Runion is a protohistoric Native American village located on the floodplain of the Nolichucky River in western Washington County. Previous archaeological excavations and radiocarbon dates suggest that the village was occupied during the mid-16th to mid-17th century. The Nolichucky River, in contrast, has been flowing through the area for millennia. Geophysical surveys are used to image the subsurface non-invasively, without disturbing protected land and/or organisms. Preliminary geophysical data collected at Runion include ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI), and magnetometry. These data show a linear feature surrounding the protohistoric village. Given its placement around the margins of the village, the feature could be interpreted as a fortification ditch, which is often paired with a palisade wall to defend a village from attack. The feature is also consistent with typical meandering floodplain stratigraphy, where sections of channel are often abandoned to form oxbow lakes. Over time these abandoned channels fill in and are called paleochannels. Each geophysical method measures the properties and characteristics of the linear feature, a presumed paleochannel. GPR sends electromagnetic radar waves into the ground, which reflect off different subsurface layers and are recorded as radargrams. Magnetometry measures subtle changes in earth magnetism, including the magnetization of rocks, soils, and/or ferrous objects. EMI systems transmit low frequency electromagnetic waves to measure both electrical conductivity (EC) and magnetic susceptibility (MS). Each of these instruments are used to collect data in transects and then processed to produce profiles, maps and, in the case of GPR, three-dimensional datasets of the subsurface. It is anticipated that GPR will reveal details about the stratigraphy of the linear feature. Magnetic, EC, and MS measurements will further help to interpret the GPR data by distinguishing between different types of sediments. These data may show if the feature is a paleochannel or a ditch excavated into older stratigraphic layers by village inhabitants for fortification. Ultimately, the feature will be tested with soil cores to study the sediments directly. At this preliminary stage the feature is interpreted to be a paleochannel. The stratigraphic layers revealed by GPR show a broad depression with stratigraphic layers characteristic of a paleochannel. In addition, magnetic readings are anomalously low on the eastern margin (closer to the modern river channel) and high on the western margin. This could indicate paired point bar sands and paleochannel fill, respectively. This interpretation is still tentative, however, because we have not yet integrated the EMI data, extracted soil cores, or dated the feature. Radiocarbon dates might help determine the relative age of the feature if organic carbon is present. In conclusion, preliminary data currently suggests that the structure is geological rather than archaeological. In the coming months we will collect more GPR data with different frequency GPR antennas, integrate the EMI data, and test the findings by extracting soil cores and reconstructing the stratigraphy.

Understanding the effects of land use on riparian systems is dependent upon the development of methodologies to recognize changes in sedimentation related to shifts in land use. Land use trends in southern New England consist of shifts from forested precolonial conditions, to colonial and agrarian land uses, and toward modern industrial-urban landscapes. The goals of this study were to develop a set of stratigraphic indices that reflect these land use periods and to illustrate their applications. Twenty-four riparian sites from first-and second-order watersheds were chosen for study. Soil morphological features, such as buried surface horizons (layers), were useful to identify periods of watershed instability. The presence of human artifacts and increases in heavy metal concentration above background levels, were also effective indicators of industrial-urban land use periods. Increases and peak abundance of non-arboreal weed pollen (Ambrosia) were identified as stratigraphic markers indicative of agricultural land uses. Twelve 14C dates from riparian soils indicated that the rise in non-arboreal pollen corresponds to the start of regional deforestation (AD 1749 ± 56 cal yr; mean ± 2 SD) and peak non-arboreal pollen concentration corresponds to maximum agricultural land use (AD 1820 ± 51 cal yr). These indices were applied to elucidate the impact of land use on riparian sedimentation and soil carbon (C) dynamics. This analysis indicated that the majority of sediment and soil organic carbon (SOC) stored in regional riparian soils is of postcolonial origins. Mean net sedimentation rates increased ∼100-fold during postcolonial time periods, and net SOC sequestration rates showed an approximate 200-fold increase since precolonial times. These results suggest that headwater riparian zones have acted as an effective sink for alluvial sediment and SOC associated with postcolonial land use.

Research on the Marjum Formation provides insight into facies transitions in the House Range embayment of southwestern Utah during the Middle Cambrian. Sections of the Marjum Formation and equivalents were measured in strata representing shallow- (Drum Mountains), intermediate- (Wheeler Amphitheater), and deep-ramp (Marjum Pass) environments. This traverse across the embayment reveals strong litho- and biofacies changes. The Drum Mountains strata (343 m thick) are dominated by thickbedded shallow-water limestone facies containing polymerid trilobites and stromatolites. The Wheeler Amphitheater locality (392 m thick) provides an example of intermediate deposits between deep-water and shallow-water environments and is characterized by limestone and subordinate shale facies containing polymerid and agnostid trilobites, brachiopods, and sponge spicules. The Marjum Pass locality (424 m thick) contains equal parts shale and limestone facies with abundant fossils that include polymerid and agnostid trilobites, sponge spicules and soft bodied algae, representing deep-water environments. Migration of litho- and biofacies observed within Marjum Formation sections across the embayment shows carbonate ramp build-up and progradation from the Drum Mountains to the Swasey Peak, Wheeler Amphitheater area. Lateral migration of deepwater shale and rhythmite-producing turbidite facies can also be observed on a larger timescale from the Drum Mountains, during the early Bolaspidella time (Wheeler Formation deposits), to the Marjum Pass area (Marjum Formation deposits) by late Bolaspidella time. The Marjum Formation records two, third order shoaling-upward sequences. Fourth, fifth, and higher-frequency (rhythmite) cycles superimposed on these third order sequences can also be identified within the formation and are best preserved within the relatively deep-water deposits at Marjum Pass. Identification of sampled trilobites allowed correlation of known fauna! turnovers found by Robison and Vorwald with observed strata and systems tracts from this study. Stratigraphic locations of trilobite fauna! turnovers were found to be associated with transgressive systems tracts in the Drum Mountains and Marjum Pass localities. Fauna! turnover associated with significant sea-level events within these systems tracts suggests change in water depth altered the local environment forcing extinction and/or migration of organisms. Peak values of total organic carbon (TOC) at each measured section were also found to have a close relationship with maximum flooding zones. Associations of peak TOC values and fauna! turnovers with significant sea-level events demonstrate the value of these tools for correlation across the embayment.

This study synthesizes the deposition and tectonic evolution of the Tertiary deposits in southern Cache Valley, a narrow, north-trending valley in the northeastern Basin-and- Range Province. The surrounding mountains consist of Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Southern Cache Valley is an east-tilted half-graben. The oldest Tertiary sediments are on the west side of the basin, and the overall dip is to the east. The Late Miocene to Early Pliocene Salt Lake Formation (Tsl) accumulated above the thin (to absent) Early to Middle Eocene Wasatch Formation (Tw) and the newly identified Fowkes and Norwood Tuff equivalents (Tfn; late Middle Eocene to Middle Oligocene). The two post-Wasatch units consist of felsic tuff, tuffaceous sandstone, pebble to boulder conglomerate, limestone, and sandstone. Pebble counts, generalized measured sections, and detailed mapping permitted subdivision of the Tertiary deposits into mappable subunits. Numerous faults and N-trending folds are present in Tertiary deposits in the SW part of the area. The Cenozoic-Paleozoic contact is offset by normal faults. The faults with ENE trends offset both the Paleozoic and Tertiary rocks, and thus are younger than 5 .1 Ma. Thick gravels, rich in Paleozoic carbonates, dominate exposures in the east, near the East Cache fault zone. Few cobbles are present within the Tfn except near the base, whereas conglomerates rich in clasts of Paleozoic carbonates are intertongued with tuffaceous sediments throughout the Tsl, especially eastward. Up to 8,000 feet (3439 m) of the Tsl accumulated as the narrow Cache Valley basin formed during the Neogene by rapid eastward downfaulting.

This study integrates detailed mapping of Tertiary deposits along the divide between the lower Bear River basin and the Cache Valley basin with several other techniques to generate a depositional model, define extension-related structures, and compile a geologic history for this part of the northeastern Basin and Range province. The study area is situated along the topographic divide between Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah, from the Wellsville Mountains north almost to Clarkston Mountain. These ranges are cored by folded and thrusted Paleozoic rocks. They are bound on the west by normal faults of the Wasatch fault zone and on the east by the West Cache fault zone. Between these two fault zones, poorly consolidated Tertiary deposits of the Wasatch Formation and Salt Lake Formation overlie Paleozoic rocks in the foothills and low divide between the north-trending ranges. The Miocene to Pliocene Salt Lake Formation accumulated above non-tuffaceous conglomerates of the Paleocene to Eocene Wasatch Formation, up to 0.5 km thick in the Wellsville Mountains, but thin or absent northward. The Salt Lake Formation in the study area consists of an apparently non-tuffaceous lower conglomerate member, up to 0.5 km thick in the Wellsville Mountains, and a widespread younger tuffaceous and lacustrine member, at least 1 km thick. The traditional names of Collinston Conglomerate and Cache Valley Member were used for these two lithologies. The Cache Valley Member was further subdivided into a local tuffaceous basal conglomerate, a widespread tuffaceous subunit, and an overlying oolitic subunit. Normal faults in the study area comprise three groups. North-striking normal faults are the youngest, and include major range-bounding faults. East-striking normal faults are less numerous, and are cut by the north-striking faults. The southwest-dipping low-to moderate-angle Beaver Dam fault separates the Cache Butte Divide and Junction Hills from the Wellsville Mountains. It may be unique within the area of study, and may comprise a newly identified segment of the Wasatch fault zone. Most of its displacement appears to pre-date the late Miocene, at the time that previous authors have suggested for the onset of Basin-and-Range normal faulting.

The majority of the Middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation in the Drum Mountains was deposited during a single 3rd order sequence. Superimposed onto this sequence are three indistinct 4th order cycles and twenty distinct 5th order cycles. These higher order cycles were likely deposited within short intervals of geologic time (204 to 405 ky). The lower sequence boundary zone occurs within the Swasey Formation. The Transgressive Surface is the contact between the Swasey and Wheeler Formations. The Maximum Flooding Surface is located near the top of the lower Wheeler Formation, which also approximates the base of the Ptychagnostus atavus range zone. The upper sequence boundary is marked by stromatolites, which occur near the top of the upper member of the Wheeler Formation in the Drum Mountains. Deposition of the Wheeler Formation in the Drum Mountains was controlled by eustacy and tectonics. Local normal faulting associated with Middle Cambrian postrifting thermal subsidence may have caused some of the 5th order cycles. The cycles and surfaces defined in this stratigraphic analysis, and the base of the Ptychagnostus atavus and P. gibbus range-zones, can be used to correlate strata occurring in other localities in the eastern Great Basin. In addition, this study enables the evaluation of the effect of tectonics (faulting) versus global eustacy on the sedimentary regime occurring within the Middle Cambrian House Range Embayment.

The Swan Peak Formation in north-central Utah thickens westward, from zero feet near Logan to 687 feet in the Promontory Range. The unit is subdivided into three distinct members: 1) A lower member of interbedded shales, limestones, and quartzites; 2) A middle member of interbedded shales and brown quartzites; and 3) An upper member of white quartzites. The Swan Peak thins southward toward the east-west-trending Tooele Arch in the area of study; this thinning probably reflects both lesser deposition and greater subsequent erosion there than elsewhere. The lower member in northern Utah probably was deposited in shallow-shelf and/or transitional shorefaceshelf environments. The middle member represents shoreface to intertidal environments. Western miogeosynclinal equivalents of the lower and middle members are more carbonate-rich, the results of their more basinward position and thus greater distance from terrigenous sediment sources. The upper member was deposited in a shallow-shelf to intertidal environment by strong, predominantly south-flowing currents.

The Middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation is interpreted as having been deposited in the shallow ramp and deeper basin environments of the House Range embayment (HRE), presumably, during a single third-order sequence. In the Drum Mountains, the Wheeler Formation (295 m thick) is dominated by proximal and distal ramp deposits; at Ma~um Pass, the Wheeler Formation (190m thick) is dominated by basinal shale deposits. The Wheeler Formation contains only one biozone marker; the first appearance of Ptyhagnostus atavus. Lack of other chronostratigraphic markers and distinctive stratal patterns in the basinal facies makes correlation along this ramp-to-basin transect difficult. Therefore, carbon-isotope stratigraphy and total organic carbon analysis were tested for their utility as intra basinal correlation tools. 813Ccarbonate isotope values range from -1.7% to 0.07%o (PDB) at Marjum Pass and -1.1% to 1.4% (PDB) in the Drum Mountains; previously reported 813Ccarbonate values in the Great Basin for this time interval range between -2% to 2% (PDB). Both localities show small-scale isotope variability, however, this variability is thought to be the result of local isotopic effects and was not used for correlation. TOC values obtained from both sections increase upsection, define a distinct peak, then decrease upsection. These peaks are associated with shale facies and occur near the maximum flooding surface in both sections, indicating that the TOC results could be used for correlation between sections. The lithologic cyclicity recognized in the shallow-water deposits at the Drum Mountains locality have also been recognized in the deeper-water deposits at Ma~um Pass. At each locality the meter-scale cycles shallow upward and display similar stacking patterns. Because cyclicity is preserved in both sections and the total stratigraphic thickness and cycle thickness decrease toward the embayment-controlling fault, it is probable that the cyclicity was the result of small-scale eustatic changes in sea level rather than episodic tectonism. This ramp-to-basin correlation also supportS the validity of P. atavus as a global biostratigraphic marker. The first appearance of Ptydnagostus atavus has been found below the interpreted maximum flooding surface and was coeval with transgression in both localities, indicating that its appearance was likely synchronous.

Approximately 16 square km of Columbia River basalt are exposed in the Salmon River area to the south and to the west of Mount Hood, Oregon. A maximum composite basalt section composed of 15 flows and totaling 461 m is exposed in discontinuous areas of outcrop.

The study area is located in northwestern Columbia County, and covers an area of approximately 70 square kilometers. The purpose of the study was to investigate the possible correlation of the Scappoose and Astoria Formations and determine their stratigraphic relationship to the Columbia River Basalt Group through mapping, geochemistry and petrography.