Mountain-block hydrology and mountain-front recharge

Author(s):  
John L. Wilson ◽  
Huade Guan
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-266
Author(s):  
Ian Anderson ◽  
David H. Malone ◽  
John Craddock

The lower Eocene Wasatch Formation is more than 1500 m thick in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The Wasatch is a Laramide synorgenic deposit that consists of paludal and lacustrine mudstone, fluvial sandstone, and coal. U-Pb geochronologic data on detrital zircons were gathered for a sandstone unit in the middle part of the succession. The Wasatch was collected along Interstate 90 just west of the Powder River, which is about 50 km east of the Bighorn Mountain front. The sandstone is lenticular in geometry and consists of arkosic arenite and wacke. The detrital zircon age spectrum ranged (n=99) from 1433-2957 Ma in age, and consisted of more than 95% Archean age grains, with an age peak of about 2900 Ma. Three populations of Archean ages are evident: 2886.6±10 Ma (24%), 2906.6±8.4 Ma (56%) and 2934.1±6.6 Ma (20%; all results 2 sigma). These ages are consistent with the age of Archean rocks exposed in the northern part of the range. The sparse Proterozoic grains were likely derived from the recycling of Cambrian and Carboniferous strata. These sands were transported to the Powder River Basin through the alluvial fans adjacent to the Piney Creek thrust. Drainage continued to the north through the basin and eventually into the Ancestral Missouri River and Gulf of Mexico. The provenance of the Wasatch is distinct from coeval Tatman and Willwood strata in the Bighorn and Absaroka basins, which were derived from distal source (>500 km) areas in the Sevier Highlands of Idaho and the Laramide Beartooth and Tobacco Root uplifts. Why the Bighorn Mountains shed abundant Eocene strata only to the east and not to the west remains enigmatic, and merits further study.


2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 128-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinzhu Ma ◽  
Zhenyu Ding ◽  
W. Mike Edmunds ◽  
John B. Gates ◽  
Tianming Huang

2021 ◽  
pp. 146960532110198
Author(s):  
María Nieves Zedeño ◽  
Evelyn Pickering ◽  
François Lanoë

We highlight the significance of process, event, and context of human practice in Indigenous Creation traditions to integrate Blackfoot “Napi” origin stories with environmental, geological, and archaeological information pertaining to the peopling of the Northwestern Plains, where the northern Rocky Mountain Front may have played a prominent role. First, we discuss the potential and limitations of origin stories generally, and Napi stories specifically, for complementing the fragmentary records of early human presence in the Blackfoot homeland. Second, we demonstrate the intimate connection among processes, events, place-making practices, and stories. Last, we aim to expand multivocality in the interpretation of the deep past through an archaeological practice that considers Indigenous philosophies and stories to be as valid as non-Indigenous ones.


2013 ◽  
Vol 405-408 ◽  
pp. 562-565
Author(s):  
Chun Hui Yao ◽  
Qiu Hui Yao

M coal mine is located in the hilly terrain of mountain front in the southern margin of Junggar Basin in Fukang. The geological structure belongs to a medium type in the mine area where there are surface faults (two larger faults) and structural developments. The stratigraphic dips of south limb of Fukang syncline and southern Fukang anticline are large while that near F5 fault of anticline axis are larger and even upright. Brittle rocks develop fractures. In consideration of meteorology, earthquakes and other factors, mining may lead to such geological hazards as eboulement and surface subsidence, which should be highlighted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 1629-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Bresciani ◽  
Roger H. Cranswick ◽  
Eddie W. Banks ◽  
Jordi Batlle-Aguilar ◽  
Peter G. Cook ◽  
...  

Abstract. Numerous basin aquifers in arid and semi-arid regions of the world derive a significant portion of their recharge from adjacent mountains. Such recharge can effectively occur through either stream infiltration in the mountain-front zone (mountain-front recharge, MFR) or subsurface flow from the mountain (mountain-block recharge, MBR). While a thorough understanding of recharge mechanisms is critical for conceptualizing and managing groundwater systems, distinguishing between MFR and MBR is difficult. We present an approach that uses hydraulic head, chloride and electrical conductivity (EC) data to distinguish between MFR and MBR. These variables are inexpensive to measure, and may be readily available from hydrogeological databases in many cases. Hydraulic heads can provide information on groundwater flow directions and stream–aquifer interactions, while chloride concentrations and EC values can be used to distinguish between different water sources if these have a distinct signature. Such information can provide evidence for the occurrence or absence of MFR and MBR. This approach is tested through application to the Adelaide Plains basin, South Australia. The recharge mechanisms of this basin have long been debated, in part due to difficulties in understanding the hydraulic role of faults. Both hydraulic head and chloride (equivalently, EC) data consistently suggest that streams are gaining in the adjacent Mount Lofty Ranges and losing when entering the basin. Moreover, the data indicate that not only the Quaternary aquifers but also the deeper Tertiary aquifers are recharged through MFR and not MBR. It is expected that this finding will have a significant impact on the management of water resources in the region. This study demonstrates the relevance of using hydraulic head, chloride and EC data to distinguish between MFR and MBR.


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