occurs in heads of first-order drainage basins and in small valleys lacking perennial streams. Alluvium is present in all valleys with perennial streams. This regolith is the product of early to middle Cenozoic weathering, middle to late Cenozoic erosion, Pleistocene periglacial erosion and deposition, and recent anthropogenic activity.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS2002

Evidence for large-scale reworking of Campanian sediments into the Upper Maastrichtian Peedee formation at Burches Ferry, South Carolina

A 44-ft-deep corehole (FLO-311) was drilled at Burches Ferry, Florence County, S.C., in order to document the lithologic and paleontologic characteristics of the boundary between the upper Campanian Donoho Creek Formation and the upper Maastrichtian Peedee Formation. Palynomorph and calcareous nannofossil data provide detailed age control for these sediments. Examination of calcareous nannofossil assemblages shows that sediments from the type locality of the Peedee Formation consist largely of reworked Campanian materials. Robust Campanian species such as Reinhardtites anthophorus, Reinhardtites levis, and Stoverius asymmetricus commonly are found reworked into the Maastrichtian Peedee Formation in its entirety. Therefore, identification of lower upper Maastrichtian sediments is based on the presence of background assemblages rather than on the more traditional marker species. The presence of species restricted to the latest Campanian at the Donoho Creek-Peedee contact in outcrop indicates that the entire sedimentary package represented by calcareous nannofossil Zones CC23 and CC24 has been removed.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS2003

The stream net as an indicator of cryptic systematic fracturing in Louisiana

The stream net in many parts of Louisiana includes straight reaches with preferred alignment in a few directions, with some examples spanning tens of kilometers. In places the reaches form classic rectangular drainage patterns. These characteristics are obvious on maps at a variety of scales, and are recognizable on some portion of nearly every 7.5-minute quadrangle in the state, excepting those quadrangles situated entirely within the Ho??ocene coastal marshes or the Holocene flood plains of the larger rivers. Such patterns of lineaments are reminiscent of patterns associated with systematic fracturing in other regions. In Louisiana, however, verification and measurement of fractures that may exist in the vicinity of rectilinear drainage anomalies is problematic because surface deposits are comparatively young and sparsely exposed, and tend, especially near waterways, to be heavily weathered and vegetated. An indirect approach to evaluating the potential influence on drainage by fracturing involves evaluating the frequency distribution of stream-course orientations based on its degree of similarity with that of the strikes of previously mapped or reported fractures (faults and/or joints). A rose diagram of orientation frequencies for the stream net of the entire state, created utilizing a publicly available line dataset processed into 100-m segments (N 290,000), shows a nonrandom distribution with three visually identifiable trends: the strongest, oriented essentially N-S; a subsidiary trend oriented N20??-30??W; and a weak trend oriented N80??-90??W. The entire population of orientations yields a mean direction of N17.5??W ?? 4.2?? with a probability of 95 percent. The strike frequencies of mapped faults show little correspondence with these trends. This suggests, if mapped faults are at least representative of actual faults, that insofar as apparent lineaments reflect structure and not the influence of a south-southeasterly regional drainage gradient, they predominantly reveal the influence of joints. These could reflect either a Quaternary stress regime, or propagation in young sediment of a structural pattern in underlying older strata. The data available at present do not compel either interpretation, though in south Louisiana at least, where reactivated early Tertiary growth faults have surface expression that in places is juxtaposed with differently oriented drainage lineaments, propagation of a preexisting pattern from depth appears plausible. Widespread systematic fracturing in this predominantly Quaternary coastal-plain setting could have important implications for groundwater flow and for other processes that depend substantially on permeability.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS2004

Chemical constituents in the Peedee and Castle Hayne aquifers: Porters Neck area, New Hanover County, North Carolina

Concerns about overuse and potential contamination of major aquifers in the southeastern part of North Carolina resulted in the initiation of a subsurface water quality study in February 2001. The focus of this study was to examine variations in nutrients (NO3-, TRP, SO42- Cl-, NH4+) and total dissolved Fe in the Cretaceous Peedee and Tertiary Castle Hayne Limestone aquifers of northeastern New Hanover County. Water samples were collected monthly for one year from sixteen wells located in the Porters Neck area (west of the Intracoastal Waterway and south of Futch Creek) and four springs located on the south side of Futch Creek. Variations in selective nutrient concentrations were measured between and within each aquifer. Concentrations of NH4+ and Fe increased in the Peedee sandstone aquifer during the warmer summer and early fall months. In late summer to early fall, Fe, NO 3-, NH4+, and TRP concentrations in the Castle Hayne Limestone aquifer were significantly higher than in the spring and winter months. Chloride and SO 42- concentrations for the Castle Hayne Limestone aquifer both increased during the warmer months, probably as a result of saltwater intrusion. Factors considered for nutrient and Fe variance include: temperature variation, anaerobic conditions, subsurface stratigraphy/structure, recharge locations, site location and surface fertilization. The shallower Castle Hayne Limestone aquifer showed seasonal variability in the study area, whereas the Peedee sandstone aquifer showed little to no seasonal variability. Increases in NO3- and TRP lagged slightly behind periods of high fertilization and were more prevalent down-dip of a major golf course. Nutrient content and seasonal variation of Futch Creek springs indicated that they originate from the Castle Hayne Limestone aquifer.

North Carolina↗
USGS2008

Hydrography and bottom boundary layer dynamics: Influence on inner shelf sediment mobility, Long Bay, North Carolina

This study examined the hydrography and bottom boundary-layer dynamics of two typical storm events affecting coastal North Carolina (NC); a hurricane and the passages of two small consecutive extratropical storms during November 2005. Two upward-looking 1200-kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) were deployed on the inner shelf in northern Long Bay, NC at water depths of less than 15 m. Both instruments profiled the overlying water column in 0.35 in bins beginning at a height of 1.35 in above the bottom (mab). Simultaneous measurements of wind speed and direction, wave and current parameters, and acoustic backscatter were coupled with output from a bottom boundary layer (bbl) model to describe the hydrography and boundary layer conditions during each event. The bbl model also was used to quantify sediment transport in the boundary layer during each storm. Both study sites exhibited similar temporal variations in wave and current magnitude, however, wave heights during the November event were higher than waves associated with the hurricane. Near-bottom mean and subtidal currents, however, were of greater magnitude during the hurricane. Peak depth-integrated suspended sediment transport during the November event exceeded transport associated with the hurricane by 25-70%. Substantial spatial variations in sediment transport existed throughout both events. During both events, along-shelf sediment transport exceeded across-shelf transport and was related to the magnitude and direction of subtidal currents. Given the variations in sediment type across the bay, complex shoreline configuration, and local bathymetry, the sediment transport rates reported here are very site specific. However, the general hydrography associated with the two storms is representative of conditions across northern Long Bay. Since the beaches in the study area undergo frequent renourishment to counter the effects of beach erosion, the results of this study also are relevant to coastal management decision-making. Specifically, these issues include 1) identification of municipalities that should share the cost for renourishment given the likelihood for significant along-shelf sand movement and 2) appropriate timing of sand placement with respect to local climatology and sea-turtle nesting restrictions.

North Carolina↗
USGS2009

Optical dating of the anastasia formation, northeastern florida, USA

The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) procedure was used to obtain optically stimulated luminescence ages to determine the depositional age of the upper part of the Anastasia Formation. This unit, which crops out along the east coast of Florida, is one of the most culturally and economically important coquina deposits in North America. Rock samples from the upper three meters of exposure at three locations were collected. Additional materials for paleontological analysis were also taken. Based on our samples, the luminescence ages of the Anastasia Formation are well within marine isotope stage 5, which is supported by the results of Osmond et al. (1970) based on U/Th ages. The associated fossil assemblages support our luminescence age determinations. Associated fossils fall within the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age (300 10 ka) and the fossil mollusk assemblage consists entirely of modern species.

Southeastern Geology↗
USGS2013

The Sunny Point Formation: a new Upper Cretaceous subsurface unit in the Carolina Coastal Plain

This paper formally defines the Sunny Point Formation, a new Upper Cretaceous subsurface unit confined to the outer Atlantic Coastal Plain of North and South Carolina. Its type section is established in corehole NH-C-1-2001 (Kure Beach) from New Hanover County, North Carolina. The Sunny Point Formation consists of light-olive-gray to greenish-gray, fine to coarse micaceous sands and light-olive-brown and grayish-red silty, sandy clays. The clay-rich sections typically include ironstone, lignitized wood, root traces, hematite concretions, goethite, limonite, and sphaerosiderites. The Sunny Point Formation is also documented in cores from Bladen County, North Carolina, and from Dorchester and Horry Counties, South Carolina. Previously, strata of the Sunny Point Formation had been incorrectly assigned to the Cape Fear and Middendorf Formations. The Sunny Point occupies a stratigraphic position above the Cenomanian marine Clubhouse Formation and below an upper Turonian unnamed marine unit. Contacts between these units are sharp and unconformable. Calcareous nannofossil and palynomorph analyses indicate that the Sunny Point Formation is Turonian.

North Carolina and South Carolina↗
USGS1996

Digital geologic map of McAlester-Texarkana quadrangles, southeastern Oklahoma

This data set consists of digital data and accompanying documentation of the surficial geology of the 1:250,000-scale McAlester and Texarkana quadrangles, Oklahoma. The original data are from the Geologic Map, sheet 1 of 4, included in Oklahoma Geological Survey publication, Reconnaissance of the water resources of the McAlester and Texarkana quadrangles, southeastern Oklahoma, Hydrologic Atlas 9, Marcher and Bergman, 1983. The geology was compiled by M.V. Marcher and D.L. Bergman, 1971, and revised by R.O. Fay, 1978.

Oklahoma↗