A Seismic Refraction Survey in Lake Superior

1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 610-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Halls ◽  
G. F. West
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Isle Royale ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
The North ◽  
North Side ◽  
Principal Factors ◽  
Seismic Refraction Survey ◽  
Geological Control

Thirty-three seismic refraction profiles have been obtained in Lake Superior using a single ship sonobuoy method. The seismic data have led to the following conclusions concerning the structure and stratigraphy of the late Precambrian Keweenawan basin that underlies the lake:(1) Faults with their north side downthrown at least 1–2 km, bound the north shores of Isle Royale and Michipicoten Island.(2) The northern limb of the Keweenawan basin just southeast of Isle Royale appears to have undergone a deformation that may be partly related to movement along the Isle Royale fault.(3) For those seismic profiles that have a certain degree of geological control, refraction velocities generally agree well with those estimated from sample measurements in the laboratory.(4) Late Keweenawan or early Cambrian Bayfield-Jacobsville sandstones appear to underlie most of Lake Superior. Their distribution and relative susceptibility to erosion compared with older rocks are the principal factors that have determined the shape of the lake depression.

An investigation of Superior Shoal, central Lake Superior, with a manned submersible

1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Manson ◽  
Henry C. Halls
Keyword(s):  
Lake Superior ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Lava Flows ◽  
Basaltic Lava ◽  
Isle Royale ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Boundary Fault ◽  
The North ◽  
Manned Submersible

A Johnson-Sea-Link submersible was used to examine the geology of Superior Shoal in central Lake Superior. Here, glacially scoured, vertical cliffs, some more than 100 m high, are formed of 1.1 Ga middle Keweenawan basaltic lava flows displaying ophitic interiors and red amygdaloidal tops. Flat-lying sandstones, lithologically similar to the upper Keweenawan Bayfield–Jacobsville sequences, occur to the north of the volcanic rocks. These are inferred to have been downthrown along an eastward extension of the Isle Royale fault, a major boundary fault of the Midcontinent rift. The volcanic rocks are normally magnetized, supporting lithological evidence that they correlate with the middle Keweenawan sequence on Isle Royale. Paleomagnetic data suggest that the volcanics have a complex structure, possibly involving drag folding along the Isle Royale fault.

Interpretation of seismic reflection and gravity profile data in western Lake Superior

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 652-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Sexton ◽  
Harvey Henson Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Rift System ◽  
Isle Royale ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Detachment Faults ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Midcontinent Rift System

The interpretation of 1047 km of seismic reflection data collected in western Lake Superior is presented along with reflection traveltime contour maps and gravity models to understand the overall geometry of the Midcontinent Rift System beneath the lake. The Douglas, Isle Royale, and Keweenaw fault zones, clearly imaged on the seismic profiles, are interpreted to be large offset detachment faults associated with initial rifting. These faults have been reactivated as reverse faults with 3–5 km of throw. The Douglas Fault Zone is not directly connected with the Isle Royale Fault Zone. The seismic data has imaged two large basins filled with more than 22 km of middle Keweenawan pre-Portage Lake and Portage Lake volcanic rocks and up to 8 km of upper Keweenawan Oronto and Bayfield sedimentary rocks. These basins persisted throughout Keweenawan time and are separated by a ridge of Archean rocks and a narrow trough bounded by the Keweenaw Fault Zone to the south. Another fault zone, herein named the Ojibwa fault zone, previously interpreted as the northeastern extension of the Douglas Fault Zone, has been reinterpreted as a reverse fault that closely follows the ridge of Archean rocks. Previous researchers have stated that neighboring segments of the rift display alternating polarity of basins associated with large detachment faults. Accommodation zones have been previously interpreted to exist between rift segments; however, the seismic data do not image a clearly identifiable accommodation zone separating the two basins in western Lake Superior. Thus, the seismic profile may lie directly above the pivot of a scissors-type accommodation fault zone, there is no vertical offset associated with the zone, or the zone does not exist. Seismic data interpretations indicate that application of a simple alternating polarity basin – accommodation zone model is an oversimplification of the complex geological structures associated with the Midcontinent Rift System.

scholarly journals Marine geophysical investigations offshore East Greenland

1983 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
H.C Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Gravity And Magnetic ◽  
Marine Gravity ◽  
Refraction Seismic ◽  
Regional Project ◽  
Gravity And Magnetic Data

During August and September 1982 a marine geophysical survey was conducted on the East Greenland Shelf. The survey was part of the ongoing regional project NAD (Larsen & Andersen, 1982; Andersen et al., 1981; Risum, 1980; Larsen & Thorning, 1980). In all 2794 km of 30-fold multi-channel seismic data and marine gravity and magnetic data were acquired (fig. 33). The object of the NAD programme is to acquire regional coverage of aeromagnetic, multichannel seismic refiection, seismic refraction (sonobuoy), marine gravity and magnetic data of the East Greenland Shelf between latitudes 60° N and 78°N. Aeromagnetic data comprising 63000 line kilometres were acquired in 1979 (Larsen & Thorning, 1980) and 5000 km of marine geophysical data were acquired in 1980 and 1981 (Larsen & Andersen, 1982; Andersen et al., 1981). This year the final data for the project were collected. Thus, a total of 7800 km of multi-channel refiection seismic data and 50 sonobuoy refraction seismic profiles of 20 to 70 km length have been acquired (fig. 33). In addition, marine gravity and magnetics were run at most lines.

Crustal structure of the hawaiian ridge near gardner pinnacles

1960 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-573
Author(s):  
George G. Shor
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
The North ◽  
North Side ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Oceanic Sediments ◽  
Hawaiian Ridge ◽  
Volcanic Islands ◽  
Mohorovičić Discontinuity

ABSTRACT A series of seismic refraction profiles has been made across a flat bank at Gardner Pinnacles (a pair of volcanic islets on the western Hawaiian Ridge) down the side of the ridge and across the adjacent deep to the floor of the Pacific basin. The ridge is composed principally of material with velocities typical of volcanic islands. The high-velocity oceanic crust, found in the oceanic areas adjacent, extends beneath the ridge and up into the center of the rise. The total crustal section is thickened and the Mohorovičić discontinuity depressed beneath the deep as well as beneath the ridge. The smooth “archipelagic apron” on the north side of the ridge has at most 20 meters of sediment over a layer with a velocity of 3 km/sec, which could be volcanic and is definitely of higher velocity than normal oceanic sediments.

A seismic refraction and reflexion study of the continent-ocean transition beneath the north Biscay margin

1982 ◽  
Vol 305 (1489) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Ocean Crust ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Seismic Refraction Data ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
Multichannel Seismic Data ◽  
Refraction Data

The structure of the northern margin of the Bay of Biscay consists of a series of tilted and rotated blocks bounded by prominent listric faults whose polarity is consistently down toward the continent-ocean boundary. These blocks formed by rifting in late Jurassic - early Cretaceous time and are now thinly covered by post-rift sediments of Aptian to Recent age. Seismic refraction profiles were occupied on the shelf, on either side of and across the continent-ocean transition to the shelf, using P ubs and O bs with explosives and a 4 x 1000 in 3 (4 x 16400 cm 3 ) airgun array. Two-ship expanding spread multichannel (48-trace) seismic reflexion profiles and 30 km fixed offset reflexion profiles were located along the seismic refraction profiles on either side of the transition. A two-ship 30 km fixed offset multichannel profile was located across the transition as well as a 5 km fixed offset multichannel profile extending from the ocean crust to the shelf. Conventional 48-trace single ship multichannel profiles were located along all the refraction and two-ship reflexion lines. Interpretation of the refraction profiles has been made by using ray tracing as well as synthetic seismograms. Conventional seismic processing techniques have been used to prepare the two-ship multichannel seismic data for interpretation. The survey is believed to be the first attempt to apply two-ship multichannel seismic data to the study of the change in crustal structure of a rifted passive margin from the shelf to the ocean crust. The results from the experiment led to the identification of a zone of transition between continental and oceanic crust about 8 km wide. The seismic refraction data show progressive thinning of the continental crust from 33 km to about 5 km close to the transition zone. However, extension values calculated in the upper crust from the rotation of fault blocks are much less (1.1—1.4) and suggest that the majority of the thinning is achieved by extensive attenuation of the lower crust.

scholarly journals Tertiary development of the Faeroe-Rockall Plateau based on reflection seismic data

1994 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 162-180
Author(s):  
L O. Baldreel ◽  
M.S. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Facies ◽  
Early Eocene ◽  
Ne Atlantic ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Norwegian Sea ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Rockall Trough ◽  
Ne Atlantic Ocean

The Faeroe-Rockall Plateau is located in the NE Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Scotland and is characterized by a late Paleocene-early Eocene basalt cover, which was extruded in association with the incipient opening of the NE Atlantic. The Faeroe-Rockall Plateau is separated from the NW European continental shelf by the Rockall Trough and the Faeroe­Shetland Channel, whose nature and age is still debated. Reflector configuration within the basalt allows volcanic seismic facies inteipretation to be carried out. The thickness of the basalt cover is estimated from reflection seismic data. Subbasalt geological structures are identified below subaerially extruded basalt on recently acquired as well as reprocessed seismic profiles. Overlying the basalt are early Eocene and younger Sediments. The distribution of these sedi- . ments is largely controlled by 1) the topography after the cessation of the volcanism, 2) the post volcanic subsidence of the area which is estimated from the depth to the breakpoints located on prim¥)' volcanic escaipments, 3) the Eocene-Miocene compressional tectonics which formed ridge& and minor basins, and 4) bottom currents of Norwegian Sea Deep Water (NSDW) which in the Neogene flowed into the North Atlantic south of the Greenland-Iceland-Faeroe-Scotland Ridg,e. A considerable part of the NSDW flows east and south of th

scholarly journals Correction of water column height variation on 2D grid high-resolution seismic data using dGPS based methodology

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayobami Abegunrin ◽  
Daniel A. Hepp ◽  
Tobias Mörz
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Column Height ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Shallow Marine ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The North ◽  
Water Column Height

Abstract Variations in the physical properties of water column usually impede exact water column height correction on high-resolution seismic data, especially when the data are collected in shallow marine environments. Changes in water column properties can be attributed to variation in tides and currents, wind-generated swells, long and short amplitude wave-fronts, or variation in salinity and water temperature. Likewise, the proper motion of the vessel complicates the determinability of the water column height. This study provides a less time-consuming and precise differential Global Positioning System based methodology that can be applied to most types of high-resolution seismic data in order to significantly improve the tracking and quality of deduced geological interpretations on smaller depth scales. The methodology was tested on geophysical profiles obtained from the German sector of the North Sea. The focus here was to identify, distinguish and classify various sub-surface sedimentary structures in a stratigraphically highly complex shallow marine environment on decimeter small-scale. After applying the correction to the profiles, the sea floor, in general, occurs 1.1 to 3.4 m (mean of 2.2 m) deeper than the uncorrected profiles and is consistent with the sea floor from published tide corrected bathymetry data. The corrected seismic profiles were used in plotting the depth of the base of Holocene channel structures and to define their gradients. The applied correction methodology was also crucial in glacial and post-glacial valley features distinction, across profile correlation and establishing structural and stratigraphic framework of the study area.

A Radiocarbon-dated Collared Urn from Oban

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-118
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER LOWE ◽  
ANN MacSWEEN ◽  
KATHLEEN McSWEENEY
Keyword(s):  
The North ◽  
North Side ◽  
Funerary Ritual

A collared urn was found during the course of a watching-brief on the raised beach on the north side of Oban bay. Post-excavation analysis has succeeded in throwing some further light on the chronology of this type of urn and possibly on some elements of the funerary ritual associated with its burial. The same watching-brief also revealed the site of a truncated pit of medieval date, filled with fire-cracked stones.

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