Aerial photographic interpretation of lineaments and faults in late cenozoic deposits in the Eastern part of the Benton Range 1:100,000 quadrangle and the Goldfield, Last Chance Range, Beatty, and Death Valley Junction 1:100,000 quadrangles, Nevada and California

Lineaments and faults in Quaternary and late Tertiary deposits in the southern part of the Walker Lane are potentially active and form patterns that are anomalous with respect to the typical fault patterns in most of the Great Basin. Little work has been done to identify and characterize these faults, with the exception of those in the Death Valley-Furnace Creek (DVFCFZ) fault system and those in and near the Nevada Test Site. Four maps at a scale of 1:100,000 summarize the existing knowledge about these lineaments and faults based on extensive aerial-photo interpretation, limited field investigations, and published geologic maps. The lineaments and faults in all four maps can be divided geographically into two groups. The first group includes west- to north-trending lineaments and faults associated with the DVFCFZ and with the Pahrump fault zone in the Death Valley Junction quadrangle. The second group consists of north- to east-northeast-trending lineaments and faults in a broad area that lies east of the DVFCFZ and north of the Pahrump fault zone. Preliminary observations of the orientations and sense of slip of the lineaments and faults suggest that the least principle stress direction is west-east in the area of the first group and northwest-southeast in the area of the second group. The DVFCFZ appears to be part of a regional right-lateral strike-slip system. The DVFCFZ steps right, accompanied by normal faulting in an extensional zone, to the northern part of the Walker Lane a the northern end of Fish Lake Valley (Goldfield quadrangle), and appears to step left, accompanied by faulting and folding in a compressional zone, to the Pahrump fault zone in the area of Ash Meadows (Death Valley Junction quadrangle). 25 refs

Asian dust events of April 1998

On April 15 and 19, 1998, two intense dust storms were generated over the Gobi desert by springtime low-pressure systems descending from the northwest. The windblown dust was detected and its evolution followed by its yellow color on SeaWiFS satellite images, routine surface-based monitoring, and through serendipitous observations. The April 15 dust cloud was recirculating, and it was removed by a precipitating weather system over east Asia. The April 19 dust cloud crossed the Pacific Ocean in 5 days, subsided to the surface along the mountain ranges between British Columbia and California, and impacted severely the optical and the concentration environments of the region. In east Asia the dust clouds increased the albedo over the cloudless ocean and land by up to 10-20%, but it reduced the near-UNI cloud reflectance, causing a yellow coloration of all surfaces. The yellow colored backscattering by the dust eludes a plausible explanation using simple Mie theory with constant refractive index. Over the West Coast the dust layer has increased the spectrally uniform optical depth to about 0.4, reduced the direct solar radiation by 30-40%, doubled the diffuse radiation, and caused a whitish discoloration of the blue sky. On April 29 the average excess surface-level dust aerosol concentration over the valleys of the West Coast was about 20-50 mug/m(3) with local peaks \u3e 100 mug/m(3). The dust mass mean diameter was 2-3 mum, and the dust chemical fingerprints were evident throughout the West Coast and extended to Minnesota. The April 1998 dust event has impacted the surface aerosol concentration 2-4 times more than any other dust event since 1988. The dust events were observed and interpreted by an ad hoc international web-based virtual community. It would be useful to set up a community-supported web-based infrastructure to monitor the global aerosol pattern for such extreme aerosol events, to alert and to inform the interested communities, and to facilitate collaborative analysis for improved air quality and disaster management

Aerial photographic interpretation of lineaments and faults in late Cenozoic deposits in the eastern parts of the Saline Valley 1:100,000 Quadrangle, Nevada and California, and the Darwin Hills 1:100,000 Quadrangle, California

Faults and fault-related lineaments in Quaternary and late Tertiary deposits in the southern part of the Walker Lane are potentially active and form patterns that are anomalous compared to those in most other areas of the Great Basin. Two maps at a scale of 1:100,000 summarize information about lineaments and faults in the area around and southwest of the Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault system based on extensive aerial-photo interpretation, limited field interpretation, limited field investigations, and published geologic maps. There are three major fault zones and two principal faults in the Saline Valley and Darwin Hills 1:100,000 quadrangles. (1) The Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault system and (2) the Hunter Mountain fault zone are northwest-trending right-lateral strike-slip fault zones. (3) The Panamint Valley fault zone and associated Towne Pass and Emigrant faults are north-trending normal faults. The intersection of the Hunter Mountain and Panamint Valley fault zones is marked by a large complex of faults and lineaments on the floor of Panamint Valley. Additional major faults include (4) the north-northwest-trending Ash Hill fault on the west side of Panamint Valley, and (5) the north-trending range-front Tin Mountain fault on the west side of the northern Cottonwood Mountains. The most active faults at present include those along the Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault system, the Tin Mountain fault, the northwest and southeast ends of the Hunter Mountain fault zone, the Ash Hill fault, and the fault bounding the west side of the Panamint Range south of Hall Canyon. Several large Quaternary landslides on the west sides of the Cottonwood Mountains and the Panamint Range apparently reflect slope instability due chiefly to rapid uplift of these ranges. 16 refs

New perspectives on quaternary faulting in the southern Walker Lane, Nevada and California

A preliminary survey of aerial photographs of the southern Walker Lane began in late 1986. The purpose of this survey is to determine the nature and scope of future studies required to ascertain whether the apparent concentration of Quaternary faults in and near the Nevada Test Site is real or is simply a result of the greater effort invested in mapping Quaternary deposits in that area, and determine whether faults in the southern Walker Lane are active and could produce significant earthquakes. The survey is focused on the area extending south from Lone Mountain to Pahrump Valley and east from the Furnace Creek fault zone to an irregular line passing through the Cactus Range and Pahute Mesa. Lineaments and scraps were identified on stereopairs of black-and-white aerial photographs at scales of 1:80,000 or 1:60,000. The lineaments and and scarps were plotted on 1:24,000- and 1:62,500-scale topographic maps using a PG-2 plotter, and were color-coded according to distinctness and occurrence in Quaternary or Tertiary deposits (age assignments based on appearance in aerial photographs and on existing geologic maps). Additional lineaments identified on the topographic maps were also plotted. Areas of particular interest were selected for more detailed study using larger-scale aerial photographs. Most of the lineaments and scraps identified in the survey, although referred to as faults in this paper, have not been checked in the field. 11 refs., 1 fig

Monitoring hydrological controls on dust emissions: preliminary observations from Etosha Pan, Namibia

Atmospheric dust loadings have a significant influence on global climate by affecting air temperatures through the absorption and scattering of solar radiation. Many dryland basins are significant sources of aeolian dust, but our knowledge of how dust emissions from these systems are affected by ephemeral wetting events is either limited or poor. This research uses synergistic data sets (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)) in order to identify possible hydrological controls on aeolian dust emissions from the Etosha Basin, Namibia. Data suggest that individual inundation events (detected by AVHRR) within this basin have a marked effect on immediate and subsequent dust emissions (detected by TOMS). This study also outlines the contribution of dust emissions from both the pan surface and from the ephemeral oshanas region to the north of the Etosha Basin to the persistent dust plume, and highlights the complexity of the interactions between hydrology, land use and dust emissions within ephemeral basins

Late Quaternary Eolian and Alluvial Response to Paleoclimate, Canyonlands, Southeastern Utah

In upland areas of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, thin deposits and paleosols show late Quaternary episodes of eolian sedimentation, pedogenesis, and climate change. Interpretation of the stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence ages of eolian and nearby alluvial deposits, their pollen, and intercalated paleosols yields the following history: (1) Eolian deposition at ca. 46 ka, followed by several episodes of alluviation from some time before ca. 40 ka until after 16 ka (calibrated). (2) Eolian deposition from ca. 17 ka to 12 ka, interrupted by periods of pedogenesis, coinciding with late Pleistocene alluviation as local climate became warmer and wetter. (3) A wetter period from 12 to 8.5 ka corresponding to the peak of summer monsoon influence, during which soils formed relatively quickly by infiltration of eolian silt and clay, and trees and grasses were more abundant. (4) A drier period between ca. 8.5 and 6 ka during which sheetwash deposits accumulated and more desertlike vegetation was dominant; some dunes were reactivated at ca. 8 ka. (5) Episodic eolian and fluvial deposition during a wetter, cooler period that began at ca. 6 ka and ended by ca. 3–2 ka, followed by a shift to drier modern conditions; localized mobilization of dune sand has persisted to the present. These interpretations are similar to those of studies at the Chaco dune field, New Mexico, and the Tusayan dune field, Arizona, and are consistent with paleoclimate interpretations of pollen and packrat middens in the region. A period of rapid deposition and infiltration of eolian dust derived from distant igneous source terranes occurred between ca. 12 and 8 ka. Before ca. 17 ka, and apparently back to at least 45 ka, paleosols contain little or no such infiltrated dust. After ca. 8 ka, either the supply of dust was reduced or the more arid climate inhibited translocation of dust into the soils