Sample records for upper devonian gordon

  1. Revisions to the original extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Rouse, William A.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.

    2016-04-11

    Technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in continuous accumulations are present in Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province. The province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata are part of the previously defined Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) that extends from New York to Tennessee. This publication presents a revision to the extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS. The most significant modification to the maximum extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS is to the south and southwest, adding areas in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where Devonian strata, including potential petroleum source rocks, are present in the subsurface up to the outcrop. The Middle to Upper Devonian Chattanooga Shale extends from southeastern Kentucky to Alabama and eastern Mississippi. Production from Devonian shale has been established in the Appalachian fold and thrust belt of northeastern Alabama. Exploratory drilling has encountered Middle to Upper Devonian strata containing organic-rich shale in west-central Alabama. The areas added to the TPS are located in the Valley and Ridge, Interior Low Plateaus, and Appalachian Plateaus physiographic provinces, including the portion of the Appalachian fold and thrust belt buried beneath Cretaceous and younger sediments that were deposited on the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain.

  2. Thermal maturity patterns (conodont color alteration index and vitrinite reflectance) in Upper Ordovician and Devonian rocks of the Appalachian basin: a major revision of USGS Map I-917-E using new subsurface collections: Chapter F.1 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Repetski, John E.; Ryder, Robert T.; Weary, David J.; Harris, Anita G.; Trippi, Michael H.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

    2014-01-01

    The conodont color alteration index (CAI) introduced by Epstein and others (1977) and Harris and others (1978) is an important criterion for estimating the thermal maturity of Ordovician to Mississippian rocks in the Appalachian basin. Consequently, the CAI isograd maps of Harris and others (1978) are commonly used by geologists to characterize the thermal and burial history of the Appalachian basin and to better understand the origin and distribution of oil and gas resources in the basin. The main objectives of this report are to present revised CAI isograd maps for Ordovician and Devonian rocks in the Appalachian basin and to interpret the geologic and petroleum resource implications of these maps. The CAI isograd maps presented herein complement, and in some areas replace, the CAI-based isograd maps of Harris and others (1978) for the Appalachian basin. The CAI data presented in this report were derived almost entirely from subsurface samples, whereas the CAI data used by Harris and others (1978) were derived almost entirely from outcrop samples. Because of the different sampling methods, there is little geographic overlap of the two data sets. The new data set is mostly from the Allegheny Plateau structural province and most of the data set of Harris and others (1978) is from the Valley and Ridge structural province, east of the Allegheny structural front (fig. 1). Vitrinite reflectance, based on dispersed vitrinite in Devonian black shale, is another important parameter for estimating the thermal maturity in pre-Pennsylvanian-age rocks of the Appalachian basin (Streib, 1981; Cole and others, 1987; Gerlach and Cercone, 1993; Rimmer and others, 1993; Curtis and Faure, 1997). This chapter also presents a revised percent vitrinite reflectance (%R0) isograd map based on dispersed vitrinite recovered from selected Devonian black shales. The Devonian black shales used for the vitrinite studies reported herein also were analyzed by RockEval pyrolysis and total organic carbon (TOC) content in weight percent. Although the RockEval and TOC data are included in this chapter (table 1), they are not shown on the maps. The revised CAI isograd and percent vitrinite reflectance isograd maps cover all or parts of Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia (fig. 1), and the following three stratigraphic intervals: Upper Ordovician carbonate rocks, Lower and Middle Devonian carbonate rocks, and Middle and Upper Devonian black shales. These stratigraphic intervals were chosen for the following reasons: (1) they represent target reservoirs for much of the oil and gas exploration in the Appalachian basin; (2) they are stratigraphically near probable source rocks for most of the oil and gas; (3) they include geologic formations that are nearly continuous across the basin; (4) they contain abundant carbonate grainstone-packstone intervals, which give a reasonable to good probability of recovery of conodont elements from small samples of drill cuttings; and (5) the Middle and Upper Devonian black shale contains large amounts of organic matter for RockEval, TOC, and dispersed vitrinite analyses. Thermal maturity patterns of the Upper Ordovician Trenton Limestone are of particular interest here, because they closely approximate the thermal maturity patterns in the overlying Upper Ordovician Utica Shale, which is the probable source rock for oil and gas in the Upper Cambrian Rose Run Sandstone (sandstone), Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician Knox Group (Dolomite), Lower and Middle Ordovician Beekmantown Group (dolomite or Dolomite), Upper Ordovician Trenton and Black River Limestones, and Lower Silurian Clinton/Medina sandstone (Cole and others, 1987; Jenden and others, 1993; Laughrey and Baldassare, 1998; Ryder and others, 1998; Ryder and Zagorski, 2003). The thermal maturity patterns of the Lower Devonian Helderberg Limestone (Group), Middle Devonian Onondaga Limestone, and Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale-Upper Devonian Rhine street Shale Member-Upper Devonian Ohio Shale are of interest, because they closely approximate the thermal maturity patterns in the Marcellus Shale, Upper Devonian Rhinestreet Shale Member, and Upper Devonian Huron Member of the Ohio Shale, which are the most important source rocks for oil and gas in the Appalachian basin (de Witt and Milici, 1989; Klemme and Ulmishek, 1991). The Marcellus, Rhinestreet, and Huron units are black-shale source rocks for oil and (or) gas in the Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone, the Upper Devonian sandstones, the Middle and Upper Devonian black shales, and the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian(?) Berea Sandstone (Patchen and others, 1992; Roen and Kepferle, 1993; Laughrey and Baldassare, 1998).

  3. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Negus-De Wys, J.; Dixon, J. M.; Evans, M. A.

    This document consists of the following papers: inorganic geochemistry studies of the Eastern Kentucky Gas Field; lithology studies of upper Devonian well cuttings in the Eastern Kentucky Gas Field; possible effects of plate tectonics on the Appalachian Devonian black shale production in eastern Kentucky; preliminary depositional model for upper Devonian Huron age organic black shale in the Eastern Kentucky Gas Field; the anatomy of a large Devonian black shale gas field; the Cottageville (Mount Alto) Gas Field, Jackson County, West Virginia: a case study of Devonian shale gas production; the Eastern Kentucky Gas Field: a geological study of the relationshipsmore » of Ohio Shale gas occurrences to structure, stratigraphy, lithology, and inorganic geochemical parameters; and a statistical analysis of geochemical data for the Eastern Kentucky Gas Field.« less

  4. Radon-222 content of natural gas samples from Upper and Middle Devonian sandstone and shale reservoirs in Pennsylvania—preliminary data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rowan, E.L.; Kraemer, T.F.

    2012-01-01

    Samples of natural gas were collected as part of a study of formation water chemistry in oil and gas reservoirs in the Appalachian Basin. Nineteen samples (plus two duplicates) were collected from 11 wells producing gas from Upper Devonian sandstones and the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. The samples were collected from valves located between the wellhead and the gas-water separator. Analyses of the radon content of the gas indicated 222Rn (radon-222) activities ranging from 1 to 79 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) with an overall median of 37 pCi/L. The radon activities of the Upper Devonian sandstone samples overlap to a large degree with the activities of the Marcellus Shale samples.

  5. Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources in Upper Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2017

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.; Rouse, William A.; Dulong, Frank T.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Schenk, Christopher J.

    2018-04-19

    Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 10.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Upper Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin Province.

  6. New Insights into Arctic Tectonics: Uranium-Lead, (Uranium-Thorium)/Helium, and Hafnium Isotopic Data from the Franklinian Basin, Canadian Arctic Islands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anfinson, Owen Anthony

    More than 2300 detrital zircon uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages, 32 176Hf/177Hf (eHf) isotopic values, 37 apatite helium (AHe) ages, and 72 zircon helium (ZHe) ages represent the first in-depth geochronologic and thermochronologic study of Franklinian Basin strata in the Canadian Arctic and provide new insight on >500 M.y. of geologic history along the northern Laurentian margin (modern orientation). Detrital zircon U-Pb age data demonstrate that the Franklinian Basin succession is composed of strata with three distinctly different provenance signatures. Neoproterozoic and Lower Cambrian formations contain detrital zircon populations consistent with derivation from Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneisses and granites of the west Greenland--northeast Canadian Shield. Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian strata are primarily derived from foreland basin strata of the East Greenland Caledonides (Caledonian orogen). Middle Devonian to Upper Devonian strata also contain detrital zircon populations interpreted as being primarily northerly derived from the continental landmass responsible for the Ellesmerian Orogen (often referred to as Crockerland). U-Pb age data from basal turbidites of the Middle to Upper Devonian clastic succession suggest Crockerland contributed sediment to the northern Laurentian margin by early-Middle Devonian time and that prior to the Ellesmerian Orogeny Crockerland had a comparable geologic history to the northern Baltica Craton. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages in Upper Devonian strata suggest Crockerland became the dominant source by the end of Franklinian Basin sedimentation. Mean eHf values from Paleozoic detrital zircon derived from Crockerland suggest the zircons were primarily formed in either an island arc or continental arc built on accreted oceanic crust setting. ZHe cooling ages from Middle and Upper Devonian strata were not buried deeper than 7 km since deposition and suggest Crockerland was partially exhumed during the Caledonian Orogen. AHe cooling ages are partially reset since deposition and experienced varying burial histories depending on stratigraphic and geographic location within the basin. AHe ages from Middle Devonian strata from the western margin of the basin indicate episodes of exhumation associated with clastic influxes of sediment into the Sverdrup Basin during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous.

  7. Silurian and Devonian in Vietnam—Stratigraphy and facies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thanh, Tống Duy; Phương, Tạ Hoàng; Janvier, Philippe; Hùng, Nguyễn Hữu; Cúc, Nguyễn Thị Thu; Dương, Nguyễn Thùy

    2013-09-01

    Silurian and Devonian deposits in Viet Nam are present in several zones and regions, including Quang Ninh, East Bac Bo, and West Bac Bo Zones of the Bac Bo Region, the Dien Bien-Nghe An and Binh Tri Thien Zones of the Viet-Lao Region, and the South Trung Bo, and Western Nam Bo Zones of the South Viet Nam Region (Fig. 1). The main lithological features and faunal composition of the Silurian and Devonian Units in all these zones are briefly described. The Silurian consists of deep-water deposits of the upper parts of the Co To and Tan Mai Formations in the Quang Ninh Zone, the upper parts of the Phu Ngu Formation in the East Bac Bo Zone and the upper parts of the Long Dai and Song Ca Formations in the Viet-Lao Region. Shallow water facies Silurian units containing benthic faunas are more widely distributed, including the upper part of the Sinh Vinh and Bo Hieng Formations in the West Bac Bo Zone, the Kien An Formation in the Quang Ninh Zone, and, in the Viet-Lao Region, the Dai Giang Formation and the upper part of the Tay Trang Formation. No Lower and Middle Devonian deposits indicate deep water facies, but they are characterized by different shallow water facies. Continental to near shore, deltaic facies characterize the Lower Devonian Song Cau Group in the East Bac Bo Zone, the Van Canh Formation in the Quang Ninh Zone, and the A Choc Formation in the Binh Tri Thien Zone. Similar facies also occur in the Givetian Do Son Formation of the Quang Ninh Zone, and the Tan Lap Formation in the East Bac Bo Zone, and consist of coarse terrigenous deposits—cross-bedded conglomerates, sandstone, etc. Most Devonian units are characterized by shallow marine shelf facies. Carbonate and terrigenous-carbonate facies dominate, and terrigenous facies occur in the Lower and Middle Devonian sections in some areas only. The deep-water-like facies is characteriztic for some Upper Devonian formations in the Bac Bo (Bang Ca and Toc Tat Formations) and Viet-Lao Regions (Thien Nhan and Xom Nha Formations). These formations contain cherty shale or siliceous limestone, and fossils consist of conodonts, but there are also brachiopods and other benthos. They were possibly deposited in a deep water environment on the slope of the continental shelf. Most Devonian units distributed in the North and the Central Viet Nam consist of self shallow water sediments, and apparently they were deposited in a passive marginal marine environment. The coarse clastic continental or subcontinental deposits are distributed only in some areas of the East Bac Bo and of the Quang Ninh zones of the Bac Bo Region, and in the south of the Binh Tri Thien Zone. This situation suggests the influence of the Caledonian movement at the end of the Silurian period that called the Guangxi movement in South China.

  8. Middle Devonian to Late Mississippian event stratigraphy of Overthrust belt region, western United States.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sandberg, C.A.; Gutschick, R.C.; Johnson, J.G.; Poole, F.G.; Sando, W.J.

    1986-01-01

    Twenty eustatic and epeirogenic events mainly dated by conodonts are distinguished between the Middle Devonian and the lower Upper Mississippian in Great Basin, in Rocky Mountains and in the Overthrust belt regions.-Journal Editors

  9. The north-subducting Rheic Ocean during the Devonian: consequences for the Rhenohercynian ore sites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Raumer, Jürgen F.; Nesbor, Heinz-Dieter; Stampfli, Gérard M.

    2017-10-01

    Base metal mining in the Rhenohercynian Zone has a long history. Middle-Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous sediment-hosted massive sulfide deposits (SHMS), volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits (VHMS) and Lahn-Dill-type iron, and base metal ores occur at several sites in the Rhenohercynian Zone that stretches from the South Portuguese Zone, through the Lizard area, the Rhenish Massif and the Harz Mountain to the Moravo-Silesian Zone of SW Bohemia. During Devonian to Early Carboniferous times, the Rhenohercynian Zone is seen as an evolving rift system developed on subsiding shelf areas of the Old Red continent. A reappraisal of the geotectonic setting of these ore deposits is proposed. The Middle-Upper Devonian to Early Carboniferous time period was characterized by detrital sedimentation, continental intraplate and subduction-related volcanism. The large shelf of the Devonian Old Red continent was the place of thermal subsidence with contemporaneous mobilization of rising thermal fluids along activated Early Devonian growth faults. Hydrothermal brines equilibrated with the basement and overlying Middle-Upper Devonian detrital deposits forming the SHMS deposits in the southern part of the Pyrite Belt, in the Rhenish Massif and in the Harz areas. Volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits (VHMS) formed in the more eastern localities of the Rhenohercynian domain. In contrast, since the Tournaisian period of ore formation, dominant pull-apart triggered magmatic emplacement of acidic rocks, and their metasomatic replacement in the apical zones of felsic domes and sediments in the northern part of the Iberian Pyrite belt, thus changing the general conditions of ore precipitation. This two-step evolution is thought to be controlled by syn- to post-tectonic phases in the Variscan framework, specifically by the transition of geotectonic setting dominated by crustal extension to a one characterized by the subduction of the supposed northern slab of the Rheic Ocean preceding the general Late Variscan crustal shortening and oroclinal bending.

  10. Upper Devonian outcrop stratigraphy, southwestern Virginia and southeastern West Virginia

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dennison, J.M.; Filer, J.K.; Rossbach, T.J.

    Ongoing outcrop studies are resulting in the extension of existing formal lithostratigraphic units and revision of previously less refined subdivisions of Upper Devonian strata in southwestern Virginia and southeastern West Virginia. A 425 km (263 mi) long stratigraphic cross-section has been constructed primarily from the outcrop belt along the Allegheny Structural Front, supplemented by sections from nearby outcrop belts. This NE-SW striking cross-section is oblique to the nearly due N-S depositional strike of the Upper Devonian Acadian orogenic wedge. To the southwest, the Upper Devonian section thins from 2,100 meters (6,900 feet) to 230 meters (756 feet) as progressively moremore » distal deposits are encountered. An integrated approach has been taken to establish chronostratigraphic control within the cross-section. The best time markers include particularly regressive parasequences which can be identified across facies boundaries (especially the Pound and Briery Gap Sandstones and their equivalents), volcanic ashes, and an organic-rich shale zone marking the base of a major transgression (equivalent to the base of the Huron Shale in Ohio and the Dunkirk Shale of New York). These tools provide chronostratigraphic correlation through the undivided Brallier Formation. Supplemental control includes biostratigraphic markers as well as marine dull redbeds within the Foreknobs which parallel other time lines and may represent partially reduced influxes of oxidized coastal plain sediments during minor parasequence scale regressions.« less

  11. Devonian and Mississippian rocks of the northern Antelope Range, Eureka County, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hose, Richard Kenneth; Armstrong, A.K.; Harris, A.G.; Mamet, B.L.

    1982-01-01

    Lower through Upper Devonian rocks of the northern Antelope Range, Nev., consist of four formational rank units more than 800 m thick, separated from Mississippian units by an unconformity. The lower three Devonian units, the Beacon Peak Dolomite, McColley Canyon Formation, and Denay Limestone are known in other areas; the top unit, the Fenstermaker Wash Formation, is new. The Mississippian units, more than 280 m thick, are divisible into three units which are unlike coeval units elsewhere, and are herein named the Davis Spring Formation, Kinkead Spring Limestone, and Antelope Range Formation. Systematic sampling of the Devonian sequence has yielded relatively abundant conodonts containing several biostratigraphic ally significant taxa. The Mississippian units contain redeposited conodonts of chiefly Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (Kinderhookian) age together with indigenous Osagean foraminifers and algae in the Kinkead Spring Limestone.

  12. Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources: Devonian gas shales of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System: Chapter G.9 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

    2014-01-01

    This report presents the results of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of the technically recoverable undiscovered natural gas resources in Devonian shale in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province of the eastern United States. These results are part of the USGS assessment in 2002 of the technically recoverable undiscovered oil and gas resources of the province. This report does not use the results of a 2011 USGS assessment of the Devonian Marcellus Shale because the area considered in the 2011 assessment is much greater than the area of the Marcellus Shale described in this report. The USGS assessment in 2002 was based on the identification of six total petroleum systems, which include strata that range in age from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. The Devonian gas shales described in this report are within the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System, which extends generally from New York to Tennessee. This total petroleum system is divided into ten assessment units (plays), four of which are classified as conventional and six as continuous. The Devonian shales described in this report make up four of these continuous assessment units. The assessment results are reported as fully risked fractiles (F95, F50, F5, and the mean); the fractiles indicate the probability of recovery of the assessment amount. The products reported are oil, gas, and natural gas liquids. The mean estimates for technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbons in the four gas shale assessment units are 12,195.53 billion cubic feet (12.20 trillion cubic feet) of gas and 158.91 million barrels of natural gas liquids

  13. Subsurface stratigraphy of upper Devonian clastics in southern West Virginia

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Neal, D.W.; Patchen, D.G.

    Studies of upper Devonian shales and siltstones in southern West Virginia have resulted in a refinement of the stratigraphic framework used in characterizing the gas-producing Devonian shales. Gamma-ray log correlation around the periphery of the Appalachian Basin has extended the usage of New York stratigraphic nomenclature for the interval between the base of the Dunkirk shale and the top of the Tully limestone to southern West Virginia. Equivalents of the Dunkirk shale and younger rocks of New York are recognized in southwestern West Virginia and are named according to Ohio usage. Gas production is primarily from the basal black shalemore » member of the Ohio shale. Gas shows from older black shale units (Rhinestreet and Marcellus shales) are recorded from wells east of the major producing trend. Provided suitable stimulation techniques can be developed, these older and deeper black shales may prove to be another potential gas resource.« less

  14. Hydrocarbon potential of Upper Devonian black shale, eastern Kentucky

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnston, I.M.; Frankie, W.T.; Moody, J.R.

    The gas-producing Upper Devonian black shales of eastern Kentucky represent cycles of organic units alternating with less-organic units that were dominated by an influx of clastics from a northeastern source. This pattern of sedimentation is typical throughout the southern Appalachian basin in areas basinal to, yet still influenced by, the Catskill delta to the northwest. These black shales, which thin westward onto the Cincinnati arch, dip eastward into the Appalachian basin. To evaluate the future gas potential of Devonian shale, a data base has been compiled, consisting of specific geologic and engineering information from 5920 Devonian shale wells in Letcher,more » Knott, Floyd, Martin, and Pike Counties, Kentucky. The first successful gas completion in eastern Kentucky was drilled in Martin County in 1901. Comparison of initial open-flow potential (IP) and long-term production data for these wells demonstrates that higher IP values generally indicate wells of higher production potential. Areas of higher IP are aligned linearly, and these lineaments are interpreted to be related to fracture systems within the Devonian shale. These fractures may be basement influenced. Temperature log analyses indicate that the greatest number of natural gas shows occur in the lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale. Using both the temperature log to indicate gas shows and the gamma-ray log to determine the producing unit is a workable method for selecting the interval for treatment.« less

  15. The stratigraphic utility of the trace fossil Pteridichnites biseriatus in the Upper Devonian of eastern West Virginia and western Virginia, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McDowell, R.R.; Avary, K.L.; Matchen, D.L.; Britton, J.Q.

    2007-01-01

    Similar lithologies and lithofacies are present in two Upper Devonian siliciclastic units, the Brallier and Foreknobs formations, in eastern West Virginia and western Virginia, USA. Specimens of an unusual trace fossil, Pteridichnites biseriatus, occur in variable numbers throughout both stratigraphic units. P. biseriatus is present in abundance in the lowermost Brallier and this abundance-zone serves as a local stratigraphic marker for the Brallier. The trace fossil, originally suggested as an indication of polychaete or arthropod locomotion, is herein proposed as the locomotion trace of an unidentified ophiuroid.

  16. Devonian brachiopods of southwesternmost laurentia: Biogeographic affinities and tectonic significance

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boucot, A.J.; Poole, F.G.; Amaya-Martinez, R.; Harris, A.G.; Sandberg, C.A.; Page, W.R.

    2008-01-01

    Three brachiopod faunas discussed herein record different depositional and tectonic settings along the southwestern margin of Laurentia (North America) during Devonian time. Depositional settings include inner continental shelf (Cerros de Los Murcielagos), medial continental shelf (Rancho Placeritos), and offshelf continental rise (Rancho Los Chinos). Ages of Devonian brachiopod faunas include middle Early (Pragian) at Rancho Placeritos in west-central Sonora, late Middle (Givetian) at Cerros de Los Murcielagos in northwestern Sonora, and late Late (Famennian) at Rancho Los Chinos in central Sonora. The brachiopods of these three faunas, as well as the gastropod Orecopia, are easily recognized in outcrop and thus are useful for local and regional correlations. Pragian brachiopods dominated by Acrospirifer and Meristella in the "San Miguel Formation" at Rancho Placeritos represent the widespread Appohimchi Subprovince of eastern and southern Laurentia. Conodonts of the early to middle Pragian sulcatus to kindlei Zones associated with the brachiopods confirm the ages indicated by the brachiopod fauna and provide additional information on the depositional setting of the Devonian strata. Biostratigraphic distribution of the Appohimchi brachiopod fauna indicates continuous Early Devonian shelf deposition along the entire southern margin of Laurentia. The largely emergent southwest-trending Transcontinental arch apparently formed a barrier preventing migration and mixing of many genera and species of brachiopods from the southern shelf of Laurentia in northern Mexico to the western shelf (Cordilleran mio-geocline) in the western United States. Middle Devonian Stringocephalus brachiopods and Late Devonian Orecopia gastropods in the "Los Murcielagos Formation" in northwest Sonora represent the southwest-ernmost occurrence of these genera in North America and date the host rocks as Givetian and Frasnian, respectively. Rhynchonelloid brachiopods (Dzieduszyckia sonora) and associated worm tubes in the Los Pozos Formation of the Sonora allochthon in central Sonora are also found in strati-form-barite facies in the upper Upper Devonian (Famennian) part of the Slaven Chert in the Roberts Mountains allochthon (upper plate) of central and western Nevada. Although these brachiopods and worm tubes occur in similar depositional settings along the margin of Laurentia in Mexico, they occur in allochthons that exhibit different tectonic styles and times of emplacement. Thus, the allochthons containing the brachiopods and worm tubes in Sonora and Nevada are parts of separate orogenic belts and have different geographic settings and tectonic histories. Devonian facies belts and faunas in northern Mexico indicate a continuous continental shelf along the entire southern margin of Laurentia. These data, in addition to the continuity of the late Paleozoic Ouachita-Marathon-Sonora orogen across northern Mexico, contradict the early Late Jurassic Mojave-Sonora megashear as a viable hypothesis for large-magnitude offset (600-1100 km) of Proterozoic through Middle Jurassic rocks from California to Sonora. ?? 2008 The Geological Society of America.

  17. Timing and pacing of the Late Devonian mass extinction event regulated by eccentricity and obliquity.

    PubMed

    De Vleeschouwer, David; Da Silva, Anne-Christine; Sinnesael, Matthias; Chen, Daizhao; Day, James E; Whalen, Michael T; Guo, Zenghui; Claeys, Philippe

    2017-12-22

    The Late Devonian envelops one of Earth's big five mass extinction events at the Frasnian-Famennian boundary (374 Ma). Environmental change across the extinction severely affected Devonian reef-builders, besides many other forms of marine life. Yet, cause-and-effect chains leading to the extinction remain poorly constrained as Late Devonian stratigraphy is poorly resolved, compared to younger cataclysmic intervals. In this study we present a global orbitally calibrated chronology across this momentous interval, applying cyclostratigraphic techniques. Our timescale stipulates that 600 kyr separate the lower and upper Kellwasser positive δ 13 C excursions. The latter excursion is paced by obliquity and is therein similar to Mesozoic intervals of environmental upheaval, like the Cretaceous Ocean-Anoxic-Event-2 (OAE-2). This obliquity signature implies coincidence with a minimum of the 2.4 Myr eccentricity cycle, during which obliquity prevails over precession, and highlights the decisive role of astronomically forced "Milankovitch" climate change in timing and pacing the Late Devonian mass extinction.

  18. Devonian-Carboniferous boundary succession in Eastern Taurides, Turkey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atakul-Özdemir, Ayşe; Altıner, Demir; Özkan-Altıner, Sevinç

    2015-04-01

    The succession covering the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in Eastern Taurides comprises mainly limestones, shales and siltstones. The studied section starts at the base with bioturbated limestones alternating with shales and is followed upwards by platy limestones, and continues with the alternations of bioturbated and platy limestones. Towards the upper part of the succession the alternations of limestone, shales and siltstones reappear again and the top of the section is capped by quartz arenitic sandstone. The studied section spanning the Uppermost Devonian-Lower Carboniferous interval yields a not very abundant, but quite important assemblage of conodont taxa including species of Bispathodus, Polygnathus, Palmatolepis, Spathognathodus and Vogelgnathus. The uppermost Devonian part of the succession is characterized by the presence of Bispathodus costatus, Bispathodus aculeatus aculeatus, Polygnathus communis communis, Palmatolepis gracilis gracilis and Spathognathodus sp.. The Lower Carboniferous in the studied section is represented by the appearance of Polygnathus inornatus and Polygnathus communis communis. Based on the recovered conodont assemblages, Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in Eastern Turides has been determined by the appearance and disappearance of major conodont species.

  19. Identification of remagnetization processes in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the northeast Rhenish Massif in Germany by K-Ar dating and REE tracing of authigenic illite and Fe oxides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zwing, A.; Clauer, N.; Liewig, N.; Bachtadse, V.

    2009-06-01

    This study combines mineralogical, chemical (rare earth elemental (REE)) and isotopic (K-Ar) data of clay minerals as well as chemical compositions (major and REE) of Fe oxide leachates from remagnetized Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks from NE Rhenish Massif in Germany, for which the causes of remagnetization are not yet clear. The dominant carrier of the syntectonic, pervasive Carboniferous magnetization is magnetite. The Middle Devonian clastic rocks record an illitization event at 348 ± 7 Ma probably connected to a major magmatic event in the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, whereas a second illitization episode at 324 ± 3 Ma is coeval to the northward migrating deformation through the Rhenish Massif, being only detected in Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous rocks. The age of that younger illitization is not significantly different from that of the remagnetization, which, however, is not restricted to the upper part of the orogenic belt, but affects also the Middle Devonian strata. The REE patterns of the Fe-enriched leachates support two mineralization episodes with varied oxidation-reduction conditions outlined by varied Eu and Ce anomalies. This is not compatible with a unique, pervasive migration of orogenic fluids on a regional scale to explain the remagnetization in the studied region. While clay diagenesis and remagnetization are time-equivalent in Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous rocks, they are not so in Middle Devonian rocks. Transformation of smectite into illite cannot, therefore, account for the growth of associated authigenic magnetite, which must have been triggered by a different process. Since remagnetization and deformation ages are similar, the mechanism could relate to local physical conditions such as pressure solution and changing pore fluid pressure due to tectonic stress as well as to chemical conditions such as changing composition of the pore fluids.

  20. Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Kanayut Conglomerate, central and western Brooks Range, Alaska; report of 1981 field season

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nilsen, T.H.; Moore, T.E.

    1982-01-01

    The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian(?) Kanayut Conglomerate forms a major stratigraphic unit along the crest of the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. It crops out for an east-west distance of about 900 km and a north-south distance of about 65 km. The Kanayut is wholly allochthonous and has probably been transported northward on a series of thrust plates. The Kanayut is as thick as 2,600 m in the east-central Brooks Range. It thins and fines to the south and west. The Kanayut forms the middle part of the allochthonous sequence of the Endicott Group, an Upper Devonian and Mississippian clastic sequence underlain by platform limestones of the Baird Group and overlain by platform limestone, carbonaceous shale, and black chert of the Lisburne Group. The Kanayut overlies the marine Upper Devonian Noatak Sandstone or, where it is missing, the marine Upper Devonian Hunt Fork Shale. It is overlain by the marine Mississippian Kayak Shale. The Kanayut Conglomerate forms the fluvial part of a large, coarse-grained delta that prograded to the southwest in Late Devonian time and retreated in Early Mississippian time. Four sections of the Kanayut Conglomerate in the central Brooks Range and five in the western Brooks Range were measured in 1981. The sections from the western Brooks Range document the presence of fluvial cycles in the Kanayut as far west as the shores of the Chukchi Sea. The Kanayut in this area is generally finer grained than it is in the central and eastern Brooks Range, having a maximum clast size of 3 cm. It is probably about 300 m thick. The upper and lower contacts of the Kanayut are gradational. The lower Kanayut contains calcareous, marine-influenced sandstone within channel deposits, and the upper Kanayut contains probable marine interdistributary-bay shale sequences. The members of the Kanayut Conglomerate cannot be differentiated in this region. In the central Brooks Range, sections of the Kanayut Conglomerate at Siavlat Mountain and Kakivilak Creek are typically organized into fining-upward fluvial cycles. The maximum clast size is about 3 cm in this area. The Kanayut in this region is 200-500 m thick and can be divided into the Ear Peak, Shainin Lake, and Stuver Members. The upper contact of the Kanayut with the Kayak Shale is very gradational at Kakivilak Creek and very abrupt at Siavlat Mountain. Paleocurrents from fluvial strata of the Kanayut indicate sediment transport toward the west and south in both the western and central Brooks Range. The maximum clast size distribution generally indicates westward fining from the Shainin Lake region.

  1. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Potter, P.E.; Maynard, J.B.; Pryor, W.A.

    Studies of shales in the Appalachian area are reported (mainly in the form of abstracts of reports or manuscripts). They discuss the geology, lithology, stratigraphy, radioactivity, organic matter, the isotopic abundance of carbon and sulfur isotopes, etc. of shales in this area with maps. One report discusses Devonian paliocurrents in the central and northern Appalachian basin. Another discusses sedimentology of the Brallier Formation. The stratigraphy of upper Devonian shales along the southern shore of Lake Erie was also studied. (LTN)

  2. Upper Paleozoic Marine Shale Characteristics and Exploration Prospects in the Northwestern Guizhong Depression, South China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Zhenhong; Yao, Genshun; Lou, Zhanghua; Jin, Aimin; Zhu, Rong; Jin, Chong; Chen, Chao

    2018-05-01

    Multiple sets of organic-rich shales developed in the Upper Paleozoic of the northwestern Guizhong Depression in South China. However, the exploration of these shales is presently at a relatively immature stage. The Upper Paleozoic shales in the northwestern Guizhong Depression, including the Middle Devonian Luofu shale, the Nabiao shale, and the Lower Carboniferous Yanguan shale, were investigated in this study. Mineral composition analysis, organic matter analysis (including total organic carbon (TOC) content, maceral of kerogen and the vitrinite reflection (Ro)), pore characteristic analysis (including porosity and permeability, pore type identification by SEM, and pore size distribution by nitrogen sorption), methane isothermal sorption test were conducted, and the distribution and thickness of the shales were determined, Then the characteristics of the two target shales were illustrated and compared. The results show that the Upper Paleozoic shales have favorable organic matter conditions (mainly moderate to high TOC content, type I and II1 kerogen and high to over maturity), good fracability potential (brittleness index (BI) > 40%), multiple pore types, stable distribution and effective thickness, and good methane sorption capacity. Therefore, the Upper Paleozoic shales in the northern Guizhong Depression have good shale gas potential and exploration prospects. Moreover, the average TOC content, average BI, thickness of the organic-rich shale (TOC > 2.0 wt%) and the shale gas resources of the Middle Devonian shales are better than those of the Lower Carboniferous shale. The Middle Devonian shales have better shale gas potential and exploration prospects than the Lower Carboniferous shales.

  3. Uplifted ophiolitic rocks on Isla Gordon, southernmost Chile: implications for the closure history of the Rocas Verdes marginal basin and the tectonic evolution of the Beagle Channel region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cunningham, W. D.

    1994-04-01

    A succession of mafic rocks that includes gabbro, sheeted dikes and deformed pillow basalts has been mapped in detail on Isla Gordon, southernmost Chile and is identified as an upper ophiolitic complex representing the uplifted floor of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Rocas Verdes marginal basin. The complex was uplifted, deformed, and regionally metamorphosed prior to the intrusion of an undeformed 90 Ma granodiorite that cuts the complex. The complex appears para-autochthonous, is gently tilted to the northeast and is internally sheared by near-vertical foliation zones. No evidence for obduction was observed although the base of the complex is not exposed. The ophiolitic rocks have been regionally metamorphosed to mid-upper greenschist levels. Isla Gordon is bounded by the northwest and southwest arms of the Beagle Channel, two important structural boundaries in the southernmost Andes that are interpreted to have accommodated north-side-up and left-lateral displacements. Directly north of Isla Gordon is the Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex that exposes the highest grade metamorphic rocks in the Andes south of Peru. On the north coast of Isla Gordon a volcaniclastic turbidite sequence that is interpreted to have been deposited above the mafic floor is metamorphosed to lower greenschist levels in strong metamorphic contrast to amphibolite-grade othogneisses exposed in Cordillera Darwin only 2 km away across the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel. The profound metamorphic break across the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel and the regional northeast tilt of the ophiolitic complex are consistent with the previously proposed hypothesis that Isla Gordon represents the upper plate to an extensional fault that accommodated tectonic unroofing of Cordillera Darwin. However, limited structural evidence for extension was identified in this study to support the model and further work is needed to determine the relative importance of contractional, extensional and strike-slip displacements during the closure of the Rocas Verdes marginal basin and uplift of Cordillera Darwin. The Isla Gordon ophiolitic complex is correlative with other regional occurrences of ophiolitic rocks including the previously studied Tortuga, Sarmiento and Larsen Harbour complexes. The existence of the Isla Gordon ophiolitic complex helps link the known occurrences of the marginal basin floor into a semi-continuous belt that sheds light on the original continuity of the basin.

  4. The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada - An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ketner, Keith B.

    2008-01-01

    An area between the towns of Winnemucca and Battle Mountain in northwestern Nevada, termed the arkosic triangle, includes the type areas of the middle to upper Paleozoic Inskip Formation and Havallah sequence, the Upper Devonian to Mississippian Harmony Formation, the Sonoma orogeny, and the Golconda thrust. According to an extensive body of scientific literature, the Havallah sequence, a diverse assemblage of oceanic rocks, was obducted onto the continent during the latest Permian or earliest Triassic Sonoma orogeny by way of the Golconda thrust. This has been the most commonly accepted theory for half a century, often cited but rarely challenged. The tectonic roles of the Inskip and Harmony Formations have remained uncertain, and they have never been fully integrated into the accepted theory. New, and newly interpreted, data are incompatible with the accepted theory and force comprehensive stratigraphic and tectonic concepts that include the Inskip and Harmony Formations as follows: middle to upper Paleozoic strata, including the Inskip, Harmony, and Havallah, form an interrelated assemblage that was deposited in a single basin on an autochthonous sequence of Cambrian, Ordovician, and lowest Silurian strata of the outer miogeocline. Sediments composing the Upper Devonian to Permian sequence entered the basin from both sides, arkosic sands, gravel, limestone olistoliths, and other detrital components entered from the west, and quartz, quartzite, chert, and other clasts from the east. Tectonic activity was expressed as: (1) Devonian uplift and erosion of part of the outer miogeocline; (2) Late Devonian depression of the same area, forming a trough, probably fault-bounded, in which the Inskip, Harmony, and Havallah were deposited; (3) production of intraformational and extrabasinal conglomerates derived from the basinal rocks; and (4) folding or tilting of the east side of the depositional basin in the Pennsylvanian. These middle to upper Paleozoic deposits were compressed in the Jurassic, causing east-verging thrusts in the eastern part of the depositional basin (Golconda thrust) and west-verging thrusts and folds in the western part. Hypotheses involving a far-traveled allochthon that was obducted from an ocean or back-arc basin are incompatible with modern observations and concepts.

  5. Provenance of upper Triassic sandstone, southwest Iberia (Alentejo and Algarve basins): tracing variability in the sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereira, M. F.; Ribeiro, C.; Gama, C.; Drost, K.; Chichorro, M.; Vilallonga, F.; Hofmann, M.; Linnemann, U.

    2017-01-01

    Laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb analyses have been conducted on detrital zircon of Upper Triassic sandstone from the Alentejo and Algarve basins in southwest Iberia. The predominance of Neoproterozoic, Devonian, Paleoproterozoic and Carboniferous detrital zircon ages confirms previous studies that indicate the locus of the sediment source of the late Triassic Alentejo Basin in the pre-Mesozoic basement of the South Portuguese and Ossa-Morena zones. Suitable sources for the Upper Triassic Algarve sandstone are the Upper Devonian-Lower Carboniferous of the South Portuguese Zone (Phyllite-Quartzite and Tercenas formations) and the Meguma Terrane (present-day in Nova Scotia). Spatial variations of the sediment sources of both Upper Triassic basins suggest a more complex history of drainage than previously documented involving other source rocks located outside present-day Iberia. The two Triassic basins were isolated from each other with the detrital transport being controlled by two independent drainage systems. This study is important for the reconstruction of the late Triassic paleogeography in a place where, later, the opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean took place separating Europe from North America.

  6. Utility of palmatolepids and icriodontids in recognizing Upper Devonian Series, Stage, and possible substage boundaries

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ziegler, W.; Sandberg, C.A.

    2000-01-01

    Conodonts are accepted internationally to define Devonian Series and Stage boundaries. Hence, the evolution and taxonomy of pelagic palmatolepids, primarily Palmatolepis and its direct ancestor Mesotaxis, and shallow-water icriodontids, Icriodus, Pelekysgnathus, and "Icriodus", are the major tools for recognizing subdivisions of the Upper Devonian. Palmatolepids are the basis for the Late Devonian Standard Conodont Zonation (ZIEGLER & SANDBERG 1990), whereas icriodontids are the basis for the alternative, integrated shallow-water zonation (SANDBERG & DREESEN 1984). However, an alternative palmatolepid taxonomy for some Frasnian species has been employed recently by some conodont workers using the Montagne Noire (M.N.) zonation, shape analyses of Pa elements, and multielement reconstructions of KLAPPER (1989), KLAPPER & FOSTER (1993); and KLAPPER et al. (1996). Herein, the evolution of palmatolepids and icriodontids is summarized in terms of our zonation and some of the taxonomic differences with the alternative M.N. zonation are exemplified. One of the problems in relating the Standard and M.N. zonations arises from previous errors of interpretation and drafting of the Martenberg section in Germany. This section was designated the reference section for the Frasnian transitans through jamieae Zones by ZIEGLER & SANDBERG (1990). Herein, the early and middle Frasnian zonal boundaries at Martenberg are improved by re-study of our old and recent collections from three profiles, spaced only 4 m apart. Serious problems exist with the Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSP's), selected by the Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy, following the paleontologic definition of the bases of the Frasnian, Famennian, and Tournaisian Stages, because of the difficulty in making global correlations from these GSSP's. Our summary of these problems should be helpful if future workers decide to relocate these GSSP's.

  7. Devonian salt dissolution-collapse breccias flooring the Cretaceous Athabasca oil sands deposit and development of lower McMurray Formation sinkholes, northern Alberta Basin, Western Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broughton, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    The sub-Cretaceous paleotopography underlying giant Lower Cretaceous Athabasca oil sands, northern Alberta, has an orthogonal lattice pattern of troughs up to 50 km long and 100 m deep between pairs of cross-cutting lineaments. These structures are interpreted to have been inherited from a similar pattern of dissolution collapse-subsidence troughs in the underlying Middle Devonian salt beds. Removal of more than 100 m of halite salt fragmented the overlying Upper Devonian strata into fault blocks and collapse breccias that subsided into the underlying dissolution troughs. The unusually low 1:2 to 1:3 thickness ratios of halite salts to the overlying strata resulted in the Upper Devonian strata collapse-subsidence into underlying salt dissolution troughs being more cataclysmic during the first phase of salt removal. The second phase of slower but complete salt removal between the earlier troughs resulted in a more gradual subsidence of the overlying strata. This obliterated the earlier pattern of giant cross-cutting dissolution troughs bounded by major lineaments. The collapse breccia fabrics underlying the earlier troughs differ from those from areas between the troughs. Collapse breccias underlying the large troughs often have crushed fabrics distributed in zones that rapidly pinched out between fault blocks. Breccias between troughs developed as giant mosaics of detached carbonate blocks that formed breccia pipe complexes. Multiple sinkholes up to 100 m deep aligned along multi-km linear valley trends that dissected the sub-Cretaceous paleotopography. These sinkhole trends formed orthogonal patterns inherited from underlying lattice of NW-SE and NE-SW salt structured lineaments. These cross-cutting sinkhole trends have a smaller 5 km scale reticulate pattern similar to the giant 50 km scale pattern of collapse-subsidence troughs. Other sinkholes developed as lower McMurray strata sagged when underlying Devonian fault blocks and breccia pipes differentially subsided.

  8. New U-Pb zircon ages and the duration and division of Devonian time

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tucker, R.D.; Bradley, D.C.; Ver Straeten, C.A.; Harris, A.G.; Ebert, J.R.; McCutcheon, S.R.

    1998-01-01

    Newly determined U-Pb zircon ages of volcanic ashes closely tied to biostratigraphic zones are used to revise the Devonian time-scale. They are: 1) 417.6 ?? 1.0 Ma for an ash within the conodont zone of Icriodus woschmidti/I. w. hesperius Lochkovian); 2) 408.3 ?? 1.9 Ma for an ash of early Emsian age correlated with the conodont zones of Po. dehiscens--Lower Po. inversus; 3) 391.4 ?? 1.8 Ma for an ash within the Po. c. costatus Zone and probably within the upper half of the zone (Eifelian); and 4) 381.1 ?? 1.3 Ma for an ash within the range of the Frasnian conodont Palmatolepis punctata (Pa. punctata Zone to Upper Pa. hassi Zone). U-Pb zircon ages for two rhyolites bracketing a palyniferous bed of the pusillites-lepidophyta spore zone, are dated at 363.8 ?? 2.2 Ma and 363 ?? 2.2 Ma and 363.4 ?? 1.8 Ma, respectively, suggesting an age of ~363 Ma for a level within the late Famennian Pa. g. expansa Zone. These data, together with other published zircon ages, suggest that the base and top of the Devonian lie close to 418 Ma and 362 Ma, respectively, thus lengthening the period of ~20% over current estimates. We suggest that the duration of the Middle Devonian (Eifelian and Givitian) is rather brief, perhaps no longer than 11.5 Myr (394 Ma-382.5 Ma), and that the Emsian and Famennian are the longest stages in the period with estimated durations of ~15.5 Myr and 14.5 Myr, respectively.

  9. Aquifer Characteristics Data Report for the Weldon Spring Site chemical plant/raffinate pits and vicinity properties for the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project, Weldon Spring, Missouri

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1990-11-01

    This report describes the procedures and methods used, and presents the results of physical testing performed, to characterize the hydraulic properties of the shallow Mississippian-Devonian aquifer beneath the Weldon Spring chemical plant, raffinate pits, and vicinity properties. The aquifer of concern is composed of saturated rocks of the Burlington-Keokuk Limestone which constitutes the upper portion of the Mississippian-Devonian aquifer. This aquifer is a heterogeneous anisotropic medium which can be described in terms of diffuse Darcian flow overlain by high porosity discrete flow zones and conduits. Average hydraulic conductivity for all wells tested is 9.6E-02 meters/day (3.1E-01 feet/day). High hydraulic conductivitymore » values are representative of discrete flow in the fractured and weathered zones in the upper Burlington-Keokuk Limestone. They indicate heterogeneities within the Mississippian-Devonian aquifer. Aquifer heterogeneity in the horizontal plane is believed to be randomly distributed and is a function of fracture spacing, solution voids, and preglacial weathering phenomena. Relatively high hydraulic conductivities in deeper portions of the aquifer are though to be due to the presence of widely spaced fractures. 44 refs., 27 figs., 9 tabs.« less

  10. Algoma-, Superior-, and oolitic-type iron deposits of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (phase V, deliverable 83): Chapter O in Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Taylor, Cliff D.; Finn, Carol A.; Anderson, Eric D.; Joud, M. Y.; Taleb, M. A.; Horton, John D.

    2015-01-01

    Phanerozoic oolitic ironstones are hosted in the upper Silurian and lower Devonian rocks of the Gara Bouya Ali Group and the Zemmour Group in the Tindouf Basin in northern Mauritania and in the end Ordovician Tichit Group, the Silurian Oued Chig Group, and the lower Devonian Tenemouj Group in the Taoudeni Basin near Tidjikja. These rock groups define 11 permissive tracts for Algoma-, Superior-, and oolitic-type iron deposits in Mauritania.

  11. World class Devonian potential seen in eastern Madre de Dios basin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peters, K.E.; Wagner, J.B.; Carpenter, D.G.

    The Madre de Dios basin in northern Bolivia contains thick, laterally extensive, organic-rich Upper Devonian source rocks that reached the oil-generative stage of thermal maturity after trap and seal formation. Despite these facts, less than one dozen exploration wells have been drilled in the Madre de Dios basin, and no significant reserves have been discovered. Mobil geoscientists conducted a regional geological, geophysical, and geochemical study of the Madre de Dios basin. The work reported here was designed to assess the distribution, richness, depositional environment, and thermal maturity of Devonian source rocks. It is supported by data from over 3,000 mmore » of continuous slimhole core in two of the five Mobil wells in the basin. Source potential also exists in Cretaceous, Mississippian, and Permian intervals. The results of this study have important implications for future exploration in Bolivia and Peru.« less

  12. Petroleum geology and resources of the Dnieper-Donets Basin, Ukraine and Russia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ulmishek, Gregory F.

    2001-01-01

    The Dnieper-Donets basin is almost entirely in Ukraine, and it is the principal producer of hydrocarbons in that country. A small southeastern part of the basin is in Russia. The basin is bounded by the Voronezh high of the Russian craton to the northeast and by the Ukrainian shield to the southwest. The basin is principally a Late Devonian rift that is overlain by a Carboniferous to Early Permian postrift sag. The Devonian rift structure extends northwestward into the Pripyat basin of Belarus; the two basins are separated by the Bragin-Loev uplift, which is a Devonian volcanic center. Southeastward, the Dnieper-Donets basin has a gradational boundary with the Donbas foldbelt, which is a structurally inverted and deformed part of the basin. The sedimentary succession of the basin consists of four tectono-stratigraphic sequences. The prerift platform sequence includes Middle Devonian to lower Frasnian, mainly clastic, rocks that were deposited in an extensive intracratonic basin. 1 The Upper Devonian synrift sequence probably is as thick as 4?5 kilometers. It is composed of marine carbonate, clastic, and volcanic rocks and two salt formations, of Frasnian and Famennian age, that are deformed into salt domes and plugs. The postrift sag sequence consists of Carboniferous and Lower Permian clastic marine and alluvial deltaic rocks that are as thick as 11 kilometers in the southeastern part of the basin. The Lower Permian interval includes a salt formation that is an important regional seal for oil and gas fields. The basin was affected by strong compression in Artinskian (Early Permian) time, when southeastern basin areas were uplifted and deeply eroded and the Donbas foldbelt was formed. The postrift platform sequence includes Triassic through Tertiary rocks that were deposited in a shallow platform depression that extended far beyond the Dnieper-Donets basin boundaries. A single total petroleum system encompassing the entire sedimentary succession is identified in the Dnieper-Donets basin. Discovered reserves of the system are 1.6 billion barrels of oil and 59 trillion cubic feet of gas. More than one-half of the reserves are in Lower Permian rocks below the salt seal. Most of remaining reserves are in upper Visean-Serpukhovian (Lower Carboniferous) strata. The majority of discovered fields are in salt-cored anticlines or in drapes over Devonian horst blocks; little exploration has been conducted for stratigraphic traps. Synrift Upper Devonian carbonate reservoirs are almost unexplored. Two identified source-rock intervals are the black anoxic shales and carbonates in the lower Visean and Devonian sections. However, additional source rocks possibly are present in the deep central area of the basin. The role of Carboniferous coals as a source rock for gas is uncertain; no coal-related gas has been identified by the limited geochemical studies. The source rocks are in the gas-generation window over most of the basin area; consequently gas dominates over oil in the reserves. Three assessment units were identified in the Dnieper-Donets Paleozoic total petroleum system. The assessment unit that contains all discovered reserves embraces postrift Carboniferous and younger rocks. This unit also contains the largest portion of undiscovered resources, especially gas. Stratigraphic and combination structural and stratigraphic traps probably will be the prime targets for future exploration. The second assessment unit includes poorly known synrift Devonian rocks. Carbonate reef reservoirs along the basin margins probably will contain most of the undiscovered resources. The third assessment unit is an unconventional, continuous, basin-centered gas accumulation in Carboniferous low-permeability clastic rocks. The entire extent of this accumulation is unknown, but it occupies much of the basin area. Resources of this assessment unit were not estimated quantitatively.

  13. Dutrochus, a new microdomatid (Gastropoda) genus from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) of west-central Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Blodgett, R.B.

    1993-01-01

    A new gastropod genus, Dutrochus, is established for members of the family Microdomatidae that are characterized by a reticulate ornament of spiral cords and intersecting, finer collabral threads, with all but one spiral cord being of nearly equal strength, and the single remaining cord being of stronger (nearly twice the order) magnitude and being situated at the periphery. It is represented by the type and only known species, Dutrochus alaskensis n. gen. and sp., from the upper part (lower Eifelian) of the Lower? and Middle Devonian Cheeneetnuk Limestone. The genus is very close and nearly homeomorphic to the Permian microdomatid genus Glyptospira. -from Author

  14. Origins and relationships of colonial Heliophyllum in the upper Middle Devonian (Givetian) of New York

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Oliver, W.A.

    1997-01-01

    Heliophyllum halli Milne-Edwards and Haime is common to abundant in many Lower and Middle Devonian stratigraphic units in New York. Most Heliophyllum are solitary, but both branching and massive colonies are known. Four 'populations' of colonial Heliophyllum in the Givetian part of the sequence are distinct, as is a fifth form that occurs through the section. Each of the colonial forms is interpreted as an independent derivative of solitary forms of H. halli. The relationships appear to range from infrasubspecific to specific, and it is suggested that the complex should be recognized as the Heliophyllum halli species group.

  15. Lower Paleozoic deep-water facies of the Medfra area, central Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1997

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Bradley, Dwight C.; Harris, Anita G.; Repetski, John E.

    1999-01-01

    Deep-water facies, chiefly hemipelagic deposits and turbidites, of Cambrian through Devonian age are widely exposed in the Medfra and Mt. McKinley quadrangles. These strata include the upper part of the Telsitna Formation (Middle-Upper Ordovician) and the Paradise Fork Formation (Lower Silurian-Lower Devonian) in the Nixon Fork terrane, the East Fork Hills Formation (Upper Cambrian-Lower Devonian) in the East Fork subterrane of the Minchumina terrane, and the chert and argillite unit (Ordovician) and the argillite and quartzite unit (Silurian- Devonian? and possibly older) in the Telida subterrane of the Minchumina terrane.In the western part of the study area (Medfra quadrangle), both hemipelagic deposits and turbidites are largely calcareous and were derived from the Nixon Fork carbonate platform. East- ern exposures (Mt. McKinley quadrangle; eastern part of the Telida subterrane) contain much less carbonate; hemipelagic strata are mostly chert, and turbidites contain abundant rounded quartz and lesser plagioclase and potassium feldspar. Deep-water facies in the Medfra quadrangle correlate well with rocks of the Dillinger terrane exposed to the south (McGrath quadrangle), but coeval strata in the Mt. McKinley quadrangle are compositionally similar to rocks to the northeast (Livengood quadrangle). Petrographic data thus suggest that the Telida subterranes presently defined is an artificial construct made up of two distinct sequences of disparate provenance.Restoration of 90 and 150 km of dextral strike-slip on the Iditarod and Farewell faults, respectively, aligns the deep-water strata of the Minchumina and Dillinger terranes in a position east of the Nixon Fork carbonate platform. This restoration supports the interpretation that lower Paleozoic rocks in the Nixon Fork and Dillinger terranes, and in the western part of the Minchumina terrane (East Fork subterrane and western part of the Telida subterrane), formed along a single continental margin. Rocks in the eastern part of the Telida subterrane are compositionally distinct from those to the west and may have had a different origin and history.

  16. Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Coleman, James L.; Milici, Robert C.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Kirshbaum, Mark; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

    2011-01-01

    Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a mean undiscovered natural gas resource of 84,198 billion cubic feet and a mean undiscovered natural gas liquids resource of 3,379 million barrels in the Devonian Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin Province. All this resource occurs in continuous accumulations. In 2011, the USGS completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Devonian Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin Province of the eastern United States. The Appalachian Basin Province includes parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The assessment of the Marcellus Shale is based on the geologic elements of this formation's total petroleum system (TPS) as recognized in the characteristics of the TPS as a petroleum source rock (source rock richness, thermal maturation, petroleum generation, and migration) as well as a reservoir rock (stratigraphic position and content and petrophysical properties). Together, these components confirm the Marcellus Shale as a continuous petroleum accumulation. Using the geologic framework, the USGS defined one TPS and three assessment units (AUs) within this TPS and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered oil and gas resources within the three AUs. For the purposes of this assessment, the Marcellus Shale is considered to be that Middle Devonian interval that consists primarily of shale and lesser amounts of bentonite, limestone, and siltstone occurring between the underlying Middle Devonian Onondaga Limestone (or its stratigraphic equivalents, the Needmore Shale and Huntersville Chert) and the overlying Middle Devonian Mahantango Formation (or its stratigraphic equivalents, the upper Millboro Shale and middle Hamilton Group).

  17. The carpenter fork bed, a new - and older - Black-shale unit at the base of the New Albany shale in central Kentucky: Characterization and significance

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Barnett, S.F.; Ettensohn, F.R.; Norby, R.D.

    1996-01-01

    Black shales previously interpreted to be Late Devonian cave-fill or slide deposits are shown to be much older Middle Devonian black shales only preserved locally in Middle Devonian grabens and structural lows in central Kentucky. This newly recognized - and older -black-shale unit occurs at the base of the New Albany Shale and is named the Carpenter Fork Bed of the Portwood Member of the New Albany Shale after its only known exposure on Carpenter Fork in Boyle County, central Kentucky; two other occurrences are known from core holes in east-central Kentucky. Based on stratigraphic position and conodont biostratigraphy, the unit is Middle Devonian (Givetian: probably Middle to Upper P. varcus Zone) in age and occurs at a position represented by an unconformity atop the Middle Devonian Boyle Dolostone and its equivalents elsewhere on the outcrop belt. Based on its presence as isolated clasts in the overlying Duffin Bed of the Portwood Member, the former distribution of the unit was probably much more widespread - perhaps occurring throughout western parts of the Rome trough. Carpenter Fork black shales apparently represent an episode of subsidence or sea-level rise coincident with inception of the third tectophase of the Acadian orogeny. Deposition, however, was soon interrupted by reactivation of several fault zones in central Kentucky, perhaps in response to bulge migration accompanying start of the tectophase. As a result, much of central Kentucky was uplifted and tilted, and the Carpenter Fork Bed was largely eroded from the top of the Boyle, except in a few structural lows like the Carpenter Fork graben where a nearly complete record of Middle to early Late Devonian deposition is preserved.

  18. Geochemistry, palynology, and regional geology of worldclass Upper Devonian source rocks in the Madre de Dios basin, Bolivia

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peters, K.E.; Conrad, K.T.; Carpenter, D.G.

    Recent exploration drilling indicates the existence of world-class source rock in the Madre de Dios basin, Bolivia. In the Pando-1 X and -2X wells, over 200 m of poorly bioturbated, organic-rich (TOC = 3-16 wt.%) prodelta to shelf mudstones in the Frasnian-Famennian Tomachi Formation contain oil-prone organic matter (hydrogen index = 400-600 mg HC/g TOC). Our calculated source prolificity indices for this interval in these wells (SPI = 15-18 tons of hydrocarbons per square meter of source rock) exceed that for the Upper Jurassic in Central Saudi Arabia. The Tomachi interval is lithologically equivalent to the Colpacucho Formation in themore » northern Altiplano, the Iquiri Formation in the Cordillera Oriental, and is coeval with other excellent source rocks in North America, Africa, and Eurasia. All of these rocks were deposited under conditions favorable for accumulation of organic matter, including a global highstand and high productivity. However, the Madre de Dios basin was situated at high latitude during the Late Devonian and some of the deposits are interpreted to be of glacial origin, indicating conditions not generally associated with organic-rich deposition. A biomarker and palynological study of Upper Devonian rocks in the Pando-1X well suggests deposition under conditions similar to certain modern fjords. High productivity resulted in preservation of abundant organic matter in the bottom sediments despite a cold, toxic water column. Low-sulfur crude oil produced from the Pando-1X well is geochemically similar to, but more mature than, extracts from associated organic-rich Tomachi samples, and was generated from deeper equivalents of these rocks.« less

  19. Geochronology, stratigraphy and geochemistry of Cambro-Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian volcanic rocks of the Saxothuringian Zone in NE Bavaria (Germany)—new constraints for Gondwana break up and ocean-island magmatism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Höhn, Stefan; Koglin, Nikola; Klopf, Lisa; Schüssler, Ulrich; Tragelehn, Harald; Frimmel, Hartwig E.; Zeh, Armin; Brätz, Helene

    2018-01-01

    Stratigraphically well-defined volcanic rocks in Palaeozoic volcano-sedimentary units of the Frankenwald area (Saxothuringian Zone, Variscan Orogen) were sampled for geochemical characterisation and U-Pb zircon dating. The oldest rock suite comprises quartz keratophyre, brecciated keratophyre, quartz keratophyre tuff and basalt, formed in Upper Cambrian to Tremadocian time (c. 497-478 Ma). Basaltic volcanism continued until the Silurian. Quartz keratophyre shows post-collisional calc-alkaline signature, the Ordovician-Silurian basalt has alkaline signature typical of continental rift environments. The combined datasets provide evidence of Cambro-Ordovician bimodal volcanism and successive rifting until the Silurian. This evolution very likely resulted from break-up of the northern Gondwana margin, as recorded in many terranes throughout Europe. The position at the northern Gondwana margin is supported by detrital zircon grains in some tuffs, with typical Gondwana-derived age spectra mostly recording ages of 550-750 Ma and minor age populations of 950-1100 and 1700-2700 Ma. The absence of N-MORB basalt in the Frankenwald area points to a retarded break-off of the Saxothuringian terrane along a continental rift system from Uppermost Cambrian to Middle Silurian time. Geochemical data for a second suite of Upper Devonian basalt provide evidence of emplacement in a hot spot-related ocean-island setting south of the Rheic Ocean. Our results also require partial revision of the lithostratigraphy of the Frankenwald area. The basal volcanic unit of the Randschiefer Formation yielded a Tremadocian age and, therefore, should be attributed to the Vogtendorf Formation. Keratophyre of the Vogtendorf Formation, previously assigned to the Tremadoc, is most likely of Upper Devonian age.

  20. Provenance and petrofacies, Upper Devonian sandstones, Philip Smith Mountains and Arctic quandrangles, Brooks Range, Alaska: Final report, Project No. 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, A.V.; Coney, P.J.

    1987-11-01

    Late Devonian sandstone beds are exposed as allochthonous sequences that extend for over 1000 km along the east-west strike of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. These horizons, at least in part, record Late Devonian tectonism and deposition along the southern margin of the Arctic Alaska block. This study identifies clastic petrofacies in the western Philip Smith Mountains and southern Arctic quadrangles and infers the composition of the source terrane. The paleogeography is not known and the original distribution of lithofacies is uncertain, owing to the extensive post-depositional tectonism. In the study area the sandstones are exposed along rugged mountainmore » tops and high ridges. Although exposures are excellent, access is often difficult. Samples were collected from exposures near the western end of the Chandalar Shelf, Atigun Pass, and the Atigun River valley in the Philip Smith Mountains quadrangle and from the Crow Nest Creek and Ottertail Creek areas in the Arctic quadrangle. 34 refs., 17 figs.« less

  1. A new reconstruction of the Paleozoic continental margin of southwestern North America: Implications for the nature and timing of continental truncation and the possible role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stevens, C.H.; Stone, P.; Miller, J.S.

    2005-01-01

    Data bearing on interpretations of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic paleogeography of southwestern North America are important for testing the hypothesis that the Paleozoic miogeocline in this region has been tectonically truncated, and if so, for ascertaining the time of the event and the possible role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear. Here, we present an analysis of existing and new data permitting reconstruction of the Paleozoic continental margin of southwestern North America. Significant new and recent information incorporated into this reconstruction includes (1) spatial distribution of Middle to Upper Devonian continental-margin facies belts, (2) positions of other paleogeographically significant sedimentary boundaries on the Paleozoic continental shelf, (3) distribution of Upper Permian through Upper Triassic plutonic rocks, and (4) evidence that the southern Sierra Nevada and western Mojave Desert are underlain by continental crust. After restoring the geology of western Nevada and California along known and inferred strike-slip faults, we find that the Devonian facies belts and pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary boundaries define an arcuate, generally south-trending continental margin that appears to be truncated on the southwest. A Pennsylvanian basin, a Permian coral belt, and a belt of Upper Permian to Upper Triassic plutons stretching from Sonora, Mexico, into westernmost central Nevada, cut across the older facies belts, suggesting that truncation of the continental margin occurred in the Pennsylvanian. We postulate that the main truncating structure was a left-lateral transform fault zone that extended from the Mojave-Sonora megashear in northwestern Mexico to the Foothills Suture in California. The Caborca block of northwestern Mexico, where Devonian facies belts and pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary boundaries like those in California have been identified, is interpreted to represent a missing fragment of the continental margin that underwent ???400 km of left-lateral displacement along this fault zone. If this model is correct, the Mojave-Sonora megashear played a direct role in the Pennsylvanian truncation of the continental margin, and any younger displacement on this fault has been relatively small. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

  2. A resource evaluation of the Bakken Formation (Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian) continuous oil accumulation, Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schmoker, J.W.

    1996-01-01

    The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the United States portion of the Williston Basin is both the source and the reservoir for a continuous oil accumulation - in effect a single very large field - underlying approximately 17,800 mi2 (46,100 km2) of North Dakota and Montana. Within this area, the Bakken Formation continuous oil accumulation is not significantly influenced by the water column and cannot be analyzed in terms of conventional, discrete fields. Rather, the continuous accumulation can be envisioned as a collection of oil-charged cells, virtually all of which are capable of producing some oil, but which vary significantly in their production characteristics. Better wellperformance statistics are linked regionally to higher levels of thermal maturity and to lower levels of reservoir heterogeneity. Although portions of the Bakken Formation continuous oil accumulation have reached a mature stage of development, the accumulation as a whole is far from depleted.

  3. The Timan-Pechora Basin province of northwest Arctic Russia; Domanik, Paleozoic total petroleum system

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lindquist, Sandra J.

    1999-01-01

    The Domanik-Paleozoic oil-prone total petroleum system covers most of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province of northwestern Arctic Russia. It contains nearly 20 BBOE ultimate recoverable reserves (66% oil). West of the province is the early Precambrian Eastern European craton margin. The province itself was the site of periodic Paleozoic tectonic events, culminating with the Hercynian Uralian orogeny along its eastern border. The stratigraphic record is dominated by Paleozoic platform and shelf-edge carbonates succeeded by Upper Permian to Triassic molasse siliciclastics that are locally present in depressions. Upper Devonian (Frasnian), deep marine shale and limestone source rocks ? with typically 5 wt % total organic carbon ? by middle Mesozoic time had generated hydrocarbons that migrated into reservoirs ranging in age from Ordovician to Triassic but most focused in Devonian and Permian rocks. Carboniferous structural inversions of old aulacogen borders, and Hercynian (Permian) to Early Cimmerian (Late Triassic to Early Jurassic) orogenic compression not only impacted depositional patterns, but also created and subsequently modified numerous structural traps within the province.

  4. Late Devonian conodonts and event stratigraphy in northwestern Algerian Sahara

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahboubi, Abdessamed; Gatovsky, Yury

    2015-01-01

    Conodonts recovered from the Late Devonian South Marhouma section comprise 5 genera with 31 species (3 undetermined). The fauna establishes the presence of MN Zones 5, undifferentiated 6/7, 8/10 for the Middle Frasnian, the MN Zones 11, 12, 13 for the Upper Frasnian as well as the Early through Late triangularis Zones in the basal Famennian. The outcropping lithological succession is one of mostly nodular calcilutites alternating with numerous marly and shaly deposits, which, in the lower and upper part, comprise several dysoxic dark shale intervals. Among these the Upper Kellwasser horizon can be precisely dated and as such the presence of the terminal Frasnian Kellwasser Event is recognized for the first time in Algeria. Both the Middlesex and Rhinestreet Events cannot yet be precisely located, but supposedly occur among the dark shale horizons in the lower part of the section. However, their assignment to a precise level has so far not been established. Though poor in conodont abundance the South Marhouma section provides first evidence of the presence of several Montagne Noire conodont zones within the so far widely unstudied Frasnian of the Ougarta Chain. As such it is considered representative for the northwestern Algerian Saoura region.

  5. Geology of Paleozoic Rocks in the Upper Colorado River Basin in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, Excluding the San Juan Basin

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Geldon, Arthur L.

    2003-01-01

    The geology of the Paleozoic rocks in the Upper Colorado River Basin in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, was studied as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program to provide support for hydrogeological interpretations. The study area is segmented by numerous uplifts and basins caused by folding and faulting that have recurred repeatedly from Precambrian to Cenozoic time. Paleozoic rocks in the study area are 0-18,000 feet thick. They are underlain by Precambrian igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks and are overlain in most of the area by Triassic formations composed mostly of shale. The overlying Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks are 0-27,000 feet thick. All Paleozoic systems except the Silurian are represented in the region. The Paleozoic rocks are divisible into 11 hydrogeologic units. The basal hydrogeologic unit consisting of Paleozoic rocks, the Flathead aquifer, predominantly is composed of Lower to Upper Cambrian sandstone and quartzite. The aquifer is 0-800 feet thick and is overlain gradationally to unconformably by formations of Cambrian to Mississippian age. The Gros Ventre confining unit consists of Middle to Upper Cambrian shale with subordinate carbonate rocks and sandstone. The confining unit is 0-1,100 feet thick and is overlain gradationally to unconformably by formations of Cambrian to Mississippian age. The Bighom aquifer consists of Middle Cambrian to Upper Ordovician limestone and dolomite with subordinate shale and sandstone. The aquifer is 0-3,000 feet thick and is overlain unconformably by Devonian and Mississipplan rocks. The Elbert-Parting confining unit consists of Lower Devonian to Lower Mississippian limestone, dolomite, sandstone, quartzite, shale, and anhydrite. It is 0-700 feet thick and is overlain conformably to unconformably by Upper Devonian and Mississippian rocks. The Madison aquifer consists of two zones of distinctly different lithology. The lower (Redwall-Leadville) zone is 0-2,500 feet thick and is composed almost entirely of Upper Devonian to Upper Mississippian limestone, dolomite, and chert. The overlying (Darwin-Humbug) zone is 0-800 feet thick and consists of Upper Mississippian limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale, gypsum, and solution breccia. The Madison aquifer is overlain conformably by Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks. The Madison aquifer in most areas is overlain by Upper Mississippian to Middle Pennsylvanian rocks of the Four Comers confining unit. The lower part of this confining unit, the Belden-Molas subunit, consists of as much as 4,300 feet of shale with subordinate carbonate rocks, sandstone, and minor gypsum. The upper part of the confining unit, the Paradox-Eagle Valley subunit, in most places consists of as much as 9,700 feet of interbedded limestone, dolomite, shale, sandstone, gypsum, anhydrite, and halite. Locally, the evaporitic rocks are deformed into diapirs as much as 15,000 feet thick. The Four Corners confining unit is overlain gradationally to disconformably by Pennsylvanian rocks. The uppermost Paleozoic rocks comprise the Canyonlands aquifer, which is composed of three zones with distinctly different lithologies. The basal (Cutler-Maroon) zone consists of as much as 16,500 feet of Lower Pennsylvanian to Lower Permian sandstone, conglomerate, shale, limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. The middle (Weber-De Chelly) zone consists of as much as 4,000 feet of Middle Pennsylvanian to Lower Permian quartz sandstone with minor carbonate rocks and shale. The upper (Park City-State Bridge) zone consists of as much as 800 feet of Lower to Upper Permian limestone, dolomite, shale, sandstone, phosphorite, chert, and gypsum. The Canyonlands aquifer is overlain disconformably to unconformably by formations of Triassic and Jurassic age.

  6. Sequence stratigraphy and a revised sea-level curve for the Middle Devonian of eastern North America

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brett, Carlton E.; Baird, G.C.; Bartholomew, A.J.; DeSantis, M.K.; Ver Straeten, C.A.

    2011-01-01

    The well-exposed Middle Devonian rocks of the Appalachian foreland basin (Onondaga Formation; Hamilton Group, Tully Formation, and the Genesee Group of New York State) preserve one of the most detailed records of high-order sea-level oscillation cycles for this time period in the world. Detailed examination of coeval units in distal areas of the Appalachian Basin, as well as portions of the Michigan and Illinois basins, has revealed that the pattern of high-order sea-level oscillations documented in the New York-Pennsylvania section can be positively identified in all areas of eastern North America where coeval units are preserved. The persistence of the pattern of high-order sea-level cycles across such a wide geographic area suggests that these cycles are allocyclic in nature with primary control on deposition being eustatic sea-level oscillation, as opposed to autocylic controls, such as sediment supply, which would be more local in their manifestation. There is strong evidence from studies of cyclicity and spectral analysis that these cycles are also related to Milankovitch orbital variations, with the short and long-term eccentricity cycles (100. kyr and 405. kyr) being the dominant oscillations in many settings. Relative sea-level oscillations of tens of meters are likely and raise considerable issues about the driving mechanism, given that the Middle Devonian appears to record a greenhouse phase of Phanerozoic history. These new correlations lend strong support to a revised high-resolution sea-level oscillation curve for the Middle Devonian for the eastern portion of North America. Recognized third-order sequences are: Eif-1 lower Onondaga Formation, Eif-2: upper Onondaga and Union Springs formations; Eif-Giv: Oatka Creek Formation; Giv-1: Skaneateles, Giv-2: Ludlowville, Giv-3: lower Moscow, Giv-4: upper Moscow-lower Tully, and Giv-5: middle Tully-Geneseo formations. Thus, in contrast with the widely cited eustatic curve of Johnson et al. (1985), which recognizes just one major transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycle in the early-mid Givetian (If) prior to the major late Givetian Taghanic unconformity (IIa, upper Tully-Geneseo Shale), we recognize four T-R cycles: If (restricted), Ig, Ih, and Ii. We surmise that third-order sequences record eustatic sea-level fluctuations of tens of meters with periodicities of 0.8-2. myr, while their medial-scale (fourth-order) subdivisions record lesser variations primarily of 405. kyr duration (long-term eccentricity). This high-resolution record of sea-level change provides strong evidence for high-order eustatic cycles with probable Milankovitch periodicities, despite the fact that no direct evidence for Middle Devonian glacial sediments has been found to date. ?? 2010.

  7. Late Devonian Anoxia Events in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: a Global Phenomenon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carmichael, S. K.; Waters, J. A.; Suttner, T. J.; Kido, E.; DeReuil, A. A.; Moore, L. M.; Batchelor, C. J.

    2013-12-01

    Atmospheric CO2 values decreased dramatically during the Middle Devonian due to the rapid rise of land plants. These changing environmental conditions resulted in widespread anoxia and extinction events throughout the Late Devonian, including the critical Kellwasser and Hangenberg anoxia events, which are associated with major mass extinctions at both the beginning and end of the Famennian Stage of the Late Devonian. Fammenian sediments in northwestern Xinjiang Province, China, represent a highly fossiliferous shallow marine setting associated with a Devonian oceanic island arc complex. Analysis of multiple geochemical proxies (such as U/Th, Ba, normalized P2O5, V/Cr, Zr), magnetic susceptibility, and mineralogical data (biogenic apatite and pyrite framboids) indicates that these Famennian sequences record not only the Upper Kellwasser Anoxic Event at the Frasnian/Famennian (F/F) boundary but also the rebound from the F/F extinction event. Preliminary evidence suggests that the Hangenberg Anoxic Event can also be recognized in the same sequence, although our biostratigraphic control is less precise. Previous studies of the Kellwasser and Hangenberg Events have been performed on continental shelf environments of Laurussia, Gondwana, Siberia, and South China. The Devonian formations of northwest Xinjiang in this study, however, are part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), which is thought to have formed as part of a complex amalgamation of intra-oceanic island arcs and continental fragments prior to the end of the latest Carboniferous. These results allow us to confirm the presence of the Kellwasser and Hangenberg Events in the open oceanic part of Paleotethys, indicating that both events were global in scope. The presence of an abundant diverse Famennian fauna between these anoxia/extinction events suggests that the shallow marine ecosystems in the CAOB were somewhat protected due to their tectonic location and relative isolation within an open ocean system. Our new data puts the Late Devonian anoxic events recognized in the CAOB into a global rather than regional context, and helps constrain the nature of ocean anoxia during this period by analysis of locations outside subequatorial North America and Europe.

  8. Paracontinuous boundaries within the Devonian Columbus Limestone and Delaware Formation of central Ohio

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Conkin, J.E.; Conkin, B.M.

    1994-04-01

    Internal units within the Columbus Limestone (Early Devonian Emsian [Schoharie] to Middle Devonian Eifelian [late Onesquethawan]) and the Delaware Formation (Middle Devonian early Givetian [Cazenovian]) of central Ohio are separated by disconformities of the magnitude of paracontinuities. Stauffer (1909) divided the Columbus Limestone into zones A--H and the Delaware Formation into zones I--M. Within the Columbus, the A Zone (conglomerate at the base of Bellepoint Member) disconformably overlies Late Silurian beds. The D zone at top of the Bellepoint Member (bearing the Kawkawlin Metabentonite horizon) is overlain paracontinuously by the Marblehead Member (Lower Paraspirifer acuminatus-Spirifer macrothyris to Brevispirifer gregarius-Moellerina greeneimore » zones [= E--G zones]), with the Onondagan Indian Nation Metabentonite in the top of the G Zone. The Marblehead Member is overlain paracontinuously by a bone bed at base of the Venice Member (H zone = Upper Paraspirifer acuminatus- Spirifer duodenarius'' Zone). I Zone (Dublin Shale=Marcellus) of the Delaware Formation overlies the Columbus and has two bone beds at its base; Tioga Metabentonite (restricted) overlies the I Zone bone beds and is a few tenths to 1.85 feet above the base of the I Zone. Paracontinuities and bone beds occur at the bases of J, K, and L zones. Conkin and Conkin (1975) have shown Stauffer's (1909) M Zone is an extension of his L Zone. The Olentangy paracontinuously overlies the L Zone.« less

  9. First Record of Soft Tissue Preservation in the Upper Devonian of Poland

    PubMed Central

    Zatoń, Michał; Broda, Krzysztof

    2015-01-01

    Soft tissue preservation is reported from Upper Devonian deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains, central Poland, for the first time. The preserved soft tissues are muscles associated with arthropod cuticle fragments. The muscles are phosphatized with variable states of preservation. Well-preserved specimens display the typical banding of striated muscles. Other muscle fragments are highly degraded and/or recrystallized such that their microstructure is barely visible. The phosphatized muscles and associated cuticle are fragmented, occur in patches and some are scattered on the bedding plane. Due to the state of preservation and the lack of diagnostic features, the cuticle identification is problematic; however, it may have belonged to a phyllocarid crustacean. Taphonomic features of the remains indicate that they do not represent fossilized fecal matter (coprolite) but may represent a regurgitate, but the hypothesis is difficult to test. Most probably they represent the leftover remains after arthropod or fish scavenging. The present study shows that soft tissues, which even earlier were manipulated by scavenger, may be preserved if only special microenvironmental conditions within and around the animal remains are established. PMID:26559060

  10. First Record of Soft Tissue Preservation in the Upper Devonian of Poland.

    PubMed

    Zatoń, Michał; Broda, Krzysztof

    2015-01-01

    Soft tissue preservation is reported from Upper Devonian deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains, central Poland, for the first time. The preserved soft tissues are muscles associated with arthropod cuticle fragments. The muscles are phosphatized with variable states of preservation. Well-preserved specimens display the typical banding of striated muscles. Other muscle fragments are highly degraded and/or recrystallized such that their microstructure is barely visible. The phosphatized muscles and associated cuticle are fragmented, occur in patches and some are scattered on the bedding plane. Due to the state of preservation and the lack of diagnostic features, the cuticle identification is problematic; however, it may have belonged to a phyllocarid crustacean. Taphonomic features of the remains indicate that they do not represent fossilized fecal matter (coprolite) but may represent a regurgitate, but the hypothesis is difficult to test. Most probably they represent the leftover remains after arthropod or fish scavenging. The present study shows that soft tissues, which even earlier were manipulated by scavenger, may be preserved if only special microenvironmental conditions within and around the animal remains are established.

  11. Stratigraphy of lower to middle Paleozoic rocks of northern Nevada and the Antler orogeny

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ketner, Keith B.

    2013-01-01

    Commonly accepted concepts concerning the lower Paleozoic stratigraphy of northern Nevada are based on the assumption that the deep-water aspects of Ordovician to Devonian siliceous strata are due to their origin in a distant oceanic environment, and their presence where we find them is due to tectonic emplacement by the Roberts Mountains thrust. The concept adopted here is based on the assumption that their deep-water aspects are the result of sea-level rise in the Cambrian, and all of the Paleozoic strata in northern Nevada are indigenous to that area. The lower part of the Cambrian consists mainly of shallow-water cross-bedded sands derived from the craton. The upper part of the Cambrian, and part of the Ordovician, consists mainly of deep-water carbonate clastics carried by turbidity currents from the carbonate shelf in eastern Nevada, newly constructed as a result of sea-level rise. Ordovician to mid-Devonian strata are relatively deep-water siliceous deposits, which are the western facies assemblage. The basal contact of this assemblage on autochthonous Cambrian rocks is exposed in three mountain ranges and is clearly depositional in all three. The western facies assemblage can be divided into distinct stratigraphic units of regional extent. Many stratigraphic details can be explained simply by known changes in sea level. Upper Devonian to Mississippian strata are locally and westerly derived orogenic clastic beds deposited disconformably on the western facies assemblage. This disconformity, clearly exposed in 10 mountain ranges, indicates regional uplift and erosion of the western facies assemblage and absence of local deformation. The disconformity represents the Antler orogeny.

  12. Tibet-Kashmir, looking northwest, photographed during MA-9 flight

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-16

    S63-06444 (15-16 May 1963) --- Tibet-Kashmir, looking northwest, as photographed from the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) capsule by astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. during his 22-orbit MA-9 spaceflight. Lake Ch'in-Tzu-Hu is at upper right, Lake Yen-K'o-Ling-Ts is at lower left center. The Korakaram Range is at upper center portion of the picture. Photo credit: NASA

  13. Tectonic control of Middle Devonian reef building in the Mechra ben Abbou (northern Rehamna, Morocco)Contrôle tectonique de l'édification des récifs Dévonien moyen de Mechra ben Abbou (Rehamna, Maroc)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El Kamel, Fouad; El Hassani, Ahmed; Mohsine, Assia; Remmal, Toufik

    2000-01-01

    In the carbonated platform of Upper Emsian to Givetian age, the reef edification is previous to, and contemporaneous with, a tilted block tectonic that has favoured the bioconstruction in its upper part. The tectonic expression is illustrated by several instability marks, such as tension faults, progressive unconformity and the resulting landslide, observed in both the reef development zone and the external platform.

  14. Towards a High-resolution Time Scale for the Early Devonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dekkers, M. J.; da Silva, A. C.

    2017-12-01

    High-resolution time scales are crucial to understand Earth's history in detail. The construction of a robust geological time scale, however, inevitably becomes increasingly harder further back in time. Uncertainties associated with anchor radiometric ages increase in size, not speaking of the mere presence of suitable datable strata. However, durations of stages can be tightly constrained by making use of cyclic expressions in sediments, an approach that revolutionized the Cenozoic time scale. When precisely determined durations are stitched together, ultimately, a very precise time scale is the result. For the Mesozoic and Paleozoic an astronomical solution as a tuning target is not available but the dominant periods of eccentricity, obliquity and precession are reasonably well constrained for the entire Phanerozoic which enables their detection by means of spectral analysis. Eccentricity is time-invariant and is used as the prime building block. Here we focus on the Early Devonian, on its lowermost three stages: the Lochkovian, Pragian and Emsian. The uncertainties on the Devonian stage boundaries are currently in the order of several millions of years. The preservation of climatic cycles in diagenetically or even anchimetamorphically affected successions, however, is essential. The fit of spectral peak ratios with those calculated for orbital cycles, is classically used as a strong argument for a preserved climatic signal. Here we use primarily the low field magnetic susceptibility (MS) as proxy parameter, supported by gamma-ray spectrometry to test for consistency. Continuous Wavelet Transform, Evolutive Harmonic Analysis, Multitaper Method, and Average Spectral Misfit are used to reach an optimal astronomical interpretation. We report on classic Early Devonian sections from the Czech Republic: the Pozar-CS (Lochkovian and Pragian), Pod Barrandovem (Pragian and Lower Emsian), and Zlichov (Middle-Upper Emsian). Also a Middle-Upper Emsian section from the US (Road 199 section, Kingston, New York) will be targeted. Strata display Milankovitch cycles to a varying visible degree but spectral analysis of MS with supporting magnetic property tests enables to constrain durations up to an order of magnitude more precise than in the current (2012) Geological Time Scale.

  15. Stable isotope analysis of Dacryoconarid carbonate microfossils: a new tool for Devonian oxygen and carbon isotope stratigraphy.

    PubMed

    Frappier, Amy Benoit; Lindemann, Richard H; Frappier, Brian R

    2015-04-30

    Dacryoconarids are extinct marine zooplankton known from abundant, globally distributed calcite microfossils in the Devonian, but their shell stable isotope composition has not been previously explored. Devonian stable isotope stratigraphy is currently limited to less common invertebrates or bulk rock analyses of uncertain provenance. As with Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera, isotopic analysis of dacryoconarid shells could facilitate higher-resolution, geographically widespread stable isotope records of paleoenvironmental change, including marine hypoxia events, climate changes, and biocrises. We explored the use of Dacryoconarid isotope stratigraphy as a viable method in interpreting paleoenvironments. We applied an established method for determining stable isotope ratios (δ(13) C, δ(18) O values) of small carbonate microfossils to very well-preserved dacryoconarid shells. We analyzed individual calcite shells representing five common genera using a Kiel carbonate device coupled to a MAT 253 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Calcite shell δ(13) C and δ(18) O values were compared by taxonomic group, rock unit, and locality. Single dacryoconarid calcite shells are suitable for stable isotope analysis using a Kiel-IRMS setup. The dacryoconarid shell δ(13) C values (-4.7 to 2.3‰) and δ(18) O values (-10.3 to -4.8‰) were consistent across taxa, independent of shell size or part, but varied systematically through time. Lower fossil δ(18) O values were associated with warmer water temperature and more variable δ(13) C values were associated with major bioevents. Dacryoconarid δ(13) C and δ(18) O values differed from bulk rock carbonate values. Dacryoconarid individual microfossil δ(13) C and δ(18) O values are highly sensitive to paleoenvironmental changes, thus providing a promising avenue for stable isotope chemostratigraphy to better resolve regional to global paleoceanographic changes throughout the upper Silurian to the upper Devonian. Our results warrant further exploration of dacryoconarid stable isotope proxy sensitivity, the isotopic contrast among dacryoconarids, other taxa, and bulk rock, as well as other potential dacryoconarid proxies (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, (87) Sr/(86) Sr, microlaser and ion microprobe isotope techniques, and clumped isotopes) for stratigraphic research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Late Devonian shale deposition based on known and predicted occurrence of Foerstia in Michigan basin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Matthews, R.D.

    The fossil Foerstia (Protosalvinia) marks a time zone within Late Devonian shale sequences in the eastern US. Its recent discovery in Michigan has led to more accurate correlations among the three large eastern basins. Subdivisions of the Devonian-Mississippi shale sequence in Michigan based on gamma-ray correlations reveal an idealized black shale geometry common to other eastern black shales, such as the Sunbury of Michigan and Ohio, the Clegg Creek of Indiana, the Dunkirk of Pennsylvania and New York, and the lower Huron of Ohio and West Virginia. In Michigan, Foerstia occurs at a stratigraphic position postulated to mark a majormore » change in depositional conditions and source areas. This position strengthens the physical and paleontologic evidence for a formal division of the Antrim. Isopach maps of the shale sequence above and below Foerstia show a relatively uniform and continuous black shale deposit (units 1A, 1B, and 1C) below Foerstia. This deposit is unlike the wedge of sediment found above Foerstia, which is composed of a western facies (Ellsworth) and an eastern facies (upper Antrim) that should be combined in a single stratigraphic unit conforming to Forgotson's concept of a format.« less

  17. Affinities and architecture of Devonian trunks of Prototaxites loganii.

    PubMed

    Retallack, G J; Landing, Ed

    2014-01-01

    Devonian fossil logs of Prototaxites loganii have been considered kelp-like aquatic algae, rolled up carpets of liverworts, enormous saprophytic fungal fruiting bodies or giant lichens. Algae and rolled liverwort models cannot explain the proportions and branching described here of a complete fossil of Prototaxites loganii from the Middle Devonian (386 Ma) Bellvale Sandstone on Schunnemunk Mountain, eastern New York. The "Schunnemunk tree" was 8.83 m long and had six branches, each about 1 m long and 9 cm diam, on the upper 1.2 m of the main axis. The coalified outermost layer of the Schunnemunk trunk and branches have isotopic compositions (δ(13)CPDB) of -25.03 ± 0.13‰ and -26.17 ± 0.69‰, respectively. The outermost part of the trunk has poorly preserved invaginations above cortical nests of coccoid cells embraced by much-branched tubular cells. This histology is unlike algae, liverworts or vascular plants and most like lichen with coccoid chlorophyte phycobionts. Prototaxites has been placed within Basidiomycota but lacks clear dikaryan features. Prototaxites and its extinct order Nematophytales may belong within Mucoromycotina or Glomeromycota. © 2014 by The Mycological Society of America.

  18. Diagenesis and evolution of microporosity of Middle-Upper Devonian Kee Scarp reefs, Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada: Petrographic and chemical evidence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Al-Aasm, I.S.; Azmy, K.K.

    The Middle-Upper Devonian Kee Scarp reef complexes of Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada, are oil-producing, stromatoporoid-dominated carbonates. Episodic increases in the rate of sea level rise produced multiple cycles of reef growth that exhibit backstepping characteristics. These carbonates, composed of invariably altered limestones, have original interskeletal, intraskeletal, and intergranular porosity, mostly occluded by nonferroan, dull luminescent cements. Secondary porosity, represented by micropores of various types, developed during diagenesis by aggrading neomorphism and dissolution. The micropores represent the main reservoir porosity in the Kee Scarp limestone. Petrographic, chemical, and isotopic studies of Kee Scarp reef components reveal a complex diagenetic historymore » involving marine fluids modified by increasing water/rock interaction and burial. Neomorphic stabilization of skeletal components caused further depletion in {gamma}{sup 18}O but very little change in {gamma}{sup 13}C, an argument for modification of the original marine fluids with increasing burial. Variations in magnitude of water/rock interaction with depth, facies changes, and porosity modifications probably exerted some control on fractionation and distribution of stable isotopes and trace elements in reef components.« less

  19. Organic metamorphism in the Lower Mississippian-Upper Devonian Bakken shales-II: Soxhlet extraction.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Price, L.C.; Ging, T.; Love, A.; Anders, D.

    1986-01-01

    We report on Soxhlet extraction (and subsequent related analyses) of 39 Lower Mississippian-Upper Devonian Bakken shales from the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin, and analyses of 28 oils from the Basin. Because of the influence of primary petroleum migration, no increase in the relative or absolute concentrations of hydrocarbons or bitumen was observed at the threshold of intense hydrocarbon generation (TIHG), or during mainstage hydrocarbon generation in the Bakken shales. Thus, the maturation indices that have been so useful in delineating the TIHG and mainstage hydrocarbon generation in other studies were of no use in this study, where these events could clearly be identified only by Rock-Eval pyrolysis data. The data of this study demonstrate that primary petroleum migration is a very efficient process. Four distinctive classes of saturated hydrocarbon gas chromatograms from the Bakken shales arose from facies, maturation, and primary migration controls. As a consequence of maturation, the % of saturated hydrocarbons increased in the shale extract at the expense of decreases in the resins and asphaltenes. Measurements involving resins and asphaltenes appear to be excellent maturation indices in the Bakken shales. Two different and distinct organic facies were present in immature Bakken shales. -from Authors

  20. Late Paleozoic SEDEX deposits in South China formed in a carbonate platform at the northern margin of Gondwana

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qiu, Wenhong Johnson; Zhou, Mei-Fu; Liu, Zerui Ray

    2018-05-01

    SEDEX sulfide deposits hosted in black shale and carbonate are common in the South China Block. The Dajiangping pyrite deposit is the largest of these deposits and is made up of stratiform orebodies hosted in black shales. Sandstone interlayered with stratiform orebodies contains detrital zircon grains with the youngest ages of 429 Ma. Pyrite from the orebodies has a Re-Os isochron age of 389 ± 62 Ma, indicative of formation of the hosting strata and syngenetic pyrite ores in the mid-late Devonian. The hosting strata is a transgression sequence in a passive margin and composed of carbonaceous limestone in the lower part and black shales in the upper part. The ore-hosting black shales have high TOC (total organic carbon), Mo, As, Pb, Zn and Cd, indicating an anoxic-euxinic deep basin origin. The high redox proxies, V/(V + Ni) > 0.6 and V/Cr > 1, and the positive correlations of TOC with Mo and V in black shales are also consistent with an anoxic depositional environment. The Dajiangping deposit is located close to the NE-trending Wuchuan-Sihui fault, which was active during the Devonian. The mid-late Devonian mineralization age and the anoxic-euxinic deep basinal condition of this deposit thus imply that the formation of this deposit was causally linked to hydrothermal fluid exhalation in an anoxic fault-bounded basin that developed in a carbonate platform of the South China Block. The regional distribution of many Devonian, stratiform, carbonaceous sediment-hosted sulfide deposits along the NE-trending fault-bounded basins in South China, similar to the Dajiangping deposit, indicates that these deposits formed at a basin developed in the passive margin setting of the South China Block during the Devonian. This environment was caused by the break-up and northward migration of the South China Block from Gandwana.

  1. Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China

    PubMed Central

    Wang, De-Ming; Xu, Hong-He; Xue, Jin-Zhuang; Wang, Qi; Liu, Le

    2015-01-01

    Background and Aims With the exception of angiosperms, the main euphyllophyte lineages (i.e. ferns sensu lato, progymnosperms and gymnosperms) had evolved laminate leaves by the Late Devonian. The evolution of laminate leaves, however, remains unclear for early-diverging ferns, largely represented by fern-like plants. This study presents a novel fern-like taxon with pinnules, which provides new insights into the early evolution of laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. Methods Macrofossil specimens were collected from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Wutong Formation of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, South China. A standard degagement technique was employed to uncover compressed plant portions within the rock matrix. Key Results A new fern-like taxon, Shougangia bella gen. et sp. nov., is described and represents an early-diverging fern with highly derived features. It has a partially creeping stem with adventitious roots only on one side, upright primary and secondary branches arranged in helices, tertiary branches borne alternately or (sub)oppositely, laminate and usually lobed leaves with divergent veins, and complex fertile organs terminating tertiary branches and possessing multiple divisions and numerous terminal sporangia. Conclusions Shougangia bella provides unequivocal fossil evidence for laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. It suggests that fern-like plants, along with other euphyllophyte lineages, had independently evolved megaphylls by the Late Devonian, possibly in response to a significant decline in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Among fern-like plants, planate ultimate appendages are homologous with laminate pinnules, and in the evolution of megaphylls, fertile organs tend to become complex. PMID:25979918

  2. Bimodal Silurian and Lower Devonian volcanic rock assemblages in the Machias-Eastport area, Maine

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gates, Olcott; Moench, R.H.

    1981-01-01

    Exposed in the Machias-Eastport area of southeastern Maine is the thickest (at least 8,000 m), best exposed, best dated, and most nearly complete succession of Silurian and Lower Devonian volcanic strata in the coastal volcanic belt, remnants of which crop out along the coasts of southern New Brunswick, Canada, and southeastern New England in the United States. The volcanics were erupted through the 600-700-million-year-old Avalonian sialic basement. To test the possibility that this volcanic belt was a magmatic arc above a subduction zone prior to presumed Acadian continental collision, samples representing the entire section in the Machias-Eastport area of Maine were chemically analyzed. Three strongly bimodal assemblages of volcanic rocks and associated intrusives are recognized, herein called the Silurian, older Devonian, and younger Devonian assemblages. The Silurian assemblage contains typically nonporphyritic high-alumina tholeiitic basalts, basaltic andesites, and diabase of continental characterand calc-alkalic rhyolites, silicic dacites, and one known dike of andesite. These rocks are associated with fossiliferous, predominantly marine strata of the Quoddy, Dennys, and Edmunds Formations, and the Leighton Formation of the Pembroke Group (the stratigraphic rank of both is revised herein for the Machias-Eastport area), all of Silurian age. The shallow marine Hersey Formation (stratigraphic rank also revised herein) of the Pembroke Group, of latest Silurian age (and possibly earliest Devonian, as suggested by an ostracode fauna), contains no known volcanics; and it evidently was deposited during a volcanic hiatus that immediately preceded emergence of the coastal volcanic belt and the eruption of the older Devonian assemblage. The older Devonian assemblage, in the lagoonal to subaerial Lower Devonian Eastport Formation, contains tholeiitic basalts and basaltic andesites, typically with abundant plagioclase phenocrysts and typically richer in iron and titanium and poorer in magnesium and nickel than the Silurian basalts; and the Eastport Formation has rhyolites and silicic dacites that have higher average SiO2 and K2O contents and higher ratios of FeO* to MgO than the Silurian ones. The younger Devonian assemblage is represented by one sample of basalt from a flow in red beds of the post-Acadian Upper Devonian Perry Formation, and by three samples from pre-Acadian diabases that intrude the Leighton and Hersey Formations. These rocks are even richer in titanium and iron and poorer in magnesium and nickel than the older Devonian basalts. Post-Acadian granitic plutons exposed along the coastal belt for which analyses are available are tentatively included in the younger Devonian assemblage. The most conspicuous features of the coastal volcanics and associated intrusives are the preponderance of rocks of basaltic composition ( < 52 percent SiO2 ) in the Silurian assemblage, and the near absence in all assemblages of intermediate rocks having 57-67 percent SiO2 (calculated without volatiles). All the rocks are variably altered spilites and keratophyres. The basaltic types are adequately defined, however, by eight samples of least altered basalts having calcic plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and 0.5 percent or less CO2 , The more altered basalts are variably enriched or depleted in Na2O, K2O, and CaO relative to the least altered ones. In the silicic rocks no primary ferromagnesian minerals are preserved. The Na2O and K2O contents of the silicic rocks are erratic; they are approximately reciprocal, possibly owing to alkali exchange while the rocks were still glassy. We propose that the coastal volcanic belt extended along an axis of thermal swelling in the Earth's mantle and upward intrusion of partially melted mantle into the sialic Avalonian crust. These processes were accompanied by shoaling and emergence of the belt, and they produced the bimodal volcanism. Tholeiitic basaltic melts segregated from mantle material

  3. The Cannery Formation--Devonian to Early Permian arc-marginal deposits within the Alexander Terrane, Southeastern Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Karl, Susan M.; Layer, Paul W.; Harris, Anita G.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Murchey, Benita L.

    2011-01-01

    The Cannery Formation consists of green, red, and gray ribbon chert, siliceous siltstone, graywacke-chert turbidites, and volcaniclastic sandstone. Because it contains early Permian fossils at and near its type area in Cannery Cove, on Admiralty Island in southeastern Alaska, the formation was originally defined as a Permian stratigraphic unit. Similar rocks exposed in Windfall Harbor on Admiralty Island contain early Permian bryozoans and brachiopods, as well as Mississippian through Permian radiolarians. Black and green bedded chert with subordinate lenses of limestone, basalt, and graywacke near Kake on Kupreanof Island was initially correlated with the Cannery Formation on the basis of similar lithology but was later determined to contain Late Devonian conodonts. Permian conglomerate in Keku Strait contains chert cobbles inferred to be derived from the Cannery Formation that yielded Devonian and Mississippian radiolarians. On the basis of fossils recovered from a limestone lens near Kake and chert cobbles in the Keku Strait area, the age of the Cannery Formation was revised to Devonian and Mississippian, but this revision excludes rocks in the type locality, in addition to excluding bedded chert on Kupreanof Island east of Kake that contains radiolarians of Late Pennsylvanian and early Permian age. The black chert near Kake that yielded Late Devonian conodonts is nearly contemporaneous with black chert interbedded with limestone that also contains Late Devonian conodonts in the Saginaw Bay Formation on Kuiu Island. The chert cobbles in the conglomerate in Keku Strait may be derived from either the Cannery Formation or the Saginaw Bay Formation and need not restrict the age of the Cannery Formation, regardless of their source. The minimum age of the Cannery Formation on both Admiralty Island and Kupreanof Island is constrained by the stratigraphically overlying fossiliferous Pybus Formation, of late early and early late Permian age. Because bedded radiolarian cherts on both Admiralty and Kupreanof Islands contain radiolarians as young as Permian, the age of the Cannery Formation is herein extended to Late Devonian through early Permian, to include the early Permian rocks exposed in its type locality. The Cannery Formation is folded and faulted, and its stratigraphic thickness is unknown but inferred to be several hundred meters. The Cannery Formation represents an extended period of marine deposition in moderately deep water, with slow rates of deposition and limited clastic input during Devonian through Pennsylvanian time and increasing argillaceous, volcaniclastic, and bioclastic input during the Permian. The Cannery Formation comprises upper Paleozoic rocks in the Alexander terrane of southeastern Alaska. In the pre-Permian upper Paleozoic, the tectonic setting of the Alexander terrane consisted of two or more evolved oceanic arcs. The lower Permian section is represented by a distinctive suite of rocks in the Alexander terrane, which includes sedimentary and volcanic rocks containing early Permian fossils, metamorphosed rocks with early Permian cooling ages, and intrusive rocks with early Permian cooling ages, that form discrete northwest-trending belts. After restoration of 180 km of dextral displacement of the Chilkat-Chichagof block on the Chatham Strait Fault, these belts consist, from northeast to southwest, of (1) bedded chert, siliceous argillite, volcaniclastic turbidites, pillow basalt, and limestone of the Cannery Formation and the Porcupine Slate of Gilbert and others (1987); (2) greenschist-facies Paleozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks that have Permian cooling ages; (3) silty limestone and calcareous argillite interbedded with pillow basalt and volcaniclastic rocks of the Halleck Formation and the William Henry Bay area; and (4) intermediate-composition and syenitic plutons. These belts correspond to components of an accretionary complex, contemporary metamorphic rocks, forearc-basin deposits,

  4. U.S. Geological Survey 2013 assessment of undiscovered resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the U.S. Williston Basin Province

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.

    2014-01-01

    The Upper Devonian Three Forks and Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formations comprise a major United States continuous oil resource. Current exploitation of oil is from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Member of the Bakken and upper Three Forks, with ongoing exploration of the lower Three Forks, and the Upper, Lower, and Pronghorn Members of the Bakken Formation. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a mean of 3.65 billion bbl of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resource within the Bakken Formation. The USGS recently reassessed the Bakken Formation, which included an assessment of the underlying Three Forks Formation. The Pronghorn Member of the Bakken Formation, where present, was included as part of the Three Forks assessment due to probable fluid communication between reservoirs. For the Bakken Formation, five continuous and one conventional assessment units (AUs) were defined. These AUs are modified from the 2008 AU boundaries to incorporate expanded geologic and production information. The Three Forks Formation was defined with one continuous and one conventional AU. Within the continuous AUs, optimal regions of hydrocarbon recovery, or “sweet spots,” were delineated and estimated ultimate recoveries were calculated for each continuous AU. Resulting undiscovered, technically recoverable resource estimates were 3.65 billion bbl for the five Bakken continuous oil AUs and 3.73 billion bbl for the Three Forks Continuous Oil AU, generating a total mean resource estimate of 7.38 billion bbl. The two conventional AUs are hypothetical and represent a negligible component of the total estimated resource (8 million barrels of oil).

  5. Cyclostratigraphic calibration of the Famennian stage (Late Devonian, Illinois Basin, USA)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pas, Damien; Hinnov, Linda; Day, James E. (Jed); Kodama, Kenneth; Sinnesael, Matthias; Liu, Wei

    2018-04-01

    The Late Devonian biosphere was affected by two of the most severe biodiversity crises in Earth's history, the Kellwasser and Hangenberg events near the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) and the Devonian-Carboniferous (D-C) boundaries, respectively. Current hypotheses for the causes of the Late Devonian extinctions are focused on climate changes and associated ocean anoxia. Testing these hypotheses has been impeded by a lack of sufficient temporal resolution in paleobiological, tectonic and climate proxy records. While there have been recent advances in astronomical calibration that have improved the accuracy of the Frasnian time scale and part of the Famennian, the time duration of the entire Famennian Stage remains poorly constrained. During the Late Devonian, a complete Late Frasnian-Early Carboniferous succession of deep-shelf deposits accumulated in the epieric sea in Illinois Basin of the central North-American mid-continent. A record of this sequence is captured in three overlapping cores (H-30, Sullivan and H-32). The H-30 core section spans the F-F boundary; the Sullivan section spans almost all of the Famennian and the H-32 section sampled spans the interval of the Upper Famennian and the D-C boundary. To have the best chance of capturing Milankovitch cycles, 2000 rock samples were collected at minimum 5-cm-interval across the entire sequence. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) was measured on each sample and the preservation of climatic information into the MS signal was verified through geochemical analyses and low-temperature magnetic susceptibility acquisition. To estimate the duration of the Famennian Stage, we applied multiple spectral techniques and tuned the MS signal using the highly stable 405 kyr cycle for Sullivan and the obliquity cycle for the H-30 and H-32 cores. Based on the correlation between the cores we constructed a Famennian floating astronomical time scale, which indicates a duration of 13.5 ± 0.5 myr. An uncertainty of 0.5 myr was estimated for the uncertainties arising from the errors in the stratigraphic position of the F-F and D-C boundaries, and the 405 kyr cycle counting. Interpolated from the high-resolution U-Pb radiometric ages available for the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary we recalibrated the Frasnian-Famennian boundary numerical age to 372.4 ± 0.9 Ma.

  6. Reevaluation of the Piermont-Frontenac allochthon in the Upper Connecticut Valley: Restoration of a coherent Boundary Mountains–Bronson Hill stratigraphic sequence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rankin, Douglas W.; Tucker, Robert D.; Amelin, Yuri

    2013-01-01

    The regional extent and mode and time of emplacement of the Piermont-Frontenac allochthon in the Boundary Mountains–Bronson Hill anticlinorium of the Upper Connecticut Valley, New Hampshire–Vermont, are controversial. Moench and coworkers beginning in the 1980s proposed that much of the autochthonous pre–Middle Ordovician section of the anticlinorium was a large allochthon of Silurian to Early Devonian rocks correlated to those near Rangeley, Maine. This ∼200-km-long allochthon was postulated to have been transported westward in the latest Silurian to Early Devonian as a soft-sediment gravity slide on a hypothesized Foster Hill fault. New mapping and U-Pb geochronology do not support this interpretation. The undisputed Rangeley sequence in the Bean Brook slice is different from the disputed sequence in the proposed larger Piermont-Frontenac allochthon, and field evidence for the Foster Hill fault is lacking. At the type locality on Foster Hill, the postulated “fault” is a stratigraphic contact within the Ordovician Ammonoosuc Volcanics. The proposed Foster Hill fault would place the Piermont-Frontenac allochthon over the inverted limb of the Cornish(?) nappe, which includes the Emsian Littleton Formation, thus limiting the alleged submarine slide to post-Emsian time. Mafic dikes of the 419 Ma Comerford Intrusive Complex intrude previously folded strata attributed to the larger Piermont-Frontenac allochthon as well as the autochthonous Albee Formation and Ammonoosuc Volcanics. The Lost Nation pluton intruded and produced hornfels in previously deformed Albee strata. Zircons from an apophysis of the pluton in the hornfels have a thermal ionization mass spectrometry 207Pb/206Pb age of 444.1 ± 2.1 Ma. Tonalite near Bath, New Hampshire, has a zircon sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe 206Pb/238U age of 492.5 ± 7.8 Ma. The tonalite intrudes the Albee Formation, formerly interpreted as the Silurian Perry Mountain Formation of the proposed allochthon. Collectively, these features indicate that the large Piermont-Frontenac allochthon gravity slide of Silurian-Devonian strata, as previously proposed, cannot exist. Allochthonous rocks are restricted to a 25 km2 klippe, the Bean Brook slice, emplaced by hard-rock thrusting in the post-Emsian Devonian. The Albee Formation, the oldest unit in the study area, is older than the Late Cambrian tonalite at Bath. The correlation and apparent continuity along strike to the northeast of the Albee Formation with the Dead River Formation suggest that the Albee Formation, like the Dead River Formation, is of Ganderian affinity and that the Bronson Hill magmatic arc in the Upper Connecticut Valley was built on Ganderian crust. The Dead River Formation is unconformably overlain by Middle and Upper Ordovician volcanic units; the unconformity is attributed to the pre-Arenig Penobscottian orogeny. Some of the pre-Silurian deformation in the Upper Connecticut Valley may be Penobscottian rather than Taconian. New stratigraphic units defined herein include the pelitic Scarritt Member of the Albee Formation, the Ordovician Washburn Brook Formation consisting of synsedimentary breccia and coticule, chert, and ironstone, and the Devonian–Silurian Sawyer Mountain Formation, probably correlative with the Frontenac Formation. The Partridge Formation is partially coeval with the Ammonoosuc Volcanics.

  7. On the fossil faunas of the Upper Devonian: The Genesee section, New York

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Williams, Henry Shaler

    1887-01-01

    I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication as a bulletin a second contribution to the study of Devonian paleontology, Bulletin No. 3, "On the Fossil Faunas of the Upper Devonian," having been designed as the first of a series of papers on the comparative paleontology of the Devonian and Carboniferous.In that paper I gave the results of a study of the section along the meridian of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake, running southward, which may be called the Cayuga section.In 1883 examination was made south along the meridian running through Genesee County, New York, into McKean County, Pennsylvania, where the Alton coal beds were reached. The general results of this survey were communicated to the Director of the United States Geological Survey and an abstract of my communication was published in Science, Vol. II, pp. 836, 837, December 28, 1883. The present paper is a detailed report of the study of the materials of this Genesee section.Since the field work was done several additional sections have been examined: in 1884, sections through Western New York (and adjoining Pennsylvania) from Chautauqua County westward and into Ohio as far as the meridian of Cleveland; and in 1885 the region between the Cayuga section and those of Delaware and Otsego Counties, as far as Oneonta, were examined. The materials are under investigation and will be reported upon as soon as their study is completed.The sections are made along meridians, in order to make them more readily and simply comparable. Each long meridional section runs through the same stratigraphical series of deposits and is made up of a series of small local sections, such as the individual outcrop of the rocks renders possible.It is not supposed that in any case these sections are exhaustive, but it is intended that so far as they go the relative position of the faunas in the sections shall be precise and the association of species in each horizon shall be given as it is, so that the faunas can be identified, and thus, while they will leave much to be added, these studies, it is hoped, will give an outline of the geographical distribution and geological range of faunas and their species which will make a comparative study of the faunas possible.Respectfully yours, HENRY S. WILLIAMS.

  8. The potential source of lead in the Permian Kupferschiefer bed of Europe and some selected Paleozoic mineral deposits in the Federal Republic of Germany

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wedepohl, K.H.; Delevaux, M.H.; Doe, B.R.

    1978-01-01

    New lead isotopic compositions have been measured for Paleozoic bedded and vein ore deposits of Europe by the high precision thermal emission (triple filament) technique. Eleven samples have been analyzed from the Upper Permian Kupferschiefer bed with representatives from Poland to England, three samples from the Middle Devonian Rammelsberg deposit and one from the Middle Devonian Meggen deposit, both of which are conformable ore lenses and are in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG); and also two vein deposits from the FRG were analyzed, from Ramsbeck in Devonian host rocks and from Grund in Carboniferous host rocks. For Kupferschiefer bed samples from Germany, the mineralization is of variable lead isotopic composition and appears to have been derived about 250 m.y. ago from 1700 m.y. old sources, or detritus of this age, in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Samples from England, Holland, and Poland have different isotopic characteristics from the German samples, indicative of significantly different source material (perhaps older). The isotopic variability of the samples from the Kupferschiefer bed in Germany probably favors the lead containing waters coming from shoreward (where poor mixing is to be expected) rather than basinward (where better mixing is likely) directions. The data thus support the interpretation of the metal source already given by Wedepohl in 1964. Data on samples from Rammelsberg and Meggen tend to be slightly less radiogenic than for the Kupferschiefer, about the amount expected if the leads were all derived from the same source material but 100 to 150 m.y. apart in time. The vein galena from Ramsbeck is similar to that from Rammelsberg conformable ore lenses, both in rocks of Devonian age; vein galena from Grund in Upper Carboniferous country rocks is similar to some bedded Kupferschiefer mineralization in Permian rocks, as if the lead composition was formed at about the same time and from similar source material as the bedded deposits. Although heat has played a more significant role in the formation of some of these deposits (veins and Rammelsberg-Meggen) than in others (Kupferschiefer), there is no indication of radically different sources for the lead, all apparently coming from sedimentary source material containing Precambrian detritus. One feldspar lead sample from the Brocken-Oker Granite is not the same in isotopic composition as any of the ores analyzed. ?? 1978 Springer-Verlag.

  9. Sea-level and environmental changes around the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in the Namur-Dinant Basin (S Belgium, NE France): A multi-proxy stratigraphic analysis of carbonate ramp archives and its use in regional and interregional correlations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumpan, Tomáš; Bábek, Ondřej; Kalvoda, Jiří; Matys Grygar, Tomáš; Frýda, Jiří

    2014-08-01

    The paper focuses on high-resolution multidisciplinary research on three Devonian-Carboniferous boundary sections in shallow-water carbonate rocks in the Namur-Dinant Basin (Belgium, France). The aim of the study is to provide palaeo-environmental reconstructions and correlations supported by several independent quantitative proxies. We describe several correlative horizons and provide their sequence-stratigraphic interpretation based on facies analysis, spectral gamma-ray data, element concentrations (XRF) and δ13Ccarb, with foraminifer-biostratigraphy age control. The most prominent surface is a basal surface of forced regression, which is indicated by a sharp basinwards facies shift and a drop in clay-gamma-ray values and Al concentrations at the base of the Hastière and Avesnelles formations in more distal settings. In proximal settings, this surface merges with a hiatus at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary inferred from foraminifer biostratigraphy. This hiatus can be correlated with the global Hangenberg sandstone event, which indicates a glacioeustatic sea-level fall. Increasing values of Zr/Al, K/Al, Sr/Al and Mn/Al coincide with the proximal facies of the falling stage system tract and lowstand system tract in the Hastière and Avesnelles formations as a consequence of the enhanced input of siliciclastics and nutrients during low sea levels. The top of the middle Hastière member is interpreted as the maximum regression surface, which is overlain by transgressive system tract of the upper Hastière member. The patterns of gamma-ray, δ13Ccarb, Th/K, Al and Zr/Al curves are well correlated between the studied sections. The δ13Ccarb excursions are correlated with the unnamed excursion in the Upper expansa conodont zone (Carnic Alps) and with the global Hangenberg event s.l. excursion in the kockeli conodont zone. This sequence-stratigraphic framework is used for correlations with deltaic successions from the Tafilalt Basin, Morocco. The basal surface of the forced regression equivalent to the Hangenberg sandstone event, which is typical for deeper-water settings, is easily recognisable and correlatable with gaps in more-shallow water settings. We suggest that it should be taken into account as a possible candidate for the “natural solution” of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in discussions concerning its redefinition.

  10. Late Ordovician (post-Sardic) rifting branches in the North Gondwanan Montagne Noire and Mouthoumet massifs of southern France

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Javier Álvaro, J.; Colmenar, Jorge; Monceret, Eric; Pouclet, André; Vizcaïno, Daniel

    2016-06-01

    Upper Ordovician-Lower Devonian rocks of the Cabrières klippes (southern Montagne Noire) and the Mouthoumet massif in southern France rest paraconformably or with angular discordance on Cambrian-Lower Ordovician strata. Neither Middle-Ordovician volcanism nor associated metamorphism is recorded, and the subsequent Middle-Ordovician stratigraphic gap is related to the Sardic phase. Upper Ordovician sedimentation started in the rifting branches of Cabrières and Mouthoumet with deposition of basaltic lava flows and lahar deposits (Roque de Bandies and Villerouge formations) of continental tholeiite signature (CT), indicative of continental fracturing. The infill of both rifting branches followed with the onset of (1) Katian (Ka1-Ka2) conglomerates and sandstones (Glauzy and Gascagne formations), which have yielded a new brachiopod assemblage representative of the Svobodaina havliceki Community; (2) Katian (Ka2-Ka4) limestones, marlstones, and shales with carbonate nodules, reflecting development of bryozoan-echinoderm meadows with elements of the Nicolella Community (Gabian and Montjoi formations); and (3) the Hirnantian Marmairane Formation in the Mouthoumet massif that has yielded a rich and diverse fossil association representative of the pandemic Hirnantia Fauna. The sealing of the subaerial palaeorelief generated during the Sardic phase is related to Silurian and Early Devonian transgressions leading to onlapping patterns and the record of high-angle discordances.

  11. Regional stratigraphy and petroleum potential, Ghadames basin, Algeria

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Emme, J.J.; Sunderland, B.L.

    1991-03-01

    The Ghadames basin in east-central Algeria extends over 65,000 km{sup 2} (25,000 mi{sup 2}), of which 90% is covered by dunes of the eastern Erg. This intracratonic basin consists of up to 6000 m (20,000 ft) of dominantly clastic Paleozoic through Mesozoic strata. The Ghadames basin is part of a larger, composite basin complex (Ilizzi-Ghadames-Triassic basins) where Paleozoic strata have been truncated during a Hercynian erosional event and subsequently overlain by a northward-thickening wedge of Mesozoic sediments. Major reservoir rocks include Triassic sandstones that produce oil, gas, and condensate in the western Ghadames basin, Siluro-Devonian sandstones that produce mostly oilmore » in the shallower Ilizzi basin to the south, and Cambro-Ordovician orthoquartzites that produce oil at Hassi Messaoud to the northwest. Organic shales of the Silurian and Middle-Upper Devonian are considered primary source rocks. Paleozoic shales and Triassic evaporite/red bed sequences act as seals for hydrocarbon accumulations. The central Ghadames basin is underexplored, with less than one wildcat well/1700 km{sup 2} (one well/420,000 ac). Recent Devonian and Triassic oil discoveries below 3500 m (11,500 ft) indicate that deep oil potential exists. Exploration to date has concentrated on structural traps. Subcrop and facies trends indicate that potential for giant stratigraphic or combination traps exists for both Siluro-Devonian and Triassic intervals. Modern seismic acquisition and processing techniques in high dune areas can be used to successfully identify critical unconformity-bound sequences with significant stratigraphic trap potential. Advances in seismic and drilling technology combined with creative exploration should result in major petroleum discoveries in the Ghadames basin.« less

  12. Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China.

    PubMed

    Wang, De-Ming; Xu, Hong-He; Xue, Jin-Zhuang; Wang, Qi; Liu, Le

    2015-06-01

    With the exception of angiosperms, the main euphyllophyte lineages (i.e. ferns sensu lato, progymnosperms and gymnosperms) had evolved laminate leaves by the Late Devonian. The evolution of laminate leaves, however, remains unclear for early-diverging ferns, largely represented by fern-like plants. This study presents a novel fern-like taxon with pinnules, which provides new insights into the early evolution of laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. Macrofossil specimens were collected from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Wutong Formation of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, South China. A standard degagement technique was employed to uncover compressed plant portions within the rock matrix. A new fern-like taxon, SHOUGANGIA BELLA GEN ET SP NOV: , is described and represents an early-diverging fern with highly derived features. It has a partially creeping stem with adventitious roots only on one side, upright primary and secondary branches arranged in helices, tertiary branches borne alternately or (sub)oppositely, laminate and usually lobed leaves with divergent veins, and complex fertile organs terminating tertiary branches and possessing multiple divisions and numerous terminal sporangia. Shougangia bella provides unequivocal fossil evidence for laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. It suggests that fern-like plants, along with other euphyllophyte lineages, had independently evolved megaphylls by the Late Devonian, possibly in response to a significant decline in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Among fern-like plants, planate ultimate appendages are homologous with laminate pinnules, and in the evolution of megaphylls, fertile organs tend to become complex. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. A new model for the provenance of the Upper Devonian Old Red Sandstone (UORS) of southern Ireland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ennis, Meg; Meere, Pat; Timmerman, Martin

    2010-05-01

    The geology of Southern Ireland is dominated by the influence of both the Caledonian and Variscan orogenies which have shaped the landscape of today. The Old Red Sandstone (ORS) sequences of the Middle - Upper Devonian Munster Basin have traditionally been viewed as a post-orogenic molasse deposit sourced from the Caledonides (Friend et al. 2000 & references therein), which were subsequently deformed by the Late Carboniferous Variscan Orogeny. This model does not take into account the potential impact of the Acadian Orogeny, an Early to Mid Devonian transpressional tectonic event which culminated in Mid Emsian times and resulted in the deformation and inversion of Lower ORS (LORS) basins across Britain and Ireland (Soper & Woodcock 2003; Meere & Mulchrone 2006). Evidence of Acadian deformation in Southern Ireland is recorded in the LORS sequence of the Lower-Middle Devonian basin, the Dingle Basin. Meere & Mulchrone (2006) show that penetrative deformation visible in the LORS of the Dingle Basin has an Acadian signature and is not associated with Late Carboniferous Variscan compression (Parkin 1976; Todd 2000). The role of the Acadian Orogeny in the tectono-sedimentary evolution of Southern Ireland has been analyzed in this study using a multidisciplinary approach. Petrographic analysis of both the LORS and Upper ORS (UORS) of southern Ireland suggests an alternative provenance model in which there is a direct genetic link between the two Devonian deposits. There is a fining-up relationship between the two basins and the volcanic lithic fragments - while extremely limited in occurrence in the Munster Basin - are strikingly similar in both units. The absence of conglomeratic units at the base of the Munster Basin provide further evidence that the UORS does not represent a classic molasse deposit. This is supported by EMPA data from both basins which indicates identical mica chemistries in both the LORS and UORS. A comparison with the white mica chemistries from a variety of source areas suggests that the mica chemistry is similar to both the Irish Caledonides and also to the Scandian micas; therefore the ultimate source area of the ORS detritus remains ambiguous. This relationship is confirmed by the 40Ar/39Ar step-heating and total fusion age dating which yields Acadian apparent ages for the detrital white mica component in both basins; apparent ages for the Munster Basin micas are in the range 403 to 388 Ma. The Dingle Basin micas yield ages in the range 405 to 385 Ma. The presence of Acadian age micas in both basins and the similarity in mica chemistry suggest an alternative provenance model in which the LORS deposits of the Dingle Basin are inverted and recycled southwards into the UORS Munster Basin. References: Friend, P.F., Williams, B.P.J. and Williams, E.A. 2000. Kinematics and dynamics of Old Red Sandstone basins. In: Friend, P.F., and Williams, B.P.J. (eds.). New Perspectives on the Old Red Sandstone. Geological Society of London Special Publications, 180, 29-60. Meere, P.A. and Mulchrone, K.F. 2006. Timing of deformation within the Old Red Sandstone lithologies from the Dingle Peninsula, SW Ireland. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 163, 461-469. Parkin, J. 1976. Silurian rocks of the Bull's Head, Annascaul and Derrymore Glen inliers, Co. Kerry. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 76B, 577-606. Soper, N.J., and Woodcock, N.H., 2003, The lost Lower Old Red Sandstone of England and Wales: a record of post-Iapetan flexure or Early Devonian transtension? Geological Magazine, 140, 627-647. Todd, S.P., Connery, C., Higgs, K.T. and Murphy, F.C. 2000. An Early Ordovician age for the Annascaul Formation of the SE Dingle Peninsula, SW Ireland. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 157, 823-833.

  14. Recognition and delineation of Paleokarst zones by the use of wireline logs in the bitumen-saturated upper Devonian Grosmont formation of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dembicki, E.A.; Machel, H.G.

    1996-05-01

    The Upper Devonian Grosmont Formation in northeastern Alberta, Canada, is a shallow-marine carbonate platform complex that was subaerially exposed for hundreds of millions of years between the Mississippian(?) and Cretaceous. During this lengthy exposure period, an extensive karst system developed that is characterized by an irregular erosional surface, meter-size (several feet) dissolution cavities, collapse breccias, sinkholes, paleosols, and fractures. The karsted Grosmont Formation, which contains giant reserves of bitumen, sub-crops beneath Cretaceous clastic sediments of the giant Athabasca tar sands deposit. The paleokarst in the Grosmont Formation can be recognized on wireline logs in relatively nonargillaceous carbonate intervals (<30 APImore » units on the gamma-ray log) as excursions of the caliper log, off-scale neutron-density porosity readings, and severe cycle skipping of the acoustic log. The paleokarst is more prevalent in the upper units of the Grosmont Formation, and the effects of karstification decrease toward stratigraphically older and deeper units. The paleokarst usually occurs within 35 m (115 ft) of the erosional surface. The reservoir properties of the Grosmont Formation (e.g., thickness, porosity, permeability, and seal effectiveness) are significantly influenced by karstification. Depending upon the location, karstification has either benefited or degraded the reservoir characteristics. Benefits include porosity values greater than 40% (up to 100% in caverns) and permeability values of 30,000 md in severely fractured intervals. Detrimental reservoir characteristics include erosion, porosity and permeability reduction, and seal ineffectiveness.« less

  15. Stratigraphy and facies development of the marine Late Devonian near the Boulongour Reservoir, northwest Xinjiang, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suttner, Thomas J.; Kido, Erika; Chen, Xiuqin; Mawson, Ruth; Waters, Johnny A.; Frýda, Jiří; Mathieson, David; Molloy, Peter D.; Pickett, John; Webster, Gary D.; Frýdová, Barbora

    2014-02-01

    Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous stratigraphic units within the 'Zhulumute' Formation, Hongguleleng Formation (stratotype), 'Hebukehe' Formation and the Heishantou Formation near the Boulongour Reservoir in northwestern Xinjiang are fossil-rich. The Hongguleleng and 'Hebukehe' formations are biostratigraphically well constrained by microfossils from the latest Frasnian linguiformis to mid-Famennian trachytera conodont biozones. The Hongguleleng Formation (96.8 m) is characterized by bioclastic argillaceous limestones and marls (the dominant facies) intercalated with green spiculitic calcareous shales. It yields abundant and highly diverse faunas of bryozoans, brachiopods and crinoids with subordinate solitary rugose corals, ostracods, trilobites, conodonts and other fish teeth. The succeeding 'Hebukehe' Formation (95.7 m) consists of siltstones, mudstones, arenites and intervals of bioclastic limestone (e.g. 'Blastoid Hill') and cherts with radiolarians. A diverse ichnofauna, phacopid trilobites, echinoderms (crinoids and blastoids) together with brachiopods, ostracods, bryozoans and rare cephalopods have been collected from this interval. Analysis of geochemical data, microfacies and especially the distribution of marine organisms, which are not described in detail here, but used for facies analysis, indicate a deepening of the depositional environment at the Boulongour Reservoir section. Results presented here concern mainly the sedimentological and stratigraphical context of the investigated section. Additionally, one Late Devonian palaeo-oceanic and biotic event, the Upper Kellwasser Event is recognized near the section base.

  16. Geochemical and strontium isotope characterization of produced waters from Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction.

    PubMed

    Chapman, Elizabeth C; Capo, Rosemary C; Stewart, Brian W; Kirby, Carl S; Hammack, Richard W; Schroeder, Karl T; Edenborn, Harry M

    2012-03-20

    Extraction of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, a major gas-bearing unit in the Appalachian Basin, results in significant quantities of produced water containing high total dissolved solids (TDS). We carried out a strontium (Sr) isotope investigation to determine the utility of Sr isotopes in identifying and quantifying the interaction of Marcellus Formation produced waters with other waters in the Appalachian Basin in the event of an accidental release, and to provide information about the source of the dissolved solids. Strontium isotopic ratios of Marcellus produced waters collected over a geographic range of ~375 km from southwestern to northeastern Pennsylvania define a relatively narrow set of values (ε(Sr)(SW) = +13.8 to +41.6, where ε(Sr) (SW) is the deviation of the (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio from that of seawater in parts per 10(4)); this isotopic range falls above that of Middle Devonian seawater, and is distinct from most western Pennsylvania acid mine drainage and Upper Devonian Venango Group oil and gas brines. The uniformity of the isotope ratios suggests a basin-wide source of dissolved solids with a component that is more radiogenic than seawater. Mixing models indicate that Sr isotope ratios can be used to sensitively differentiate between Marcellus Formation produced water and other potential sources of TDS into ground or surface waters.

  17. Devonian climate and reef evolution: Insights from oxygen isotopes in apatite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Joachimski, M. M.; Breisig, S.; Buggisch, W.; Talent, J. A.; Mawson, R.; Gereke, M.; Morrow, J. R.; Day, J.; Weddige, K.

    2009-07-01

    Conodonts, microfossils composed of carbonate-fluor apatite, are abundant in Palaeozoic-Triassic sediments and have a high potential to preserve primary oxygen isotope signals. In order to reconstruct the palaeotemperature history of the Devonian, the oxygen isotope composition of apatite phosphate was measured on 639 conodont samples from sequences in Europe, North America and Australia. The Early Devonian (Lochkovian; 416-411 Myr) was characterized by warm tropical temperatures of around 30 °C. A cooling trend started in the Pragian (410 Myr) with intermediate temperatures around 23 to 25 °C reconstructed for the Middle Devonian (397-385 Myr). During the Frasnian (383-375 Myr), temperatures increased again with temperatures to 30 °C calculated for the Frasnian-Famennian transition (375 Myr). During the Famennian (375-359 Myr), surface water temperatures slightly decreased. Reconstructed Devonian palaeotemperatures do not support earlier views suggesting the Middle Devonian was a supergreenhouse interval, an interpretation based partly on the development of extensive tropical coral-stromatoporoid communities during the Middle Devonian. Instead, the Devonian palaeotemperature record suggests that Middle Devonian coral-stromatoporoid reefs flourished during cooler time intervals whereas microbial reefs dominated during the warm to very warm Early and Late Devonian.

  18. Devonian rocks and Lower and Middle Devonian pelecypods of Guangxi, China, and the Traverse Group of Michigan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pojeta, John

    1986-01-01

    A state-of-the-art summary of the Devonian rocks of China, correlation of the Lower and Middle Devonian of the Guangxi Autonomous Region with the European Standards, and detailed lithologic descriptions of the major Lower and Middle Devonian sections in Guangxi from which pelecypods were collected. Systematic descriptions are given for the Lower and Middle Devonian pelecypods of Guangxi. The Chinese pelecypods are principally compared with the previously little studied Givetian pelecypods of Michigan, which are also described.

  19. The Cambrian-Ordovician rocks of Sonora, Mexico, and southern Arizona, southwestern margin of North America (Laurentia): chapter 35

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Page, William R.; Harris, Alta C.; Repetski, John E.; Derby, James R.; Fritz, R.D.; Longacre, S.A.; Morgan, W.A.; Sternbach, C.A.

    2013-01-01

    The most complete sections of Ordovician shelf rocks in Sonora are 50 km (31 mi) northwast of Hermosillo. In these sections, the Lower Ordovician is characterized by intraclastic limestone, siltstone, shale, and chert. The Middle Ordovician is mostly silty limestone and quartzite, and the Upper Ordovician is cherty limestone and some argillaceous limestone. A major disconformity separates the Middle Ordovician quartzite from the overlying Upper Ordovician carbonate rocks and is similar to the disconformity between the Middle and Upper Ordovician Eureka Quartzite and Upper Ordovician Ely Springs Dolomite in Nevada and California. In parts of northwestern Sonora, Ordovician rocks are disconformably overlain by Upper Silurain rocks. Northeastward in Sonora and Arizona, toward the craton, Ordovician rocks are progressively truncated by a major onlap unconformity and are overliand by Devonian rocks. Except in local area, Ordovician rocks are generally absent in cratonic platform sequences in northern Sonora and southern Arizona.

  20. Seven 365-Million-Year-Old Trilobites Moulting within a Nautiloid Conch

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zong, Rui-Wen; Fan, Ruo-Ying; Gong, Yi-Ming

    2016-10-01

    A nautiloid conch containing many disarticulated exoskeletons of Omegops cornelius (Phacopidae, Trilobita) was found in the Upper Devonian Hongguleleng Formation of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin, NW China. The similar number of cephala, thoraces and pygidia, unbroken thoraces, explicit exuviae, and lack of other macrofossils in the conch, indicate that at least seven individual trilobites had moulted within the nautiloid living chamber, using the vacant chamber of a dead nautiloid as a communal place for ecdysis. This exuvial strategy manifests cryptic behaviour of trilobites, which may have resulted from the adaptive evolution induced by powerful predation pressure, unstable marine environments, and competition pressure of organisms occupying the same ecological niche in the Devonian period. The unusual presence of several trilobites moulting within a nautiloid conch is possibly associated with social behaviours in face of a serious crisis. New materials in this study open a window for understanding the survival strategy of marine benthic organisms, especially predator-prey interactions and the behavioural ecology of trilobites in the middle Palaeozoic.

  1. Preliminary report on the clay mineralogy of the Upper Devonian Shales in the southern and middle Appalachian Basin

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hosterman, John W.; Loferski, Patricia J.

    1978-01-01

    The distribution of kaolinite in parts of the Devonian shale section is the most significant finding of this work. These shales are composed predominately of 2M illite and illitic mixed-layer clay with minor amounts of chlorite and kaolinite. Preliminary data indicate that kaolinite, the only allogenic clay mineral, is present in successively older beds of the Ohio Shale from south to north in the southern and middle parts of the Appalachian basin. This trend in the distribution of kaolinite shows a paleocurrent direction to the southwest. Three well-known methods of preparing the clay fraction for X-ray diffraction analysis were tested and evaluated. Kaolinite was not identified in two of the methods because of layering due to differing settling rates of the clay minerals. It is suggested that if one of the two settling methods of sample preparation is used, the clay film be thin enough for the X-ray beam to penetrate the entire thickness of clay.

  2. Hydrology, water quality, and effects of drought in Monroe County, Michigan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nicholas, J.R.; Rowe, Gary L.; Brannen, J.R.

    1996-01-01

    Monroe County relies heavily on its aquifers and streams for drinking water, irrigation, and other ~ses; however, increased water use, high concentrations of certain constituents in ground water, and droughts may limit the availability of water resources. Although the most densely populated parts of the county use water from the Great Lakes, large amounts of ground water are withdrawn for quarry dewatering, domestic supply, and irrigation.Unconsolidated deposits and bedrock of Silurian and Devonian age underlie Mon_roe County. The unconsolidated deposits are mostly clayey and less than 50 feet thick. Usable amounts of ground water generally are obtained from thin, discontinuous surficial sand deposits or, in the northwestern part of the county, from deep glaciofluvial deposits. In most of the county, however, ground water in unconsolidated deposits is highly susceptible to effects of droughts and to contamination.The bedrock is mostly carbonate rock, and usable quantities of ground water can be obtained from fractures and other secondary openings throughout the county. Transmissivities of the Silurian-Devonian aquifer range from 10 to 6,600 feet squared per day. Aquifer tests and historical informati.on indicate that the Silurian-Devonian aquifer is confmed throughout most of the county. The major recharge area for the Silurian-Devonian aquifer in Monroe County is in the southwest, and groundwater flow is mostly southeastward toward Lake Erie. In the northeastern and southeastern parts of the county, the potentiometric surface of the SilurianDevonian aquifers has been lowered by pumpage to below the elevation of Lake Erie.Streams and artificial drains in Monroe County are tributary to Lake Erie. Most streams are perennial because of sustained discharge from the sand aquifer and the Silurian-Devonian aquifer; however, the lower reaches of River Raisin and Plum Creek lost water to the Silurian-Devonian aquifer in July 1990.The quality of ground water and of streamwater at low flow is suitable for most domestic u~es, irrigation, and recreation. In ground water, dissolved solids and hydrogen sulfide are present at concentrations objectionable to some users. Indicators of ground-water contamination from agricultural activities-pesticides and nitrates-were not present at detectable concentrations or were below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) limits. In streamwater, some treatment to remove bacteria may be necessary in summer months; nitrate concentrations, however, were found to be below USEPA limits.Tritium concentrations indicative of recent recharge to the Silurian-Devonian aquifer are present in a southwest-to-northeast-trending band from Whiteford to Berlin Townships. Generally, where glacial deposits are thicker than 30 feet, rech~rge.takes more than 40 years. Carbon isotope data md1cate that some of the ground water in the Silurian-Devonian aquifer is more than 14,000 years old.Mild droughts are common in Michigan, but long severe droughts, such as those during 1930-37 and 1960-67, are infrequent. The most recent drought, during 1988, was severe but short. Ground-water levels declined throughout the county; the largest declines were probably in the southwest. Shallow bedrock wells completed in only the upper part of the Silurian-Devonian aquifer and near large uses of ground water were especially susceptible to the effects of drought. Deep bedrock wells continued to produce water through the drought of 1988.During droughts, streamflow is reduced because of low ground-water levels and high consumptive uses of surface water. In 1988, annual discharge on the River Raisin was near normal, but monthly averages were below normal from March through August. The quality of surface water during droughts is similar to that during normal lowflow conditions.

  3. Quantitative models for aggregate: some types and examples from Oklahoma carbonate rocks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bliss, James D.

    1999-01-01

    Evaluation of data for three engineering variable--absorption, bulk specific gravity, and freeze-thaw durability (350 cycles)--was made for quarries in carbonate rocks in Oklahoma that supply aggregate. It was found that lower Palrozoic carbonate rocks (Cambrian through Devonian) are likely to make a better quality aggregate than upper Paleozoic (Mississippian to Permian) carbonate rocks. In addition, freeze-thaw durability can be forecast from absorption and is exemplary for lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks.

  4. Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources:Devonian shale - Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.

    2006-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of the Appalachian Basin Province. The assessment province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. The assessment was based on six major petroleum systems, which include strata that range in age from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. The Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) extends generally from New York to Tennessee. This petroleum system has produced a large proportion of the oil and natural gas that has been discovered in the Appalachian basin since the drilling of the Drake well in Pennsylvania in 1859. For assessment purposes, the TPS was divided into 10 assessment units (plays), 4 of which were classified as conventional and 6 as continuous. The results were reported as fully risked fractiles (F95, F50, F5 and the Mean), with the fractiles indicating the probability of recovery of the assessment amount. Products reported were oil (millions of barrels of oil, MMBO), gas (billions of cubic feet of gas, BCFG), and natural gas liquids (millions of barrels of natural gas liquids, MMBNGL). The mean estimates for technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbons in the TPS are: 7.53 MMBO, 31,418.88 BCFG (31.42 trillion cubic feet) of gas, and 562.07 MMBNGL.

  5. Position of the Upper Devonian Frasnian--Famennian boundary in the central Appalachians

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rossbach, T.J.

    Biostratigraphic analysis of eight Upper Devonian sections in VA and WV reveals that the section at Huttonsville, Randolph County, WV, is a key locality for determining the Frasnian-Famennian boundary. The Foreknobs Formation at Huttonsville indicates a higher stratigraphic placement of the Frasnian-Famennian boundary than has been generally assumed. Conodonts are not known within that section, so placement of the boundary uses the last occurrence of tentaculitids and the last and first occurrences of several species of brachiopods. It is believed that the Frasnian-Famennian boundary can be identified independently of the atrypoid brachiopods. Stratigraphic ranges of the cricoconarid Tentaculites discusses andmore » the brachiopod Tropidoleptus carinatus, both considered Frasnian marker fossils, indicate that the Frasnian extends well into the Red Lick Member of the Foreknobs Formation at Huttonsville, with T. carinatus occurring up to 70% of the stratigraphic thickness of the Red Lick. The Famennian marker fossils A. angelica and C. sulcifer are both found at Huttonsville above the last recorded occurrence of all the Frasnian marker fossils. To the northeast of Huttonsville the Frasnian-Famennian series boundary has been placed by other workers within or at the top of the Pound Member of the Foreknobs Formation. This discrepancy implies that either the Pound Member is diachronous or that to the northeast paleoecologic factors caused local disappearances of critical fossils before their extinction at Huttonsville.« less

  6. Biogeography of late Silurian and devonian rugose corals

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Oliver, W.A.

    1977-01-01

    Three marine benthic faunal realms can be recognized in the Early and Middle Devonian. The Eastern Americas Realm consisted of most of the eastern half of North America and South America north of the Amazon. This realm extended in a southwest direction from the Devonian equator to approximately 35??S and was an isolated epicontinental sea during much of its history. The Eastern Americas Realm was bounded on the west by the Transcontinental Arch, on the north by the Canadian Shield and on the east and southeast by a peninsular extension of the Old Red Continent. These barriers were emergent during much, but not all, of Devonian time. Seaways beyond these barriers belonged to the Old World Realm. The Malvinokaffric Realm that was farther south was apparently temperate to arctic in climate and latitudinal position and contained few corals. Rugose corals in the Eastern Americas Realm show increasing generic-level endemism from the Late Silurian through the Early Devonian; during the late Early Devonian, 92% of the rugosan genera are not known anywhere else in the world. Endemism decreased through the Middle Devonian to zero in the early Late Devonian. The Early Devonian increase in endemism paralleled, and was probably related to, the development of the Old Red Continent as a barrier between America and Africa-Europe. The waning of endemism in the Middle Devonian reflects the breaching of the land barriers. This permitted some migration in and out of the realm in early Middle Devonian time but greatest movements were in late Middle Devonian time. Principal migration directions were from western or Arctic North America into the Michigan-Hudson Bay area and from the southern Appalachian area into Africa. ?? 1977.

  7. Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous event stratigraphy of Devils Gate and Northern Antelope Range sections, Nevada, U.S.A

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sandberg, C.A.; Morrow, J.R.; Poole, F.G.; Ziegler, W.

    2003-01-01

    The classic type section of the Devils Gate Limestone at Devils Gate Pass is situated on the eastern slope of a proto-Antler forebulge that resulted from convergence of the west side of the North American continent with an ocean plate. The original Late Devonian forebulge, the site of which is now located between Devils Gate Pass and the Northern Antelope Range, separated the continental-rise to deep-slope Woodruff basin on the west from the backbulge Pilot basin on the east. Two connections between these basins are recorded by deeper water siltstone beds at Devils Gate; the older one is the lower tongue of the Woodruff Formation, which forms the basal unit of the upper member of the type Devils Gate, and the upper one is the overlying, thin lower member of the Pilot Shale. The forebulge and the backbulge Pilot basin originated during the middle Frasnian (early Late Devonian) Early hassi Zone, shortly following the Alamo Impact within the punctata Zone in southern Nevada. Evidence of this impact is recorded by coeval and reworked shocked quartz grains in the Northern Antelope Range and possibly by a unique bypass-channel or megatsunami-uprush sandy diamictite within carbonate-platform rocks of the lower member of the type Devils Gate Limestone. Besides the Alamo Impact and three regional events, two other important global events are recorded in the Devils Gate section. The semichatovae eustatic rise, the maximum Late Devonian flooding event, coincides with the sharp lithogenetic change at the discordant boundary above the lower member of the Devils Gate Limestone. Most significantly, the Devils Gate section contains the thickest and most complete rock record in North America across the late Frasnian linguiformis Zone mass extinction event. Excellent exposures include not only the extinction shale, but also a younger. Early triangularis Zone tsunamite breccia, produced by global collapse of carbonate platforms during a shallowing event that continued into the next younger Famennian Stage. The Northern Antelope Range section is located near the top of the west side of the proto-Antler forebulge. Because of its unusual, tectonically active location, unmatched at any other Nevada localities, this section records only four regional and global events during a timespan slightly longer than that of the Devils Gate section. The global semichatovae rise and late Frasnian mass extinction event are largely masked because of the depositional complexities resulting from this location.

  8. 18 CFR 270.306 - Devonian shale wells in Michigan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Devonian shale wells in... PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.306 Devonian shale wells in Michigan. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is being produced from the Devonian Age Antrim...

  9. 18 CFR 270.306 - Devonian shale wells in Michigan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Devonian shale wells in... PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.306 Devonian shale wells in Michigan. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is being produced from the Devonian Age Antrim...

  10. 18 CFR 270.306 - Devonian shale wells in Michigan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Devonian shale wells in... PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.306 Devonian shale wells in Michigan. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is being produced from the Devonian Age Antrim...

  11. 18 CFR 270.306 - Devonian shale wells in Michigan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Devonian shale wells in... PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.306 Devonian shale wells in Michigan. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is being produced from the Devonian Age Antrim...

  12. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. 270.303 Section 270.303 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY...

  13. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. 270.303 Section 270.303 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY...

  14. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. 270.303 Section 270.303 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY...

  15. A new Late Devonian genus with seed plant affinities.

    PubMed

    Wang, Deming; Liu, Le

    2015-02-26

    Many ovules of Late Devonian (Famennian) seed plants have been well studied. However, because few taxa occur with anatomically preserved stems and/or petioles, the vascular system of these earliest spermatophytes is little understood and available data come mostly from Euramerica. There remains great controversy over the anatomical differentiation of Late Devonian and Carboniferous seed plant groups of Buteoxylonales, Calamopityales and Lyginopteridales. Protostele evolution of these early spermatophytes needs more research. A new taxon Yiduxylon trilobum gen. et sp. nov. with seed plant affinities has been discovered in the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Tizikou Formation of Hubei Province, China. It is represented by stems, helically arranged and bifurcate fronds with two orders of pinnae and planate pinnules. Both secondary pinnae and pinnules are borne alternately. Stems contain a small protostele with three primary xylem ribs possessing a single peripheral protoxylem strand. Thick secondary xylem displays multiseriate bordered pitting on the tangential and radial walls of the tracheids, and has biseriate to multiseriate and high rays. A narrow cortex consists of inner cortex without sclerotic nests and sparganum-type outer cortex with peripheral bands of vertically aligned sclerenchyma cells. Two leaf traces successively arise tangentially from each primary xylem rib and they divide once to produce four circular-oval traces in the stem cortex. Four vascular bundles occur in two C-shaped groups at each petiole base with ground tissue and peripheral bands of sclerenchyma cells. Yiduxylon justifies the assignment to a new genus mainly because of the protostele with protoxylem strands only near the periphery of primary xylem ribs, leaf trace origination and petiolar vascular supply structure. It shares many definitive characters with Calamopityales and Lyginopteridales, further underscoring the anatomical similarities among early seed plants. The primary vascular system, pycnoxylic-manoxylic secondary xylem with bordered pits on both tangential and radial walls of a tracheid and leaf trace divergence of Yiduxylon suggest transitional features between the early spermatophytes and ancestral aneurophyte progymnosperms.

  16. Representatives of the family Actinostromatidae (Stromatoporoidea) in the Devonian of southern Poland and their ecological significance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wolniewicz, Paweł

    2016-09-01

    Stromatoporoids of the family Actinostromatidae are common constituents of Givetian to Frasnian (Devonian) organic buildups. The species-level structure of actinostromatid assemblages from the Devonian of southern Poland is described in the present paper, with special emphasis on ecological factors that influenced species composition of the communities. Nine species of the genera Actinostroma and Bifariostroma are distinguished. Members of the family Actinostromatidae predominated in stromatoporoid assemblages within lower Frasnian carbonate buildup margins. The most diverse actinostromatid faunas were found within the middle Givetian Stringocephalus Bank, in the upper Givetian-lower Frasnian biostromal complex and in the lower Frasnian organic buildups. Species-level biodiversity was lowest within detrital facies which surrounded the Frasnian carbonate buildups. Species of Actinostroma with well-developed colliculi are commonest within the middle Givetian to early Frasnian coral-stromatoporoid biostromal complexes, whereas species with strongly reduced colliculi predominate early-middle Frasnian organic buildups. The skeletal structure of actinostromatids reflects environmental changes, documenting a transition from species with thin, close-set pillars and widely spaced laminae (common in the middle Givetian) to those with long, thick pillars and megapillars (in Bifariostroma), which were predominant during the early and middle Frasnian. The distribution of growth forms among species reveals a significant intraspecific variation. Species of Actinostroma can be either tabular or low domical, depending on the palaeoenvironmental setting. Thus, the present study confirms that stromatoporoid morphology was influenced by environmental conditions.

  17. Evolution of Devonian carbonate-shelf margin, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Morrow, J.R.; Sandberg, C.A.

    2008-01-01

    The north-trending, 550-km-long Nevada segment of the Devonian carbonate-shelf margin, which fringed western North America, evidences the complex interaction of paleotectonics, eustasy, biotic changes, and bolide impact-related influences. Margin reconstruction is complicated by mid-Paleozoic to Paleogene compressional tectonics and younger extensional and strike-slip faulting. Reports published during the past three decades identify 12 important events that influenced development of shelf-margin settings; in chronological order, these are: (1) Early Devonian inheritance of Silurian stable shelf inargin, (2) formation of Early to early Middle 'Devonian shelf-margin basins, (3) propradation of later Middle Devonian shelf margin, (4) late Middle Devonian Taghanic ondap and continuing long-term Frasnian transgression, (5) initiation of latest Middle Devonian to early Frasnian proto-Antler orogenic forebulge, (6) mid-Frasnian Alamo Impact, (7) accelerated development of proto-Antler forebulge and backbulge Pilot basin, (8) global late Frasnian sentichatovae sea-level rise, (9) end-Frasnian sea-level fluctuations and ensuing mass extinction, (10) long-term Famennian regression and continept-wide erosion, (11) late Famennian emergence: of Ahtler orogenic highlands, and (12) end-Devonian eustatic sea-level fall. Although of considerable value for understanding facies relationships and geometries, existing standard carbonate platform-margin models developed for passive settings else-where do not adequately describe the diverse depositional and, structural settings along the Nevada Devonian platform margin. Recent structural and geochemical studies suggest that the Early to Middle Devonian-shelf-margin basins may have been fault-bound and controlled by inherited Precambrian structure. Subsequently, the migrating latest Middle to Late Devonian Antler orogenic forebulge exerted a dominant control on shelf-margin position, morphology, and sedimentation. ??Geological Society of America.

  18. Devonian Terrestrial Revolution: the palaeoenvironment of the oldest known tetrapod tracks, Zachełmie Quarry, Poland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niedźwiedzki, G.

    2012-04-01

    Numerous trackways and isolated prints with digit impressions, which are similar to the foot anatomy of early tetrapods such as Ichthyostega, were found on the three dolomite bed-surfaces in the lower part of the Wojciechowice Formation exposed in the Zachełmie Quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains (south-central Poland), (Niedźwiedzki et al., 2010). The age of the tetrapod track-bearing strata is well-constrained, but the detailed sedimentology of the lower section with tetrapod ichnites is still under study. The Wojciechowice Formation represent one of the first carbonate stages of a transgressive succession that begins with Early Devonian continental to marginal marine clastics and culminates in the development of a Givetian coral-stromatoporoid carbonate platform. The tetrapod track-bearing complex is composed of grey to reddish, thin- to medium-bedded dolomitic shales and marly dolomite mudstones. These deposits from the tetrapod track-bearing horizon lack definitive marine body fossils, and may have formed in a marginal marine environment, e.g. around a coastal lagoon. Mudcracks, columnar peds, root traces, and microbially induced sedimentary structures were found in three distinct pedotypes of very weakly to weakly developed paleosols (Retallack, 2011). Conodonts of the costatus zone (mid-Eifelian) were found 20 m above the uppermost surface with tetrapod tracks in limestones of the upper Wojciechowice Formation, which contain also brachiopod and crinoidal debris. The overlying Kowala Formation is a marine coral limestone and dolostone. The parts of profile with tetrapod ichnites and invertebrate and conodont fossils contain also records of invertebrate traces. Seven ichnotaxa are distributed among four recognized ichnoassemblages. The recognized ichnocoenoses are typical for the shallow-marine (Cruziana ichnofacies) and land-water transitional (Skolithos/Psilonichnus ichnofacies) carbonate depositional environments. The ichnocoenoses are dominated by trace fossils produced by arthropods (probably crustaceans), a group that can create large and distinctive burrows. The palaeoecological information from the Zachełmie section has direct bearing on the interpretation of environmental aspects of tetrapod emergence and terrestrialization. It should be fully integrated with data from other Devonian tetrapod tracksites. Niedźwiedzki, G., Szrek P., Narkiewicz K., Narkiewicz M. and Ahlberg P.E. 2010. Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period of Poland. Nature, 463: 43-48. Retallack, G.J. 2011. Woodland Hypothesis for Devonian Tetrapod Evolution. The Journal of Geology, 119, 3: 235-258

  19. Reconnaissance geology of the Central Mastuj Valley, Chitral State, Pakistan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stauffer, Karl W.

    1975-01-01

    The Mastuj Valley in Chitral State is a part of the Hindu Kush Range, and is one of the structurally most complicated areas in northern Pakistan. Sedimentary rocks ranging from at least Middle Devonian to Cretaceous, and perhaps Early Tertiary age lie between ridge-forming granodiorite intrusions and are cut by thrust faults. The thrust planes dip 10? to 40? to the north- west. Movement of the upper thrust plates has been toward the southeast relative to the lower blocks. If this area is structurally typical of the Hindu-Kush and Karakoram Ranges, then these mountains are much more tectonically disturbed than previously recorded, and suggest compression on a scale compatible with the hypothesis that the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush Ranges form part of a continental collision zone. The thrust faults outline two plates consisting of distinctive sedimentary rocks. The lower thrust plate is about 3,000 feet thick and consists of the isoclinally folded Upper Cretaceous to perhaps lower Tertiary Reshun Formation. It has overridden the Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Chitral Slate unit. This thrust plate is, in turn, overridden by an 8,000-foot thick sequence consisting largely of Devonian to Carboniferous limestones and quartzites. A key factor in the tectonic processes has been the relatively soft and plastic lithology of the siltstone layers in the Reshun Formation which have acted as lubricants along the principal thrust faults, where they are commonly found today as fault slices and smears. The stratigraphic sequence, in the central Mastuj Valley was tentatively divided into 9 mapped units. The fossiliferous shales and carbonates of the recently defined Shogram Formation and the clastlcs of the Reshun Formation have been fitted into a sequence of sedimentary rocks that has a total thick- ness of at least 13,000 feet and ranges in age from Devonian to Neogene. Minerals of potential economic significance include antimony sulfides which have been mined elsewhere in Chitral, the tungstate, scheelite, which occurs in relatively high concentrations in heavy-mineral fractions of stream sands, and an iron-rich lateritic rock.

  20. Stratigraphic and structural distribution of reservoirs in Romania

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stefanescu, M.O.

    1991-08-01

    In Romania, there are reservoirs at different levels of the whole Cambrian-Pliocene interval, but only some of these levels have the favorable structural conditions to accumulate hydrocarbons in commercial quantities. These levels are the Devonian, Triassic, Middle Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous (locally including the uppermost Jurassic), Eocene, Oligocene-lower Miocene, middle and upper Miocene, and Pliocene. The productive reservoirs are represented either by carbonate rocks (in Devonian, Middle Triassic and uppermost Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous) or by detrital rocks (in Lower and Upper Triassic, Middle Jurassic, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene). From the structural point of view, the Romanian territory is characterized by themore » coexistence both of platforms (East European, Scythian, and Moesian platforms) and of the strongly tectonized orogenes (North Dobrogea and Carpathian orogenes). Each importance crust shortening was followed by the accumulation of post-tectonic covers, some of them being folded during subsequently tectonic movements. The youngest post-tectonic cover is common both for the platforms (foreland) and Carpathian orogene, representing the Carpathian foredeep. Producing reservoirs are present in the East European and Moesian platforms, in the outer Carpathian units (Tarcau and Marginal folds nappes) and in certain post-tectonic covers which fill the Carpathian foredeep and the Transylvanian and Pannonian basins. In the platforms, hydrocarbons accumulated both in calcareous and detrital reservoirs, whereas in the Carpathian units and in their reservoirs, whereas in the Carpathian units and in their post-tectonic covers, hydrocarbons accumulated only in detrital reservoirs.« less

  1. Evidence for long-term climate change in Upper Devonian strata of the central Appalachians

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brezinski, D.K.; Cecil, C.B.; Skema, V.W.; Kertis, C.A.

    2009-01-01

    The highest 1 to 200 m of the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Catskill and equivalent Hampshire formations exhibit a noticeable vertical or stratigraphic change in color and a shift in lithologic character. The lower part of the unit is characterized by typically red, channel-phase sandstones and overbank siltstone and mudstone containing thin calcareous paleosols. These lithologies give way to greenish gray sandstone containing abundant coaly plant fragments, coalified logs, and pyrite, interbedded with thick intervals of non-calcareous paleo-vertisols. The increase in the prominence of preserved terrestrial organic matter suggests that there was a corresponding increase in the abundance of plants in terrestrial ecosystems. The stratigraphic change in lithology within the upper part of the Catskill-Hampshire succession suggests the onset of environmental conditions that became increasingly wet in response to elevated humid climatic conditions during the final stages of Catskill alluvial plain deposition. The sedimentological signature suggesting increased climatic wetness within the uppermost Catskill and Hampshire formations is nearly contemporaneous with the initiation of Late Devonian Gondwanan glaciation in the paleo-high-latitudes. The Appalachian climate record indicates that this change began during the Fa2c and continued through the latest Famennian, reaching its peak during the Fa2d when glacial deposits are recorded in the paleo-mid-latitudes of the Appalachian basin. Evidence of this late Famennian increase in precipitation also is recorded in the adjacent marine environments. Equivalent-age marine units in Ohio and Kentucky record progressive increases in both total organic carbon and the percentage of terrestrially-derived organic carbon. This suggests that there was a late Famennian increase in terrestrial organic matter productivity, and that during the late Famennian, there were elevated levels of runoff produced by the interpreted increase in precipitation that washed progressively higher amounts of terrestrial organic matter into the local marine environments. The late Famennian climate changes identified within the Appalachian basin strata have been recognizable globally, and appear to have had both positive and negative effects on the Earth's biota. Some marine groups exhibit sharp diversity drops or even extinction coincident with the maximum development of the late Famennian ice age. Conversely, terrestrial biota appears to have been more positively affected by the late Famennian increased wetness that accompanied this progressive climate change. Marked diversification and evolutionary innovation, which appear to coincide with this climatic deviation, can be recognized within terrestrial plant communities and early tetrapod amphibians. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. A search for stratiform massive-sulfide exploration targets in Appalachian Devonian rocks; a case study using computer-assisted attribute-coincidence mapping

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wedow, Helmuth

    1983-01-01

    The empirical model for sediment-associated, stratiform, exhalative, massive-sulfide deposits presented by D. Large in 1979 and 1980 has been redesigned to permit its use in a computer-assisted search for exploration-target areas in Devonian rocks of the Appalachian region using attribute-coincidence mapping (ACM). Some 36 gridded-data maps and selected maps derived therefrom were developed to show the orthogonal patterns, using the 7-1/2 minute quadrangle as an information cell, of geologic data patterns relevant to the empirical model. From these map and data files, six attribute-coincidence maps were prepared to illustrate both variation in the application of ACM techniques and the extent of possible significant exploration-target areas. As a result of this preliminary work in ACM, four major (and some lesser) exploration-target areas needing further study and analysis have been defined as follows: 1) in western and central New York in the outcrop area of lowermost Upper Devonian rocks straddling the Clarendon-Linden fault; 2) in western Virginia and eastern West Virginia in an area largely coincident with the well-known 'Oriskany' Mn-Fe ores; 3) an area in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia along and nearby the trend of the Alabama-New York lineament of King and Zietz approximately between 38- and 40-degrees N. latitude; and 4) an area in northeastern Ohio overlying an area coincident with a significant thickness of Silurian salt and high modern seismic activity. Some lesser, smaller areas suggested by relatively high coincidence may also be worthy of further study.

  3. Lithostratigraphic, conodont, and other faunal links between lower Paleozoic strata in northern and central Alaska and northeastern Russia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Harris, Anita G.; Gagiev, Mussa; Bradley, Dwight C.; Repetski, John E.

    2002-01-01

    Lower Paleozoic platform carbonate strata in northern Alaska (parts of the Arctic Alaska, York, and Seward terranes; herein called the North Alaska carbonate platform) and central Alaska (Farewell terrane) share distinctive lithologic and faunal features, and may have formed on a single continental fragment situated between Siberia and Laurentia. Sedimentary successions in northern and central Alaska overlie Late Proterozoic metamorphosed basement; contain Late Proterozoic ooid-rich dolostones, Middle Cambrian outer shelf deposits, and Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian shallow-water platform facies, and include fossils of both Siberian and Laurentian biotic provinces. The presence in the Alaskan terranes of Siberian forms not seen in wellstudied cratonal margin sequences of western Laurentia implies that the Alaskan rocks were not attached to Laurentia during the early Paleozoic.The Siberian cratonal succession includes Archean basement, Ordovician shallow-water siliciclastic rocks, and Upper Silurian–Devonian evaporites, none of which have counterparts in the Alaskan successions, and contains only a few of the Laurentian conodonts that occur in Alaska. Thus we conclude that the lower Paleozoic platform successions of northern and central Alaska were not part of the Siberian craton during their deposition, but may have formed on a crustal fragment rifted away from Siberia during the Late Proterozoic. The Alaskan strata have more similarities to coeval rocks in some peri-Siberian terranes of northeastern Russia (Kotelny, Chukotka, and Omulevka). Lithologic ties between northern Alaska, the Farewell terrane, and the peri-Siberian terranes diminish after the Middle Devonian, but Siberian afµnities in northern and central Alaskan biotas persist into the late Paleozoic.

  4. Record of the Late Devonian Hangenberg global positive carbon-isotope excursion in an epeiric sea setting: Carbonate production, organic-carbon burial and paleoceanography during the late Famennian

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cramer, Bradley D.; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Day, J.E.; Witzke, B.J.

    2008-01-01

    Latest Famennian marine carbonates from the mid-continent of North America were examined to investigate the Late Devonian (very late Famennian) Hangenberg positive carbon-isotope (??13 Ccarb) excursion. This global shift in the ?? 13C of marine waters began during the late Famennian Hangenberg Extinction Event that occurred during the Middle Siphonodella praesulcata conodont zone. The post-extinction recovery interval spans the Upper S. praesulcata Zone immediately below the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. Positive excursions in ?? 13 Ccarb are often attributed to the widespread deposition of organic-rich black shales in epeiric sea settings. The Hangenberg ??13 Ccarb excursion documented in the Louisiana Limestone in this study shows the opposite trend, with peak ??13 Ccarb values corresponding to carbonate production in the U.S. mid-continent during the highstand phase of the very late Famennian post-glacial sea level rise. Our data indicate that the interval of widespread black shale deposition (Hangenberg Black Shale) predates the peak isotope values of the Hangenberg ??13 Ccarb excursion and that peak values of the Hangenberg excursion in Missouri are not coincident with and cannot be accounted for by high Corg burial in epeiric seas. We suggest instead that sequestration and burial of Corg in the deep oceans drove the peak interval of the ??13Ccarb excursion, as a result of a change in the site of deep water formation to low-latitude epeiric seas as the global climate shifted between cold and warm states.

  5. Thermal maturity map of Devonian shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins of North America

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    East, Joseph A.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Repetski, John E.; Hayba, Daniel O.

    2012-01-01

    Much of the oil and gas in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins of eastern North America is thought to be derived from Devonian shale that is within these basins (for example, Milici and others, 2003; Swezey, 2002, 2008, 2009; Swezey and others, 2005, 2007). As the Devonian strata were buried by younger sediments, the Devonian shale was subjected to great temperature and pressure, and in some areas the shale crossed a thermal maturity threshold and began to generate oil. With increasing burial (increasing temperature and pressure), some of this oil-generating shale crossed another thermal maturity threshold and began to generate natural gas. Knowledge of the thermal maturity of the Devonian shale is therefore useful for predicting the occurrence and the spatial distribution of oil and gas within these three basins. This publication presents a thermal maturity map of Devonian shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins. The map shows outlines of the three basins (dashed black lines) and an outline of Devonian shale (solid black lines). The basin outlines are compiled from Thomas and others (1989) and Swezey (2008, 2009). The outline of Devonian shale is a compilation from Freeman (1978), Thomas and others (1989), de Witt and others (1993), Dart (1995), Nicholson and others (2004), Dicken and others (2005a,b), and Stoeser and others (2005).

  6. Devonian alkaline magmatic belt along the northern margin of the North China Block: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qi-Qi; Zhang, Shuan-Hong; Zhao, Yue; Liu, Jian-Min

    2018-03-01

    Some Devonian magmatic rocks have been identified from the northern margin of the North China Block (NCB) in recent years. However, their petrogenesis and tectonic setting are still highly controversial. Here we present new geochronological, Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic and whole-rock chemical data on several newly identified and previously reported Devonian alkaline complexes, including mafic-ultramafic rocks (pyroxenites and gabbros), alkaline rocks (syenites, monzonites) and alkaline granites in the northern NCB. We firstly identified some mafic-ultramafic rocks coeval with monzonite and quartz monzonite in the Sandaogou and Wulanhada alkaline intrusions. New zircon U-Pb dating of 16 samples from the Baicaigou, Gaojiacun, Sandaogou, Wulanhada and Chifeng alkaline intrusions combined with previous geochronological results indicate that the Devonian alkaline rocks emplaced during the early-middle Devonian at around 400-380 Ma and constitute an E-W-trending alkaline magmatic belt that extend ca. 900 km long along the northern margin of the NCB. Whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data reveal that the Devonian alkaline rocks were mainly originated from partial melting of a variably enriched lithospheric mantle with different involvement of ancient lower crustal component and fractional crystallization. The Devonian alkaline magmatic belt rocks in the northern NCB are characterized by very weak or no deformations and were most likely related to post-collision extension after arc-continent collision between the Bainaimiao island arc and the northern margin of North China Craton during the latest Silurian. Partial melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle to produce the Devonian alkaline magmatic rocks suggests that the northern North China Craton has an inhomogeneous, variably enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle and was characterized by significant vertical crustal growth during the Devonian period.

  7. Geology of the Volga-Ural petroleum province and detailed description of the Ramashkino and Arlan oil fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Peterson, James A.; Clarke, James W.

    1983-01-01

    The Volga-Ural petroleum province is in general coincident with the Volga-Ural regional high, a broad upwarp of the east-central part of the Russian (East European) platform. The central part of the province is occupied by the Tatar arch, which contains the major share of the oil fields of the province. The Perm-Bashkir arch forms the northeastern part of the regional high, and the Zhigulevsko-Orenburg arch makes up the southern part. These arches are separated from one another by elongate downwarps. The platform cover overlies an Archean crystalline basement and consists of seven main sedimentation cycles as follows: 1) Riphean (lower Bavly) continental sandstone, shale, and conglomerate beds from 500 to 5,000 m thick deposited in aulacogens. 2) Vendian (upper Bavly) continental and marine shale and sandstone up to 3,000 m thick. 3) Middle Devonian-Tournaisian transgressive deposits, which are sandstone, siltstone, and shale in the lower part and carbonates with abundant reefs in the upper; thickness is 300-1,000 m. In the upper carbonate part is the Kamsko-Kinel trough system, which consists of narrow interconnected deep-water troughs. 4) The Visean-Namurian-Bashkirian cycle, which began with deposition of Visean clastics that draped over reefs of the previous cycle and filled in an erosional relief that had formed in some places on the sediments of the previous cycle. The Visean clastics are overlain by marine carbonates. Thickness of the cycle is 50-800 m. 5) Early Moscovian-Early Permian terrigenous clastic deposits and marine carbonate beds 1,000-3,000 m thick. 6) The late Early Permian-Late Permian cycle, which reflects maximum growth of the Ural Mountains and associated Ural foredeep. Evaporites were first deposited, then marine limestones and dolomites, which intertongue eastward with clastic sediments from the Ural Mountains. 7) Continental redbeds of Triassic age and mixed continental and marine elastic beds of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, which were deposited on the southern, southwestern, and northern margins of the Russian platform; they are generally absent in the Volga-Ural province, however. The Volga-Ural oil and gas basin is a single artesian system that contains seven aquifers separated by seals. The areas of greatest hydraulic head are in the eastern parts of the basin near areas where the aquifers crop out on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains. The Peri-Caspian basin is the principal drainage area of the artesian system. Approximately 600 oil and gas fields and 2,000 pools have been found in the Volga-Ural province. Nine productive sequences are recognized as follows: 1) Upper Proterozoic (Bavly beds), which are promising but not yet commercial. 2) Clastic Devonian, which contains the major reserves and includes the main pays of the super-giant Romashkino field. 3) Carbonate Upper Devonian and lowermost Carboniferous, which is one of the main reef-bearing intervals. 4) Visean (Lower Carboniferous) elastics, which are the main pays in the super-giant Arian field. 5) Carbonate Lower and Middle Carboniferous. 6) Clastic Middle Carboniferous Moscovian. 7) Carbonate Middle and Upper Carboniferous. 8) Carbonate-evaporite Lower Permian, which contains the major gas reserves and the lower part of the Melekess tar deposits. 9) Clastic-carbonate Upper Permian, which contains the major part of the Melekess tar deposits. The Volga-Ural province is divided into several productive regions on a basis of differences in structure, distribution of reservoir and source-rock facies, and general composition of the petroleum accumulations. These regions are the Tatar arch, Birsk saddle, Upper Kama depression, Perm-Bashkir arch, Ufa-Orenburg monocline, Melekess-Sernovodsko-Abdulino basin, Zhligulevsko-Orenburg arch, Ural foredeep, and north borders of the Peri-Casplan depression. Exploration activity has declined in recent years; however, interest remains high in several parts of the province, particula

  8. Novel reef fabrics from the Devonian Canning Basin, Western Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wood, Rachel

    1998-11-01

    Large cement-filled cavities (0.2 to 1.5 m wide) are well developed in slope-margin sediments of the spectacular Upper Devonian (Frasnian) reefs of the Canning Basin, Western Australia, where they account for up to 50% of the primary porosity. These are here interpreted as primary reef framework cavities that formed beneath a variety of domal, tabular or laminar stromatoporoid sponges. Of particular note are those created by unusual, very thin (2 to 8 mm), laminar stromatoporoids (mainly Stachyodes australe), that formed arching, hollow domes up to 0.3 m in height and 1.5 m in diameter over the sediment surface to enclose flat-based cavities. The free undersurface of these stromatoporoids often supported a hitherto unrecognised cryptic community, dominated by pendent growth of the putative calcified cyanobacterium Renalcis, with rare intergrown lithistid sponges and spiny atrypid brachiopods. The uneven growth surface of the cryptos imparts an irregular, stromatactis-like texture to the upper surface of the remaining cavity, which is filled by early marine, finely banded, fibrous cements (mainly radiaxial calcite) interbedded with often multiple generations of geopetal sediment containing peloids and ostracod debris. This ecology yields the tabular stromatoporoid- Renalcis fabric described ubiquitously from the Canning Basin reef complex. Such unusual reef fabrics are a consequence of the ecology of shallow marine mid-Palaeozoic reefs which were quite unlike that of modern coral reefs. The frequent preservation of relatively delicate, in situ communities was due to (1) rapid and pervasive early cementation, (2) growth under non-energetic conditions, and (3) the relative insignificance of bioeroders associated with reefs at this time.

  9. Well-Production Data and Gas-Reservoir Heterogeneity -- Reserve Growth Applications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dyman, Thaddeus S.; Schmoker, James W.

    2003-01-01

    Oil and gas well production parameters, including peakmonthly production (PMP), peak-consecutive-twelve month production (PYP), and cumulative production (CP), are tested as tools to quantify and understand the heterogeneity of reservoirs in fields where current monthly production is 10 percent or less of PMP. Variation coefficients, defined as VC= (F5-F95)/F50, where F5, F95, and F50 are the 5th, 95th, and 50th (median) fractiles of a probability distribution, are calculated for peak and cumulative production and examined with respect to internal consistency, type of production parameter, conventional versus unconventional accumulations, and reservoir depth. Well-production data for this study were compiled for 69 oil and gas fields in the Lower Pennsylvanian Morrow Formation of the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma. Of these, 47 fields represent production from marine clastic facies. The Morrow data were supplemented by data from the Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician Arbuckle Group, Middle Ordovician Simpson Group, Middle Pennsylvanian Atoka Formation, and Silurian and Lower Devonian Hunton Group of the Anadarko Basin, one large gas field in Upper Cretaceous reservoirs of north-central Montana (Bowdoin field), and three areas of the Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation continuous-type (unconventional) oil accumulation in the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana. Production parameters (PMP, PYP, and CP) measure the net result of complex geologic, engineering, and economic processes. Our fundamental hypothesis is that well-production data provide information about subsurface heterogeneity in older fields that would be impossible to obtain using geologic techniques with smaller measurement scales such as petrographic, core, and well-log analysis. Results such as these indicate that quantitative measures of production rates and production volumes of wells, expressed as dimensionless variation coefficients, are potentially valuable tools for documenting reservoir heterogeneity in older fields for field redevelopment and risk analysis.

  10. Regional Stratification and Shear of the Various Streams Feeding the Philippine Straits

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-09-30

    Feeding the Philippine Straits Arnold L. Gordon Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 61 Route 9W Palisades , NY 10964-8000 tele: (845) 365-8325...ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,61 Route 9W, Palisades ,NY,10964-8000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9...mooring time series suggest that the deep overturning circulation amounts to ~0.2 Sv. The westward transport in the upper limb of the shallow cell , as

  11. Middle to Late Devonian-Carboniferous collapse basins on the Finnmark Platform and in the southwesternmost Nordkapp basin, SW Barents Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koehl, Jean-Baptiste P.; Bergh, Steffen G.; Henningsen, Tormod; Faleide, Jan Inge

    2018-03-01

    The SW Barents Sea margin experienced a pulse of extensional deformation in the Middle-Late Devonian through the Carboniferous, after the Caledonian Orogeny terminated. These events marked the initial stages of formation of major offshore basins such as the Hammerfest and Nordkapp basins. We mapped and analyzed three major fault complexes, (i) the Måsøy Fault Complex, (ii) the Rolvsøya fault, and (iii) the Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex. We discuss the formation of the Måsøy Fault Complex as a possible extensional splay of an overall NE-SW-trending, NW-dipping, basement-seated Caledonian shear zone, the Sørøya-Ingøya shear zone, which was partly inverted during the collapse of the Caledonides and accommodated top-NW normal displacement in Middle to Late Devonian-Carboniferous times. The Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex displays a zigzag-shaped pattern of NNE-SSW- and ENE-WSW-trending extensional faults before it terminates to the north as a WNW-ESE-trending, NE-dipping normal fault that separates the southwesternmost Nordkapp basin in the northeast from the western Finnmark Platform and the Gjesvær Low in the southwest. The WNW-ESE-trending, margin-oblique segment of the Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex is considered to represent the offshore prolongation of a major Neoproterozoic fault complex, the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone, which is made of WNW-ESE-trending, subvertical faults that crop out on the island of Magerøya in NW Finnmark. Our results suggest that the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone dies out to the northwest before reaching the western Finnmark Platform. We propose an alternative model for the origin of the WNW-ESE-trending segment of the Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex as a possible hard-linked, accommodation cross fault that developed along the Sørøy-Ingøya shear zone. This brittle fault decoupled the western Finnmark Platform from the southwesternmost Nordkapp basin and merged with the Måsøy Fault Complex in Carboniferous times. Seismic data over the Gjesvær Low and southwesternmost Nordkapp basin show that the low-gravity anomaly observed in these areas may result from the presence of Middle to Upper Devonian sedimentary units resembling those in Middle Devonian, spoon-shaped, late- to post-orogenic collapse basins in western and mid-Norway. We propose a model for the formation of the southwesternmost Nordkapp basin and its counterpart Devonian basin in the Gjesvær Low by exhumation of narrow, ENE-WSW- to NE-SW-trending basement ridges along a bowed portion of the Sørøya-Ingøya shear zone in the Middle to Late Devonian-early Carboniferous. Exhumation may have involved part of a large-scale metamorphic core complex that potentially included the Lofoten Ridge, the West Troms Basement Complex and the Norsel High. Finally, we argue that the Sørøya-Ingøya shear zone truncated and decapitated the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone during the Caledonian Orogeny and that the western continuation of the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone was mostly eroded and potentially partly preserved in basement highs in the SW Barents Sea.

  12. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Natural gas produced... DETERMINATION PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.303 Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale...

  13. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Natural gas produced... DETERMINATION PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.303 Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale...

  14. Evolution of groundwater composition in the depression cone of Riga region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raga, B.; Kalvans, A.; Delina, A.; Perkone, E.; Retike, I.

    2012-04-01

    Riga is the capital of Latvia with around 0.9 million inhabitants where the main water supply is centralised and decentralised, mostly from groundwater sources, that is from the the Arukilas-Amatas multi-aquifer system, which consists of sandstones and siltstone. These rocks belong to the middle and upper Devonian and have good properties for groundwater extraction: they have high permeability and are widely spread. Below this system lies the middle Devonian Narvas aquitard, that consists of marl and clay. But in the southern and western part of Riga this system covers the upper Devonian Salaspils formation which consists of marl and gypsum. In the second half of the 20th century an intensive groundwater extraction from the Arukilas-Amtas multi-aquifer system took place in Riga, causing sharp and significant lowering of piezometric surfaces. The maximal decline of groundwater level was observed in 1972, when it was 16 m lower than the average. From the end of 80's started a regeneration of water table, when the volume of water usage began to decrease. Nowadays piezometric surface in the Arukilas-Amatas multi-aquifer system is being renewed and fluctuations are insignificant. The territory, where natural regime of groundwater has changed and that is induced by antropogenic effect is called "Large Riga". To track chemical changes and evolution in the Arukila-Amata multi-aquifer system long - term monitoring data is used. Data on major ions and piezometric surfaces from 45 monitoring wells that groups in 17 monitoring stations is being analysed. The area is dived into three zones - central, middle and periphery, which differ from each other by the volume of the groundwater level decline. These zones are determined from maps, that shows the piezometric surface difference between two periods: 1949-1951, that describes the natural situation, and 1970-1972, where the minimal groundwater level in the Gauja aquifer was observed. On this basis it was studied how rapidly water chemistry change in aquifers shows up and how these trends change. It was found out that the sources of water with high SO42- which worsen the quality of water in deeper aquifers, are from the Salaspils aquifer, because the first signs were observed in aquifers, that lie below the Salaspils formation. The same water composition changes in deeper aquifers with a time lag. When piezometric surface rised up, the mixing from different aquifers ended, that can be clearly observed in the upper Devonian Plavinu aquifer where, in the latest samples, is an increasing concentration of HCO3- ion. These are the first signs that the situation in this multi-aquifer system begins to return into natural conditions. Despite that Riga is lying near the sea, the lowering of water table in the Arukilas-Amatas multi-aquifer system hasn't induced intensive intrusion of sea water. This process is observed only in some areas, where intrusion occurs through the bed of river Daugava where the Plavinas aquifer dolomites are situated. The significant water composition changes are observed in the central part, where the greatest piezometric surface lowering is, which was sufficient enough to cause stronger downward flow from upper aquifers, that induced the mixing water from different aquifers in this territory. As a result, in this zone there are great water composition changes. Also the first signs about water composition changes show up very quickly, but the return to the natural situation is relatively slow. This study is supported by the European Social Fund project No. 2009/0212/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/060

  15. Chronology of paleozoic metamorphism and deformation in the Blue Ridge thrust complex, North Carolina and Tennessee

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goldberg, S.A.; Dallmeyer, R.D.

    1997-05-01

    The Blue Ridge province in northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee records a multiphase collisional and accretionary history from the Mesoproterozoic through the Paleozoic. To constrain the tectonothermal evolution in this region, radiometric ages have been determined for 23 regionally metamorphosed amphibolites, granitic gneisses, and pelitic schists and from mylonites along shear zones that bound thrust sheets and within an internal shear zone. The garnet ages from the Pumpkin Patch a thrust sheet (458, 455, and 451 Ma) are similar to those from the structurally overlying Spruce Pine thrust sheet (460, 456, 455, and 450 Ma). Both thrust sheets exhibitmore » similar upper amphibolite-facies conditions. Because of the high closure temperature for garnet, the garnet ages are interpreted to date growth at or near the peak of Taconic metamorphism. Devonian metamorphic ages are recognized in the Spruce Pine thrust sheet, where Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr garnet ages of 386 and 393 Ma and mineral isochron ages of 397 {+-} 14 and 375 {+-} 27 Ma are preserved. Hornblendes record similar {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar, Sm-Nd, and Rb-Sr ages of 398 to 379 Ma. Devonian {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar hornblende ages are also recorded in the structurally lower Pumpkin Patch thrust sheet. The Devonian mineral ages are interpreted to date a discrete tectonothermal event, as opposed to uplift and slow cooling from an Ordovician metamorphic event. The Mississippian mylonitization is interpreted to represent thrusting and initial assembly of crystalline sheets associated with the Alleghanian orogeny. The composite thrust stack of the Blue Ridge complex was subsequently thrust northwestward along the Linville Falls fault during middle Alleghanian orogeny (about 300 Ma).« less

  16. Structural evolution and petroleum productivity of the Baltic basin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ulmishek, G.F.

    The Baltic basin is an oval depression located in the western part of the Russian craton; it occupies the eastern Baltic Sea and adjacent onshore areas. The basin contains more than 5,000 m of sedimentary rocks ranging from latest Proterozoic to Tertiary in age. These rocks consist of four tectonostratigraphic sequences deposited during major tectonic episodes of basin evolution. Principal unconformities separate the sequences. The basin is underlain by a rift probably filled with Upper Proterozoic rocks. Vendian and Lower Cambrian rocks (Baikalian sequence) form two northeast-trending depressions. The principal stage of the basin development was during deposition of amore » thick Middle Cambrian-Lower Devonian (Caledonian) sequence. This stage was terminated by the most intense deformations in the basin history. The Middle Devonian-Carboniferous (Hercynian) and Permian-Tertiary (Kimmerian-Alpine) tectonic and depositional cycles only slightly modified the basin geometry and left intact the main structural framework of underlying rocks. The petroleum productivity of the basin is related to the Caledonian tectonostratigraphic sequence that contains both source rocks and reservoirs. However, maturation of source rocks, migration of oil, and formation of fields took place mostly during deposition of the Hercynian sequence.« less

  17. Sedimentology of gas-bearing Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Potter, P. E.; Maynard, J. B.; Pryor, W. A.

    1981-01-01

    Sedimentology of the Devonian shales and its relationship to gas, oil, and uranium are reported. Information about the gas bearing Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin is organized in the following sections: paleogeography and basin analysis; lithology and internal stratigraphy; paleontology; mineralogy, petrology, and chemistry; and gas oil, and uranium.

  18. Chemostratigraphic and U-Pb geochronologic constraints on carbon cycling across the Silurian-Devonian boundary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Husson, Jon M.; Schoene, Blair; Bluher, Sarah; Maloof, Adam C.

    2016-02-01

    The Devonian Period hosts extraordinary changes to Earth's biosphere. Land plants began their rise to prominence, with early vascular vegetation beginning its colonization of near-shore environments in the latest Silurian. Across the Silurian-Devonian (Pridoli-Lochkovian) transition, carbon isotope analyses of bulk marine carbonates (δC13carb) from Laurentian and Baltic successions reveal a positive δC13carb shift. Known as the Klonk Event, values reach + 5.8 ‰, making it one of the largest carbon isotope excursions in the Phanerozoic. Assigning rates and durations to these significant events requires a robust, precise Devonian time scale. Here we present 675 micritic matrix and 357 fossil-specific δC13carb analyses from the lower Devonian Helderberg Group of New York and West Virginia that exhibit the very positive δC13carb values observed in other Silurian-Devonian basins. This chemostratigraphic dataset is coupled with 66 ID-TIMS U-Pb dates on single zircons from six ash falls intercalated within Helderberg sediments, including dates on the stratigraphically lowest Devonian ashes yet developed. In this work, we (a) demonstrate that matrix and fossil-specific δC13carb values track one another closely in the Helderberg Group, (b) estimate the Silurian-Devonian boundary age in New York to be 421.3 ± 1.2 Ma (2σ; including decay constant uncertainties), and (c) calculate the time required to evolve from baseline to peak δC13carb values at the onset of the Klonk event to be 1.00 ± 0.25 Myr. Under these constraints, a steady-state perturbation to the global carbon cycle can explain the observed excursion with modern fluxes, as long as DIC concentration in the Devonian ocean remained below ∼2× the modern value. Therefore, potential drivers, such as enhanced burial of organic carbon, need not rely on anomalously high total fluxes of carbon to explain the Klonk Event.

  19. Combined Detrital U/Pb Zircon and 40Ar/39Ar Mica Geoochronology to Test Structural Models for a Devonian Orogenic Collapse Basin in the Norwegian Caledonides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Templeton, J.; Anders, M.; Fossen, H.

    2014-12-01

    The Hornelen basin is the largest of the Devonian 'Old Red' sandstone basins in Norway, comprising 25 km of alluvial-fluvial deposits which are organized into basin-wide, coarsening-upward megacycles. Hornelen sits with several smaller basins in the hanging wall a major extensional shear zone along which the ultra-high pressure metamorphic core of subducted Baltican crust was rapidly exhumed during the extensional collapse of the Caledonian orogeny. The timing of orogenic collapse corresponds closely to the timing of the basins, which are loosely constrained by sparse trace-fossil assemblages to a mid-Devonian age. Further, the basins are now in brittle fault contact with the underlying mylonitic shear zone and the metamorphic core, implying that they are the upper-crustal expression of large-scale extension and deep-crustal exhumation. Two distinct structural models have been proposed for Hornelen to account for these observations. The strike-slip model juxtaposes different source terranes across the basin-controlling fault and predicts spatially changing provenance within chronostratigraphic units. The supradetachment model links the filling of the basin directly to unroofing of the metamorphic core on a low-angle detachment fault, and predicts basin-wide changes in provenance through time with progressive exhumation of the metamorphic hinterland. We present an extensive new provenance dataset, spanning the Hornelen basin strata through space and time. Detrital zircon U/Pb ages from 18 new samples comprise three distinct populations (1.6, 1.0, and 0.43 Ga) with the Caledonian-aged zircons (ca 0.43 Ga) present mainly along the northern margin of the basin, representing an Upper Allochthon source not found on the southern or eastern margins of the basin. Juxtaposition of different source terranes across the basin supports the strike-slip model. 40Ar/39Ar detrital white mica from the same sample set documents a younging of the dominant age peak from 432 Ma in the oldest sediments to 401 Ma in the youngest units, but does not document any difference between northern and southern mica sources. This trend supports the supradetachment model, but may also be explained by passive, isostatically-driven erosional unroofing of the overthickened orogenic crust.

  20. Prehistory and History of the Upper Gila River, Arizona and New Mexico: An Archaeological Overview.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-02-01

    Sharon Debowski directed the survey of the north side of the river, again covering the maximum flood pool and a half-mile (0.8 km.) buffer zone. In...resistance. By 1865, placer deposits were being worked along the San Francisco River; in 1869 Lt. John Bourke was one of several persons to note rich...Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology 44(1). Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Debowski, Sharon S., and Gordon Fritz

  1. Geologic map of the Nelson quadrangle, Lewis and Clark County, Montana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Reynolds, Mitchell W.; Hays, William H.

    2003-01-01

    The geologic map of the Nelson quadrangle, scale 1:24,000, was prepared as part of the Montana Investigations Project to provide new information on the stratigraphy, structure, and geologic history of an area in the geologically complex southern part of the Montana disturbed belt. In the Nelson area, rocks ranging in age from Middle Proterozoic through Cretaceous are exposed on three major thrust plates in which rocks have been telescoped eastward. Rocks within the thrust plates are folded and broken by thrust faults of smaller displacement than the major bounding thrust faults. Middle and Late Tertiary sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks unconformably overlie the pre-Tertiary rocks. A major normal fault displaces rocks of the western half of the quadrangle down on the west with respect to strata of the eastern part. Alluvial and terrace gravels and local landslide deposits are present in valley bottoms and on canyon walls in the deeply dissected terrain. Different stratigraphic successions are exposed at different structural levels across the quadrangle. In the northeastern part, strata of the Middle Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, Wolsey Shale, and Meagher Limestone, the Middle and Upper Cambrian Pilgrim Formation and Park Shale undivided, the Devonian Maywood, Jefferson, and lower part of the Three Forks Formation, and Lower and Upper Mississippian rocks assigned to the upper part of the Three Forks Formation and the overlying Lodgepole and Mission Canyon Limestones are complexly folded and faulted. These deformed strata are overlain structurally in the east-central part of the quadrangle by a succession of strata including the Middle Proterozoic Greyson Formation and the Paleozoic succession from the Flathead Sandstone upward through the Lodgepole Limestone. In the east-central area, the Flathead Sandstone rests unconformably on the middle part of the Greyson Formation. The north edge, northwest quarter, and south half of the quadrangle are underlain by a succession of rocks that includes not only strata equivalent to those of the remainder of the quadrangle, but also the Middle Proterozoic Newland, Greyson, and Spokane Formations, Pennsylvanian and Upper Mississippian Amsden Formation and Big Snowy Group undivided, the Permian and Pennsylvanian Phosphoria and Quadrant Formations undivided, the Jurassic Ellis Group and Lower Cretaceous Kootenai Formation. Hornblende diorite sills and irregular bodies of probable Late Cretaceous age intrude Middle Proterozoic, Cambrian and Devonian strata. No equivalent intrusive rocks are present in structurally underlying successions of strata. In this main part of the quadrangle, the Flathead Sandstone cuts unconformably downward from south to north across the Spokane Formation into the upper middle part of the Greyson Formation. Tertiary (Miocene?) strata including sandstone, pebble and cobble conglomerate, and vitric crystal tuff underlie, but are poorly exposed, in the southeastern part of the quadrangle where they are overlain by late Tertiary and Quaternary gravel. The structural complexity of the quadrangle decreases from northeast to southwest across the quadrangle. At the lowest structural level (Avalanche Butte thrust plate) exposed in the canyon of Beaver Creek, lower and middle Paleozoic rocks are folded in northwest-trending east-inclined disharmonic anticlines and synclines that are overlain by recumbently folded and thrust faulted Devonian and Mississippian rocks. The Mississippian strata are imbricated adjacent to the recumbent folds. In the east-central part of the quadrangle, a structurally overlying thrust plate, likely equivalent to the Hogback Mountain thrust plate of the Hogback Mountain quadrangle adjacent to the east (Reynolds, 20xx), juxtaposes recumbently folded Middle Proterozoic and unconformably overlying lower Paleozoic rocks on the complexly folded and faulted rocks of the Avalanche Butte thrust plate. The highest structural plate, bounded below

  2. The impact of precession and obliquity on the Late-Devonian greenhouse climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Vleeschouwer, D.; Crucifix, M.; Bounceur, N.; Claeys, P. F.

    2012-12-01

    To date, only few general circulation model (GCM) have been used to simulate the extremely warm greenhouse climate of the Late-Devonian (~370 Ma). As a consequence, the current knowledge on Devonian climate dynamics comes almost exclusively from geological proxy data. Given the fragmentary nature of these data sources, the understanding of the Devonian climate is rather limited. Nonetheless, the Late-Devonian is a key-period in the evolution of life on Earth: the continents were no longer bare but were invaded by land plants, the first forests appeared, soils were formed, fish evolved to amphibians and 70-80% of all animal species were wiped out during the Late Devonian extinction (~376 Ma). In order to better understand the functioning of the climate system during this highly important period in Earth's history, we applied the HadSM3 climate model to the Devonian period under different astronomical configurations. This approach provides insight into the response of Late-Devonian climate to astronomical forcing due to precession and obliquity. Moreover, the assessment of the sensitivity of the Late-Devonian climate to astronomical forcing, presented here, will allow cyclostratigraphers to make better and more detailed interpretations of recurring patterns often observed in Late-Devonian sections. We simulated Late-Devonian climates by prescribing palaeogeography, vegetation distribution and pCO2 concentration (2180 ppm). Different experiments were carried out under 31 different astronomical configurations: three levels for obliquity (ɛ = 22°; 23.5° and 24.5°) and eccentricity (e = 0; 0.03 and 0.07) were chosen. For precession, 8 levels were considered (longitude of the perihelion= 0°; 45°; 90°; 135°; 180°; 235°; 270°). First results suggest that the intensity of precipitation on the tropical Euramerican continent (also known as Laurussia) is highly dependent on changes in precession: During precession maxima (= maximal insolation in SH during winter solstice), precipitation is up to 300 mm/month higher compared to precession minima during the wet season (September - May). During the dry season (June-July-August), the climate is up to 7°C colder during a precession maxima compared to a precession minima. Obliquity doesn't show a significant influence on the climate of the tropical Euramerican continent. However, the imprint of obliquity on the polar climates is extensive with up to 6°C temperature-differences between obliquity maxima and minima at both poles.

  3. Invasive species and biodiversity crises: testing the link in the late devonian.

    PubMed

    Stigall, Alycia L

    2010-12-29

    During the Late Devonian Biodiversity Crisis, the primary driver of biodiversity decline was the dramatic reduction in speciation rates, not elevated extinction rates; however, the causes of speciation decline have been previously unstudied. Speciation, the formation of new species from ancestral populations, occurs by two primary allopatric mechanisms: vicariance, where the ancestral population is passively divided into two large subpopulations that later diverge and form two daughter species, and dispersal, in which a small subset of the ancestral population actively migrates then diverges to form a new species. Studies of modern and fossil clades typically document speciation by vicariance in much higher frequencies than speciation by dispersal. To assess the mechanism behind Late Devonian speciation reduction, speciation rates were calculated within stratigraphically constrained species-level phylogenetic hypotheses for three representative clades and mode of speciation at cladogenetic events was assessed across four clades in three phyla: Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, and Mollusca. In all cases, Devonian taxa exhibited a congruent reduction in speciation rate between the Middle Devonian pre-crisis interval and the Late Devonian crisis interval. Furthermore, speciation via vicariance is almost entirely absent during the crisis interval; most episodes of speciation during this time were due to dispersal. The shutdown of speciation by vicariance during this interval was related to widespread interbasinal species invasions. The lack of Late Devonian vicariance is diametrically opposed to the pattern observed in other geologic intervals, which suggests the loss of vicariant speciation attributable to species invasions during the Late Devonian was a causal factor in the biodiversity crisis. Similarly, modern ecosystems, in which invasive species are rampant, may be expected to exhibit similar shutdown of speciation by vicariance as an outcome of the modern biodiversity crisis.

  4. Early Forest Soils and Their Role in Devonian Global Change

    PubMed

    Retallack

    1997-04-25

    A paleosol in the Middle Devonian Aztec Siltstone of Victoria Land, Antarctica, is the most ancient known soil of well-drained forest ecosystems. Clay enrichment and chemical weathering of subsurface horizons in this and other Devonian forested paleosols culminate a long-term increase initiated during the Silurian. From Silurian into Devonian time, red clayey calcareous paleosols show a greater volume of roots and a concomitant decline in the density of animal burrows. These trends parallel the decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide determined from isotopic records of pedogenic carbonate in these same paleosols. The drawdown of carbon dioxide began well before the Devonian appearance of coals, large logs, and diverse terrestrial plants and animals, and it did not correlate with temporal variation in volcanic or metamorphic activity. The early Paleozoic greenhouse may have been curbed by the evolution of rhizospheres with an increased ratio of primary to secondary production and by more effective silicate weathering during Silurian time.

  5. Ground-water levels, predevelopment ground-water flow, and stream-aquifer relations in the vicinity of the Savannah River Site, Georgia and South Carolina

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Clarke, John S.; West, Christopher T.

    1998-01-01

    Ground-water levels, predevelopment ground-water flow, and stream-aquifer relations in the vicinity of the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site, Georgia and South Carolina, were evaluated as part of a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Energy, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. As part of this evaluation: (1) ground-water-level fluctuations and trends in three aquifer systems in sediment of Cretaceous and Tertiary age were described and related to patterns of ground-water use and precipitations; (2) a conceptual model ofthe stream-aquifer flow system was developed; (3) the predevelopment ground-water flow system, configuration of potentiometric surfaces, trans-river flow, and recharge-discharge relations were described; and (4) stream-aquifer relations and the influence of river incision on ground-water flow and stream-aquifer relations were described. The 5,147-square mile study area is located in the northern part of the Coastal Plain physiographic province of Georgia and South Carolina. Coastal Plain sediments comprise three aquifer systems consisting of seven aquifers that are separated hydraulically by confining units. The aquifer systems are, in descending order: (1) the Floridan aquifer system?consisting of the Upper Three Runs and Gordon aquifers in sediments of Eocene age; (2) the Dublin aquifer system?consisting of the Millers Pond, upper Dublin, and lower Dublin aquifers in sediments of Paleocene-Late Cretaceous age; and (3) the Midville aquifer system?consisting of the upper Midville and lower Midville aquifers in sediments of Late Cretaceous age. The Upper Three Runs aquifer is the shallowest aquifer and is unconfined to semi-confined throughout most of the study area. Ground-water levels in the Upper Three Runs aquifer respond to a local flow system and are affected mostly by topography and climate. Ground-water flow in the deeper, Gordon aquifer and Dublin and Midville aquifer systems is characterized by local flow near outcrop areas to the north, changing to intermediate flow and then regional flow downdip (southeastward) as the aquifers become more deeply buried. Water levels in these deeper aquifers show a pronounced response to topography and climate in the vicinity of outcrops, and diminish southeastward where the aquifer is more deeply buried. Stream stage and pumpage affect ground-water levels in these deeper aquifers to varying degrees throughout the study area. The geologic characteristics of the Savannah River alluvial valley substantially control the configuration of potentiometric surfaces, ground-water-flow directions, and stream-aquifer relations. Data from 18 shallow borings indicate incision into each aquifer by the paleo Savannah River channel and subsequent infill of permeable alluvium, allowing for direct hydraulic connection between aquifers and the Savannah River along parts of its reach. This hydraulic connection may be the cause of large ground-water discharge to the river near Jackson, S.C., where the Gordon aquifer is in contact with Savannah River alluvium, and also the cause of lows or depressions formed in the potentiometric surfaces of confined aquifers that are in contact with the alluvium. Ground water in these aquifers flows toward the depressions. The influence of the river is diminished downstream where the aquifers are deeply buried, and upstream and downstream ground-water flow is possibly separated by a water divide or 'saddle'. Water-level data indicate that saddle features probably exist in the Gordon aquifer and Dublin aquifer system, and also might be present in the Midville aquifer system. Ground-water levels respond seasonally or in long term to changes in precipitation, evapotranspiration, pumpage, and river stage. Continuous water-level data and water-levels measured in a network of 271 wells during the Spring (May) and Fall (October) in 1992, indicate that seasonal water-level changes generally are

  6. Stage boundary recognition in the Eastern Americas realm based on rugose corals

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Oliver, W.A.

    2000-01-01

    Most Devonian stages contain characteristic coral assemblages but these tend to be geographically and facies limited and may or may not be useful for recognising stage boundaries. Within eastern North America, corals contribute to the recognition of two boundaries: the base of the Lochkovian (Silurian-Devonian boundary) and the base of the Eifelian (Lower-Middle Devonian Series boundary).

  7. Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and precise dating of middle Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) Alamo Breccia, Nevada, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Morrow, J.R.; Sandberg, C.A.; Malkowski, K.; Joachimski, M.M.

    2009-01-01

    At Hancock Summit West, Nevada, western USA, uppermost Givetian (upper Middle Devonian) and lower and middle Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) rocks of the lower Guilmette Formation include, in stratigraphic sequence, carbonate-platform facies of the conodont falsiovalis, transitans, and punctata Zones; the type Alamo Breccia Member of the middle punctata Zone; and slope facies of the punctata and hassi Zones. The catastrophically deposited Alamo Breccia and related phenomena record the ~ 382??Ma Alamo event, produced by a km-scale bolide impact into a marine setting seaward of an extensive carbonate platform fringing western North America. Re-evaluation of conodonts from the lower Guilmette Formation and Alamo Breccia Member, together with regional sedimentologic and conodont biofacies comparisons, now firmly locates the onset of the Johnson et al. (1985) transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycle IIc, which occurred after the start of the punctata Zone, within a parautochthonous megablock low in the Alamo Breccia. Whole-rock carbon isotope analyses through the lower Guilmette Formation and Alamo Breccia Member reveal two positive ??13Ccarb excursions: (1) a small, 3??? excursion, which is possibly correlative with the falsiovalis Event previously identified from sections in Western Europe and Australia, occurs below the breccia in the Upper falsiovalis Zone to early part of the transitans Zone; and (2) a large, multi-part excursion, dominated by a 6??? positive shift, begins above the start of the punctata Zone and onset of T-R cycle IIc and continues above the Alamo Breccia, ending near the punctata- hassi zonal boundary. This large excursion correlates with the punctata Event, a major positive ??13C excursion previously recognized in eastern Laurussia and northern Gondwana. Consistent with previous studies, at Hancock Summit West the punctata Event is apparently not associated with any regional extinctions or ecosystem reorganizations. In the study area, onset of the main punctata Event began after the start of both the punctata Zone and T-R cycle IIc, and preceded the Alamo impact by less than 650??k.y., as inferred from conodont biochronologic and regional rock-accumulation rate estimates. Although complicated by the heterolithic, high-energy deposits of the Alamo Breccia, the carbon isotope record of the breccia and post-breccia beds does not indicate a major impact-correlative perturbation to the carbon cycle. This study extends recognition of the punctata Event to western Laurussia, further reinforcing the potential global scale of the event and its potential importance to understanding early to middle Frasnian marine geochemistry and palaeoenvironments. Based on previous models and our observations, increased tectonic activity, increased nutrient flux to oceans, increased marine bioproductivity, widespread anoxia, and increased organic carbon burial were all likely key factors in driving the punctata Event excursion. Furthermore, periodic eustatic and regional relative sea-level rises may have played an important role in promoting organic carbon burial and in maintaining a link between the primary open-marine geochemical signal and that recorded on the shallow-marine, lower Guilmette carbonate platform. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Geochemical Aspects of Formation of Large Oil Deposits in the Volga-Ural Sedimentary Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Plotnikova, I.; Nosova, F.; Pronin, N.; Nosova, J.; Budkevich, T.

    2012-04-01

    The study of the rocks domanikoid type in the territory of the Ural-Volga region has an almost century-long history, beginning with the first studies of A.D. Archangelsky in the late 20's of last century. But nevertheless the question of the source of oil that formed the industrial deposits of Volga-Ural oil and gas province (OGP), where Romashkinskoye oil field occupies a special place, remains unresolved and topical. According to the sedimentary-migration theory of origin of oil and gas, it is supposed that the primary source of hydrocarbons in this area are the deposits of domanikoid type that contain a large ammount of sapropel organic matter (OM). Semiluki (domanik) horizon of srednefranski substage of the Upper Devonian is considered to be a typical domanikoid stratum. Investigation of the OM of the rocks and oils of the sedimentary cover on the basis of chromato-mass spectrometry method allows us to study the correlations between rock and oil and to assess the location (or absence) of the sources of hydrocarbons in the Paleozoic sedimentary cover. The results of geochemical study of dispersed organic matter (DOM) of rocks from Semiluksky horizon of the Upper Devonian and of the oil from Pashiysky horizon of the Middle Devonian form the basis of this paper. The objectives of this study were the following: to determine the original organic matter of the rocks, which would indicate the conditions of sedimentation of the supposed rock-oil sources; the study of chemofossils (biomarkers) in oil from Pashiyskiy horizon; and the identification of genetic association of DOM rocks from Semiluksky horizon with this oil on the basis of the oil-DOM correlation. The study of biomarkers was carried out with the help of chromato-mass spectrometry in the Laboratory of Geochemistry of Fossil Fuels (Kazan Federal University). In this study we used several informative parameters characterizing the depositional environment, the type of source OM and its maturity: STER / PENT, hC35/hC34, GAM / HOP, S27/S28/S29 (steranes), DIA / REG, Ts / Tm, MOR / HOP, NOR / HOP, TET / TRI, C29SSR, C29BBAA, C31HSR, S30STER, TRI / PENT, TRI / HOP. Comparison in the rock-oil system was performed primarily according to the parameters indicating the depositional environment of the source rock that contains syngenetic DOM - according to the coefficients that determine lithological conditions for the formation of the supposed oil-source bed strata (DIA / REG, Ts / Tm, NOR / HOP, TRI / HOP and STER / PENT). Biomarker ratios indicate a different type of sedimentation basins. Sediments, which accumulated DOM from Semilukskiy horizon, can be characterized by low clay content, or its absence, that is consistent with the carbonate type of cut of the horizon. The bacterial material that was accumulated under reducing conditions of sedimentation appeared to be the source of syngenetic OM. Chemofossils found in oils from Pashiyskiy horizon are typical of sedimentary strata that contain clay - for clastic rocks, which in the study area are mainly represented by deposits and Eyfel Givetian layers of the Middle Devonian and lowfransk substage of the Upper Devonian. The study of correlations obtained for the different coefficients of OM and oils showed that only the relationships between Ts/Tm and DIA/REG and between NOR/HOP and TRI/HOP are characteristic of close, almost similar values of correlation both for the dispersed organic matter and for oil. In all other cases, the character of the correlation of OM is significantly different from that of oil. The differences in values and ranges of biomarker ratios as well as the character of their correlation indicates the absence of genetic connection between the oil from Pashiyskiy horizon for the dispersed organic matter from Semilukskiy horizon. This conclusion is based on the study of five biomarker parameters (DIA/REG, Ts/Tm, NOR/HOP, TRI/HOP and STER/PENT). The research results described in the article clearly indicate the need for further studies of geochemical features of the organic matter of the Paleozoic mantle rocks and the underlying sedimentary and crystalline complexes of Precambrian.

  9. Geology and undiscovered resource assessment of the potash-bearing Pripyat and Dnieper-Donets Basins, Belarus and Ukraine

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cocker, Mark D.; Orris, Greta J.; Dunlap, Pamela; Lipin, Bruce R.; Ludington, Steve; Ryan, Robert J.; Słowakiewicz, Mirosław; Spanski, Gregory T.; Wynn, Jeff; Yang, Chao

    2017-08-03

    Undiscovered potash resources in the Pripyat Basin, Belarus, and Dnieper-Donets Basin, Ukraine, were assessed as part of a global mineral resource assessment led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Pripyat Basin (in Belarus) and the Dnieper-Donets Basin (in Ukraine and southern Belarus) host stratabound and halokinetic Upper Devonian (Frasnian and Famennian) and Permian (Cisuralian) potash-bearing salt. The evaporite basins formed in the Donbass-Pripyat Rift, a Neoproterozoic continental rift structure that was reactivated during the Late Devonian and was flooded by seawater. Though the rift was divided, in part by volcanic deposits, into the separate Pripyat and Dnieper-Donets Basins, both basins contain similar potash‑bearing evaporite sequences. An Early Permian (Cisuralian) sag basin formed over the rift structure and was also inundated by seawater resulting in another sequence of evaporite deposition. Halokinetic activity initiated by basement faulting during the Devonian continued at least into the Permian and influenced potash salt deposition and structural evolution of potash-bearing salt in both basins.Within these basins, four areas (permissive tracts) that permit the presence of undiscovered potash deposits were defined by using geological criteria. Three tracts are permissive for stratabound potash-bearing deposits and include Famennian (Upper Devonian) salt in the Pripyat Basin, and Famennian and Cisuralian (lower Permian) salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin. In addition, a tract was delineated for halokinetic potash-bearing Famennian salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin.The Pripyat Basin is the third largest source of potash in the world, producing 6.4 million metric tons of potassium chloride (KCl) (the equivalent of about 4.0 million metric tons of potassium oxide or K2O) in 2012. Potash production began in 1963 in the Starobin #1 mine, near the town of Starobin, Belarus, in the northwestern corner of the basin. Potash is currently produced from six potash mines in the Starobin area. Published reserves in the Pripyat Basin area are about 7.3 billion metric tons of potash ore (about 1.3 billion metric tons of K2O) mostly from potash-bearing salt horizons in the Starobin and Petrikov mine areas. The 15,160-square-kilometer area of the Pripyat Basin underlain by Famennian potash-bearing salt contains as many as 60 known potash-bearing salt horizons. Rough estimates of the total mineral endowment associated with stratabound Famennian salt horizons in the Pripyat Basin range from 80 to 200 billion metric tons of potash-bearing salt that could contain 15 to 30 billion metric tons of K2O.Parameters (including the number of economic potash horizons, grades, and depths) for these estimates are not published so the estimates are not easily confirmed. Historically, reserves have been estimated above a depth of 1,200 meters (m) (approximately the depths of conventional underground mining). Additional undiscovered K2O resources could be significantly greater in the remainder of the Fammenian salt depending on the extents and grades of the 60 identified potash horizons above the USGS assessment depth of 3,000 m in the remainder of the tract. Increasing ambient temperatures with increasing depths in the eastern parts of the Pripyat Basin may require a solution mining process which is aided by higher temperatures.No resource or reserve data have been published and little is known about stratabound Famennian and Frasnian salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin. These Upper Devonian salt units dip to the southeast and extend to depths of 15–19 kilometers (km) or greater. The tract of stratabound Famennian salt that lies above a depth of 3 km, the depth above which potash is technically recoverable by solution mining, underlies an area of about 15,600 square kilometers (km2). If Upper Devonian salt units in the Dnieper-Donets Basin contain potash-bearing strata similar to salt of the same age in the Pripyat Basin, then the stratabound Famennian tract in the Dnieper-Donets Basin could contain significant undiscovered potash resources.The Cisuralian evaporite sequence in the Dnieper-Donets Basin consists of 10 evaporite cycles with the upper 3 cycles containing potash-bearing salt (mainly as sylvite and carnallite) in several subbasins and polyhalite in the sulfate bearing parts of the identified tract. The area of the Cisuralian tract is 62,700 km2. Potash-bearing cycles are as much as 40 m thick. One subbasin is reported to contain 794 million metric tons of “raw or crude” potash-bearing salt which could contain 50 to 150 million metric tons of K2O, depending on the grade. Undiscovered potash resources in the remainder of this permissive tract may be significantly greater. Depths to the Permian salt range from less than 100 to about 1,500 m.Undiscovered resources of halokinetic potash-bearing salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin were assessed quantitatively for this study by using the standard USGS three-part form of mineral resource assessment (Singer, 2007a; Singer and Menzie, 2010). Delineation of the permissive tract was based on distributions of mapped halokinetic salt structures. This tract contains at least 248 diapiric salt structures with a total area of 7,840 km2 that occupies approximately 8 percent of the basin area. The vertical extent of these salt structures is hundreds of meters to several kilometers. This assessment estimated that a total mean of 11 undiscovered deposits contain an arithmetic mean estimate of about 840 million metric tons of K2O in the halokinetic salt structures of the Dnieper-Donets Basin for which the probabilistic estimate was made.

  10. Hydrology and water quality of the Upper Three Runs Aquifer in the vicinity of the Gibson Road Landfill, Fort Gordon, Georgia, June-November 1999

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Priest, Sherlyn; McSwain, Kristen Bukowski

    2002-01-01

    Fort Gordon military installation, a U.S. Department of the Army facility, is located in east-central Georgia southwest of Augusta. The military base operates a three-phase unlined landfill?Gibson Road Landfill? to store a variety of wastes. Phases I and II stored only household wastes, and these phases were discontinued during the mid?1990s. Fort Gordon currently (1999) operates Phase III of the landfill that stores only construction and demolition debris. Water-quality monitoring detected selected trace elements and organic compounds exceeding the maximum contaminant levels of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Primary Drinking Water Standards. The selected trace elements and organic compounds detected showed that contamination of ground water had occurred in the vicinity of the landfill. In 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, began an assessment of the hydrogeology and water quality in shallow ground water in the vicinity of the Gibson Road Landfill to delineate the extent of a ground-water contamination plume in the vicinity of the landfill. Hydrogeologic units in the Augusta area include the Upper Three Runs aquifer, the Gordon aquifer, the Millers Pond aquifer, and the Dublin aquifer. Only the shallowest aquifer, Upper Three Runs, was penetrated during this study. The Upper Three Runs aquifer is composed of sediments of the Barnwell Group. Mostly, these sediments are highly permeable fine to medium, well-sorted sand with lenses of clay. Ground-water flow is from northwest to southeast and generally was unaffected by seasonal variation during the period of study (June?November 1999). Water-table altitudes in the landfill area for the study period ranged from 394 feet (ft) to 445 ft above sea level. Ground-water samples analyzed for organic compounds and selected trace elements by a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved statistical test revealed that increases in contaminant concentrations above the detection limits had occurred during March and September 1999 in five wells?one of which is located upgradient. These organic compounds, respective increases in concentration, and the wells in which they were detected are: methylene chloride?wells 28AA29 (24 parts per billion [ppb] and 46 ppb), 28AA30 (86 ppb and 130 ppb), and 28AA31 (240 ppb and 140 ppb); 1,1-dichloroethene?well 28AA31 (10 ppb and 5.7 ppb); 1,1-dichloroethane? wells 28AA30 (81 ppb and 140 ppb) and 28AA31 (200 ppb and 130 ppb); and 1,1,1-trichloroethane?well 28AA31 (61 ppb and 37 ppb). Although in some wells the concentration decreased from March to September, the median concentrations were still higher in certain groups. Trace element compounds, their respective increases in concentration, and the wells in which they were detected are: chromium?well 28AA30 (1,190 ppb), vanadium?well 28AA30 (104 ppb); barium?wells 28AA27 (42.2 ppb) and 28AA32 (140 ppb), and beryllium?well 28AA30 (6.3 ppb). These increases occurred in September, with the exception of chromium in well 28AA30, which occurred in March. Although a statistical test indicated increases in contaminant concentrations had occurred, water from wells 28AA27, 28AA30, 28AA31, and 28AA32 had a decrease in contaminant concentrations from February 1998 to September 1999. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Primary Drinking Water Regulations Maximum Contaminant Levels (PMCLs), formerly (MCLs) were exceeded in water from four wells for organic compounds and in five wells by selected trace elements during the February 1998, March 1999, and September 1999 sampling periods. The concentrations for the following organic compounds and the associated wells are: methylene chloride (PMCL is 5 ppb)?wells 28AA27 (February, 37 ppb; March, 24 ppb; and September, 9.6 ppb), 28AA29 (February, 20 ppb; March, 24 ppb; and September, 46 ppb), 28AA

  11. Geologic controls on cave development in Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Swezey, Christopher; Haynes, John T.; Lucas, Philip C.; Lambert, Richard A.

    2017-01-01

    Burnsville Cove in Bath and Highland Counties (Virginia, USA) is a karst region in the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Mountains. The region contains many caves in Silurian to Devonian limestone, and is well suited for examining geologic controls on cave location and cave passage morphology. In Burnsville Cove, many caves are located preferentially near the axes of synclines and anticlines. For example, Butler Cave is an elongate cave where the trunk channel follows the axis of Sinking Creek syncline and most of the side passages follow joints at right angles to the syncline axis. In contrast, the Water Sinks Subway Cave, Owl Cave, and Helictite Cave have abundant maze patterns, and are located near the axis of Chestnut Ridge anticline. The maze patterns may be related to fact that the anticline axis is the site of the greatest amount of flexure, leading to more joints and (or) greater enlargement of joints. Many of the larger caves of Burnsville Cove (e.g., Breathing Cave, Butler Cave–Sinking Creek Cave System, lower parts of the Water Sinks Cave System) are developed in the Silurian Tonoloway Limestone, the stratigraphic unit with the greatest surface exposure in the area. Other caves are developed in the Silurian to Devonian Keyser Limestone of the Helderberg Group (e.g., Owl Cave, upper parts of the Water Sinks Cave System) and in the Devonian Shriver Chert and (or) Licking Creek Limestone of the Helderberg Group (e.g., Helictite Cave). Within the Tonoloway Limestone, the larger caves are developed in the lower member of the Tonoloway Limestone immediately below a bed of silica-cemented sandstone. In contrast, the larger caves in the Keyser Limestone are located preferentially in limestone beds containing stromatoporoid reefs, and some of the larger caves in the Licking Creek Limestone are located in beds of cherty limestone below the Devonian Oriskany Sandstone. Geologic controls on cave passage morphology include joints, bedding planes, and folds. The influence of joints results in tall and narrow cave passages, whereas the influence of bedding planes results in cave passages with flat ceilings and (or) floors. The influence of folds is less common, but a few cave passages follow fold axes and have distinctive arched ceilings.

  12. Linking Fossil Fish Cyclicity and Paleoenvironmental Proxies in the mid-Devonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grogan, D.; Whiteside, J. H.; Trewin, N. H.; Johnson, J. E.

    2009-12-01

    The significant radiation of fishes throughout the Devonian, combined with the abundance of well-preserved fossil fish assemblages from this period, provides for a high-resolution record of prevalent fish taxa in the Orcadian basin of North Scotland. In addition to their ability to serve as a lake-level and lake-chemistry proxy, the waxing and waning of dominant fish taxa exhibit a pronounced cyclicity, suggesting they respond to broader climate rhythms. Recent studies of mid-Devonian lacustrine sedimentary sequences have quantitatively demonstrated the presence of Milankovitch cyclicity in geochemical and gamma ray proxy records. Spectral analysis of gamma ray data show a strong obliquity peak usually associated with ice-house conditions; this obliquity signal is unexpected as tropical latitudes in the mid-Devonian are traditionally thought to have been in a greenhouse climate. Geochemical data include the measurement of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, molecule-specific carbon isotopes of plant biomarkers, and depth ranks from eight sections of the Caithness Flagstone Group of the Orcadian Basin. Evidence for orbital forcing of climate change paired with the fossil fish record provides a unique opportunity to establish an astronomically calibrated timescale for the mid-Devonian, as well as to make a quantitative assessment of the validity of a greenhouse climate existing in the mid-Devonian.

  13. Placoderms (Armored Fish): Dominant Vertebrates of the Devonian Period

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Young, Gavin C.

    2010-05-01

    Placoderms, the most diverse group of Devonian fishes, were globally distributed in all habitable freshwater and marine environments, like teleost fishes in the modern fauna. Their known evolutionary history (Early Silurian-Late Devonian) spanned at least 70 million years. Known diversity (335 genera) will increase when diverse assemblages from new areas are described. Placoderms first occur in the Early Silurian of China, but their diversity remained low until their main evolutionary radiation in the Early Devonian, after which they became the dominant vertebrates of Devonian seas. Most current placoderm data are derived from the second half of the group's evolutionary history, and recent claims that they form a paraphyletic group are based on highly derived Late Devonian forms; 16 shared derived characters are proposed here to support placoderm monophyly. Interrelationships of seven placoderm orders are unresolved because Silurian forms from China are still poorly known. The relationship of placoderms to the two major extant groups of jawed fishes—osteichthyans (bony fishes) and chondrichthyans (cartilaginous sharks, rays, and chimaeras)—remains uncertain, but the detailed preservation of placoderm internal braincase structures provides insights into the ancestral gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) condition. Placoderms provide the most complex morphological and biogeographic data set for the Middle Paleozoic; marked discrepancies in stratigraphic occurrence between different continental regions indicate strongly endemic faunas that were probably constrained by marine barriers until changes in paleogeography permitted range enlargement into new areas. Placoderm distributions in time and space indicate major faunal interchange between Gondwana and Laurussia near the Frasnian-Famennian boundary; closure of the Devonian equatorial ocean is a possible explanation.

  14. Center for Subsurface Sensing & Imaging Systems (CenSSIS)

    Science.gov Websites

    Contact Us Home Wavelets ALERT Center PROTECT Program Gordon Engineering Leadership Program Center Members Simon Pitts awarded 2015 Gordon Prize ALERT Center Director, Michael B. Silevitch and Gordon Engineering Leadership Director, Simon Pitts have been awarded the 2015 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Engineering Education

  15. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McCollum, L.B.; Buchanan, J.P.; McCollum, M.B.

    The Antler orogeny is a textbook example of a Paleozoic mountain building and crustal shortening event in western North America. A relatively complex geologic history of the type Antler at Battle Mountain, Nevada, is interpreted as distinct thrust plates of Lower Cambrian Scott Canyon Formation, Upper Cambrian Harmony Sandstone, and Ordovician Valmy Formation, overlain unconformably by the Middle Pennsylvanian Battle Formation. Mississippian crustal deformation and emplacement of the Roberts Mountain thrust have previously been thought to characterize the Antler orogen. Detailed sedimentology studies of the Scott Canyon and Harmony, and the relationship with the overlying Battle Formation at the typemore » section of the Antler orogeny, cast doubt on the previously accepted geologic history. The Scott Canyon is an interbedded sequence of pillow basalts, Late Devonian radiolarian cherts, and mudstone debris flows with numerous limestone olistoliths, many containing undescribed archaeocyathid fauna. The contact of the Harmony with the Battle Formation appears channeled, but otherwise conformable, and the Battle has been interpreted as an alluvial fan facies. The paleoenvironmental interpretation of these sediments is that the Scott Canyon was deposited upon a Late Devonian active continental margin setting, with prograding fan deposits of the Harmony Sandstone, overlain by Middle Pennsylvanian fanglomerates of the Battle Formation. This conformable sequence appears to preclude any major uplift within the type Antler orogen.« less

  16. Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment on Upper Gordons Creek, Urban Flood Damage Reduction Measures at Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-09-01

    REDUCTION MEASURES AT HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI US Army Corps SEPTEMBER 1986 of Engineers Mobile District DTIC South Atlantic Division O ELECTE S APR 14S1 87...8. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(&) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT, PROJECT. TASK U.S...Army Corps of Enineers AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS ATTN: SAMPD-FW 1 P.O. Box 2288, Mobile , AL 36628 $1. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT

  17. The rise of fire: Fossil charcoal in late Devonian marine shales as an indicator of expanding terrestrial ecosystems, fire, and atmospheric change

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rimmer, Susan M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Scott, Andrew C.; Cressler, Walter L.

    2015-01-01

    Fossil charcoal provides direct evidence for fire events that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of both terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Most of the ancient charcoal record is known from terrestrial or nearshore environments and indicates the earliest occurrences of fire in the Late Silurian. However, despite the rise in available fuel through the Devonian as vascular land plants became larger and trees and forests evolved, charcoal occurrences are very sparse until the Early Mississippian where extensive charcoal suggests well-established fire systems. We present data from the latest Devonian and Early Mississippian of North America from terrestrial and marine rocks indicating that fire became more widespread and significant at this time. This increase may be a function of rising O2 levels and the occurrence of fire itself may have contributed to this rise through positive feedback. Recent atmospheric modeling suggests an O2 low during the Middle Devonian (around 17.5%), with O2 rising steadily through the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (to 21–22%) that allowed for widespread burning for the first time. In Devonian-Mississippian marine black shales, fossil charcoal (inertinite) steadily increases up-section suggesting the rise of widespread fire systems. There is a concomitant increase in the amount of vitrinite (preserved woody and other plant tissues) that also suggests increased sources of terrestrial organic matter. Even as end Devonian glaciation was experienced, fossil charcoal continued to be a source of organic matter being introduced into the Devonian oceans. Scanning electron and reflectance microscopy of charcoal from Late Devonian terrestrial sites indicate that the fires were moderately hot (typically 500–600 °C) and burnt mainly surface vegetation dominated by herbaceous zygopterid ferns and lycopsids, rather than being produced by forest crown fires. The occurrence and relative abundance of fossil charcoal in marine black shales are significant in that these shales may provide a more continuous record of fire than is preserved in terrestrial environments. Our data support the idea that major fires are not seen in the fossil record until there is both sufficient and connected fuel and a high enough atmospheric O2 content for it to burn.

  18. From success to persistence: Identifying an evolutionary regime shift in the diverse Paleozoic aquatic arthropod group Eurypterida, driven by the Devonian biotic crisis.

    PubMed

    Lamsdell, James C; Selden, Paul A

    2017-01-01

    Mass extinctions have altered the trajectory of evolution a number of times over the Phanerozoic. During these periods of biotic upheaval a different selective regime appears to operate, although it is still unclear whether consistent survivorship rules apply across different extinction events. We compare variations in diversity and disparity across the evolutionary history of a major Paleozoic arthropod group, the Eurypterida. Using these data, we explore the group's transition from a successful, dynamic clade to a stagnant persistent lineage, pinpointing the Devonian as the period during which this evolutionary regime shift occurred. The late Devonian biotic crisis is potentially unique among the "Big Five" mass extinctions in exhibiting a drop in speciation rates rather than an increase in extinction. Our study reveals eurypterids show depressed speciation rates throughout the Devonian but no abnormal peaks in extinction. Loss of morphospace occupation is random across all Paleozoic extinction events; however, differential origination during the Devonian results in a migration and subsequent stagnation of occupied morphospace. This shift appears linked to an ecological transition from euryhaline taxa to freshwater species with low morphological diversity alongside a decrease in endemism. These results demonstrate the importance of the Devonian biotic crisis in reshaping Paleozoic ecosystems. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  19. Study of hydrocarbon production from the Devonian shale in Letcher, Knott, Floyd, Martin, and Pike Counties, eastern Kentucky annual technical report, July 1, 1984-June 30, 1985

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Frankie, W.T.

    The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky is conducting a 2-year research project funded by the Gas Research Institute (GRI) to study hydrocarbon production from the Devonian shale in eastern Kentucky. Objectives are to develop an understanding of relationships between stratigraphy and hydrocarbon production, create a data base, and prepare geologic reports for each county in the study area. Data were compiled from the KGS, GRI Eastern Gas Data System (EGDS), U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), and industry. Research for Letcher County was completed and 270 Devonian wells were entered into the KGS computer data base.more » Devonian black-shale units were correlated using gamma-ray logs. Structure and isopach maps, and stratigraphic cross sections have been constructed. An isopotential map defining areas of equal initial gas production has been prepared. Statistics for Letcher County have been run on the data base using Datatrieve software package. Statistical analyses focused on different types of formation treatments and the resulting production. Temperature logs were used to detect gas-producing intervals within the Mississippian-Devonian black-shale sequence. The results of the research provide the petroleum industry with a valuable tool for gas exploration in the Devonian shales.« less

  20. An Exceptionally Preserved Transitional Lungfish from the Lower Permian of Nebraska, USA, and the Origin of Modern Lungfishes

    PubMed Central

    Pardo, Jason D.; Huttenlocker, Adam K.; Small, Bryan J.

    2014-01-01

    Complete, exceptionally-preserved skulls of the Permian lungfish Persephonichthys chthonica gen. et sp. nov. are described. Persephonichthys chthonica is unique among post-Devonian lungfishes in preserving portions of the neurocranium, permitting description of the braincase of a stem-ceratodontiform for the first time. The completeness of P. chthonica permits robust phylogenetic analysis of the relationships of the extant lungfish lineage within the Devonian lungfish diversification for the first time. New analyses of the relationships of this new species within two published matrices using both maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference robustly place P. chthonica and modern lungfishes within dipterid-grade dipnoans rather than within a clade containing Late Devonian ‘phaneropleurids’ and common Late Paleozoic lungfishes such as Sagenodus. Monophyly of post-Devonian lungfishes is not supported and the Carboniferous-Permian taxon Sagenodus is found to be incidental to the origins of modern lungfishes, suggesting widespread convergence in Late Paleozoic lungfishes. Morphology of the skull, hyoid arch, and pectoral girdle suggests a deviation in feeding mechanics from that of Devonian lungfishes towards the more dynamic gape cycle and more effective buccal pumping seen in modern lungfishes. Similar anatomy observed previously in ‘Rhinodipterus’ kimberyensis likely represents an intermediate state between the strict durophagy observed in most Devonian lungfishes and the more dynamic buccal pump seen in Persephonichthys and modern lungfishes, rather than adaptation to air-breathing exclusively. PMID:25265394

  1. 77 FR 51023 - R. Gordon Gooch v. Colonial Pipeline Company; Notice of Complaint

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. OR12-24-000] R. Gordon Gooch...)), and section 343.2 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 343.2 (2012)), R. Gordon Gooch (Complainant..., and 100.6.0, as set forth more fully in the complaint. R. Gordon Gooch states that a copy of the...

  2. On the Klein–Gordon oscillator subject to a Coulomb-type potential

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bakke, K., E-mail: kbakke@fisica.ufpb.br; Furtado, C., E-mail: furtado@fisica.ufpb.br

    2015-04-15

    By introducing the scalar potential as modification in the mass term of the Klein–Gordon equation, the influence of a Coulomb-type potential on the Klein–Gordon oscillator is investigated. Relativistic bound states solutions are achieved to both attractive and repulsive Coulomb-type potentials and the arising of a quantum effect characterized by the dependence of angular frequency of the Klein–Gordon oscillator on the quantum numbers of the system is shown. - Highlights: • Interaction between the Klein–Gordon oscillator and a modified mass term. • Relativistic bound states for both attractive and repulsive Coulomb-type potentials. • Dependence of the Klein–Gordon oscillator frequency on themore » quantum numbers. • Relativistic analogue of a position-dependent mass system.« less

  3. Carbonate rocks of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Their correlation and paleogeographic significance

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Harris, Alta; Repetski, John E.

    2014-01-01

    Paleozoic carbonate strata deposited in shallow platform to off-platform settings occur across the Seward Peninsula and range from unmetamorphosed Ordovician–Devonian(?) rocks of the York succession in the west to highly deformed and metamorphosed Cambrian–Devonian units of the Nome Complex in the east. Faunal and lithologic correlations indicate that early Paleozoic strata in the two areas formed as part of a single carbonate platform. The York succession makes up part of the York terrane and consists of Ordovician, lesser Silurian, and limited, possibly Devonian rocks. Shallow-water facies predominate, but subordinate graptolitic shale and calcareous turbidites accumulated in deeper water, intraplatform basin environments, chiefly during the Middle Ordovician. Lower Ordovician strata are mainly lime mudstone and peloid-intraclast grainstone deposited in a deepening upward regime; noncarbonate detritus is abundant in lower parts of the section. Upper Ordovician and Silurian rocks include carbonate mudstone, skeletal wackestone, and coral-stromatoporoid biostromes that are commonly dolomitic and accumulated in warm, shallow to very shallow settings with locally restricted circulation. The rest of the York terrane is mainly Ordovician and older, variously deformed and metamorphosed carbonate and siliciclastic rocks intruded by early Cambrian (and younger?) metagabbros. Older (Neoproterozoic–Cambrian) parts of these units are chiefly turbidites and may have been basement for the carbonate platform facies of the York succession; younger, shallow- and deep-water strata likely represent previously unrecognized parts of the York succession and its offshore equivalents. Intensely deformed and altered Mississippian carbonate strata crop out in a small area at the western edge of the terrane. Metacarbonate rocks form all or part of several units within the blueschist- and greenschist-facies Nome Complex. The Layered sequence includes mafic meta¬igneous rocks and associated calcareous metaturbidites of Ordovician age as well as shallow-water Silurian dolostones. Scattered metacarbonate rocks are chiefly Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian dolostones that formed in shallow, warm-water settings with locally restricted circulation and marbles of less constrained Paleozoic age. Carbonate metaturbidites occur on the northeast and southeast coasts and yield mainly Silurian and lesser Ordovician and Devonian conodonts; the northern succession also includes debris flows with meter-scale clasts and an argillite interval with Late Ordovician graptolites and lenses of radiolarian chert. Mafic igneous rocks at least partly of Early Devonian age are common in the southern succession. Carbonate rocks on Seward Peninsula experienced a range of deformational and thermal histories equivalent to those documented in the Brooks Range. Conodont color alteration indices (CAIs) from Seward Peninsula, like those from the Brooks Range, define distinct thermal provinces that likely reflect structural burial. Penetratively deformed high-pressure metamorphic rocks of the Nome Complex (CAIs ≥5) correspond to rocks of the Schist belt in the southern Brooks Range; both record subduction during early stages of the Jurassic–Cretaceous Brooks Range orogeny. Weakly metamorphosed to unmetamorphosed strata of the York terrane (CAIs mainly 2–5), like Brooks Range rocks in the Central belt and structural allochthons to the north, experienced moderate to shallow burial during the main phase of the Brooks Range orogeny. The nature of the contact between the York terrane and the Nome Complex is uncertain; it may be a thrust fault, an extensional surface, or a thrust fault later reactivated as an extensional fault. Lithofacies and biofacies data indicate that, in spite of their divergent Mesozoic histories, rocks of the York terrane and protoliths of the Nome Complex formed as part of the same lower Paleozoic carbonate platform. Stratigraphies in both

  4. 500 Myr of thermal history elucidated by multi-method detrital thermochronology of North Gondwana Cambrian sandstone (Eilat area, Israel)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vermeesch, P.; Avigad, D.

    2009-04-01

    Following the Neoproterozoic Pan-African orogeny, the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) of North Africa and Arabia was eroded and then covered by Cambrian sandstones that record the onset of platform sedimentation. We applied K-feldspar 40Ar/39Ar, zircon and apatite fission track and apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology to detritus from Cambrian sandstones of southern Israel deposited at about 500 Ma. U-Pb detrital zircon ages from these sandstones predate deposition and record the earlier Neoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Pan-African orogens. 40Ar/39Ar ages from 50 single grains of K-feldspar yield a Cambrian mean of approximately 535 Ma. The 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum of a multi-grain K-feldspar aliquot displays diffusion behaviour compatible with >560 Ma cooling later affected by a heating event. Assuming that the high temperature domains of the K-feldspars have not been affected by subsequent (hydro)thermal events, and taking previously published K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages from other parts of the East African Orogen at face value, these ages apparently record Pan-African thermal resetting below a thick volcano-sedimentary pile similar to the Saramuj conglomerate in Jordan and/or the Hammamat in Egypt. Detrital zircon fission track (ZFT) ages cluster around 380 Ma, consistent with previous ZFT results from Neoproterozoic basement and sediments of the region, revealing that the Cambrian platform sequence experienced a middle Devonian thermal event and low-grade metamorphism. Regional correlation indicates that during Devonian time the sedimentary cover atop the Cambrian in Israel was never in excess of 2.5 km, requiring an abnormally steep geothermal gradient to explain the complete ZFT annealing. A basal Carboniferous unconformity can be traced from Syria to southern Saudi Arabia, suggesting that the observed Devonian ZFT ages represent a regional tectonothermal event. Similar Devonian ZFT ages were reported from ANS basement outcrops in the Eastern Desert, 500 km south of Eilat. The detrital apatites we studied all have extremely rounded cores suggestive of a distant provenance, but some grains also feature distinct euhedral U-rich apatite overgrowth rims. Authigenic apatite may have grown during the late Devonian thermal event we dated by ZFT, coinciding with existing Rb-Sr ages from authigenic clays in the same deposits and leading to the conclusion that the Devonian event was probably hydrothermal. Like the ZFT ages, the detrital apatite fission track (AFT) ages were also completely reset after deposition. Sixty single grain detrital apatite fission track (AFT) ages group at ~270 Ma with significant dispersion. Inverse modeling of the AFT data indicate extended and/or repeated residence in the AFT partial annealing zone, in turn suggesting an episodic burial-erosion history during the Mesozoic caused by low-amplitude vertical motions. Seven detrital apatite (U-Th)/He ages scatter between 33 and 77 Ma, possibly resulting from extreme compositional zonation associated with the authigenic U-rich overgrowths. The ~70 Ma (U-Th)/He ages are more likely to be accurate, setting 1-2 km as an upper limit (depending on the geothermal gradient) on the post-Cretaceous exhumation of the Cambrian sandstone and showing no evidence for substantial denudation related to Tertiary rifting of the Red Sea.

  5. Precise U/Pb zircons dates of bentonites in Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian reference sections in North America and Britain.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suarez, S. E.; Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Stockli, D. F.; Batchelor, R. A.

    2016-12-01

    The end of the Ordovician marks one of the greatest of the Earth's mass extinctions. One hypothesis explains this mass extinction as the result of a short-lived, major glaciation preceded by episodes of increased volcanism brought on by the Taconic orogeny. K-bentonites, weathered volcanic ash, provide evidence for increased volcanism. However, there is a lack of modern precise U-Pb dating of these ashes and some confusion in the biostratigraphy. The aim of this study is to obtain more precise U-Pb zircon ages from biostratigraphically constrained bentonites which will lead to better correlation of the Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian relative time scales, as well as time the pulses of eruption. Zircon grains were extracted from the samples by heavy mineral separation and U-Pb dated using the Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer at the University of Texas-Austin. We report here 3 precise U-Pb zircon ages from the Trenton Group, Ontario, Canada, and Dob's Linn, Scotland. The youngest age from the top of the Kirkfield Formation in Ontario is 448.0 +/- 18 Ma, which fits with existing late Ordovician stratigraphic ages. At Dob's Linn, Scotland, the site of the Ordovician/Silurian Global Boundary Stratigraphic Section and Point (GSSP), the youngest age for DL7, a bentonite 5 meters below the GSSP is 402.0 +/- 12.0 Ma, and for DL24L, a bentonite 8 meters above the GSSP is 358.2 +/- 7.9 Ma. These are Devonian ages in current timescales - the current age for the GSSP is 443.8 +/- 1.8 Ma, based on an U/Pb dates from a bentonite 1.6 meters above the GSSP at Dob's Linn. We are confident that our techniques rule out contamination and the most likely explanation is that the small zircons we analyzed either suffered Pb loss, or grew overgrowths during low grade hydrothermal metamorphism of the sediments during the intrusion of the Southern Upland Devonian granites during the Caledonian orogeny. These Devonian ages suggest that the 443.8 +/- 1.8 Ma age may also be suspect. The Dob's Linn site is therefore unsuitable for calibrating the biostratigraphic horizons. Work in progress will provide more U-Pb dating of bentonites from around the Ordovician-Silurian boundary in Canada, United States, Britain and Scandinavia with the aim of calibrating the local series and stages in order to help in International correlations.

  6. Assessment of Paleozoic terrane accretion along the southern central Andes using detrital zircon geochronology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McKenzie, R.; Horton, B. K.; Fuentes, F.; Fosdick, J. C.; Capaldi, T.; Stockli, D. F.; Alvarado, P. M.

    2015-12-01

    Two distinct Paleozoic terranes known as Cuyania and Chilenia occupy the southern central Andes of Argentina and Chile. Because the proposed terrane boundaries coincide with major structural elements of the modern Andean system at 30-36°S, it is important to understand their origins and potential role in guiding later Andean deformation. The Cuyania terrane of western Argentina encompasses the Precordillera (PC) and a thick-skinned thrust block of the western Sierras Pampeanas, persisting southward to the San Rafael Basin (SRB). Although recently challenged, Cuyania has been long considered a piece of southern Laurentia that rifted away during the early Cambrian and collided with the Argentine margin during the Ordovician. Chilenia is situated west of Cuyania and includes the Frontal Cordillera (FC) and Andean magmatic arc. This less-studied terrane was potentially accreted during an enigmatic Devonian orogenic event. We present new detrital zircon U-Pb age data from siliciclastic sedimentary rocks that span the entire Paleozoic to Triassic from the FC, PC, and SRB. Cambrian rocks of the PC exhibit similar zircon age distributions with prominent ~1.4 and subordinate ~1.1 Ga populations, which are distinct from other Paleozoic strata. Plutonic rocks with these ages are common in southern Laurentia, whereas ~1.4 Ga zircons are uncommon in South American age distributions. This supports a Laurentian origin for Cuyania in isolation from Argentina during the Cambrian. Upper Paleozoic strata from the PC, FC, and SRB all yield similar age data suggesting shared provenance across the proposed Cuyania-Chilenia suture. Age distributions also notably lack Devonian-age grains. The regional paucity of Devonian plutonic rocks and detrital zircon casts doubt on a possible arc system between these terranes at this time, a key requisite for the mid-Paleozoic transfer and accretion of Chilenia to the Argentine margin. Collectively, these data question the precise boundaries of the Chilenia terrane.

  7. Trace Metal Characterization and Ion Exchange Capacity of Devonian to Pennsylvanian Age Bedrock in New York and Pennsylvania in Relation to Drinking Water Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spradlin, J.; Fiorentino, A. J., II; Siegel, D. I.

    2014-12-01

    We report the results of an evaluation of the trace and major metal composition of shallow sedimentary rock formations in the Appalachian Basin that control the quality of potable water produced in domestic and other wells. In particular, we quantify the mobile and total metals for which there are health concerns related to unconventional gas exploitation; Fe, Mn, Sr, Ba, As, and Pb. To do this, we sampled the upper 400 feet of Devonian to Pennsylvanian aged bedrock from Marcellus, NY to State College, PA. We used a variation of the U.S. Geological Survey Field Leach Test to assess water reactivity and leaching potential. Al, Zn, and U potentially can be leached from aquifer rocks naturally under acidic conditions, such as where pyrite might oxidize, to above current allowable regulatory values for these metals (2 mg/L, 5 mg/L, and 0.03 mg/L respectively) from some of the clay-rich formations. Groundwater analyses from both New York and Pennsylvania show that natural ion exchange occurs along flow paths from ridges to valleys. We find the laboratory cation exchange capacity (CEC) spans what might be expected for illite and chlorite commonly found in these rocks. Given the low surface area of the mineral surfaces of the fractures through which most of the water moves, the observed ion exchange in these rocks is not well understood. Along with this broad scale study area we investigated a Devonian outcrop 4 miles North of Cortland, NY to evaluate small-scale trace metal heterogeneity within a single stratigraphic section. Together these two studies provide important information to determine the extent to which ground water might be naturally high in trace metal composition, either because of geochemical conditions or entrainment of suspended material not removed prior to sampling.

  8. U-Pb (zircon) and geochemical constraints on the age, origin, and evolution of Paleozoic arc magmas in the Oyu Tolgoi porphyry Cu-Au district, southern Mongolia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wainwright, A.J.; Tosdal, R.M.; Wooden, J.L.; Mazdab, F.K.; Friedman, R.M.

    2011-01-01

    Uranium-Pb (zircon) ages are linked with geochemical data for porphyry intrusions associated with giant porphyry Cu-Au systems at Oyu Tolgoi to place those rocks within the petrochemical framework of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks of southern Mongolia. In this part of the Gurvansayhan terrane within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, the transition from Devonian tholeiitic marine rocks to unconformably overlying Carboniferous calc-alkaline subaerial to shallow marine volcanic rocks reflects volcanic arc thickening and maturation. Radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions (??Nd(t) range from +3.1 to +7.5 and 206Pb/204Pb values for feldspars range from 17.97 to 18.72), as well as low high-field strength element (HFSE) contents of most rocks (mafic rocks typically have <1.5% TiO2) are consistent with magma derivation from depleted mantle in an intra-oceanic volcanic arc. The Late Devonian and Carboniferous felsic rocks are dominantly medium- to high-K calc-alkaline and characterized by a decrease in Sr/Y ratios through time, with the Carboniferous rocks being more felsic than those of Devonian age. Porphyry Cu-Au related intrusions were emplaced in the Late Devonian during the transition from tholeiitic to calc-alkaline arc magmatism. Uranium-Pb (zircon) geochronology indicates that the Late Devonian pre- to syn-mineral quartz monzodiorite intrusions associated with the porphyry Cu-Au deposits are ~372Ma, whereas granodiorite intrusions that post-date major shortening and are associated with less well-developed porphyry Cu-Au mineralization are ~366Ma. Trace element geochemistry of zircons in the Late Devonian intrusions associated with the porphyry Cu-Au systems contain distinct Th/U and Yb/Gd ratios, as well as Hf and Y concentrations that reflect mixing of magma of distinct compositions. These characteristics are missing in the unmineralized Carboniferous intrusions. High Sr/Y and evidence for magma mixing in syn- to late-mineral intrusions distinguish the Late Devonian rocks associated with giant Cu-Au deposits from younger magmatic suites in the district. ?? 2010 Elsevier B.V.

  9. Fractional Klein-Gordon equation composed of Jumarie fractional derivative and its interpretation by a smoothness parameter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghosh, Uttam; Banerjee, Joydip; Sarkar, Susmita; Das, Shantanu

    2018-06-01

    Klein-Gordon equation is one of the basic steps towards relativistic quantum mechanics. In this paper, we have formulated fractional Klein-Gordon equation via Jumarie fractional derivative and found two types of solutions. Zero-mass solution satisfies photon criteria and non-zero mass satisfies general theory of relativity. Further, we have developed rest mass condition which leads us to the concept of hidden wave. Classical Klein-Gordon equation fails to explain a chargeless system as well as a single-particle system. Using the fractional Klein-Gordon equation, we can overcome the problem. The fractional Klein-Gordon equation also leads to the smoothness parameter which is the measurement of the bumpiness of space. Here, by using this smoothness parameter, we have defined and interpreted the various cases.

  10. Chickamauga National Military Park Tour Roads, Gordon's Slough Bridge, At ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Chickamauga National Military Park Tour Roads, Gordon's Slough Bridge, At the confluence of Alexander's Bridge Road and Gordon's Slough, southeast of Alexander's Bridge, Fort Oglethorpe, Catoosa County, GA

  11. GP Section selects Best Student Paper

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    The AGU Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism (GP) Section has announced its selection of a paper entitled “Multicomponent Magnetization of the Upper Silurian-Lower Devonian Ringerike Sandstone, Adjacent Dikes, and Permian Lavas, Oslo, Norway” as the best GP student paper presented at the 1986 AGU Spring Meeting. The primary author, Dartmouth College Ph.D. candidate David Douglass, was assisted on the paper by a colleague from Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. Douglass received his B.S. in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1980, and in 1984, he received his M.S. in earth sciences at Dartmouth. His current studies examine the paleomagnetism, structure, and sedimentation of several North Atlantic old red sandstone basins.

  12. Soliton evolution and radiation loss for the sine-Gordon equation.

    PubMed

    Smyth, N F; Worthy, A L

    1999-08-01

    An approximate method for describing the evolution of solitonlike initial conditions to solitons for the sine-Gordon equation is developed. This method is based on using a solitonlike pulse with variable parameters in an averaged Lagrangian for the sine-Gordon equation. This averaged Lagrangian is then used to determine ordinary differential equations governing the evolution of the pulse parameters. The pulse evolves to a steady soliton by shedding dispersive radiation. The effect of this radiation is determined by examining the linearized sine-Gordon equation and loss terms are added to the variational equations derived from the averaged Lagrangian by using the momentum and energy conservation equations for the sine-Gordon equation. Solutions of the resulting approximate equations, which include loss, are found to be in good agreement with full numerical solutions of the sine-Gordon equation.

  13. The geology and petroleum potential of the North Afghan platform and adjacent areas (northern Afghanistan, with parts of southern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brookfield, Michael E.; Hashmat, Ajruddin

    2001-10-01

    The North Afghan platform has a pre-Jurassic basement unconformably overlain by a Jurassic to Paleogene oil- and gas-bearing sedimentary rock platform cover, unconformably overlain by Neogene syn- and post-orogenic continental clastics. The pre-Jurassic basement has four units: (1) An ?Ordovician to Lower Devonian passive margin succession developed on oceanic crust. (2) An Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian) magmatic arc succession developed on the passive margin. (3) A Lower Carboniferous (?Visean) to Permian rift-passive margin succession. (4) A Triassic continental magmatic arc succession. The Mesozoic-Palaeogene cover has three units: (1) A ?Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic rift succession is dominated by variable continental clastics. Thick, coarse, lenticular coal-bearing clastics were deposited by braided and meandering streams in linear grabens, while bauxites formed on the adjacent horsts. (2) A Middle to Upper Jurassic transgressive-regressive succession consists of mixed continental and marine Bathonian to Lower Kimmeridgian clastics and carbonates overlain by regressive Upper Kimmeridgian-Tithonian evaporite-bearing clastics. (3) A Cretaceous succession consists of Lower Cretaceous red beds with evaporites, resting unconformably on Jurassic and older deposits, overlain (usually unconformably) by Cenomanian to Maastrichtian shallow marine limestones, which form a fairly uniform transgressive succession across most of Afghanistan. (4) A Palaeogene succession rests on the Upper Cretaceous limestones, with a minor break marked by bauxite in places. Thin Palaeocene to Upper Eocene limestones with gypsum are overlain by thin conglomerates, which pass up into shales with a restricted brackish-water ?Upper Oligocene-?Lower Miocene marine fauna. The Neogene succession consists of a variable thickness of coarse continental sediments derived from the rising Pamir mountains and adjacent ranges. Almost all the deformation of the North Afghan platform began in the Miocene. Oil and gas traps are mainly in Upper Jurassic carbonates and Lower Cretaceous sandstones across the entire North Afghan block. Upper Jurassic carbonate traps, sealed by evaporites, occur mainly north of the southern limit of the Upper Jurassic salt. Lower Cretaceous traps consist of fine-grained continental sandstones, sealed by Aptian-Albian shales and siltstones. Upper Cretaceous-Palaeocene carbonates, sealed by Palaeogene shales are the main traps along the northern edge of the platform and in the Tajik basin. Almost all the traps are broad anticlines related to Neogene wrench faulting, in this respect, like similar traps along the San Andreas fault. Hydrocarbon sources are in the Mesozoic section. The Lower-Middle Jurassic continental coal-bearing beds provide about 75% of the hydrocarbons; the Callovian-Oxfordian provides about 10%; the Neocomian a meagre 1%, and the Aptian-Albian about 14%. The coal-bearing source rocks decrease very markedly in thickness southwards cross the North Afghan platform. Much of the hydrocarbon generation probably occurred during the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene and migrated to structural traps during Neogene deformation. Since no regional structural dip aids southward hydrocarbon migration, and since the traps are all structural and somewhat small, then there is little chance of very large petroleum fields on the platform. Nevertheless, further studies of the North Afghan platform should be rewarding because: (a) the traps of strike-slip belts are difficult to find without detailed exploration; (b) the troubles of the last 20 years mean that almost no exploration has been done; and, (c) conditions may soon become more favorable. There should be ample potential for oil, and particularly gas, discoveries especially in the northern and western parts of the North Afghan platform.

  14. Devonian magmatism in the Timan Range, Arctic Russia - subduction, post-orogenic extension, or rifting?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pease, V.; Scarrow, J. H.; Silva, I. G. Nobre; Cambeses, A.

    2016-11-01

    Devonian mafic magmatism of the northern East European Craton (EEC) has been variously linked to Uralian subduction, post-orogenic extension associated with Caledonian collision, and rifting. New elemental and isotopic analyses of Devonian basalts from the Timan Range and Kanin Peninsula, Russia, in the northern EEC constrain magma genesis, mantle source(s) and the tectonic process(es) associated with this Devonian volcanism to a rift-related context. Two compositional groups of low-K2O tholeiitic basalts are recognized. On the basis of Th concentrations, LREE concentrations, and (LREE/HREE)N, the data suggest two distinct magma batches. Incompatible trace elements ratios (e.g., Th/Yb, Nb/Th, Nb/La) together with Nd and Pb isotopes indicate involvement of an NMORB to EMORB 'transitional' mantle component mixed with variable amounts of a continental component. The magmas were derived from a source that developed high (U,Th)/Pb, U/Th and Sm/Nd over time. The geochemistry of Timan-Kanin basalts supports the hypothesis that the genesis of Devonian basaltic magmatism in the region resulted from local melting of transitional mantle and lower crust during rifting of a mainly non-volcanic continental rifted margin.

  15. Devonian of the Northern Rocky Mountains and plains

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sandberg, Charles A.; Mapel, William J.

    1967-01-01

    5. Undivided uppermost Devonian (Famennian, to V-VI) and lowermost Mississippian (Tournaisian, cuI-lower cuIIα) carbonaceous and clastic rocks deposited in six shallow basins interspersed among areas uplifted during the penecontemporaneous Antler orogeny.

  16. Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental summary of the south-east Georgia Embayment: a correlation of exploratory wells

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Poppe, L.J.; Popenoe, P.; Poag, C.W.; Swift, B.A.

    1995-01-01

    A Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test (COST) well and six exploratory wells have been drilled in the south-east Georgia embayment. The oldest rocks penetrated are weakly metamorphosed Lower Ordovician quartz arenites and Silurian shales and argillites in the Transco 1005-1 well and Upper Devonian argillites in the COST GE-1 well. The Palaeozoic strata are unconformably overlain by interbedded non-marine Jurassic sandstones and shales and marginal marine Lower Cretaceous rocks. Together, these rocks are stratigraphically equivalent to the onshore Fort Pierce and Cotton Valley(?) Formations and rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Comanchean Provincial Series. The Upper Cretaceous part of the section is composed mainly of neritic calcareous shales and shaley limestones stratigraphically equivalent to the primarily marginal marine facies of the onshore Atkinson, Cape Fear and Middendorf Formations and Black Creek Group, and to limestones and shales of the Lawson Limestone and Peedee Formations. Cenozoic strata are also described. -from Authors

  17. Devonian post-orogenic extension-related volcano-sedimentary rocks in the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, NW China: Implications for the Paleozoic tectonic transition in the North Qaidam Orogen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qin, Yu; Feng, Qiao; Chen, Gang; Chen, Yan; Zou, Kaizhen; Liu, Qian; Jiao, Qianqian; Zhou, Dingwu; Pan, Lihui; Gao, Jindong

    2018-05-01

    The Maoniushan Formation in the northern part of the North Qaidam Orogen (NQO), NW China, contains key information on a Paleozoic change in tectonic setting of the NQO from compression to extension. Here, new zircon U-Pb, petrological, and sedimentological data for the lower molasse sequence of the Maoniushan Formation are used to constrain the timing of this tectonic transition. Detrital zircons yield U-Pb ages of 3.3-0.4 Ga with major populations at 0.53-0.4, 1.0-0.56, 2.5-1.0, and 3.3-2.5 Ga. The maximum depositional age of the Maoniushan Formation is well constrained by a youngest detrital zircon age of ∼409 Ma. Comparing these dates with geochronological data for the region indicates that Proterozoic-Paleozoic zircons were derived mainly from the NQO as well as the Oulongbuluk and Qaidam blocks, whereas Archean zircons were probably derived from the Oulongbuluk Block and the Tarim Craton. The ∼924, ∼463, and ∼439 Ma tectonothermal events recorded in this region indicate that the NQO was involved in the early Neoproterozoic assembly of Rodinia and early Paleozoic microcontinental convergence. A regional angular unconformity between Devonian and pre-Devonian strata within the NQO suggests a period of strong mountain building between the Oulongbuluk and Qaidam blocks during the Silurian, whereas an Early Devonian post-orogenic molasse, evidence of extensional collapse, and Middle to Late Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks and Carboniferous marine carbonate rocks clearly reflect long-lived tectonic extension. Based on these results and the regional geology, we suggest that the Devonian volcano-sedimentary rocks within the NQO were formed in a post-orogenic extensional setting similar to that of the East Kunlun Orogen, indicating that a major tectonic transition from compression to extension in these two orogens probably commenced in the Early Devonian.

  18. No geochemical evidence for an asteroidal impact at late Devonian mass extinction horizon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGhee, G. R., Jr.; Gilmore, J. S.; Orth, C. J.; Olsen, E.

    1984-04-01

    Three sedimentary sequences in New York State (Dunkirk Beach, Walnut Creek Gorge, and Mills Mills) and one sedimentary sequence in Belgium (Sinsin), that cross the Devonian Frasnian-Famennian boundary, were examined for an iridium (Ir) anomaly to determine whether the biotic extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous could have been caused by an asteroidal impact. The sampling at three of the four areas was on 2-cm center points, and 15 to 20 g of sample were collected. The instrumental neutron activation method required 5 g samples, and consequently the distance between samples was less than 1 cm. Though the Devonian samples studied had a high probability of locating an Ir anomaly, none was found. The highest Ir values were between 0.2 and 2 percent of those reported for the marine and terrestrial Ir analyses at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, and Devonian pyrite-rich sediments did not exhibit high Ir concentrations.

  19. Supradapedon revisited: geological explorations in the Triassic of southern Tanzania

    PubMed Central

    da Rosa, Átila A.S.; Montefeltro, Felipe C.

    2017-01-01

    The upper Triassic deposits of the Selous Basin in south Tanzania have not been prospected for fossil tetrapods since the middle of last century, when Gordon M. Stockley collected two rhynchosaur bone fragments from the so called “Tunduru beds”. Here we present the results of a field trip conducted in July 2015 to the vicinities of Tunduru and Msamara, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania, in search for similar remains. Even if unsuccessful in terms of fossil discoveries, the geological mapping conducted during the trip improved our knowledge of the deposition systems of the southern margin of the Selous Basin during the Triassic, allowing tentative correlations to its central part and to neighbouring basins. Moreover, we reviewed the fossil material previously collected by Gordon M. Stockley, confirming that the remains correspond to a valid species, Supradapedon stockleyi, which was incorporated into a comprehensive phylogeny of rhynchosaurs and found to represent an Hyperodapedontinae with a set of mostly plesiomorphic traits for the group. Data gathered form the revision and phylogenetic placement of Su. stockleyi helps understanding the acquisition of the typical dental traits of Late Triassic rhynchosaurs, corroborating the potential of hyperodapedontines as index fossils of the Carnian-earliest Norian. PMID:29152419

  20. Evaluation of shale gas potential based on organic matter characteristics and gas concentration in the Devonian Horn River Formation, Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Jiyoung; Hong, Sung Kyung; Lee, Hyun Suk

    2017-04-01

    In this study, we investigate organic matter characteristics from the analysis of Rock-Eval6 and biomarker, and estimate methane concentration from headspace method in the Devonian Horn River Formation, which is one of the largest shale reservoir in western Canada. The Horn River Formation consists of the Evie, Otterpark and Muskwa members in ascending stratigraphic order. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) ranges from 0.34 to 7.57 wt%, with an average of 2.78 wt%. The Evie, middle Otterpark and Muskwa members have an average TOC of more than 3%, whereas those of the lower and upper Otterpark Member are less than 2%. Based on Pristane/n-C17 (0.2 0.6) and Phytane/n-C18 (0.3 0.9) ratios, the organic matter in the Evie, middle Otterpark and Muskwa members mainly consists of type II kerogen which are formed in reducing marine environment. Thermal maturity were examined through the use of the distributions of Phenanthrene (P) and Methylphenantrenes (MP) based on m/z 178 and 192 mass chromatograms, respectively (Radke et al., 1982). The methylphenanthrene index (MPI-1) are calculated as follows : MPI-1 = 1.5 × (2MP+3MP)/(P+1MP+9MP), and Ro are calculated as follows : Ro = -0.6 × MPI-1 + 2.3. Estimated Ro ranges between 1.88 and 1.93%, which indicates the last stage of wet gas generation. The methane concentrations in headspace range from 15 to 914 ppmv, with an average of 73.5 ppmv. The methane concentrations in the Evie, middle Otterpark and Muskwa members (up to 914 ppmv) are higher than those of the lower and upper Otterpark Member (up to 75 ppmv). Considering the organic geochemical characteristics and gas concentrations, the shale gas potentials of the Evie, middle Otterpark and Muskwa members are higher than those of other members.

  1. Bedded Barite Deposits from Sonora (nw Mexico): a Paleozoic Analog for Modern Cold Seeps

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Canet, C.; Anadón, P.; González-Partida, E.; Alfonso, P.; Rajabi, A.; Pérez-Segura, E.; Alba-Aldave, L. A.

    2013-05-01

    The Mazatán barite deposits represent an outstanding example of Paleozoic bedded barite, a poorly understood type of mineral deposit of major economic interest. The largest barite bodies of Mazatán are hosted within an Upper Carboniferous flysch succession, which formed part of an accretionary wedge related to the subduction of the Rheic Ocean beneath Gondwana. As well, a few barite occurrences are hosted in Upper Devonian, pre-orogenic turbidites. A variety of mineralized structures is displayed by barite, including: septaria nodules, enterolitic structures, rosettes and debris-flow conglomerates. Barite is accompanied by chalcedony, pyrite (framboids) and berthierine. Gas-rich fluid inclusions in barite were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and methane was identified, suggesting the occurrence of light hydrocarbons in the environment within which barite precipitated. 13C-depleted carbonates (δ13C: -24.3 to -18.8‰) were found in the barite deposits; they formed through anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to sulfate reduction, and yield negative δ18O values (-11.9 to -5.2‰) reflecting the isotopic composition of Devonian-Carboniferous seawater. Methane-derived carbonates occur in modern hydrocarbon seeps and have been reported from Mesozoic and Cenozoic seep sediments, but they have never before been described in Paleozoic bedded barite deposits. δ34S of barite varies from +17.6 to +64.1‰, with the lowest values overlapping the range for coeval seawater sulfate; this distribution indicates a process of sulfate reduction. Barite precipitation can be explained by mixing of methane- and barium-rich fluids with pore-water (seawater) containing sulfate residual from microbial reduction. Two analyses from barite gave an 87Sr/86Sr within and slightly above the range for seawater at the time of deposition, with 0.708130 and 0.708588, which would preclude the involvement of hydrothermal fluids in the mineralization process.

  2. Sedimentology, conodonts and ostracods of the Devonian - Carboniferous strata of the Anseremme railway bridge section, Dinant Basin, Belgium

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Casier, J.-G.; Mamet, B.; Preat, A.; Sandberg, C.A.

    2004-01-01

    Seven major carbonate microfacies are defined in the Devonian - Carboniferous (D/C) strata (50 m) of the Anseremme railway bridge section, south of Dinant. They permit recognition of several levels encompassing the Etroeungt and Hastie??re formations. "Bathymetric" sequences range from open marine, below the storm wave base, to semi-restricted lagoon. This sequence records a shallowing-upward trend of the relative sea level, from environments below the storm wave base to strongly eroded supraticial pre-evaporitic environments. Faunal components (echinoderms, brachiopods...) indicate open-marine domain for the first six microfacies located within the dysphoticeuphotic zone in relatively shallow waters. The textures of the rocks (mudstones to rudstones) associated with lamination characteristics indicate the position of the storm (SWB) and the fair-weather (FWWB) wave bases. Microfacies seven suggests a semi-restricted platform with salinity fluctuations from hypersaline brines to brackish waters. Thus, the boundary of the Etroeungt/Hastie??re formations is marked by an abrupt drop in sea level. Carbonate micro-conglomerates recording an important erosive phase and a sedimentary hiatus. The environment is again open marine in the upper part of the Hastie??re Formation. Our conclusion is that the Anseremme section is not a reliable continuous succession for the study of the D/C boundary. This confirms the VAN STEENWINKEL (1988, 1993 hypothesis based on other arguments. Conodont faunas demonstrate that the Devonian sequence spans the five youngest conodont zones, but that two of these zones are not represented. The Epinette Formation is dated as the youngest part of the Middle expansa Zone. Thus, the boundary with the Late praesulcata Zone probably coincides with the sharp sedimentological change at the base of the Etroeungt Formation, which is interpreted to belong entirely to this zone. The disconformably overlying basal bed 159 of the Hastie??re Formation is dated as Late praesulcata Zone, with the Early and Middle praesulcata Zones unrepresented because of an hiatus or unconformity. Sparse conodont faunas suggest that only the two next-to-oldest Carboniferous duplicata and sandbergi Zones are represented in the higher part of the Hastie??re Formation. The oldest Carboniferous sulcata Zone and possibly part ofthe duplicata Zone are unrepresented because of an hiatus or unconformity above bed 159. Ostracods are abundant and diversified at most levels in the Anseremme railway bridge section and sixty taxa, the majority in open nomenclature, have been identified and nearly all of them are figured. The ostracod fauna is indicative of shallow-marine environments between fair-weather and storm wave bases in the Etroeungt Formation, and to shallower water conditions periodically subjected to minor salinity variations in the base of the Hastie??re Formation. The upper part of the Hastie??re Formation is marked by a sea-level rise associated with a moderate decrease of the oxygenation of bottom waters. The intra-Devonian hiatus at the Etroeungt-Hastie??re boundary shows no abnormal extinctions and no appearance of new taxa. Thus, the Hangenberg Event is not recognizable in the studied section. Neither the sedimentological analysis nor the palaeontological study of the Bocahut quarry in the Avesnois and of the Anseremme railway bridge section confirm the hypothesis of a highstand for the Hastie??re Formation.

  3. Geometry of an outcrop-scale duplex in Devonian flysch, Maine

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, D.C.; Bradley, L.M.

    1994-01-01

    We describe an outcrop-scale duplex consisting of 211 exposed repetitions of a single bed. The duplex marks an early Acadian (Middle Devonian) oblique thrust zone in the Lower Devonian flysch of northern Maine. Detailed mapping at a scale of 1:8 has enabled us to measure accurately parameters such as horse length and thickness, ramp angles and displacements; we compare these and derivative values with those of published descriptions of duplexes, and with theoretical models. Shortening estimates based on line balancing are consistently smaller than two methods of area balancing, suggesting that layer-parallel shortening preceded thrusting. ?? 1994.

  4. Eastern Devonian shales: Organic geochemical studies, past and present

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Breger, I.A.; Hatcher, P.G.; Romankiw, L.A.; Miknis, F.P.

    1983-01-01

    The Eastern Devonian shales are represented by a sequence of sediments extending from New York state, south to the northern regions of Georgia and Alabama, and west into Ohio and to the Michigan and Ilinois Basins. Correlatives are known in Texas. The shale is regionally known by a number of names: Chattanooga, Dunkirk, Rhinestreet, Huron, Antrim, Ohio, Woodford, etc. These shales, other than those in Texas, have elicited much interest because they have been a source of unassociated natural gas. It is of particular interest, however, that most of these shales have no associated crude oil, in spite of the fact that they have some of the characteristics normally attributed to source beds. This paper addresses some of the organic geochemical aspects of the kerogen in these shales, in relation to their oil generating potential. Past organic geochemical studies on Eastern Devonian shales will be reviewed. Recent solid state 13C NMR studies on the nature of the organic matter in Eastern Devonian shales show that Eastern Devonian shales contain a larger fraction of aromatic carbon in their chemical composition. Thus, despite their high organic matter contents, their potential as a petroleum source rock is low, because the kerogen in these shales is of a "coaly" nature and hence more prone to producing natural gas.

  5. Eastern Devonian shales: Organic geochemical studies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Berger, I.A.; Hatchner, P.G.; Miknis, F.P.

    The Eastern Devonian shales are represented by a sequence of sediments extending from New York state, south to the northern regions of Georgia and Alabama, and west into Ohio and to the Michigan and Illinois Basins. Correlatives are known in Texas. The shale is regionally known by a number of names: Chattanooga, Dunkirk, Rhinestreet, Huron, Antrim, Ohio, Woodford, etc. These shales, other than those in Texas, have elicited much interest because they have been a source of unassociated natural gas. It is of particular interest, however, that most of these shales have no associated crude oil, in spite of themore » fact that they have some of the characteristics normally attributed to source beds. This paper addresses some of the organic geochemical aspects of the kerogen in these shales, in relation to their oil generating potential. Past organic geochemical studies on Eastern Devonian shales are reviewed. Recent solid state /sup 13/C NMR studies on the nature of the organic matter in Eastern Devonian shales show that Eastern Devonian shales contain a larger fraction of aromatic carbon in their chemical composition. Thus, despite their high organic matter contents, their potential as a petroleum source rock is low, because the kerogen in these shales is of a ''coaly'' nature and hence more prone to producing natural gas.« less

  6. Development of multiple unconformities during the Devonian-Carboniferous transition on parts of Laurussia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ettensohn, F.R.; Pashin, J.C.

    1997-01-01

    The Devonian-Carboniferous transition on Laurussia was a time of diverse geologic activity associated with the assembly of Pangea, including episodes of Late Devonian glacial-eustatic lowstand and active orogeny on four margins. Six widespread unconformities are present in the Devonian-Carboniferous (Mississippian) interval on southern parts of Laurussia. We suggest that attention to the timing and plan of the unconformities may provide ways of discerning tectonic and climatic controls on their respective origins. Indeed, unconformities generated by pure eustasy are ideally of interregional extent, whereas unconformities generated by tectonism reflect more local factors associated with the evolution of sedimentary basins. Each of the six unconformities analyzed provides evidence for concurrent eustasy and tectonism. Glaciation was apparently the dominant factor driving the development of unconformities during the latest Devonian. During the Early Carboniferous, however, the volume of glacial ice available to drive eustasy was limited and, at times, tectonism may have been the source of a subordinate eustatic signal. Development of unconformities in southern Laurussia appear to be local manifestations of tectonic and climatic processes associated with supercontinent assembly. Thus, the time may be at hand for construction of a new global stratigraphic paradigm that is based on the plate tectonic supercycle affecting continentality and climate.

  7. Air-breathing adaptation in a marine Devonian lungfish.

    PubMed

    Clement, Alice M; Long, John A

    2010-08-23

    Recent discoveries of tetrapod trackways in 395 Myr old tidal zone deposits of Poland (Niedźwiedzki et al. 2010 Nature 463, 43-48 (doi:10.1038/nature.08623)) indicate that vertebrates had already ventured out of the water and might already have developed some air-breathing capacity by the Middle Devonian. Air-breathing in lungfishes is not considered to be a shared specialization with tetrapods, but evolved independently. Air-breathing in lungfishes has been postulated as starting in Middle Devonian times (ca 385 Ma) in freshwater habitats, based on a set of skeletal characters involved in air-breathing in extant lungfishes. New discoveries described herein of the lungfish Rhinodipterus from marine limestones of Australia identifies the node in dipnoan phylogeny where air-breathing begins, and confirms that lungfishes living in marine habitats had also developed specializations to breathe air by the start of the Late Devonian (ca 375 Ma). While invasion of freshwater habitats from the marine realm was previously suggested to be the prime cause of aerial respiration developing in lungfishes, we believe that global decline in oxygen levels during the Middle Devonian combined with higher metabolic costs is a more likely driver of air-breathing ability, which developed in both marine and freshwater lungfishes and tetrapodomorph fishes such as Gogonasus.

  8. Air-breathing adaptation in a marine Devonian lungfish

    PubMed Central

    Clement, Alice M.; Long, John A.

    2010-01-01

    Recent discoveries of tetrapod trackways in 395 Myr old tidal zone deposits of Poland (Niedźwiedzki et al. 2010 Nature 463, 43–48 (doi:10.1038/nature.08623)) indicate that vertebrates had already ventured out of the water and might already have developed some air-breathing capacity by the Middle Devonian. Air-breathing in lungfishes is not considered to be a shared specialization with tetrapods, but evolved independently. Air-breathing in lungfishes has been postulated as starting in Middle Devonian times (ca 385 Ma) in freshwater habitats, based on a set of skeletal characters involved in air-breathing in extant lungfishes. New discoveries described herein of the lungfish Rhinodipterus from marine limestones of Australia identifies the node in dipnoan phylogeny where air-breathing begins, and confirms that lungfishes living in marine habitats had also developed specializations to breathe air by the start of the Late Devonian (ca 375 Ma). While invasion of freshwater habitats from the marine realm was previously suggested to be the prime cause of aerial respiration developing in lungfishes, we believe that global decline in oxygen levels during the Middle Devonian combined with higher metabolic costs is a more likely driver of air-breathing ability, which developed in both marine and freshwater lungfishes and tetrapodomorph fishes such as Gogonasus. PMID:20147310

  9. Eastern Madre de Dios Devonian generated large volumes of oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peters, K.E.; Wagner, J.B.; Carpenter, D.G.

    This is the second part of an article giving details of a Mobil Corp. regional geological, geophysical, and geochemical study of the Madre de Dios basin. The assessment covered the distribution, richness, depositional environment, and thermal maturity of Devonian source rocks.

  10. The Frasnian-Famennian boundary (Upper Devonian) within the Hanover-Dunkirk transition, northern Appalachian basin, western New York state

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Over, D.J.

    In western New York State interbedded pyritic silty green and dark grey shales and siltstone of the Hanover Member, Java Formation, West Falls Group, are overlain by thick pyritic dark grey-black shale of the Dunkirk Member of the Canadaway formation. The dark shales in the upper Hanover and Dunkirk contain a diverse and well preserved conodont fauna which allows precise placement of the Frasnian-Famennian boundary at several described sections. At Pt. Gratiot, in far western New York State, the contact between the Hanover and Dunkirk is disconformable. The Frasnian-Famennian boundary is marked by a pyritic lag deposit at the basemore » of the Dunkirk which contains Palmatolepis triangularis and Pa. subperlobata. The underlying upper Hanover is characterized by Pa. bogartensis , Pa. cf. Pa. rhenana, Pa. winchelli, and Ancyrognathus (asymmetricus/calvini) Eastward, in the direction of the paleo-source area, the Frasnian-Famennian boundary is within the upper Hanover Member. At Irish Gulf the boundary is recognized within a 10 cm thick laminated pyritic dark grey shale bed 3.0 m below the base of the Dunkirk. Palmatolepis triangularis and Pa. subperlobata occur below a conodont-rich lag layer in the upper 2 cm of the bed. Palmatolepis bogartensis , Pa. cf. Pa. rhenana, Ancyrodella curvata, and Icriodus alternatus occur in the underlying 8 cm. Palmatolepis triangularis and Pa. winchelli occur in an underlying dark shale bed separated from the boundary bed by a hummocky cross-bedded siltstone layer.« less

  11. Ichnology applied to sequence stratigraphic analysis of Siluro-Devonian mud-dominated shelf deposits, Paraná Basin, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sedorko, Daniel; Netto, Renata G.; Savrda, Charles E.

    2018-04-01

    Previous studies of the Paraná Supersequence (Furnas and Ponta Grossa formations) of the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil have yielded disparate sequence stratigraphic interpretations. An integrated sedimentological, paleontological, and ichnological model was created to establish a refined sequence stratigraphic framework for this succession, focusing on the Ponta Grossa Formation. Twenty-nine ichnotaxa are recognized in the Ponta Grossa Formation, recurring assemblages of which define five trace fossil suites that represent various expressions of the Skolithos, Glossifungites and Cruziana ichnofacies. Physical sedimentologic characteristics and associated softground ichnofacies provide the basis for recognizing seven facies that reflect a passive relationship to bathymetric gradients from shallow marine (shoreface) to offshore deposition. The vertical distribution of facies provides the basis for dividing the Ponta Grossa Formation into three major (3rd-order) depositional sequences- Siluro-Devonian and Devonian I and II-each containing a record of three to seven higher-order relative sea-level cycles. Major sequence boundaries, commonly coinciding with hiatuses recognized from previously published biostratigraphic data, are locally marked by firmground Glossifungites Ichnofacies associated with submarine erosion. Maximum transgressive horizons are prominently marked by unbioturbated or weakly bioturbated black shales. By integrating observations of the Ponta Grossa Formation with those recently made on the underlying marginal- to shallow-marine Furnas Formation, the entire Paraná Supersequence can be divided into four disconformity-bound sequences: a Lower Silurian (Llandovery-Wenlock) sequence, corresponding to lower and middle units of the Furnas; a Siluro-Devonian sequence (?Pridoli-Early Emsian), and Devonian sequences I (Late Emsian-Late Eifelian) and II (Late Eifelian-Early Givetian). Stratigraphic positions of sequence boundaries generally coincide with regressive phases on established global sea-level curves for the Silurian-Devonian.

  12. Geology and total petroleum systems of the Paradox Basin, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Whidden, Katherine J.; Lillis, Paul G.; Anna, Lawrence O.; Pearson, Krystal M.; Dubiel, Russell F.

    2014-01-01

    The most studied source intervals are the Pennsylvanian black shales that were deposited during relative high stands in an otherwise evaporitic basin. These black shales are the source for most of the discovered hydrocarbons in the Paradox Basin. A second oil type can be traced to either a Mississippian or Permian source rock to the west, and therefore requires long-distance migration to explain its presence in the basin. Upper Cretaceous continental to nearshore-marine sandstones are interbedded with coal beds that have recognized coalbed methane potential. Precambrian and Devonian TPSs are considered hypothetical, as both are known to have organic-rich intervals, but no discovered hydrocarbons have been definitively typed back to either of these units.

  13. Ocean plateau-seamount origin of basaltic rocks, Angayucham terrane, central Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Barker, F.; Jones, D.L.; Budahn, J.R.; Coney, P.J.

    1988-01-01

    The Angayucham terrane of north-central Alaska (immediately S of the Brooks Range) is a large (ca. 500 km E-W), allochthonous complex of Devonian to Lower Jurassic pillow basalt, diabase sills, gabbro plutons, and chert. The mafic rocks are transitional normal-to-enriched, mid-ocean-ridge (MORB) type tholeiites (TiO2 1.2-3.4%, Nb 7-23 ppm, Ta 0.24-1.08 ppm, Zr 69-214 ppm, and light REE's slightly depleted to moderately enriched). Geologic and geochemical constraints indicate that Angayucham terrane is the upper "skin' (ca. 3-4 km thick) of a long-lived (ca. 170-200 ma) oceanic plateau whose basaltic-gabbroic rocks are like those of seamounts of the East Pacific Rise. -Authors

  14. Causes of the great mass extinction of marine organisms in the Late Devonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barash, M. S.

    2016-11-01

    The second of the five great mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic occurred in the Late Devonian. The number of species decreased by 70-82%. Major crises occurred at the Frasnian-Famennian and Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. The lithological and geochemical compositions of sediments, volcanic deposits, impactites, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, evidence of climate variability, and sea level changes reflect the processes that led the critical conditions. Critical intervals are marked by layers of black shales, which were deposited in euxinic or anoxic environments. These conditions were the main direct causes of the extinctions. The Late Devonian mass extinction was determined by a combination of impact events and extensive volcanism. They produced similar effects: emissions of harmful chemical compounds and aerosols to cause greenhouse warming; darkening of the atmosphere, which prevented photosynthesis; and stagnation of oceans and development of anoxia. Food chains collapsed and biological productivity decreased. As a result, all vital processes were disturbed and a large portion of the biota became extinct.

  15. Reflections on the Gordon Commission

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haertel, Edward

    2014-01-01

    Background:This brief reflection on the work of the Gordon Commission calls out significant themes and implications found in the various papers authored by the commissioners and other scholars, especially those included in this special issue of Teachers College Record. Purpose: The forward-looking vision of the Gordon Commission is contrasted with…

  16. Thomas Gordon's Communicative Pedagogy in Modern Educational Realities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leshchenko, Maria; Isaieva, Svitlana

    2014-01-01

    In the article the principles, strategies, methods, techniques of communicative pedagogy of American scientist Thomas Gordon and system components of effective communication training for parents, teachers and administrators are enlightened. It has been determined that the main principle of Thomas Gordon's pedagogy is an interactive way of knowing…

  17. Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) in Gordon Setters with Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy and Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia

    PubMed Central

    Bohnhorst, J Øvrebø; Hanssen, I; Moen, T

    2001-01-01

    Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were demonstrated in 3 out of 10 Gordon setters with symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and in 5 out of 13 Gordon setters with black hair follicular dysplasia. Two dogs showed both symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and black hair follicular dysplasia, and one of these was ANA positive. The results suggest that symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and black hair follicular dysplasia in the Gordon setter might be autoimmune diseases that are pathogenetically related, which might indicate a common genetic predisposition. PMID:11887392

  18. The geology of Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Swezey, Christopher; Haynes, John T.; Lambert, Richard A.; White, William B.; Lucas, Philip C.; Garrity, Christopher P.

    2015-01-01

    Burnsville Cove is a karst region in Bath and Highland Counties of Virginia. A new geologic map of the area reveals various units of limestone, sandstone, and siliciclastic mudstone (shale) of Silurian through Devonian age, as well as structural features such as northeast-trending anticlines and synclines, minor thrust faults, and prominent joints. Quaternary features include erosional (strath) terraces and accumulations of mud, sand, and gravel. The caves of Burnsville Cove are located within predominantly carbonate strata above the Silurian Williamsport Sandstone and below the Devonian Oriskany Sandstone. Most of the caves are located within the Silurian Tonoloway Limestone, rather than the Silurian-Devonian Keyser Limestone as reported previously.

  19. Synectics for Creative Thinking in Technology Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hummell, Laura

    2006-01-01

    Synectics is a creative problem-solving process developed by William J. J. Gordon and George Prince in the 1960s (Gordon, 1961). A result of Gordon and Prince observing brainstorming sessions that achieved varying levels of success, Synectics outlines the processes that people can use to help them overcome mental blocks while working on difficult…

  20. Creating Value from Innovation: Laura Gordon-Murnane--Bureau of National Affairs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Library Journal, 2005

    2005-01-01

    Some corporate executives regard their libraries as black holes that just consume company resources, but thanks to Laura Gordon-Murnane, executives at the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) know their library actively adds value to the company. As web master for BNA's intranet, Gordon-Murnane creates information tools, databases, and products for…

  1. NASA Remembers Gemini, Apollo Astronaut Dick Gordon

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-11-07

    Astronaut Dick Gordon, command module pilot on Apollo 12, the second lunar landing mission, died on Monday, November 6 at the age of 88. A native of Seattle, Washington and 1951 graduate of the University of Washington, Gordon became an astronaut in 1963 after a career as a naval aviator. He spent more than 316 hours in space on two missions. He was the pilot for the three-day Gemini 11 mission in 1966 and performed two spacewalks. At the time of the flight, Gemini 11 set the world altitude record of 850 miles. Gordon made a second flight in 1969 as command pilot on Apollo 12 with spacecraft commander, Pete Conrad and lunar module pilot, Alan Bean. Throughout the 31-hour lunar surface stay by Conrad and Bean, Gordon remained in orbit around the moon on the command module, "Yankee Clipper." In November 2005, NASA honored Gordon with an Ambassador of Exploration award. NASA presented these prestigious awards to the astronauts who took part in the nation's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs from 1961 to 1972.

  2. 18 CFR 270.306 - Devonian shale wells in Michigan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Devonian shale wells in Michigan. 270.306 Section 270.306 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY...) Attesting the applicant has no knowledge of any information not described in the application which is...

  3. Distribution and variation of the inorganic fraction of Devonian to Bashkirian black shales in the north-western part of the Dniepr-Donets Basin, Ukraine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wegerer, Eva; Sachsenhofer, Reinhard; Misch, David; Aust, Nicolai

    2016-04-01

    Mineralogical data of 112 core samples from 12 wells are used to investigate lateral and vertical variations in the lithofacies of Devonian to Bashkirian black shales in the north-western part of the Dniepr-Donets-Basin. Sulphur and carbonate contents as well as organic geochemical parameters, including TOC and Hydrogen Index have been determined on the same sample set within the frame of an earlier study (Sachsenhofer et al. 2010). This allows the correlation of inorganic and organic composition of the black shales. Aims of the study are to distinguish between detrital and authigenic minerals, to relate the lithofacies of the black shales with the tectono-stratigraphic sequences of the Dniepr-Donets Basin, to contribute to the reconstruction of the depositional environment and to relate diagenetic processes with the thermal history of the basin. Mineral compositions were determined primarily using XRD-measurements applying several measurement procedures, e.g. chemical and temperature treatment, and specific standards. Major differences exist in the mineralogical composition of the black shales. For example, clay mineral contents range from less than 20 to more than 80 Vol%. Kaolinite contents are significantly higher in rocks with a Tournaisian or Early Visean age than in any other stratigraphic unit. This is also true for two Lower Visean coal samples from the shallow north-westernmost part of the basin. Chlorite contents reach maxima in uppermost Visean and overlying rocks. Quartz contents are often high in Upper Visean rocks and reach maxima in Bashkirian units. Feldspar-rich rocks are observed in Devonian sediments from the north-western part of the study area and may reflect the proximity to a sediment source. Carbonate contents are typically low, but reach very high values in some Tournaisian, Lower Visean and Serpukhovian samples. Pyrite contents reach maxima along the basin axis in Tournaisian and Visean rocks reflecting anoxic conditions. Mixed layer minerals are dominated by illite. Their presence in samples from depth exceeding 5 km reflects the low thermal overprint of Paleozoic rocks in the north-western Dniepr-Donets-Basin.

  4. In situ FTIR and flash pyrolysis/GC-MS characterization of Protosalvinia (Upper Devonian, Kentucky, USA): Implications for maceral classification

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mastalerz, Maria; Hower, J.C.; Carmo, A.

    1998-01-01

    Protosalvinia from Devonian rocks in Kentucky has been analyzed using petrographic and in situ FTIR and flash pyrolysis/GC-MS techniques in order to discuss its origin and placement in organic matter classification. In reflected light, Protosalvinia resembles cutinite in shape, color and reflectance, whereas in fluorescent mode it reveals yellow-green fluorescence, reminiscent of alginite. Alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, and n-alkanes are the principal compounds in the pyrolyzates, whereas alkylphenols and n-alk-l-enes are present in minor concentrations. FTIR results show that aliphatic bands (both in stretching and bending modes) are prominent. Protosalvinia also reveals well developed aromatic bands in the out-of-plane region. Such a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic components is not known in documented organic matter types of either marine or terrestrial origin. It is suggested that Protosalvinia might belong to rare marine organisms that yield aromatic pyrolyzates. Based on morphological features and optical properties Protosalvinia should be classified as a maceral of the liptinite group. It does not, however, fit precisely within any of the established categories of the liptinite macerals.Protosalvinia from Devonian rocks in Kentucky has been analyzed using petrographic and in situ FTIR and flash pyrolysis/GC-MS techniques in order to discuss its origin and placement in organic matter classification. In reflected light, Protosalvinia resembles cutinite in shape, color and reflectance, whereas in fluorescent mode it reveals yellow-green fluorescence, reminiscent of alginite. Alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, and n-alkanes are the principal compounds in the pyrolyzates, whereas alkylphenols and n-alk-l-enes are present in minor concentrations. FTIR results show that aliphatic bands (both in stretching and bending modes) are prominent. Protosalvinia also reveals well developed aromatic bands in the out-of-plane region. Such a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic components is not known in documented organic matter types of either marine or terrestrial origin. It is suggested that Protosalvinia might belong to rare marine organisms that yield aromatic pyrolyzates. Based on morphological features and optical properties Protosalvinia should be classified as a maceral of the liptinite group. It does not, however, fit precisely within any of the established categories of the liptinite macerals.

  5. Geometry of the neoproterozoic and paleozoic rift margin of western Laurentia: Implications for mineral deposit settings

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lund, K.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. and Canadian Cordilleran miogeocline evolved during several phases of Cryogenian-Devonian intracontinental rifting that formed the western mangin of Laurentia. Recent field and dating studies across central Idaho and northern Nevada result in identification of two segments of the rift margin. Resulting interpretations of rift geometry in the northern U.S. Cordillera are compatible with interpretations of northwest- striking asymmetric extensional segments subdivided by northeast-striking transform and transfer segments. The new interpretation permits integration of miogeoclinal segments along the length of the western North American Cordillera. For the U.S. Cordillera, miogeoclinal segments include the St. Mary-Moyie transform, eastern Washington- eastern Idaho upper-plate margin, Snake River transfer, Nevada-Utah lower-plate margin, and Mina transfer. The rift is orthogonal to most older basement domains, but the location of the transform-transfer zones suggests control of them by basement domain boundaries. The zigzag geometry of reentrants and promontories along the rift is paralleled by salients and recesses in younger thrust belts and by segmentation of younger extensional domains. Likewise, transform transfer zones localized subsequent transcurrent structures and igneous activity. Sediment-hosted mineral deposits trace the same zigzag geometry along the margin. Sedimentary exhalative (sedex) Zn-Pb-Ag ??Au and barite mineral deposits formed in continental-slope rocks during the Late Devonian-Mississippian and to a lesser degree, during the Cambrian-Early Ordovician. Such deposits formed during episodes of renewed extension along miogeoclinal segments. Carbonate-hosted Mississippi Valley- type (MVT) Zn-Pb deposits formed in structurally reactivated continental shelf rocks during the Late Devonian-Mississippian and Mesozoic due to reactivation of preexisting structures. The distribution and abundance of sedex and MVT deposits are controlled by the polarity and kinematics of the rift segment. Locally, discrete mineral belts parallel secondary structures such as rotated crustal blocks at depth that produced sedimentary subbasins and conduits for hydrothermal fluids. Where the miogeocline was overprinted by Mesozoic and Cenozoic deformation and magmatism, igneous rock-related mineral deposits are common. ??2008 Geological Society of America.

  6. Petrology, geochemistry and Sm-Nd analyses on the Balkan-Carpathian Ophiolite (BCO - Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria): Remnants of a Devonian back-arc basin in the easternmost part of the Variscan domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Plissart, Gaëlle; Monnier, Christophe; Diot, Hervé; Mărunţiu, Marcel; Berger, Julien; Triantafyllou, Antoine

    2017-04-01

    The pre-Alpine basement of the Southern Carpathians/Western Balkans contains four ophiolitic massifs dismembered by Alpine tectonics, which define the ;Balkan-Carpathian Ophiolite; (BCO) for which the tectonic setting and age of formation are still debated (Precambrian or Early Devonian). In this contribution, we demonstrate that, in light of a Pre-Alpine restoration, the four massifs belonged to a unique slice of very complete, obducted oceanic lithosphere and we re-evaluate its tectonic setting. Large chromitite volumes with Al-rich spinel compositions (Cr# = 0.39-0.48), as well as major and trace geochemical results on basalts (slightly enriched N-MORBs with low negative Nb anomaly associated with calk-alkaline BABBs), point to a formation in a back-arc basin. Mantle spinel composition (Cr# = 0.49-0.51) and melting modeling indicate mean melting extents of 8.5-11% favouring intermediate spreading rate. New Sm-Nd dating on lower gabbroic rocks give a whole rock isochron, interpreted as the age of formation of the BCO crust at 409 ± 38 Ma, thus confirming an Early Devonian oceanic crust. The previous ∼563 Ma U-Pb zircon age can be interpreted as casual inheritance indicating the proximity of an old continental lithosphere. Taking into account the lithological evidences and paleocontinental affinities of the two recognized terranes separated by the BC oceanic basin (Balkans and Sredna Gora) and by analogy with other Variscan ophiolites in Western/Central Europe, we suggest that the BC ophiolite belong to the ∼400 Ma ophiolites group obducted between West and East Galatia and belonging to the southern Variscan suture. However, the BC ophiolite is the only one of this group obducted to the north and not involved in the Lower Allochthon/ophiolite/Upper Allochthon thrust pile, likely explaining its exceptional preservation. Finally, we tentatively propose a new unifying tectonic model where different terrane drift rates and highly oblique displacements create two Rheic branches, the ;Rheic; and the ;Galicia-Brittany-Massif Central;.

  7. Feynman propagators on static spacetimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dereziński, Jan; Siemssen, Daniel

    We consider the Klein-Gordon equation on a static spacetime and minimally coupled to a static electromagnetic potential. We show that it is essentially self-adjoint on Cc∞. We discuss various distinguished inverses and bisolutions of the Klein-Gordon operator, focusing on the so-called Feynman propagator. We show that the Feynman propagator can be considered the boundary value of the resolvent of the Klein-Gordon operator, in the spirit of the limiting absorption principle known from the theory of Schrödinger operators. We also show that the Feynman propagator is the limit of the inverse of the Wick rotated Klein-Gordon operator.

  8. On a relativistic particle and a relativistic position-dependent mass particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vitória, R.L.L.; Furtado, C., E-mail: furtado@fisica.ufpb.br; Bakke, K., E-mail: kbakke@fisica.ufpb.br

    2016-07-15

    The relativistic quantum dynamics of an electrically charged particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential is investigated. By searching for relativistic bound states, a particular quantum effect can be observed: a dependence of the angular frequency of the Klein–Gordon oscillator on the quantum numbers of the system. The meaning of this behaviour of the angular frequency is that only some specific values of the angular frequency of the Klein–Gordon oscillator are permitted in order to obtain bound state solutions. As an example, we obtain both the angular frequency and the energy level associated with the ground statemore » of the relativistic system. Further, we analyse the behaviour of a relativistic position-dependent mass particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential.« less

  9. 2017 Gordon Conference on Superconductivity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chubukov, Andrey

    The DOE award was for a 2017 Gordon Research conference on Superconductivity (GRC). The objective of GRC is to interchange the information about the latest theoretical and experimental developments in the area of superconductivity and to select most perspective directions for future research in this area.The goal of the Gordon Conference on Superconductivity is to present and discuss the latest results in the field of modern superconductivity, discuss new ideas and new directions of research in the area. It is a long-standing tradition of the Gordon conference on Superconductivity that the vast majority of participants are junior scientists. Funding formore » the conference would primarily be used to support junior researchers, particularly from under-represented groups. We had more 10 female speakers, some of them junior researchers, and some funding was used to support these speakers. The conference was held together with Gordon Research Seminar on Superconductivity, where almost all speakers and participants were junior scientists.« less

  10. Bedrock geologic map of the Lisbon quadrangle, and parts of the Sugar Hill and East Haverhill quadrangles, Grafton County, New Hampshire

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rankin, Douglas W.

    2018-04-20

    The bedrock geologic map of the Lisbon quadrangle, and parts of the Sugar Hill and East Haverhill quadrangles, Grafton County, New Hampshire, covers an area of approximately 73 square miles (189 square kilometers) in west-central New Hampshire. This map was created as part of a larger effort to produce a new bedrock geologic map of Vermont through the collection of field data at a scale of 1:24,000. A large part of the map area consists of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium, a post-Early Devonian structure that is cored by metamorphosed Cambrian to Devonian sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic rocks.The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is the apex of the Middle Ordovician to earliest-Silurian Bronson Hill magmatic arc that contains the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, Partridge Formation, and Oliverian Plutonic Suite, and extends from Maine, through western New Hampshire (down the eastern side of the Connecticut River), through southern New England to Long Island Sound. The deformed and partially eroded arc is locally overlain by a relatively thin Silurian section of metasedimentary rocks (Clough Quartzite and Fitch Formation) that thickens to the east. The Silurian section near Littleton is disconformably overlain by a thicker, Lower Devonian section that includes mostly metasedimentary and minor metavolcanic rocks of the Littleton Formation. The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is bisected by a series of northeast-southwest trending Mesozoic normal faults. Primarily among them is the steeply northwest-dipping Ammonoosuc fault that divides older and younger units (lower and upper sections) of the Ammonoosuc Volcanics. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics are lithologically complex and predominantly include interlayered and interfingered rhyolitic to basaltic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as well as lesser amounts of slate, phyllite, ironstone, chert, sandstone, and pelite. The Albee Formation underlies the Ammonoosuc Volcanics and is predominantly composed of interbedded metamorphosed sandstone, siltstone, and phyllite.During the Late Ordovician, a series of arc-related plutons intruded the Ammonoosuc Volcanics including the Moody Ledge pluton and the Scrag granite of Billings (1937). Subsequent plutonism related to the Acadian orogeny occurred after volcanism and deposition resulted in the Littleton Formation during the Late Devonian, including the intrusion of the Haverhill pluton and French Pond Granite found in the southern part of the map.This report consists of a geologic map and an online geographic information systems database that includes contacts of bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information. The geologic map is intended to serve as a foundation for applying geologic information to problems involving land use decisions, groundwater availability and quality, earth resources such as natural aggregate for construction, assessment of natural hazards, and engineering and environmental studies for waste disposal sites and construction projects.

  11. Chapter 1: An overview of the petroleum geology of the Arctic

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Spencer, A.M.; Embry, A.F.; Gautier, D.L.; Stoupakova, A.V.; Sorensen, K.

    2011-01-01

    Nine main petroleum provinces containing recoverable resources totalling 61 Bbbl liquids + 269 Bbbloe of gas are known in the Arctic. The three best known major provinces are: West Siberia-South Kara, Arctic Alaska and Timan-Pechora. They have been sourced principally from, respectively, Upper Jurassic, Triassic and Devonian marine source rocks and their hydrocarbons are reservoired principally in Cretaceous sandstones, Triassic sandstones and Palaeozoic carbonates. The remaining six provinces except for the Upper Cretaceous-Palaeogene petroleum system in the Mackenzie Delta have predominantly Mesozoic sources and Jurassic reservoirs. There are discoveries in 15% of the total area of sedimentary basins (c. 8 ?? 106 km2), dry wells in 10% of the area, seismic but no wells in 50% and no seismic in 25%. The United States Geological Survey estimate yet-to-find resources to total 90 Bbbl liquids + 279 Bbbloe gas, with four regions - South Kara Sea, Alaska, East Barents Sea, East Greenland - dominating. Russian estimates of South Kara Sea and East Barents Sea are equally positive. The large potential reflects primarily the large undrilled areas, thick basins and widespread source rocks. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

  12. Thermal maturity of northern Appalachian Basin Devonian shales: Insights from sterane and terpane biomarkers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hackley, Paul C.; Ryder, Robert T.; Trippi, Michael H.; Alimi, Hossein

    2013-01-01

    To better estimate thermal maturity of Devonian shales in the northern Appalachian Basin, eleven samples of Marcellus and Huron Shale were characterized via multiple analytical techniques. Vitrinite reflectance, Rock–Eval pyrolysis, gas chromatography (GC) of whole rock extracts, and GC–mass spectrometry (GCMS) of extract saturate fractions were evaluated on three transects that lie across previously documented regional thermal maturity isolines. Results from vitrinite reflectance suggest that most samples are immature with respect to hydrocarbon generation. However, bulk geochemical data and sterane and terpane biomarker ratios from GCMS suggest that almost all samples are in the oil window. This observation is consistent with the presence of thermogenic gas in the study area and higher vitrinite reflectance values recorded from overlying Pennsylvanian coals. These results suggest that vitrinite reflectance is a poor predictor of thermal maturity in early mature areas of Devonian shale, perhaps because reported measurements often include determinations of solid bitumen reflectance. Vitrinite reflectance interpretations in areas of early mature Devonian shale should be supplanted by evaluation of thermal maturity information from biomarker ratios and bulk geochemical data.

  13. Euryhaline ecology of early tetrapods revealed by stable isotopes.

    PubMed

    Goedert, Jean; Lécuyer, Christophe; Amiot, Romain; Arnaud-Godet, Florent; Wang, Xu; Cui, Linlin; Cuny, Gilles; Douay, Guillaume; Fourel, François; Panczer, Gérard; Simon, Laurent; Steyer, J-Sébastien; Zhu, Min

    2018-06-01

    The fish-to-tetrapod transition-followed later by terrestrialization-represented a major step in vertebrate evolution that gave rise to a successful clade that today contains more than 30,000 tetrapod species. The early tetrapod Ichthyostega was discovered in 1929 in the Devonian Old Red Sandstone sediments of East Greenland (dated to approximately 365 million years ago). Since then, our understanding of the fish-to-tetrapod transition has increased considerably, owing to the discovery of additional Devonian taxa that represent early tetrapods or groups evolutionarily close to them. However, the aquatic environment of early tetrapods and the vertebrate fauna associated with them has remained elusive and highly debated. Here we use a multi-stable isotope approach (δ 13 C, δ 18 O and δ 34 S) to show that some Devonian vertebrates, including early tetrapods, were euryhaline and inhabited transitional aquatic environments subject to high-magnitude, rapid changes in salinity, such as estuaries or deltas. Euryhalinity may have predisposed the early tetrapod clade to be able to survive Late Devonian biotic crises and then successfully colonize terrestrial environments.

  14. Geology of the Devonian Marcellus Shale--Valley and Ridge province, Virginia and West Virginia--a field trip guidebook for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Eastern Section Meeting, September 28-29, 2011

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Coleman, James L.; Haynes, John T.; Whitmeyer, Steven J.; McDowell, Ronald R.; Lewis, J. Eric; Spear, Tyler P.; Swezey, Christopher S.

    2012-01-01

    Detailed and reconnaissance field mapping and the results of geochemical and mineralogical analyses of outcrop samples indicate that the Devonian shales of the Broadtop Synclinorium from central Virginia to southern Pennsylvania have an organic content sufficiently high and a thermal maturity sufficiently moderate to be considered for a shale gas play. The organically rich Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale is present throughout most of the synclinorium, being absent only where it has been eroded from the crests of anticlines. Geochemical analyses of outcrop and well samples indicate that hydrocarbons have been generated and expelled from the kerogen originally in place in the shale. The mineralogical characteristics of the Marcellus Shale samples from the Broadtop Synclinorium are slightly different from the averages of samples from New York, Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio, and northern West Virginia. The Middle Devonian shale interval is moderately to heavily fractured in all areas, but in some areas substantial fault shearing has removed a regular "cleat" system of fractures. Conventional anticlinal gas fields in the study area that are productive from the Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone suggest that a continuous shale gas system may be in place within the Marcellus Shale interval at least in a portion of the synclinorium. Third-order intraformational deformation is evident within the Marcellus shale exposures. Correlations between outcrops and geophysical logs from exploration wells nearby will be examined by field trip attendees.

  15. The Neoacadian orogenic core of the souther Appalachians: a Geo-traverse through the migmatitic inner Piedmont from the Brushy Mountains to Lincolnton, North Carolina

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Merschat, Arthur J.; Hatcher, Robert D.; Byars, Heather E.; Gilliam, William G.; Eppes, Martha Cary; Bartholomew, Mervin J.

    2012-01-01

    The Inner Piedmont extends from North Carolina to Alabama and comprises the Neoacadian (360–345 Ma) orogenic core of the southern Appalachian orogen. Bordered to west by the Blue Ridge and the exotic Carolina superterrane to the east, the Inner Piedmont is cored by an extensive region of migmatitic, sillimanite-grade rocks. It is a composite of the peri-Laurentian Tugaloo terrane and mixed Laurentian and peri-Gondwanan affinity Cat Square terrane, which are exposed in several gentle-dipping thrust sheets (nappes). The Cat Square terrane consists of Late Silurian to Early Devonian pelitic schist and metagraywacke intruded by several Devonian to Mississippian peraluminous granitoids, and juxtaposed against the Tugaloo terrane by the Brindle Creek fault. This field trip through the North Carolina Inner Piedmont will examine the lithostratigraphies of the Tugaloo and Cat Square terranes, deformation associated with Brindle Creek fault, Devonian-Mississippian granitoids and charnockite of the Cat Square terrane, pervasive amphibolite-grade Devonian-Mississippian (Neoacadian) deformation and metamorphism throughout the Inner Piedmont, and existence of large crystalline thrust sheets in the Inner Piedmont. Consistent with field observations, geochronology and other data, we have hypothesized that the Carolina superterrane collided obliquely with Laurentia near the Pennsylvania embayment during the Devonian, overrode the Cat Square terrane and Laurentian margin, and squeezed the Inner Piedmont out to the west and southwest as an orogenic channel buttressed against the footwall of the Brevard fault zone.

  16. The Devonian Marcellus Shale and Millboro Shale

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Soeder, Daniel J.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Chermak, John A.

    2014-01-01

    The recent development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States builds upon many decades of research, which included resource assessment and the development of well completion and extraction technology. The Eastern Gas Shales Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in the 1980s, investigated the gas potential of organic-rich, Devonian black shales in the Appalachian, Michigan, and Illinois basins. One of these eastern shales is the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, which has been extensively developed for natural gas and natural gas liquids since 2007. The Marcellus is one of the basal units in a thick Devonian shale sedimentary sequence in the Appalachian basin. The Marcellus rests on the Onondaga Limestone throughout most of the basin, or on the time-equivalent Needmore Shale in the southeastern parts of the basin. Another basal unit, the Huntersville Chert, underlies the Marcellus in the southern part of the basin. The Devonian section is compressed to the south, and the Marcellus Shale, along with several overlying units, grades into the age-equivalent Millboro Shale in Virginia. The Marcellus-Millboro interval is far from a uniform slab of black rock. This field trip will examine a number of natural and engineered exposures in the vicinity of the West Virginia–Virginia state line, where participants will have the opportunity to view a variety of sedimentary facies within the shale itself, sedimentary structures, tectonic structures, fossils, overlying and underlying formations, volcaniclastic ash beds, and to view a basaltic intrusion.

  17. An exceptionally preserved Late Devonian actinopterygian provides a new model for primitive cranial anatomy in ray-finned fishes

    PubMed Central

    Giles, Sam; Darras, Laurent; Clément, Gaël; Blieck, Alain; Friedman, Matt

    2015-01-01

    Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diverse living osteichthyan (bony vertebrate) group, with a rich fossil record. However, details of their earliest history during the middle Palaeozoic (Devonian) ‘Age of Fishes' remains sketchy. This stems from an uneven understanding of anatomy in early actinopterygians, with a few well-known species dominating perceptions of primitive conditions. Here we present an exceptionally preserved ray-finned fish from the Late Devonian (Middle Frasnian, ca 373 Ma) of Pas-de-Calais, northern France. This new genus is represented by a single, three-dimensionally preserved skull. CT scanning reveals the presence of an almost complete braincase along with near-fully articulated mandibular, hyoid and gill arches. The neurocranium differs from the coeval Mimipiscis in displaying a short aortic canal with a distinct posterior notch, long grooves for the lateral dorsal aortae, large vestibular fontanelles and a broad postorbital process. Identification of similar but previously unrecognized features in other Devonian actinopterygians suggests that aspects of braincase anatomy in Mimipiscis are apomorphic, questioning its ubiquity as stand-in for generalized actinopterygian conditions. However, the gill skeleton of the new form broadly corresponds to that of Mimipiscis, and adds to an emerging picture of primitive branchial architecture in crown gnathostomes. The new genus is recovered in a polytomy with Mimiidae and a subset of Devonian and stratigraphically younger actinopterygians, with no support found for a monophyletic grouping of Moythomasia with Mimiidae. PMID:26423841

  18. Filtration of the classical knot concordance group and Casson-Gordon invariants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Taehee

    2004-09-01

    It is known that if every prime power branched cyclic cover of a knot in S(3) is a homology sphere, then the knot has vanishing Casson-Gordon invariants. We construct infinitely many examples of (topologically) non-slice knots in S(3) whose prime power branched cyclic covers are homology spheres. We show that these knots generate an infinite rank subgroup of scrf_{(1.0)}/scrf_{(1.5)} for which Casson-Gordon invariants vanish in Cochran-Orr-Teichner's filtration of the classical knot concordance group. As a corollary, it follows that Casson-Gordon invariants are not a complete set of obstructions to a second layer of Whitney disks.

  19. Bernard de Gordon (fl. 1270-1330): medieval physician and teacher.

    PubMed

    Pearn, John

    2013-02-01

    The Montpellier physician Bernard de Gordon flourished in the late Middle Ages in the era when university education first evolved in the training of European physicians. Fragmentary details of his life and medical influence are known from seven books, particularly his extensive (163 chapters) text Lilium Medicine and from Chaucer's reference to him in the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer lists Bernard de Gordon as one whose writings were part of the core curriculum of the best-trained European doctors of medieval Europe. Bernard de Gordon was one of that small group of medieval physicians who reverently followed Galenic lore which had endured for a thousand years yet who began to challenge its details and to experiment clinically with new methods of treatment. In his writings, Bernard de Gordon made the first reference to spectacles and to the hernial truss. His writings also contained detailed desiderata for the ethical best practice of medicine of his day, extending the principles of both Hippocrates and Haly ibn Abbas. Unlike many of the surviving writings of other medieval medical teachers, his texts have within them a tone of humility and acknowledged fallibility. Bernard de Gordon holds a small but significant place in the evolving pre-Renaissance chronology of medical professionalism.

  20. Petrological, geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological constraints for the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous magmatism in SW Gondwana (27-32°LS): an example of geodynamic switching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dahlquist, Juan A.; Alasino, Pablo H.; Basei, Miguel A. S.; Morales Cámera, Matías M.; Macchioli Grande, Marcos; da Costa Campos Neto, Mario

    2018-04-01

    We report a study integrating 13 new U-Pb LA-MC-ICP-MS zircon ages and Hf-isotope data from dated magmatic zircons together with complete petrological and whole-rock geochemistry data for the dated granitic rocks. Sample selection was strongly based on knowledge reported in previous investigations. Latest Devonian-Early Carboniferous granite samples were collected along a transect of 900 km, from the inner continental region (present-day Eastern Sierras Pampeanas) to the magmatic arc (now Western Sierras Pampeanas and Frontal Cordillera). Based on these data together with ca. 100 published whole-rock geochemical analyses we conclude that Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous magmatism at this latitude represents continuous activity (ranging from 322 to 379 Ma) on the pre-Andean margin of SW Gondwana, although important whole-rock and isotopic compositional variations occurred through time and space. Combined whole-rock chemistry and isotope data reveal that peraluminous A-type magmatism started in the intracontinental region during the Late Devonian, with subsequent development of synchronous Carboniferous peraluminous and metaluminous A-type magmatism in the retro-arc region and calc-alkaline magmatism in the western paleomargin. We envisage that magmatic evolution was mainly controlled by episodic fluctuations in the angle of subduction of the oceanic plate (between flat-slab and normal subduction), supporting a geodynamic switching model. Subduction fluctuations were relatively fast (ca. 7 Ma) during the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous, and the complete magmatic switch-off and switch-on process lasted for 57 Ma. Hf T DM values of zircon (igneous and inherited) from some Carboniferous peraluminous A-type granites in the retro-arc suggest that Gondwana continental lithosphere formed during previous orogenies was partly the source of the Devonian-Carboniferous granitic magmas, thus precluding the generation of the parental magmas from exotic terranes.

  1. Petroleum geology and resources of the Volga-Ural province, U.S.S.R.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Peterson, James A.; Clarke, James W.

    1983-01-01

    The Volga-Ural petroleum province is, in general, coincident with the Volga-Ural regional high, a broad upwarp of the east-central part of the Russian (East European) Platform. The central part of the province is occupied by the Tatar arch, which contains the major share of the oilfields of the province. The Komi-Perm arch forms the northeastern part of the regional high, and the Zhigulevsko-Pugachev and Orenburg arches make up the southern part. These arches are separated from one another by elongate downwarps. The platform cover overlies an Archean crystalline basement and consists of seven main sedimentation cycles. (1) Riphean (lower Bavly) continental sandstone, shale, and conglomerate beds, from 500 to 5,000 m thick, were deposited in aulacogens. (2) Vendian (upper Bavly) continental and marine shale and sandstone are up to 3,000 m thick. (3) Middle Devonian-Tournaisian transgressive deposits, which are sandstone, siltstone, and shale in the lower part and carbonates and abundant reefs in the upper part, range from 300 to 1,000 m in thickness. The upper carbonate part includes the Kamsko-Kinel trough system, which consists of narrow, interconnected, deepwater troughs. (4) The Visean-Namurian-Bashkirian cycle began with deposition of Visean clastic deposits, which draped over reefs of the previous cycle and filled in an erosional relief that had formed in some places on the sediments of the previous cycle. The Visean clastic deposits are overlain by marine carbonate beds. The cycle is from 50 to 800 m thick. (5) The lower Moscovian-Lower Permian cycle consists of 1,000 to 3,000 m of terrigenous clastic deposits and marine carbonate beds. (6) The upper Lower Permian-Upper Permian cycle reflects the maximum growth of the Ural Mountains and the associated Ural foredeep. Evaporite deposits were first laid down, followed by marine limestones and dolomites, which intertongue eastward with clastic sediments from the Ural Mountains. (7) Continental red beds of Triassic age and mixed continental and marine clastic beds of Jurassic and Cretaceous age were deposited on the western, southwestern, and northern margins of the Russian Platform; they are generally absent in the Volga-Ural province, however. Approximately 600 oilfields and gasfields and 2,000 pools have been found in the Volga-Ural province. Nine productive sequences are recognized; these are, in general, the same as the sedimentation cycles, although some subdivisions have been added. The clastic section of Middle and early Late Devonian age contains the major recoverable oil accumulations, including the supergiant Romashkino field. Cumulative production to 1980 is estimated at 30 to 35 billion barrels of oil equivalent, identified reserves at about 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and undiscovered resources at about 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Identified reserves of natural gas are estimated at 100 trillion cubic feet and undiscovered resources at 63 trillion cubic feet.

  2. Paleozoic carbonate buildup (reef) inventory, central and southeastern Idaho

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Isaacson, P.E.

    1987-08-01

    Knowledge of central and southeastern Idaho's Paleozoic rocks to date suggest that three styles of buildup (reef) complexes occur in Late Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian-Permian time. The Late Devonian Jefferson Formation has stromatoporoid and coral (both rugosan and tabulate) organisms effecting a buildup in the Grandview Canyon vicinity; Early Mississippian Waulsortian-type mud mounds occur in the Lodgepole formation of southeastern Idaho; there are Late Mississippian Waulsortian-type mounds in the Surrett Canyon Formation of the Lost River Range; and cyclic Pennsylvanian-Permian algal and hydrozoan buildups occur in the Juniper gulch Member of the Snaky Canyon Formation in the Arco Hills andmore » Lemhi Range. Late Devonian (Frasnian) carbonates of the Jefferson formation show buildup development on deep ramp sediments.« less

  3. Light Scattering by Marine Particles: Modeling with Non-spherical Shapes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-09-30

    4271—4282 (1996). Gordon, H.R. and Tao Du, Light scattering by nonspherical particles: application to coccoliths detached from Emiliania huxleyi... Emiliania huxleyi, Applied Optics, (2009). PUBLICATIONS H.R. Gordon, T.J. Smyth, W.M. Balch, and G.C. Boynton, Light scattering by coccoliths...detached from Emiliania huxleyi, Applied Optics, 48, 6059–6073 (2009). [published, refereed] 5 H.R. Gordon, Some Reflections on 35 Years of

  4. 'National Hero and Very Queer Fish': Empire, Sexuality and the British Remembrance of General Gordon, 1918-72.

    PubMed

    Jones, Max

    2015-01-01

    This article presents the first detailed study of General Gordon's remembrance in Britain between 1918 and 1972. Previous scholars have exaggerated the impact of Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians (1918). Strachey damaged Gordon's reputation, but part one reveals how several commentators forcefully rebutted Eminent Victorians; official commemorations, books, radio plays, and films celebrated Gordon in the 1930s, as empire featured prominently in mass culture. Didactic uses of his example by the state diminished after 1945, but parts 2 and 3 show how writers used Gordon's story to engage with new debates about Britain's role in the world, immigration and sexuality. The article reveals how a fascination with the sexuality of heroes inspired men as diverse as Viscount Robin Maugham and East End gangster Ronnie Kray to identify with Gordon. Maugham's works and the feature film Khartoum (1966) expressed nostalgia for empire during decolonization, but American screenwriter Robert Ardrey also drew on his experiences in the Congo to present a dark vision of African savagery in Khartoum, a vision performed at Pinewood studios by black immigrants from London's slums. The article questions Edward Berenson's emphasis on the 'charismatic aura' of heroes, emphasizing instead the diversity of engagements inspired through different genre.

  5. Climate effects caused by land plant invasion in the Devonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hir guillaume, Le; yannick, Donnadieu; yves, Goddéris; brigitte, Meyer-Berthaud; gilles, Ramstein

    2017-04-01

    Land plants invaded continents during the Mid-Paleozoic. Their spreading and diversification have been compared to the Cambrian explosion in terms of intensity and impact on the diversification of life on Earth. Whereas prior studies were focused on the evolution of the root system and its weathering contribution, here we investigated the biophysical impacts of plant colonization on the surface climate through changes in continental albedo, roughness, thermal properties, and potential evaporation using a 3D-climate model coupled to a global biogeochemical cycles associated to a simple model for vegetation dynamics adapted to Devonian conditions. From the Early to the Late Devonian, we show that continental surface changes induced by land plants and tectonic drift have produced a large CO2 drawdown without being associated to a global cooling, because the cooling trend is counteracted by a warming trend resulting from the surface albedo reduction. If CO2 is consensually assumed as the main driver of the Phanerozoic climate, during land-plant invasion, the modifications of soil properties could have played in the opposite direction of the carbon dioxide fall, hence maintaining warm temperatures during part of the Devonian.

  6. Discovery of the fossiliferous Cu Brei Formation (Lower Devonian) in the Kon Tum Block (South Viet Nam)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thanh, Tong-Dzuy; Duyen, Than Duc; Hung, Nguyen Huu; My, Bui Phu

    2007-01-01

    Lower Devonian corals and stromatoporoids have recently been discovered in limestones among low grade metamorphic rocks on the western margin of the Kon Tum Block (South Viet Nam). This unit has been identified as the Cu Brei Formation. Coral and stromatoporoid species have been described including Squameofavosites aff. spongiosus, Parallelostroma cf. multicolumnum, Amphipora cf. rasilis, A. cf. raritalis, Simplexodictyon cf. artyschtense, Stromatopora cf. boriarchinovi and Stromatopora sp. indet. The Cu Brei Formation is exposed in a small area 6 km in length and 3 km wide at the foot of Cu Brei Mountain (Sa Thay District, Kon Tum Province). As this formation is in marine shelf facies it is probable that further exposures of Lower Devonian sediments may be discovered in the Kon Tum Block. This discovery raises the question of the tectonic history of the metamorphic Kon Tum Block. It is possible that the block was not an area of positive uplift from the beginning of Paleozoic as has been supposed, but was submerged in a marine environment, at least on its outer margins, in the Devonian, and possibly even earlier, in Early Paleozoic.

  7. A Systems Approach to Identifying Exploration and Development Opportunities in the Illinois Basin: Digital Portifolio of Plays in Underexplored Lower Paleozoic Rocks [Part 1 of 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seyler, Beverly; Harris, David; Keith, Brian

    2008-06-30

    This study examined petroleum occurrence in Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian reservoirs in the Illinois Basin. Results from this project show that there is excellent potential for additional discovery of petroleum reservoirs in these formations. Numerous exploration targets and exploration strategies were identified that can be used to increase production from these underexplored strata. Some of the challenges to exploration of deeper strata include the lack of subsurface data, lack of understanding of regional facies changes, lack of understanding the role of diagenetic alteration in developing reservoir porosity and permeability, the shifting of structural closures with depth, overlooking potential producing horizons,more » and under utilization of 3D seismic techniques. This study has shown many areas are prospective for additional discoveries in lower Paleozoic strata in the Illinois Basin. This project implemented a systematic basin analysis approach that is expected to encourage exploration for petroleum in lower Paleozoic rocks of the Illinois Basin. The study has compiled and presented a broad base of information and knowledge needed by independent oil companies to pursue the development of exploration prospects in overlooked, deeper play horizons in the Illinois Basin. Available geologic data relevant for the exploration and development of petroleum reservoirs in the Illinois Basin was analyzed and assimilated into a coherent, easily accessible digital play portfolio. The primary focus of this project was on case studies of existing reservoirs in Devonian, Silurian, and Ordovician strata and the application of knowledge gained to future exploration and development in these underexplored strata of the Illinois Basin. In addition, a review of published reports and exploration in the New Albany Shale Group, a Devonian black shale source rock, in Illinois was completed due to the recent increased interest in Devonian black shales across the United States. The New Albany Shale is regarded as the source rock for petroleum in Silurian and younger strata in the Illinois Basin and has potential as a petroleum reservoir. Field studies of reservoirs in Devonian strata such as the Geneva Dolomite, Dutch Creek Sandstone and Grassy knob Chert suggest that there is much additional potential for expanding these plays beyond their current limits. These studies also suggest the potential for the discovery of additional plays using stratigraphic concepts to develop a subcrop play on the subkaskaskia unconformity boundary that separates lower Devonian strata from middle Devonian strata in portions of the basin. The lateral transition from Geneva Dolomite to Dutch Creek Sandstone also offers an avenue for developing exploration strategies in middle Devonian strata. Study of lower Devonian strata in the Sesser Oil Field and the region surrounding the field shows opportunities for development of a subcrop play where lower Devonian strata unconformably overlie Silurian strata. Field studies of Silurian reservoirs along the Sangamon Arch show that opportunities exist for overlooked pays in areas where wells do not penetrate deep enough to test all reservoir intervals in Niagaran rocks. Mapping of Silurian reservoirs in the Mt. Auburn trend along the Sangamon Arch shows that porous reservoir rock grades laterally to non-reservoir facies and several reservoir intervals may be encountered in the Silurian with numerous exploration wells testing only the uppermost reservoir intervals. Mapping of the Ordovician Trenton and shallower strata at Centralia Field show that the crest of the anticline shifted through geologic time. This study illustrates that the axes of anticlines may shift with depth and shallow structure maps may not accurately predict structurally favorable reservoir locations at depth.« less

  8. Cope's Rule and Romer's theory: patterns of diversity and gigantism in eurypterids and Palaeozoic vertebrates

    PubMed Central

    Lamsdell, James C.; Braddy, Simon J.

    2010-01-01

    Gigantism is widespread among Palaeozoic arthropods, yet causal mechanisms, particularly the role of (abiotic) environmental factors versus (biotic) competition, remain unknown. The eurypterids (Arthropoda: Chelicerata) include the largest arthropods; gigantic predatory pterygotids (Eurypterina) during the Siluro-Devonian and bizarre sweep-feeding hibbertopterids (Stylonurina) from the Carboniferous to end-Permian. Analysis of family-level originations and extinctions among eurypterids and Palaeozoic vertebrates show that the diversity of Eurypterina waned during the Devonian, while the Placodermi radiated, yet Stylonurina remained relatively unaffected; adopting a sweep-feeding strategy they maintained their large body size by avoiding competition, and persisted throughout the Late Palaeozoic while the predatory nektonic Eurypterina (including the giant pterygotids) declined during the Devonian, possibly out-competed by other predators including jawed vertebrates. PMID:19828493

  9. The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zatoń, Michał; Broda, Krzysztof; Qvarnström, Martin; Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz; Ahlberg, Per Erik

    2017-04-01

    We describe the first known occurrence of a Devonian coelacanth specimen from the lower Famennian of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with a conodont element preserved in its digestive tract. A small spiral and phosphatic coprolite (fossil excrement) containing numerous conodont elements and other unrecognized remains was also found in the same deposits. The coprolite is tentatively attributed to the coelacanth. Although it is unclear whether the Late Devonian coelacanth from Poland was an active predator or a scavenger, these finds provide the first direct evidence of feeding on conodont animals by early coelacanth fish, and one of the few evidences of feeding on these animals known to date. It also expands our knowledge about the diet and trophic relations between the Paleozoic marine animals in general.

  10. Defense Department Pursuit of Insurers for Superfund Cost Recovery

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-04-01

    Aug. 14, 1991). 95. See generally Greenlaw, supra note 90, at 235-52; Thomas A. Gordon & Roger Westendorf , Liability Coverage for Toxic Tort...121 103. See American Home Products, 565 F. Supp. at 1500- 03; see also supra notes 100 and accompanying text. 104. Gordon & Westendorf , supra note 95...Annotated 409 (1969 Supplement). 111. Gordon & Westendorf , supra note 95, at 575; see also Greenlaw, supra note 90, at 244; Salisbury, supra note 86, at

  11. Light Scattering by Marine Particles: Modeling with Non-spherical Shapes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    3896. Gordon, H.R. and Tao Du., 2001, Light scattering by nonspherical particles: application to coccoliths detached from Emiliania huxleyi ... huxleyi using disk-like shapes. Gordon and Du [2001] and Gordon [2004] found that the shape of the backscattering spectrum of detached coccoliths...from E. huxleyi could be well reproduced using a shape consisting of two parallel disks (diameter ~ 2.75 μm and thickness 0.05 μm) separated by 0.3

  12. Klein-Gordon oscillator with position-dependent mass in the rotating cosmic string spacetime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Bing-Qian; Long, Zheng-Wen; Long, Chao-Yun; Wu, Shu-Rui

    2018-02-01

    A spinless particle coupled covariantly to a uniform magnetic field parallel to the string in the background of the rotating cosmic string is studied. The energy levels of the electrically charged particle subject to the Klein-Gordon oscillator are analyzed. Afterwards, we consider the case of the position-dependent mass and show how these energy levels depend on the parameters in the problem. Remarkably, it shows that for the special case, the Klein-Gordon oscillator coupled covariantly to a homogeneous magnetic field with the position-dependent mass in the rotating cosmic string background has the similar behaviors to the Klein-Gordon equation with a Coulomb-type configuration in a rotating cosmic string background in the presence of an external magnetic field.

  13. Birth and demise of the Rheic Ocean magmatic arc(s): Combined U-Pb and Hf isotope analyses in detrital zircon from SW Iberia siliciclastic strata

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereira, M. F.; Gutíerrez-Alonso, G.; Murphy, J. B.; Drost, K.; Gama, C.; Silva, J. B.

    2017-05-01

    Paleozoic continental reconstructions indicate that subduction of Rheic oceanic lithosphere led to collision between Laurussia and Gondwana which was a major event in the formation of the Ouachita-Appalachian-Variscan orogenic belt and the amalgamation of Pangea. However, arc systems which record Rheic Ocean subduction are poorly preserved. The preservation of Devonian detrital zircon in Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous siliciclastic rocks of SW Iberia, rather than arc-related igneous rocks indicates that direct evidence of the arc system may have been largely destroyed by erosion. Here we report in-situ detrital zircon U-Pb isotopic analyses of Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous siliciclastic rocks from the Pulo do Lobo Zone, which is a reworked Late Paleozoic suture zone located between Laurussia and Gondwana. Detrital zircon age spectra from the Pulo do Lobo Zone Frasnian formations show striking similarities, revealing a wide range of ages dominated by Neoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic grains sourced from rocks typical of peri-Gondwanan terranes, such as Avalonia, the Meguma terrane and the Ossa-Morena Zone. Pulo do Lobo rocks also include representative populations of Mesoproterozoic and Early Silurian zircons that are typical of Avalonia and the Meguma terrane which are absent in the Ossa-Morena Zone. The Famennian-Tournaisian formations from the Pulo do Lobo Zone, however, contain more abundant Middle-Late Devonian zircon indicating the contribution from a previously unrecognized source probably related to the Rheic Ocean magmatic arc(s). The Middle-Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous zircon ages from the siliciclastic rocks of SW Iberia (South Portuguese, Pulo do Lobo and Ossa-Morena zones) have a wide range in εHfT values (- 8.2 to + 8.3) indicating the likely crystallization from magmas formed in a convergent setting. The missing Rheic Ocean arc was probably built on a Meguma/Avalonia type basement. We propose for the Pulo do Lobo Zone that the Frasnian sedimentation occurred through the opening of a back-arc basin formed along the Laurussian active margin during Rheic Ocean subduction, as has been recently proposed for the Rhenohercynian Zone in Central Europe. Detrital zircon ages in the Frasnian siliciclastic rocks indicate provenance in the Meguma terrane, Avalonia and Devonian Rheic Ocean arc(s). As a result of back-arc basin inversion, the Frasnian formations underwent deformation, metamorphism and denudation and were unconformably overlain by Famennian to Visean siliciclastic strata (including the Phyllite-Quartzite Formation of the South Portuguese Zone). The Latest Devonian-Early Carboniferous detritus were probably shed to the Pulo do Lobo Zone (Represa and Santa Iria formations) by recycling of Devonian siliciclastic rocks, from the South Portuguese Zone (Meguma terrane) and from a new distinct source with Baltica/Laurentia derivation (preserved in the Horta da Torre Formation and Alajar Mélange).

  14. A review of the arcuate structures in the Iberian Variscides; constraints and genetic models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dias, R.; Ribeiro, A.; Romão, J.; Coke, C.; Moreira, N.

    2016-06-01

    The main Ibero-Armorican Arc (IAA) is essentially defined by a predominant NW-SE trend in the Iberian branch and an E-W trend in the Brittany one. However, in northern Spain it presents a 180° rotation, sometimes known as the Cantabrian Arc (CA). The relation between both arcs is controversial, being considered either as a single arc due to one tectonic event, or as the result of a polyphasic process. According to the last assumption, there is a later arcuate structure (CA), overlapping a previous major one (IAA). Whatever the models, they must be able to explain the presence of a Variscan sinistral transpression in Iberia and a dextral one in Armorica, and a deformation spanning from the Devonian to the Upper Carboniferous. Another arcuate structure, in continuity with the CA, the Central-Iberian Arc (CIA) was recently proposed mainly based upon on magnetic anomalies, geometry of major folds and Ordovician paleocurrents. The critical review of the structural, stratigraphic and geophysical data supports both the IAA and the CA, but as independent structures. However, the presence of a CIA is highly questionable and could not be supported. The complex strain pattern of the IAA and the CA could be explained by a Devonian - Carboniferous polyphasic indentation of a Gondwana promontory. In this model the CA is essentially a thin-skinned arc, while the IAA has a more complex and longer evolution that has led to a thick-skinned first order structure. Nevertheless, both arcs are essentially the result of a lithospheric bending process during the Iberian Variscides.

  15. The Bolivian source rocks: Sub Andean Zone-Madre de Dios-Chaco

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Moretti, I.; Montemurro, G.; Aguilera, E.

    A complete study of source rocks has been carried out in the Bolivian foothills and foreland (Sub Andean Zone, Chaco and Madre de Dios) in order to quantify the petroleum potential of the area. Besides the classical mid-Devonian source rocks (Tequeje Formation in the north, Limoncito Formation in the center and Los Monos Formation in the south), others are important: the Tomachi Formation (late Devonian) in the north and the Copacabana Formation (Upper Carboniferous-lower Permian) in the northern Sub Andean Zone. Both show an excellent potential with S{sub 2} over 50 mg HC/g and average values higher than 10 mgmore » HC/g over few hundred meters. The Latest Cretaceous Flora Formation present locally a high potential but is very thin. Almost all the source rocks matured during the Neogene due to the subsidence in the Andean foreland and in the piggyback basins, and are thus involved on the current petroleum system. Silurian and Lower Paleozoic units also contain thick shale beds, but these source rocks were mature before the Jurassic in the south of the country. In the center, the Silurian is not nowadays overmature and may play an important role. The different zones are compared based on their Source Potential Index which indicates that the richest areas are the northern Sub Andean Zone and the Madre de Dios basin with SPI greater than 10 t/m{sup 2}. Since these two areas remain almost unexplored, these results allow us to be optimistic about the possibilities for future exploration.« less

  16. Material composition of the basalt-trachyte series of the early Devonian of the Saralin graben-rift

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grinev, O. M.; Grinev, R. O.; Bogorodov, A. A.; Adylbaev, R. R.

    2017-12-01

    The article clarifies the structural-tectonic position of the Saralin graben. It is determined that, along with the Balyksinsky graben located to the south and the Goryachegorsky volcanic plateau to the north, they are the connecting structural links between the Kuznetsk-Alatau alkaline province and the adjacent Minusinsk trough. In the early Devonian, the alkaline province was formed as a vaulted-block structure (the “shoulder” of the rift), and the Minusinsk deflection as a depression with the dominant volcanism in it. The boundary between these positive and negative structures was the deep Balyksinsko-Saralinsky fault. In the stratigraphic section of the graben, the lower molassoid part (Ustkundustylskaya stratum), the middle trachybasaltoid stratum (Bazarskay) and the upper problematic Ashpanian stratum are distinguished. In addition to analcime basalts, a large extrusive-subvolcanic dome-shaped construction of trachytes is considered. By petrographic and material composition, volcanites of graben are represented by the dominant basalt-trachyte series in the composition of basanites, trachybasalts, trachyandesites, trachytes. The rocks of the basalt-andesibasalt-andesite series are limited. Foidites are rare. Geochemical data indicate the genetic relationship of the volcanics of the studied series. Geochemically, they are clearly specialized in Sc, Ti, Zn, Zr, Th, U, Mn and P. According to the content of some of these elements, the rocks may have an industrial potential. In geodynamic and genetic plans, graben and its volcanics were formed during plume-tectonic processes involving mantle plume, enriched mantle, and recycling processes of these formations with the substance of the consolidated PR-PZ1 cortex.

  17. Alligator ridge district, East-Central Nevada: Carlin-type gold mineralization at shallow depths

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nutt, C.J.; Hofstra, A.H.

    2003-01-01

    Carlin-type deposits in the Alligator Ridge mining district are present sporadically for 40 km along the north-striking Mooney Basin fault system but are restricted to a 250-m interval of Devonian to Mississippian strata. Their age is bracketed between silicified ca. 45 Ma sedimentary rocks and unaltered 36.5 to 34 Ma volcanic rocks. The silicification is linked to the deposits by its continuity with ore-grade silicification in Devonian-Mississippian strata and by its similar ??18O values (_e1???17???) and trace element signature (As, Sb, Tl, Hg). Eocene reconstruction indicates that the deposits formed at depths of ???300 to 800 m. In comparison to most Carlin-type gold deposits, they have lower Au/Ag, Au grades, and contained Au, more abundant jasperoid, and textural evidence from deposition of an amorphous silica precursor in jasperoid. These differences most likely result from their shallow depth of formation. The peak fluid temperature (_e1???230??C) and large ??18OH2O value shift from the meteroric water line (_e1???20???) suggest that ore fluids were derived from depths of 8 km or more. A magnetotelluric survey indicates that the Mooney Basin fault system penetrates to mid-crustal depths. Deep circulation of meteoric water along the Mooney Basin fault system may have been in response to initial uplift of the East Humboldt-Ruby Mountains metamorphic core complex; convection also may have been promoted by increased heat flow associated with large magnitude extension in the core complex and regional magmatism. Ore fluids ascended along the fault system until they encountered impermeable Devonian and Mississippian shales, at which point they moved laterally through permeable strata in the Devonian Guilmette Formation, Devonian-Mississippian Pilot Shale, Mississippian Joana Limestone, and Mississippian Chainman Shale toward erosional windows where they ascended into Eocene fluvial conglomerates and lake sediments. Most gold precipitated by sulfidation of host-rock Fe and mixing with local ground water in zones of lateral fluid flow in reactive strata, such as the Lower Devonian-Mississippian Pilot Shale.

  18. [Nursing methodology applicated in patients with pressure ulcers. Clinical report].

    PubMed

    Galvez Romero, Carmen

    2014-05-01

    The application of functional patterns lets us to make a systematic and premeditated nursing assessment, with which we obtain a lot of relevant patient data in an organized way, making easier to analize them. In our case, we use Marjory Gordon's functional health patterns and NANDA (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association), NOC (Nursing Outcomes Classification), NIC (Nursing Intervention Classification) taxonomy. The overall objective of this paper is to present the experience of implementation and development of nursing methodology in the care of patients with pressure ulcers. In this article it's reported a case of a 52-year-old female who presented necrosis of phalanxes in upper and lower limbs and suffered amputations of them after being hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit. She was discharged with pressure ulcers on both heels. GENERAL ASSESSMENT: It was implemented the nursing theory known as "Gordon's functional health patterns" and the affected patterns were identified. The Second Pattern (Nutritional-Metabolic) was considered as reference, since this was the pattern which altered the rest. EVOLUTION OF THE PATIENT: The patient had a favourable evolution, improving all the altered patterns. The infections symptoms disappeared and the pressure ulcers of both heels healed completely. The application of nursing methodology to care patients with pressure ulcers using clinical practice guidelines, standardized procedures and rating scales of assessment improves the evaluation of results and the performance of nurses.

  19. Light Scattering by Marine Particles: Modeling with Non-Spherical Shapes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-09-30

    huxleyi using disk-like shapes. Gordon and Du [2001] and Gordon [2004] found that the shape of the backscattering spectrum of detached coccoliths...from E. huxleyi could be well reproduced using a shape consisting of two parallel disks (diameter ~ 2.75 μm and thickness 0.05 μm) separated by 0.3...3886−3896. Gordon, H.R. and Tao Du., 2001, Light scattering by nonspherical particles: application to coccoliths detached from Emiliania

  20. Regional magnetic anomalies, crustal strength, and the location of the northern Cordilleran fold-and-thrust belt

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Saltus, R.W.; Hudson, T.L.

    2007-01-01

    The northern Cordilleran fold-and-thrust belt in Canada and Alaska is at the boundary between the broad continental margin mobile belt and the stable North American craton. The fold-and-thrust belt is marked by several significant changes in geometry: cratonward extensions in the central Yukon Territory and northeastern Alaska are separated by marginward re-entrants. These geometric features of the Cordilleran mobile belt are controlled by relations between lithospheric strength and compressional tectonic forces developed along the continental margin. Regional magnetic anomalies indicate deep thermal and compositional characteristics that contribute to variations in crustal strength. Our detailed analysis of one such anomaly, the North Slope deep magnetic high, helps to explain the geometry of the fold-and-thrust front in northern Alaska. This large magnetic anomaly is inferred to reflect voluminous mafic magmatism in an old (Devonian?) extensional domain. The presence of massive amounts of malic material in the lower crust implies geochemical depletion of the underlying upper mantle, which serves to strengthen the lithosphere against thermal erosion by upper mantle convection. We infer that deep-source magnetic highs are an important indicator of strong lower crust and upper mantle. This stronger lithosphere forms buttresses that play an important role in the structural development of the northern Cordilleran fold-and-thrust belt. ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America.

  1. A terrestrial fauna from the Scottish Lower Carboniferous

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wood, S. P.; Panchen, A. L.; Smithson, T. R.

    1985-03-01

    Despite several important discoveries, extending over more than 120 years, our knowledge of early land vertebrates is still sparse. The earliest tetrapod remains are known from the Upper Devonian of East Greenland1-3 and Australia4-6, but the tetrapod fossil record does not become plentiful until Coal Measure times, in the Upper Carboniferous, some 50 Myr later. Finds in the Lower Carboniferous are very few indeed. Apart from two localities in West Virginia, USA7,8, and one in Nova Scotia, Canada9, all other Lower Carboniferous tetrapod sites are from the Viséan of Fife and the Lothian Region, Scotland10,11. We report here the discovery of an assemblage of terrestrial animals from a new Lower Carboniferous locality in the Lothian Region. Specimens were collected from the East Kirkton Limestone in the Brigantian stage of the Scottish Viséan, and include the first articulated amphibian skeleton to be found in the Lower Carboniferous of Europe in the twentieth century. This find is the earliest well-preserved amphibian skeleton ever discovered. The associated fauna is remarkable for the presence of myriapods, scorpions, the earliest known harvest-man and several other types of amphibian. The presence of such forms, together with the striking absence of fishes, suggests that the amphibians form an integral part of a terrestrial fauna; terrestrial amphibians are otherwise unknown before the Upper Carboniferous Coal Measures.

  2. Spatially Extended Relativistic Particles Out of Traveling Front Solutions of Sine-Gordon Equation in (1+2) Dimensions

    PubMed Central

    Zarmi, Yair

    2016-01-01

    Slower-than-light multi-front solutions of the Sine-Gordon in (1+2) dimensions, constructed through the Hirota algorithm, are mapped onto spatially localized structures, which emulate free, spatially extended, massive relativistic particles. A localized structure is an image of the junctions at which the fronts intersect. It propagates together with the multi-front solution at the velocity of the latter. The profile of the localized structure obeys the linear wave equation in (1+2) dimensions, to which a term that represents interaction with a slower-than-light, Sine-Gordon-multi-front solution has been added. This result can be also formulated in terms of a (1+2)-dimensional Lagrangian system, in which the Sine-Gordon and wave equations are coupled. Expanding the Euler-Lagrange equations in powers of the coupling constant, the zero-order part of the solution reproduces the (1+2)-dimensional Sine-Gordon fronts. The first-order part is the spatially localized structure. PACS: 02.30.Ik, 03.65.Pm, 05.45.Yv, 02.30.Ik. PMID:26930077

  3. Geology of the Devonian black shales of the Appalachian basin

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Roen, J.B.

    1983-01-01

    Black shales of Devonian age in the Appalachian basin are a unique rock sequence. The high content of organic matter, which imparts the characteristic lithology, has for years attracted considerable interest in the shales as a possible source of energy. Concurrent with periodic and varied economic exploitations of the black shales are geologic studies. The recent energy shortage prompted the U.S. Department of Energy through the Eastern Gas Shales Project of the Morgantown Energy Technology Center to underwrite a research program to determine the geologic, geochemical, and structural characteristics of the Devonian black shales in order to enhance the recovery of gas from the shales. Geologic studies produced a regional stratigraphic network that correlates the 15-foot sequence in Tennessee with 3,000 feet of interbedded black and gray shales in central New York. The classic Devonian black-shale sequence in New York has been correlated with the Ohio Shale of Ohio and Kentucky and the Chattanooga Shale of Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic markers in conjunction with gamma-ray logs facilitated long range correlations within the Appalachian basin and provided a basis for correlations with the black shales of the Illinois and Michigan basins. Areal distribution of selected shale units along with paleocurrent studies, clay mineralogy, and geochemistry suggests variations in the sediment source and transport directions. Current structures, faunal evidence, lithologic variations, and geochemical studies provide evidence to support interpretation of depositional environments. In addition, organic geochemical data combined with stratigraphic and structural characteristics of the shale within the basin allow an evaluation of the resource potential of natural gas in the Devonian shale sequence.

  4. The pre-Devonian tectonic framework of Xing'an-Mongolia orogenic belt (XMOB) in north China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Bei; Zhao, Pan; Wang, Yanyang; Liao, Wen; Luo, Zhiwen; Bao, Qingzhong; Zhou, Yongheng

    2015-01-01

    A new tectonic division of the Xing'an-Mongolia orogenic belt (XMOB) in north China has been presented according to our research and a lot of new data of tectonics, geochronology and geochemistry. Four blocks and four sutures have been recognized in the XMOB, including the Erguna (EB), Xing'an-Airgin Sum (XAB), Songliao-Hunshandake (SHB), and Jiamusi (JB), and Xinlin-Xiguitu (XXS), Xilinhot-Heihe (XHS), Mudanjiang (MS) and Ondor Sum-Yongji sutures (OYS). The framework of the XMOB is characterized by a tectonic collage of the blocks and orogenic belts between them. Different Precambrian basements have been found in the blocks, including the Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks and plutons in the EB, the Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks in western and eastern of segments of the XAB, Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks in middle segments of the XAB, respectively, the Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks and Mesoproterozoic volcanic rocks and plutons in the SHB, and Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks in the JB. The XXS resulted from a northwestward subduction of the XAB beneath the EB during the Cambrian, which was followed by the forming of the XHS and OYS in the northwest and south margins of the SHB in the Silurian, respectively. The MS was caused by a westward subduction of the JB beneath the east margin of the SHB during the middle Devonian. The three Cambrian, Silurian and middle Devonian events indicate that the XMOB belongs to a pre-middle Devonian multiple orogenic belt in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Forming of the XMOB suggests that the southeast part of the Paleo Asian Ocean closed before the middle Devonian.

  5. Devonian (Emsian-Eifelian) fish from the Lower Bokkeveld Group (Ceres Subgroup), South Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, M. E.; Almond, J. E.; Evans, F. J.; Long, J. A.

    1999-07-01

    Four major groups of fish are represented by fragmentary remains from South Africa's Lower Bokkeveld Group of Early to Middle Devonian age: the Acanthodii, Chondrichthyes, Placodermi and Osteichthyes. These represent the oldest known occurrences of these groups in southern Africa, as well as an important addition to the very meagre record of earlier Devonian fish from the Malvinokaffric Province of southwestern Gondwana. Bokkeveld fish material comes from the Gydo (Late Emsian) and Tra Tra (Middle Eifelian) Formations of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces. The cosmopolitan marine acanthodian Machæracanthus is represented only by isolated fin spines which may belong to two different species on the basis of their external ornamentation, cross-sectional outline and internal histology. The elasmobranchs are represented by four elements: (1) a flattened chondrocranium which bears affinity to the Late Devonian-Carboniferous symmoriid (protacrodont) 'cladodont' sharks. It is probably the earliest known (Emsian) shark chondrocranium; (2) an isolated, primitive scapulocoracoid with a very short coracoidal ridge; (3) ankylosed and isolated radials, interpreted as parts of pterygial plates of a paired fin of an unknown chondrichthyan bearing affinity to the Middle Devonian Zamponiopteron from Bolivia; and (4) isolated barlike structures, perhaps gill arch or a jaw elements, thought to be from the same taxon as (3). The placoderms are represented by an incomplete trunk armour and fragmentary, finely ornamented plates of a primitive antiarch. The Osteichthyes are represented by a single large scale of an unidentified dipnoan from the Eifelian of the Cedarberg range, as well as a probable sarcopterygian dermal plate from the Emsian of the Prince Albert area. These are among the earliest sarcopterygian remains recorded from the Malvinokaffric Province.

  6. Terrestrial-marine teleconnections in the Devonian: links between the evolution of land plants, weathering processes, and marine anoxic events

    PubMed Central

    Algeo, T. J.

    1998-01-01

    The Devonian Period was characterized by major changes in both the terrestrial biosphere, e.g. the evolution of trees and seed plants and the appearance of multi-storied forests, and in the marine biosphere, e.g. an extended biotic crisis that decimated tropical marine benthos, especially the stromatoporoid-tabulate coral reef community. Teleconnections between these terrestrial and marine events are poorly understood, but a key may lie in the role of soils as a geochemical interface between the lithosphere and atmosphere/hydrosphere, and the role of land plants in mediating weathering processes at this interface. The effectiveness of terrestrial floras in weathering was significantly enhanced as a consequence of increases in the size and geographic extent of vascular land plants during the Devonian. In this regard, the most important palaeobotanical innovations were (1) arborescence (tree stature), which increased maximum depths of root penetration and rhizoturbation, and (2) the seed habit, which freed land plants from reproductive dependence on moist lowland habitats and allowed colonization of drier upland and primary successional areas. These developments resulted in a transient intensification of pedogenesis (soil formation) and to large increases in the thickness and areal extent of soils. Enhanced chemical weathering may have led to increased riverine nutrient fluxes that promoted development of eutrophic conditions in epicontinental seaways, resulting in algal blooms, widespread bottomwater anoxia, and high sedimentary organic carbon fluxes. Long-term effects included drawdown of atmospheric pCO2 and global cooling, leading to a brief Late Devonian glaciation, which set the stage for icehouse conditions during the Permo-Carboniferous. This model provides a framework for understanding links between early land plant evolution and coeval marine anoxic and biotic events, but further testing of Devonian terrestrial-marine teleconnections is needed.

  7. Late Devonian glacial deposits from the eastern United States signal an end of the mid-Paleozoic warm period

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brezinski, D.K.; Cecil, C.B.; Skema, V.W.; Stamm, R.

    2008-01-01

    A Late Devonian polymictic diamictite extends for more than 400??km from northeastern Pennsylvania across western Maryland and into east-central West Virginia. The matrix-supported, unbedded, locally sheared diamictite contains subangular to rounded clasts up to 2??m in diameter. The mostly rounded clasts are both locally derived and exotic; some exhibit striations, faceting, and polish. The diamictite commonly is overlain by laminated siltstone/mudstone facies associations (laminites). The laminites contain isolated clasts ranging in size from sand and pebbles to boulders, some of which are striated. The diamictite/laminite sequence is capped by massive, coarse-grained, pebbly sandstone that is trough cross-bedded. A stratigraphic change from red, calcic paleo-Vertisols in strata below the diamictite to non-calcic paleo-Spodosols and coal beds at and above the diamictite interval suggests that the climate became much wetter during deposition of the diamictite. The diamictite deposit is contemporaneous with regressive facies that reflect fluvial incision during the Late Devonian of the Appalachian basin. These deposits record a Late Devonian episode of climatic cooling so extreme that it produced glaciation in the Appalachian basin. Evidence for this episode of climatic cooling is preserved as the interpreted glacial deposits of diamictite, overlain by glaciolacustrine varves containing dropstones, and capped by sandstone interpreted as braided stream outwash. The Appalachian glacigenic deposits are contemporaneous with glacial deposits in South America, and suggest that Late Devonian climatic cooling was global. This period of dramatic global cooling may represent the end of the mid-Paleozoic warm interval that began in the Middle Silurian. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Bedrock geologic map of the Littleton and Lower Waterford quadrangles, Essex and Caledonia Counties, Vermont, and Grafton County, New Hampshire

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rankin, Douglas W.

    2018-06-13

    The bedrock geologic map of the Littleton and Lower Waterford quadrangles covers an area of approximately 107 square miles (277 square kilometers) north and south of the Connecticut River in east-central Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire. This map was created as part of a larger effort to produce a new bedrock geologic map of Vermont through the collection of field data at a scale of 1:24,000. A large part of the map area consists of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium, a post-Early Devonian structure that is cored by metamorphosed Cambrian to Devonian sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic rocks. The northwestern part of the map is divided by the Monroe fault which separates Early Devonian rocks of the Connecticut Valley-Gaspé trough from rocks of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium.The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is the apex of the Middle Ordovician to earliest-Silurian Bronson Hill magmatic arc that contains the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, Partridge Formation, and Oliverian Plutonic suite, and extends from Maine, down the eastern side of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire, to Long Island Sound. The deformed and partially eroded arc is locally overlain by a relatively thin Silurian section of metasedimentary rocks (Clough Quartzite and Fitch Formation) that thickens to the east. The Silurian section near Littleton is disconformably overlain by a thicker, Lower Devonian section that includes mostly metasedimentary rocks and minor metavolcanic rocks of the Littleton Formation. The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is bisected by a series of northeast-southwest trending Mesozoic normal faults. Primarily among them is the steeply northwest-dipping Ammonoosuc fault that divides older and younger units (upper and lower sections) of the Ammonoosuc Volcanics. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics are lithologically complex and predominantly include interlayered and interfingered rhyolitic to basaltic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as well as lesser amounts of metamorphic and metasedimentary rocks. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics overlies the Albee Formation that consists of interlayered feldspathic sandstone, siltstone, pelite, and slate.During the Late Ordovician, a series of arc-related plutons intruded the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, including the Whitefield pluton to the east, the Scrag granite of Billing (1937) in the far southeastern corner of the map, the Highlandcroft Granodiorite just to the west of the Ammonoosuc fault, and the Joslin Turn tonalite (just north of the Connecticut River). To the east of the Monroe fault lies the late Silurian Comerford Intrusive Complex, which consists of metamorphosed gabbro, diorite, tonalite, aplitic tonalite, and crosscutting diabase dikes. Abundant mafic dikes of the Comerford Intrusive Complex intruded the Albee Formation and Ammonoosuc Volcanics well east of the Monroe fault.This report consists of a single geologic map sheet and an online geographic information systems database that includes contacts of bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information.

  9. Rifting along the northern Gondwana margin and the evolution of the Rheic Ocean: A Devonian age for the El Castillo volcanic rocks (Salamanca, Central Iberian Zone)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gutiérrez-Alonso, G.; Murphy, J. B.; Fernández-Suárez, J.; Hamilton, M. A.

    2008-12-01

    Exposures of volcanic rocks (El Castillo) in the Central Iberian Zone near Salamanca, Spain, are representative of Paleozoic volcanic activity along the northern Gondwanan passive margin. Alkaline basalts and mafic volcaniclastic rocks of this sequence are structurally preserved in the core of the Variscan-Tamames Syncline. On the basis of the occurrence of graptolite fossils in immediately underlying strata, the El Castillo volcanics traditionally have been regarded as Lower Silurian in age. In contrast, most Paleozoic volcanic units in western Iberia are rift-related mafic to felsic rocks emplaced during the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician, and are attributed to the opening of the Rheic Ocean. We present new zircon U-Pb TIMS data from a mafic volcaniclastic rock within the El Castillo unit. These data yield a near-concordant, upper intercept age of 394.7 ± 1.4 Ma that is interpreted to reflect a Middle Devonian (Emsian-Eifelian) age for the magmatism, demonstrating that the El Castillo volcanic rocks are separated from underlying lower Silurian strata by an unconformity. The U-Pb age is coeval with a widespread extensional event in Iberia preserved in the form of a generalized paraconformity surface described in most of the Iberian Variscan realm. However, in the inner part of the Gondwanan platform, the Cantabrian Zone underwent a major, coeval increase in subsidence and the generation of sedimentary troughs. From this perspective, the eruption age reported here probably represents a discrete phase of incipient rifting along the southern flank of the Rheic Ocean. Paleogeographic reconstructions indicate that this rifting event was coeval with widespread orogeny and ridge subduction along the conjugate northern flank of the Rheic Ocean, the so called Acadian "orogeny". We speculate that ridge subduction resulted in geodynamic coupling of the northern and southern flanks of the Rheic Ocean, and that the extension along the southern flank of the Rheic Ocean is a manifestation of slab pull along the northern flank. This scenario provides a uniform explanation for many features that form at ca. 395 Ma along the Gondwanan margin and has implications for the origin of the coeval oceanic Devonian mafic rocks currently exposed in the Variscan suture of NW Iberia.

  10. Bright and singular soliton solutions of the conformable time-fractional Klein-Gordon equations with different nonlinearities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosseini, Kamyar; Mayeli, Peyman; Ansari, Reza

    2018-07-01

    Finding the exact solutions of nonlinear fractional differential equations has gained considerable attention, during the past two decades. In this paper, the conformable time-fractional Klein-Gordon equations with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities are studied. Several exact soliton solutions, including the bright (non-topological) and singular soliton solutions are formally extracted by making use of the ansatz method. Results demonstrate that the method can efficiently handle the time-fractional Klein-Gordon equations with different nonlinearities.

  11. Oscillons in a perturbed signum-Gordon model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klimas, P.; Streibel, J. S.; Wereszczynski, A.; Zakrzewski, W. J.

    2018-04-01

    We study various properties of a perturbed signum-Gordon model, which has been obtained through the dimensional reduction of the called `first BPS submodel of the Skyrme model'. This study is motivated by the observation that the first BPS submodel of the Skyrme model may be partially responsible for the good qualities of the rational map ansatz approximation to the solutions of the Skyrme model. We investigate the existence, stability and various properties of oscillons and other time-dependent states in this perturbed signum-Gordon model.

  12. Results of coal bed methane drilling, Mylan Park, Monongalia County, West Virginia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ruppert, Leslie F.; Fedorko, Nick; Warwick, Peter D.; Grady, William C.; Crangle, Robert D.; Britton, James Q.

    2004-01-01

    The Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory funded drilling of a borehole (39.64378 deg E , -80.04376 deg N) to evaluate the potential for coal bed methane and carbon dioxide sequestration at Mylan Park, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The drilling commenced on September 23, 2002 and was completed on November 14, 2002. The 2,525 ft deep hole contained 1,483.41 ft of Pennsylvanian coal-bearing strata, 739.67 feet of Mississippian strata, and 301.93 ft. of Devonian strata. The drill site was located directly over abandoned Pittsburgh and Sewickley coal mines. Coal cores from remaining mine pillars were cut and retrieved for desorption from both mines. In addition, coals were cored and desorbed from the Pittsburgh Roof, Little Pittsburgh, Elk Lick, Brush Creek, Upper Kittanning, Middle Kittanning, Clarion, Upper Mercer, Lower Mercer, and Quakertown coal beds. All coals are Pennsylvanian in age and are high-volatile-A bituminous in rank. A total of 34.75 ft of coal was desorbed over a maximum period of 662 days, although most of the coal was desorbed for about 275 days. This report is provided in Adobe Acrobat format. Appendix 3 is provided in Excel format.

  13. Simulation of ground-water flow and stream-aquifer relations in the vicinity of the Savannah River Site, Georgia and South Carolina, predevelopment through 1992

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Clarke, John S.; West, Christopher T.

    1998-01-01

    Ground-water flow and stream-aquifer relations were simulated for seven aquifers in Coastal Plain sediments in the vicinity of the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Site (SRS), in Georgia and South Carolina to evaluate the potential for ground water containing hazardous materials to migrate from the SRS into Georgia through aquifers underlying the Savannah River (trans-river flow). The work was completed as part of a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The U.S. Geological Survey three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model, MODFLOW, was used to simulate ground-water flow in three aquifer systems containing seven discrete aquifers: (1) the Floridan aquifer system, consisting of the Upper Three Runs and Gordon aquifers in sediments of Eocene age; (2) the Dublin aquifer system, consisting of the Millers Pond, and upper and lower Dublin aquifers in sediments of Paleocene and Late Cretaceous age; and (3) the Midville aquifer system, consisting of the upper and lower Midville aquifers of sediments in Late Cretaceous age. Ground-water flow was simulated using a series of steady-state simulations of predevelopment (pre-1953) conditions and six pumping periods--1953-60, 1961-70, 1971-75, 1976-80, 1981-86, and 1987-92--results are presented for predevelopment (prior to 1953) and modern-day (1987-92) conditions. Total simulated predevelopment inflow is 1,023 million gallons per day (Mgal/d), of which 76 percent is contributed by leakage from the Upper Three Runs aquifer. Over most of the study area, pumpage induced changes in ground-water levels, ground-water discharge to streams, and water-budget components were small during 1953-92, and changes in aquifer storage were insignificant. Simulated drawdown between predevelopment and modern-day conditions is small (less than 7 feet) and of limited areal extent--the largest simulated declines occur in the upper and lower Dublin aquifers in the vicinity of the Sandoz plant site in South Carolina. These declines extend beneath the Savannah River and change the configuration of the simulated potentiometric surface and flow paths near the river. Predevelopment and modern-day flowpaths were simulated near the Savannah River by using the U.S. Geological Survey particle-tracking code MODPATH. Eastward and westward zones of trans-river flow were identified in three principal areas as follows: --zone 1-from the Fall Line southward to the confluence of Hollow Creek and the Savannah River; --zone 2-from the zone 1 boundary southward to the southern border of the SRS (not including the Lower Three Runs Creek section); and --zone 3-from the zone 2 boundary, southward into the northern part of Screven County, Ga. All zones for all model layers were located within or immediately adjacent to the Savannah River alluvial valley and most were located in the immediate vicinity of the Savannah River. Recharge areas for each of the zones of trans-river flow generally are in the vicinity of major interstream drainage divides. Mean time-of-travel simulated for predevelopment conditions ranges from 300 to 24,000 years for westward trans-river flow zones; and from 550 to 41,000 years for eastward zones. Corresponding travel times under modern-day conditions range from 300 to 34,000 years for westward zones and from 580 to 31,000 years for eastward zones. Differences in travel times between predevelopment and modern-day simulations result from changes in hydraulic gradients due to ground-water pumpage that alter flow paths in the vicinity of the river. Recharge to Georgia trans-river flow zones originating on the SRS was simulated for the Gordon and upper Dublin aquifers during predevelopment, and in the Gordon aquifer during 1987-92. During 1987-92, SRS recharge was simulated in 6 model cells covering a 2-square mile area, located away from areas of ground-water contamination. Si

  14. Petrology and diagenetic history of the upper shale member of the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Neil S. Fishman,; Sven O. Egenhoff,; Boehlke, Adam; Lowers, Heather A.

    2015-01-01

    The organic-rich upper shale member of the upper Devonian–lower Mississippian Bakken Formation (Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA) has undergone significant diagenetic alteration, irrespective of catagenesis related to hydrocarbon generation. Alteration includes precipitation of numerous cements, replacement of both detrital and authigenic minerals, multiple episodes of fracturing, and compaction. Quartz authigenesis occurred throughout much of the member, and is represented by multiple generations of microcrystalline quartz. Chalcedonic quartz fills radiolarian microfossils and is present in the matrix. Sulfide minerals include pyrite and sphalerite. Carbonate diagenesis is volumetrically minor and includes thin dolomite overgrowths and calcite cement. At least two generations of fractures are observed. Based on the authigenic minerals and their relative timing of formation, the evolution of pore waters can be postulated. Dolomite and calcite resulted from early postdepositional aerobic oxidation of some of the abundant organic material in the formation. Following aerobic oxidation, conditions became anoxic and sulfide minerals precipitated. Transformation of the originally opaline tests of radiolaria resulted in precipitation of quartz, and quartz authigenesis is most common in more distal parts of the depositional basin where radiolaria were abundant. Because quartz authigenesis is related to the distribution of radiolaria, there is a link between diagenesis and depositional environment. Furthermore, much of the diagenesis in the upper shale member preceded hydrocarbon generation, so early postdepositional processes were responsible for occlusion of significant original porosity in the member. Thus, diagenetic mineral precipitation was at least partly responsible for the limited ability of these mudstones to provide porosity for storage of hydrocarbons.

  15. Some contrasting biostratigraphic links between the Baker and Olds Ferry Terranes, eastern Oregon

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nestell, Merlynd K.; Blome, Charles D.

    2016-01-01

    New stratigraphic and paleontologic data indicate that ophiolitic melange windows in the Olds Ferry terrane of eastern Oregon contain limestone blocks and chert that are somewhat different in age than those present in the adjacent Baker terrane melange. The melange windows in the Olds Ferry terrane occur as inliers in the flyschoid Early and Middle Jurassic age Weatherby Formation, which depositionally overlies the contact between the melange-rich Devonian to Upper Triassic rocks of the Baker terrane on the north, and Upper Triassic and Early Jurassic volcanic arc rocks of the Huntington Formation on the south. The Baker terrane and Huntington Formation represent fragments of a subduction complex and related volcanic island arc, whereas the Weatherby Formation consists of forearc basin sedimentary deposits. The tectonic blocks in the melange windows of the Weatherby Formation (in the Olds Ferry terrane) are dated by scarce biostratigraphic evidence as Upper Pennsylvanian to Lower Permian and Upper Triassic. In contrast, tectonic blocks of limestone in theBaker terrane yield mostly fusulinids and small foraminifers of Middle Pennsylvanian Moscovian age at one locality.Middle Permian (Guadalupian) Tethyan fusulinids and smaller foraminifers (neoschwagerinids and other Middle Permian genera) are present at a few other localities. Late Triassic conodonts and bryozoans are also present in a few of the Baker terrane tectonic blocks. These limestone blocks are generally embedded in Permian and Triassic radiolarian bearing chert or argillite. Based on conodont, radiolarian and fusulinid data, the age limits of the meange blocks in the Weatherby Formation range from Pennsylvanian to Late Triassic.

  16. Integrability and chemical potential in the (3 + 1)-dimensional Skyrme model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alvarez, P. D.; Canfora, F.; Dimakis, N.; Paliathanasis, A.

    2017-10-01

    Using a remarkable mapping from the original (3 + 1)dimensional Skyrme model to the Sine-Gordon model, we construct the first analytic examples of Skyrmions as well as of Skyrmions-anti-Skyrmions bound states within a finite box in 3 + 1 dimensional flat space-time. An analytic upper bound on the number of these Skyrmions-anti-Skyrmions bound states is derived. We compute the critical isospin chemical potential beyond which these Skyrmions cease to exist. With these tools, we also construct topologically protected time-crystals: time-periodic configurations whose time-dependence is protected by their non-trivial winding number. These are striking realizations of the ideas of Shapere and Wilczek. The critical isospin chemical potential for these time-crystals is determined.

  17. 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology, Final Progress Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Berman, Judith

    The Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology was held at Holderness School, Holderness New Hampshire, June 17 - 22, 2012. The 2012 Gordon Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology (CMFB) will present the latest, cutting-edge research on the exciting and growing field of molecular and cellular aspects of fungal biology. Topics will range from yeast to filamentous fungi, from model systems to economically important organisms, and from saprophytes and commensals to pathogens of plants and animals. The CMFB conference will feature a wide range of topics including systems biology, cell biology and morphogenesis, organismal interactions, genomemore » organisation and regulation, pathogenesis, energy metabolism, biomass production and population genomics. The Conference was well-attended with 136 participants. Gordon Research Conferences does not permit publication of meeting proceedings.« less

  18. Gravity localization in sine-Gordon braneworlds

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cruz, W.T., E-mail: wilamicruz@gmail.com; Maluf, R.V., E-mail: r.v.maluf@fisica.ufc.br; Sousa, L.J.S., E-mail: luisjose@fisica.ufc.br

    2016-01-15

    In this work we study two types of five-dimensional braneworld models given by sine-Gordon potentials. In both scenarios, the thick brane is generated by a real scalar field coupled to gravity. We focus our investigation on the localization of graviton field and the behaviour of the massive spectrum. In particular, we analyse the localization of massive modes by means of a relative probability method in a Quantum Mechanics context. Initially, considering a scalar field sine-Gordon potential, we find a localized state to the graviton at zero mode. However, when we consider a double sine-Gordon potential, the brane structure is changedmore » allowing the existence of massive resonant states. The new results show how the existence of an internal structure can aid in the emergence of massive resonant modes on the brane.« less

  19. Benefits of applying technology to Devonian shale wells. Topical report, July-December 1992

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Voneiff, G.W.; Gatens, J.M.

    1993-01-01

    The report summarizes the benefits of applying technology to Devonian Shales wells in the Appalachian Basin. The results of the work suggest that an intermediate level of technology application, with an incremental cost of $6,700/well, is best for routine application in the Devonian Shales. The technology level uses conventional well tests, rock mechanical properties logs, a borehole camera, and a moderate logging suite. Most of these tools and technologies should be used on only a portion of the wells in multi-well projects, reducing the per well cost of the technology. Determining the correct reservoir description is critical to optimizing themore » stimulation treatment. The most critical reservoir properties are bulk and matrix permeabilities, net pay, stress profile, and natural fracture spacing in the direction perpendicular to induced hydraulic fractures. Applying technology to improve the accuracy of the reservoir description can significantly increase well profitability.« less

  20. Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period of Poland.

    PubMed

    Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz; Szrek, Piotr; Narkiewicz, Katarzyna; Narkiewicz, Marek; Ahlberg, Per E

    2010-01-07

    The fossil record of the earliest tetrapods (vertebrates with limbs rather than paired fins) consists of body fossils and trackways. The earliest body fossils of tetrapods date to the Late Devonian period (late Frasnian stage) and are preceded by transitional elpistostegids such as Panderichthys and Tiktaalik that still have paired fins. Claims of tetrapod trackways predating these body fossils have remained controversial with regard to both age and the identity of the track makers. Here we present well-preserved and securely dated tetrapod tracks from Polish marine tidal flat sediments of early Middle Devonian (Eifelian stage) age that are approximately 18 million years older than the earliest tetrapod body fossils and 10 million years earlier than the oldest elpistostegids. They force a radical reassessment of the timing, ecology and environmental setting of the fish-tetrapod transition, as well as the completeness of the body fossil record.

  1. Geological duration of ammonoids controlled their geographical range of fossil distribution.

    PubMed

    Wani, Ryoji

    2017-01-01

    The latitudinal distributions in Devonian-Cretaceous ammonoids were analyzed at the genus level, and were compared with the hatchling sizes (i.e., ammonitella diameters) and the geological durations. The results show that (1) length of temporal ranges of ammonoids effected broader ranges of fossil distribution and paleobiogeography of ammonoids, and (2) the hatchling size was not related to the geographical range of fossil distribution of ammonoids. Reducing the influence of geological duration in this analysis implies that hatchling size was one of the controlling factors that determined the distribution of ammonoid habitats at any given period in time: ammonoids with smaller hatchling sizes tended to have broader ammonoid habitat ranges. These relationships were somewhat blurred in the Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic, and Jurassic, which is possibly due to (1) the course of development of a reproductive strategy with smaller hatchling sizes in the Devonian and (2) the high origination rates after the mass extinction events.

  2. The geology of a part of Acadia and the nature of the Acadian orogeny across Central and Eastern Maine

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tucker, R.D.; Osberg, P.H.; Berry, H.N.

    2001-01-01

    The zone of Acadian collision between the Medial New England and Composite Avalon terranes is well preserved in Maine. A transect from northwest (Rome) to southeast (Camden) crosses the eastern part of Medial New England comprising the Central Maine basin, Liberty-Orrington thrust sheet, and Fredericton trough, and the western part of Composite Avalon, including the Graham Lake, Clarry Hill, and Clam Cove thrust sheets. U-Pb geochronology of events before, during, and after the Acadian orogeny helps elucidate the nature and distribution of tectonostrati& graphic belts in this zone and the timing of some Acadian events in the Northern Appalachians. The Central Maine basin consists of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Middle Ordovician (???470 to ???460 Ma) age overlain with probable conformity by latest Ordovician(?) through earliest Devonian marine rift and flysch sedimentary rocks; these are intruded by weakly to undeformed plutonic rocks of Early and Middle Devonian age (???399??378 Ma). The Fredericton trough consists of Early Silurian gray pelite and sandstone to earliest Late Silurian calcareous turbidite, deformed and variably metamorphosed prior to the emplacement of Late Silurian (???422 Ma) and Early to Late Devonian (???418 to ???368 Ma) plutons. The Liberty-Orrington thrust sheet consists of Cambrian(?)-Ordovician (>???474 to ???469 Ma and younger) clastic sedimentary and volcanic rocks intruded by highly deformed Late Silurian (???424 to ???422 Ma) and Devonian (???418 to ???389 Ma) plutons, possibly metamorphosed in Late Silurian time (prior to ???417 Ma), and metamorphosed to amphibolite facies in Early to Middle Devonian time (???400 to ???381 Ma). The Graham Lake thrust sheet contains possible Precambrian rocks, Cambrian sedimentary rocks with a volcanic unit dated at ???503 Ma, and Ordovician rocks with possible Caradocian Old World fossils, metamor& phosed and deformed in Silurian time and intruded by mildly to undeformed Late Silurian (???421 Ma) and Late Devonian (???371 to ???368 Ma) plutons. The Clarry Hill thrust sheet consists of poorly studied, highly metamorphosed Cambrian(?) rocks. The Clam Cove thrust sheet contains highly deformed Precambrian limestone, shale, sandstone, and conglomerate, metamorphosed to epidote amphibolite facies and intruded by a mildly deformed pluton dated at ???421 Ma. Metamorphism, deformation, and voluminous intrusive igneous activity of Silu& rian age are common to both the most southeastern parts of Medial New England and the thrust sheets of Composite Avalon. In contrast to Medial New England, the thrust sheets of Composite Avalon show only modest effects of Devonian deformation and metamorphism. Regional stratigraphic relations, paleontologic findings, and U-Pb geochronology suggest that the Graham Lake, Clarry Hill, and Clam Cove thrust sheets are far-traveled allochthons that were widely separated from Medial New England in the Silurian.

  3. Analysis of Eigenvalue and Eigenfunction of Klein Gordon Equation Using Asymptotic Iteration Method for Separable Non-central Cylindrical Potential

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suparmi, A.; Cari, C.; Lilis Elviyanti, Isnaini

    2018-04-01

    Analysis of relativistic energy and wave function for zero spin particles using Klein Gordon equation was influenced by separable noncentral cylindrical potential was solved by asymptotic iteration method (AIM). By using cylindrical coordinates, the Klein Gordon equation for the case of symmetry spin was reduced to three one-dimensional Schrodinger like equations that were solvable using variable separation method. The relativistic energy was calculated numerically with Matlab software, and the general unnormalized wave function was expressed in hypergeometric terms.

  4. Explicit mathematical construction of relativistic nonlinear de Broglie waves described by three-dimensional (wave and electromagnetic) solitons ``piloted'' (controlled) by corresponding solutions of associated linear Klein-Gordon and Schrödinger equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vigier, Jean-Pierre

    1991-02-01

    Starting from a nonlinear relativistic Klein-Gordon equation derived from the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics (proposed by Bohm-Vigier, (1) Nelson, (2) de Broglie, (3) Guerra et al. (4) ), one can construct joint wave and particle, soliton-like solutions, which follow the average de Broglie-Bohm (5) real trajectories associated with linear solutions of the usual Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations.

  5. Dynamics of generalized sine-Gordon soliton in inhomogeneous media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gharaati, A.; Khordad, R.

    2011-03-01

    In this paper we introduce a few novel generalized sine-Gordon equations and study the dynamics of its solitons in inhomogeneous media. We consider length, mass, gravitational acceleration and spring stiffness of a coupled pendulums chain as a function of position x. Then in the continuum limit we derive semi-analytical and numerical soliton solutions of the modified sine-Gordon equation in the inhomogeneous media. The obtained results confirm that the behavior of solitons in these media is similar to that of a classical point particle moved in an external potential.

  6. A Comparison of the Operational Art of George Gordon Meade and Robert Edward Lee during the Period June 1863, to March 1864.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-03-29

    PERIOD COVERED A Comparison of the Operational Art of George G. Meade and Robert E. Lee During the Period Jun 1 8 6 3 Indiv study project to March...publication until it has been cleared by the appropriate military Service er gover"uent aency. A Comparison Of The Operational Art Of George Gordon...and/or Dis Speclal;! Sp ABSTRACT AUTHOR: THOMAS A. GREEN, LTC, AV. TITLE: A Comparison of the Operational Art of George Gordon Meade and Robert Edward

  7. Stratigraphy and Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic history of northern Sierra Los Ajos and adjacent areas, Sonora, Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Page, William R.; Gray, Floyd; Iriondo, Alexander; Miggins, Daniel P.; Blodgett, Robert B.; Maldonado, Florian; Miller, Robert J.

    2010-01-01

    Geologic mapping in the northern Sierra Los Ajos reveals new stratigraphic and structural data relevant to deciphering the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the range. The northern Sierra Los Ajos is cored by Proterozoic, Cambrian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian strata, equivalent respectively to the Pinal Schist, Bolsa Quartzite and Abrigo Limestone, Martin Formation, Escabrosa Limestone, and Horquilla Limestone. The Proterozoic–Paleozoic sequence is mantled by Upper Cretaceous rocks partly equivalent to the Fort Crittenden and Salero Formations in Arizona, and the Cabullona Group in Sonora, Mexico.Absence of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Bisbee Group below the Upper Cretaceous rocks and above the Proterozoic–Paleozoic rocks indicates that the Sierra Los Ajos was part of the Cananea high, a topographic highland during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Deposition of Upper Cretaceous rocks directly on Paleozoic and Proterozoic rocks indicates that the Sierra Los Ajos area had subsided as part of the Laramide Cabullona basin during Late Cretaceous time. Basal beds of the Upper Cretaceous sequence are clast-supported conglomerate composed locally of basement (Paleozoic) clasts. The conglomerate represents erosion of Paleozoic basement in the Sierra Los Ajos area coincident with development of the Cabullona basin.The present-day Sierra Los Ajos reaches elevations of greater than 2600 m, and was uplifted during Tertiary basin-and-range extension. Upper Cretaceous rocks are exposed at higher elevations in the northern Sierra Los Ajos and represent an uplifted part of the inverted Cabullona basin. Tertiary uplift of the Sierra Los Ajos was largely accommodated by vertical movement along the north-to-northwest-striking Sierra Los Ajos fault zone flanking the west side of the range. This fault zone structurally controls the configuration of the headwaters of the San Pedro River basin, an important bi-national water resource in the US-Mexico border region.

  8. Astronaut Richard Gordon walks away from Pad 19 following postponement

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1966-09-10

    S66-50775 (10 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot, walks away from Pad 19 following postponement of the Gemini-11 spaceflight. The mission was rescheduled for Sept. 12, 1966. Photo credit: NASA

  9. Autumn snow across the Midwest

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-11-15

    An autumn storm brought the first snow of the season to the Upper Mississippi River Valley and the Midwestern United States in early November, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true color image on November 6 just as the storm was clearing. A long band of snow stretching from Colorado in the southwest to Wisconsin in the northeast marked the path of the blowing storm. According to WeatherBug, up to 10 inches blanketed Gordon, Nebraska and Pipestone, Minnesota. Most snow totals in the Central and Northern Plains and Upper Mississippi Valley ranged from 2-5 inches, while Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area picked up 1-2 inches of new snow from the event. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  10. Peeking out of the basins: looking for the Late Devonian Kellwasser Event in the open ocean in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, southwestern Mongolia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, R. M., Jr.; Carmichael, S. K.; Waters, J. A.; Batchelor, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Two of the top five most devastating mass extinctions in Earth's history occurred during the Late Devonian (419.2 Ma - 358.9 Ma), and are commonly associated with the black shale deposits of the Kellwasser and Hangenberg ocean anoxia events. Our understanding of these extinction events is incomplete partly due to sample bias, as 95% of the field sites studying the Late Devonian are limited to continental shelves and continental marine basins, and 77% of these sites are derived from the Euramerican paleocontinent. The Samnuuruul Formation at the Hoshoot Shiveetiin Gol locality (HSG), located in southwestern Mongolia, offers a unique opportunity to better understand global oceanic conditions during the Late Devonian. The HSG locality shows a continuous sequence of terrestrial to marine sediments on the East Junggar arc; an isolated, open-ocean island arc within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Samples from this near shore locality consist of volcanogenic silts, sands and immature conglomerates as well as calc-alkalic basalt lava flows. Offshore sections contain numerous limestones with Late Devonian fossil assemblages. Preliminary biostratigraphy of the associated marine and terrestrial sequences can only constrain the section to a general Late Devonian age, but TIMS analysis of detrital zircons from volcanogenic sediments from the Samnuuruul Formation in localities 8-50 km from the site suggests a late Frasnian age (375, 376 Ma). To provide a more precise radiometric age of the HSG locality, zircon geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) will be performed at UNC-Chapel Hill. If the HSG section crosses the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, geochemical, mineralogical, and ichnological signatures of the Kellwasser Event are expected to be preserved, if the Kellwasser Event was indeed global in scope (as suggested by Carmichael et al. (2014) for analogous sites on the West Junggar arc in the CAOB). Black shale accumulation anywhere in the CAOB would be unlikely due to the paleoenvironment and arc topography, so additional multiproxy techniques are required for recognition of the Kellwasser Event in regions such as the HSG, which are outside of the basins where they have historically been studied. Carmichael et al. (2014) Paleo3 399, 394-403.

  11. Tectonic overprint on magnetic fabric of the Ordovician Thetford Mines Ophiolite (Canada)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Di Chiara, Anita; Morris, Antony; Anderson, Mark W.; Menegon, Luca

    2017-04-01

    Studies in modern oceanic settings suggest locally along low-spreading ridges both lower crust and upper mantle peridotites may be exhumed to the seafloor in features known as oceanic core complexes (OCC). Examples of OCC on geological record can be preserved in ophiolites, relict of oceanic crust obducted onto continental margins, as for example the Jurassic Mirdita Ophiolite (Albania), suggesting that this spreading mode was active in the past. In order to understand such dynamics further, we investigated the OCC preserved in the Thetford Mines Ophiolite (TMO). TMO is part of the Southern Quebec ophiolites in the Canadian Appalachians (Quebec region), divided into three lithotectonic assemblages: The Humber Zone, a remnant of the Laurentian continental margin; The Cambrian-Ordovician Dunnage Zone, a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean and including the TMO and other ophiolites; and Silurian-Devonian Gaspé Belt, the sedimentary cover sequence. These were subjected to polyphase deformation, experiencing two Paleozoic orogenies: The Ordovician Taconian Orogeny (the Humber and Dunnage zones were amalgamated) and the Devonian Acadian orogeny which deformed and metamorphosed both the Dunnage Zone and the overlying Gaspe Belt. Here we present results from 12 paleomagnetic sites sampled on Humber zone on pillow lavas, dykes, layered gabbros and serpentinized dunites. Our results from AMS experiments show that these rocks, formed by fundamentally different magmatic processes, share a common magnetic fabric, with a kmin axis NW-SE orientated and the kmax steeply plunging to the NE. Additional processing of acquired BSE images and chemical mapping analyses at the SEM show that the kmax of the magnetic fabric is parallel to the elongation of magnetic particles (Iron rich minerals). This remarkably consistent fabric has a tectonic origin and is consistent with shortening perpendicular to the regional trend of fold axes.

  12. Implications of latest Pennsylvanian to Middle Permian paleontological and U-Pb SHRIMP data from the Tecomate Formation to re-dating tectonothermal events in the Acatlán Complex, Southern Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Keppie, J. Duncan; Sandberg, Charles A.; Miller, B.V.; Sanchez-Zavala, J. L.; Nance, R.D.; Poole, Forrest G.

    2004-01-01

    Limestones in the highly deformed Tecomate Formation, uppermost unit of the Acatla??n Complex, are latest Pennsylvanian-earliest Middle Permian in age rather than Devonian, the latter based on less diagnostic fossils. Conodont collections from two marble horizons now constrain its age to range from latest Pennsylvanian to latest Early Permian or early Middle Permian. The older collection contains Gondolella sp., Neostreptognathodus sp., and Streptognathodus sp., suggesting an oldest age limit close to the Pennsylvanian-Permian time boundary. The other collection contains Sweet-ognathus subsymmetricus, a short-lived species ranging only from Kungurian (latest Leonardian) to Wordian (earliest Guadelupian: 272 ?? 4 to 264 ?? 2 Ma). A fusilinid, Parafusulina c.f. P. antimonioensis Dunbar, in a third Tecomate marble horizon is probably Wordian (early Guadelupian, early Middle Permian). Furthermore, granite pebbles in a Tecomate conglomerate have yielded ???320-264 Ma U-Pb SHRIMP ages probably derived from the ???288 Ma, arc-related Totoltepec pluton. Collectively, these data suggest a correlation with two nearby units: (1) the Missourian-Leonardian carbonate horizons separated by a Wolfcampian(?) conglomerate in the upper part of the less deformed San Salvador Patlanoaya Formation; and (2) the clastic, Westphalian-Leonardian Matzitzi Formation. This requires that deformation in the Tecomate Formation be of Early-Middle Permian age rather than Devonian. These three formations are re-interpreted as periarc deposits with deformation related to oblique subduction. The revised dating of the Tecomate Formation is consistent with new data, which indicates that the unconformity between the Tecomate and the Piaxtla Group is mid-Carboniferous and corresponds to a tectonothermal event. ?? 2004 by V. H. Winston and Son, Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Paleoecology of the Devonian-Mississippian black-shale sequence in eastern Kentucky with an atlas of some common fossils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barron, L.S.; Ettensohn, F.R.

    The Devonian-Mississippian black-shale sequence of eastern North America is a distinctive stratigraphic interval generally characterized by low clastic influx, high organic production in the water column, anaerobic bottom conditions, and the relative absence of fossil evidence for biologic activity. The laminated black shales which constitute most of the black-shale sequence are broken by two major sequences of interbedded greenish-gray, clayey shales which contain bioturbation and pyritized micromorph invertebrates. The black shales contain abundant evidence of life from upper parts of the water column such as fish fossils, conodonts, algae and other phytoplankton; however, there is a lack of evidence ofmore » benthic life. The rare brachiopods, crinoids, and molluscs that occur in the black shales were probably epiplanktic. A significant physical distinction between the environment in which the black sediments were deposited and that in which the greenish-gray sediments were deposited was the level of dissolved oxygen. The laminated black shales point to anaerobic conditions and the bioturbated greenish-gray shales suggest dysaerobic to marginally aerobic-dysaerobic conditions. A paleoenvironmental model in which quasi-estuarine circulation compliments and enhances the effect of a stratified water column can account for both depletion of dissolved oxygen in the bottom environments and the absence of oxygen replenishment during black-shale deposition. Periods of abundant clastic influx from fluvial environments to the east probably account for the abundance of clays in the greenish-gray shale as well as the small amounts of oxygen necessary to support the depauparate, opportunistic, benthic faunas found there. These pulses of greenish-gray clastics were short-lived and eventually were replaced by anaerobic conditions and low rates of clastic sedimentation which characterized most of black-shale deposition.« less

  14. Reported middle Paleozoic fossils and new geochronological data from the southern and central Appalachians: Disposable outrageous hypothesis or justification for major revision of tectonic history

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hatcher, R.D. Jr.

    Recently published interpretations of fossil fragments from the Walden Creek Group (Ocoee Supergroup) suggesting that these rocks are middle Paleozoic (Devonian to Early Carboniferous), and new geochronological data that yield late Paleozoic age dates on rocks and major faults in the Blue Ridge and piedmont, if taken alone, would permit speculation that most of the deformation and metamorphism affecting this part of the orogen is Alleghanian. The two Ordovician clastic wedges (Sevier, Llanvirn, and Martinsburg, Caradoc-Ashgill) and the Carboniferous-Permian wedge(s), along with many radiometric ages on plutons, indicate uplift and sediment dispersal from the interior of the southern and centralmore » Appalachians (SCA) that may have resulted from Taconian and Alleghanian deformation. Combining the reproducible fossil evidence, including that from Alabama and a recently discovered crinoid fragment from the upper part of the Murphy belt sequence, with the most current geochronological data requires that peak metamorphism and penetrative deformation be at least Devonian or younger at the southwestern end of the orogen, and Late Ordovician or younger in the Carolinas and northern Georgia. Zircon ages reported from large thrust and dextral strike-slip faults bounding the Pine Mountain window indicate all of the faults there may be Alleghanian, except the younger sinistral Mesozoic faults, and requires that both metamorphism and penetrative deformation there also be Alleghanian. As in New England, the southern Appalachian Alleghanian metamorphic core is now known to be much more extensive. The older data require that the Taconian and perhaps the Acadian orogenies were significant events in the SCA, but these new data reconfirm the dominance of Alleghanian continent-continent collision processes here.« less

  15. Crustally derived granites in Dali, SW China: new constraints on silicic magmatism of the Central Emeishan Large Igneous Province

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Bei; Peate, David W.; Guo, Zhaojie; Liu, Runchao; Du, Wei

    2017-10-01

    We have identified a new crustally derived granite pluton that is related to the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). This pluton (the Wase pluton, near Dali) shows two distinct SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age groups ( 768 and 253 Ma). As it has an intrusive relationship with Devonian limestone, the younger age is interpreted as its formation, which is related to the ELIP event, whereas the 768 Ma Neoproterozoic-aged zircons were inherited from Precambrian crustal component of the Yangtze Block, implying the pluton has a crustally derived origin. This is consistent with its peraluminous nature, negative Nb-Ta anomaly, enrichment in light rare earth elements, high 87Sr/86Sr(i) ratio (0.7159-0.7183) and extremely negative ɛ(Nd)(i) values (-12.15 to -13.70), indicative of melts derived from upper crust materials. The Wase pluton-intruded Devonian strata lie stratigraphically below the Shangcang ELIP sequence, which is the thickest volcanic sequence ( 5400 m) in the whole ELIP. The uppermost level of the Shangcang sequence contains laterally restricted rhyolite. Although the rhyolite has the same age as the Wase pluton, its geochemical features demonstrate a different magma origin. The rhyolite displays moderate 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.7053), slightly negative ɛ(Nd)(i) (-0.18) and depletions in Ba, Cs, Eu and Sr, implying derivation from differentiation of a mantle-derived mafic magma source. The coexistence of crustally and mantle-derived felsic systems, along with the robust development of dike swarms, vent proximal volcanics and thickest flood basalts piles in Dali, shows that the Dali area was probably where the most active Emeishan magmatism had once existed.

  16. The structural evolution of the Ghadames and Illizi basins during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Petroleum implications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gauthier, F.J.; Boudjema, A.; Lounis, R.

    1995-08-01

    The Ghadames and Illizi basins cover the majority of the eastern Sahara of Algeria. Geologicaly, this part of the Central Saharan platform has been influenced by a series of structural arches and {open_quotes}moles{close_quotes} (continental highs) which controlled sedimentation and structure through geologic time. These features, resulting from and having been affected by nine major tectonic phases ranging from pre-Cambrian to Tertiary, completely bound the Ghadames and Illizi Basins. During the Paleozoic both basins formed one continuous depositional entity with the Ghadames basin being the distal portion of the continental sag basin where facies and thickness variations are observed over largemore » distances. It is during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic that the Ghadames basin starts to evolve differently from the Illizi Basin. Eustatic low-stand periods resulted in continental deposition yielding the major petroleum-bearing reservoir horizons (Cambrian, Ordovician, Siluro-Devonian and Carboniferous). High-stand periods corresponds to the major marine transgressions covering the majority of the Saharan platform. These transgressions deposited the principal source rock intervals of the Silurian and Middle to Upper Devonian. The main reservoirs of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are Triassic sandstone sequences which are covered by a thick evaporite succession forming a super-seal. Structurally, the principal phases affecting this sequence are the extensional events related to the breakup of Pangea and the Alpine compressional events. The Ghadames and Illizi basins, therefore, have been controlled by a polphase tectonic history influenced by Pan African brittle basement fracturing which resulted in complex structures localized along the major basin bounding trends as well as several subsidiary trends within the basin. These trends, as demonstrated with key seismic data, have been found to contain the majority of hydrocarbons trapped.« less

  17. Fractographic logging for determination of pre-core and core-induced fractures: Nicholas Combs No. 7239 well, Hazard, Kentucky

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kulander, B.R.; Dean, S.L.; Barton, C.C.

    1977-01-01

    Methods results, and conclusions formulated during a prototype fractographic logging study of seventy-five feet of oriented Devonian shale core are summarized. The core analyzed is from the Nicholas Combs No. 7239 well located twelve miles due north of Hazard, Kentucky. The seventy-five foot core length was taken from a cored section lying between 2369.0 feet (subsea) and 2708.0 feet (subsea). Total core length is 339.0 feet. The core was extracted from the upper Devonian Ohio and Olentangy shale formations. Results indicate that there are few tectonic (pre-core) fractures within the studied core section. The region may nevertheless be cut atmore » core sample depth by well-defined vertical or inclined tectonic fractures that the vertically drilled test core didn't intersect. This is likely since surface Plateau systematic fractures in other Plateau areas are vertical to sub-vertical and seldom have a frequency of less than one major fracture per foot. The remarkable directional preference of set three fractures about strikes of N 40/sup 0/ E, N 10/sup 0/ W, N 45/sup 0/ W, suggests some incipient pre-core rock anisotropy or stored directional strain energy. If this situation exists, the anisotropy strike change or stored strain variance from N 40/sup 0/ E to N 45/sup 0/ W downcore remains an unanswered question. Tectonic features, indicating local and/or regional movement plans, are present on and within the tectonichorizontal fracture set one. Slickensides had a preferred orientation within several core levels, and fibrous-nonfibrous calcite serves as fracture fillings.« less

  18. Stable isotopic compositions of early calcite cements in the Middle Devonian Coralville Formation (Cedar Valley Group), eastern Iowa

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ludvigson, G.A.; Gonzalez, L.S.; Witzke, B.J.

    1993-03-01

    The Middle-Upper Devonian Cedar Valley Gp in Iowa is subdivided into four formations each representing a broad transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycle of deposition. Cycles consist of basal open marine facies that shallow upward into capping peritidal facies. Results from ongoing diagenetic studies of the Coralville Fm (late Givetian), the second T-R cycle of the Cedar Valley Gp, have focused attention on the origins of early cements. Early calcite cements in the Coralville Fm of Johnson County, Iowa, include blocky equant spars filling fenestral voids in birdseye limestones of the Iowa City Mbr and isopachous bladed spars that occur throughout the Coralville.more » Bladed spars fill stromatactis and microkarstic voids in the Iowa City Mbr, and sheltered voids in underlying open-marine skeletal packstones of the Cou Falls Mbr (lower Coralville cycle). The bladed spars include nonluminescent inclusion-free domains that contain up to 4,000 ppm Mg, and luminescent inclusion-rich domains that contain less than 2,000 ppm Mg. Birdseye spars have a constructive oscillatory luminescent-nonluminescent zonation controlled by Mn contents and contain less than 1,000 ppm Mg. Nonluminescent domains in bladed spars have the heaviest oxygen isotopic compositions of all components in the Coralville, similar to the isotopically heaviest nonluminescent brachiopods but have [delta][sup 13]C values ranging from [minus]3 to [minus]5 [per thousand]. They are interpreted to have precipitated from marine fluids saturated by CO[sub 2] produced from bacterial oxidation of organic matter. Altered luminescent domains in the bladed spars have the same [delta][sup 13]C compositions, but have widely varying [delta][sup 18]O compositions, ranging to [minus]9 [per thousand].« less

  19. Geochemical and stable isotopic data on barren and mineralized drill core in the Devonian Popovich Formation, Screamer sector of the Betze-Post gold deposit, northern Carlin trend, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Christiansen, William D.; Hofstra, Albert H.; Zohar, Pamela B.; Tousignant, Gilles

    2011-01-01

    The Devonian Popovich Formation is the major host for Carlin-type gold deposits in the northern Carlin trend of Nevada. The Popovich is composed of gray to black, thin-bedded, calcareous to dolomitic mudstone and limestone deposited near the carbonate platform margin. Carlin-type gold deposits are Eocene, disseminated, auriferous pyrite deposits characterized by acid leaching, sulfidation, and silicification that are typically hosted in Paleozoic calcareous sedimentary rocks exposed in windows through siliceous sedimentary rocks of the Roberts Mountains allochthon. The Carlin trend currently is the largest gold producer in the United States. The Screamer ore zone is a tabular body on the periphery of the huge Betze-Post gold deposit. Screamer is a good place to study both the original lithogeochemistry of the Popovich Formation and the effects of subsequent alteration and mineralization because it is below the level of supergene oxidation, mostly outside the contact metamorphic aureole of the Jurassic Goldstrike stock, has small, high-grade ore zones along fractures and Jurassic dikes, and has intervening areas with lower grade mineralization and barren rock. In 1997, prior to mining at Screamer, drill core intervals from barren and mineralized Popovich Formation were selected for geochemical and stable isotope analysis. The 332, five-foot core samples analyzed are from five holes separated by as much as 2000 feet (600 meters). The samples extend from the base of the Wispy unit up through the Planar and Soft sediment deformation units into the lower part of the upper Mud unit of the Popovich Formation.

  20. Evaluation of Methane Sources in Groundwater in Northeastern Pennsylvania

    PubMed Central

    Molofsky, Lisa J; Connor, John A; Wylie, Albert S; Wagner, Tom; Farhat, Shahla K

    2013-01-01

    Testing of 1701 water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania shows that methane is ubiquitous in groundwater, with higher concentrations observed in valleys vs. upland areas and in association with calcium-sodium-bicarbonate, sodium-bicarbonate, and sodium-chloride rich waters—indicating that, on a regional scale, methane concentrations are best correlated to topographic and hydrogeologic features, rather than shale-gas extraction. In addition, our assessment of isotopic and molecular analyses of hydrocarbon gases in the Dimock Township suggest that gases present in local water wells are most consistent with Middle and Upper Devonian gases sampled in the annular spaces of local gas wells, as opposed to Marcellus Production gas. Combined, these findings suggest that the methane concentrations in Susquehanna County water wells can be explained without the migration of Marcellus shale gas through fractures, an observation that has important implications for understanding the nature of risks associated with shale-gas extraction. PMID:23560830

  1. The New Albany shale in Illinois: Emerging play or prolific source

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crockett, Joan; Morse, David E.

    2010-01-01

    The New Albany shale (Upper Devonian) in the Illinois basin is the primary hydrocarbon source rock for the basins nearly 4 billion bbl of oil production to date. The gas play is well-established in Indiana and Western Kentucky. One in-situ oil producing well was reported in a multiply competed well in the New Albany at Johnsonville field in Wayne County, Illinois. The Illinois gas and oil wells at Russellville, in Lawrence County are closely associated with the 0.6% reflectance contour, which suggests a higher level of thermal maturity in this area. Today, only one field, Russellville in eastern Lawrence County has established commercial production in the Ness Albany in Illinois. Two wildcat wells with gas shows were drilled in recent years in southern Saline County, where the New Albany is relatively deeply buried and close to faults associated with the Fluorspar District.

  2. Novel retinopathy in related Gordon setters: a clinical, behavioral, electrophysiological, and genetic investigation.

    PubMed

    Good, Kathryn L; Komáromy, András M; Kass, Philip H; Ofri, Ron

    2016-09-01

    To conduct ophthalmic, behavioral, electrophysiological, and genetic testing on two related Gordon setters presented for day blindness and compare findings with those of nine related and unrelated Gordon setters. All dogs underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination. Maze testing was conducted under different light intensities. Rod and cone function was assessed electroretinographically. DNA samples were screened for five canine retinal disease gene mutations. Ophthalmic examination was unremarkable in all dogs. There was no notable difference between day blind dogs and the reference population in scotopic and mesopic maze tests. Day blind dogs performed worse in the photopic maze with slower course completion time and more obstacle collisions. Electroretinography revealed extinguished cone function in day blind dogs and depressed rod responses in all but two reference dogs. One reference population dog presented with day blindness 1 year after initial examination. Mutations that cause achromatopsia (in CNGB3) and cone-rod dystrophies (in ADAM9 and IQCB1) were not detected in any dog tested, although five reference dogs were carriers of the mutation in C2orf71 that causes rod-cone degeneration 4 (rcd4) in Gordon setters and in polski owczarek nizinny dogs. This report describes a novel retinopathy in related Gordon setters that has clinical signs and vision testing results consistent with achromatopsia but electroretinographic results suggestive of cone-rod dystrophy. The majority of Gordon setters in this study had low rod responses on electroretinography but it is unclear whether this was indicative of rod dysfunction or normal for the breed. Longer-term observation of affected individuals is warranted. © 2015 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

  3. The 2013 Clusters, Nanocrystals & Nanostructures Gordon Research Conference/Gordon Research Seminar

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Krauss, Todd D.

    The fundamental properties of small particles and their potential for groundbreaking applications are among the most exciting areas of study in modern physics, chemistry, and materials science. The Clusters, Nanocrystals & Nanostructures Gordon ResearchConference and Gordon Research Seminar synthesize contributions from these inter-related fields that reflect the pivotal role of nano-particles at the interface between these disciplines. Size-dependent optical, electronic, magnetic and catalytic properties offer prospects for applications in many fields, and possible solutions for many of the grand challenges facing energy generation, consumption, delivery, and storage in the 21st century. The goal of the 2013 Clusters, Nanocrystals & Nanostructuresmore » Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar is to continue the historical interdisciplinary tradition of this series and discuss the most recent advances, basic scientific questions, and emerging applications of clusters, nanocrystals, and nanostructures. The Clusters, Nanocrystals & Nanostructures GRC/GRS traditionally brings together the leading scientific groups that have made significant recent advances in one or more fundamental nanoscience or nanotechnology areas. Broad interests of the DOE BES and Solar Photochemistry Program addressed by this meeting include the areas of solar energy to fuels conversion, new photovoltaic systems, fundamental characterization of nanomaterials, magnetism, catalysis, and quantum physics. The vast majority of speakers and attendees will address either directly the topic of nanotechnology for photoinduced charge transfer, charge transport, and catalysis, or will have made significant contributions to related areas that will impact these fields indirectly. These topics have direct relevance to the mission of the DOE BES since it is this cutting-edge basic science that underpins our energy future.« less

  4. Groundwater conditions and studies in the Augusta–Richmond County area, Georgia, 2008–2009

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gonthier, Gerard; Lawrence, Stephen J.; Peck, Michael F.; Holloway, O. Gary

    2011-01-01

    Groundwater studies and monitoring efforts conducted during 2008–2009, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Cooperative Water Program with the City of Augusta in Richmond County, Georgia, provided data for the effective management of local water resources. During 2008–2009 the USGS completed: (1) installation of three monitoring wells and the collection of lithologic and geophysical logging data to determine the extent of hydrogeologic units, (2) collection of continuous groundwater-level data from wells near Well Fields 2 and 3, (3) collection of synoptic groundwater-level measurements and construction of potentiometric-surface maps in Richmond County to establish flow gradients and groundwater-flow directions in the Dublin and Midville aquifer systems, (4) completion of a 24-hour aquifer test to determine hydraulic characteristics of the lower Dublin aquifer, and upper and lower Midville aquifers in Well Field 2, and (5) collection of groundwater samples from selected wells in Well Field 2 for laboratory analysis of volatile organic compounds and groundwater tracers to assess groundwater quality and estimate the time of groundwater recharge. Potentiometric-surface maps of the Dublin and Midville aquifer systems for 2008–2009 indicate that the general groundwater flow direction within Richmond County is eastward toward the Savannah River, with the exception of the area around Well Field 2, where pumping interrupts the eastward flow of water toward the Savannah River and causes flow lines to bend toward the center of pumping. Results from a 24-hour aquifer test conducted in 2009 within the upper and lower Midville aquifers at Well Field 2 indicated a transmissivity and storativity for the upper and lower Midville aquifers, combined, of 4,000 feet-squared per day and 2x10-4, respectively. The upper and lower Midville aquifers and the middle lower Midville confining unit, which is 85-feet thick in this area, yielded horizontal hydraulic conductivity and specific storage values of about 45 feet per day and 2x10-6 ft-1, respectively. Results from the 24-hour aquifer test also indicate a low horizontal hydraulic conductivity for the lower Dublin aquifer of less than 1 foot per day. Of the 35 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analyzed in 23 groundwater samples during 2008–2009, only six were detected above laboratory reporting limits in samples from eight wells. No concentration in groundwater samples collected during 2008–2009 exceeded drinking water standards. Trichloroethene had the maximum VOC concentration (1.9 micrograms per liter) collected from a water sample during 2008–2009. Water-quality sampling of several wells near Well Field 2 indicate that, while in operation, the northernmost production well might have diverted groundwater, containing low levels of trichloroethene from at least two other production wells. Analysis of sulfur hexafluoride data indicate the average year of recharge ranges between 1981 and 1984 for water samples from five wells open to the upper and lower Midville aquifers, and 1991 for a water sample from one shallow well open to the lower Dublin aquifer. All of these ages suggest a short flow path and nearby source of contamination. The actual source of low levels of VOCs at Well Field 2 remains unknown. Three newly installed monitoring wells indicate that hydrogeologic units beneath Well Fields 2 and 3 are composed of sand and clay layers. Hydrogeologic units, encountered at Well Field 2, in order of increasing depth are the lower Dublin confining unit, lower Dublin aquifer, upper Midville confining unit, upper Midville aquifer, lower Midville confining unit, and lower Midville aquifer. West of Well Field 3, hydrogeologic units, in order of increasing depth are the Upper Three Runs aquifer, Gordon confining unit, Gordon aquifer, lower Dublin confining unit, lower Dublin aquifer, upper Midville confining unit, upper Midville aquifer, lower Midville confining unit, and lower Midville aquifer.

  5. Ontogenetic and intraspecific variation in the late Emsian - Eifelian (Devonian) conodonts Polygnathus serotinus and P. bultyncki in the Prague Basin (Czech Republic) and Nevada (western U.S.)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klapper, Gilbert; Vodrážková, Stanislava

    2013-06-01

    Klapper, G. and Vodražkova, S. 2013. Ontogenetic and intraspecific variation in the late Emsian - Eifelian (Devonian) conodonts Polygnathus serotinus and P. bultyncki in the Prague Basin (Czech Republic) and Nevada (western U.S.). Acta Geologica Polonica, 63 (2), 153-174, Warszawa. Samples from populations of Polygnathus serotinus Telford 1975 and P. bultyncki Weddige 1977 from the Prague Basin and Nevada display normal variation for Devonian conodont species. A considerable number of previous authors, however, have proposed unnecessary synonyms of these two species, primarily because they have not recognized ontogenetic variation. In contrast, we interpret the variation as ontogenetic as well as intraspecific and present detailed synonymies as a result. A third species, P. praetrigonicus Bardashev 1992, which has been carried in open nomenclature for many years, is an important indicator of the basal costatus Zone in the Prague Basin, New York, and Nevada. We review the stratigraphic distribution of these three species and the conodont zonation across the Emsian-Eifelian (Lower-Middle Devonian) boundary. Polygnathus pseudocostatus sp. nov. (partitus-costatus zones, central Nevada) is described herein. We have observed a decrease in the pit size during ontogeny in P. bultyncki although we have not measured enough specimens to rule out intraspecific versus ontogenetic variation.

  6. A late Devonian impact event and its association with a possible extinction event on Eastern Gondwana

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, K.; Geldsetzer, H. H. J.

    1992-01-01

    Evidence from South China and Western Australia for a 365-Ma impact event in the Lower crepida conodont zone of the Famennian stage of the Late Devonian (about 1.5 Ma after the Frasnian/Famennian extinction event) includes microtektitelike glassy microspherules, geochemical anomalies (including a weak Ir), a probable impact crater (greater than 70 k) at Taihu in South China, and an Ir anomaly in Western Australia. A brachiopod faunal turnover in South China, and the 'strangelove ocean'-like c-delta 13 excursions in both Chinese and Australian sections indicate that at least a regional-scale extinction might have occurred at the time of the impact. A paleoreconstruction shows that South China was very close to and facing Western Australia in the Late Devonian. The carbon isotopic excursions, which occur at the same stratigraphic level in both South China and Western Australia cannot be explained as being coincidental. The c-delta 13 excursions and the brachiopod faunal turnover in South China indicate that there might have been at least a regional (possibly global) extinction in the Lower crepida zone. The impact-derived microspherules and geochemical anomalies (especially the Ir) indicate a Lower crepida zone impact event on eastern Gondwana. The location, type of target rocks, and possibly age of the Taihu Lake crater qualify as the probable site of this Late Devonian impact.

  7. Paleozoic subduction complex and Paleozoic-Mesozoic island-arc volcano-plutonic assemblages in the northern Sierra terrane

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hanson, Richard E.; Girty, Gary H.; Harwood, David S.; Schweickert, Richard A.

    2000-01-01

    This field trip provides an overview of the stratigraphic and structural evolution of the northern Sierra terrane, which forms a significant part of the wall rocks on the western side of the later Mesozoic Sierra Nevada batholith in California. The terrane consists of a pre-Late Devonian subduction complex (Shoo Fly Complex) overlain by submarine arc-related deposits that record the evolution of three separate island-arc systems in the Late Sevonian-Early Mississippian, Permian, and Late Triassic-Jurassic. The two Paleozoic are packages and the underlying Shoo Fly Complex have an important bearing on plate-tectonic processes affecting the convergent margin outboard of the Paleozoic Cordilleran miogeocline, although their original paleogeographic relations to North America are controversial. The third arc package represents an overlap assemblage that ties the terrane to North America by the Late Triassic and helps constrain the nature and timing of Mesozoic orogenesis. Several of the field-trip stops examine the record of pre-Late Devonian subduction contained in the Shoo Fly Complex, as well as the paleovolcanology of the overlying Devonian to Jurassic arc rocks. Excellent glaciated exposures provide the opportunity to study a cross section through a tilted Devonian volcano-plutonic association. Additional stops focus on plutonic rocks emplaced during the Middle Jurassic arc magmatism in the terrane, and during the main pulse of Cretaceous magmatism in the Sierra Nevada batholith to the east.

  8. Geomorphology and groundwater origin of amphitheater-shaped gullies at Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2010-2012

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Landmeyer, James E.; Wellborn, John B.

    2013-01-01

    Seven amphitheater-shaped gullies at valley heads in the northern part of Fort Gordon, Georgia, were identified by personnel from Fort Gordon and the U.S. Geological Survey during a field investigation of environmental contamination near the cantonment area between 2008 and 2010. Between 2010 and 2012, the amphitheater-shaped gullies were photographed, topographic features were surveyed using a global positioning system device, and the extent of erosion was estimated using Light Detection and Ranging imagery. The seven gullies are distributed across a broad area (and most likely are not the only examples) and have a similar geomorphology that includes (1) an amphitheater (semicircular) shaped escarpment at the upgradient end on a plateau of Upper Eocene sands of no readily discernible elevated catchment area or natural surface-water drainage; (2) a narrow, trench-shaped, flat-bottomed incisement of low-permeability marl at the downgradient end; and (3) steep-sided valley walls, some formed by landslides. Surface-water runoff is an unlikely cause for the amphitheater-shaped gullies, because each valley has a relatively small drainage area of sandy terrain even at those gullies that have recently received discharge from stormwater drains. Also, presumed high rates of runoff and gully formation associated with historic land uses, such as clearcutting, cotton production, and silviculture, would have occurred no later than when the fort was established in the early 1900s. The lack of an elevated catchment area at the headward scarps, the amphitheater shape, and presence of low permeability marl at the base of each feature provides the most convincing lines of evidence for headward erosion by groundwater sapping. The absence of current (2013) seeps and springs at most of the amphitheater-shaped gullies indicates that the gullies may have been formed previously by groundwater sapping under conditions of higher and (or) sustained precipitation amounts, local water-table altitudes, and seepage than current (2013) conditions. One gully characterized by groundwater seepage may support a unique ecological niche that, if assessed to contain endangered species or rare plants, could require protection under State laws.

  9. Geochronology and geochemistry of basaltic rocks from the Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange, NW China: Implications for a Devonian mantle plume within the Junggar Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Gaoxue; Li, Yongjun; Santosh, M.; Yang, Baokai; Yan, Jing; Zhang, Bing; Tong, Lili

    2012-10-01

    The West Junggar domain in NW China is a distinct tectonic unit of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). It is composed of Paleozoic ophiolitic mélanges, arcs and accretionary complexes. The Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange in the eastern West Junggar forms the northeastern part of the Darbut ophiolitic mélange, which contains serpentinized harzburgite, pyroxenite, dunite, cumulate, pillow lava, abyssal radiolarian chert and podiform chromite, overlain by the Early Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocks. In this paper we report new geochronological and geochemical data from basaltic and gabbroic blocks embedded within the Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange, to assess the possible presence of a Devonian mantle plume in the West Junggar, and evaluate the petrogenesis and implications for understanding of the Paleozoic continental accretion of CAOB. Zircon U-Pb analyses from the alkali basalt and gabbro by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry yielded weighted mean ages of 375 ± 2 Ma and 368 ± 11 Ma. Geochemically, the Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange includes at least two distinct magmatic units: (1) a Late Devonian fragmented ophiolite, which were produced by ca. 2-10% spinel lherzolite partial melting in arc-related setting, and (2) contemporary alkali lavas, which were derived from 5% to 10% garnet + minor spinel lherzolite partial melting in an oceanic plateau or a seamount. Based on detailed zircon U-Pb dating and geochemical data for basalts and gabbros from the Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange, in combination with previous work, indicate a complex evolution by subduction-accretion processes from the Devonian to the Carboniferous. Furthermore, the alkali basalts from the Sartuohai ophiolitic mélange might be correlated to a Devonian mantle plume-related magmatism within the Junggar Ocean. If the plume model as proposed here is correct, it would suggest that mantle plume activity significantly contributed to the crustal growth in the CAOB.

  10. Root evolution at the base of the lycophyte clade: insights from an Early Devonian lycophyte

    PubMed Central

    Matsunaga, Kelly K. S.; Tomescu, Alexandru M. F.

    2016-01-01

    Background and Aims The evolution of complex rooting systems during the Devonian had significant impacts on global terrestrial ecosystems and the evolution of plant body plans. However, detailed understanding of the pathways of root evolution and the architecture of early rooting systems is currently lacking. We describe the architecture and resolve the structural homology of the rooting system of an Early Devonian basal lycophyte. Insights gained from these fossils are used to address lycophyte root evolution and homology. Methods Plant fossils are preserved as carbonaceous compressions at Cottonwood Canyon (Wyoming), in the Lochkovian–Pragian (∼411 Ma; Early Devonian) Beartooth Butte Formation. We analysed 177 rock specimens and documented morphology, cuticular anatomy and structural relationships, as well as stratigraphic position and taphonomic conditions. Key Results The rooting system of the Cottonwood Canyon lycophyte is composed of modified stems that bear fine, dichotomously branching lateral roots. These modified stems, referred to as root-bearing axes, are produced at branching points of the above-ground shoot system. Root-bearing axes preserved in growth position exhibit evidence of positive gravitropism, whereas the lateral roots extend horizontally. Consistent recurrence of these features in successive populations of the plant preserved in situ demonstrates that they represent constitutive structural traits and not opportunistic responses of a flexible developmental programme. Conclusions This is the oldest direct evidence for a rooting system preserved in growth position. These rooting systems, which can be traced to a parent plant, include some of the earliest roots known to date and demonstrate that substantial plant–substrate interactions were under way by Early Devonian time. The morphological relationships between stems, root-bearing axes and roots corroborate evidence that positive gravitropism and root identity were evolutionarily uncoupled in lycophytes, and challenge the hypothesis that roots evolved from branches of the above-ground axial system, suggesting instead that lycophyte roots arose as a novel organ. PMID:26921730

  11. Contrasting tectonothermal domains and faulting in the Potomac terrane, Virginia-Maryland - Discrimination by 40Ar/39Ar and fission-track thermochronology

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kunk, Michael J.; Wintsch, R.P.; Naeser, C.W.; Naeser, N.D.; Southworth, C.S.; Drake, Avery A.; Becker, J.L.

    2005-01-01

    New 40Ar/39Ar data reveal ages and thermal discontinuities that identify mapped and unmapped fault boundaries in the Potomac terrane in northern Virginia, thus confirming previous interpretations that it is a composite terrane. The rocks of the Potomac terrane were examined along the Potomac River, where it has been previously subdivided into three units: the Mather Gorge, Sykesville, and Laurel Formations. In the Mather Gorge Formation, at least two metamorphic thermal domains were identified, the Blockhouse Point and Bear Island domains, separated by a fault active in the late Devonian. Early Ordovician (ca. 475 Ma) cooling ages of amphibole in the Bear Island domain reflect cooling from Taconic metamorphism, whereas the Blockhouse Point domain was first metamorphosed in the Devonian. The 40Ar/39Ar data from muscovites in a third (eastern) domain within the Mather Gorge Formation, the Stubblefield Falls domain, record thrusting of the Sykesville Formation over the Mather Gorge Formation on the Plummers Island fault in the Devonian. The existence of two distinctly different thermal domains separated by a tectonic boundary within the Mather Gorge argues against its status as a formation. Hornblende cooling ages in the Sykesville Formation are Early Devonian (ca. 400 Ma), reflecting cooling from Taconic and Acadian metamorphism. The ages of retrograde and overprinting muscovite in phyllonites from domain-bounding faults are late Devonian (Acadian) and late Pennsylvanian (Alleghanian), marking the time of assembly of these domains and subsequent movement on the Plummers Island fault. Our data indicate that net vertical motion between the Bear Island domain of the Mather Gorge complex and the Sykesville Formation across the Plummers Island fault is east-side-up. Zircon fission-track cooling ages demonstrate thermal equillbrium across the Potomac terrane in the early Permian, and apatite fission-track cooling ages record tilting of the Potomac terrane in the Cretaceous or later with the west side up at least 1 km. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

  12. Astronaut Gordon Cooper walks to elevator to spacecraft 'Faith 7'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1963-01-01

    Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. waited inside the transfer van for several minutes and then leaving the transfer van walked to the elevator which took him to the spacecraft 'Faith 7' atop the Atlas vehicle for his mission.

  13. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - BEECHCRAFT BONANZA - FL

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-01-01

    S63-03989 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9) 22-orbit flight, stands by his privately owned Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, at Patrick Air Base, Florida. Photo credit: NASA

  14. ASTRONAUT COOPER, L. GORDON, JR. - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - PREFLIGHT TESTING - CAPE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-01

    S63-01922 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, stands fully suited beside his spacecraft during preflight testing. Cooper named his spacecraft the Faith 7. Photo credit: NASA

  15. On the Monge-Ampere equivalent of the sine-Gordon equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferapontov, E. V.; Nutku, Y.

    1994-12-01

    Surfaces of constant negative curvature in Euclidean space can be described by either the sine-Gordon equation for the angle between asymptotic directions, or a Monge-Ampere equation for the graph of the surface. We present the explicit form of the correspondence between these two integrable non-linear partial differential equations using their well-known properties in differential geometry. We find that the cotangent of the angle between asymptotic directions is directly related to the mean curvature of the surface. This is a Backlund-type transformation between the sine-Gordon and Monge-Ampere equations.

  16. Tectonics and hydrocarbon potential of the Barents Megatrough

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baturin, D.; Vinogradov, A.; Yunov, A.

    1991-08-01

    Interpretation of geophysical data shows that the geological structure of the Eastern Barents Shelf, named Barents Megatrough (BM), extends sublongitudinally almost from the Baltic shield to the Franz Josef Land archipelago. The earth crust within the axis part of the BM is attenuated up to 28-30 km, whereas in adjacent areas its thickness exceeds 35 km. The depression is filled with of more than 15 km of Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sediments overlying a folded basement of probable Caledonian age. Paleozoic sediments, with exception of the Upper Permian, are composed mainly of carbonates and evaporites. Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediments are mostlymore » terrigenous. The major force in the development of the BM was due to extensional tectonics. Three rifting phases are recognizable: Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous, Early Triassic, and Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. The principal features of the geologic structure and evolution of the BM during the late Paleozoic-Mesozoic correlate well with those of the Sverdup basin, Canadian Arctic. Significant quantity of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous basaltic dikes and sills were intruded within Triassic sequence during the third rifting phase. This was probably the main reason for trap disruption and hydrocarbon loss from Triassic structures. Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous reservoir sandstones are most probably the main future objects for oil and gas discoveries within the BM. Upper Jurassic black shales are probably the main source rocks of the BM basin, as well as excellent structural traps for hydrocarbon fluids from the underlying sediments.« less

  17. Astronaut Richard Gordon returns to hatch of spacecraft following EVA

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1966-01-01

    Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot for the Gemini 11 space flight, returns to the hatch of the spacecraft following extravehicular activity (EVA). This picture was taken over the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 160 nautical miles above the earth's surface.

  18. Using Computational Toxicology to Enable Risk-Based ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    presentation at Drug Safety Gordon Research Conference 2016 on research efforts in NCCT to enable Computational Toxicology to support risk assessment. Slide presentation at Drug Safety Gordon Research Conference 2016 on research efforts in NCCT to enable Computational Toxicology to support risk assessment.

  19. Astronaut Gordon Cooper receives preflight medical exam for Gemini 5 flight

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1965-08-17

    S65-28710 (17 Aug. 1965) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., command pilot for the Gemini-5 spaceflight, has his blood pressure checked by Dr. Charles A. Berry, chief, Center Medical Programs, Manned Spacecraft Center, during a preflight physical examination.

  20. ROCHFORD, AL - ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - LIFE VEST CHECK - PRELAUNCH ACTIVITIES - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - MSC

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-03-01

    S63-03964 (1963) --- Al Rochford, Crew Systems, Manned Space Center, assists astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., in checking his life vest, normally stowed in a pocket in the lower left leg. Photo credit: NASA

  1. Fracture patterns and their origin in the upper Devonian Antrim Shale gas reservoir of the Michigan basin; a review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ryder, Robert T.

    1996-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Black shale members of the Upper Devonian Antrim Shale are both the source and reservoir for a regional gas accumulation that presently extends across parts of six counties in the northern part of the Michigan basin (fig. 1). Natural fractures are considered by most petroleum geologists and oil and gas operators who work the Michigan basin to be a necessary condition for commercial gas production in the Antrim Shale. Fractures provide the conduits for free gas and associated water to flow to the borehole through the black shale which, otherwise, has a low matrix permeability. Moreover, the fractures assist in the release of gas adsorbed on mineral and(or) organic matter in the shale (Curtis, 1992). Depths to the gas-producing intervals (Norwood and Lachine Members) generally range from 1,200 to 1,800 ft (Oil and Gas Journal, 1994). Locally, wells that produce gas from the accumulation are as deep as 2,200 (Oil and Gas Journal, 1994). Even though natural fractures are an important control on Antrim Shale gas production, most wells require stimulation by hydraulic fracturing to attain commercial production rates (Kelly, 1992). In the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of United States oil and gas, Dolton (1995) estimates that, at a mean value, 4.45 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas are recoverable as additions to already discovered quantities from the Antrim Shale in the productive area of the northern Michigan trend. Dolton (1995) also suggests that undiscovered Antrim Shale gas accumulations exist in other parts of the Michigan basin. The character, distribution, and origin of natural fractures in the Antrim Shale gas accumulation have been studied recently by academia and industry. The intent of these investigations is to: 1) predict 'sweet spots', prior to drilling, in the existing gas-producing trend, 2) improve production practices in the existing trend, 3) predict analogous fracture-controlled gas accumulations in other parts of the Michigan basin, and 4) improve estimates of the recoverable gas in the Antrim Shale gas plays (Dolton, 1995). This review of published literature on the characteristics of Antrim Shale fractures, their origin, and their controls on gas production will help to define objectives and goals in future U.S. Geological Survey studies of Antrim Shale gas resources.

  2. An intramontane pull-apart basin in tectonic escape deformation: Elbistan Basin, Eastern Taurides, Turkey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yusufoğlu, H.

    2013-04-01

    The Elbistan Basin in the east-Central Anatolia is an intramontane structural depression in the interior part of the Anatolide-Tauride Platform. The Neogene fill in and around Elbistan Basin develops above the Upper Devonian to lower Tertiary basement and comprises two units separated by an angular unconformity: (1) intensely folded and faulted Miocene shallow marine to terrestrial and lacustrine sediments and (2) nearly flat-lying lignite-bearing lacustrine (lower unit) and fluvial (upper unit) deposits of Plio-Quaternary Ahmetçik Formation. The former is composed of Lower-Middle Miocene Salyan, Middle-upper Middle Miocene Gövdelidağ and Upper Miocene Karamağara formations whereas the latter one is the infill of the basin itself in the present configuration of the Elbistan Basin. The basin is bound by normal faults with a minor strike-slip component. It commenced as an intramontane pull-apart basin and developed as a natural response to Early Pliocene tectonic escape-related strike-slip faulting subsequent to post-collisional intracontinental compressional tectonics during which Miocene sediments were intensely deformed. The Early Pliocene time therefore marks a dramatic changeover in tectonic regime and is interpreted as the beginning of the ongoing last tectonic evolution and deformation style in the region unlike to previous views that it commenced before that time. Consequently, the Elbistan Basin is a unique structural depression that equates the extensional strike-slip regime in east-Central Anatolia throughout the context of the neotectonical framework of Turkey across progressive collision of Arabia with Eurasia. Its Pliocene and younger history differs from and contrasts with that of the surrounding pre-Pliocene basins such as Karamağara Basin, on which it has been structurally superimposed.

  3. Sedimentology, CSFe relationships and stable isotopic compositions in Devonian black mudrocks, Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Al-Aasm, I. S.; Morad, S.; Durocher, S.; Muir, I.

    1996-11-01

    An integrated approach combining CSFe relationships, stable isotopic compositions, and lithofacies characterization was utilized to constrain the palaeoenvironmental and early diagenetic conditions of Middle-Upper Devonian (Eifelian-Frasnian) mudrocks from the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. These rocks include the Hare Indian Formation (informally subdivided into the lower Bluefish Member and the Hare Indian Upper Member), Carcajou Marker and Canol Formation. The Bluefish Member is dominated by black, laminated, organic-rich shales (TOC = 0.35-10.34 wt.%; av. 5.83 wt.) with moderate degrees of pyritization (DOP) of 0.34-0.67 (av. 0.55). These mudrocks were deposited in dysoxic marine bottom-waters that became progressively more oxygenated with time. Variations in TOC, DOP and organic matter δ 13C PDB values (-29.7% to -19.9%; av. -27.2%) are attributed to repeated clastic dilution and increased input of terrestrial organic matter in association with shallowing-upward ramp-clinothem cycles. Pyrite δ 34S CDT values (-32.7% to -18.8%; av. -24.9%) indicate an open system, bacteriogenic seawater-sulphate reduction. Conversely, the overlying Hare Indian Upper Member, characterized by clinothem facies, is composed of grey to green mudstone with minor argillaceous limestones and considerably less organic matter contents (TOC = 0.28-2.99 wt.%; δ 13C = -29.5% to -22.5%). Deposition occurred in oxic to slightly dysoxic waters (DOP = 0.20-0.54; δ 34S = -23.0% to -20.9%), depending on the palaeotopographic location along the depositional slope. A rapid rise in sea level drowned the carbonate 'ramp' member of the Ramparts Formation and produced the thin, organic-rich Carcajou Marker. Bottom-water stagnation that resulted from subdued ramp palaeotopography produced anoxic sea bottom. Black, laminated, organic-rich shales from the Canol Formation (TOC = 1.37-6.68 wt.%) are very similar to those of the Bluefish Member, and are likewise basinal sediments. However, TOC, DOP and organic-matter δ 13C PDB values (-29.1% to -20.8%; av. -26.2%) do not show pronounced variations and indicate that low-energy, quietwater conditions persisted over relatively long, uninterrupted periods of time. High DOP values (0.72-0.93) throughout the Canol Formation suggest that deposition occurred in anoxic bottom-waters, but as basin-fill conditions continued there was a shift to a dysoxic environment (DOP = 0.55-0.65), which grades into nearshore and offshore sequences of the overlying Imperial Formation. In contrast with the Hare Indian Formation, much heavier δ 34S CDT values of pyrite in Canol mudrocks (-11.1% to +5.3%; av. -3.1%) point to bacterial sulphate reduction in a closed to semi-closed system with respect to seawater sulphate.

  4. Geologic framework of pre-Cretaceous rocks in the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and adjacent areas, southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Condon, Steven M.

    1992-01-01

    This report is a discussion and summary of Jurassic and older rocks in the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and adjacent areas, southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, and is based on analysis of geophysical logs and observations of outcrops. The Reservation, which is located in the northern San Juan Basin, has been the site of deposition of sediments for much of the Phanerozoic. Geologic times represented on the Reservation are the Precambrian, Cambrian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary. Rocks of Ordovician and Silurian age have not been reported in this region. Thicknesses of pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks range from about 750 feet (229 meters) on the Archuleta arch, east of the Reservation, to more than 8,300 feet (2,530 meters) just northwest of the Reservation. About 5,500 feet (1,676 meters) of pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks occur in the central part of the Reservation, near Ignacio. At Ignacio the top of the Jurassic lies at a depth of 7,600 feet (2,316 meters) below the surface, which is composed of Tertiary rocks. As much as 2,500 feet (762 meters) of Tertiary rocks occur in the area. More than 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of Cretaceous and younger rocks, and 15,600 feet (4,755 meters) of all Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks occur in the vicinity of the Reservation. In the early Paleozoic the area that includes the Southern Ute Reservation was on the stable western shelf of the craton. During this time sediments that compose the following shallow-marine clastic and carbonate rocks were deposited: the Upper Cambrian Ignacio Quartzite (0-150 feet; 0-46 meters), Upper Devonian Elbert Formation (50-200 feet; 15-61 meters), Upper Devonian Ouray Limestone (10-75 feet; 3-23 meters), and Mississippian Leadville Limestone (0-250 feet; 0-76 meters). Mixed carbonate and clastic deposition, which was punctuated by a unique episode of deposition of evaporite sediments, continued through the Pennsylvanian after a significant episode of erosion at the end of the Mississippian. Pennsylvanian rocks on the Reservation are the Molas Formation (20-100 feet; 6-30 meters) and Hermosa Group (400-2,800 feet; 122-853 meters), which consists of the Pinkerton Trail Formation (40-120 feet; 12-36 meters), Paradox Formation and equivalent rocks (200-1,800 feet; 61-549 meters), and Honaker Trail Formation (200-1,300 feet; 61-396 meters). A unit that is transitional between the Pennsylvanian and Permian is the Rico Formation, which is about 200 feet (61 meters) thick across most of the Reservation area. The close of the Paleozoic Era was marked by a great influx of arkosic clastic sediments from uplifted highlands to the north of the Reservation area during the Permian. Near the paleomountain front the Cutler Formation (presently as thick as 8,000 feet; 2,438 meters) formed as a result of deposition of arkosic sediments; however, the original thickness of the Cutler is unknown due to an unconformity at its top. In the area of the Reservation the Cutler has group status and has been divided into several formations: the Halgaito Formation (350-800 feet; 107-244 meters), Cedar Mesa Sandstone and equivalent rocks (150-350 feet; 46-107 meters), Organ Rock Formation (500-900 feet; 152-274 meters), and De Chelly Sandstone (0-100 feet; 0-30 meters). The sediments of these formations were deposited in a variety of environments, including eolian, mud-flat, and fluvial systems. Following an episode of erosion in the Early and Middle(?) Triassic, deposition in the area of the Southern Ute Reservation continued during the Mesozoic. Sediments of the Upper Triassic Dolores and correlative Chinle Formations were deposited in fluvial, lacustrine, and minor eolian environments. On the Reservation the Dolores is 500-1,200 feet (152-366 meters) thick. Lower Jurassic eolian and fluvial deposits may have been present in much of the Reservation area but have been removed

  5. Emsian synorogenic paleogeography of the Maine Applachians

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, D.; Tucker, R.

    2002-01-01

    The Acadian deformation front in the northern Appalachians of Maine and New Hampshire can now be closely located during the early Emsian (Early Devonian; 408-406 Ma). Tight correlations between paleontologically and isotopically dated rocks are possible only because of a new 408-Ma time scale tie point for the early Emsian. The deformation front lay between a belt of Lower Devonian flysch and molasse that were deposited in an Acadian foreland basin and had not yet been folded and a belt of early Emsian plutons that intruded folded Lower Devonian rocks. This plutonic belt includes the newly dated Ore Mountain gabbro (U/Pb; 406 Ma), which hosts magmatic-sulfide mineralization. Along the deformation front, a 407-Ma pluton that locally truncates Acadian folds (Katahdin) was the feeder to volcanic rocks (Traveler Rhyolite; 406-407 Ma) that are part of the foreland-basin succession involved in these same folds. The Emsian igneous rocks thus define a syncollisional magmatic province that straddled the deformation front. These findings bear on three alternative subduction geometries for the Acadian collision.

  6. Wangshangkia, a new Devonian ostracod genus from Dushan of Guizhou, South China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Junjun; Gong, Yiming

    2018-02-01

    Wangshangkia, a new genus of Ostracoda, from the Late Devonian in Dushan of Guizhou, South China, is described. This genus belongs to the family Bairdiocyprididae Shaver, 1961 and includes two new species, i.e. Wangshangkia dushaniensis and W. bailouiensis. The new genus is characterized by a wide ventral carina with radial striae. It is reported from the Famennian of South China and disappeared just below the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. Wangshangkia is essentially a benthic crawler and is restricted to the shallow-marine depositional environment with a low hydrodynamic condition. Wangshangkia: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:34BF01D4-D202-492D-8E27-BC508EF7EFFB W. dushaniensis: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D267C362-7510-4D19-996B-EA1848D7D025 W. bailouiensis: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FE988AA0-7363-4D9E-A5AB-1526C8DBCDD9

  7. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L., JR. - LIFTOFF - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 -CAPE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-15

    S63-06427 (15-16 May 1963) --- Burma's west coast, west of Rangoon and Irrawaddy River (right), are featured in this image photographed by astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., during his 22-orbit Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9) spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

  8. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - PRELAUNCH - PREFLIGHT CHECK - CAPE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-01

    S63-06129 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, inside his Mercury spacecraft, runs through one of the numerous preflight checks surrounded by dials, switches, indicators and buttons. Photo credit: NASA

  9. Data-Driven Modeling of Target Human Behavior in Military Operations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-12

    Military Operations Elizabeth Mezzacappa, Ph.D. Gordon Cooke, MEME Gladstone Reid, MSBMS Robert DeMarco, MSBMS Charles Sheridan BA John...stress, and human behavior modeling and simulation issues. GORDON COOKE, MEME , is a Principal Investigator at the TBRL. He was also a Chief

  10. Continual Lie algebras and noncommutative counterparts of exactly solvable models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuevsky, A.

    2004-01-01

    Noncommutative counterparts of exactly solvable models are introduced on the basis of a generalization of Saveliev-Vershik continual Lie algebras. Examples of noncommutative Liouville and sin/h-Gordon equations are given. The simplest soliton solution to the noncommutative sine-Gordon equation is found.

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sergyeyev, Artur; Krtous, Pavel; Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, V Holesovickach 2, Prague

    We consider the Klein-Gordon equation in generalized higher-dimensional Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetime without imposing any restrictions on the functional parameters characterizing the metric. We establish commutativity of the second-order operators constructed from the Killing tensors found in [J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2007) 004] and show that these operators, along with the first-order operators originating from the Killing vectors, form a complete set of commuting symmetry operators (i.e., integrals of motion) for the Klein-Gordon equation. Moreover, we demonstrate that the separated solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation obtained in [J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2007) 005] are joint eigenfunctions for all of thesemore » operators. We also present an explicit form of the zero mode for the Klein-Gordon equation with zero mass. In the semiclassical approximation we find that the separated solutions of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for geodesic motion are also solutions for a set of Hamilton-Jacobi-type equations which correspond to the quadratic conserved quantities arising from the above Killing tensors.« less

  12. The effect of long-term regional pumping on hydrochemistry and dissolved gas content in an undeveloped shale-gas-bearing aquifer in southwestern Ontario, Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamilton, Stewart M.; Grasby, Stephen E.; McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Osborn, Stephen G.

    2015-02-01

    Baseline groundwater geochemical mapping of inorganic and isotopic parameters across 44,000 km2 of southwestern Ontario (Canada) has delineated a discreet zone of natural gas in the bedrock aquifer coincident with an 8,000-km2 exposure of Middle Devonian shale. This study describes the ambient geochemical conditions in these shales in the context of other strata, including Ordovician shales, and discusses shale-related natural and anthropogenic processes contributing to hydrogeochemical conditions in the aquifer. The three Devonian shales—the Kettle Point Formation (Antrim equivalent), Hamilton Group and Marcellus Formation—have higher DOC, DIC, HCO3, CO2(aq), pH and iodide, and much higher CH4(aq). The two Ordovician shales—the Queenston and Georgian-Bay/Blue Mountain Formations—are higher in Ca, Mg, SO4 and H2S. In the Devonian shale region, isotopic zones of Pleistocene-aged groundwater have halved in size since first identified in the 1980s; potentiometric data implicate regional groundwater extraction in the shrinkage. Isotopically younger waters invading the aquifer show rapid increases in CH4(aq), pH and iodide with depth and rapid decrease in oxidized carbon species including CO2, HCO3 and DIC, suggesting contemporary methanogenesis. Pumping in the Devonian shale contact aquifer may stimulate methanogenesis by lowering TDS, removing products and replacing reactants, including bicarbonate, derived from overlying glacial sedimentary aquifers.

  13. Further study of Late Devonian seed plant Cosmosperma polyloba: its reconstruction and evolutionary significance.

    PubMed

    Liu, Le; Wang, Deming; Meng, Meicen; Xue, Jinzhuang

    2017-06-26

    The earliest seed plants in the Late Devonian (Famennian) are abundant and well known. However, most of them lack information regarding the frond system and reconstruction. Cosmosperma polyloba represents the first Devonian ovule in China and East Asia, and its cupules, isolated synangiate pollen organs and pinnules have been studied in the preceding years. New fossils of Cosmosperma were obtained from the type locality, i.e. the Leigutai Member of the Wutong Formation in Fanwan Village, Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, South China. The collection illustrates stems and fronds extensively covered in prickles, as well as fertile portions including uniovulate cupules and anisotomous branches bearing synangiate pollen organs. The stems are unbranched and bear fronds helically. Fronds are dimorphic, displaying bifurcate and trifurcate types, with the latter possibly connected to fertile rachises terminated by pollen organs. Tertiary and quaternary rachises possessing pinnules are arranged alternately (pinnately). The cupule is uniovulate and the ovule has four linear integumentary lobes fused in basal 1/3. The striations on the stems and rachises may indicate a Sparganum-type cortex. Cosmosperma further demonstrates diversification of frond branching patterns in the earliest seed plants. The less-fused cupule and integument of this plant are considered primitive among Devonian spermatophytes with uniovulate cupules. We tentatively reconstructed Cosmosperma with an upright, semi-self-supporting habit, and the prickles along stems and frond rachises were interpreted as characteristics facilitating supporting rather than defensive structures.

  14. 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response, Schedule and Speaker/Poster Program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Donohue, Timothy J.

    2012-07-20

    The Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response was held at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, July 15-20, 2012. The Conference was well-attended with 180 participants. The 2012 Microbial Stress Responses Gordon Research Conference will provide a forum for the open reporting of recent discoveries on the diverse mechanisms employed by microbes to respond to stress. Approaches range from analysis at the molecular level (how are signals perceived and transmitted to change gene expression or function) to cellular and microbial community responses. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program.

  15. Learning Styles: An Interview with Edmund W. Gordon.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rabianski-Carriuolo, Nancy

    1989-01-01

    Edmund W. Gordon, noted for his research on diverse human characteristics and pedagogy related to the education of low-status populations, responds to questions on learning styles and their modification, cultural background, hemispheric dominance, instructional design, teaching methods, matching teacher and student characteristics, and the use of…

  16. Using Gordon's functional health patterns to organize a critical care orientation program.

    PubMed

    Recker, D; O'Brien, C

    1992-02-01

    We have described how we revised our critical care orientation according to Gordon's FHPs. The process will require continuous review and revision. Research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of an orientation organized by a nursing framework in facilitating holistic nursing practice.

  17. On the Liouville 2D dilaton gravity models with sinh-Gordon matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frolov, Valeri P.; Zelnikov, Andrei

    2018-02-01

    We study 1 + 1 dimensional dilaton gravity models which take into account backreaction of the sinh-Gordon matter field. We found a wide class of exact solutions which generalizes black hole solutions of the Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity model and its hyperbolic deformation.

  18. Light Scattering by Marine Particles: Modeling with Non-spherical Shapes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-09-30

    coccoliths detached from Emiliania huxleyi, Limnology and Oceanography, 46, 1438−1454, 2001. Gordon, H.R., T.J. Smyth, W.M. Balch, and G.C. Boynton...Light scattering by coccoliths detached from Emiliania huxleyi, Applied Optics, (2009). PUBLICATIONS H.R. Gordon, Light scattering by randomly

  19. Ecological characterization of streams, and fish-tissue analysis for mercury and lead at selected locations, Fort Gordon, Georgia, June 1999 to May 2000

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gregory, M. Brian; Stamey, Timothy C.; Wellborn, John B.

    2001-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Ga., documented the ecological condition of selected water-bodies on the Fort Gordon military installation from June 1999 to May 2000. This study includes stream-habitat assessments, aquatic invertebrate and fish-community surveys in selected stream reaches, and analyses of mercury and lead concentrations in largemouth bass (Micropterous salmoides) muscle tissue from three impoundments. Assessment surveys indicate lower habitat value scores in some streams draining the more developed areas on Fort Gordon. A small tributary to Butler Creek--which drains parking lots associated with military motor pools and other impervious surfaces--is characterized by moderate levels of bank erosion and excess sediment in the stream channel compared to reference sites. Four other stream reaches are more similar to reference streams in respect to habitat conditions. Invertebrate communities in streams draining these urbanized watersheds are inhabited by 13 to 16 taxa per reach; whereas, 23 and 33 taxa were collected from the two reference stream reaches. Measures of invertebrate abundance, taxa richness, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Tricoptera Index are lower in streams draining urbanized watersheds. Measures of community similarity also indicate differences between streams draining urbanized areas and reference streams. Streams draining developed areas on Fort Gordon are inhabited by 3 to 10 fish species and included more species regarded as tolerant of degraded water-quality conditions; whereas, the two reference stream reaches support 4 and 10 species, respectively, including one species considered intolerant of degraded water-quality conditions. Mercury was detected in all largemouth bass collected from three impoundments on Fort Gordon. Wet-weight mercury concentrations in fish tissue analyzed from all sites range from 0.08 micrograms per gram to 1.33 micrograms per gram. Median mercury concentrations in fish tissue are 0.83 micrograms per gram at Soil Erosion Lake, 0.72 micrograms per gram at Lower Leitner Lake, and 0.22 micrograms per gram at Gordon Lake. Median mercury concentrations in fish tissue analyzed from Soil Erosion Lake and Lower Leitner Lake are more than two times higher than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendation of 0.3 micrograms per gram for fish consumption. Lead concentrations are below the minimum reporting limit for all specimens analyzed from reservoirs sampled at Fort Gordon.

  20. HITRAN Application Programming Interface (hapi): Extending HITRAN Capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kochanov, Roman V.; Gordon, Iouli E.; Rothman, Laurence S.; Wcislo, Piotr; Hill, Christian; Wilzewski, Jonas

    2016-06-01

    In this talk we present an update on the HITRAN Application Programming Interface (HAPI). HAPI is a free Python library providing a flexible set of tools to work with the most up-to-date spectroscopic data provided by HITRANonline (www.hitran.org) HAPI gives access to the spectroscopic parameters which are continuously being added to HITRANonline. For instance, these include non-Voigt profile parameters, foreign broadenings and shifts, and line mixing. HAPI enables more accurate spectra calculations for the spectroscopic and astrophysical applications requiring the detailed modeling of the broadener. HAPI implements an expert algorithm for the line profile selection for a single-layer radiative transfer calculation, and can be extended by custom line profiles and algorithms of their calculations, partition sums, instrumental functions, and temperature and pressure dependences. Possible HAPI applications include spectroscopic data validation and analysis as well as radiative-transfer calculations, experiment verification and spectroscopic code benchmarking. Kochanov RV, Gordon IE, et al. Submitted to JQSRT HighRus Special Issue 2016 Kochanov RV, Hill C, et al. ISMS 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/79241 Hill C, Gordon IE, et al. Accepted to JQSRT HighRus Special Issue 2016. Wcislo P, Gordon IE, et al. Accepted to JQSRT HighRus Special Issue 2016. Wilzewski JS, Gordon IE, et al. JQSRT 2016;168:193-206. Kochanov RV, Gordon IE, et al. Clim Past 2015;11:1097-105.

  1. Detrital zircon geochronology of pre- and syncollisional strata, Acadian orogen, Maine Appalachians

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, Dwight C.; O'Sullivan, Paul B.

    2017-01-01

    The Central Maine Basin is the largest expanse of deep-marine, Upper Ordovician to Devonian metasedimentary rocks in the New England Appalachians, and is a key to the tectonics of the Acadian Orogeny. Detrital zircon ages are reported from two groups of strata: (1) the Quimby, Rangeley, Perry Mountain and Smalls Falls Formations, which were derived from inboard, northwesterly sources and are supposedly older; and (2) the Madrid, Carrabassett and Littleton Formations, which were derived from outboard, easterly sources and are supposedly younger. Deep-water deposition prevailed throughout, with the provenance shift inferred to mark the onset of foredeep deposition and orogeny. The detrital zircon age distribution of a composite of the inboard-derived units shows maxima at 988 and 429 Ma; a composite from the outboard-derived units shows maxima at 1324, 1141, 957, 628, and 437 Ma. The inboard-derived units have a greater proportion of zircons between 450 and 400 Ma. Three samples from the inboard-derived group have youngest age maxima that are significantly younger than the nominal depositional ages. The outboard-derived group does not share this problem. These results are consistent with the hypothesised provenance shift, but they signal potential problems with the established stratigraphy, structure, and (or) regional mapping. Shallow-marine deposits of the Silurian to Devonian Ripogenus Formation, from northwest of the Central Maine Basin, yielded detrital zircons featuring a single age maximum at 441 Ma. These zircons were likely derived from a nearby magmatic arc now concealed by younger strata. Detrital zircons from the Tarratine Formation, part of the Acadian foreland-basin succession in this strike belt, shows age maxima at 1615, 980 and 429 Ma. These results are consistent with three episodes of zircon recycling beginning with the deposition of inboard-derived strata of the Central Maine Basin, which were shed from post-Taconic highlands located to the northwest. Next, southeasterly parts of this succession were deformed in the Acadian orogeny, shedding detritus towards the northwest into what remained of the basin. Finally, by Pragian time, all strata in the Central Maine Basin had been deformed and detritus from this new source accumulated as the Tarratine Formation in a new incarnation of the foreland basin. Silurian-Devonian strata from the Central Maine Basin have similar detrital zircon age distributions to coeval rocks from the Arctic Alaska and Farewell terranes of Alaska and the Northwestern terrane of Svalbard. We suggest that these strata were derived from different segments of the 6500-km-long Appalachian-Caledonide orogen.

  2. 2015 Liquid Crystals Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-10-20

    Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia , Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal) "Joule-Heating Effect: A New Route to PDLCs Memory Removal" 9:55 am - 10...Madison Poster Presenter Registered Carvalho, Sara F UNINOVA, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia , Universidade Nova de Lisboa Speaker Registered Cha

  3. Astronaut Gordon Cooper backs out of his spacecraft 'Faith 7'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1963-01-01

    Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper backs out of his spacecraft 'Faith 7' after a 600,000 mile, 22.9 orbit journey around the earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the Kearsarge, as did Astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission.

  4. 76 FR 9381 - Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents for Spent Fuel Storage Casks

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-17

    .... FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Gordon, Structural Mechanics and Materials Branch, Division... a fee. Comments and questions on ISG-23 should be directed to Matthew Gordon, Structural Mechanics..., 2011. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Michele Sampson, Acting Chief, Structural Mechanics...

  5. Hadamard Property of the in and out States for Klein-Gordon Fields on Asymptotically Static Spacetimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gérard, Christian; Wrochna, Michał

    2017-08-01

    We consider the massive Klein-Gordon equation on a class of asymptotically static spacetimes (in the long range sense) with Cauchy surface of bounded geometry. We prove the existence and Hadamard property of the in and out states constructed by scattering theory methods.

  6. What distinguishes the Gordon Research Conference on Oceans and Human Health? A retrospective 2008-2012.

    PubMed

    Doyle, John J

    2013-05-01

    This piece is being submitted as a short commentary for the special edition on Oceans and Human Health (OHH). It is written from the perspective of a student who has attended all three biennial Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars on OHH beginning in 2008.

  7. Hydrogeology and simulation of ground-water flow in the Silurian-Devonian aquifer system, Johnson County, Iowa

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tucci, Patrick; McKay, Robert M.

    2006-01-01

    The greatest limitation to the model is the lack of measured or estimated water-budget components for comparison to simulated water-budget components. Because the model is only calibrated to measured water levels, and not to water-budget components, the model results are nonunique. Other model limitations include the relatively coarse grid scale, lack of detailed information on pumpage from the quarry and from private developments and domestic wells, and the lack of separate water-level data for the Silurian- and Devonian-age rocks.

  8. Ladder operators for the Klein-Gordon equation with a scalar curvature term

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mück, Wolfgang

    2018-01-01

    Recently, Cardoso, Houri and Kimura constructed generalized ladder operators for massive Klein-Gordon scalar fields in space-times with conformal symmetry. Their construction requires a closed conformal Killing vector, which is also an eigenvector of the Ricci tensor. Here, a similar procedure is used to construct generalized ladder operators for the Klein-Gordon equation with a scalar curvature term. It is proven that a ladder operator requires the existence of a conformal Killing vector, which must satisfy an additional property. This property is necessary and sufficient for the construction of a ladder operator. For maximally symmetric space-times, the results are equivalent to those of Cardoso, Houri and Kimura.

  9. Classification of the Lie and Noether point symmetries for the Wave and the Klein-Gordon equations in pp-wave spacetimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paliathanasis, A.; Tsamparlis, M.; Mustafa, M. T.

    2018-02-01

    A complete classification of the Lie and Noether point symmetries for the Klein-Gordon and the wave equation in pp-wave spacetimes is obtained. The classification analysis is carried out by reducing the problem of the determination of the point symmetries to the problem of existence of conformal killing vectors on the pp-wave spacetimes. Employing the existing results for the isometry classes of the pp-wave spacetimes, the functional form of the potential is determined for which the Klein-Gordon equation admits point symmetries and Noetherian conservation law. Finally the Lie and Noether point symmetries of the wave equation are derived.

  10. Root evolution at the base of the lycophyte clade: insights from an Early Devonian lycophyte.

    PubMed

    Matsunaga, Kelly K S; Tomescu, Alexandru M F

    2016-04-01

    The evolution of complex rooting systems during the Devonian had significant impacts on global terrestrial ecosystems and the evolution of plant body plans. However, detailed understanding of the pathways of root evolution and the architecture of early rooting systems is currently lacking. We describe the architecture and resolve the structural homology of the rooting system of an Early Devonian basal lycophyte. Insights gained from these fossils are used to address lycophyte root evolution and homology. Plant fossils are preserved as carbonaceous compressions at Cottonwood Canyon (Wyoming), in the Lochkovian-Pragian (∼411 Ma; Early Devonian) Beartooth Butte Formation. We analysed 177 rock specimens and documented morphology, cuticular anatomy and structural relationships, as well as stratigraphic position and taphonomic conditions. The rooting system of the Cottonwood Canyon lycophyte is composed of modified stems that bear fine, dichotomously branching lateral roots. These modified stems, referred to as root-bearing axes, are produced at branching points of the above-ground shoot system. Root-bearing axes preserved in growth position exhibit evidence of positive gravitropism, whereas the lateral roots extend horizontally. Consistent recurrence of these features in successive populations of the plant preserved in situ demonstrates that they represent constitutive structural traits and not opportunistic responses of a flexible developmental programme. This is the oldest direct evidence for a rooting system preserved in growth position. These rooting systems, which can be traced to a parent plant, include some of the earliest roots known to date and demonstrate that substantial plant-substrate interactions were under way by Early Devonian time. The morphological relationships between stems, root-bearing axes and roots corroborate evidence that positive gravitropism and root identity were evolutionarily uncoupled in lycophytes, and challenge the hypothesis that roots evolved from branches of the above-ground axial system, suggesting instead that lycophyte roots arose as a novel organ. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Pilot Fullerton reviews checklist on Aft Flight Deck Onorbit Station

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1982-03-31

    S82-28906 (27 March 1982) --- Astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton, STS-3 pilot, mans the right hand aft station of the flight deck on the Earth-orbiting Columbia. The photograph was taken with a 35mm camera by astronaut Jack R. Lousma, crew commander. The "Go Blue" sticker is a University of Michigan memento of Lousma, and the Air Force sign was put up by Fullerton, a USAF colonel. Lousma, a USMC colonel, received his BS degree in aeronautical engineering in 1959 from UM. One of two aft windows for cargo bay viewing and one of two ceiling windows are visible in the photo. Fullerton and Lousma watched the activity of the remote manipulator system (RMS) arm out the lower window and they took a number of photos of Earth from the upper window. Photo credit: NASA

  12. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L., JR. - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 PRELAUNCH -HANGAR "S" - CAPE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-01

    S63-06252 (May 1963) --- Mercury workers and news media are greeted by astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, as he leaves Hanger "S" for Pad 14 to start his 22-orbit MA-9 mission. Photo credit: NASA

  13. By Your Own Design: A Teacher's Professional Learning Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorson, Annette, Ed.

    2002-01-01

    This magazine is published for classroom innovators. The content of this issue includes: (1) "Who's the Learner in Learner-Centered?" (Gay Gordon); (2) "The Product of a Perfect Partnership" (Tracy Crow); (3) "E-Learning Potential" (Joan Richardson); (4) "A Review of 'Evaluating Professional Development'" (Gay Gordon); (5) "Dreaming All That We…

  14. The Virtual Employment Test Bed: An Immersive Synthetic Environment Allows Engineers to Test and Evaluate Material Solutions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-04-03

    synthetic environment allows engineers to test and evaluate material solutions Robert DeMarco, MSBME; Gordon Cooke, MEME ; John Riedener, MSSE...ROBERT DEMARCO, MSBME, is a Project Lead Engineer and Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer. GORDON COOKE, MEME , is a Principal Investigator at the

  15. A Cultural Odyssey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Viadero, Debra

    2005-01-01

    This article discusses how a lifetime of research has led Edmund W. Gordon to the conviction that it is the out-of-school extras that nurture children's intellect. A half-century ago, the noted psychologist Edmund W. Gordon and his physician wife, Susan, opened a children's health clinic here in central Harlem. For as little as a quarter, poor…

  16. Terminal Blackout: Critical Electric Infrastructure Vulnerabilities and Civil-Military Resiliency

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-10-01

    William R. Graham, Robert J. Hermann, Henry M. Kluepfel, Richard L. Lawson, Gordon K. Soper , Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Joan B. Woodard, Report of the...R. Graham, Robert J. Hermann, Henry M. Kluepfel, Richard L. Lawson, Gordon K. Soper , Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Joan B. Woodard, Report of the

  17. How Reducing was the Late Devonian Ocean? The Role of Extensive Expansion of Anoxia in Marine Biogeochemical Cycles of Redox Sensitive Metals.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sahoo, S. K.; Jin, H.

    2017-12-01

    The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical cycles is intimately linked to the oxygenation of the oceans and atmosphere. The Late Devonian is no exception as its characterized with mass extinction and severe euxinia. Here we use concentrations of Molybdenum (Mo), Vanadium (V), Uranium (U) and Chromium (Cr) in organic rich black shales from the Lower Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, to explore the relationship between extensive anoxia vs. euxinia and it's relation with massive release of oxygen in the ocean atmosphere system. XRF data from 4 core across the basin shows that modern ocean style Mo, U and Cr enrichments are observed throughout the Lower Bakken Formation, yet V is not enriched until later part of the formation. Given the coupling between redox-sensitive-trace element cycles and ocean redox, various models for Late Devonian ocean chemistry imply different effects on the biogeochemical cycling of major and trace nutrients. Here, we examine the differing redox behavior of molybdenum and vanadium under an extreme anoxia and relatively low extent of euxinia. The model suggests that Late Devonian was perhaps extensively anoxic- 40-50% compared to modern seafloor area, and a very little euxinia. Mo enrichments extend up to 500 p.p.m. throughout the section, representative of a modern reducing ocean. However, coeval low V enrichments only support towards anoxia, where anoxia is a source of V, and a sink for Mo. Our model suggests that the oceanic V reservoir is extremely sensitive to perturbations in the extent of anoxic condition, particularly during post glacial times.

  18. Geometry, kinematics and tectonic models of the Kazakhstan Orocline, Central Asian Orogenic Belt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Pengfei; Sun, Min; Rosenbaum, Gideon; Yuan, Chao; Safonova, Inna; Cai, Keda; Jiang, Yingde; Zhang, Yunying

    2018-03-01

    The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is one of the largest accretionary orogens on Earth and is characterized by the occurrence of tight oroclines (Kazakhstan and Tuva-Mongolian oroclines). The origin of these large-scale orogenic curvatures is not quite understood, but is fundamentally important for understanding crustal growth and tectonic evolution of the CAOB. Here we provide an outline of available geological and paleomagnetic data around the Kazakhstan Orocline, with an aim of clarifying the geometry, kinematics and geodynamic origin of the orocline. The Kazakhstan Orocline is evident in a total magmatic image, and can be traced by the continuation of high magnetic anomalies associated with the Devonian Volcanic Belt and the Late Devonian to Carboniferous Balkhash-Yili arc. Paleomagnetic data show ∼112-126° clockwise rotation of the northern limb relative to the southern limb in the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous, as well as ∼15-28° clockwise rotation of the northern limb and ∼39-40° anticlockwise rotation of the southern limb relative to the hinge of the orocline during the Late Carboniferous to Permian. We argue that the Kazakhstan Orocline experienced two-stage bending with the early stage of bending (Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous; ∼112-126°) driven by slab rollback, and the later stage (Late Carboniferous to Permian; 54-68°) possibly associated with the amalgamation of the Siberian, Tarim and Baltic cratons. This new tectonic model is compatible with the occurrence of rift basins, the spatial migration of magmatic arc, and the development of large-scale strike-slip fault systems during oroclinal bending.

  19. Geology of the Devonian black shales of the Appalachian Basin

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Roen, J.B.

    1984-01-01

    Black shales of Devonian age in the Appalachian Basin are a unique rock sequence. The high content of organic matter, which imparts the characteristic lithology, has for years attracted considerable interest in the shales as a possible source of energy. The recent energy shortage prompted the U.S. Department of Energy through the Eastern Gas Shales Project of the Morgantown Energy Technology Center to underwrite a research program to determine the geologic, geochemical, and structural characteristics of the Devonian black shales in order to enhance the recovery of gas from the shales. Geologic studies by Federal and State agencies and academic institutions produced a regional stratigraphic network that correlates the 15 ft black shale sequence in Tennessee with 3000 ft of interbedded black and gray shales in central New York. These studies correlate the classic Devonian black shale sequence in New York with the Ohio Shale of Ohio and Kentucky and the Chattanooga Shale of Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic markers in conjunction with gamma-ray logs facilitated long-range correlations within the Appalachian Basin. Basinwide correlations, including the subsurface rocks, provided a basis for determining the areal distribution and thickness of the important black shale units. The organic carbon content of the dark shales generally increases from east to west across the basin and is sufficient to qualify as a hydrocarbon source rock. Significant structural features that involve the black shale and their hydrocarbon potential are the Rome trough, Kentucky River and Irvine-Paint Creek fault zone, and regional decollements and ramp zones. ?? 1984.

  20. Oxygenation history of the Neoproterozoic to early Phanerozoic and the rise of land plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wallace, Malcolm W.; Hood, Ashleigh vS.; Shuster, Alice; Greig, Alan; Planavsky, Noah J.; Reed, Christopher P.

    2017-05-01

    There has been extensive debate about the history of Earth's oxygenation and the role that land plant evolution played in shaping Earth's ocean-atmosphere system. Here we use the rare earth element patterns in marine carbonates to monitor the structure of the marine redox landscape through the rise and diversification of animals and early land plants. In particular, we use the relative abundance of cerium (Ceanom), the only redox-sensitive rare earth element, in well-preserved marine cements and other marine precipitates to track seawater oxygen levels. Our results indicate that there was only a moderate increase in oceanic oxygenation during the Ediacaran (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 1.1, average Ediacaran Ceanom = 0.62), followed by a decrease in oxygen levels during the early Cambrian (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 0.90), with significant ocean anoxia persisting through the early and mid Paleozoic (average Early Cambrian-Early Devonian Ceanom = 0.84). It was not until the Late Devonian that oxygenation levels are comparable to the modern (average of all post-middle Devonian Ceanom = 0.55). Therefore, this work confirms growing evidence that the oxygenation of the Earth was neither unidirectional nor a simple two-stage process. Further, we provide evidence that it was not until the Late Devonian, when large land plants and forests first evolved, that oxygen levels reached those comparable to the modern world. This is recorded with the first modern-like negative Ceanom (values <0.6) occurring at around 380 Ma (Frasnian). This suggests that land plants, rather than animals, are the 'engineers' responsible for the modern fully oxygenated Earth system.

  1. Genesis of the 1000-foot Dish at Arecibo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cohen, Marshall H.

    2007-12-01

    The Arecibo dish was conceived early in 1958 by William E. Gordon, a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Cornell University. The objective was to design and build a radar sensitive enough to measure the backscattered signal from free electrons in the high ionosphere, the so-called incoherent scatter (IS) signal. Gordon calculated the required size of the antenna by assuming that the thermal velocity of the electrons controlled the width of the spectrum of the echo. Six months later Kenneth L. Bowles, a Cornell graduate now working at NBS in Boulder, Colorado, did a radar experiment that confirmed part of Gordon's ideas. Bowles showed that the strength of the IS signal is roughly as calculated by Gordon, but the spectral width of the echo is much narrower than that calculated by Gordon. This meant that a substantially smaller, cheaper, dish could be used. A year later, however, ARPA gave the money to start the project, still at the original size, 1000 feet. By this time the goals of the project had widened considerably, to include radio and radar astronomy, and most of the new goals did require the 1000 foot diameter. Note that this project went from conception to funding in a year and a half, far quicker than it would at present. The IGY in 1957-1958, and the launch of the Sputnik and Explorer satellites during this period, fueled a great deal of interest in the high ionosphere in both military and civilian circles. I speculate on how this affected the Arecibo project.

  2. Geology of the Cupsuptic quadrangle, Maine

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Harwood, David S.

    1966-01-01

    The Cupsuptic quadrangle, in west-central Maine, lies in a relatively narrow belt of pre-Silurian rocks extending from the Connecticut River valley across northern New Hampshire to north-central Maine. The Albee Formation, composed of green, purple, and black phyllite with interbedded-quartzite, is exposed in the core of a regional anticlinorium overlain to the southeast by greenstone of the Oquossoc Formation which in turn is overlain by black slate of the Kamankeag Formation. In the northern part of the quadrangle the Albee Formation is overlain by black slate, feldspathic graywacke, and minor greenstone of the Dixville Formation. The Kamankeag Formation is dated as 1-ate Middle Ordovician by graptolites (zone 12) found near the base of the unit. The Dixville Formation is correlated with the Kamankeag Formation and Oquossoc Formation and is considered to be Middle Ordovician. The Albee Formation is considered to be Middle to Lower Ordovician from correlations with similar rocks in northeastern and southwestern Vermont. The Oquossoc and Kamankeag Formations are correlated with the Amonoosuc and Partridge Formations of northern New Hampshire. The pre-Silurian rocks are unconformably overlain by unnamed rocks of Silurian age in the southeast, west-central, and northwest ninths of the quadrangle. The basal Silurian units are boulder to cobble polymict conglomerate and quartz-pebble conglomerate of late Lower Silurian (Upper Llandovery) age. The overlying rocks are either well-bedded slate and quartzite, silty limestone, or arenaceous limestone. Thearenaceous limestone contains Upper Silurian (Lower Ludlow) brachiopods. The stratified rocks have been intruded by three stocks of biotite-muscovite quartz monzonite, a large body of metadiorite and associated serpentinite, smaller bodies of gabbro, granodiorite, and intrusive felsite, as well as numerous diabase and quartz monzonite dikes. The metadiorite and serpentinite, and possibly the gabbro and granodiorite are Late Ordovician in age. The quartz monzonite is considered to be Late Devonian. Five tectonic events are inferred from the structural features in the area. The earliest was a period of folding producing tightly-appressed, northeast-trending folds in the rocks of pre-Silurian age. In the second stage the folded pre-Silurian rocks were uplifted, eroded, and truncated to produce a major unconformity between the Middle Ordovician and Lower Silurian rocks. These events constitute the Taconic orogeny. The third tectonic event was a period of folding, probably of Middle Devonian age, that warped the unconformity and overlying rocks into open, gently-plunging, east-trending folds. This period of folding undoubtedly changed the attitude of the early folds in the pre-Silurian units but it did not produce any recognizable, cross-cutting planar features in the older rocks. The fourth tectonic event was a period of igneous intrusion that locally deformed the northeast-trending folds in the pre-Silurian rocks into a macroscopic drag fold plunging at 80 degrees in a direction S.10?w. A north-trending, subvertical slip cleavage was produced locally during this period of Late Devonian (?) deformation. A period of faulting, possibly of Triassic age, dislocated some of the earlier features. The rocks are in the chlorite zone of regional metamorphism, but have been contact metamorphosed to sillimanite-bearing hornfels adjacent to the quartz monzonite stocks. The chemical changes in chlorite, biotite, garnet, cordierite, and muscovite in the chlorite, biotite, andalusite, and sillimanite zones have been-studied by optical and x-ray methods and by partial chemical analyses. The progressive changes in mineral assemblages have been graphically portrayed on quaternary diagrams and ternary projections.

  3. A Remaining Open Paleogeography of Paleo-Asian Ocean by Early Permian, Paleomagnetic Constraints from Eastern CAOB

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Donghai; Huang, Baochun; Zhao, Jie; Meert, Joseph; Zhang, Ye; Liang, Yalun; Bai, Qianhui; Zhao, Qian; Zhou, Tinghong

    2017-04-01

    We carry out a combined paleomagnetic and U-Pb geochronologic study on Paleozoic strata ranging from Lower Devonian to Upper Permian in mid-eastern Inner Mongolia, NE China with the purpose of puzzling out the timing and location of the final closure of Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO), and thus provides further implications for the evolution of eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Inside North Margin of North China Block (NMNCB), 20 sites from Middle Permian Elitu formation and 9 sites from Lower Permian Sanmianjing formation yields a high temperature Characteristic Remanent Magnetism (ChRM) of Dg=330.9, Ig=54.3, Kg=4.9, a95g=14.9 N= 24 before and Ds=347.4, Is=38.1, Ks=28.6, a95s=5.6, N=24 after tilt correction. 13 sites from Songliao-Xilinhot Block (SXB) isolate a ChRM of Dg=196.6, Ig=36.4, Kg=18.0, a95g=11.1, N=13; Ds=222.9, Is=20.5, Ks=15.7 a95s=11.9, N=13 with a positive fold test, which suggests a likely primary magnetization. Inside of Khingan-Airgin Sum Block (KAB), 2 different component is extracted from Lower Devonian Niqiuhe formation, Upper Carboniferous Baoligaomiao formation and Lower Permian Dashizhai formation. A high temperature Component A (Dg=28.3, Ig=29.7, Kg=24.4, a95g=6.6, N= 21; Ds=49.8, Is=62.1, Ks=57.4, a95s=4.2, N=21) with a synfolding origin is derived from 21 sites of Baoligaomiao formation in west KAB, which is traditionally named as Uliastai passive continental margin, whilst 11 sites from Lower Devonian Niqiuhe formation in east KAB generate a post-folding Component B (Dg=196.6, Ig=36.4, Kg=18.0, a95g=11.1, N=11; Ds=222.9, Is=20.5, Ks=15.7, a95s=11.9, N=11) with a possible remagnetization in early Permian suggested by widely exposed granitic intrusion of 299 Ma in adjacent areas. Accordingly, 4 paleomagnetic poles are calculated as early-middle Permian of NMNCB (Plat=67.9°N, Plong=326.7°E, A95=4.2°), early Permian of SXB (Plat=45.3°N, Plong=250.3°E, A95=5.8°), late Carboniferous of west KAB (Plat=55.1°N, Plong=187.8°E, A95=6.2°) and early Permian of (Plat=-16.3°N, Plong=109.1°E, A95=8.4°). The early Permian paleomagnetic pole of SXB and NMNCB are located at a common small circle centered around the reference site (43° N, 114° E), whilst late Carboniferous pole of west KAB and early Permian pole of east KAB share a similar paleolatitude, about 17.8° higher than that of SXB and NMNCB, with a huge 85° longitudinal difference in between. These data indicate the final closure of PAO happened at the northern Hegenshan-Heihe Suture Zone (HHSZ) after early Permian instead of the pre-assumed southern Solonker-Xar Moron Suture Zone (SXMSZ) with a remaining open paleogeography of Paleo-Asian Ocean between SXB and KAB by early Permian. Keywords: Paleo-Asian Ocean, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Paleomagnetism, Paleolatitude, Late Paleozoic, XMOB.

  4. The Anarak, Jandaq and Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complexes in central Iran: New geological data, relationships and tectonic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bagheri, Sasan; Stampfli, Gérard M.

    2008-04-01

    The Anarak, Jandaq and Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complexes occupy the NW part of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent and are juxtaposed with the Great Kavir block and Sanandaj-Sirjan zone. Our recent findings redefine the origin of these complexes, so far attributed to the Precambrian-Early Paleozoic orogenic episodes, and now directly related to the tectonic evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. This tectonic evolution was initiated by Late Ordovician-Early Devonian rifting events and terminated in the Triassic by the Eocimmerian collision event due to the docking of the Cimmerian blocks with the Asiatic Turan block. The "Variscan accretionary complex" is a new name we proposed for the most widely distributed metamorphic rocks connected to the Anarak and Jandaq complexes. This accretionary complex exposed from SW of Jandaq to the Anarak and Kabudan areas is a thick and fine grain siliciclastic sequence accompanied by marginal-sea ophiolitic remnants, including gabbro-basalts with a supra-subduction-geochemical signature. New 40Ar/ 39Ar ages are obtained as 333-320 Ma for the metamorphism of this sequence under greenschist to amphibolite facies. Moreover, the limy intercalations in the volcano-sedimentary part of this complex in Godar-e-Siah yielded Upper Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts. The northeastern part of this complex in the Jandaq area was intruded by 215 ± 15 Ma arc to collisional granite and pegmatites dated by ID-TIMS and its metamorphic rocks are characterized by some 40Ar/ 39Ar radiometric ages of 163-156 Ma. The "Variscan" accretionary complex was northwardly accreted to the Airekan granitic terrane dated at 549 ± 15 Ma. Later, from the Late Carboniferous to Triassic, huge amounts of oceanic material were accreted to its southern side and penetrated by several seamounts such as the Anarak and Kabudan. This new period of accretion is supported by the 280-230 Ma 40Ar/ 39Ar ages for the Anarak mild high-pressure metamorphic rocks and a 262 Ma U-Pb age for the trondhjemite-rhyolite association of that area. The Triassic Bayazeh flysch filled the foreland basin during the final closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and was partly deposited and/or thrusted onto the Cimmerian Yazd block. The Paleo-Tethys magmatic arc products have been well-preserved in the Late Devonian-Carboniferous Godar-e-Siah intra-arc deposits and the Triassic Nakhlak fore-arc succession. On the passive margin of the Cimmerian block, in the Yazd region, the nearly continuous Upper Paleozoic platform-type deposition was totally interrupted during the Middle to Late Triassic. Local erosion, down to Lower Paleozoic levels, may be related to flexural bulge erosion. The platform was finally unconformably covered by Liassic continental molassic deposits of the Shemshak. One of the extensional periods related to Neo-Tethyan back-arc rifting in Late Cretaceous time finally separated parts of the Eocimmerian collisional domain from the Eurasian Turan domain. The opening and closing of this new ocean, characterized by the Nain and Sabzevar ophiolitic mélanges, finally transported the Anarak-Jandaq composite terrane to Central Iran, accompanied by large scale rotation of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent (CEIM). Due to many similarities between the Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complex and the Anarak-Jandaq composite terrane, the former could be part of the latter, if it was transported further south during Tertiary time.

  5. Bedrock geologic map of the Nashua South quadrangle, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, and Middlesex County, Massachusetts

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Walsh, Gregory J.; Jahns, Richard H.; Aleinikoff, John N.

    2013-01-01

    The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Nashua South quadrangle consists primarily of deformed Silurian metasedimentary rocks of the Berwick Formation. The metasedimentary rocks are intruded by a Late Silurian to Early Devonian diorite-gabbro suite, Devonian rocks of the Ayer Granodiorite, Devonian granitic rocks of the New Hampshire Plutonic Suite including pegmatite and the Chelmsford Granite, and Jurassic diabase dikes. The bedrock geology was mapped to study the tectonic history of the area and to provide a framework for ongoing hydrogeologic characterization of the fractured bedrock of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This report presents mapping by G.J. Walsh and R.H. Jahns and zircon U-Pb geochronology by J.N. Aleinikoff. The complete report consists of a map, text pamphlet, and GIS database. The map and text pamphlet are only available as downloadable files (see frame at right). The GIS database is available for download in ESRITM shapefile and Google EarthTM formats, and includes contacts of bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, structural geologic information, photographs, and a three-dimensional model.

  6. The Valley and Ridge Province of eastern Pennsylvania - stratigraphic and sedimentologic contributions and problems ( USA).

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Epstein, J.B.

    1986-01-01

    The rocks in the area, which range from Middle Ordovician to Late Devonian in age, are more than 7620 m thick. This diversified group of sedimentary rocks was deposited in many different environments, ranging from deep sea, through neritic and tidal, to alluvial. In general, the Middle Ordovician through Lower Devonian strata are a sedimentary cycle related to the waxing and waning of Taconic tectonism. The sequence began with a greywacke-argillite suite (Martinsburg Formation) representing synorogenic basin deepening. This was followed by basin filling and progradation of a sandstone-shale clastic wedge (Shawangunk Formation and Bloomsburg Red Beds) derived from the erosion of the mountains that were uplifted during the Taconic orogeny. The sequence ended with deposition of many thin units of carbonate, sandstone, and shale on a shelf marginal to a land area of low relief. Another tectonic-sedimentary cycle, related to the Acadian orogeny, began with deposition of Middle Devonian rocks. Deep-water shales (Marcellus Shale) preceded shoaling (Mahantango Formation) and turbidite sedimentation (Trimmers Rock Formation) followed by another molasse (Catskill Formation). -from Author

  7. Rotational and accretionary evolution of the Klamath Mountains, California and Oregon, from Devonian to present time

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Irwin, William P.; Mankinen, Edward A.

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to show graphically how the Klamath Mountains grew from a relatively small nucleus in Early Devonian time to its present size while rotating clockwise approximately 110°. This growth occurred by the addition of large tectonic slices of oceanic lithosphere, volcanic arcs, and melange during a sequence of accretionary episodes. The Klamath Mountains province consists of eight lithotectonoic units called terranes, some of which are divided into subterranes. The Eastern Klamath terrane, which was the early Paleozoic nucleus of the province, is divided into the Yreka, Trinity, and Redding subterranes. Through tectonic plate motion, usually involving subduction, the other terranes joined the early Paleozoic nucleus during seven accretionary episodes ranging in age from Early Devonian to Late Jurassic. The active terrane suture is shown for each episode by a bold black line. Much of the western boundary of the Klamath Mountains is marked by the South Fork and correlative faults along which the Klamath terranes overrode the Coast Range rocks during an eighth accretionary episode, forming the South Fork Mountain Schist in Early Cretaceous time.

  8. Astronaut Gordon Cooper is assisted from his spacecraft 'Faith 7'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1963-01-01

    Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper stands supported by strong hands after climbing out of his spacecraft 'Faith 7' after a 600,000 mile, 22.9 orbit journey around the earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the Kearsarge, as did Astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission.

  9. Astronaut Gordon Cooper is assisted backing out of his spacecraft 'Faith 7'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1963-01-01

    Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper is assisted in backing out of his spacecraft 'Faith 7' after a 600,000 mile, 22.9 orbit journey around the earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the Kearsarge, as did Astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission.

  10. Number Crunching: A Sheep's Tale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sam, Chris Lam

    2005-01-01

    In this article, the author talks about an allegorical tale which he has written as a message for teachers of mathematics. The story is about Gordon, who led a flock of small sheep. Gordon was a mathematics genius; however, his flock criticized his teaching of numbers and his boring lectures. His furry-god-farmer advised him to share his…

  11. Spinning Q-balls in the complex signum-Gordon model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arodz, H.; Karkowski, J.; Swierczynski, Z.

    2009-09-15

    Rotational excitations of compact Q-balls in the complex signum-Gordon model in 2+1 dimensions are investigated. We find that almost all such spinning Q-balls have the form of a ring of strictly finite width. In the limit of large angular momentum M{sub z}, their energy is proportional to |M{sub z}|{sup 1/5}.

  12. IRCD BULLETIN, VOLUME 3, NUMBER 5, NOVEMBER 1967.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    GORDON, EDMUND W., ED.

    FEATURED IN THIS BULLETIN IS A DISCUSSION BY EDMUND W. GORDON OF "EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY" (KNOWN AS THE COLEMAN REPORT AFTER ITS SENIOR AUTHOR), A REPORT OF AN EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF MINORITY GROUP EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. AFTER EXAMINING SOME OF THE DATA AND FINDINGS IN THE REPORT, GORDON CONCLUDES THAT ONE CANNOT ON…

  13. The Coast Artillery Journal. Volume 76, Number 5, September-October 1933

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1933-10-01

    Recognition of Merits and Deficiencies 345 By Major Ralph E. Jones, Infantry. The Grand Strategy of the World War 347 By Captain Gordon Gordon-Smith. An...were soon far in advance of the infantry and so failed to see that the infantry was being held up north of Nowo - patnitskoe. Because of the wooded

  14. Grumbling, Raised Eyebrows, and Worse as Gordon Gee Prepares To Leave Brown.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lively, Kit

    2000-01-01

    Reports on controversy Brown University (Rhode Island) as Gordon Gee leaves to become chancellor of Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) after only two years as president of Brown, and notes feelings of betrayal in light of large compensation offered Gee by Vanderbilt. Reports average tenures for college presidents and quotes Gee as saying that he…

  15. 78 FR 27961 - Gordon Foster and Seneca Falls School, Deep Creek Energy LLC; Notice of Transfer of Exemption

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 5991-003] Gordon Foster and Seneca Falls School, Deep Creek Energy LLC; Notice of Transfer of Exemption 1. By letter filed March 20, 2013, Mr. Brian Gogarty, Deep Creek Energy LLC informed the Commission that the exemption from...

  16. Perturbed Coulomb Potentials in the Klein-Gordon Equation: Quasi-Exact Solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baradaran, M.; Panahi, H.

    2018-05-01

    Using the Lie algebraic approach, we present the quasi-exact solutions of the relativistic Klein-Gordon equation for perturbed Coulomb potentials namely the Cornell potential, the Kratzer potential and the Killingbeck potential. We calculate the general exact expressions for the energies, corresponding wave functions and the allowed values of the parameters of the potential within the representation space of sl(2) Lie algebra. In addition, we show that the considered equations can be transformed into the Heun's differential equations and then we reproduce the results using the associated special functions. Also, we study the special case of the Coulomb potential and show that in the non-relativistic limit, the solution of the Klein-Gordon equation converges to that of Schrödinger equation.

  17. Support for the 2001 Gordon Research Conference on the Origins of Solar Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stevenson, David J.

    2002-01-01

    This grant provided partial support for participants at the Gordon Research Conference on Origins of Solar Systems, held at Connecticut College, June 17 through June 22, 2001. This conference was chaired by the PI (David Stevenson) and Pat Cassell (NASA Ames) was Vice-Chair. In addition to the money provided by this grant ($15,000), the Gordon Research Conference organization provided about $22,000 (in large part from registration fees) and BPI provided $10,000 (through Director David Black); the latter targeted primarily for students and postdocs. Accordingly the grant money from NASA was used to cover the costs of registration and travel for about one half of the invited speakers (22 in total) and discussion leaders (about 10 in total).

  18. From sine-Gordon to vacuumless systems in flat and curved spacetimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bazeia, D.; Moreira, D. C.

    2017-12-01

    In this work we start from the Higgs prototype model to introduce a new model, which makes a smooth transition between systems with well-located minima and systems that support no minima at all. We implement this possibility using the deformation procedure, which allows the obtaining a sine-Gordon-like model, controlled by a real parameter that gives rise to a family of models, reproducing the sine-Gordon and the so-called vacuumless models. We also study the thick brane scenarios associated with these models and investigate their stability and renormalization group flow. In particular, it is shown how gravity can change from the 5-dimensional warped geometry with a single extra dimension of infinite extent to the conventional 5-dimensional Minkowski geometry.

  19. Support for the 2001 Gordon Research Conference on the Origins of Solar Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stevenson, David J.

    2002-01-01

    This grant provided partial support for participants at the Gordon Research Conference on Origins of Solar Systems, held at Connecticut College, June 17 through June 22, 2001. This conference was chaired by the PI (David Stevenson) and Pat Cassell (NASA Ames) was Vice-Chair. In addition to the money provided by this grant (15,000), the Gordon Research Conference organization provided about 22,000 (in large part from registration fees) and BPI provided 10,000 (through Director David Black); the latter targeted primarily for students and postdocs. Accordingly the grant money from NASA was used to cover the costs of registration and travel for about one half of the invited speakers (22 in total) and discussion leaders (about 10 in total).

  20. Petrology and sedimentology of the Horlick Formation (Lower Devonian), Ohio Range, Transantarctic Mountains

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McCartan, Lucy; Bradshaw, Margaret A.

    1987-01-01

    The Horlick Formation of Early Devonian age is as thick as 50 m and consists of subhorizontal, interbedded subarkosic sandstone and chloritic shale and mudstone. The Horlick overlies an erosion surface cut into Ordovician granitic rocks and is, in turn, overlain by Carboniferous and Permian glacial and periglacial deposits. Textures, sedimentary structures, and ubiquitous marine body fossils and animal traces suggest that the Horlick was deposited on a shallow shelf having moderate wave energy and a moderate tidal range. The source terrane probably lay to the north, and longshore transport was toward the west.

  1. Plate tectonic history of the Arctic

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burke, K.

    1984-01-01

    Tectonic development of the Arctic Ocean is outlined, and geological maps are provided for the Arctic during the mid-Cenozoic, later Cretaceous, late Jurassic, early Cretaceous, early Jurassic and late Devonian. It is concluded that Arctic basin history is moulded by the events of the following intervals: (1) continental collision and immediately subsequent rifting and ocean formation in the Devonian, and continental rifting ocean formation, rapid rotation of microcontinents, and another episode of collision in the latest Jurassic and Cretaceous. It is noted that Cenozoic Arctic basin formation is a smaller scale event superimposed on the late Mesozoic ocean basin.

  2. Evidence of land plant affinity for the Devonian fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Romankiw, L.A.; Hatcher, P.G.; Roen, J.B.

    1988-01-01

    The Devonian plant fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia) has been examined by solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS). Results of these studies reveal that the chemical structure of Protosalvinia is remarkably similar to that of coalified wood. A well-defined phenolic carbon peak in the NMR spectra and the appearance of phenol and alkylated phenols in pyrolysis products are clearly indicative of lignin-like compounds. These data represent significant new information on the chemical nature of Protosalvinia and provide the first substantial organic geochemical evidence for land plant affinity. -Authors

  3. The Lower Devonian marginal-marine ecosystems of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland - new discoveries and observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Szrek, P.; Niedźwiedzki, G.; Dec, M.

    2012-04-01

    Despite of more than 100 years of study, the Lower Devonian deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains (central Poland) are still not well understood from the biostratigraphical, environmental and also paleontological point of views. During field works and excavations conducted in 2011 numerous fossils (body and trace fossils) were discovered in a few Lower Devonian outcrops of the region. The siliciclastic sequence of the Lower Devonian of the southern part of the Holy Cross Mountains, is renowned for abundant vertebrate fossils, including mainly the jawless fish and placoderm remains. During the first detailed taphonomic study of the vertebrate assemblage from the so-called "Placoderm Sandstones" cropping out at the Podłazie near Daleszyce, abundant vertebrate remains have been collected (more than 600 specimens). Their analysis (that is in progress) will be the first description of so rich and numerous vertebrates association from the Central Europe that contains placoderms, sharks, acathodians and sarcopterygians. The degree of fragmentation of the bones and disarticulation of the skeletons suggest that the carcasses were reworked and transported before burial. Sedimentological data suggest deposition in a shallow marine environment. Numerous invertebrate ichnofossils (Phycodes isp. Skolithos isp., Diplichnites isp., Monomorphichnus isp., Lockeia cf. siliquaria, Corophioides isp. and Teichinus isp.) particularly well preserved were ascertained in another Lower Devonian site near Iwaniska. Moreover a very interesting assemblage of trace fossils corresponding to traces of feeding fishes were discovered. They are very similar to those found in much younger deposits (e.g. from the Eocene of Turkey). Its interpretation found them as made by placoderms is taken into consideration recently, because of its fiting to whole morphology of small coccosteids. They are also important that they could be the first imprints of soft body of the placoderm as a life animal according to good preservation of particular specimens. The occurrence of characteristic trace fossils is taken as strong evidence of marine influences of the studied section, where sedimentological features are not so clear, with exceptions of very few surfaces covered with symmetrical wave marks. The distribution of the most common trace fossils recognized in the field allowed for different interpretation than was proposed in the past which set up the river influence in the Lower Dewonian of the eastern part of the Holy Cross Mountains, but it is not confirmed by mentioned above invertebrate ichnofossils. Instead of this the development of Skolithos and Cruziana ichnofacies in Iwaniska profile, indicate high energy conditions in foreshore zone, respectively. All the Lower Devonian sites with trace fossils and vertebrate bonebeds from the Holy Cross Mountains are associated with sandy deposits and have been formed in a sea-coastal zone during rather rapid sedimentation episodes, but differ in fossil abundance and degree of preservation.

  4. Total petroleum systems of the Illizi Province, Algeria and Libya; Tanezzuft-Illizi

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Klett, T.R.

    2000-01-01

    Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources were assessed within a total petroleum system of the Illizi Province (2056) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The Illizi Province is in eastern Algeria and a small portion of western Libya. The province and its total petroleum system coincide with the Illizi Basin. Although several total petroleum systems may exist within the Illizi Province, only one “composite” total petroleum system is identified. This total petroleum system comprises a single assessment unit. The main source rocks are the Silurian Tanezzuft Formation (or lateral equivalents) and Middle to Upper Devonian mudstone. The total petroleum system was named after the oldest major source rock and the basin in which it resides. The estimated means of the undiscovered conventional petroleum volumes in the Tanezzuft-Illizi Total Petroleum System are 2,814 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 27,785 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), and 873 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL).

  5. Evaluation of methane sources in groundwater in northeastern Pennsylvania.

    PubMed

    Molofsky, Lisa J; Connor, John A; Wylie, Albert S; Wagner, Tom; Farhat, Shahla K

    2013-01-01

    Testing of 1701 water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania shows that methane is ubiquitous in groundwater, with higher concentrations observed in valleys vs. upland areas and in association with calcium-sodium-bicarbonate, sodium-bicarbonate, and sodium-chloride rich waters--indicating that, on a regional scale, methane concentrations are best correlated to topographic and hydrogeologic features, rather than shale-gas extraction. In addition, our assessment of isotopic and molecular analyses of hydrocarbon gases in the Dimock Township suggest that gases present in local water wells are most consistent with Middle and Upper Devonian gases sampled in the annular spaces of local gas wells, as opposed to Marcellus Production gas. Combined, these findings suggest that the methane concentrations in Susquehanna County water wells can be explained without the migration of Marcellus shale gas through fractures, an observation that has important implications for understanding the nature of risks associated with shale-gas extraction. © 2013, Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation. Groundwater © 2013, National GroundWater Association.

  6. Geologic structure and occurrence of gas in part of southwestern New York. Part 1, Structure and gas possibilities of the Oriskany sandstone in Steuben, Yates, and parts of the adjacent counties

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, W.H.; Pepper, J.F.

    1941-01-01

    The area covered by this report is in southwestern New York and includes a little more than 3,000 square miles in Steuben and Yates counties and parts of the six adjacent counties. This area has been mapped to determine the structural attitude of the exposed rocks, so as to aid those interested in prospecting for natural gas in the Oriskany sandstone of Lower Devonian age.Because of the gentle regional dip toward the southwest, the youngest beds are exposed in the southwest corner of the area, and progressively older beds crop out northeastward in successive bands that strike generally northwest. All the exposed rocks are of Upper Devonian age except those in a narrow belt at the extreme north edge of the area, where a small thickness of Middle Devonian rocks crops out. The maximum thickness of beds so exposed is nearly 4,000 feet, of which the lower part is predominantly soft dark shale and the upper part predominantly fine-grained sandstone and gray shale. All the beds are marine except a few tongues of continental deposits red shale and sandstone and gray mudstone in the youngest beds. All the beds thicken southeastward, so that there is a northwestward convergence between any two lithologic units in the series. More than 30 key horizons that are persistent and distinctive were mapped, and altitudes on these key horizons served as a basis for constructing the structure contour map. Many of the key horizons are formation or member boundaries, but others are the tops or bottoms of limestone or sandstone beds within formations. All the stratigraphic units mapped are purely lithologic. (See pi. 2.)The Tully limestone, which crops out along the northern border of the area, is an easily recognizable and therefore valuable key bed for subsurface correlations in this part of the State. Below the Tully limestone is a thick body of Middle Devonian shales of the Hamilton group which rests on another valuable key bed, the hard, cherty Onondaga limestone, also of Middle Devonian age. Below the Onondaga limestone is the Lower Devonian Oriskany sandstone, which is the gas-producing bed. Unlike the Onondaga, the Oriskany is locally thin or absent.The structure of most of the area is shown by contour lines at 25-foot intervals, but where key horizons are lacking the structure is indicated by dip symbols. Upon the regional south and southwest dip are superposed numerous gentle folds whose axes trend approximately northeastward in the greater part of the area but more nearly eastward in the eastern part. The folds generally tend to become narrower and steeper, and therefore more closely spaced, southwestward. Many of the anticlines fork southwestward, whereas the synclines. tend to fork northeastward. All the folds have a westward or southwestward plunge. Throughout the area the rocks are jointed in two dominant sets one that trends northwest and the other east or northeast. No evident relation .between these joints, which were measured only in the hard, relatively brittle beds, and the individual folds or domes was discernible.The faults are concentrated in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the area and trend either northeastward or northwestward. Some are nearly vertical normal faults; others are steep reverse faults. Subsurface data show that most of the faults increase in throw downward and also that many subsurface faults do not reach the surface. A group of faults in the northwestern part of the Greenwood quadrangle and the southwestern part of the Hornell quadrangle were active during Upper Devonian time, while the Gowanda shale and overlying beds were being deposited. At this stratigraphic horizon the beds in a zone a few hundred feet thick are highly deformed in a wide belt on both sides of the faults. Sandstone layers are thinned out into long stringers or swollen into thick masses and in places are bent acutely without fracture. Thin layers of shale, coquina, and sand have flowed together into intricately plicated zones that lack cleavage and joints. These features show that the sediments were deformed while wet and plastic and buried only a little way below the sea floor. The beds that were laid down over these disturbed zones were not involved in this deformation. Many of the sharper flexures and most of the faults are not evident in the beds several hundred feet stratigraphically higher. Accordingly, broad, gentle folds in these higher beds in parts of the area south and west of the northwest corner of the Greenwood quadrangle may conceal, at considerable depths below them, narrow folds separated by abrupt flexures or faults.Several of the larger streams and rivers occupy strike valleys, and their j courses swing to follow the changing strike of the rocks where they cross ( successive folds. But, with few exceptions, the small streams are not adjusted to the bedrock structure. Domes likely to serve as traps for natural gas are concentrated in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the area. The Wayne-Dundee gas field is in the northeastern part. All the other potentially valuable domes in this part of the area have been drilled and found valueless except one small structural feature in the southern part of the Ovid quadrangle, which, if the Oriskany is present, may trap a small quantity of gas.In the Greenwood quadrangle in the southwestern part of the area there is one gas field and four well-defined domes, all of which may be productive if the Oriskany sandstone is present. In the northwest corner of the quadrangle the dips indicate at least two domes that can be adequately defined and evaluated only by geophysical prospecting. The State Line gas field is in tbe Wellsville quadrangle. In the southeast corner of this quadrangle there are three other domes of comparable size that may also be productive if underlain by the Oriskany sandstone. At other places in the Wellsville quadrangle the dips suggest several anticlinal axes on which analogous productive domes maybe found. The structural features in this quadrangle, however, are defined by contours only in the southeastern part. In the Woodhull quadrangle a large dome east of Jasper may be productive, and the western top of the large Woodhull dome in the southwestern part of the quadrangle seems to warrant drilling, despite the absence of the Oriskany in a well on the eastern top. Two wells drilled in 1936 and 1937 a little northeast of a broad, nearly flat-topped dome in the Hornell quadrangle, a few miles east of Hornell,, struck small flows of gas, suggesting that wells drilled higher on this dome may be productive.In much of the southwestern part of the area seismograph surveys should be of great value in determining the structure at the Tully and Onondaga horizons. Without abundant subsurface control of this sort, the danger of drilling into subsurface faults can hardly be overemphasized. Three closed or nearly closed synclines in the Greenwood and Wellsville quadrangles appear to be favorable places to drill for oil in the shallow sands presumably parts of the Dunkirk sandstone.

  7. Geologic structure and occurrence of gas in part of southwestern New York

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, Wilmot H.; Pepper, James F.; Richardson, G.B.

    1941-01-01

    The area covered by this report is in southwestern New York and includes a little more than 3,000 square miles in Steuben and Yates counties and parts of the six adjacent counties. This area has been mapped to determine the structural attitude of the exposed rocks, so as to aid those interested in prospecting for natural gas in the Oriskany sandstone of Lower Devonian age.Because of the gentle regional dip toward the southwest, the youngest beds are exposed in the southwest corner of the area, and progressively older beds crop out northeastward in successive bands that strike generally northwest. All the exposed rocks are of Upper Devonian age except those in a narrow belt at the extreme north edge of the area, where a small thickness of Middle Devonian rocks crops out. The maximum thickness of beds so exposed is nearly 4,000 feet, of which the lower part is predominantly soft dark shale and the upper part predominantly fine-grained sandstone and gray shale. All the beds are marine except a few tongues of continental deposits—red shale and sandstone and gray mudstone—in the youngest beds. All the beds thicken southeastward, so that there is a northwestward convergence between any two lithologic units in the series. More than 30 key horizons that are persistent and distinctive were mapped, and altitudes on these key horizons served as a basis for constructing the structure contour map. Many of the key horizons are formation or member boundaries, but others are the tops or bottoms of limestone or sandstone beds within formations. All the stratigraphic units mapped are purely lithologic. (See pl. 2.)The Tully limestone, which crops out along the northern border of the area, is an easily recognizable and therefore valuable key bed for subsurface correlations in this part of the State. Below the Tully limestone is a thick body of Middle Devonian shales of the Hamilton group which rests on another valuable key bed, the hard, cherty Onondaga limestone, also of Middle Devonian age. Below the Onondaga limestone is the Lower Devonian Oriskany sandstone, which is the gas-producing bed. Unlike the Onondaga, the Oriskany is locally thin or absent.The structure of most of the area is shown by contour lines at 25-foot intervals, but, where key horizons are lacking the structure is indicated by dip symbols. Upon the regional south and southwest dip are superposed numerous gentle folds whose axes trend approximately northeastward in the greater part of the area but more nearly eastward in the eastern part. The folds generally tend to become narrower and steeper, and therefore more closely spaced, southwestward. Many of the anticlines fork southwestward, whereas the synclines tend to fork northeastward. All the folds have a westward or southwestward plunge.Throughout the area the rocks are jointed in two dominant sets—one that trends northwest and the other east or northeast. No evident relation between these joints, which were measured only in the hard, relatively brittle beds, and the individual folds or domes was discernible.The faults are concentrated in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the area and trend either northeastward or northwestward. Some are nearly vertical normal faults ; others are steep reverse faults. Subsurface data show that most of the faults increase in throw downward and also that many subsurface faults do not reach the surface. A group of faults in the northwestern part of the Greenwood quadrangle and the southwestern part of the Hornell quadrangle were active during Upper Devonian time, while the Gowanda shale and overlying beds were being deposited. At this stratigraphic horizon the beds in a zone a few hundred feet thick are highly deformed in a wide belt on both sides of the faults. Sandstone layers are thinned out into long stringers or swollen into thick masses and in places are bent acutely without fracture. Thin layers of shale, coquina, and sand have flowed together into intricately plicated zones that lack cleavage and joints. These features show that the sediments were deformed while wet and plastic and buried only a little way below the sea floor. The beds that were laid down over these disturbed zones were not involved in this deformation. Many of the sharper flexures and most of the faults are not evident in the beds several hundred feet stratigraphically higher. Accordingly, broad, gentle folds in these higher beds in parts of the area south and west of the northwest corner of the Greenwood quadrangle may conceal, at considerable depths below them, narrow folds separated by abrupt flexures or faults.Several of the larger streams and rivers occupy strike valleys, and their courses swing to follow the changing strike of the rocks where they cross successive folds. But, with few exceptions, the small streams are not adjusted to the bedrock structure.Domes likely to serve as traps for natural gas are concentrated in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the area. The Wayne-Dundee gas field is in the northeastern part. All the other potentially valuable domes in this part of the area have been drilled and found valueless except one small structural feature in the southern part of the Ovid quadrangle, which, if the Oriskany is present, may trap a small quantity of gas.In the Greenwood quadrangle in the southwestern part of the area there is one gas field and four well-defined domes, all of which may be productive if the Oriskany sandstone is present. In the northwest corner of the quadrangle the dips indicate at least two domes that can be adequately defined and evaluated only by geophysical prospecting. The State Line gas field is in the Wellsville quadrangle. In the southeast corner of this quadrangle there are three other domes of comparable size that may also be productive if underlain by the Oriskany sandstone. At other places in the Wellsville quadrangle the dips suggest several anticlinal axes on which analogous productive domes may be found. The structural features in this quadrangle, however, are defined by contours only in the southeastern part. In the Woodhull quadrangle a large dome east of Jasper may be productive, and the western top of the large Wood-hull dome in the southwestern part of the quadrangle seems to warrant drilling, despite the absence of the Oriskany in a well on the eastern top. Two wells drilled in 1936 and 1937 a little northeast of a broad, nearly flat-topped dome in the Hornell quadrangle, a few miles east of Hornell, struck small flows of gas, suggesting that wells drilled higher on this dome may be productive.In much of the southwestern part of the area seismograph surveys should be of great value in determining the structure at the Tully and Onondaga horizons. Without abundant subsurface control of this sort, the danger of drilling into subsurface faults can hardly be overemphasized.Three closed or nearly closed synclines in the Greenwood and Wellsville quadrangles appear to be favorable places to drill for oil in the shallow sands— presumably parts of the Dunkirk sandstone.

  8. The Rhynie hot-spring system: implications for the Devonian timescale, development of Devonian biota, gold mineralization, evolution of the atmosphere and Earth outgassing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mark, D.; Rice, C.; Stuart, F.; Trewin, N.

    2011-12-01

    The Rhynie cherts are hot spring sinters that contain world-renowned plant and animal remains and anomalously high quantities of heavy metals, including gold. The biota in several beds is preserved undeformed with plants in life positions thus establishing that they and the indurating hydrothermal fluids were coeval. Despite the international importance of the Rhynie cherts their age has been poorly constrained for three reasons: (1) lack of a precise radio-isotopic age, (2) low resolution of spore biostratigraphic schemes for Devonian terrestrial deposits, with only one to a few zones per stage, and (3) poor resolution of the early Devonian timescale. Wellman (2004) assigned a Pragian-?earliest Emsian age to the Rhynie cherts on the basis of the spore assemblage. An 40Ar/39Ar dating study targeting Rhynie chert yielded an age of 395 ± 12 Ma (1σ) (Rice et al., 1995). This contribution discusses a new high-precision 40Ar/39Ar age (407.1 ± 2.2 Ma, 2σ) for the Devonian hot-spring system at Rhynie (Mark et al., 2011) and demonstrates that a proposed U-Pb age (411.5 ± 1.1 Ma, 2σ) for the Rhynie cherts (Parry et al., 2011) is inconsistent with both field evidence and our interpretation of the U-Pb data. The 40Ar/39Ar age provides a robust marker for the polygonalis-emsiensis Spore Assemblage Biozone within the Pragian-?earliest Emsian. It also constrains the age of a wealth of flora and fauna preserved in life positions as well as dating gold mineralization. Furthermore, we have now determined the Ar isotope composition of pristine samples of the Rhynie chert using an ARGUS multi-collector mass spectrometer and a low blank laser extraction technique. 40Ar/36Ar are systematically lower than the modern air value (Lee et al., 2006), and are not accompanied by non-atmospheric 38Ar/36Ar ratios. We conclude that the Rhynie chert captured and has preserved Devonian atmosphere-derived Ar. The data indicate that the 40Ar/36Ar of Devonian atmosphere was at least 3 % lower than the modern air value (Lee et al., 2006). Thus the Earth's atmosphere has accumulated at least 5 ± 0.2 x 1016 moles of 40Ar in the last c. 407 Ma, at an average rate of 1.24 ± 0.06 x 108 mol 40Ar/year. This overlaps the 40Ar accumulation rate determined from ice cores for the last 800,000 years (Bender et al. 2008) and implies that there has been no resolvable temporal change in outgassing rate since the mid-Palaeozoic. The new chronological and Ar isotope data provide a unique tie point and dictate outgassing of the Earth's interior early in Earth history. [1] Bender, M. et al. (2008) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 8232-8237. [2] Wellman, C.H., 2004. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences, 271, 985-992. [3] Lee, J.Y. et al. (2006) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70, 4507-4512. [4] Mark, D.F. et al. (2011) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75, 555-569. [5] Parry, S.F. et al. (2011) Journal of the Geological Society, London, 168, 863-872. [6] Rice, C.M. et al. (1995) Journal of the Geological Society, London, 152, 229-2250.

  9. Mid to late Devonian back-arc rift basins in the Brooks Range, AK, and across the Arctic: a possible paleogeographic piercing point for Arctic reconstructions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoiland, C. W.; Miller, E. L.; Hourigan, J. K.

    2013-12-01

    The westernmost Brooks Range, Alaska, is underlain by basement of probable Baltic or Timanian affinity (e.g. Miller et al., 2011; Amato et al., 2009), while the eastern Brooks Range is underlain by Laurentian affinity basement (e.g. Strauss et al., 2013). A post-Timanian and pre-Mississippian suture or contact is thus required based on continuity of late Devonian and younger strata across the Brooks Range (e.g. Dumoulin et al., 2002). This inferred juxtaposition has been proposed as the distal and diachronous (though possibly non-collisional) continuation of the Caledonian orogen (e.g. Moore et al., 2012) but the actual location and character of this suture within basement rocks of the Brooks Range remain speculative. New laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb single grain detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology of basement rocks from the Cosmos Hills, Slate Creek, and Wiseman regions suggest that metamorphic rocks in these regions are Devonian, not pre-Devonian. New SHRIMP-RG analyses of the Kogoluktuk orthogneiss (Cosmos) (zircon: 383 Ma × 5 Ma, 2-sigma errors, consistent with Dillon et al. 1980) revealed no inherited cores from which to infer basement affinity. DZ spectra from metasedimentary and metavolcanic wall rock contain youngest detrital zircon populations with ages (390 Ma) just barely older than the cross-cutting intrusive age, providing tight bracketing of depositional age. These zircon ages are noticeably younger than Caledonian magmatic ages (430-420 Ma) suggesting deposition in a volcanically and tectonically active setting (likely extensional) as originally suggested by Hitzman et al (1986). Zircon spectra (Cosmos) contain notable amounts of "Timanian" age zircons (c. 700-550 Ma), and a spread of zircons from 1-2 Ga (including 1.5-1.6 Ga ages of the Laurentian "magmatic gap', e.g. Grove et al. 2008) more typical of derivation from Baltic rather than Laurentian sources. East in the Wiseman and Slate Creek localities, the detrital signature becomes characteristically Laurentian, with a notable absence of Timanian and "magmatic gap" ages. A youngest age population of 390 Ma still provides a maximum depositional age, but minimum age is poorly constrained. The coarse and feldspathic nature of many of these intercalated volcanic and clastic sequences suggests a proximal provenance, thus serving as a proxy for local pre-Devonian basement ages and affinity. We might, therefore, infer a non-Laurentian basement for the AACM at least as far east as the Cosmos Hills but not further east than the Wiseman region. These Devonian-age volcanic/rift basins may be related to slab roll-back and induced backarc rifting that occurred obliquely across a 'Caledonian' suture, possibly in response to global plate re-organization. Rifting, accompanied by bimodal volcanism (the Ambler Sequence), may have aided the removal and translation of peri-Baltic terranes to a position outboard of the proto-Cordilleran margin ('Northwestern Passage' of Colpron & Nelson, 2009). Further correlations might be drawn with the Sakmarian-Magnitogorsk arcs of the pre-Uralian margin of Europe. These Devonian backarc rift sequences - more widespread than previously thought - may serve as critical additional tie-points for paleogeographic reconstructions of the Arctic.

  10. Lithologies of the basement complex (Devonian and older) in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; Houseknecht, David W.

    2001-01-01

    Rocks of the basement complex (Devonian and older) were encountered in at least 30 exploratory wells in the northern part of the NPRA. Fine-grained, variably deformed sedimentary rocks deposited in a slope or basinal setting predominate and include varicolored (mainly red and green) argillite in the Simpson area, dark argillite and chert near Barrow, and widespread gray argillite. Chitinozoans of Middle-Late Ordovician and Silurian age occur in the dark argillite and chert unit. Sponge spicules and radiolarians establish a Phanerozoic age for the varicolored and gray argillite units, both of which contain local interbeds of chert-rich sandstone and silt-stone. Conglomerate and sandstone, also chert-rich but interbedded with mudstone and coal and of Early-Middle Devonian age, occur in the Topagoruk area; these strata formed in a fluvial environment. At East Teshekpuk, granite of probable Devonian age was penetrated. Brecciated, quartz-veined rock of uncertain protolith that may be part of the basement complex was encountered in the Ikpikpuk well. Seismic data indicate that angular unconformities truncate all sedimentary units of the basement complex in NPRA. Rocks correlative in age and lithofacies with the dark argillite and chert unit occur in the subsurface near Prudhoe Bay. Other argillite units in NPRA have similarities to basement rocks in the subsurface adjacent to ANWR and the Ordovician-Silurian Iviagik Group at Cape Lisburne, but lack the interbedded limestones found in the ANWR strata, and are less metamorphosed than, and compositionally distinct from, the Iviagik. The Topagoruk conglomerate and the East Teshekpuk granite resemble the Ulungarat formation and the Okpilak batholith, respectively, in the northeastern Brooks Range.

  11. Sequences, stratigraphy and scenarios: what can we say about the fossil record of the earliest tetrapods?

    PubMed

    Friedman, Matt; Brazeau, Martin D

    2011-02-07

    Past research on the emergence of digit-bearing tetrapods has led to the widely accepted premise that this important evolutionary event occurred during the Late Devonian. The discovery of convincing digit-bearing tetrapod trackways of early Middle Devonian age in Poland has upset this orthodoxy, indicating that current scenarios which link the timing of the origin of digited tetrapods to specific events in Earth history are likely to be in error. Inspired by this find, we examine the fossil record of early digit-bearing tetrapods and their closest fish-like relatives from a statistical standpoint. We find that the Polish trackways force a substantial reconsideration of the nature of the early tetrapod record when only body fossils are considered. However, the effect is less drastic (and often not statistically significant) when other reliably dated trackways that were previously considered anachronistic are taken into account. Using two approaches, we find that 95 per cent credible and confidence intervals for the origin of digit-bearing tetrapods extend into the Early Devonian and beyond, spanning late Emsian to mid Ludlow. For biologically realistic diversity models, estimated genus-level preservation rates for Devonian digited tetrapods and their relatives range from 0.025 to 0.073 per lineage-million years, an order of magnitude lower than species-level rates for groups typically considered to have dense records. Available fossils of early digited tetrapods and their immediate relatives are adequate for documenting large-scale patterns of character acquisition associated with the origin of terrestriality, but low preservation rates coupled with clear geographical and stratigraphic sampling biases caution against building scenarios for the origin of digits and terrestrialization tied to the provenance of particular specimens or faunas.

  12. The stationary sine-Gordon equation on metric graphs: Exact analytical solutions for simple topologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sabirov, K.; Rakhmanov, S.; Matrasulov, D.; Susanto, H.

    2018-04-01

    We consider the stationary sine-Gordon equation on metric graphs with simple topologies. Exact analytical solutions are obtained for different vertex boundary conditions. It is shown that the method can be extended for tree and other simple graph topologies. Applications of the obtained results to branched planar Josephson junctions and Josephson junctions with tricrystal boundaries are discussed.

  13. Analytical solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation for Manning-Rosen potential with centrifugal term through Nikiforov-Uvarov method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hatami, N.; Setare, M. R.

    2017-10-01

    We present approximate analytical solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation with arbitrary l state for the Manning-Rosen potential using the Nikiforov-Uvarov method and adopting the approximation scheme for the centrifugal term. We provide the bound state energy spectrum and the wave function in terms of the hypergeometric functions.

  14. Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. - Misc. - Gemini-Titan (GT)-5 - Suiting-Up - Prime Crew - Cape

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1965-08-19

    S65-46367 (19 Aug. 1965) --- Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (right) and L. Gordon Cooper Jr. are pictured during suiting up operations before Gemini-5 spaceflight. Editor's note: The scheduled Aug. 19 launch was postponed due to weather conditions and problems with loading cryogenic fuel for the fuel cell. The launch occurred on Aug. 21, 1965.

  15. Gordon F. Kirkbright bursary award, 2019

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2018-09-01

    The Gordon F. Kirkbright bursary award is a prestigious annual award that assists a promising early career scientist of any nation to attend a recognised scientific meeting or visit a place of learning. (We define early career as being either a student, or an employee in a non-tenured academic post or in industry, within 7 years of award of PhD excluding career breaks).

  16. Preliminary Anthropometric Specification for Land Vehicles

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-01

    Conducted at 1 BDE Melbourne. Gordon, C. C. (2002). Multivariate anthropometric models for seated workstation design . Contemporary Ergonomics . Gordon...Ideally, the vehicle should safely accommodate (both as operator and passenger ) a large proportion of ADF personnel. Historically, when designing ...key advantage of using human subjects in the ergonomic assessment of a vehicle design is that a full range of tasks, such as vehicle ingress/egress

  17. 2012 Gordon Research Conference, Electron donor-acceptor interactions, August 5-10 2012

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McCusker, James

    The upcoming incarnation of the Gordon Research Conference on Electron Donor Acceptor Interactions will feature sessions on classic topics including proton-coupled electron transfer, dye-sensitized solar cells, and biological electron transfer, as well as emerging areas such as quantum coherence effects in donor-acceptor interactions, spintronics, and the application of donor-acceptor interactions in chemical synthesis.

  18. GORDON, RICHARD F., ASTRONAUT - TRAINING - GEMINI-TITAN (GT)-11 - WATER EGRESS - GULF

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1966-07-23

    S66-44497 (23 July 1966) --- Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (left) and Richard F. Gordon Jr. (right), prime crew for the Gemini-11 spaceflight, practice water egress procedures in the Gulf of Mexico. Static Article 5 was used in the training exercise. A MSC swimmer is in the water assisting in the training. Photo credit: NASA

  19. How Jeff Gordon and NASCAR Helped to Develop a High School Science Curriculum and Educate Future Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoodak, Ronald A.

    2004-01-01

    The focus of this article is the development of future science teachers. A research project, involving Cornell University, the Cornell Center for Materials Research, and NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon is described. All research was conducted in association with faculty and staff at Cornell University and resulted in the development of a science…

  20. Of Madness and Empire: The Rhetor as "Fool" in the Khartoum Siege Journals of Charles Gordon, 1884

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bass, Jeff D.

    2007-01-01

    This essay examines the rhetorical persona of the "Fool" as employed by General Charles Gordon in six volumes of journals recorded during the siege of Khartoum by Mahdist forces from September to December, 1884. After identifying the particular rhetorical aspects of the "Fool" as social critic/site of ideological contestation,…

  1. 1993 Gordon Bell Prize Winners

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Karp, Alan H.; Simon, Horst; Heller, Don; Cooper, D. M. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The Gordon Bell Prize recognizes significant achievements in the application of supercomputers to scientific and engineering problems. In 1993, finalists were named for work in three categories: (1) Performance, which recognizes those who solved a real problem in the quickest elapsed time. (2) Price/performance, which encourages the development of cost-effective supercomputing. (3) Compiler-generated speedup, which measures how well compiler writers are facilitating the programming of parallel processors. The winners were announced November 17 at the Supercomputing 93 conference in Portland, Oregon. Gordon Bell, an independent consultant in Los Altos, California, is sponsoring $2,000 in prizes each year for 10 years to promote practical parallel processing research. This is the sixth year of the prize, which Computer administers. Something unprecedented in Gordon Bell Prize competition occurred this year: A computer manufacturer was singled out for recognition. Nine entries reporting results obtained on the Cray C90 were received, seven of the submissions orchestrated by Cray Research. Although none of these entries showed sufficiently high performance to win outright, the judges were impressed by the breadth of applications that ran well on this machine, all nine running at more than a third of the peak performance of the machine.

  2. Symmetric and arbitrarily high-order Birkhoff-Hermite time integrators and their long-time behaviour for solving nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Changying; Iserles, Arieh; Wu, Xinyuan

    2018-03-01

    The Klein-Gordon equation with nonlinear potential occurs in a wide range of application areas in science and engineering. Its computation represents a major challenge. The main theme of this paper is the construction of symmetric and arbitrarily high-order time integrators for the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation by integrating Birkhoff-Hermite interpolation polynomials. To this end, under the assumption of periodic boundary conditions, we begin with the formulation of the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation as an abstract second-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) and its operator-variation-of-constants formula. We then derive a symmetric and arbitrarily high-order Birkhoff-Hermite time integration formula for the nonlinear abstract ODE. Accordingly, the stability, convergence and long-time behaviour are rigorously analysed once the spatial differential operator is approximated by an appropriate positive semi-definite matrix, subject to suitable temporal and spatial smoothness. A remarkable characteristic of this new approach is that the requirement of temporal smoothness is reduced compared with the traditional numerical methods for PDEs in the literature. Numerical results demonstrate the advantage and efficiency of our time integrators in comparison with the existing numerical approaches.

  3. Earth observation taken by the Expedition 20 crew

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2009-07-25

    ISS020-E-026195 (25 July 2009) --- Aorounga Impact Crater is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 20 crew member on the International Space Station. Aorounga Impact Crater is located in the Sahara Desert of north-central Chad and is one of the best preserved impact structures in the world. According to scientists, the crater is thought to be middle or upper Devonian to lower Mississippian (approximately 345 ? 370 million years old) based on the age of the sedimentary rocks deformed by the impact. Spaceborne Imaging Radar (SIR) data collected in 1994 suggests that Aorounga is one of a set of three craters formed by the same impact event. The other two suggested impact structures are buried by sand deposits. The concentric ring structure of the Aorounga crater ? renamed Aorounga South in the multiple-crater interpretation of SIR data ? is clearly visible in this detailed photograph. The central highland, or peak, of the crater is surrounded by a small sand-filled trough; this in turn is surrounded by a larger circular trough. Linear rock ridges alternating with light orange sand deposits cross the image from upper left to lower right; these are called yardangs by geomorphologists. Yardangs form by wind erosion of exposed rock layers in a unidirectional wind field. The wind blows from the northeast at Aorounga, and sand dunes formed between the yardangs are actively migrating to the southwest.

  4. Apollo 12 crewmembers greeted by family on arrival at Ellington

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1969-01-01

    Members of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission's crew are greeted by their wives and children at the front of a large crowd on hand to welcome home the three. The Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with the crew inside, arrived at Ellington Air Force Base aboard a U.S. Air Force C0141 transport jet on November 29, 1969. The crewmen, looking out the MQF window at the crowd, are (l-r) Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and ALan L. Bean. Their wives are, from left to right, Mrs. Barbara Gordon, Mrs Jane Conrad and Mrs. Sue Bean. The women are wearing leis, an Hawaii tradition (60759); Conrad talks by phone to members of his family standing outside the MQF. Beside him are Gordon (center) and Bean (60760).

  5. Logical inference approach to relativistic quantum mechanics: Derivation of the Klein–Gordon equation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Donker, H.C., E-mail: h.donker@science.ru.nl; Katsnelson, M.I.; De Raedt, H.

    2016-09-15

    The logical inference approach to quantum theory, proposed earlier De Raedt et al. (2014), is considered in a relativistic setting. It is shown that the Klein–Gordon equation for a massive, charged, and spinless particle derives from the combination of the requirements that the space–time data collected by probing the particle is obtained from the most robust experiment and that on average, the classical relativistic equation of motion of a particle holds. - Highlights: • Logical inference applied to relativistic, massive, charged, and spinless particle experiments leads to the Klein–Gordon equation. • The relativistic Hamilton–Jacobi is scrutinized by employing a field description formore » the four-velocity. • Logical inference allows analysis of experiments with uncertainty in detection events and experimental conditions.« less

  6. Shallow water mud-mounds of the Early Devonian Buchan Group, East Gippsland, Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tosolini, A.-M. P.; Wallace, M. W.; Gallagher, S. J.

    2012-12-01

    The Lower Devonian Rocky Camp Member of the Murrindal Limestone, Buchan Group of southeastern Australia consists of a series of carbonate mud-mounds and smaller lagoonal bioherms. The Rocky Camp mound is the best exposed of the mud-mounds and has many characteristics in common with Waulsortian (Carboniferous) mounds. Detailed paleoecological and sedimentological studies indicate that the mound initially accumulated in the photic zone, in contrast to most of the previously recorded mud-mounds. Five facies are present in the mud-mound: a Dasycladacean Wackestone Facies at the base of the mound represents a moderate energy, shallow water bank environment within the photic zone. A Crinioidal Wackestone Facies was deposited in a laterally equivalent foreslope setting. A Poriferan-Crinoidal Mudstone Facies developed in a quiet, deeper water, lee-side mound setting associated with a minor relative sea-level rise. A Stromatoporoid-Coralline Packstone Facies in the upper part of the mound deposited in a high-energy, fair-weather wave base, mound-front environment. The crest of the mound is represented by a Crinoidal-Receptaculitid Packstone Facies indicative of a moderate-energy mound-top environment in the photic zone, sheltered by the mound-front stromatoporoid-coral communities. A mound flank facies is present on the southern side of the mound and this consists of high-energy crinoidal grainstones. Mud-mound deposition was terminated by a transgression that deposited dark gray, fossil-poor marl of the overlying Taravale Formation. The Rocky Camp mound appears to have originated in shallow water photic zone conditions and grew into a high-energy environment, with the mound being eventually colonized by corals and stromatoporoids. The indications of a high-energy environment during later mound growth (growth form of colonial metazoans and grainstones of the flanking facies) suggest that the micrite in the mound was autochthonous and implies the presence of an energy damping mechanism (probably biological) at the mound surface.

  7. The anatomy of a major late-stage thrust and implications for models of late-stage collisional orogenesis in the Caledonian crust of northern Scandinavia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, Mark; Hames, Willis; Stokes, Alison

    2010-05-01

    Within the stack of Caledonian crystalline thrust sheets of northern Scandinavia, a single amphibolite facies lithotectonic unit, the Småtinden nappe, is identified as a major, basement-coupled ("stretching") shear zone. This dominantly pelitic unit achieved peak metamorphic conditions of 535-550°C and 8-9kbars, and the stretching geometry suggests that this most likely occurred in response to overthrusting of a hot, pre-assembled Caledonian thrust stack. Along-strike variations in microstructural geometries and patterns of mineral zoning in widely developed porphyroblast phases suggest, however, subsequent strain partitioning within the zone during late-stage decoupling of the thrust stack from the basement along major out-of-sequence thrusts. Large parts of the nappe are characterised by relatively late, static growth preserving concordant Si-Se relationships, and typically symmetrical external fabrics consistent with formation under dominantly pure shear conditions. In the Salangen area, however, the nappe is characterised by early garnet growth, with discordant Si-Se relationships and asymmetric external fabric geometries consistent with formation during ESE-directed simple shear. Remarkably consistent thermometric estimates from chlorites in both regimes (post- and syn-shearing) suggest that out-of-sequence ramping occurred at temperatures in the range 370-400 ̊C, within the typical range of blocking temperatures for argon retention in muscovite. 40Ar-39Ar dating of muscovites from S-C fabrics in the out-of-sequence shear zone suggest that late-stage thrusting occurred during the middle-late Devonian (ca. 395-375 Ma). Hanging-wall and footwall geometries coupled with these radiometric dates indicate that the development of these late thrusts closely relates to reactivation of pre-Caledonian Baltic basement during the Devonian (400-370 Ma). East-west contraction during the upper end of this time frame is peculiar considering that this was the period of large magnitude and rapid extension in western Norway.

  8. Significance of detrital zircons in upper Devonian ocean-basin strata of the Sonora allochthon and Lower Permian synorogenic strata of the Mina Mexico foredeep, central Sonora, Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Poole, F.G.; Gehrels, G.E.; Stewart, John H.

    2008-01-01

    U-Pb isotopic dating of detrital zircons from a conglomeratic barite sandstone in the Sonora allochthon and a calciclastic sandstone in the Mina Mexico foredeep of the Minas de Barita area reveals two main age groups in the Upper Devonian part of the Los Pozos Formation, 1.73-1.65 Ga and 1.44-1.42 Ga; and three main age groups in the Lower Permian part of the Mina Mexico Formation, 1.93-1.91 Ga, 1.45-1.42 Ga, and 1.1-1.0 Ga. Small numbers of zircons with ages of 2.72-2.65 Ga, 1.30-1.24 Ga, ca. 2.46 Ga, ca. 1.83 Ga, and ca. 0.53 Ga are also present in the Los Pozos sandstone. Detrital zircons ranging in age from 1.73 to 1.65 Ga are considered to have been derived from the Yavapai, Mojave, and Mazatzal Provinces and their transition zones of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The 1.45-1.30 Ga detrital zircons were probably derived from scattered granite bodies within the Mojave and Mazatzal basement rocks in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and possibly from the Southern and Eastern Granite-Rhyolite Provinces of the southern United States. The 1.24-1.0 Ga detrital zircons are believed to have been derived from the Grenville (Llano) Province to the east and northeast or from Grenvilleage intrusions or anatectites to the north. Several detrital zircon ages ranging from 2.72 to 1.91 Ga were probably derived originally from the Archean Wyoming Province and Early Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Lake Superior region. These older detrital zircons most likely have been recycled one or more times into the Paleozoic sandstones of central Sonora. The 0.53 Ga zircon is believed to have been derived from a Lower Cambrian granitoid or meta-morphic rock northeast of central Sonora, possibly in New Mexico and Colorado, or Oklahoma. Detrital zircon geochronology suggests that most of the detritus in both samples was derived from Laurentia to the north, whereas some detritus in the Permian synorogenic foredeep sequence was derived from the evolving accretionary wedge to the south. Compositional and sedimentological differences between the continental-rise Los Pozos conglomeratic barite sandstone and the foredeep Mina Mexico calciclastic sandstone imply different depositional and tectonic settings. ?? 2008 The Geological Society of America.

  9. Impact ejecta layer from the mid-Devonian: possible connection to global mass extinctions.

    PubMed

    Ellwood, Brooks B; Benoist, Stephen L; El Hassani, Ahmed; Wheeler, Christopher; Crick, Rex E

    2003-06-13

    We have found evidence for a bolide impacting Earth in the mid-Devonian ( approximately 380 million years ago), including high concentrations of shocked quartz, Ni, Cr, As, V, and Co anomalies; a large negative carbon isotope shift (-9 per mil); and microspherules and microcrysts at Jebel Mech Irdane in the Anti Atlas desert near Rissani, Morocco. This impact is important because it is coincident with a major global extinction event (Kacák/otomari event), suggesting a possible cause-and-effect relation between the impact and the extinction. The result may represent the extinction of as many as 40% of all living marine animal genera.

  10. Input-form data for the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the Devonian and Mississippian Bakken and Devonian Three Forks Formations of the U.S. Williston Basin Province, 2013

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Higley, Debra K.; Klett, Timothy R.; Lewan, Michael D.; Lillis, Paul G.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.

    2013-01-01

    In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed the technically recoverable oil and gas resources of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin. The Bakken and Three Forks Formations were assessed as continuous and hypothetical conventional oil accumulations using a methodology similar to that used in the assessment of other continuous- and conventional-type assessment units throughout the United States. The purpose of this report is to provide supplemental documentation and information used in the Bakken-Three Forks assessment.

  11. Impact Ejecta Layer from the Mid-Devonian: Possible Connection to Global Mass Extinctions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ellwood, Brooks B.; Benoist, Stephen L.; Hassani, Ahmed El; Wheeler, Christopher; Crick, Rex E.

    2003-06-01

    We have found evidence for a bolide impacting Earth in the mid-Devonian (~380 million years ago), including high concentrations of shocked quartz, Ni, Cr, As, V, and Co anomalies; a large negative carbon isotope shift (-9 per mil); and microspherules and microcrysts at Jebel Mech Irdane in the Anti Atlas desert near Rissani, Morocco. This impact is important because it is coincident with a major global extinction event (Kacák/otomari event), suggesting a possible cause-and-effect relation between the impact and the extinction. The result may represent the extinction of as many as 40% of all living marine animal genera.

  12. Environmental conditions as the cause of the great mass extinction of marine organisms in the Late Devonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barash, M. S.

    2017-08-01

    During the Late Devonian extinction, 70-82% of all marine species disappeared. The main causes of this mass extinction include tectonic activity, climate and sea-level fluctuations, volcanism, and the collision of the Earth with cosmic bodies (impact events). The major causes are considered to be volcanism accompanying formation of the Viluy traps and, probably, basaltic magmatism in the Southern Urals, alkaline magmatism within the East European platform, and volcanism in northern Iran and northern and southern China. Several large impact craters of Late Devonian age have been documented in different parts of the world. The available data indicate that this time period on the Earth was marked by two major sequences of events: terrestrial events that resulted in extensive volcanism and cosmic (or impact) events. They produced similar effects such as emissions of harmful chemical compounds and aerosols to cause greenhouse warming and the darkening of the atmosphere, which prevented photosynthesis and cause ocean stagnation and anoxia. This disrupted the food chain and reduced ecosystem productivity. As a result, all vital processes were disturbed and a large part of the marine biota became extinct.

  13. Fossil record of stem groups employed in evaluating the chronogram of insects (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yan-hui; Engel, Michael S.; Rafael, José A.; Wu, Hao-yang; Rédei, Dávid; Xie, Qiang; Wang, Gang; Liu, Xiao-guang; Bu, Wen-jun

    2016-01-01

    Insecta s. str. (=Ectognatha), comprise the largest and most diversified group of living organisms, accounting for roughly half of the biodiversity on Earth. Understanding insect relationships and the specific time intervals for their episodes of radiation and extinction are critical to any comprehensive perspective on evolutionary events. Although some deeper nodes have been resolved congruently, the complete evolution of insects has remained obscure due to the lack of direct fossil evidence. Besides, various evolutionary phases of insects and the corresponding driving forces of diversification remain to be recognized. In this study, a comprehensive sample of all insect orders was used to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and estimate deep divergences. The phylogenetic relationships of insect orders were congruently recovered by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses. A complete timescale of divergences based on an uncorrelated log-normal relaxed clock model was established among all lineages of winged insects. The inferred timescale for various nodes are congruent with major historical events including the increase of atmospheric oxygen in the Late Silurian and earliest Devonian, the radiation of vascular plants in the Devonian, and with the available fossil record of the stem groups to various insect lineages in the Devonian and Carboniferous. PMID:27958352

  14. Belowground rhizomes in paleosols: The hidden half of an Early Devonian vascular plant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Jinzhuang; Deng, Zhenzhen; Huang, Pu; Huang, Kangjun; Benton, Michael J.; Cui, Ying; Wang, Deming; Liu, Jianbo; Shen, Bing; Basinger, James F.; Hao, Shougang

    2016-08-01

    The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant-soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus. The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within a seasonal wet-dry climate zone. Rhizome networks contributed to the accumulation and pedogenesis of floodplain sediments and increased the soil stabilizing effects of early plants. Predating the appearance of trees with deep roots in the Middle Devonian, plant rhizomes have long functioned in the belowground soil ecosystem. This study presents strong, direct evidence for plant-soil interactions at an early stage of vascular plant radiation. Soil stabilization by complex rhizome systems was apparently widespread, and contributed to landscape modification at an earlier time than had been appreciated.

  15. Belowground rhizomes in paleosols: The hidden half of an Early Devonian vascular plant.

    PubMed

    Xue, Jinzhuang; Deng, Zhenzhen; Huang, Pu; Huang, Kangjun; Benton, Michael J; Cui, Ying; Wang, Deming; Liu, Jianbo; Shen, Bing; Basinger, James F; Hao, Shougang

    2016-08-23

    The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant-soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within a seasonal wet-dry climate zone. Rhizome networks contributed to the accumulation and pedogenesis of floodplain sediments and increased the soil stabilizing effects of early plants. Predating the appearance of trees with deep roots in the Middle Devonian, plant rhizomes have long functioned in the belowground soil ecosystem. This study presents strong, direct evidence for plant-soil interactions at an early stage of vascular plant radiation. Soil stabilization by complex rhizome systems was apparently widespread, and contributed to landscape modification at an earlier time than had been appreciated.

  16. Thermal maturity patterns in New York State using CAI and %Ro

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Weary, D.J.; Ryder, R.T.; Nyahay, R.E.

    2001-01-01

    New conodont alteration index (CAI) and vitrinite reflectance (%Ro) data collected from drill holes in the Appalachian basin of New York State allow refinement of thermal maturity maps for Ordovician and Devonian rocks. CAI isotherms on the new maps show a pattern that approximates that published by Harris et al. (1978) in eastern and western New York, but it differs in central New York, where the isotherms are shifted markedly westward by more than 100 km and are more tightly grouped. This close grouping of isograds reflects a steeper thermal gradient than previously noted by Harris et al. (1978) and agrees closely with the abrupt west-to-east increase in thermal maturity across New York noted by Johnsson (1986). These data show, in concordance with previous studies, that thermal maturity levels in these rocks are higher than can be explained by simple burial heating beneath the present thickness of overburden. The Ordovician and Devonian rocks of the Appalachian Basin in New York must have been buried by very thick post-Devonian sediments (4-6 km suggested by Sarwar and Friedman 1995) or were exposed to a higher-than-normal geothermal flux caused by crustal extension, or a combination of the two.

  17. Belowground rhizomes in paleosols: The hidden half of an Early Devonian vascular plant

    PubMed Central

    Xue, Jinzhuang; Deng, Zhenzhen; Huang, Pu; Huang, Kangjun; Benton, Michael J.; Cui, Ying; Wang, Deming; Liu, Jianbo; Shen, Bing; Basinger, James F.; Hao, Shougang

    2016-01-01

    The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant−soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus. The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within a seasonal wet−dry climate zone. Rhizome networks contributed to the accumulation and pedogenesis of floodplain sediments and increased the soil stabilizing effects of early plants. Predating the appearance of trees with deep roots in the Middle Devonian, plant rhizomes have long functioned in the belowground soil ecosystem. This study presents strong, direct evidence for plant−soil interactions at an early stage of vascular plant radiation. Soil stabilization by complex rhizome systems was apparently widespread, and contributed to landscape modification at an earlier time than had been appreciated. PMID:27503883

  18. Palaeomagnetism and geochemistry of Early Palaeozoic rocks of the Barrandian (Teplé-Barrandian Unit, Bohemian Massif): palaeotectonic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patočka, F.; Pruner, P.; Štorch, P.

    The Barrandian area (the Teplá-Barrandian unit, Bohemian Massif) provided palaeomagnetic results on Early Palaeozoic rocks and chemical data on siliciclastic sediments of both Middle Cambrian and Early Ordovician to Middle Devonian sedimentary sequences; an outcoming interpretation defined source areas of clastic material and palaeotectonic settings of the siliciclastic rock deposition. The siliciclastic rocks of the earliest Palaeozoic sedimentation cycle, deposited in the Cambrian Příbram-Jince Basin of the Barrandian, were derived from an early Cadomian volcanic island arc developed on Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere and accreted to a Cadomian active margin of northwestern Gondwana. Inversion of relief terminated the Cambrian sedimentation, and a successory Prague Basin subsided nearby since Tremadocian. Source area of the Ordovician and Early Silurian shallow-marine siliciclastic sediments corresponded to progressively dissected crust of continental arc/active continental margin type of Cadomian age. Since Late Ordovician onwards both synsedimentary within-plate basic volcanics and older sediments had been contributing in recognizable proportions to the siliciclastic rocks. The siliciclastic sedimentation was replaced by deposition of carbonate rocks throughout late Early Silurian to Early Devonian period of withdrawal of the Cadomian clastic material source. Above the carbonates an early Givetian flysch-like siliciclastic suite completed sedimentation in the Barrandian. In times between Middle Cambrian and Early/Middle Devonian boundary interval an extensional tectonic setting prevailed in the Teplá-Barrandian unit. The extensional regime was related to Early Palaeozoic large-scale fragmentation of the Cadomian belt of northwestern Gondwana and origin of Armorican microcontinent assemblage. The Teplá-Barrandian unit was also engaged in a peri-equatorially oriented drift of Armorican microcontinent assemblage throughout the Early Palaeozoic: respective palaeolatitudes of 58°S (Middle Cambrian) and 17°S (Middle Devonian) were inferred for the Barrandian rocks. The Middle Devonian flysch-like siliciclastics of the Prague Basin suggest a reappearance of the deeply dissected Cadomian source area in a proximity of the Barrandian due to early Variscan convergences and collisions of the Armorican microcontinents. Significant palaeotectonic rotations are palaeomagnetically evidenced to take place during oblique convergence and final docking of the Teplá-Barrandian microplate within the Variscan terrane mosaic of the Bohemian Massif.

  19. Devonian volcanic rocks of the southern Chinese Altai, NW China: Petrogenesis and implication for a propagating slab-window magmatism induced by ridge subduction during accretionary orogenesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Xiaomei; Cai, Keda; Zhao, Taiping; Bao, Zihe; Wang, Xiangsong; Chen, Ming; Buslov, M. M.

    2018-07-01

    Ridge-trench interaction is a common tectonic process of the present-day Pacific Rim accretionary orogenic belts, and this process may facilitate "slab-window" magmatism that can produce significant thermal anomalies and geochemically unusual magmatic events. However, ridge-trench interaction has rarely been well-documented in the ancient geologic record, leading to grossly underestimation of this process in tectonic syntheses of plate margins. The Chinese Altai was inferred to have undergone ridge subduction in the Devonian and a slab-window model is proposed to interpret its high-temperature metamorphism and geochemically unique magmatic rocks, which can serve as an excellent and unique place to refine the tectonic evolution associated with ridge subduction in an ancient accretionary orogeny. For this purpose, we carried out geochemical and geochronological studies on Devonian basaltic rocks in this region. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) zircon U-Pb dating results yield an age of 376.2 ± 2.4 Ma, suggesting an eruption at the time of Late Devonian. Geochemically, the samples in this study have variable SiO2 (43.3-58.3 wt%), low K2O (0.02-0.07 wt%) and total alkaline contents (2.16-5.41 wt%), as well as Fe2O3T/MgO ratios, showing typical tholeiitic affinity. On the other hand, the basaltic rocks display MORB-like REE patterns ((La/Yb)N = 0.90-2.57) and (Ga/Yb)N = 0.97-1.28), and have moderate positive εNd(t) values (+4.4 to +5.4), which collectively suggest a derivation from a mixing source comprising MORB-like mantle of a mature back-arc basin and subordinate arc mantle wedge. These basaltic rocks are characterized by Low La/Yb (1.26-3.69), Dy/Yb (1.51-1.77) and Sm/Yb (0.83-1.32) ratios, consistent with magmas derived from low degree (∼10%) partial melting of the spinel lherzolite source at a quite shallow mantle depth. Considering the distinctive petrogenesis of the basaltic rocks in this region, the Late Devonian basalts in the southern Chinese Altai is suggested to have witnessed the propagating process of slab-window magmatism that was induced by ridge subduction in a nascent rifting stage of a back-arc basin.

  20. 187Re - 187Os nuclear geochronometry: age dating with permil precision

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roller, Goetz

    2016-04-01

    Recently, 187Re - 187Os nuclear geochronometry, a new dating method combining ideas of nuclear astrophysics with geochronology, has successfully been used to calculate two-point-isochron (TPI) ages for Devonian black gas shales using the isotopic signature of an r-process geochronometer as one data point in a TPI diagram [1]. Based upon a nuclear production ratio 187Re/188Os = 5.873, TPI ages were calculated for 12 SDO-1 (Devonian Ohio Shale, Appalachian Basin) aliquants, for which repeated Re-Os measurements are reported in the literature [2]. TPI ages range from 384.5 ± 2.7 Ma (187Os/188Osi = 0.29413 ± 0.00023) to 387.7 ± 2.1 Ma (187Os/188Osi = 0.29407 ± 0.00019) with a mean of 386.67 ± 1.79 Ma). The result is consistent with the isochronous age from the 12 aliquants alone (386 ± 16 Ma, 187Os/188Osi = 0.31±0.31), which is bracketed by U-Pb ages for the Belpre Ash (381.1 ± 3.3 Ma) and the Tioga Ash bed (390.0 ± 2.5 Ma) [3] from the Appalachian Basin. Hence, SDO-1 can be assigned to the Givetian stage (varcus-zone) of the Middle Devonian, close to the Eifelian/Givetian boundary (using the time-scale of [3] or [4]). If an age is calculated from an isochron diagram for the 12 aliquants including the nuclear geochronometer, a permil precision can be achieved, an interesting feature with respect to any effort towards calibrating the Geologic Timescale. Additionally, a Th/U evolution (or: Th/U-time) diagram can be plotted using U-Pb zircon age data and Th/U ratios from volcanic rocks and ashes reported in the literature [3] for specific Devonian samples from the Appalachian Basin. Since the Re-Os age obtained for SDO-1 can also be connected to its Th/U ratio, it turns out, that Th/U ratios might be helpful age indicators, as demonstrated for the Devonian using the U-Pb and Re-Os datasets. [1] Roller (2015), GSA Abstr. with Programs 47, #248-14. [2] Du Vivier et al. (2014), Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 389, 23 - 33. [3] Tucker et al. (1998), Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 158, 175 - 186. [4] Kaufmann (2006), Earth-Sci. Revs. 76, 175 - 190.

  1. ADHD Subtypes and Co-Occurring Anxiety, Depression, and Oppositional-Defiant Disorder: Differences in Gordon Diagnostic System and Wechsler Working Memory and Processing Speed Index Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mayes, Susan Dickerson; Calhoun, Susan L.; Chase, Gary A.; Mink, Danielle M.; Stagg, Ryan E.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Freedom-from-Distractibility/Working Memory Index (FDI/WMI), Processing Speed Index (PSI), and Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) scores in ADHD children were examined as a function of subtype and coexisting anxiety, depression, and oppositional-defiant disorder. Method: Participants were 587…

  2. Astronaut Gordon Cooper is assisted backing out of his spacecraft "Faith 7"

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-22

    S63-07855 (16 May 1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. is assisted in backing out of his spacecraft "Faith 7" after a 600,000-mile, 22-orbit journey around Earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the USS Kearsarge, as did astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission. Photo credit: NASA

  3. Compact Q-balls in the complex signum-Gordon model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arodz, H.; Lis, J.

    2008-05-15

    We discuss Q-balls in the complex signum-Gordon model in d-dimensional space for d=1, 2, 3. The Q-balls have strictly finite size. Their total energy is a powerlike function of the conserved U(1) charge with the exponent equal to (d+2)(d+3){sup -1}. In the cases d=1 and d=3 explicit analytic solutions are presented.

  4. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - TRAINING - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - CAMERA

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-03-01

    S63-03952 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. explains the 16mm handheld spacecraft camera to his backup pilot astronaut Alan Shepard. The camera, designed by J.R. Hereford of McDonnell Aircraft Corp., will be used by Cooper during the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission to photograph experiments in space for M.I.T. and the Weather Bureau. Photo credit: NASA

  5. The Will to Change: A Conversation about Schools and Learning with Dr. James Comer and Dr. Edmund Gordon, Comments by Hugh Price

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coalition for Community Schools, 2006

    2006-01-01

    The Fifth National Forum of the Coalition for Community Schools (Baltimore, Maryland, June 16, 2006) provided a historic opportunity for participants to hear two of America's most distinguished educators, Drs. James Comer and Edmund Gordon. These giants in their fields engaged in an animated and thought-provoking exchange on the educational…

  6. The architectural relevance of cybernetics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Frazer, J.H.

    1993-12-31

    This title is taken from an article by Gordon Pask in Architectural Design September 1969. It raises a number of questions which this article attempts to answer. How did Gordon come to be writing for an architectural publication? What was his contribution to architecture? How does he now come to be on the faculty of a school of architecture? And what indeed is the architectural relevance of cybernetics? 12 refs.

  7. 2004 Reversible Associations in Structure & Molecular Biology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Edward Eisenstein Nancy Ryan Gray

    The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on 2004 Gordon Research Conference on Reversible Associations in Structure & Molecular Biology was held at Four Points Sheraton, CA, 1/25-30/2004. The Conference was well attended with 82 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students.

  8. Interim Report of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on the Survivability of Systems and Assets to Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and other Nuclear Weapon Effects (NWE)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    Bob Hermann Dr. Maneck Master Dr. Gordon Soper Dr. Jim Tegnelia Dr. Joan Woodard Executive Secretaries (DFOs) John Franco, DTRA COL Jeffrey...Helen Mearns, Ms Kari O’Dell, Joint CBRO Appendix C: Presentations to the Task Force Name Topic July 15 - 16, 2010 Dr. Gordon Soper

  9. Relativistic Photoionization Computations with the Time Dependent Dirac Equation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-12

    fields often occurs in the relativistic regime. A complete description of this phenomenon requires both relativistic and quantum mechanical treatment...photoionization, or other relativis- tic quantum electronics problems. While the Klein-Gordon equation captures much of the relevant physics, especially...for moderately heavy ions (Z 137), it does neglect the spin polarization of the electron. This memo parallels [1], but replaces the Klein-Gordon

  10. Gordon's model applied to nursing care of people with depression.

    PubMed

    Temel, M; Kutlu, F Y

    2015-12-01

    Psychiatric nurses should consider the patient's biological, psychological and social aspects. Marjory Gordon's Functional Health Pattern Model ensures a holistic approach for the patient. To examine the effectiveness of Gordon's Functional Health Pattern Model in reducing depressive symptoms, increasing self-efficacy, coping with depression and increasing hope in people with depression. A quasi-experimental two-group pre-test and post-test design was adopted. Data were collected from April 2013 to May 2014 from people with depression at the psychiatry clinic of a state hospital in Turkey; they were assigned to the intervention (n = 34) or control group (n = 34). The intervention group received nursing care according to Gordon's Functional Health Pattern Model and routine care, while the control group received routine care only. The Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale and Depression Coping Self-Efficacy Scale were used. The intervention group had significantly lower scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Hopelessness Scale at the post-test and 3-month follow-up; they had higher scores on the Depression Coping Self-Efficacy Scale at the 3-month follow-up when compared with the control group. The study was conducted at only one psychiatry clinic. The intervention and control group patients were at the clinic at the same time and influenced each other. Moreover, because clinical routines were in progress during the study, the results cannot only be attributed to nursing interventions. Nursing models offer guidance for the care provided. Practices based on the models return more efficient and systematic caregiving results with fewer health problems. Gordon's Functional Health Pattern Model was effective in improving the health of people with depression and could be introduced as routine care with ongoing evaluation in psychiatric clinics. More research is needed to evaluate Gordon's Nursing Model effect on people with depression. Future studies could focus on the effects of this nursing model on people with other psychiatric disorders. This study highlighted that psychiatric nurses' role decreased depressive symptoms and hopelessness, and increased coping and self-efficacy in people with depression. © 2015 International Council of Nurses.

  11. Underplating generated A- and I-type granitoids of the East Junggar from the lower and the upper oceanic crust with mixing of mafic magma: Insights from integrated zircon U-Pb ages, petrography, geochemistry and Nd-Sr-Hf isotopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Wei; Liu, Xiu-Jin; Liu, Li-Juan

    2013-10-01

    Whole rock major and trace element, Nd-Sr and zircon Hf isotopic compositions and secondary-ion mass spectrometry zircon U-Pb ages of eleven granitoid intrusions and dioritic rocks from the East Junggar (NW China) were analyzed in this study. The East Junggar granitoids were emplaced during terminal Early to Late Carboniferous (325-301 Ma) following volcanic eruption of the Batamayi Formation. Zircons from the East Junggar granitoids yielded 210 concordant 206Pb/238U ages which are all younger than 334 Ma and exhibit ɛHf(t) values distinctly higher than Devonian arc volcanic-rocks. Seismic P-wave velocities of deep crust of the East Junggar proper resemble those of oceanic crust (OC). These characteristics suggest absence of volcanic rock and volcano-sedimentary rock of Devonian and Early Carboniferous from the source region. The East Junggar granitoids show ɛNd(t) and initial 87Sr/86Sr values substantially overlapping those of the Armantai ophiolite in the area. The Early Paleozoic OC with seamount-like composition as the Zhaheba-Armantai ophiolites remained in the lower crust and formed main source rock of the East Junggar granitoids. Based on petrography and geochemistry, the East Junggar granitoids are classified into peralkaline A-type in the northern subarea, I-type (I1 and I2 subgroups) mainly in the north and A-type in the south of the southern subarea. The perthitic or argillated core and oligoclasic rim with an argillated boundary of feldspar phenocrysts and inclusion of perthites or its overgrowth by matrix plagioclase, in the monzogranites (northern subarea), suggest mixing of peralkaline granitic magma with mafic magma. In the north of the southern subarea, the presence of magmatic microdioritic enclaves (MMEs) in the I1 subgroup granitoids, transfer of plagioclase phenocrysts and hornblendes between host granodiorite and the MME across the boundary and a prominent resorption surface in the plagioclase phenocrysts indicate mixing of crustal magma (I2 subgroup granitoids) with mafic magma. Magma mixing shifted (87Sr/86Sr)i of the I1 subgroup granitoids towards the mantle array. Two generations of hornblende with zonal distribution and similar mineral and geochemical compositions of quartz monzodiorite and hosted MME with unfractionated rare earth elements (REE) suggest extended magma mixing with onset probably at or near source region. These observations imply concurrency of mantle input and the crustal melting and, hence, a causal relationship between underplating/intraplating and the lower OC/upper OC melting. The I-type granitoids experienced plagioclase and hornblende fractionations, whereas fractionated phases of the two groups of A-type granites were alkali feldspar and albite-oligoclase with significant involvement of F--rich fluid. Granodioritic parent magmas of the I2 subgroup granitoids stemmed from the hydrous upper OC. Parent magmas of the two A-type groups possess syenogranitic or quartz syenitic compositions. The peralkaline A-type granites stemmed from the lower OC, whereas the A-type granites from dehydrated upper OC left behind after extensive partial melting and extraction of I-type granitoids. Based on comparison in the ternary system Mg2SiO4-CaAl2SiO6-SiO2, most of the Batamayi volcanic rocks with affinity to ocean-island basalts were derived from asthenospheric upwelling. The gabbro-dioritic rocks with higher light to heavy REE ratios stemmed from metasomatized lithospheric mantle. Both of the above mafic rocks contain subducted slab component.

  12. Genesis of the 1000-foot Arecibo dish

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cohen, Marshall H.

    2009-07-01

    The giant radar/radio astronomy dish near Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was conceived by William E. Gordon in early 1958 as a back-scattering radar system to measure the density and temperature of the Earth's ionosphere up to a few thousand kilometers. Gordon calculated the required size of the antenna by using the Thomson cross-section for scattering by the electrons, and assuming that the elementary scattered waves would be incoherent. During the summer and autumn of 1958 Gordon led a study group that published a design report in December 1958. The report showed that a dish 1000 feet in diameter would be required, and described a limestone sinkhole in Puerto Rico that would make a suitable support for such a dish. Meanwhile, in November 1958, Kenneth L. Bowles performed an ionospheric radar experiment that showed that the Gordon calculation for the scattered power was roughly correct, but that the calculated spectral width was too big. The consequence of these results was that a dish substantially smaller than 1000 feet could have satisfied the original goals for the radar. However, from the spring of 1958 the value of 1000 feet had been in the minds of the study team, and a large suite of important experiments that such a dish could do had been identified. These apparently became the raison d'être for the project, and the possibility of shrinking the dish to accomplish only the original goals seems to have been ignored. The project was sold to a new federal funding agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which was interested, in part at least, because ballistic missiles traveled through the ionosphere and it was important to fully understand that environment. Gordon's original calculation contained a remarkably beneficial error. Without it, it is doubtful that such a large dish would have been built.

  13. Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental summary of the south-east Georgia embayment: a correlation of exploratory wells

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Poppe, Lawrence J.; Popenoe, Peter; Poag, C. Wylie; Swift, B. Ann

    1995-01-01

    A Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test (COST) well and six exploratory wells have been drilled in the south-east Georgia embayment. The oldest rocks penetrated are weakly metamorphosed Lower Ordovician quartz arenites and Silurian shales and argillites in the Transco 1005-1 well and Upper Devonian argillites in the COST GE-1 well. These marine strata, which are equivalent to the Tippecanoe sequence in Florida, underlie the post-rift unconformity and represent part of a disjunct fragment of Gondwana that was sutured to the North American craton during the late Palaeozoic Alleghanian orogeny. The Palaeozoic strata are unconformably overlain by interbedded non-marine Jurassic (Bajocian and younger) sandstones and shales and marginal marine Lower Cretaceous sandstones, calcareous shales and carbonates, which contain scattered beds of coal and evaporite. Together, these rocks are stratigraphically equivalent to the onshore Fort Pierce and Cotton Valley(?) Formations and rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Comanchean Provincial Series. The abundance of carbonates and evaporites in this interval, which reflects marine influences within the embayment, increases upwards, eastwards and southwards. The Upper Cretaceous part of the section is composed mainly of neritic calcareous shales and shaley limestones stratigraphically equivalent to the primarily marginal marine facies of the onshore Atkinson, Cape Fear and Middendorf Formations and Black Creek Group, and to limestones and shales of the Lawson Limestone and Peedee Formations. Cenozoic strata are primarily semiconsolidated marine carbonates. Palaeocene to middle Eocene strata are commonly cherty; middle Miocene to Pliocene strata are massive and locally phosphatic and glauconitic; Quaternary sediments are dominated by unconsolidated carbonate sands. The effects of eustatic changes and shifts in the palaeocirculation are recorded in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata.

  14. A carbon isotopic and sedimentological record of the latest Devonian (Famennian) from the Western U.S. and Germany

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Myrow, P.M.; Strauss, J.V.; Creveling, J.R.; Sicard, K.R.; Ripperdan, R.; Sandberg, C.A.; Hartenfels, S.

    2011-01-01

    New carbon isotopic data from upper Famennian deposits in the western United States reveal two previously unrecognized major positive isotopic excursions. The first is an abrupt ~. 3??? positive excursion, herein referred to as ALFIE (A Late Famennian Isotopic Excursion), recorded in two sections of the Pinyon Peak Limestone of north-central Utah. Integration of detailed chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data suggests that ALFIE is the Laurentian record of the Dasberg Event, which has been linked to transgression in Europe and Morocco. Sedimentological data from the Chaffee Group of western Colorado also record transgression at a similar biostratigraphic position, with a shift from restricted to open-marine lithofacies. ALFIE is not evident in chemostratigraphic data from age-equivalent strata in Germany studied herein and in southern Europe, either because it is a uniquely North American phenomenon, or because the German sections are too condensed relative to those in Laurentia. A second positive carbon isotopic excursion from the upper Chaffee Group of Colorado is recorded in transgressive strata deposited directly above a previously unrecognized paleokarst interval. The age of this excursion, and the duration of the associated paleokarst hiatus, are not well constrained, although the events occurred sometime after the Late Famennian Middle expansa Zone. The high positive values recorded in this excursion are consistent with those associated with the youngest Famennian Middle to Late praesulcata Hangenberg Isotopic Excursion in Europe, the isotopic expression of the Hangenberg Event, which included mass extinction, widespread black shale deposition, and a glacio-eustatic fall and rise. If correct, this would considerably revise the age of the Upper Chaffee Group strata of western Colorado. ?? 2011 Elsevier B.V.

  15. U-Pb detrital zircon dates and provenance data from the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup) reflect sedimentary recycling and air-fall tuff deposition in the Permo-Triassic Karoo foreland basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viglietti, Pia A.; Frei, Dirk; Rubidge, Bruce S.; Smith, Roger M. H.

    2018-07-01

    Detrital zircon U-Pb age dating was used for provenance determination and maximum age of deposition for the Upper Permian (upper Teekloof and Balfour formations) and Lower Triassic (Katberg Formation) lithostratigraphic subdivisions of the Beaufort Group of South Africa's Karoo Basin. Ten samples were analysed using laser ablation - single collector - magnetic sectorfield - inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (LA-SF-ICP-MS). The results reveal a dominant Late Carboniferous-Late Permian population (250 ± 5 Ma - 339 ± 5 Ma), a secondary Cambrian-Neoproterozoic (489 ± 5 Ma to 878 ± 24 Ma) population, a minor Mesoproterozoic (908 ± 24 Ma to 1308 ± 23) population, and minor occurrences of Devonian, Ordovician, Proterozoic and Archean zircon grains. Multiple lines of evidence (e.g. roundness and fragmentary nature of zircons, palaeo-current directions, and previous work), suggest the older zircon populations are related to sedimentary recycling in the Gondwanide Orogeny. The youngest and dominant population contain elongate euhedral grains interpreted to be directly derived from their protolith. Since zircons form in felsic igneous rocks, and no igneous rocks of Late Permian age occur in the Karoo Basin, these findings suggest significant input of volcanic material by ash falls. These results support sedimentological and palaeontological data for a Lopingian (Late Permian) age for the upper Beaufort Group, but contradict previous workers who retrieved Early Triassic dates from zircons in ashes for the Beaufort and Ecca Groups. Pb-loss not revealed by resolvable discordance on the concordia diagram, and metamictization of natural zircons are not factored into the conclusions of earlier workers.

  16. Quantum Barro-Gordon game in monetary economics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samadi, Ali Hussein; Montakhab, Afshin; Marzban, Hussein; Owjimehr, Sakine

    2018-01-01

    Classical game theory addresses decision problems in multi-agent environment where one rational agent's decision affects other agents' payoffs. Game theory has widespread application in economic, social and biological sciences. In recent years quantum versions of classical games have been proposed and studied. In this paper, we consider a quantum version of the classical Barro-Gordon game which captures the problem of time inconsistency in monetary economics. Such time inconsistency refers to the temptation of weak policy maker to implement high inflation when the public expects low inflation. The inconsistency arises when the public punishes the weak policy maker in the next cycle. We first present a quantum version of the Barro-Gordon game. Next, we show that in a particular case of the quantum game, time-consistent Nash equilibrium could be achieved when public expects low inflation, thus resolving the game.

  17. Dispersive optical soliton solutions for the hyperbolic and cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations via the extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seadawy, Aly R.; Kumar, Dipankar; Chakrabarty, Anuz Kumar

    2018-05-01

    The (2+1)-dimensional hyperbolic and cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations describe the propagation of ultra-short pulses in optical fibers of nonlinear media. By using an extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method, some new complex hyperbolic and trigonometric functions prototype solutions for two nonlinear Schrödinger equations were derived. The acquired new complex hyperbolic and trigonometric solutions are expressed by dark, bright, combined dark-bright, singular and combined singular solitons. The obtained results are more compatible than those of other applied methods. The extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method is a more powerful and robust mathematical tool for generating new optical solitary wave solutions for many other nonlinear evolution equations arising in the propagation of optical pulses.

  18. When symptom is symbol: some comments on Rosemary Gordon's, 'Masochism: the shadow side of the archetypal need to venerate and worship'.

    PubMed

    Stein, Murray

    2015-09-01

    This paper is a commentary on Rosemary Gordon's paper, 'Masochism: the shadow side of the archetypal need to venerate and worship', with a suggestion for an alternative interpretation of masochism as a part of a sado-masochistic couple. Gordon postulates an archetypal need to venerate and worship that can be hidden in the shadow and distorted in such practices as sexual masochism. Her paper also offers several avenues of exploration for further studies in connection with the phenomenon of masochism, including sexual perversion ('paraphilia'), chronic psychological victimhood, PTSD and traumatology, religious extremist behaviour such as self-flagellation, transformation in the individuation process and numinous experience. An extension of her hypothesis to include religious problems of modernity is suggested. © 2015, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

  19. ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON - PRELAUNCH MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - "FAITH 7" - INSERTION - CAPE CANAVERAL, FL

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-14

    S63-06259 (14 May 1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, is assisted into his "Faith 7" Mercury spacecraft early morning on May 14, 1963. Cooper remained in the spacecraft for approximately five hours and then climbed out again as the mission was delayed because of trouble at a tracking station. Photo credit: NASA

  20. Edmund W. Gordon: Producing Knowledge, Pursuing Understanding. Advances in Education in Diverse Communities: Research, Policy, and Praxis, Volume 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeakey, Carol Camp, Ed.

    This volume focuses on the work of Edmund W. Gordon and the influence he has had on contemporary thinking in psychology, education, and social policy, and the implications of his work for the schooling of lower-status youth and children of color in the United States. The chapters are: (1) "The Social Context of Emotions in Black Adolescents:…

  1. Afghanistan: Security Integration and Organization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-02-09

    phone interview by author, 8 January 2004. ii John J Hambre and Gordon R Sullivan “Toward Postconflict Reconstruction.” The Washington Quarterly, 25...Winter 2002-03) 35. iv Ibid., 90. v Ibid., 91-92. vi Ibid., p. 90. vii Michael D. Shafer, 81. viii Hambre and Sullivan, 92. ix Gudridge, phone...presentation, January 2004. Hambre , John J and Gordon R. Sullivan. “Toward Postconflict Reconstruction.” The Center for Strategic and International Studies

  2. Heteronuclear Metal Cluster Compounds Synthesis and Reactivity

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-08-10

    important role in the formation of complexes with heteronuclear metal - metal bonds. Since this is our Final Report recent results are reported and...DTe FL’ Copy AFOSR-86-0125 Lfl X’ HETERONUCLEAR METAL CLUSTER COMPOUNDS00 SYNTHESIS AND REACTIVITY F. Gordon A. Stone, IDepartment of Inorganic...Security Classification) HETERONUCLEAR METAL CLUSTER COMPOUNDS: SYNTHESIS AND REACTIVITY 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) F. GORDON A. STONE 13a. TYPE OF REPORT

  3. Instability of standing waves for Klein-Gordon-Zakharov equations with different propagation speeds in three space dimensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gan, Zaihui; Zhang, Jian

    2005-07-01

    This paper is concerned with the standing wave for Klein-Gordon-Zakharov equations with different propagation speeds in three space dimensions. The existence of standing wave with the ground state is established by applying an intricate variational argument and the instability of the standing wave is shown by applying Pagne and Sattinger's potential well argument and Levine's concavity method.

  4. 2013 Chemical reactions at surfaces. Surfaces in Energy and the Environment. Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar (April 28 - May 3, 2013 - Les Diablerets, Switzerland)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stair, Peter C.

    presentations on chemistry at solid and liquid surfaces of relevance to catalysis, synthesis, photochemistry, environmental science, and tribology. Topics include: Fundamental Surface Chemistry; Catalysis; Solid Liquid and Aerosol Interfaces; Surface Photochemistry; Synthesis of Surfaces; Environmental Interfaces; Hot Topics in Surface Chemical Reactions; Tribology; Gas-Surface Scattering and Reactions; Novel Materials and Environments.

  5. Quantum mechanics of Klein-Gordon fields I: Hilbert Space, localized states, and chiral symmetry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mostafazadeh, A.; Zamani, F.

    2006-09-15

    We derive an explicit manifestly covariant expression for the most general positive-definite and Lorentz-invariant inner product on the space of solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation. This expression involves a one-parameter family of conserved current densities J{sub a}{sup {mu}}, with a-bar (-1,1), that are analogous to the chiral current density for spin half fields. The conservation of J{sub a}{sup {mu}} is related to a global gauge symmetry of the Klein-Gordon fields whose gauge group is U(1) for rational a and the multiplicative group of positive real numbers for irrational a. We show that the associated gauge symmetry is responsible for themore » conservation of the total probability of the localization of the field in space. This provides a simple resolution of the paradoxical situation resulting from the fact that the probability current density for free scalar fields is neither covariant nor conserved. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of our approach for free real scalar fields offering a direct proof of the uniqueness of the relativistically invariant positive-definite inner product on the space of real Klein-Gordon fields. We also explore an extension of our results to scalar fields minimally coupled to an electromagnetic field.« less

  6. First recognition of the genus Verneuilia Hall and Clarke (Brachiopoda, Spiriferida) from North America (west-central Alaska)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Blodgett, R.B.; Johnson, J.G.

    1994-01-01

    The brachiopod genus Verneuilia Hall and Clarke, 1893, is recognized for the first time in North America, where it is represented by a new species described here. V. langenstrasseni. This occurrence extends not only the geographic range of the genus, but also the lower age and stratigraphic limit into the Eifelian (early Middle Devonian). Previously, the oldest known species was the type, V. cheiropteryx d'Archiac and de Verneuil, 1842, from the Givetian (late Middle Devonian) of Germany. Internal structures of V. langenstrasseni n.sp. are similar to those of genera in the ambocoeliid subfamily Rhynchospiriferinae, providing the first good evidence of a systematic relationship. -Authors

  7. Geochemical and mineralogical sampling of the Devonian shales in the Broadtop synclinorium, Appalachian basin, in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Coleman, James L.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Niemeyer, Patrick W.; Dulong, Frank T.

    2015-01-01

    The presence of conventional anticlinal gas fields in the study area that are productive from the underlying Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone suggests that an unconventional (or continuous) shale gas system may be in place within the Marcellus Shale in the study area. Results of this study indicate that the Marcellus Shale in the Broadtop synclinorium generally is similar in organic geochemical nature throughout its extent, and based on the sample analyses, there are no clearly identifiable high potential areas (or “sweet spots”) in the study area. This report contains analyses of 132 outcrop and well drill-cuttings samples.

  8. On the solution of the generalized wave and generalized sine-Gordon equations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ablowitz, M. J.; Beals, R.; Tenenblat, K.

    1986-01-01

    The generalized wave equation and generalized sine-Gordon equations are known to be natural multidimensional differential geometric generalizations of the classical two-dimensional versions. In this paper, a system of linear differential equations is associated with these equations, and it is shown how the direct and inverse problems can be solved for appropriately decaying data on suitable lines. An initial-boundary value problem is solved for these equations.

  9. Facing Stormwater Management Challenges at a Southeastern Army Installation: US Army Garrison Fort Gordon

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-24

    Medical Center • Host to Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and multi- national forces • Supporting 17,950 military and 6,710 civilians 4 Fort Gordon...comply with the NPne:s ( National Pol utant Discharge Elimination System) Phase II stormwater oermit and reduce pollutants fourld in stonnwatar...Lane Avenue: • Approximately 50 ft drop • Stormwater management (constructed riffle ) • Streambank stabilization (geolift, log vane) 19

  10. "FAITH 7"- ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - RECOVERY AREA - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - POSTFLIGHT - USS KEARSAGE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1963-05-18

    S63-07882 (16 May 1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot of the Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, backs out of his spacecraft "Faith 7" after a 600,000-mile, 22-orbit journey around Earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the USS Kearsarge, as did astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission. Photo credit: NASA

  11. Fully Automated Sunspot Detection and Classification Using SDO HMI Imagery in MATLAB

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-27

    FULLY AUTOMATED SUNSPOT DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION USING SDO HMI IMAGERY IN MATLAB THESIS Gordon M. Spahr, Second Lieutenant, USAF AFIT-ENP-14-M-34...CLASSIFICATION USING SDO HMI IMAGERY IN MATLAB THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Engineering Physics Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air...DISTRIUBUTION UNLIMITED. AFIT-ENP-14-M-34 FULLY AUTOMATED SUNSPOT DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION USING SDO HMI IMAGERY IN MATLAB Gordon M. Spahr, BS Second

  12. Statistical aspects of the Klein-Gordon oscillator in the frame work of GUP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khosropour, B.

    2018-01-01

    Investigation in perturbative string theory and quantum gravity suggest that there is a measurable minimal length in nature. In this work, according to generalized uncertainty principle, we study the statistical characteristics of Klein-Gordon Oscillator (KLO). The modified energy spectrum of the KLO are obtained. The generalized thermodynamical quantities of the KLO such as partition function, mean energy and entropy are calculated by using the modified energy spectrum.

  13. Gordon Research Conference on Composites (1984) Held at Santa Barbara, California on January 16-20, 1984.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-12-01

    AUTNoON(e) 4. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMEER(s) Richard J. Farris DAAG29-83-M-O415 Ln S. oEIroOMING ORGANIZATION NAME ANO ADORESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT... Richard J. Farris, Professor Polymer Science and Engineering Department University of Massachusetts, Amherst Chairman 1984 Gordon Research Conference...Hotel, Santa Barbara, California Richard J. Farris, Chairperson 1. Edmund Fitzgerald, Vice-Chairperson Monday Morning, Januaty 16 Discussion Leader

  14. CHMWTR: A Plasma Chemistry Code for Water Vapor

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-02-01

    Naval Research Laboratory Washington, DC 20375-5320 NRL/MR/6790--12-9383 CHMWTR: A Plasma Chemistry Code for Water Vapor Daniel F. GorDon Michael...NUMBER OF PAGES 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT CHMWTR: A Plasma Chemistry Code for Water Vapor Daniel F. Gordon, Michael H. Helle, Theodore G. Jones, and K...October 2011 NRL *Directed Energy Scholar, Directed Energy Professional Society Plasma chemistry Breakdown field Conductivity 67-4270-02 CHMWTR: a Plasma

  15. Gordon Research Conference on Plasma Chemistry (10th), Held in Tilton, New Hampshire on August 15-19, 1988

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-10-01

    The 1988 Gordon Research Conference on Plasma Chemistry was divided into nine sessions. Eight had two or three invited talks and two or three...findings in low pressure, non-equilibrium plasma chemistry , covering the topics of plasmas in device technology, and plasma enhanced processing...applications and surface-plasma interactions. Six joint sessions included sessions on future plasma chemistry , nucleation and growth, plasma modeling, one each

  16. Potential Energy Surfaces and Dynamics for Energetic Ionic Liquids

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-04-09

    advantage of such architectures12. Very recently, we have implemented the FMO method on the BG/ P system at Argonne National Laboratory, demonstrating that...Molecular Orbital Method”, J. Comp. Theoret. Chem., 6, 1 (2010). 4. T. Nagata, D . Fedorov, K. Kitaura, and M.S. Gordon, “A Combined Effective Fragment...Chem., 3, 177 (2007). 6. T. Nagata, D . Fedorov, K. Kitaura, and M.S. Gordon, “A Combined Effective Fragment Potential - Fragment Molecular Orbital

  17. A pseudo energy-invariant method for relativistic wave equations with Riesz space-fractional derivatives

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macías-Díaz, J. E.; Hendy, A. S.; De Staelen, R. H.

    2018-03-01

    In this work, we investigate a general nonlinear wave equation with Riesz space-fractional derivatives that generalizes various classical hyperbolic models, including the sine-Gordon and the Klein-Gordon equations from relativistic quantum mechanics. A finite-difference discretization of the model is provided using fractional centered differences. The method is a technique that is capable of preserving an energy-like quantity at each iteration. Some computational comparisons against solutions available in the literature are performed in order to assess the capability of the method to preserve the invariant. Our experiments confirm that the technique yields good approximations to the solutions considered. As an application of our scheme, we provide simulations that confirm, for the first time in the literature, the presence of the phenomenon of nonlinear supratransmission in Riesz space-fractional Klein-Gordon equations driven by a harmonic perturbation at the boundary.

  18. New exact solutions of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations of a charged particle propagating in a strong laser field in an underdense plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varró, Sándor

    2014-03-01

    Exact solutions are presented of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations of a charged particle propagating in a classical monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave in a medium of index of refraction nm<1. In the Dirac case the solutions are expressed in terms of new complex polynomials, and in the Klein-Gordon case the found solutions are expressed in terms of Ince polynomials. In each case they form a doubly infinite set, labeled by two integer quantum numbers. These integer numbers represent quantized momentum components of the charged particle along the polarization vector and along the propagation direction of the electromagnetic radiation. Since this radiation may represent a plasmon wave of arbitrary high amplitude, propagating in an underdense plasma, the solutions obtained may have relevance in describing possible quantum features of novel acceleration mechanisms.

  19. Unstable Mode Solutions to the Klein-Gordon Equation in Kerr-anti-de Sitter Spacetimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dold, Dominic

    2017-03-01

    For any cosmological constant {Λ = -3/ℓ2 < 0} and any {α < 9/4}, we find a Kerr-AdS spacetime {({M}, g_{KAdS})}, in which the Klein-Gordon equation {Box_{g_{KAdS}}ψ + α/ℓ2ψ = 0} has an exponentially growing mode solution satisfying a Dirichlet boundary condition at infinity. The spacetime violates the Hawking-Reall bound {r+2 > |a|ℓ}. We obtain an analogous result for Neumann boundary conditions if {5/4 < α < 9/4}. Moreover, in the Dirichlet case, one can prove that, for any Kerr-AdS spacetime violating the Hawking-Reall bound, there exists an open family of masses {α} such that the corresponding Klein-Gordon equation permits exponentially growing mode solutions. Our result adopts methods of Shlapentokh-Rothman developed in (Commun. Math. Phys. 329:859-891, 2014) and provides the first rigorous construction of a superradiant instability for negative cosmological constant.

  20. Multiresonance modes in sine–Gordon brane models

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cruz, W.T., E-mail: wilamicruz@gmail.com; Maluf, R.V., E-mail: r.v.maluf@fisica.ufc.br; Dantas, D.M., E-mail: davi@fisica.ufc.br

    2016-12-15

    In this work, we study the localization of the vector gauge field in two five-dimensional braneworlds generated by scalar fields coupled to gravity. The sine–Gordon like potentials are employed to produce different thick brane setups. A zero mode localized is obtained, and we show the existence of reverberations with the wave solutions indicating a quasi-localized massive mode. More interesting results are achieved when we propose a double sine–Gordon potential to the scalar field. The resulting thick brane shows a more detailed topology with the presence of an internal structure composed by two kinks. The massive spectrum of the gauge fieldmore » is revalued on this scenario revealing the existence of various resonant modes. Furthermore, we compute the corrections to Coulomb law coming from these massive KK vector modes in these thick scenarios, which is concluded that the dilaton parameter regulates these corrections.« less

  1. Devonian-Carboniferous unconformity in Argentina and its relation to the Eo-Hercynian orogeny in southern South America

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    López-Gamundí, O. R.; Rossello, E. A.

    1993-04-01

    The Devonian-Carboniferous contact in southern South America, characterized by a sharp unconformity, has been related to the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous Eo-Hercynian orogeny. The Calingasta-Uspallata basin of western Argentina and the Sauce-Grande basin (Ventana Foldbelt) of eastern Argentina have been selected to characterize this unconformity. The Eo-Hercynian movements were accompanied in western Argentina by igneous activity related to a Late Devonian—Early Carboniferous magmatic arc mainly exposed today along the Andean Cordillera. This magmatic activity is partly reflected also in eastern Argentina (Ventana Foldbelt), where isotopic dates suggest a thermal event also related to the intrusions present to the west in the North Patagonian Massif and Sierras Pampeanas. The scarcity of Lower Carboniferous deposits in the stratigraphic record of southern South America suggests that the Early Carboniferous was a time interval dominated by uplift and erosion followed by widespread subsidence during the Middle and Late Carboniferous. The origin of the Eo-Hercynian orogeny can be linked with the convergence between the Arequipa Massif, and its southern extension, and the South American continent. Its effects are best represented along the ‘Palaeo-Pacific’ margin, although distant effects are discernible in the cratonic areas of eastern South America.

  2. A new osteichthyan from the late Silurian of Yunnan, China.

    PubMed

    Choo, Brian; Zhu, Min; Qu, Qingming; Yu, Xiaobo; Jia, Liantao; Zhao, Wenjin

    2017-01-01

    Our understanding of early gnathostome evolution has been hampered by a generally scant fossil record beyond the Devonian. Recent discoveries from the late Silurian Xiaoxiang Fauna of Yunnan, China, have yielded significant new information, including the earliest articulated osteichthyan fossils from the Ludlow-aged Kuanti Formation. Here we describe the partial postcranium of a new primitive bony fish from the Kuanti Formation that represents the second known taxon of pre-Devonian osteichthyan revealing articulated remains. The new form, Sparalepis tingi gen. et sp. nov., displays similarities with Guiyu and Psarolepis, including a spine-bearing pectoral girdle and a placoderm-like dermal pelvic girdle, a structure only recently identified in early osteichthyans. The squamation with particularly thick rhombic scales shares an overall morphological similarity to that of Psarolepis. However, the anterior flank scales of Sparalepis possess an unusual interlocking system of ventral bulges embraced by dorsal concavities on the outer surfaces. A phylogenetic analysis resolves Sparalepis within a previously recovered cluster of stem-sarcopterygians including Guiyu, Psarolepis and Achoania. The high diversity of osteichthyans from the Ludlow of Yunnan strongly contrasts with other Silurian vertebrate assemblages, suggesting that the South China block may have been an early center of diversification for early gnathostomes, well before the advent of the Devonian "Age of Fishes".

  3. Global microbial carbonate proliferation after the end-Devonian mass extinction: Mainly controlled by demise of skeletal bioconstructors

    PubMed Central

    Yao, Le; Aretz, Markus; Chen, Jitao; Webb, Gregory E.; Wang, Xiangdong

    2016-01-01

    Microbial carbonates commonly flourished following mass extinction events. The end-Devonian (Hangenberg) mass extinction event is a first-order mass extinction on the scale of the ‘Big Five’ extinctions. However, to date, it is still unclear whether global microbial carbonate proliferation occurred after the Hangenberg event. The earliest known Carboniferous stromatolites on tidal flats are described from intertidal environments of the lowermost Tournaisian (Qianheishan Formation) in northwestern China. With other early Tournaisian microbe-dominated bioconstructions extensively distributed on shelves, the Qianheishan stromatolites support microbial carbonate proliferation after the Hangenberg extinction. Additional support comes from quantitative analysis of the abundance of microbe-dominated bioconstructions through the Famennian and early Tournaisian, which shows that they were globally distributed (between 40° latitude on both sides of the palaeoequator) and that their abundance increased distinctly in the early Tournaisian compared to the latest Devonian (Strunian). Comparison of variations in the relative abundance of skeleton- versus microbe-dominated bioconstructions across the Hangenberg and ‘Big Five’ extinctions suggests that changes in abundance of skeletal bioconstructors may play a first-order control on microbial carbonate proliferation during extinction transitions but that microbial proliferation is not a general necessary feature after mass extinctions. PMID:28009013

  4. Modern methods rediscover deep gas. [Texas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McDonald, J.S.

    1979-03-01

    In 1973, Northern Natural Gas (NNG) Co.'s Midland exploration and production district acquired a 7-section lease block on a Devonian-Montoya prospect suggested by trend geology and limited seismic data. This acreage block was 2 miles west of the abandoned Hershey field, and included acreage on which the Devonian was tested at noncommercial rates in 1962. Additional seismic data confirmed the presence of a drillable prospect on NNG's acreage block. Engineering analyses of the reservoir characteristics suggested that modern completion and treatment techniques would result in a commercial producer. NNG's management approved the expenditure and the first well was spudded inmore » April, 1977. This well, the No. 1 Hershenson, was completed in Sept., 1977 as the discovery well in the Hershey West (Devonian-Montoya) field for a calculated open flow potential (CAOFP) of 20.5 mmcfd dry gas from perforations at 15,445 to 16,017 ft. The confirmation well, No. 1 Hershenson 6, was spudded in May, 1978, and completed in Oct., 1978, for a CAOFP of 86.3 mmcfd from perforations at 16,000 to 16,624 ft. A third well, No. 1 Maddox-Willbanks 15, was spudded in Nov., 1978. Rediscovered field potential justified construction of a gas processing plant and a 16-mile pipeline.« less

  5. Drilling of a deviated well: E. C. Newell 10056-D Meigs County, Ohio

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rodgers, J.A.

    1982-09-30

    The Department of Energy's (DOE) Eastern Gas Shales Program (EGSP) has focused primarily on the resource characterization of the Devonian shales in the Appalachian, Michigan and Illinois Basins, where the collective volume of gas in place is estimated to be on the order of 280 Tcf. From an early assessment of the petrophysical properties of these shales, attention now has turned to an understanding of the mechanisms controlling production of this unconventional-gas source. However, present knowledge of the production history of the Devonian shales is inadequate for an accurate estimation of the gas reserves, the optimum well spacing for gasmore » extraction, and the preferred stimulation techniques to be used. As part of this program, a Deviated Well Test was designed to evaluate the spacing of natural fractures in the Devonian shale in Meigs County, Ohio as a follow-on test to further define shale production characteristics and to assess the benefit of additional section gained by drilling through the producing interval at the approximate angle for dip of 60/sup 0/ from vertical. The Columbia Gas Transmission Company, E.C. Newell 10056-D well, on the same site as a previous Off-Set Well Test, was selected for this investigation. This report summarizes drilling operations on this Deviated Well Test.« less

  6. Synthrusting deposition of the Pennsylvanian and Permian Strathearn Formation, Northern Carlin Trend, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Theodore, T.G.; Berger, V.I.; Singer, D.A.; Harris, A.G.; Stevens, C.H.

    2004-01-01

    The middle Upper Pennsylvanian and middle Lower Permian Strathearn Formation belongs to the overlap assemblage of the Antler orogen in Nevada. At Beaver Peak, near the Carlin Trend of gold deposits, it contains synorogenic conglomerate deposits associated with emplacement of a regionally extensive, 1-km-thick tectonic wedge that is floored by the Coyote thrust. Normal marine conodont biofacies throughout the Strathearn Formation suggest middle shelf or deeper, depositional environments. The allochthon floored by the Coyote thrust has been thrust above a middle Upper Pennsylvanian, lower conglomerate unit of the Strathearn Formation. A middle Lower Permian upper conglomerate unit, the highest unit recognized in the Strathearn Formation, as well as similarly aged dolomitic siltstone, onlap directly onto Ordovician quartzarenite of the Vinini Formation that makes up most of the Coyote allochthon. Quartz grains and quartzarenite fragments of variable roundness and shape in the conglomerate units were derived from the presently adjoining tectonic lobe of mostly quartzarenite that advanced southeast (present geographic coordinates) during the late Paleozoic into the developing Strathearn basin. Chert fragments in the conglomerates probably were derived mostly from Devonian Slaven Chert, including a widespread thick me??lange unit of the Slaven Chert in the footwall of the Coyote thrust.Lithologic and shape ratio data from approximately 4200 clasts at 17 sites of the two major conglomerate units in the Strathearn Formation at Beaver Peak are roughly similar in that they contain only chert and quartzarenite clasts, and chert clasts predominate in both units. They differ in the relative proportion of the two lithologies whereby quartzarenite clasts increase sixfold in the upper unit (middle Lower Permian) versus its content in the lower conglomerate unit. Relations at the unconformity between the upper conglomerate unit and its underlying quartzarenite shows quartzarenite fragments actually breaking away from an immediately subjacent source. Ordovocian quartzarenite, which forms a tectonically uplifted wedge with the Coyote thrust at its base, became a source region for much of the quartzarenite detritus deposited preferentially in the upper parts of the Strathearn Formation. The conglomerate units of the Strathearn Formation temporally bracket emplacement of the Coyote thrust. Thrusting related to contractional reactivation of the Robert Mountains thrust system largely was completed by middle Early Permian. ?? 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Paleozoic and Mesozoic deformations in the central Sierra Nevada, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nokleberg, Warren J.; Kistler, Ronald Wayne

    1980-01-01

    Analysis of structural and stratigraphic data indicates that several periods of regional deformation, consisting of combined folding, faulting, cataclasis, and regional metamorphism, occurred throughout the central Sierra Nevada during Paleozoic and Mesozoic time. The oldest regional deformation occurred alono northward trends during the Devonian and Mississippian periods in most roof pendants containing lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks at the center and along the crest of the range. This deformation is expressed in some roof pendants by an angular unconformity separating older thrice-deformed from younger twice-deformed Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. The first Mesozoic deformation, which consisted of uplift and erosion and was accompanied by the onset of Andean-type volcanism during the Permian and Triassic, is expressed by an angular unconformity in several roof pendants from the Saddlebag Lake to the Mount Morrison areas. This unconformity is defined by Permian and Triassic andesitic to rhyolitic metavolcanic rocks unconformably overlying more intensely deformed Pennsylvanian, Permian(?), and older metasedimentary rocks. A later regional deformation occurred during the Triassic along N. 20?_30? W. trends in Permian and Triassic metavolcanic rocks of the Saddlebag Lake and Mount Dana roof pendants, in upper Paleozoic rocks of the Pine Creek roof pendant, and in the Calaveras Formation of the western metamorphic belt; the roof pendants are crosscut by Upper Triassic granitic rocks of the Lee Vining intrusive epoch. A still later period of Early and Middle Jurassic regional deformation occurred along N. 30?-60? E. trends in upper Paleozoic rocks of the Calaveras Formation of the western metamorphic belt. A further period of deformation was the Late Jurassic Nevadan orogeny, which occurred along N. 20?_40? W. trends in Upper Jurassic rocks of the western metamorphic belt that are crosscut by Upper Jurassic granitic rocks of the Yosemite intrusive epoch. Structures of similar age occur in intensely deformed oceanic-lithospheric and syntectonic plutonic rocks of the lower Kings River area, in Jurassic metavolcanic rocks of the Ritter Range roof pendant, and in Triassic metasedimentary rocks of the Mineral King roof pendant. The final Mesozoic deformation occurred along N. 50?-80? W. trends in both high-country roof pendants and the lower Kings River area; structures of this generation are crosscut by relatively undeformed Upper Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Cathedral Range intrusive epoch.

  8. Global climatic changes during the Devonian-Mississippian: Stable isotope biogeochemistry of brachiopods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brand, Uwe

    1989-12-01

    A progressive trend towards heavier δ 13C values of Devonian-Mississippian brachiopods from North America, Europe, Afghanistan and Algeria probably reflects expansion of the terrestrestrial and/or marine biomass and/or burial of carbon in soils/sediments. Oceanic Productivity crises, based on perturbations in the overall δ 13C trend, are recognized for the Mid Givetian, Early Famennian, Late Kinderhookian, Late Osagean and Early and Late Meramecian. The Givetian productivity crisis was probably accompanied by massive overturn of biologically toxic deep-ocean water. Temperature data, adjusted for the possible secular variation of seawater, support the hypothesis of global greenhouse conditions for the Devonian (mean of 30°C, mean of 26°C if extrinsic data are deleted) and icehouse conditions for the Mississippian (mean of 17°C). During the Mid Givetian, Frasnian and Early Famennian calculated water temperatures for tropical epeiric seas were generally above the thermal threshold limit (˜ 38°C) of most marine invertebrates or epeiric seawater was characterized by unusually low salinities (˜ pp ppt) or a combination of the two. These elevated water temperatures and/or low salinities, in conjunction with the postulated productivity crises and overturning of toxic deep waters are considered prime causes for the biotic crisis of the Late Devonian. In addition, a presumed expanding oxygen-minimum zone and general anoxia in the oceans prevented shallow-water organisms from escaping these inhospitable conditions. Re-population of the tropical seas occurred, after either water temperatures had dropped below the thermal threshold limit and/or salinities were back to normal, and oceanic productivity had increased due to more vigorous oceanic circulation, sometime during the Mid-Late Famennian. Migration of eurythermal, shallow- and deeper-water organisms into the vacant niches of the shallow seas was possible because of, generally, slightly lower sea levels, but, more importantly of more restricted oxygen-minimum zone and generally reduced oceanic anoxia.

  9. Late Devonian glacigenic and associated facies from the central Appalachian Basin, eastern United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brezinski, D.K.; Cecil, C.B.; Skema, V.W.

    2010-01-01

    Late Devonian strata in the eastern United States are generally considered as having been deposited under warm tropical conditions. However, a stratigraphically restricted Late Devonian succession of diamictite- mudstonesandstone within the Spechty Kopf and Rockwell Formations that extends for more than 400 km along depositional strike within the central Appalachian Basin may indicate other wise. This lithologic association unconformably overlies the Catskill Formation, where a 3- to 5-m-thick interval of deformed strata occurs immediately below the diamictite strata. The diamictite facies consists of several subfacies that are interpreted to be subglacial, englacial, supraglacial meltout, and resedimented deposits. The mudstone facies that overlies the diamictite consists of subfacies of chaotically bedded, clast-poor mudstone, and laminated mudstone sub facies that represent subaqueous proximal debris flows and distal glaciolacustrine rhythmites or varvites, respectively. The pebbly sandstone facies is interpreted as proglacial braided outwash deposits that both preceded glacial advance and followed glacial retreat. Both the tectonic and depositional frameworks suggest that the facies were deposited in a terrestrial setting within the Appalachian foreland basin during a single glacial advance and retreat. Regionally, areas that were not covered by ice were subject to increased rainfall as indicated by wet-climate paleosols. River systems eroded deeper channels in response to sea-level drop during glacial advance. Marine facies to the west contain iceborne dropstone boulders preserved within contemporaneous units of the Cleveland Shale Member of the Ohio Shale.The stratigraphic interval correlative with sea-level drop, climate change, and glacigenic succession represents one of the Appalachian Basin's most prolific oil-and gas-producing intervals and is contemporaneous with a global episode of sea-level drop responsible for the deposition of the Hangenberg Shale/Sandstone of Europe. This interval records the Hangenberg biotic crisis near the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. ?? 2009 Geological Society of America.

  10. New Plants from the Lower Devonian Pingyipu Group, Jiangyou County, Sichuan Province, China

    PubMed Central

    Edwards, Dianne; Geng, Bao-Yin; Li, Cheng-Sen

    2016-01-01

    Descriptions of Lower Devonian plants from Yunnan, South China, have revolutionized concepts of diversity and disparity in tracheophytes soon after they became established on land. Sichuan assemblages have received little attention since their discovery almost 25 years ago and require revision. With this objective, fieldwork involving detailed logging and collection of fossils was undertaken in the Longmenshan Mountain Region, Jiangyou County and yielded the two new taxa described here. They are preserved as coalified compressions and impressions that allowed morphological but not anatomical analyses. Yanmenia (Zosterophyllum) longa comb nov is based on numerous rarely branching shoots with enations resembling lycophyte microphylls, without evidence for vasculature. The presence of sporangia is equivocal making assignation to the Lycopsida conjectural. The plant was recently described as a zosterophyll, but lacks strobili. These are present in the second plant and comprise bivalved sporangia. The strobili terminate aerial stems which arise from a basal axial complex displaying diversity in branching including H- and K- forms. These features characterise the Zosterophyllopsida, although the plant differs from Zosterophyllum in valve shape. Comparisons indicate greatest similarities to the Lower Devonian Guangnania cuneata, from Yunnan, but differences, particularly in the nature of the sporangium border, require the erection of a new species, G. minor. Superficial examination of specimens already published indicate a high degree of endemism at both species and generic level, while this study shows that Yanmenia is confined to Sichuan and Guangnania is one of the very few genera shared with Yunnan, where assemblages also show a high proportion of further endemic genera. Such provincialism noted in the Chinese Lower Devonian is explained by the palaeogeographic isolation of the South China plate, but this cannot account for differences/endemism between the Sichuan and Yunnan floras. Such an enigma demands further integrated geological, palaeobotanical and palynological studies. PMID:27851760

  11. Paleomagnetism of Devonian dykes in the northern Kola Peninsula and its bearing on the apparent polar wander path of Baltica in the Precambrian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Veselovskiy, Roman V.; Bazhenov, Mikhail L.; Arzamastsev, Andrey A.

    2016-04-01

    Mafic dykes and large alkaline and carbonatite intrusions of Middle-Late Devonian age are widespread on the Kola Peninsula in NE Fennoscandia. These magmatic rocks are well characterized with petrographic, geochemical and geochronological data but no paleomagnetic results have been reported yet. We studied dolerite dykes from the northern part of the Peninsula and isolated three paleomagnetic components in these rocks. A low-temperature component is aligned along the present-day field, while a major constituent of natural remanent magnetization is an intermediate-temperature component (Decl. = 79.6°, Inc. = 78.5°, α95 = 5,9°, N = 17 sites) that is present in most Devonian dykes but is found in some baked metamorphic rocks and Proterozoic dykes too. Finally, a primary Devonian component could be reliably isolated from two dykes only. Rock-magnetic studies point to presumably primary low-Ti titanomagnetite and/or pure magnetite as the main remanence carriers but also reveal alteration of the primary minerals and the formation of new magnetic phases. The directions of a major component differ from the Middle Paleozoic reference data for Baltica but closely match those for the 190 ± 10 Ma interval recalculated from the apparent polar wander path of the craton. We assume that this Early Jurassic component is a low-temperature overprint of chemical origin. The main impact of the new results is not to mid-Paleozoic or Early Mesozoic times but to much older epochs. Analysis of paleomagnetic data shows that the directionally similar remanences are present in objects with the ages ranging from 500 Ma to 2 Ga over entire Fennoscandia. Hence we argue that an Early Jurassic remagnetization is of regional extent but cannot link it to a certain process and a certain tectonic event. If true, this hypothesis necessitates a major revision of the APWP for Baltica over a wide time interval.

  12. Discovery of a Devonian mafic magmatism on the western border of the Murzuq basin (Saharan metacraton): Paleomagnetic dating and geodynamical implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Derder, M. E. M.; Maouche, S.; Liégeois, J. P.; Henry, B.; Amenna, M.; Ouabadi, A.; Bellon, H.; Bruguier, O.; Bayou, B.; Bestandji, R.; Nouar, O.; Bouabdallah, H.; Ayache, M.; Beddiaf, M.

    2016-03-01

    Intraplate deformation is most often linked to major stress applied on plate margins. When such intraplate events are accompanied by magmatism, the use of several dating methods integrated within a multidisciplinary approach can bring constraints on the age, nature and source mobilized for generating the magma and in turn on the nature of the intraplate deformation. This study focuses on the large gabbro Arrikine sill (35 km in extension) emplaced within the Silurian sediments of the western margin of the Murzuq cratonic basin in southeastern Algeria. Its emplacement is dated during the early Devonian (415-400 Ma) through the determination of a reliable paleomagnetic pole by comparison with the Gondwana Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP). This age can be correlated with deep phreatic eruptions before Pragian time thought to be at the origin of sand injections and associated circular structures in Algeria and Libya. For the sill, the K-Ar age of 325.6 ± 7.7 Ma is related to a K-rich aplitic phase that has K-enriched by more than 20% the Devonian gabbro. Laser-ICP-MS U-Pb method dates only inherited zircons mostly at c. 2030 Ma with additional ages at c. 2700 Ma and younger ones in the 766-598 Ma age range. The Arrikine sill is a high-Ti alkaline gabbro having the geochemical composition of a hawaiite akin to several intraplate continental and oceanic provinces, including the contemporaneous Aïr ring complexes province in Niger, but also to the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. This peculiar composition akin to that of the contemporaneous Aïr province is in agreement with a lower Devonian age for the Arrikine sill. The lower Devonian Arrikine sill emplacement is related to a "Caledonian" transtensive reactivation of the western metacratonic boundary of the Murzuq craton. This event also generated in the Saharan platform the so-called "Caledonian unconformity" of regional extension, the Aïr ring complexes and magmatic rocks that produced sand injections. It could be related to rifting of the Hun terranes that occurred at the plate margin to the north (Stampfli and Borel, 2002, Blackey, 2008 and references therein). The mid-Carboniferous (c. 326 Ma) reactivation corresponds to Variscan compression on NW Africa generating aplitic fluids, but also to the major "Hercynian unconformity" of regional extension. The generation of the Arrikine magma is attributed to partial melting through adiabatic pressure release of uprising asthenosphere along tectonically reactivated mega-shear zones, here bordering the relictual Murzuq craton enclosed in the Saharan metacraton.

  13. Sea-level changes vs. organic productivity as controls on Early and Middle Devonian bioevents: Facies- and gamma-ray based sequence-stratigraphic correlation of the Prague Basin, Czech Republic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bábek, Ondřej; Faměra, Martin; Šimíček, Daniel; Weinerová, Hedvika; Hladil, Jindřich; Kalvoda, Jiří

    2018-01-01

    The Devonian marine stratigraphic record is characterized by a number of bioevents - overturns in pelagic and benthic faunal assemblages, which are associated with distinct changes in lithology. The coincidence of lithologic and biotic changes can be explained by the causal link between biotic evolution, carbonate production and relative sea-level changes. To gain insight into the sea-level history of Early and Middle Devonian bioevents (the Lochkovian/Pragian Event, Basal Zlíchovian E., Daleje E., and Choteč E.) we carried out a sequence-stratigraphic analysis of carbonate-dominated successions in the Prague Basin (peri-Gondwana), a classic area of Devonian bioevents. The study is based on a basin-wide correlation of facies and field gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) logs from 18 sections (Lochkovian to Eifelian), supported by element geochemistry and published biostratigraphic and carbon isotope data. Devonian carbonate deposition in the Prague Basin alternated between two end-member modes: an oligotrophic, homoclinal ramp (Praha and Daleje-Třebotov Formations) and a mesotrophic, distally steepened ramp (Lochkov, Zlíchov, and Choteč Formations). They show contrasting facies, particularly the absence/presence of gravity-flow deposits, allochem composition, U/Th ratios, and geochemical composition (productivity proxies such as P/Al, Si/Al, Zn/Al, TOC and stable carbon isotopes). The mesotrophic systems reflect an increased availability of nutrients on the shelf during the late Lochkovian, early Emsian (Zlíchovian), and Eifelian periods when sea surface temperature, pCO2, and silicate weathering rates were higher. The oligotrophic systems deposited during the Pragian-to-earliest Emsian and late Emsian (Dalejan) periods reflect reversed palaeoclimatic trends. We identified three depositional sequences (DS), DS1 (base of Pragian to early Emsian); DS2 (early Emsian to mid Emsian); and DS3 (mid Emsian to mid Eifelian). These sequences were integrated into a peri-Gondwana relative sea-level curve, which was then compared with the Euramerican sea-level curve of Johnson et al. (1985). The bioevents coincided with several sequence stratigraphic surfaces, representing variable limbs of the relative sea-level curve. On the other hand, their conspicuous coincidence with the switching intervals between the colder oligotrophic and warmer mesotrophic modes suggests that organic production linked to global climate was the primary control on biotic overturns, while sea-level fluctuations may have only amplified its effects.

  14. 2016 Energetic Materials Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar Research Area 7: Chemical Sciences 7.0 Chemical Sciences (Dr. James K. Parker)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-08-10

    thermal decomposition and mechanical damage of energetics. The program for the meeting included nine oral presentation sessions. Discussion leaders...USA) 7:30 pm - 7:35 pm Introduction by Discussion Leader 7:35 pm - 7:50 pm Vincent Baijot (Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems , CNRS...were synthesis of new materials, performance, advanced diagnostics, experimental techniques, theoretical approaches, and computational models for

  15. Solutions to the 1d Klein Gordon equation with cut-off Coulomb potentials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hall, Richard L.

    2007-12-01

    In a recent paper by Barton [G. Barton, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 40 (2007) 1011], the 1-dimensional Klein Gordon equation was solved analytically for the non-singular Coulomb-like potential V(|x|)=-α/(|x|+a). In the present Letter, these results are completely confirmed by a numerical formulation that also allows a solution for an alternative cut-off Coulomb potential V(|x|)=-α/|x|, |x|>a, and otherwise V(|x|)=-α/a.

  16. GORDON, RICHARD F., ASTRONAUT - MISC. - GEMINI-TITAN (GT)-XI - RECOVERY - FROGMEN - ATLANTIC

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1966-09-15

    S66-50759 (15 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot of the Gemini-11 spaceflight, is hoisted from the water by a recovery helicopter from the prime recovery ship USS Guam. Gemini-11 splashed down in the western Atlantic recovery area at 9 a.m. (EST), Sept. 15, 1966, to conclude the three-day mission in space. Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. (out of frame) is the Gemini-11 command pilot. Photo credit: NASA

  17. Snakes in the wrong places: Gordon Rodda’s career in invasive species research

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilson, Jim

    2012-01-01

    When USGS research zoologist Gordon G. Rodda was a graduate student at Cornell University studying behavioral biology of alligators —or later, completing a post-doc at the Smithsonian Institute studying the social behavior of green iguanas in Venezuela or following that, as a statistics and sociobiology instructor at the University of Tennessee—he did not foresee that his professional future was in snakes. Lots of snakes, and in places they don’t belong.

  18. Prevalence of PTSD and Depression, and Associated Sexual Risk Factors, among Male Rwanda Defense Forces Military Personnel

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-08-01

    Njenga et al. 2006 ; Gordon 2011). Several barriers to diagnosis and treatment have been identified, and only recently has considerable effort been... 2006 ; Vinck et al. 2007; Gordon 2011). Yet, among soldiers, who encoun- ter additional occupation-related trauma, little is known about the...positive for depression. Factors reported in the literature to be associated with PTSD or depression (Pham et al. 2004; Smit et al. 2006 ) or deter- mined

  19. 2016 Electrochemistry Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-23

    Dinner 7:30 pm - 7:40 pm Welcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff 7:40 pm - 9:30 pm Spectroelectrochemistry Discussion Leader: Carol...4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session 6:00 pm Dinner 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Electrodeposition Discussion Leader: John Stickney (University of Georgia, USA...pm Poster Session 6:00 pm Dinner 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Organized and Cooperative Behavior Discussion Leader: Richard Crooks (The University of Texas at

  20. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    none,

    This builder built fourteen homes in the Gordon Estates subdivision that achieved Challenge Home certification with HERS 38–58 on an affordable budget for homeowners. Every Mandalay home in the development also met the National Green Building Standard gold level. The Gordon Estates subdivision is also serving as a showcase of energy efficiency, and Mandalay is hosting education workshops for realtors, state and local officials, other builders, students, potential homeowners, and the public. The builder won a 2013 Housing Innovation Award in the affordable builder category.

  1. Information Management Principles Applied to the Ballistic Missile Defense System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-03-01

    of a BMDS. From this, the Army produced the Nike -Zeus system comprised of four radars, the Zeus missile, and a computer fire control system (General...made the Nike -Zeus our first National Missile Defense (NMD) system named Sentinel. The architecture was to cover 14 locations, 10 of which were...1999). Additionally, there are cultural impacts (Gordon & Gordon, 1999). A company choosing an Apple OS may have to wage a big fight against the

  2. Determination of NRHP Eligibility for the Eisenhower Army Medical Center Complex at Fort Gordon, Georgia

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-12-01

    30905 Under Project 450904, “NHPA Building Evaluations at Fort Gordon” ERDC/CERL TR-16-26 ii Abstract This document is an architectural survey of...Carlisle, and Wolff beginning in 1970, with plans finalized in 1971, and construction completed in 1975. This survey satisfies Section 110 of the...hospital complex was previously surveyed for exceptional importance under Criteria Consideration G1 of the NRHP in the Fort Gordon Cold War

  3. Arbitrarily high-order time-stepping schemes based on the operator spectrum theory for high-dimensional nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Changying; Wu, Xinyuan

    2017-07-01

    In this paper we explore arbitrarily high-order Lagrange collocation-type time-stepping schemes for effectively solving high-dimensional nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations with different boundary conditions. We begin with one-dimensional periodic boundary problems and first formulate an abstract ordinary differential equation (ODE) on a suitable infinity-dimensional function space based on the operator spectrum theory. We then introduce an operator-variation-of-constants formula which is essential for the derivation of our arbitrarily high-order Lagrange collocation-type time-stepping schemes for the nonlinear abstract ODE. The nonlinear stability and convergence are rigorously analysed once the spatial differential operator is approximated by an appropriate positive semi-definite matrix under some suitable smoothness assumptions. With regard to the two dimensional Dirichlet or Neumann boundary problems, our new time-stepping schemes coupled with discrete Fast Sine / Cosine Transformation can be applied to simulate the two-dimensional nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations effectively. All essential features of the methodology are present in one-dimensional and two-dimensional cases, although the schemes to be analysed lend themselves with equal to higher-dimensional case. The numerical simulation is implemented and the numerical results clearly demonstrate the advantage and effectiveness of our new schemes in comparison with the existing numerical methods for solving nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations in the literature.

  4. A global cyclostratigraphic framework constrains the timing and pacing of environmental changes over the Late Devonian (Frasnian - Famennian) mass extinction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Vleeschouwer, David; Da Silva, Anne-Christine; Day, James E.; Whalen, Michael; Claeys, Philippe

    2016-04-01

    Milankovitch cycles (obliquity, eccentricity and precession) result in changes in the distribution of solar energy over seasons, as well as over latitudes, on time scales of ten thousands of years to millions of years. These changing patterns in insolation have induced significant variations in Earth's past climate over the last 4.5 billion years. Cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology utilize the geologic imprint of such quasi-cyclic climatic variations to measure geologic time. In recent years, major improvements of the Geologic Time Scale have been proposed through the application of cyclostratigraphy, mostly for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic (Gradstein et al., 2012). However, the field of Paleozoic cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology is still in its infancy and the application of cyclostratigraphic techniques in the Paleozoic allows for a whole new range of research questions. For example, unraveling the timing and pacing of environmental changes over the Late Devonian mass extinction on a 105-year time-scale concerns such a novel research question. Here, we present a global cyclostratigraphic framework for late Frasnian to early Famennian climatic and environmental change, through the integration of globally distributed sections. The backbone of this relative time scale consists of previously published cyclostratigraphies for western Canada and Poland (De Vleeschouwer et al., 2012; De Vleeschouwer et al., 2013). We elaborate this Euramerican base by integrating new proxy data -interpreted in terms of astronomical climate forcing- from the Iowa basin (USA, magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope data) and Belgium (XRF and carbon isotope data). Next, we expand this well-established cyclostratigraphic framework towards the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, using magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope records from the Fuhe section in South China (Whalen et al., 2015). The resulting global cyclostratigraphic framework implies an important refinement of the late Frasnian to early Famennian stratigraphy, but also allows for an evaluation of the role of astronomical forcing in perturbing the global carbon cycle and pacing anoxic conditions throughout the Late Devonian mass extinction event. The late Frasnian anoxic Kellwasser events, for example, each represent only a portion of a 405-kyr eccentricity cycle, with the onset of both events separated by 500-600 kyr. References: De Vleeschouwer, D., Whalen, M. T., Day, J. E., and Claeys, P., 2012, Cyclostratigraphic calibration of the Frasnian (Late Devonian) time scale (western Alberta, Canada): Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 124, no. 5-6, p. 928-942. De Vleeschouwer, D., Rakociński, M., Racki, G., Bond, D. P., Sobień, K., and Claeys, P., 2013, The astronomical rhythm of Late-Devonian climate change (Kowala section, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland): Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 365, p. 25-37. Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M., and Ogg, G., 2012, The Geologic Time Scale 2012 2-Volume Set, Elsevier. Whalen, M. T., Śliwiński, M. G., Payne, J. H., Day, J. E., Chen, D., and da Silva, A.-C., 2015, Chemostratigraphy and magnetic susceptibility of the Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian transition in western Canada and southern China: implications for carbon and nutrient cycling and mass extinction: Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 414.

  5. Formation resistivity as an indicator of oil generation in black shales

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hester, T.C.; Schmoker, J.W.

    1987-08-01

    Black, organic-rich shales of Late Devonian-Early Mississippi age are present in many basins of the North American craton and, where mature, have significant economic importance as hydrocarbon source rocks. Examples drawn from the upper and lower shale members of the Bakken Formation, Williston basin, North Dakota, and the Woodford Shale, Anadarko basin, Oklahoma, demonstrate the utility of formation resistivity as a direct in-situ indicator of oil generation in black shales. With the onset of oil generation, nonconductive hydrocarbons begin to replace conductive pore water, and the resistivity of a given black-shale interval increases from low levels associated with thermal immaturitymore » to values approaching infinity. Crossplots of a thermal-maturity index (R/sub 0/ or TTI) versus formation resistivity define two populations representing immature shales and shales that have generated oil. A resistivity of 35 ohm-m marks the boundary between immature and mature source rocks for each of the three shales studied. Thermal maturity-resistivity crossplots make possible a straightforward determination of thermal maturity at the onset of oil generation, and are sufficiently precise to detect subtle differences in source-rock properties. For example, the threshold of oil generation in the upper Bakken shale occurs at R/sub 0/ = 0.43-0.45% (TTI = 10-12). The threshold increases to R/sub 0/ = 0.48-0.51% (TTI = 20-26) in the lower Bakken shale, and to R/sub 0/ = 0.56-0.57% (TTI = 33-48) in the most resistive Woodford interval.« less

  6. Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota, 2008

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pollastro, R.M.; Roberts, L.N.R.; Cook, T.A.; Lewan, M.D.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and associated gas resources of the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota and within the Williston Basin Province. The assessment is based on geologic elements of a total petroleum system (TPS), which include (1) source-rock distribution, thickness, organic richness, maturation, petroleum generation, and migration; (2) reservoir-rock type (conventional or continuous), distribution, and quality; and (3) character of traps and time of formation with respect to petroleum generation and migration. Framework studies in stratigraphy and structural geology and modeling of petroleum geochemistry, combined with historical exploration and production analyses, were used to estimate the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resource of the Bakken Formation. Using this framework, the USGS defined a Bakken-Lodgepole TPS and seven assessment units (AU) within the system. For the Bakken Formation, the undiscovered oil and associated gas resources were quantitatively estimated for six of these AUs.

  7. Micromorphologic evidence for paleosol development in the Endicott group, Siksikpuk formation, Kingak(?) shale, and Ipewik formation, western Brooks range, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dumoulin, Julie A.; White, Tim

    2005-01-01

    Micromorphologic evidence indicates the presence of paleosols in drill-core samples from four sedimentary units in the Red Dog area, western Brooks Range. Well-developed sepic-plasmic fabrics and siderite spherules occur in claystones of the Upper Devonian through Lower Mississippian(?) Kanayut Conglomerate (Endicott Group), the Pennsylvanian through Permian Siksikpuk Formation (Etivluk Group), the Jurassic through Lower Cretaceous Kingak(?) Shale, and the Lower Cretaceous Ipewik Formation. Although exposure surfaces have been previously recognized in the Endicott Group and Kingak Shale on the basis of outcrop features, our study is the first microscopic analysis of paleosols from these units, and it provides the first evidence of subaerial exposure in the Siksikpuk and Ipewik Formations. Regional stratigraphic relations and geochemical data support our interpretations. Paleosols in the Siksikpuk, Kingak, and Ipewik Formations likely formed in nearshore coastal-plain environments, with pore waters subjected to inundation by the updip migration of slightly brackish ground water, whereas paleosols in the Kanayut Conglomerate probably formed in a more distal setting relative to a marine basin.

  8. Development of a new software for analyzing 3-D fracture network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Um, Jeong-Gi; Noh, Young-Hwan; Choi, Yosoon

    2014-05-01

    A new software is presented to analyze fracture network in 3-D. Recently, we completed the software package based on information given in EGU2013. The software consists of several modules that play roles in management of borehole data, stochastic modelling of fracture network, construction of analysis domain, visualization of fracture geometry in 3-D, calculation of equivalent pipes and production of cross-section diagrams. Intel Parallel Studio XE 2013, Visual Studio.NET 2010 and the open source VTK library were utilized as development tools to efficiently implement the modules and the graphical user interface of the software. A case study was performed to analyze 3-D fracture network system at the Upper Devonian Grosmont Formation in Alberta, Canada. The results have suggested that the developed software is effective in modelling and visualizing 3-D fracture network system, and can provide useful information to tackle the geomechanical problems related to strength, deformability and hydraulic behaviours of the fractured rock masses. This presentation describes the concept and details of the development and implementation of the software.

  9. Ordovician "sphinctozoan" sponges from Prince of Wales Island, southeastern Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rigby, J.K.; Karl, Susan M.; Blodgett, R.B.; Baichtal, J.F.

    2005-01-01

    A faunule of silicified hypercalcified "sphinctozoan" sponges has been recovered from a clast of Upper Ordovician limestone out of the Early Devonian Karheen Formation on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska. Included in the faunule are abundant examples of the new genus Girtyocoeliana, represented by Girtyocoeliana epiporata (Rigby and Potter), and Corymbospongia adnata Rigby and Potter, along with rare Corymbospongia amplia n. sp., and Girtyocoelia(?) sp., plus common Amblysiphonella sp. 1 and rare Amblysiphonella(?) sp. 2. The assemblage is similar to that from Ordovician clasts from the eastern Klamath Mountains of northern California. This indicates that the Alexander terrane of southeastern Alaska is related paleogeographically to the lithologically and paleontologically similar terrane of the eastern Klamath Mountains. This lithology and fossil assemblage of the clast cannot be tied to any currently known local rock units on Prince of Wales Island. Other clasts in the conglomerate appear to have been locally derived, so it is inferred that the limestone clasts were also locally derived, indicating the presence of a previously undocumented Ordovician limestone unit on northern Prince of Wales Island. 

  10. The composition of fluid inclusions in ore and gangue minerals from the Silesian-Cracow Mississippi Valley-type Zn-Pb deposits Poland: Genetic and environmental implications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Viets, J.G.; Hofstra, A.H.; Emsbo, P.; Kozlowski, A.

    1996-01-01

    The composition of fluids extracted from ore and gangue sulfide minerals that span most of the paragenesis of the Silesian-Cracow district was determined using a newly developed ion chromatographic (IC) technique. Ionic species determined were Na+, NH+4, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Rb+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Cl-, Br-, F-, I-, PO3-4, CO2-3, HS-, S2O2-3, SO2-4, NO-3, and acetate. Mineral samples included six from the Pomorzany mine and one from the Trzebionka mine which are hosted in the Triassic Muschelkalk Formation, and two samples of drill core from mineralized Upper Devonian strata. Nine paragenetically identifiable sulfide minerals occur throughout the Silesian-Cracow district. These include from earliest to latest: early iron sulfides, granular sphalerite, early galena, light-banded sphalerite, galena, dark-banded sphalerite, iron sulfides, late dark-banded sphalerite with late galena, and late iron sulfides. Seven of the minerals were sampled for fluid inclusion analysis in this study. Only the early iron sulfides and the last galena stage were not sampled. Although the number of analyses are limited to nine samples and two replicates and there is uncertainty about the characteristics of the fluid inclusions analyzed, the data show clear temporal trends in the composition of the fluids that deposited these minerals. Fluid inclusions in minerals deposited later in the paragenesis have significantly more K+, Br-, NH+4, and acetate but less Sr2+ than those deposited earlier in the paragenesis. The later minerals are also characterized by isotopically lighter sulfur and significantly more Tl and As in the solid minerals. The change in ore-fluid chemistry is interpreted to reflect a major change in the hydrologic regime of the district. Apparently, the migrational paths of ore fluids from the Upper Silesian basin changed during ore deposition and the fluids which deposited early minerals reacted with aquifers with very different geochemical characteristics than those that deposited late minerals. The early fluids may have reacted primarily with Devonian and Lower Carboniferous carbonate aquifers deeper in the basin, whereas the later fluids appear to have had extensive contact with organic-rich rocks, probably the shallower Middle and Upper Carboniferous flysch associated with coal measures. High concentrations of toxic Tl and As occur in the readily oxidized marcasite and pyrite minerals deposited by the later fluids. In general, the geochemistry of both the early and late fluids may be explained by an evaporite related origin or by water-rock modification of a saline basinal brine. When compared to the composition of fluid inclusions in Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore minerals from the Ozark region of the United States, fluid inclusions in minerals from Silesian-Cracow are fundamentally different, containing more Ca2+, Mg2+, NH+4, Br-, Sr2+ and acetate in all mineral stages with significantly more K+ in later stage minerals. The differences in ore fluid chemistry between the two regions are consistent with the lithologic differences of the respective basins thought to be the source of the mineralizing brines.

  11. A new Trimerocephalus species (Trilobita, Phacopidae) from the Late Devonian (Early Famennian) of Poland.

    PubMed

    Kin, Adrian; Błażejowski, Błażej

    2013-01-01

    This study presents a detailed morphological analysis of a new species belonging to the blind trilobite Trimerocephalus McCoy, 1849, T. chopini n. sp., based on exceptionally well preserved articulated specimens from the Late Devonian (Early Famennian) of the Holy Cross Mountains in central Poland. The occurrence of this taxon in Kowala Quarry near Kielce has been reported previously, with specimens often found in single-file queues representing migratory behaviour that was followed by a mass mortality event that preserved these assemblages. The new taxon is compared with other species of Trimerocephalus and is interpreted as being most closely related to a clade consisting of T. caecus, T. lelievrei, T, inimbi, T. shotoriensis and T. tardispinosus.

  12. Quantum corrections to quasi-periodic solution of Sine-Gordon model and periodic solution of phi4 model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwiatkowski, G.; Leble, S.

    2014-03-01

    Analytical form of quantum corrections to quasi-periodic solution of Sine-Gordon model and periodic solution of phi4 model is obtained through zeta function regularisation with account of all rest variables of a d-dimensional theory. Qualitative dependence of quantum corrections on parameters of the classical systems is also evaluated for a much broader class of potentials u(x) = b2f(bx) + C with b and C as arbitrary real constants.

  13. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boyd, Brian K.; Gorrissen, Willy J.; Hand, James R.

    This document provides an overview of renewable resource potential at Fort Gordon, based primarily upon analysis of secondary data sources supplemented with limited on-site evaluations. This effort focuses on grid-connected generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and also on ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings. The effort was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as follow-on to the 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Renewables Assessment. The site visit to Fort Gordon took place on March 9, 2010.

  14. Targeting Androgen Receptor in Breast Cancer: Enzalutamide as a Novel Breast Cancer Therapeutic

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-01

    24451109 Designated as Highly Cited by the journal Breast Cancer Research . Barton VN, D’Amato NC, Gordon MA, Lind HT, Spoelstra NS, Babbs B, Heinz RE...24451109 Designated as Highly Cited by the journal Breast Cancer Research . Barton VN, Gordon MA, Christenson J, D’Amato N, Richer JK. Androgen...2. Documentation of AR staining in a CLIA certified lab, but all IHC funded by this grant is for research purposes only – no clinical decisions

  15. Analytic solution for the space-time fractional Klein-Gordon and coupled conformable Boussinesq equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shallal, Muhannad A.; Jabbar, Hawraz N.; Ali, Khalid K.

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we constructed a travelling wave solution for space-time fractional nonlinear partial differential equations by using the modified extended Tanh method with Riccati equation. The method is used to obtain analytic solutions for the space-time fractional Klein-Gordon and coupled conformable space-time fractional Boussinesq equations. The fractional complex transforms and the properties of modified Riemann-Liouville derivative have been used to convert these equations into nonlinear ordinary differential equations.

  16. Numerical analysis of soliton solutions of the modified Korteweg-de Vries-sine-Gordon equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popov, S. P.

    2015-03-01

    Multisoliton solutions of the modified Korteweg-de Vries-sine-Gordon equation (mKdV-SG) are found numerically by applying the quasi-spectral Fourier method and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The accuracy and features of the approach are determined as applied to problems with initial data in the form of various combinations of perturbed soliton distributions. Three-soliton solutions are obtained, and the generation of kinks, breathers, wobblers, perturbed kinks, and nonlinear oscillatory waves is studied.

  17. On the origin of a phosphate enriched interval in the Chattanooga Shale (Upper Devonian) of Tennessee-A combined sedimentologic, petrographic, and geochemical study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yifan; Schieber, Juergen

    2015-11-01

    The Devonian Chattanooga Shale contains an uppermost black shale interval with dispersed phosphate nodules. This interval extends from Tennessee to correlative strata in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio and represents a significant period of marine phosphate fixation during the Late Devonian of North America. It overlies black shales that lack phosphate nodules but otherwise look very similar in outcrop. The purpose of this study is to examine what sets these two shales apart and what this difference tells us about the sedimentary history of the uppermost Chattanooga Shale. In thin section, the lower black shales (PBS) show pyrite enriched laminae and compositional banding. The overlying phosphatic black shales (PhBS) are characterized by phosbioclasts, have a general banded to homogenized texture with reworked layers, and show well defined horizons of phosphate nodules that are reworked and transported. In the PhBS, up to 8000 particles of P-debris per cm2 occur in reworked beds, whereas the background black shale shows between 37-88 particles per cm2. In the PBS, the shale matrix contains between 8-16 phosphatic particles per cm2. The shale matrix in the PhBS contains 5.6% inertinite, whereas just 1% inertinite occurs in the PBS. The shale matrix in both units is characterized by flat REE patterns (shale-normalized), whereas Phosbioclast-rich layers in the PhBS show high concentrations of REEs and enrichment of MREEs. Negative Ce-anomalies are common to all samples, but are best developed in association with Phosbioclasts. Redox-sensitive elements (Co, U, Mo) are more strongly enriched in the PBS when compared to the PhBS. Trace elements associated with organic matter (Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni) show an inverse trend of enrichment. Deposited atop a sequence boundary that separates the two shale units, the PhBS unit represents a transgressive systems tract and probably was deposited in shallower water than the underlying PBS interval. The higher phosphate content in the PhBS is interpreted as the result of a combination of lower sedimentation rates with reworking/winnowing episodes. Three types of phosphatic beds that reflect different degrees of reworking intensity are observed. Strong negative Ce anomalies and abundant secondary marcasite formation in the PhBS suggests improved aeration of the water column, and improved downward diffusion of oxygen into the sediment. The associated oxidation of previously formed pyrite resulted in a lowering of pore water pH and forced dissolution of biogenic phosphate. Phosphate dissolution was followed by formation of secondary marcasite and phosphate. Repeated, episodic reworking caused repetitive cycles of phosphatic dissolution and reprecipitation, enriching MREEs in reprecipitated apatite. A generally "deeper" seated redox boundary favored P-remineralization within the sediment matrix, and multiple repeats of this process in combination with wave and current reworking at the seabed led to the formation of larger phosphatic aggregates and concentration of phosphate nodules in discrete horizons.

  18. Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan: Implications for the middle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levashova, Natalia M.; Mikolaichuk, Alexander V.; McCausland, Philip J. A.; Bazhenov, Mikhail L.; Van der Voo, Rob

    2007-05-01

    The Ural-Mongol belt (UMB), between Siberia, Baltica and Tarim, is widely recognized as the locus of Asia's main growth during the Paleozoic, but its evolution remains highly controversial, as illustrated by the disparate paleogeographic models published in the last decade. One of the largest tectonic units of the UMB is the Kokchetav-North Tien Shan Domain (KNTD) that stretches from Tarim in the south nearly to the West Siberian Basin. The KNTD comprises several Precambrian microcontinents and numerous remnants of Early Paleozoic island arcs, marginal basins and accretionary complexes. In Late Ordovician time, all these structures had amalgamated into a single contiguous domain. Its paleogeographic position is of crucial importance for elucidating the Paleozoic evolution of the UMB in general and of the Urals in particular. The Aral Formation, located in Kyrgyzstan in the southern part of the KNTD, consists of a thick Upper Devonian (Frasnian) basalt-andesite sequence. Paleomagnetic data show a dual-polarity characteristic component (Dec/Inc = 286° / + 56°, α95 = 9°, k = 21, N = 15 sites). The primary origin of this magnetization is confirmed by a positive test on intraformational conglomerates. We combine this result with other Paleozoic data from the KNTD and show its latitudinal motion from the Late Ordovician to the end of the Paleozoic. The observed paleolatitudes are found to agree well with the values extrapolated from Baltica to a common reference point (42.5°N, 73°E) in our sampling area for the entire interval; hence coherent motion of the KNTD and Baltica is strongly indicated for most of the Paleozoic. This finding contradicts most published models of the UMB evolution, where the KNTD is separated from Baltica by a rather wide Ural Ocean containing one or more major plate boundaries. An exception is the model of Şengör and Natal'in [A.M.C. Şengör, B.A. Natal'in, Paleotectonics of Asia: fragments of a synthesis, in: A. Yin and M. Harrison (eds.), The tectonic evolution of Asia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1996) 486-640], in which coherent paleolatitudinal motion of Baltica and the KNTD is hypothesized — the latter as part of the Kipchak Arc. We suggest a parallel hypothesis, which explains coherent motion of the KNTD and Baltica. In particular, we argue that if a basin with oceanic crust ever existed between the KNTD and Baltica, it was a narrow one without (significant) active spreading in Middle to Late Paleozoic time. Notably, the paleogeographic position of Siberia during the Middle Paleozoic and hence, the width of the Khanty-Mansi Ocean between Siberia, on the one hand, and Baltica-KNTD, on the other hand, remains largely unconstrained, because of the paucity of high-quality Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous paleomagnetic results from Siberia.

  19. Sulfur-, oxygen-, and carbon-isotope studies of Ag-Pb-Zn vein-breccia occurrences, sulfide-bearing concretions, and barite deposits in the north-central Brooks Range, with comparisons to shale-hosted stratiform massive sulfide deposits: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kelley, Karen D.; Leach, David L.; Johnson, Craig A.

    2000-01-01

    Stratiform shale-hosted massive sulfide deposits, sulfidebearing concretions and vein breccias, and barite deposits are widespread in sedimentary rocks of Late Devonian to Permian age in the northern Brooks Range. All of the sulfide-bearing concretions and vein breccias are hosted in mixed continental-marine clastic rocks of the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Endicott Group. The clastic rocks and associated sulfide occurrences underlie chert and shale of Mississippian-Pennsylvanian(?) age that contain large stratiform massive sulfide deposits like that at Red Dog. The relative stratigraphic position of the vein breccias, as well as previously published mineralogical, geochemical, and lead-isotope data, suggest that the vein breccias formed coevally with overlying shale-hosted massive sulfide deposits and that they may represent pathways of oreforming hydrothermal fluids. Barite deposits are hosted either in Mississippian chert and limestone (at essentially the same stratigraphic position as the shale-hosted massive sulfide deposits) or Permian chert and shale. Although most barite deposits have no associated base-metal mineralization, barite occurs with massive sulfide deposits at the Red Dog deposit.Galena and sphalerite from most vein breccias have δ34S values from –7.3 to –0.7‰ (per mil) and –5.1 to 3.6‰, respectively; sphalerite from sulfide-bearing concretions have δ34S values of 0.7 and 4.7‰. This overall range in δ34S values largely overlaps with the range previously determined for galena and sphalerite from shale-hosted massive sulfide deposits at Red Dog and Drenchwater. The Kady vein-breccia occurrence is unusual in having higher δ34S values for sphalerite (12.1 to 12.9‰) and pyrite (11.3‰), consistent with previously published values for the shale-hosted Lik deposit. The correspondence in sulfur isotopic compositions between the stratiform and vein-breccia deposits suggests that they share a common source of reduced sulfur, or derived reduced sulfur by similar geochemical processes. Most likely, the reduced sulfur was derived by biogenic sulfate reduction (BSR) or thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) of seawater sulfate during Devonian-Mississippian time.The δ18O values of quartz from the vein breccias are between 16.6 and 19.9‰. Using the sphalerite-galena sulfur isotopic temperature of 188°±25°C, the calulated hydrothermal fluids had δ18O values of 4.2 to 7.5‰. The calculated range of δ18O values of the fluids is similar to that of pore fluids in equilibrium with sedimentary rocks during diagenesis at 100°– 190°C.

  20. Quantum Gravitational Corrections to the Real Klein-Gordon Field in the Presence of a Minimal Length

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moayedi, S. K.; Setare, M. R.; Moayeri, H.

    2010-09-01

    The ( D+1)-dimensional ( β, β')-two-parameter Lorentz-covariant deformed algebra introduced by Quesne and Tkachuk (J. Phys., A Math. Gen. 39, 10909, 2006), leads to a nonzero minimal uncertainty in position (minimal length). The Klein-Gordon equation in a (3+1)-dimensional space-time described by Quesne-Tkachuk Lorentz-covariant deformed algebra is studied in the case where β'=2 β up to first order over deformation parameter β. It is shown that the modified Klein-Gordon equation which contains fourth-order derivative of the wave function describes two massive particles with different masses. We have shown that physically acceptable mass states can only exist for β<1/8m^{2c2} which leads to an isotropic minimal length in the interval 10-17 m<(Δ X i )0<10-15 m. Finally, we have shown that the above estimation of minimal length is in good agreement with the results obtained in previous investigations.

  1. A no-man's-land of sex: Reading Stephen Gordon and "her" critics.

    PubMed

    Costello, Katherine A

    2018-04-03

    One of the most read novels of lesbian, transgender, and queer criticism, Radclyffe Hall's novel The Well of Loneliness (1928) has given rise to numerous and contradictory interpretations of the protagonist Stephen Gordon's complex relationship to her body. Some have argued that she is a historically specific example of female masculinity, others that she is a lesbian who wishes she were more feminine, and others still that she is a prototypical transsexual character. Focusing on the exemplary essays by Jack Halberstam, Teresa de Lauretis, and Jay Prosser, I argue that the coexistence of mutually exclusive interpretations of Stephen Gordon's relationship to her femaleness suggests that the novel is, in fact, a demand to readers to unmoor identity from sex and to recognize what I call "sexual indeterminacy." Lesbian, transgender, and queer theory's tendency to elide the literariness of literary objects and their reliance on critique as the primary mode of reading and argumentation have made it impossible for critics to see that the novel is explicitly about what cannot be settled.

  2. Heat conduction in one-dimensional lattices with on-site potential.

    PubMed

    Savin, A V; Gendelman, O V

    2003-04-01

    The process of heat conduction in one-dimensional lattices with on-site potential is studied by means of numerical simulation. Using the discrete Frenkel-Kontorova, phi(4), and sinh-Gordon models we demonstrate that contrary to previously expressed opinions the sole anharmonicity of the on-site potential is insufficient to ensure the normal heat conductivity in these systems. The character of the heat conduction is determined by the spectrum of nonlinear excitations peculiar for every given model and therefore depends on the concrete potential shape and the temperature of the lattice. The reason is that the peculiarities of the nonlinear excitations and their interactions prescribe the energy scattering mechanism in each model. For sine-Gordon and phi(4) models, phonons are scattered at a dynamical lattice of topological solitons; for sinh-Gordon and for phi(4) in a different parameter regime the phonons are scattered at localized high-frequency breathers (in the case of phi(4) the scattering mechanism switches with the growth of the temperature).

  3. Petroleum geology and resources of the North Caspian Basin, Kazakhstan and Russia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ulmishek, Gregory F.

    2001-01-01

    The North Caspian basin is a petroleum-rich but lightly explored basin located in Kazakhstan and Russia. It occupies the shallow northern portion of the Caspian Sea and a large plain to the north of the sea between the Volga and Ural Rivers and farther east to the Mugodzhary Highland, which is the southern continuation of the Ural foldbelt. The basin is bounded by the Paleozoic carbonate platform of the Volga-Ural province to the north and west and by the Ural, South Emba, and Karpinsky Hercynian foldbelts to the east and south. The basin was originated by pre-Late Devonian rifting and subsequent spreading that opened the oceanic crust, but the precise time of these tectonic events is not known. The sedimentary succession of the basin is more than 20 km thick in the central areas. The drilled Upper Devonian to Tertiary part of this succession includes a prominent thick Kungurian (uppermost Lower Permian) salt formation that separates strata into the subsalt and suprasalt sequences and played an important role in the formation of oil and gas fields. Shallow-shelf carbonate formations that contain various reefs and alternate with clastic wedges compose the subsalt sequence on the 1 basin margins. Basinward, these rocks grade into deep-water anoxic black shales and turbidites. The Kungurian salt formation is strongly deformed into domes and intervening depressions. The most active halokinesis occurred during Late Permian?Triassic time, but growth of salt domes continued later and some of them are exposed on the present-day surface. The suprasalt sequence is mostly composed of clastic rocks that are several kilometers thick in depressions between salt domes. A single total petroleum system is defined in the North Caspian basin. Discovered reserves are about 19.7 billion barrels of oil and natural gas liquids and 157 trillion cubic feet of gas. Much of the reserves are concentrated in the supergiant Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Astrakhan fields. A recent new oil discovery on the Kashagan structure offshore in the Caspian Sea is probably also of the supergiant status. Major oil and gas reserves are located in carbonate reservoirs in reefs and structural traps of the subsalt sequence. Substantially smaller reserves are located in numerous fields in the suprasalt sequence. These suprasalt fields are largely in shallow Jurassic and Cretaceous clastic reservoirs in salt dome-related traps. Petroleum source rocks are poorly identified by geochemical methods. However, geologic data indicate that the principal source rocks are Upper Devonian to Lower Permian deep-water black-shale facies stratigraphically correlative to shallow-shelf carbonate platforms on the basin margins. The main stage of hydrocarbon generation was probably in Late Permian and Triassic time, during deposition of thick orogenic clastics. Generated hydrocarbons migrated laterally into adjacent subsalt reservoirs and vertically, through depressions between Kungurian salt domes where the salt is thin or absent, into suprasalt clastic reservoirs. Six assessment units have been identified in the North Caspian basin. Four of them include Paleozoic subsalt rocks of the basin margins, and a fifth unit, which encompasses the entire total petroleum system area, includes the suprasalt sequence. All five of these assessment units are underexplored and have significant potential for new discoveries. Most undiscovered petroleum resources are expected in Paleozoic subsalt carbonate rocks. The assessment unit in subsalt rocks with the greatest undiscovered potential occupies the south basin margin. Petroleum potential of suprasalt rocks is lower; however, discoveries of many small to medium size fields are expected. The sixth identified assessment unit embraces subsalt rocks of the central basin areas. The top of subsalt rocks in these areas occurs at depths ranging from 7 to 10 kilometers and has not been reached by wells. Undiscovered resources of this unit did not rec

  4. The Paleotethys suture in Central Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bagheri, S.; Stampfli, G. M.

    2003-04-01

    The Triassic rocks of the Nakhlak area have been used to justify the hypothesis of the rotation of the Central-East Iranian microplate, mainly based on paleomagnetic data. Davoudzadeh and his coworkers (1981) pointed out the existing contrast between the Nakhlakh succession and the time-equivalent lithostratigraphic units exposed in the surrounding regions and compared them with the Triassic rocks of the Aghdarband area on the southern edge of the Turan plate. We recently gathered evidences that this part of central Iran effectively belongs to the Northern Iranian Paleo-Tethys suture zone and related Variscan terrains of the Turan plate. This is the case for the northwestern part of central Iran, where the Anarak-Khur belt (Anarak schists and their thick Cretaceous-Paleocene sedimentary cover) presents all the elements of an orogenic zone such as dismembered ophiolites and silisiclastics, calcareous and volcanic cover which has been deformed and metamorphosed. This belt is separated to the northwest from the Alborz microcontinent by the Great Kavir fault and Cretaceous ophiolite mélanges. To the southeast it is bounded by the Biabanak fault and serpentinites and the Biabanak block, part of the central-east Iranian plate. The later zone is formed by Proterozoic metamorphic basement and marine sedimentary cover, nearly continuous from the Ordovician to the Triassic, at the uppermost part upper Triassic-lower Jurassic bauxites and silisiclastics are observed. Excepted the Ordovician angular unconformities and the boundary between lower Jurassic and younger layers, this sequence displays no significant main unconformities and can be attributed to the Cimmerian super-terrain. Thus, this sequences represents the classical evolution of the southern Paleo-Tethys passive margin, as found in the Alborz microcontinent or the Band-e Bayan zone of Afghanistan and is the witness of large scale duplication of the Paleo-Tethys suture zone through major Alpine strike-slip faults. Within the Anarak-Khur belt limit and to the northeast of the Nakhlak succession, the area of Godar-e Siah of Jandaq, remnants of the Eurasian active margin are found, represented by: 1- A lower Paleozoic to upper Devonian unit consisting mainly of metamorphosed rocks including ophiolitic rocks, pelagic sediments, flysch-like deposits and shallow-water limestones of Devonian age belonging to the Anarak and Kabudan areas. Folding and thrusting was pre-Carboniferous and all geochronological dating based on K/Ar for the Anarak and Kaboudan schists placed this metamorphic event between middle Devonian and Visean. 2- the main part of the lower Carboniferous unit consists of a volcano-sedimentary complex with intercalations of limestone containing Coral, Brachiopod and Foraminiferas. Pyroclastic deposits are followed by continental red beds containing a great variety of grain types, such as hypabyssal to several types of granitoid rock fragments derived from the arc, accompanied by pebbles of chert, fossiliferous carbonate and serpentinite recycled from the accretionary complex, pointing to a fore-arc environment of deposition. 3- The middle Carboniferous to Permian unit consists of coarse littoral conglomerate and sandstones derived from ophiolitic to felsic material with some platform limestones. They represent the final infill of the fore-arc basin and rest unconformably on both the metamorphites and Lower Carboniferous units. These tectono-stratigraphic units are similar to the western Hindu Kush sequences of Afghanistan and Tuarkyr in Turkmenistan and belong to the northern active margin of Paleo-Tethys. Therefore, the Anarak-Khur belt was part of the Variscan terranes located along this margin. Volcano-sedimentary strata with Conodont-bearing limestones of Permian to Triassic age have been found in direct contact with the Biabanak fault which, therefore, is most likely following and reactivating the Paleo-Tethys suture zone.

  5. Spacetime Replication of Quantum Information Using (2 , 3) Quantum Secret Sharing and Teleportation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Yadong; Khalid, Abdullah; Davijani, Masoud; Sanders, Barry

    The aim of this work is to construct a protocol to replicate quantum information in any valid configuration of causal diamonds and assess resources required to physically realize spacetime replication. We present a set of codes to replicate quantum information along with a scheme to realize these codes using continuous-variable quantum optics. We use our proposed experimental realizations to determine upper bounds on the quantum and classical resources required to simulate spacetime replication. For four causal diamonds, our implementation scheme is more efficient than the one proposed previously. Our codes are designed using a decomposition algorithm for complete directed graphs, (2 , 3) quantum secret sharing, quantum teleportation and entanglement swapping. These results show the simulation of spacetime replication of quantum information is feasible with existing experimental methods. Alberta Innovates, NSERC, China's 1000 Talent Plan and the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, which is an NSF Physics Frontiers Center (NSF Grant PHY-1125565) with support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF-2644).

  6. Apollo 12 Mission image - Modular Equipment Stowage Assemble (MESA) and the Fuel Cask on the Lunar Module (LM)

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1969-11-19

    AS12-48-7034 (19 Nov. 1969) --- A close-up view of a portion of quadrant II of the descent stage of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module (LM), photographed during the Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA). At lower left is the LM's Y footpad. The empty Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) fuel cask is at upper right. The fuel capsule has already been removed and placed in the RTG. The RTG furnishes power for the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) which the Apollo 12 astronauts deployed on the moon. The LM's descent engine skirt is in the center background. The rod-like object protruding out from under the footpad is a lunar surface sensing probe. Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit while astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, descended in the LM to explore the moon.

  7. An organismal concept for Sengelia radicans gen. et sp. nov. – morphology and natural history of an Early Devonian lycophyte

    PubMed Central

    Tomescu, Alexandru M. F.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background and Aims Fossil plants are found as fragmentary remains and understanding them as natural species requires assembly of whole-organism concepts that integrate different plant parts. Such concepts are essential for incorporating fossils in hypotheses of plant evolution and phylogeny. Plants of the Early Devonian are crucial to reconstructing the initial radiation of tracheophytes, yet few are understood as whole organisms. Methods This study assembles a whole-plant concept for the Early Devonian lycophyte Sengelia radicans gen. et sp. nov., based on morphometric data and taphonomic observations from >1000 specimens collected in the Beartooth Butte Formation (Wyoming, USA). Key Results Sengelia radicans occupies a key position between stem-group and derived lycophyte lineages. Sengelia had a rooting system of downward-growing root-bearing stems, formed dense monotypic mats of prostrate shoots in areas that experienced periodic flooding, and was characterized by a life-history strategy adapted for survival after floods, dominated by clonality, and featuring infrequent sexual reproduction. Conclusions Sengelia radicans is the oldest among the very few early tracheophytes for which a detailed, rigorous whole-plant concept integrates morphology, growth habit, life history and growth environment. This plant adds to the diversity of body plans documented among lycophytes and may help elucidate patterns of morphological evolution in the clade. PMID:28334100

  8. The Calvin impact crater and its associated oil production, Cass County, Michigan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Milstein, R.L.

    1996-01-01

    The Calvin impact crater is an isolated, nearly circular subsurface structure of Late Ordovician age in southwestern Michigan. The crater is defined by 110 oil and gas test wells, has a diameter of 6.2 km, and consists of a central dome exhibiting 415 m of structural uplift, an annular depression, and an encircling anticlinal rim. Exploration and development of three Devonian oil fields associated wit this structure provide all available subsurface data. All oil production is from the Middle Devonian Traverse Limestone, with the exception of one well producing from the Middle Devonian Sylvania Sandstone. This study models the grossmore » morphology of the Calvin structure using multiple tools and compares the results to known impact craters. Combined results of reflection seismic, gravity, magnetic, and resistivity data, as well as organized relationships between stratigraphic displacement and structural diameters observed in complex impact craters, suggest the Calvin structure is morphologically similar to recognized complex impact craters in sedimentary targets. In addition, individual quartz grains recovered from the Calvin structure exhibit decorated shock lamellae, Boehm lamellae, rhombohederal cleavage, and radiating concussion fractures. Based on the available data, I conclude the Calvin structure is a buried complex impact crater and that the trapping and reservoir characteristics of the associated Calvin 20, Juno Lake, and Calvin 28 oil fields are resultant of the craters morphology.« less

  9. The Calvin impact crater and its associated oil production, Cass County, Michigan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Milstein, R.L.

    1996-12-31

    The Calvin impact crater is an isolated, nearly circular subsurface structure of Late Ordovician age in southwestern Michigan. The crater is defined by 110 oil and gas test wells, has a diameter of 6.2 km, and consists of a central dome exhibiting 415 m of structural uplift, an annular depression, and an encircling anticlinal rim. Exploration and development of three Devonian oil fields associated wit this structure provide all available subsurface data. All oil production is from the Middle Devonian Traverse Limestone, with the exception of one well producing from the Middle Devonian Sylvania Sandstone. This study models the grossmore » morphology of the Calvin structure using multiple tools and compares the results to known impact craters. Combined results of reflection seismic, gravity, magnetic, and resistivity data, as well as organized relationships between stratigraphic displacement and structural diameters observed in complex impact craters, suggest the Calvin structure is morphologically similar to recognized complex impact craters in sedimentary targets. In addition, individual quartz grains recovered from the Calvin structure exhibit decorated shock lamellae, Boehm lamellae, rhombohederal cleavage, and radiating concussion fractures. Based on the available data, I conclude the Calvin structure is a buried complex impact crater and that the trapping and reservoir characteristics of the associated Calvin 20, Juno Lake, and Calvin 28 oil fields are resultant of the craters morphology.« less

  10. Syngenetic Au on the Carlin trend: Implications for Carlin-type deposits

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Emsbo, P.; Hutchinson, R.W.; Hofstra, A.H.; Volk, J.A.; Bettles, K.H.; Baschuk, G.J.; Johnson, C.A.

    1999-01-01

    A new type of gold occurrence recently discovered in the Carlin trend, north-central Nevada, is clearly distinct from classic Carlin-type gold ore. These occurrences are interpreted to be of sedimentary exhalative (sedex) origin because they are stratiform and predate compaction and lithification of their unaltered Devonian host rocks. They contain barite that exhibits ??34S and ??18O values identical to sulfate in Late Devonian seawater and sedex-type barite deposits. Abrupt facies changes in the host rocks strongly suggest synsedimentary faulting and foundering of the carbonate shelf during mineralization, as is characteristic of sedex deposits. Gold occurs both as native inclusions in synsedimentary base-metal sulfides and barite, and as chemical enrichments in sulfide minerals. The absence of alteration and lack of ??13C and ??18O isotopic shift of primary carbonates in these rocks is strong evidence that this gold was not introduced with classic Carlin-type mineralization. Collectively, these features show that the Devonian strata were significantly enriched in gold some 300 m.y. prior to generation of the mid-Tertiary Carlin-type deposits. These strata may have been an important, perhaps even vital, source of gold for the latter. Although gold is typically low in most Zn-Pb-rich sedex deposits, our evidence suggests that transport of gold in basinal fluids, and its subsequent deposition in the sedex environment, can be significant.

  11. Deep in shadows, deep in time: the oldest mesophotic coral ecosystems from the Devonian of the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zapalski, Mikołaj K.; Wrzołek, Tomasz; Skompski, Stanisław; Berkowski, Błażej

    2017-09-01

    Recent mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) occur at depths between 30 and 150 m and are characterized by dominance of platy corals. Such morphology is an effect of specific adaptation to efficient light harvesting. Here, we describe and analyze platy coral assemblages from two Middle Devonian localities in the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland) that during this time were located on the southern shelf of Laurussia at tropical latitudes. The Eifelian argillaceous sediments of Skały are dominated by platy and encrusting tabulate corals ( Roseoporella, Platyaxum and Alveolites). Coeval faunas from the shallow-water parts of the Holy Cross Mountains basin display bulbous and branching morphology, thus indicating a Paleozoic coral zonation similar to that known in the Recent. Hence, the Skały site seems to be the oldest known MCE (ca. 390 Ma). A Givetian biostrome from Laskowa Quarry is a second example dominated by platy corals, with abundant branching forms; this site can be recognized as another Devonian MCE. Frondescent Platyaxum, common at both sites, had a growth habit similar to that of Recent Leptoseris, Mycedium or Pavona. Platy morphology is photoadaptive and may evidence photosymbiosis in tabulate ( Alveolites, Roseoporella, Platyaxum) and rugose corals ( Phillipsastrea). Furthermore, it may serve as a tool for recognition of the lower euphotic zone in the fossil record.

  12. Unsuspected functional disparity in Devonian fishes revealed by tooth morphometrics?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gauchey, Samuel; Girard, Catherine; Adnet, Sylvain; Renaud, Sabrina

    2014-09-01

    The shape of features involved in key biological functions, such as teeth in nutrition, can provide insights into ecological processes even in ancient time, by linking the occupation of the morphological space (disparity) to the occupation of the ecological space. Investigating disparity in radiating groups may provide insights into the ecological diversification underlying evolution of morphological diversity. Actinopterygian fishes initiated their radiation in the Devonian, a period characterized by the diversification of marine ecosystem. Although a former morpho-functional analysis of jaw shape concluded to conservative and poorly diversified morphologies in this early part of their history, fish tooth disparity evidenced here an unsuspected diversity of possible functional significance in the pivotal period of the Late Devonian (Famennian). All teeth being caniniforms, some were stocky and robust, in agreement with expectations for active generalist predators. More surprisingly, elongated teeth also occurred at the beginning of Famennian. Their needle-like shape challenges morpho-functional interpretations by making them fragile in response to bending or torsion. The occurrence of both types of fish teeth during the beginning of the Famennian points to a discrete but real increase in disparity, thus testifying a first burst of feeding specialization despite overall conservative jaw morphology. The disappearance of these needle-like teeth in the Late Famennian might have been related to a relay in dental diversity with abundant co-occurring groups, namely conodonts and chondrichthyans (sharks).

  13. Obituary: Gordon Donaldson Obituary: Gordon Donaldson

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pegrum, Colin; Campbell, Archie; Hampshire, Damian

    2013-07-01

    Gordon Donaldson died in Glasgow on 28 November 2012 at the age of 71. He was born in Edinburgh and brought up and educated in Glasgow, which was his home city for much of his life. He was educated first at Glasgow Academy, and then with a scholarship at Christ's College Cambridge. Here he read Natural Sciences, finishing with first class honors in Physics. He then did a PhD on tunneling in superconductors in the Mond Laboratory, supervised by John Adkins. These were interesting times, since type II superconductors had only recently been identified, and the Mond was a leading player in the physics of vortices and other quantum effects. It was headed by Pippard and Shoenberg, and colleagues around that time were Brian Josephson, John Clarke, Colin Gough and John Waldram. On finishing his PhD in 1966 Gordon went straight to a lectureship at the University of Lancaster. In 1975 during a sabbatical at the University of California, Berkeley, with John Clarke's group, Gordon co-invented thin-film gradiometers with integrated DC SQUIDs. He then moved back to Glasgow, to the Department of Applied Physics at Strathclyde University, where he founded a new research group to make and use superconducting devices, especially SQUIDs and gradiometers. From modest beginnings the group grew steadily, acquiring new facilities and members, until in the 1990s it had over 20 members and a host of collaborators from elsewhere in Glasgow and abroad. With funding from the Wellcome Trust, Gordon and colleagues at Glasgow University and the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow set up a new biomagnetism facility in 1998 on the hospital campus to use SQUID gradiometers made at Strathclyde for measurements on patients and volunteers. Another of his main research interests was the use of SQUIDs for nondestructive evaluation (NDE). This started in the days before high temperature superconductors (HTS) with wire-wound gradiometers and niobium SQUIDs, soon moving on to miniature thin-film niobium integrated SQUID gradiometers. This was followed by major programs to develop and demonstrate HTS gradiometers for NDE. Gordon was appointed to a personal professorship in 1985 and became Professor of Applied Physics two years later. He was also head of department from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1993 to 1998. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and became Convener of their Physics Panel. He was also a Trustee of the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation. Gordon was much involved in teaching and in many university matters. He was particularly fond of the course How Things Work, which he developed and taught for fifteen years, that was so much in keeping with his passion for useful practical physics and science. After the explosion in HTS research, Gordon became the Coordinator for the National Committee for Superconductivity in the UK for three years from 1990. One of his important tasks was to coordinate the distribution of EPSRC funds to university groups and to support industrial activity. He did this with tact and good judgment. He knew everybody, understood what they were doing, and made sure that while the large groups were well supported, nobody was left out completely. This exercise could have led to resentment, but under his guidance it was a great success and it is a pity that similar exercises have not been tried since. He was a key member of the Low Temperature Group of the Institute of Physics in London, and became its Chairman for the last three years of his tenure. In 1998, he was invited to become editor of Superconductor Science and Technology (SuST). He was a referee for every paper in the journal during this period, which was an enormous task and very widely appreciated by the superconductivity community. He was particularly active during the discovery and commercialization of MgB2. He oversaw a smooth handover to his successor as Editor-in-Chief in 2007. Gordon's long list of publications and contributions to books attest to his advancement of superconducting technology. He will be especially remembered as an independent originator of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of materials and structures using SQUIDs, and for the advancement and use of the gradiometers developed at Berkeley for biomagnetic use. He organized and chaired two key conferences, the International Superconductive Electronics Conference in Glasgow in 1991 and then the 1995 European Conference on Applied Superconductivity in Edinburgh, together with many smaller specialist meetings. Since he retired he was afflicted with severe back problems, and unfortunately operations were not successful. He was confined to a wheelchair and later to the house, which was a great trial to him. Gordon was universally respected and liked both as a scientist and a person. He was sharp, humorous and excellent company on social occasions. He will be much missed by his many colleagues and friends at SuST and throughout science, as well as by his family.

  14. Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Incoherent Scatter Radar Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robinson, Robert M.; van Eyken, Anthony; Farley, Donald

    2009-08-01

    In the 11 November 2008 issue of Eos (89(46), 458), Henry Rishbeth asked whether the years 2008-2010 feature any important anniversaries in solar-terrestrial physics other than those he mentioned. One such milestone is the fiftieth anniversary of the first incoherent scatter radar (ISR) experiment. At a Cornell University (Ithaca, N. Y.) departmental seminar in the spring of 1958, William Gordon showed that a powerful radar system could detect the uncorrelated and extremely weak scattered signals from individual ionospheric electrons. This process is called incoherent scatter, and studying the properties of the resulting radar echoes can reveal information about the density, temperature, and velocity of ionospheric particles. Gordon discussed this idea with Ken Bowles, a recent Ph.D. graduate of Cornell, and in a few weeks Bowles built a large but inexpensive antenna array that he connected to an existing transmitter near Havana, Ill. Using this crude radar (the data processing consisted of taking a time exposure photograph of the signal amplitude displayed on an oscilloscope), Bowles successfully measured an incoherently scattered signal on 21 October 1958. By a happy coincidence, 21 October was also the day that Gordon gave his first formal talk on the ISR concept at an International Union of Radio Science (URSI) conference at Pennsylvania State University. After calling Bowles for an update on his experiment, Gordon presented his research and added the dramatic and newsworthy note to the end of his talk on the success of the first ISR experiment!

  15. The astronomical rhythm of Late-Devonian climate change (Kowala section, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Vleeschouwer, David; Rakociński, Michał; Racki, Grzegorz; Bond, David P. G.; Sobień, Katarzyna; Claeys, Philippe

    2013-03-01

    Rhythmical alternations between limestone and shales or marls characterize the famous Kowala section, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland. Two intervals of this section were studied for evidence of orbital cyclostratigraphy. The oldest interval spans the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, deposited under one of the hottest greenhouse climates of the Phanerozoic. The youngest interval encompasses the Devonian-Carboniferous (D-C) boundary, a pivotal moment in Earth's climatic history that saw a transition from greenhouse to icehouse. For the Frasnian-Famennian sequence, lithological variations are consistent with 405-kyr and 100-kyr eccentricity forcing and a cyclostratigraphic floating time-scale is presented. The interpretation of observed lithological rhythms as eccentricity cycles is confirmed by amplitude modulation patterns in agreement with astronomical theory and by the recognition of precession cycles in high-resolution stable isotope records. The resulting relative time-scale suggests that ˜800 kyr separate the Lower and Upper Kellwasser Events (LKE and UKE, respectively), two periods of anoxia that culminated in massive biodiversity loss at the end of the Frasnian. Th/U and pyrite framboid analyses indicate that during the UKE, oxygen levels remained low for 400 kyr and δ13Corg measurements demonstrate that more than 600 kyr elapsed before the carbon cycle reached a steady state after a +3‰ UKE excursion. The Famennian-Tournaisian (D-C) interval also reveals eccentricity and precession-related lithological variations. Precession-related alternations clearly demonstrate grouping into 100-kyr bundles. The Famennian part of this interval is characterized by several distinctive anoxic black shales, including the Annulata, Dasberg and Hangenberg shales. Our high-resolution cyclostratigraphic framework indicates that those shales were deposited at 2.2 and 2.4 Myr intervals respectively. These durations strongly suggest a link between the long-period (˜2.4 Myr) eccentricity cycle and the development of the Annulata, Dasberg and Hangenberg anoxic shales. It is assumed that these black shales form under transgressive conditions, when extremely high eccentricity promoted the collapse of small continental ice-sheets at the most austral latitudes of western Gondwana.

  16. History of displacement along Ste. Genevieve Fault Zone, Southwestern Illinois

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schwalb, H.R.

    1983-09-01

    The Ste. Genevieve fault zone extends eastward from Missouri across the Mississippi River into Jackson County, Illinois, about 75 mi (120 km) southeast of St. Louis. Outcrop studies have dated movement along portions of the zone as pre-Middle Devonian, post-Mississippian, and post-Pennsylvanian. Present displacement is down to the north and east with throw ranging up to 3,000 ft (915 m). However, pre-Middle Devonian movement was down to the south and west. The present upthrown block shows no evidence of vertical movement during the Cambrian and Ordovician. Nor is there any indication that the fault zone was part of the northernmore » border of the Reelfoot basin, where earliest Paleozoic sediments infilled an aulacogen at the northern end of the Mississippi embayment.« less

  17. The Late Devonian Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia: Exceptional Early Vertebrate Preservation and Diversity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Long, John A.; Trinajstic, Kate

    2010-05-01

    The Gogo Formation of Western Australia preserves a unique Late Devonian (Frasnian) reef fauna. The exceptional three-dimensional preservation of macrofossils combined with unprecedented soft-tissue preservation (including muscle bundles, nerve cells, and umbilical structures) has yielded a particularly rich assemblage with almost 50 species of fishes described. The most significant discoveries have contributed to resolving placoderm phylogeny and elucidating their reproductive physiology. Specifically, these discoveries have produced data on the oldest known vertebrate embryos; the anatomy of the primitive actinopterygian neurocranium and phylogeny of the earliest actinopterygians; the histology, radiation, and plasticity of dipnoan (lungfish) dental and cranial structures; the anatomy and functional morphology of the extinct onychodonts; and the anatomy of the primitive tetrapodomorph head and pectoral fin.

  18. Determination of NRHP Eligibility for Buildings 28414, 32100, 33800, 36300, and 36302 at Fort Gordon, Georgia: Includes a Criteria Consideration G Evaluation of the 1988 Barracks Complex

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-01-01

    NHPA Building Evaluations at Fort Gordon” ERDC/CERL TR-17-3 ii Abstract This document is an architectural survey for 5 buildings (28414, Chapel...Hall) at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The Army constructed the 5 buildings from 1966 to 1977 and the 14 buildings in 1988. This survey satisfies Section...National Historic Preservation Act NPS National Park Service NRHP National Register of Historic Places USGS U.S. Geological Survey WWII World War II

  19. Epigenetic Mediation of Endocrine and Immune Response in an Animal Model of Gulf War Illness

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-01

    Illness 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-14-1-0550 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER Patrick O. McGowan, PhD, Gordon Broderick , PhD, James O’Callaghan, PhD...Nova Southeastern) as part of IAME/CFS meeting, hosted by Nova, to meet with Drs. Broderick (Co-PI) Oct 27- 2016. Co-PI and PI arranged to meet with...project. Direct supervision of molecular biology studies related to epigenetics data. Funding Support: Name: Gordon Broderick , PhD Project Role: Co

  20. Exact Mass-Coupling Relation for the Homogeneous Sine-Gordon Model.

    PubMed

    Bajnok, Zoltán; Balog, János; Ito, Katsushi; Satoh, Yuji; Tóth, Gábor Zsolt

    2016-05-06

    We derive the exact mass-coupling relation of the simplest multiscale quantum integrable model, i.e., the homogeneous sine-Gordon model with two mass scales. The relation is obtained by comparing the perturbed conformal field theory description of the model valid at short distances to the large distance bootstrap description based on the model's integrability. In particular, we find a differential equation for the relation by constructing conserved tensor currents, which satisfy a generalization of the Θ sum rule Ward identity. The mass-coupling relation is written in terms of hypergeometric functions.

  1. Optical solitons to the resonance nonlinear Schrödinger equation by Sine-Gordon equation method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inc, Mustafa; Aliyu, Aliyu Isa; Yusuf, Abdullahi; Baleanu, Dumitru

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we examined the optical solitons to the resonant nonlinear Schrödinger equation (R-NLSE) which describes the propagation of solitons through optical fibers. Three types of nonlinear media fibers are studied. They are; quadratic-cubic law, Kerr law and parabolic law. Dark, bright, dark-bright or combined optical and singular soliton solutions are derived using the sine-Gordon equation method (SGEM). The constraint conditions that naturally fall out of the solution structure which guarantee the existence of these solitons are also reported.

  2. Theory-Driven Models for Correcting Fight or Flight Imbalance in Gulf War Illness

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-09-01

    contained in this report are those of the author( s ) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision unless...for Correcting “Fight or Flight” Imbalance in Gulf War Illness 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-10-1-0774 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR( S ) 5d...PROJECT NUMBER Gordon Broderick, P.hD. 5e. TASK NUMBER Email: gordon.broderick@ualberta.ca 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S

  3. Quantum cybernetics: a new perspective for Nelson's stochastic theory, nonlocality, and the Klein-Gordon equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grössing, Gerhard

    2002-04-01

    The Klein-Gordon equation is shown to be equivalent to coupled partial differential equations for a sub-quantum Brownian movement of a “particle”, which is both passively affected by, and actively affecting, a diffusion process of its generally nonlocal environment. This indicates circularly causal, or “cybernetic”, relationships between “particles” and their surroundings. Moreover, in the relativistic domain, the original stochastic theory of Nelson is shown to hold as a limiting case only, i.e., for a vanishing quantum potential.

  4. Sakonnet Harbor, Little Compton, Rhode Island, Small Navigation Project: Detailed Project Report. Main Report & Appendices

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-01-01

    PARII PHIL ’ 2 1*1 "T TELE: 200608 I , PN C. CNJAI GUY PASCMALY OAVIO V. SMAI.4EY Cj.MM OIJ LANCO CCCIL WMAI , JR.N, LNCUNOA .JAMCs C. QOOOALE U’#A OKL...date should be corrected to May 15, 1969. Sincerely yours, %/ Gordon E. Beckett Supervisor L ___ _ ST. JOHN. PARK & SCOTT ATTOFNCYG AT LAW i WEST ELM...report we provided on May 15, 1959. This date should be corrected to - May 15, 1969. Sincerely yours, ! Gordon E. Beckett Supervisor 0 ;ITO__

  5. 2015 Laser Diagnostics in Combustion Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-10-20

    34Ultra-Short Nonlinear Sensors : Exploiting Electronic Resonances" 9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion 10:00 am - 10:30 am Coffee Break 10:30 am - 11:10 am...Chair 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Advances in Sources and Sensors Discussion Leader: Jacqueline O’Connor (Pennsylvania State University, USA) 7:30 pm - 7:40...Cameras" 9:15 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion Thursday 7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast 9:00 am - 12:30 pm Soot Particle Detection Discussion Leader: Stefan Will

  6. 2014 Defects in Semiconductors Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar. Research Area 1: Materials Science, 1.3 Physical Properties of Materials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-08-01

    transistors, solar cells , and light emitting diodes. Be they highest voltage blocking normally-off switches for hybrid cars, ultralow cost solar ...Albertus (U.S. Department of Energy) "Introduction" 9:20 am - 9:50 am Yanfa Yan (University of Toledo) "Fundamental Limits to CdTe Solar Cell ...Efficiency" 9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion 10:00 am Coffee Break 10:30 am - 11:00 am Steve Ringel (Ohio State University) "Defects in Solar Cells " 11

  7. Time-fractional Cahn-Allen and time-fractional Klein-Gordon equations: Lie symmetry analysis, explicit solutions and convergence analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inc, Mustafa; Yusuf, Abdullahi; Isa Aliyu, Aliyu; Baleanu, Dumitru

    2018-03-01

    This research analyzes the symmetry analysis, explicit solutions and convergence analysis to the time fractional Cahn-Allen (CA) and time-fractional Klein-Gordon (KG) equations with Riemann-Liouville (RL) derivative. The time fractional CA and time fractional KG are reduced to respective nonlinear ordinary differential equation of fractional order. We solve the reduced fractional ODEs using an explicit power series method. The convergence analysis for the obtained explicit solutions are investigated. Some figures for the obtained explicit solutions are also presented.

  8. Magnetostratigraphy of late Devonian carbonates of Western Australia: Integrating reversal history with biostratigraphic and 13C records

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tohver, E.; Playton, T.; Hillbun, K.; Yan, M.; Pisarevsky, S.; Hansma, J.; Roelofs, B.; Trinajstic, K.; Kirschvink, J. L.; Haines, P.

    2016-12-01

    The Global Polarity Timescale presents a useful basis for chronostratigraphic correlations, but pre-Jurassic records depend on records from sedimentary basins preserved on the continents. At present, the record for the late Devonian is poorly established. Here we present an integrated magnetostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and C-isotope study of the Canning Basin of Western Australia, located on the northern margin of eastern Gondwana. The study region is part of the classic "Devonian Great Barrier Reef", and preserves an outstanding marine record of a prominent mass extinction event (i.e., the Frasnian-Fammenian event, the fifth of the "Big Five" mass extinctions). We present magnetostratigraphic profiles from six different sections (2200 m total) from four separate localities that record different paleowater depths, i.e., lowermost slope to reef/platform deposits of the basin. Correlations between localities are based on conodont assemblages that can be correlated to global records. Paleomagnetic sampling was carried out at the meter-scale for magnetostratigraphic analysis, with duplicate specimens used for carbon isotope stratigraphy. Most samples record a magnetic overprint parallel to the modern geomagnetic direction, but this remanence was removed by laboratory heating to ca. 180°C. Approximately forty percent of samples retain a high temperature characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM), typically carried by magnetite or hematite. Before using these ChRMs to assign a magnetic polarity, we filtered paleomagnetic directions to eliminate directions >45 degrees from the Fisherian mean direction, avoiding spurious directions and low latitude virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) from transitional field directions. The resulting magnetostratigraphic profiles were used to correlate different sections on the basis of matching reversal records, yielding a composite record of the Middle to Late Devonian geomagnetic reversal record. We recognized seventeen major magnetozones, although the total number of individual reversals is much higher. We examine the distribution of both VGPs and ChRMs to assess whether non-Fisherian statistics should be applied to magnetostratigraphic datasets, and we assess the factors that might cause ellipticity of both datasets.

  9. Formation and inversion of transtensional basins in the western part of the Lachlan Fold Belt, Australia, with emphasis on the Cobar Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glen, R. A.

    The Palaeozoic history of the western part of the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales was dominated by strike-slip tectonics. In the latest Silurian to late Early Devonian, an area of crust >25,000 km 2 lying west of the Gilmore Suture underwent regional sinistral transtension, leading to the development of intracratonic successor basins, troughs and flanking shelves. The volcaniclastic deep-water Mount Hope Trough and Rast Trough, the siliciclastic Cobar Basin and the volcanic-rich Canbelego-Mineral Hill Belt of the Kopyje Shelf all were initiated around the Siluro-Devonian boundary. They all show clear evidence of having evolved by both active syn-rift processes and passive later post-rift (sag-phase) processes. Active syn-rift faulting is best documented for the Cobar Basin and Mount Hope Trough. In the former case, the synchronous activity on several fault sets suggests that the basin formed by sinistral transtension in response to a direction of maximum extension oriented NE-SW. Structures formed during inversion of the Cobar Basin and Canbelego-Mineral Hill Belt indicate closure under a dextral transpressive strain regime, with a far-field direction of maximum shortening oriented NE-SW. In the Cobar Basin, shortening was partitioned into two structural zones. A high-strain zone in the east was developed into a positive half-flower structure by re-activation of early faults and by formation of short-cut thrusts, some with strike-slip movement, above an inferred steep strike-slip fault. Intense subvertical cleavage, a steep extension lineation and variably plunging folds are also present. A lower-strain zone to the west developed by syn-depositional faults being activated as thrusts soling into a gently dipping detachment. A subvertical cleavage and steep extension lineation are locally present, and variably plunging folds are common. Whereas Siluro-Devonian basin-opening appeared to be synchronous in the western part of the fold belt, the different period of basin inversion in the Cobar region (late Early Devonian and Carboniferous) may reflect different movement histories on the master strike-slip faults in this part of the fold belt, the Gilmore Suture and Kiewa Fault.

  10. Characterization of the temperature and humidity-dependent phase diagram of amorphous nanoscale organic aerosols.

    PubMed

    Rothfuss, Nicholas E; Petters, Markus D

    2017-03-01

    Atmospheric aerosols can exist in amorphous semi-solid or glassy phase states. These states are determined by the temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). New measurements of viscosity for amorphous semi-solid nanometer size sucrose particles as a function of T and RH are reported. Viscosity is measured by inducing coagulation between two particles and probing the thermodynamic states that induce the particle to relax into a sphere. It is shown that the glass transition temperature can be obtained by extrapolation to 10 12 Pa s from the measured temperature-dependent viscosity in the 10 6 to 10 7 Pa s range. The experimental methodology was refined to allow isothermal probing of RH dependence and to increase the range of temperatures over which the dry temperature dependence can be studied. Several experiments where one monomer was sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), which remains solid at high RH, are also reported. These sucrose-SDS dimers were observed to relax into a sphere at T and RH similar to those observed in sucrose-sucrose dimers, suggesting that amorphous sucrose will flow over an insoluble particle at a viscosity similar to that characteristic of coalescence between two sucrose particles. Possible physical and analytical implications of this observation are considered. The data reported here suggest that semi-solid viscosity between 10 4 and 10 12 Pa s can be modelled over a wide range of T and RH using an adapted Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation and the Gordon-Taylor mixing rule. Sensitivity of modelled viscosity to variations in dry glass transition temperature, Gordon-Taylor constant, and aerosol hygroscopicity are explored, along with implications for atmospheric processes such as ice nucleation of glassy organic aerosols in the upper free troposphere. The reported measurement and modelling framework provides a template for characterizing the phase diagram of other amorphous aerosol systems, including secondary organic aerosols.

  11. The systematics of the Mongolepidida (Chondrichthyes) and the Ordovician origins of the clade

    PubMed Central

    Coates, Michael I.; Karatajūtė-Talimaa, Valentina; Shelton, Richard M.; Cooper, Paul R.

    2016-01-01

    The Mongolepidida is an Order of putative early chondrichthyan fish, originally erected to unite taxa from the Lower Silurian of Mongolia. The present study reassesses mongolepid systematics through the examination of the developmental, histological and morphological characteristics of scale-based specimens from the Upper Ordovician Harding Sandstone (Colorado, USA) and the Upper Llandovery–Lower Wenlock Yimugantawu (Tarim Basin, China), Xiushan (Guizhou Province, China) and Chargat (north-western Mongolia) Formations. The inclusion of the Mongolepidida within the Class Chondrichthyes is supported on the basis of a suite of scale attributes (areal odontode deposition, linear odontocomplex structure and lack of enamel, cancellous bone and hard-tissue resorption) shared with traditionally recognized chondrichthyans (euchondrichthyans, e.g., ctenacanthiforms). The mongolepid dermal skeleton exhibits a rare type of atubular dentine (lamellin) that is regarded as one of the diagnostic features of the Order within crown gnathostomes. The previously erected Mongolepididae and Shiqianolepidae families are revised, differentiated by scale-base histology and expanded to include the genera Rongolepisand Xinjiangichthys, respectively. A newly described mongolepid species (Solinalepis levis gen. et sp. nov.) from the Ordovician of North America is treated as family incertae sedis, as it possesses a type of basal bone tissue (acellular and vascular) that has yet to be documented in other mongolepids. This study extends the stratigraphic and palaeogeographic range of Mongolepidida and adds further evidence for an early diversification of the Chondrichthyes in the Ordovician Period, 50 million years prior to the first recorded appearance of euchondrichthyan teeth in the Lower Devonian. PMID:27350896

  12. Origin of Silurian reefs in the Alexander Terrane of southeastern Alaska

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Soja, C.M.

    1991-04-01

    Lower to Upper Silurian (upper Llandovery-Ludlow) limestones belonging to the Heceta Formation record several episodes of reef growth in the Alexander terrane of southeastern Alaska. As the oldest carbonates of wide-spread distribution in the region, the Heceta limestones represent the earliest development of a shallow-marine platform within the Alexander arc and the oldest foundation for reef evolution. These deposits provide important insights into the dynamic processes, styles, and bathymetry associated with reef growth in tectonically active oceanic islands. Massive stromatoporoids, corals, and red algae are preserved in fragmental rudstones and represent a fringing reef that formed at the seaward edgemore » of the incipient marine shelf. Accessory constituents in this reef include crinoids and the cyanobacterium Girvanella. Small biostromes were constructed by ramose corals and stromatoporoids on oncolitic substrates in backreef or lagoonal environments. These buildups were associated with low-diversity assemblages of brachiopods and with gastropods, amphiporids, calcareous algae and cyanobacteria. Microbial boundstones reflect the widespread encrustation of cyanobacteria and calcified microproblematica on shelly debris as stromatolitic mats that resulted in the development of a stromatactoid-bearing mud mound and a barrier reef complex. Epiphytaceans, other microbes, and aphrosalpingid sponges were the primary frame-builders of the barrier reefs. These buildups attained significant relief at the shelf margin and shed detritus as slumped blocks and debris flows into deep-water sites along the slope. The similarity of these stromatolitic-aphrosalpingid reefs to those from Siluro-Devonian strata of autochthonous southwestern Alaska suggests paleobiogeographic ties of the Alexander terrane to cratonal North America during the Silurian.« less

  13. Data on surface-water, streambed-interstitial water, and bed-sediment quality for selected locations in the small arms impact area of central Fort Gordon, Georgia, September 4-6, 2001

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Priest, Sheryln; Stamey, Timothy C.; Lawrence, Stephen J.

    2002-01-01

    In September 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon (U.S. Department of the Army), conducted a chemical assessment of surface water, streambed-interstitial water, and bed sediments within the small arms impact area of Fort Gordon Military Installation. The study was conducted in support of the development of an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) for Fort Gordon, Georgia. An effective INRMP ensures that natural resources conservation measures and U.S. Army activities on the military base are integrated and consistent with Federal requirements to manage military installations on an ecosystem basis. Filtered water samples were collected from five sites along South Prong Creek and three sites along Marcum Branch Creek for chemical analyses of major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements. On-site measurements of pH, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen were made at the eight sites. Filtered water collected showed varying concentrations in both surface- and streambed-interstitial water. Bed-sediment samples collected from South Prong Creek contain elevated levels of arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and total organic carbon relative to previous concentrations (McConnell and others, 2000). Bed-sediment samples collected from Marcum Branch Creek contain elevated levels of beryllium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, selenium, and total organic carbon relative to previous concentrations (McConnell and others, 2000).

  14. Mode solutions for a Klein-Gordon field in anti-de Sitter spacetime with dynamical boundary conditions of Wentzell type

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dappiaggi, Claudio; Ferreira, Hugo R. C.; Juárez-Aubry, Benito A.

    2018-04-01

    We study a real, massive Klein-Gordon field in the Poincaré fundamental domain of the (d +1 )-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime, subject to a particular choice of dynamical boundary conditions of generalized Wentzell type, whereby the boundary data solves a nonhomogeneous, boundary Klein-Gordon equation, with the source term fixed by the normal derivative of the scalar field at the boundary. This naturally defines a field in the conformal boundary of the Poincaré fundamental domain of AdS. We completely solve the equations for the bulk and boundary fields and investigate the existence of bound state solutions, motivated by the analogous problem with Robin boundary conditions, which are recovered as a limiting case. Finally, we argue that both Robin and generalized Wentzell boundary conditions are distinguished in the sense that they are invariant under the action of the isometry group of the AdS conformal boundary, a condition which ensures in addition that the total flux of energy across the boundary vanishes.

  15. Saturn Apollo Program

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1969-11-23

    This is a view of astronaut Richard F. Gordon attaching a high resolution telephoto lens to a camera aboard the Apollo 12 Command Module (CM) Yankee Clipper. The second manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 12 launched from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1969 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. Aboard Apollo 12 was a crew of three astronauts: Alan L. Bean, pilot of the Lunar Module (LM), Intrepid; Richard Gordon, pilot of the Command Module (CM), Yankee Clipper; and Spacecraft Commander Charles Conrad. The LM, Intrepid, landed astronauts Conrad and Bean on the lunar surface in what’s known as the Ocean of Storms. Their lunar soil activities included the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), finding the unmanned Surveyor 3 that landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967, and collecting 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of rock samples. Astronaut Richard Gordon piloted the CM, Yankee Clipper, in a parking orbit around the Moon. Apollo 12 safely returned to Earth on November 24, 1969.

  16. Nonlinear instabilities of multi-site breathers in Klein-Gordon lattices

    DOE PAGES

    Cuevas-Maraver, Jesus; Kevrekidis, Panayotis G.; Pelinovsky, Dmitry E.

    2016-08-01

    Here, we explore the possibility of multi-site breather states in a nonlinear Klein–Gordon lattice to become nonlinearly unstable, even if they are found to be spectrally stable. The mechanism for this nonlinear instability is through the resonance with the wave continuum of a multiple of an internal mode eigenfrequency in the linearization of excited breather states. For the nonlinear instability, the internal mode must have its Krein signature opposite to that of the wave continuum. This mechanism is not only theoretically proposed, but also numerically corroborated through two concrete examples of the Klein–Gordon lattice with a soft (Morse) and amore » hard (Φ 4) potential. Compared to the case of the nonlinear Schrödinger lattice, the Krein signature of the internal mode relative to that of the wave continuum may change depending on the period of the multi-site breather state. For the periods for which the Krein signatures of the internal mode and the wave continuum coincide, multi-site breather states are observed to be nonlinearly stable.« less

  17. A new numerical treatment based on Lucas polynomials for 1D and 2D sinh-Gordon equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oruç, Ömer

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, a new mixed method based on Lucas and Fibonacci polynomials is developed for numerical solutions of 1D and 2D sinh-Gordon equations. Firstly time variable discretized by central finite difference and then unknown function and its derivatives are expanded to Lucas series. With the help of these series expansion and Fibonacci polynomials, matrices for differentiation are derived. With this approach, finding the solution of sinh-Gordon equation transformed to finding the solution of an algebraic system of equations. Lucas series coefficients are acquired by solving this system of algebraic equations. Then by plugginging these coefficients into Lucas series expansion numerical solutions can be obtained consecutively. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate that Lucas polynomial based method is convenient for 1D and 2D nonlinear problems. By calculating L2 and L∞ error norms of some 1D and 2D test problems efficiency and performance of the proposed method is monitored. Acquired accurate results confirm the applicability of the method.

  18. The earliest seeds

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gillespie, W.H.; Rothwell, G.W.; Scheckler, S.E.

    1981-01-01

    Lagenostomalean-type seeds in bifurcating cupule systems have been discovered in the late Devonian Hampshire Formation of Randolph County, West Virginia, USA (Fig. 1). The associated megaflora, plants from coal balls, and vertebrate and invertebrate faunas demonstrate that the material is Famennian; the microflora indicates a more specific Fa2c age. Consequently, these seeds predate Archaeosperma arnoldii1 from the Fa2d of northeastern Pennsylvania, the oldest previously reported seed. By applying precision fracture, transfer, de??gagement, and thin-section techniques to selected cupules from the more than 100 specimens on hand, we have determined the three-dimensional morphology and histology of the seeds (Fig. 2a-h, k) and cupule systems. A comparison with known late Devonian to early Carboniferous seeds reveals that ours are more primitively organized than all except Genomosperma2,3. ?? 1981 Nature Publishing Group.

  19. Paleocurrent analysis of a deformed Devonian foreland basin in the northern Appalachians, Maine, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, D.C.; Hanson, L.S.

    2002-01-01

    New paleocurrent data indicate that the widespread Late Silurian and Devonian flysch and molasse succession in Maine was deposited in an ancestral, migrating foreland basin adjacent to an advancing Acadian orogenic belt. The foreland-basin sequence spread across a varied Silurian paleogeography of deep basins and small islands-the vestiges of an intraoceanic arc complex that not long before had collided with the Laurentian passive margin during the Ordovician Taconic Orogeny. We report paleocurrents from 43 sites representing 12 stratigraphic units, the most robust and consistent results coming from three units: Madrid Formation (southwesterly paleoflow), Carrabassett Formation (northerly paleoflow), and Seboomook Group (westerly paleoflow). Deformation and regional metamorphism are sufficiently intense to test the limits of paleocurrent analysis requiring particular care in retrodeformation. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Post-early cretaceous landform evolution along the western margin of the banca~nnia trough, western nsw

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gibson, D.L.

    2000-01-01

    Previously undated post-Devonian sediments outcropping north of Fowlers Gap station near the western margin of the Bancannia Trough are shown by plant macro- and microfossil determinations to be of Early Cretaceous (most likely Neocomian and/or Aptian) age, and thus part of the Eromanga Basin. They are assigned to the previously defined Telephone Creek Formation. Study of the structural configuration of this unit and the unconformably underlying Devonian rocks suggests that the gross landscape architecture of the area results from post-Early Cretaceous monoclinal folding along blind faults at the western margin of the trough, combined with the effects of differential erosion. This study shows that, while landscape evolution in the area has been dynamic, the major changes that have occurred are on a geological rather than human timescale.

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