Buried Valley Research Articles

Remote sensing and geophysical investigations of glacial buried valleys in northeastern Kansas : Denne, J E; Yarger, H L; Macfarlane, P A; Knapp, R W; Sophocleous, M A; Lucas, J R; Steeples, D W Ground WaterV22, N1, Jan–Feb 1984, P56–65

Remote sensing and geophysical investigations of glacial buried valleys in northeastern Kansas : Denne, J E; Yarger, H L; Macfarlane, P A; Knapp, R W; Sophocleous, M A; Lucas, J R; Steeples, D W Ground WaterV22, N1, Jan–Feb 1984, P56–65

Gravity Delineation of a Buried Valley in Quartzite

ABSTRACTA gravity survey was conducted in a 94‐square‐mile area of northeastern Hanson County, South Dakota. The 340 measured gravity values, together with test‐hole data, were used to approximately delineate a buried valley eroded into the Sioux Quartzite of Precambrian age. This valley contains, in places, an aquifer composed of quartzose sand of pre‐Cretaceous age derived from the Sioux Quartzite. The bottom of the valley is approximately 450–600 ft below land surface. Simple Bouguer values were determined from measured gravity data, referenced to a local base station, and interpolated to a 0.5‐ by 0.5‐mile grid. The interpolated simple Bouguer values of residual gravity were determined using a five‐ring, inverse‐weighted filtering method. The second derivative of the interpolated gravity values, as well as their downward continuation, did not delineate the buried valley as well. Subsequent drilling of nine test holes showed that the gravity method can be used for approximately delineating subsurface features

Ammonium Ion, Humic Materials, and Trihalomethane Potential in Northeastern Kansas Ground Waters

ABSTRACTGlacial buried‐valley aquifers serve as primary sources of potable ground water in northeastern Kansas. A long known problem, however, is that a large percentage of well waters in this region exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits for nitrate (NO−3). A detailed study of the hydrogeology and water quality of the buried valleys has confirmed the nitrate problem and led to a recognition that some well waters with low ( 5 mg/l) NO−3 concentrations have anomalous ( 0.5 mg/l) ammonium ion (NH+4) levels, with an NH+4 range from <0.1 to 4.8 mg/l. The extractable NH+4 concentrations in related glacial sediments range up to approximately 75 mg/kg, and the amounts generally increase from an average of 2 mg/kg in the topsoil downward to bedrock. Migration of brines from subjacent Permian or Pennsylvanian bedrock into the unconsolidated sediments locally may cause desorption of NH+4 and an increase in its levels in the associated ground waters. Numerous test holes drilled in the study area showed a black scum on the fluid and cuttings, which may be from buried humic materials. Recently measured total organic carbon (TOC) contents of the ground waters confirm a significant level in some areas, with a range from 0.1 to 2.4 mg/l as C. Chlorination of water with dissolved organics may lead to production of halogenated compounds. Two public‐water‐supply well waters contained total trihalomethane (TTHM) levels close to the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 100 /μg/l in chlorinated samples quenched after one week. The presence of NH+4 inhibits the formation of THMs, but it also can give rise to odor and taste problems in the finished water. The inhibition of THM formation by NH+4 is achieved by reactions which compete with the organics for combination with chlorine. These reactions make maintaining appropriate chlorine residuals difficult and also may lead to production of undesirable side products. Present efforts to evaluate the regional water‐quality problems are focused in Nemaha County, Kansas.

A buried valley in the Orwell estuary

Summary The investigation of the geology of the River Orwell downstream of Ipswich was carried out by the Department of Transport in the period 1973 to 1978. A buried valley in the surface of the Upper Chalk was identified and defined. The depth of the valley is 45 m below sea level and very soft chalk occurs adjacent to the valley. The methods used to sample and classify the chalk for engineering foundation design purposes are presented. The infill material to the valley is described and the influence of the valley upon the chalk is indicated.

Remote Sensing and Geophysical Investigations of Glacial Buried Valleys in Northeastern Kansas

ABSTRACTAquifers found in glacial buried valleys are a major source of good‐quality ground water in northeastern Kansas. The extent and character of many of these deposits are not precisely known, so a detailed study of the buried valleys was undertaken. Test drilling, Landsat imagery, shallow‐earth temperature measurements, seismic refraction, surface electrical resistivity, and gravity data were used to evaluate two sites in Nemaha and Jefferson Counties. Tonal patterns on springtime Landsat imagery and winter/summer anomalies in shallow‐earth temperatures were quick and inexpensive methods for locating some glacial buried aquifers and suggested areas for more intensive field studies. Reversed seismic refraction and resistivity surveys were generally reliable indicators of the presence or absence of glacial buried valleys, with most depth determinations being within 25% of test‐drilling results. The effectiveness of expensive test‐hole drilling was greatly increased by integrating remote sensing, shallow‐earth temperature, seismic, and resistivity techniques in the two buried valley test areas. A gravity profile allowed precise definition of the extent of one of the channels after the other techniques had been used for general information.

GEOMORPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALLUVIAL LOWLANDS IN THE CENTRAL PART OF THE KANTO PLAIN, JAPAN

In the central part of the Kanto plain, alluvial lowlands develop along the Tone, the Arakawa and the Watarase rivers. The alluvial lowland of River Tone is divided into Menuma, Kazo and Nakagawa lowlands. In the Kazo lowland and the northern part of the Naka gawa lowland, (1) microrelief of the flood plain, (2) stratigraphy of the Recent formation and (3) buried topographies were investigated. On the basis of the investigation results, the geomorphic development of the alluvial lowlands was discussed in relation to buried topo- graphies under the Recent formation (the “pre-landforms” of the alluvial lowlands). In the northern part of the Nakagawa lowland, the deposition of the Recent formation was taken place in a wide and deep valley, which is called the “Nakagawa buried valley”. This valley was formed by River Watarase at the maximum of the Lastglacial period (before at least about 18, 000 y. B. P. in 14C age). The Postglacial transgression reached to the inner part of this valley at about 4, 000 y. B. P. in 14C age. Marine deposits are found at almost all the locations in the Nakagawa lowland. After about 3, 000 y. B. P. in 14C age, additionally to River Watarase, River Tone and a distributary of River Arakawa flowed down in this wide and gentle valley floor, and deposited thick (more than lOm) fluviatile deposits. The natu-ral levees in this lowland developed along the many former river courses with free meander-ing. In the Kazo lowland, Obaradai - Musashino (late Pleistocene) terraces exsist which are thinly covered with the Recent formation. These Pleistocene terraces were dissected by narrow valleys (called the “Kazo buried valleys”) at Tachikawa period (latest Pleistocene). At the maximum of the Lastglacial period, no big rivers dissected the Pleistocene terraces in this area and the Pleistocene terraces with only narrow valleys remained. At maximum of the Postglacial transgression, the marine area extended only to the narrow valleys which dissected the Pleistocene terraces. After the period of peat deposition (about 4, 0003, 000 y. B. P.), River Tone and a distributary of River Arakawa began to flow in the Kazo buried valleys. At the early stage of the fluviatile deposition, the sedimentation occurred only in the narrow valleys and the Pleistocene terraces still remained widly in this area. When the narrow valleys were filled up, sedimentary area of fluviatile deposits spread over on the Pleistocene terraces. Due to (1) the extention of this sedimentary area and (2) the subsidence continued since late Pleistocene in this area, the Pleistocene terraces were rapidly covered with the alluvium. As a result, this neighboring area was changed into an “alluvial lowland” (the Kazo lowland). In this lowland, the thickness of the Recent formation is very thin (less than 5m). The river courses are located almost above the Kazo buried valleys, so that the width of each meander belt or that of the natural levee becomes narrower than that in the Nakagawa lowland. Many slightly high mounds of the Pleistocene terraces thinly covered with the fluviatile deposits are found on the present flood plain. It is concluded that the “pre-landform” of the alluvial lowland is one of the important factors which affect the depositional processes of each alluvium and the microrelief of the present flood plain.

14C age of the old buried valley deposit of the Tama Valley at the eastern part of the Kanto Mountains

¹⁴C age of the old buried valley deposit of the Tama Valley at the eastern part of the Kanto Mountains

The Nature and Source of Arsenic in Northeastern Ohio Ground Watera

ABSTRACTElevated arsenic concentrations were found in ground water near Canal Fulton, Ohio. The hydrologie and chemical properties of the area were studied to determine the source of the arsenic and evaluate the possibility of a similar problem occurring elsewhere. Two major aquifer systems exist within the study area: the Sharon Sandstone of the upland areas; and the outwash sand and gravel deposits of the buried valleys. Ground‐water flow is generally from the north, but local variations are caused by the Tuscarawas River valley on the south and west of the study area. Within the study area, there is no evidence for an anthropogenic source of arsenic to the ground water. Agricultural soils, abandoned underground coal mines, industrial impoundments to the north, and an abandoned industrial dump site within the study area were all eliminated as possible sources for the arsenic. The arsenic in Canal Fulton ground water is entirely inorganic, consisting of about equal parts of arsenate and arsenite. Reduction‐oxidation (redox) considerations suggest that arsenic is controlled by an adsorption equilibrium with ferric hydroxides, and that the reduction of the ferric hydroxides by a recent lowering of Eh and/or pH in the aquifer has liberated both iron and arsenic to solution. A high correlation between ferrous iron and total dissolved arsenic supports this model. It is hypothesized that Eh conditions have been lowered in the aquifer by either the recent introduction of methane gas or the deposition of a thick layer of till during the last glacial retreat. The methane gas could be leaking from deep underground storage at the site and reducing oxidized compounds. The deposition of till would have eliminated local recharge of oxygenated waters.

Sedimentary environments of the Furuya Formation (Late Pleistocene), Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Depositional environments of the Makinohara Upland area, Shizuoka Prefecture, are determined from detailed sedimentological, paleontological and stratigraphical data.The results are summarized as follows:1) The Furuya Formation (maximum thickness 30m) is composed mainly of fine-grained sediments that were deposited in shallow embayments during transgressions of the sea up narrow valleys in the early stage of a so-called Last Interglacial Age.2) The Furuya Formation can be divided into five superposed mappable lithologic cycles (coded I-V), each of which shows a nearly complete, fining-upward, sedimentary sequence consisting of, in ascending order, a basal gravel, a sand, sandy clay, and finally clay (Figs. 5, 6).3) The Makinohara Formation (maximum thickness 50m) comformably overlies the Furuya Formation. The sedimentary surface of the Makinohara Formation forms the terrace known as the Makinohara Upland. The Makinohara Formation is laterally divided into two lithofacies; poorly sorted gravel proximally, and well sorted sands in the distal parts of the buried valleys. The sands that were deposited near the river mouth and near the bay mouth and coastal areas of the“Paleo-Sagara-Bay” are considered deltaic and coastal sand bank deposits, respectively.4) The history of sedimentation in the study region is interpreted as follows (Figs. 10, 11):(a) Before the Last Interglacial Age two major valleys had been cut to Neogene basement.(b) During the early stage of the interglacial transgression, fluvial sediments consisting of coarse sands and gravel were deposited along the distal parts of the buried valleys (Sedimentary cycles I-II).(c) As the transgression continued, marine water soon inundated the buried valleys and the initial“Paleo-Sagara-Bay”was formed (Sedimentary cycles III-IV).(d) During a standstill of the sea at the time of maximum transgression, a “Paleo-Sagara-Bay”became filled with fine sediments, eventually forming a marsh (Sedimentary cycle V).(e) After the maximum phase of the transgression, the“Paleo-Sagara-Bay”was totally covered by coarse fluvial deposits and/or coastal and deltaic sand.5) Because the last (marsh) phase of“Paleo-Sagara-Bay”was at sea level, the amount of differential crustal movement within the study area can be closely estimated. It has been determined that in the uplands (Makinohara) of the northern part of the study area the contact between the Furuya Formation and the Makinohara Formation has been uplifted at least 150m (Figs. 12, 13).

GEOMORPHIC DEVELOPMENT SINCE THE LATEST PLEISTOCENE OF THE DRAINAGE AREA OF THE OBITSU AND THE YORO RIVERS, BOSO PENINSULA, JAPAN

The Obitsu and the Yoro rivers are located in the central part of the Boso Peninsula. Meandsring valleys and many strath river terraces are developed well in the upper to middle courses of both rivers. On the basis of the topographic classification of those terracces by the aerial photo interpretation, the past developmental process of valley incision can be deduced from the distribution characters of those terraces. The past developmental process of the Alluvium deposition in the lower courses of both rivers can be reconstructed by the analysis of coring data and by the investigation about the continuity between the profiles of buried valley floor below the alluvial plain and those of river terraces. The aim of this paper is to investigate the chronological relation between the developmental process of valley incision and that of the Alluvium deposition, and to discuss the effect of sea level change on the development of the river valley in the upper to middle courses. The results obtained by this investigation on the geomorphic development of both rivers are summarized as follows. 1. In the upper to middle courses of both rivers, valley incision has continued at least since ca. 20, 000 Y. B. P., because no fill top terraces can be found along the courses. There are typical topographies which can be thought to be made by the past cuttings of meandering channels. Those cuttings had been formed frequently in the first half of the Holocene. This evidence shows that the lateral erosion of the river had been dominant over the down cutting in this period and the valley meander could have grown easily. In the latter half of the Holocene, however, the cutting of the meandering channel has hardly been made so that the deepning of the valley has been predominant, leaving the former meandering pattern. 2. In the lower course of each river, it is assumed that the sedimentation of the Alluvium had began at the end of the Pleistocene estimated from the radiometric datings of the lowest part of the Alluvium and the correlations between the profiles of burisd valley floors below the alluvial plain and those of river terraces. In the first half of the Holocene, the Alluvium had rapidly deposited with the rise of sea level, and the depositional area of the Alluvium had d the spred inland. The Alluvium deposition has been over about 6, 000_??_5, 000 y. B. P. an surface of the alluvial plain has gradually emergenced from the inland part of the plain. This retreast of the dePositional area of the Alluvium is thought to be caused by a little fall of sea level since ca. 6, 000_??_5 000 y. B. P.. 3. The correlation of river terraces from the upper to lower courses shows that the change of the character of valley incision in the upper to middle course had begun at the same stage retreat of the depositional area of the Alluvium had started in the inland region of when the the plain. This phenomenon is considered to show that the change of base level of erosion, which have been caused by the sea level change since the Late Plesistocene, has effected on the process of valley incision in the upper to middle courses, because the pattern of crustal move ment in this area is thought to have hardly changed since the Late Pleistocene Juding from the distribution characters of the river terraces.

海底地形からみた日本海の海水準変化

Detailed surveys on the submarine topography and geology have been carried out in the environs of Tsushima, Ishikari Bay and Wakasa Bay in the Japan Sea.Especially the most detailed survey was done in the west coast of Tsushima where following submarine terraces were recognized; I (0-15m), II (20-35m), III (40- 50m), IV (60-70m), V (75-85m), VI (90-110m) and VII (110-130m) Terraces. These are distributed in the east coast of Tsushima, Ishikari Bay and Wakasa Bay also.As the results of continuous seismic profiling surveys, the buried channels on continental shelves are pursued to deeper than 90m in the west coast of Tsushima, 105-110m in the east coast of Tsushima and deeper than 80m in Ishikari Bay. These buried channels are continuous to the buried valleys on the coastal land area and the bottom of the valleys is correlated to the basal plane of Alluvium. The buried channels and valleys were formed in the stage of the lowest lowering of sea level during the last Glacial Age. The shelf edge ranging 130 to 140m around Japanese Islands is also formed in this stage.After then, the sea level has risen rapidly up to the present sea level intercalating long pauses of sea level upheaval at VI (90m) and V (80m) Terraces and short pauses at IV and III Terraces.

Subsurface Valleys and Geoarcheology of the Eastern Sahara Revealed by Shuttle Radar

The shuttle imaging radar (SIR-A) carried on the space shuttle Columbia in November 1981 penetrated the extremely dry Selima Sand Sheet, dunes, and drift sand of the eastern Sahara, revealing previously unknown buried valleys, geologic structures, and possible Stone Age occupation sites. Radar responses from bedrock and gravel surfaces beneath windblown sand several centimeters to possibly meters thick delineate sand- and alluvium-filled valleys, some nearly as wide as the Nile Valley and perhaps as old as middle Tertiary. The now-vanished major river systems that carved these large valleys probably accomplished most of the erosional stripping of this extraordinarily flat, hyperarid region. Underfit and incised dry wadis, many superimposed on the large valleys, represent erosion by intermittent running water, probably during Quaternary pluvials. Stone Age artifacts associated with soils in the alluvium suggest that areas near the wadis may have been sites of early human occupation. The presence of old drainage networks beneath the sand sheet provides a geologic explanation for the locations of many playas and present-day oases which have been centers of episodic human habitation. Radar penetration of dry sand and soils varies with the wavelength of the incident signals (24 centimeters for the SIR-A system), incidence angle, and the electrical properties of the materials, which are largely determined by moisture content. The calculated depth of radar penetration of dry sand and granules, based on laboratory measurements of the electrical properties of samples from the Selima Sand Sheet, is at least 5 meters. Recent (September 1982) field studies in Egypt verified SIR-A signal penetration depths of at least 1 meter in the Selima Sand Sheet and in drift sand and 2 or more meters in sand dunes.

Ancestral head of Wilmington Canyon

A 12-channel seismic-reflection survey over parts of the head of Wilmington Canyon and the surrounding shelf revealed four major buried valleys and many small channels. The data indicate that the ancestral Delaware River valley was the most recent of a series of valleys to enter the canyon from the west. The head of Wilmington Canyon probably was eroded and then filled at various times from late Miocene to late Pleistocene time. Thick sedimentary sequences indicate a sediment supply from both the north and west. A large buried valley entering the canyon from the north was not mapped with the data presented here, but it is possible that such a valley exists. This is one of the first documentations of the long history of erosion of the United States east coast canyons.

Harrisburg Trough, Stephens County, Oklahoma--An Update: ABSTRACT

On the northeast edge of the Wichita Mountain uplift, northwest of Loco, Oklahoma, is a depositional syncline with Pennsylvanian sediments from Atokan through Virgilian. This depositional syncline was named the Harrisburg trough by Harlton. Sedimentary onlap relations within the Harrisburg trough suggest that it formed as a topographic valley that was at times partly above and below sea level. Seismic evidence indicates that this buried valley (canyon?) has paleotopographic relief of more than 10,000 ft (3,048 m). Atokan drainage in the Harrisburg trough was from the southeast to the northwest. Continued erosion of the highlands of Mississippian through Ordovician rocks, and located mainly to the south but also present to the north, provided the clastics deposited in the rough. The compression that probably caused the uplifted source areas continued through Virgilian time and folded the northeast flank of the Harrisburg trough into the Northwest Velma and West Velma anticlinal hydrocarbon traps. Future hydrocarbon discoveries will probably find production in stratigraphic traps of Atokan sands that pinch out or onlap the flanks of the trough. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1500------------

Comment and Reply on ‘Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys’

Comment and Reply on ‘Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys’

Comment and Reply on ‘Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys’

Comment and Reply on ‘Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys’

Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys

The Quaternary evolution of the stream net on the New Jersey shelf has been interpreted on the basis of bathymetric maps and also by means of seismic profiling, with somewhat different results. Maps show the most recent positions of seafloor shelf valleys, but these valleys may have been created by retreating estuary mouths rather than by subaerial stream erosion. Seismic profiles reveal buried valleys of subaerial fluvial origin, which may follow courses that diverge markedly from the trends of associated seafloor valleys. Shelf valleys must be understood in the context of erosional shoreface retreat, a process that largely remade the shelf surface during successive Quaternary transgressions. Most shelf landforms are marine and post-transgressional in origin, having been formed at the foot of the shoreface. Only very large and deeply incised subaerial landforms survive the shoreface-retreat process. The marine landforms that tend to replace or bury subaerial river valleys include shelf valleys created by estuary-mouth scour, shoal-retreat massifs, and shelf deltas. Three distinct shelf valley sets, including both seafloor and buried valleys, are attributable to the ancestral Delaware, Great Egg, and Hudson Rivers, respectively. Individual valleys within valley sets may follow markedly divergent paths. In the case of the Hudson, the estuary retreated up a deeply incised river valley and was confined by it; the shelf valley is a river valley only partially filled by estuarine deposits. In the case of the other two rivers, the estuary mouths became largely decoupled from the underlying river valleys during the transgression, and their retreat paths do not everywhere overlie the buried channels. In each valley set, divergent buried valleys apparently belong to periods of subaerial exposure of the shelf that occurred earlier in Holocene time.

静岡県牧ノ原台地の形成過程

The subject of this paper is to establish the stratigraphy of deposits composing to Makinohara Upland, and also to discuss the landform evolution of the Makinohara Upland. The results are summarized as follows:(1). The terrace-forming deposit is divided into three beds, i.e, Furuya mud bed, Kyomatsubara sand bed and Makinohara gravel bed in ascending order.(2). The Furuya mud bed accompanied with the basal gravels is mainly composed of marine silt and clay filling the buried valleys (Fig. 10 and Tab. 1). The main part of the Furuya mud bed deposited in the narrow drowned valleys, during the early stage transgression, and covered uncomformably the Neogene semiconsolidated rocks.(3). The Kyomatsubara sand bed newly defined by this author was widely deposited in this mapping area as foreset beds at the maximum phase of the transgression (Fig. 9).(4). The Makinohara gravel bed mainly consists of widespread homogeneous fluvial gravels, the upper part of which is boulder gravel forming the alluvial fan named Makinohara.(5). Five horizons of buried topographic system are found under the Makinohara Upland; Buried surface I, II, III and IV (Figs. 8, 10) and Buried valley floor.(6). The Buried valley floor is the oldest topographic system filled with the Furuya mud bed. Two horizons of abrasion platforms (Buried surface I and II) are found cutting the slope of buried valley systems. The Buried surface I was formed just after the deposition of basal gravel of Furuya mud bed. The Buried surface II, on the Neogene strata was formed during the accumulation of upper mud part belonging to the Furuya mud bed (Fig. 10).(7). The Buried surface III covered with the Kyomatsubara sand bed is the most extensive among the three buried abrasion platform cutting the Neogene strata (Fig. 8 and 10).The level of the boundary between the Furuya mud bed and the Kyomatsubara sand bed nearly corresponds with that of the Buried surface III.(8). The Buried surface IV is the basal topography of the Makinohara gravel bed. Finally extensive rivers, laterally eroding the valley slope flew down onto the newly emerged coastal plain and slightly cut the Kyomatsubara sand bed (less than 5m) (Fig. 10). At that time, the Buried surface IV was formed as a basal topography of the Makinohara gravel bed.(9). The Makinohara Upland was constructed as alluvial fans by the Paleo-Oi River. The deposits forming the Makinohara Upland are defined to the Makinohara gravel bed.

A SEISMIC SURVEY OF THE FORMER CHANNEL OF THE RIVER DOE, INGLETON

Summary An east-west seismic refraction line has been shot 400 m north of the unconformity at Thornton Force to test the hypothesis of glacial blockage of the River Doe. The seismic data have been coordinated with an earlier resistivity survey (Bruckshaw 1948). The geophysical results confirm the buried valley and elucidate its cross-section

Hudson River: Evidence for extensive migration on the exposed continental shelf during Pleistocene time

Analyses of seismic-reflection profiles collected off New Jersey reveal a large buried channel that splits from the topographic Hudson shelf valley beneath the inner shelf and extends southward for at least 80 km. The buried valley has a flat bottom, a width of 2 to 17 km, and a relief of 3 to 15 m, all features similar to those of the Hudson shelf valley. The buried valley apparently is an ancestral pathway of the Hudson River that has been filled with heterogeneous fluvial deposits and capped by an additional 10 to 30 m of sediments. Vibracores from over or near the ancestral valley show that interbedded marine sand and mud layers constitute the upper part of the sedimentary fill. Radiocarbon ages, geotechnical properties, and micro-paleontological analyses of the core sediments indicate that the valley was formed and filled sometime prior to 28,000 yr ago and then was exposed subaerially during at least one sea-level regression. These results are the first clear subbottom evidence that the ancestral Hudson River flowed south of the Hudson shelf valley on the exposed continental shelf during Pleistocene time.