SEARCH · Search USGS
Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Holocene microfaunal associations and distribution patterns define three inner-shelf (1-20m) biofacies in Norton Sound, northern Bering Sea. The Holocene facies relations are the basis for interpreting early Holocene and late Pleistocene environmental conditions in the NE Bering Sea area. Norton Sound cores provide evidence of two marine transgressions and a varying river input.-from Author
Sediment of Holocene age derived from the Yukon River, consisting dominantly of silty fine sand and sandy silt, covers the bottom of central and western Norton Sound, which is a high energy environment involving extensive ice loading, high waves, and strong bottom currents. The sediment characteristics indicate that it is susceptible to liquefaction during major storms. Substantially finer grained, weak and highly compressible sediment of Holocene age covers eastern Norton Sound and the Port Clarence embayment, which are low energy environments. Pleistocene peaty deposits underlie the Holocene and late Pleistocene deposits in both Norton Sound and Chirikov Basin and are somewhat overconsolidated. The presence of gas indicates high in situ pore pressure and hence low material strength.-from Authors
Sonographs and bathymetric profiles from water depths less than 15m in the Nome-Solomon, Port Clarence, and Yukon Delta areas of the Alaskan Bering Sea coast show features generated by waves, currents, and drifting ice. The surficial sediments in the Nome-Solomon and Port Clarence areas range in grain size from sand to boulder gravel and have many surface features visible on sonographs, whereas the sediments off the Yukon Delta are fine sands and silts that have few such features. Materials in the Nome-Solomon and Port Clarence areas have been seggregated by grain size into ribbons and irregular, elongate, and lobate patches. Coarse sand and fine gravel patches and ribbons are characterized by symmetrical ripples generated by storm waves. Ice-gouged furrows occur in all the nearshore areas studied.-from Authors