Ann E. Gibbs

Composition and origin of hydrothermal ironstones from central Pacific seamounts

Abstract Ironstones recovered from five Late Cretaceous seamounts in the central Pacific region probably formed during late-stage edifice-building volcanism. Ironstones are dense and compact with the appearance of brown chert. The ironstones are characterized by a goethite mineralogy with FeOOH contents up to 88%, extreme fractionation of Fe and Mn, low trace-element and rare earth element abundances, low Co Zn ratios, and isotopic equilibration temperatures of about 20–45 °C. These characteristics indicate that the ironstones formed from hydrothermal fluids. Ironstones probably formed below the seawater-seafloor interface, as indicated by their occurrence as a proximal hydrothermal deposit, presence of primary goethite cement, pervasive replacement of rocks by goethite, and absence of interbedded pyro-clastic beds.

Hydrothermal mineralization along submarine rift zones, Hawaii

This is the first article to describe mineralization of midplate submarine rift zones and hydrothermal manganese oxide mineralization of midplate volcanic edifices. Hydrothermal Mn oxides were recovered from submarine extensions of two Hawaiian rift zones, along Haleakala and Puna Ridges. These Mn oxides form two types of deposits, metallic stratiform layers in volcaniclastic rocks and cement for clastic rocks; both deposit types are composed of todorokite and bimessite. Thin Fe‐Mn crusts that coat some rocks formed by a combination of hydrogenetic and hydrothermal processes and are composed of δ‐MnO2. The stratiform layers have high Mn contents (mean 40%) and a large fractionation between Mn and Fe (Fe/Mn = 0.04). Unlike most other hydrothermal Mn oxide deposits, those from Hawaiian rift zones are enriched in the trace metals Zn, Co, Ba, Mo, Sr, V, and especially Ni (mean 0.16%). Metals are derived from three sources: mafic and ultramafic rocks leached by circulating hydrothermal fluids, clastic material...

Quantifying landscape change in an arctic coastal lowland using repeat airborne LiDAR

Increases in air, permafrost, and sea surface temperature, loss of sea ice, the potential for increased wave energy, and higher river discharge may all be interacting to escalate erosion of arctic coastal lowland landscapes. Here we use airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data acquired in 2006 and 2010 to detect landscape change in a 100 km2 study area on the Beaufort Sea coastal plain of northern Alaska. We detected statistically significant change (99% confidence interval), defined as contiguous areas (>10 m2) that had changed in height by at least 0.55 m, in 0.3% of the study region. Erosional features indicative of ice-rich permafrost degradation were associated with ice-bonded coastal, river, and lake bluffs, frost mounds, ice wedges, and thermo-erosional gullies. These features accounted for about half of the area where vertical change was detected. Inferred thermo-denudation and thermo-abrasion of coastal and river bluffs likely accounted for the dominant permafrost-related degradational processes with respect to area (42%) and volume (51%). More than 300 thermokarst pits significantly subsided during the study period, likely as a result of storm surge flooding of low-lying tundra (<1.4 m asl) as well as the lasting impact of warm summers in the late-1980s and mid-1990s. Our results indicate that repeat airborne LiDAR can be used to detect landscape change in arctic coastal lowland regions at large spatial scales over sub-decadal time periods.

Hydrothermal palygorskite and ferromanganese mineralization at a central California margin fracture zone

Abstract Ferromanganese oxyhydroxide crusts and nodules associated with palygorskite were recovered from the Santa Lucia Escarpment where the Morro Fracture Zone intersects the central California continental margin. Palygorskite was found in pure, high-Mg, low-Al, boxwork-textured veins, and disseminated in poorly consolidated palygorskite-rich mudstone. The purity of the palygorskite boxwork blades and the boxwork structure suggest formation by direct precipitation rather than by diagenetic or detrital processes. Interaction of hydrothermal fluids with oceanic basalt and/or deeper ultramafic rocks produced a Mg-Si enriched fluid supersaturated with respect to palygorskite that precipitated directly from the fluid at or near the seafloor. The close association of Fe-Mn crusts and nodules with both the palygorskite-rich mudstone and boxwork-vein palygorskite suggests a genetic link between the three types of mineralization. Mixed origin hydrothermal-hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts, with up to 50% hydrothermal input, formed contemporaneously with and subsequent to palygorskite formation. Fe-Mn nodules collected in the same dredge are of combined hydrogenetic and diagenetic origin and appear to be unrelated to hydrothermal mineralization that produced the crusts and palygorskite. The thickness of the Fe-Mn crusts and rare diatom fragments within the mudstone suggest an age of formation between 13 and 5 Ma.

Seasonal Electrical Resistivity Surveys of a Coastal Bluff, Barter Island, North Slope Alaska

Select coastal regions of the North Slope of Alaska are experiencing high erosion rates that can be attributed in part to recent warming trends and associated increased storm intensity and frequency. The upper sediment column of the coastal North Slope of Alaska can be described as continuous permafrost underlying a thin (typically less than 1–2 m) active layer that responds variably to seasonal thaw cycles. Assessing the temporal and spatial variability of the active layer and underlying permafrost is essential to better constrain how heightened erosion may impact material fluxes to the atmosphere and the coastal ocean, and how enhanced thaw cycles may impact the stability of the coastal bluffs. In this study, multi-channel electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used to image shallow subsurface features of a coastal bluff west of Kaktovik, on Barter Island, northeast Alaska. A comparison of a suite of paired resistivity surveys conducted in early and late summer 2014 provided detailed information on how the active layer and permafrost are impacted during the short Arctic summer. Such results are useful in the development of coastal resilience models that tie together fluvial, terrestrial, climatic, geologic, and oceanographic forcings on shoreline stability.

EVALUATING CHANGES TO ARCTIC COASTAL BLUFFS USING REPEAT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND STRUCTUREFROM-MOTION ELEVATION MODELS

Aerial photography was collected over Barter Island, Alaska, USA in July and September, 2014. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were derived from the photography using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) techniques, resulting in orthophotomosaics with pixel resolutions of 0.18 and 0.11 cm and DEMs with pixel resolutions of 0.18 and 0.22 cm, for each survey, respectively. Comparison of the image and elevation data along a 2.7 km long section of coastal bluffs shows that considerable bluff retreat and morphological change occurred in just over 2 months, including up to 5 meters of retreat of the top edge of the bluffs and a cumulative loss of nearly 28,000 m ± 540 m of material, primarily through the removal of debris at the base of the bluffs.

Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for Science and Conservation Applications

ABSTRACT Thatcher, C.A.; Brock, J.C.; Danielson, J.J.; Poppenga, S.K.; Gesch, D.B.; Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M.E.; Barras, J.A.; Evans, G.A., and Gibbs, A.E., 2016. Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications. In: Brock, J.C.; Gesch, D.B.; Parrish, C.E.; Rogers, J.N., and Wright, C.W. (eds.), Advances in Topobathymetric Mapping, Models, and Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 76, pp. 64–74. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The U.S. Geological Survey is creating the Coastal National Elevation Database, an expanding set of topobathymetric elevation models that extend seamlessly across coastal regions of high societal or ecological significance in the United States that are undergoing rapid change or are threatened by inundation hazards. Topobathymetric elevation models are raster datasets useful for inundation prediction and other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment-transport and storm surge models. These topobathymetric elevation models are being constructed by the broad regional assimilation of numerous topographic and bathymetric datasets, and are intended to fulfill the pressing needs of decision makers establishing policies for hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness, coastal managers tasked with coastal planning compatible with predictions of inundation due to sea-level rise, and scientists investigating processes of coastal geomorphic change. A key priority of this coastal elevation mapping effort is to foster collaborative lidar acquisitions that meet the standards of the USGS National Geospatial Programs 3D Elevation Program, a nationwide initiative to systematically collect high-quality elevation data. The focus regions are located in highly dynamic environments, for example in areas subject to shoreline change, rapid wetland loss, hurricane impacts such as overwash and wave scouring, and/or human-induced changes to coastal topography.

Regional shoreline change and coastal erosion hazards in Arctic Alaska

Historical shoreline positions along the mainland Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska were digitized and analyzed to determine the long-term rate of change. Average shoreline change rates and ranges from 1947 to the mid2000s were determined every 50 meters between Barrow and Demarcation Point, at the U.S.-Canadian border. Results show that shoreline change rates are highly variable along the coast, with an average regional shoreline change rate of -2.0 m/yr and localized rates of up to -19 m/yr. The highest erosion rates were observed at headlands, points, and associated with breached thermokarst lakes. Areas of accretion were limited, and generally associated with spit extension and minor beach accretion. In general, erosion rates increase from east to west, with overall higher rates east of Harrison Bay.

Resistivity/Induced Polarization/Self-Potential Methods and Applications

Modern multielectrode and multichannel resistivity systems have made it relatively easy and rapid to collect time domain induced polarization (IP) data in near surface surveys. This paper will examine a wide variety of applications through case studies in a variety of geological settings in Western Canada. Case studies will show various applications and complementary features of IP surveys including distinguishing salt water from conductive clays, identifying faults, locating deeply buried structures underneath active facilities, and distinguishing landfilled debris from leachate. IP data sets will be correlated with other data sets including resistivity, seismic reflection, and borehole geophysical parameters.

Seafloor Morphology and Coral Habitat Variability in a Volcanic Environment: Kaloko–Honokohau National Historical Park, Hawaii, USA

Publisher Summary Kaloko–Honokohau National Historical Park (KAHO) is one of three National Park lands along the leeward, west, or Kona, coast of the island of Hawaii, USA. The park includes 596 acres (2.4 km2) of submerged lands and marine resources within its official boundaries. The offshore region of KAHO, part of the insular shelf of the island of Hawaii, comprises a volcanic embayment that extends nearly 3.5 km alongshore and varies in width between 120 and 875 m from the shoreline to the 40 m isobath, the limit of the high-resolution bathymetry. Multiple Holocene volcanic flows coalesce within Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park (KAHO) on the island of Hawaii to create a complex offshore morphology. The volcanic-dominated morphology includes flat to gently sloping volcanic benches, boulder fields, cliffs and ledges, pinnacles, ridges, arches, and steep shelf escarpments. Each of these environments provide distinct habitat zones for coral species, ranging from isolated heads of Porites lobata and Pocillopora meandrina to dense thickets of Porites compressa. In contrast to coral habitat elsewhere in the Hawaiian Islands, where coral typically populates relict carbonate platforms, coral cover in KAHO is typically only a thin veneer of live coral and rubble on exposed volcanic pavement. In only a few locations does coral or accreted carbonate reef obscure the underlying volcanic surface.