The Meers Fault (Oklahoma) is one of few seismogenic structures with Holocene surface expression in the stable continental region of North America. Only the ~37 km-long southeastern section of the ~55 km long Meers Fault is interpreted to be Holocene-active. The ~17 km-long northwestern section is considered to be Quaternary-active (pre-Holocene); however, its low-relief geomorphic expression and anthropogenic alteration have presented difficulties in evaluating the fault length and style of Holocene deformation. We reevaluate surface expression and earthquake timing of the northwestern portion of the Meers Fault to improve fault characterization, earthquake rupture models, and seismic hazard evaluations based on fault length. We use a combination of airborne lidar (0.5--2 m-resolution), historical aerial photos, and new balloon-based photogrammetric (Structure from Motion) topography (0.25--0.5 m-resolution) collected in this study to analyze and characterize the fault scarp and local fault zone geomorphology. In the northwest, complex surface deformation includes fault splays, a left step, subtle monoclinal warping, and a minor change in fault strike. The fault is evident in the landscape as linear escarpments, incised channels on the up-thrown side of the scarp, and closed depressions on the downthrown side. I use topographic profiles, measured perpendicular to the fault scarp to show that the northwest scarp is characterized by decimeter surface offsets. Where the fault traverses the Post Oak Conglomerate the fault zone width rarely exceeds 25 m, in the Hennessey Shale I document an increase in fault zone width with deformation occurring over 20 m to 115 m. I further examined the northwest section of the fault in a paleoseismic excavation where weathered Permian Hennessey Shale and a ~1--2 m-thick veneer of Holocene alluvial deposits have been folded and warped during three surface-folding earthquakes. In an adjacent stream exposure these units are also faulted near the ground surface. Paleoearthquake age modeling (Oxcal) constrained by accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of detrital charcoal and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sandy alluvial beds indicates two earthquakes occurred since ~6152-5550 cal. years BP and one possibly older event along the erosional unconformity along the Hennessey Shale bedrock. This analysis lengthens the Holocene extent of the Meers Fault by ~6 km, to ~43 km, and extends the paleoseismic record of the Meers Fault to ~9598 cal. years BP. These data will improve fault-rupture and earthquake recurrence models used for seismic hazard analysis of the Meers Fault.

The Columbia River is the largest fluvially dominated estuary in the Pacific Northwest, yet the Holocene transgressive fill of this system has not previously been studied. Nearly 1500 industry borehole and water well records in the lower Columbia River basin (LCRB) were analyzed. These records document the sedimentary infilling of the lower 120 miles of the drowned river valley that occurred during the Holocene marine transgression (10-0 ka) . Of particular importance is a key stratigraphic marker horizon of volcanic tephra that has been identified throughout the LCRB. INAA was used to determine the geochemical composition of the target tephra layer. The tephra geochemistry was then compared to geochemical data from potential Cascade source volcanos to determine whether the tephra layers are geochemically related, and the possible age and source of the tephra. The geochemical comparisons indicate that the suspect tephra horizon was derived from the climax eruption of Mount Mazama approximately 6845 years ago. Cross-sections have been constructed that record the lateral and longitudinal depositional development of the river basin. Sediment grain size distribution data have also been compiled and shows that grain size distribution does not change with respect to subsurface elevation within the LCRB. The results indicate that the LCRB has been dominated by fine sand deposition throughout the Holocene period, and silt and clay sized fractions were bypassed through the system to be deposited offshore. A total volume of 74.6 km3 of sediment has accumulated in the basin since the time of the catastrophic floods 12,700 years ago. Sediment volume analysis was used to predict past fluvial sediment supply rates and sediment retention. The volume of sediment deposition from early to late Holocene time has decreased by a factor of 2.4. Sedimentation rates in the basin are estimated from a basin isopach of the Holocene fill and from an extrapolated sediment sea-level curve. Basin sedimentation rates ranged from 12. 6 mm/yr-1 for the early Holocene to 2. 5 mm/yr-1 for the late Holocene period. This factor of 5 decrease in the sedimentation rate also indicates that the Columbia River bypassed much of its fine grained fraction through to the marine environment during the mid-late Holocene.

Orientador: Fresia Soledad Ricardi Torres Branco / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T01:31:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Callefo_Flavia_M.pdf: 11737292 bytes, checksum: 8072787b62f7e014cd2301d513fc4a17 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Esteiras microbianas são estruturas organossedimentares laminadas, desenvolvidas a partir do acréscimo de lâminas de sedimentos aprisionados através do metabolismo de microrganismos, que induzem a precipitação de carbonato. Microbialitos são depósitos organossedimentares formados pela interação de microrganismos com sedimentos detríticos, através dos processos de trapeamento e aglutinação dos grãos e minerais. Esta pesquisa apresenta os resultados obtidos com o estudo tafonômico e paleoecológico de estruturas desenvolvidas por atividade de microrganismos, como estromatólitos, microbialitos e esteiras microbianas, com o intuito de comparar os resultados e traçar similaridades e diferenças nas relações ecológicas e ambientes de formação . Foram utilizados modelos recentes (Holoceno), como a Lagoa Salgada e Lagoa Pitanguinha, RJ, para compreender modelos fósseis (Permiano), afloramentos em Taguaí e Santa Rosa do Viterbo, SP. A metodologia se constituiu em análise de sedimentos associados, petrografia, análises composicionais (como MEV/EDS e Espectroscopia Raman) e estudo de campo. Foram levados em consideração os aspectos ambientais e biota contemporânea ao crescimento e desenvolvimento dos microbiais. As principais conclusões obtidas foram que os ambientes apresentam similaridades com relação a biota desenvolvida, bem como as relações ecológicas que estas mantinham com as comunidades microbianas responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento dos microbialitos e esteiras microbianas. O ambientes de crescimento das estruturas eram marinhos de águas rasas e hipersalinas, com o clima quente e alta taxa de evaporação. A alternância de eventos de tempestades e águas calmas, com posterior período de calmaria no qual foi possível o desenvolvimento de esteiras microbianas foram evidenciados no afloramento de Taguaí e na Lagoa Pitanguinha. Os microbialitos recentes da Lagoa Salgada sofreram maior influência de atividade de predação e herbivoria por parte de invertebrados, o que pode ter sido um fator relevante para a limitação do crescimento destas estruturas em comparação com aquelas existentes em Santa Rosa do Viterbo / Abstract: Microbial mats can be defined as laminated organosedimentary structures developed from the addition of laminaes of sediments trapped trough microorganisms metabolism, which leads to carbonate precipitation. Microbialites are organosedimentary deposits generated by the interation between microorganisms and detritic sediments through trapping and agglutination of minerals and grains play a key role. This research present the results of taphonomic and paleoecological studies from of structures developed by the activity of microorganisms such as microbialites, stromatolites and microbial mats aiming to comparison between the results obtained and to map similarities and differences on the ecological relations and formation environments. Recent models such as Salgada Lagoon and Pitanguinha Lagoon (Holocene), both located on Rio de Janeiro, were used to understand permian fossils models, outcrops located in Taguaí and Santa Rosa do Viterbo/SP. The methodology was based on the analysis of associated sediments, petrography and compositional analysis (MEV/EDS and Raman Spectroscopy) besides field studies. Aspects such as recent environments and biotas were considered to the analysis. The main conclusions were that the environments present similarities based on the development of the biotas as well as the ecological relations which those developed within the microbial communities responsible for the development of the microbialites and microbial mats. The growth environments of the structures were classified as shallow marine hypersaline waters, with warm weather and high evaporation rates. There was an alternation between storm events and calm waters. The growth of microbial mats became possible when the waters were predominantly calm evidenced by the outcrops from Taguaí and Pitanguinha Lagoon. The recent microbialites from Salgada Lagoon had a greater influence by activities from predators and herbivorous organisms such as invertebrates, which may be a relevant factor for the limitation growth of these structures when compared with those founded at Santa Rosa do Viterbo / Mestrado / Geologia e Recursos Naturais / Mestra em Geociências