scholarly journals Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wes Hildreth ◽  
Judy Fierstein ◽  
Fred M. Phillips ◽  
Andy Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Lava Flow ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Plane ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Elevation Data ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Sand And Gravel

Tectonic interpretation of the central Sierra Nevada—whether the crest of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) was uplifted in the late Cenozoic or whether the range has undergone continuous down-wearing since the Late Cretaceous—is controversial, since there is no obvious tectonic explanation for renewed uplift. The strongest direct evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada comes from study of the Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, which followed the course of the Miocene San Joaquin River but has a steeper gradient than the modern river. Early workers attributed this steeper gradient to tilting of the Sierra Nevada block since the late Miocene, resulting in 2 km of range-crest uplift. However, this interpretation has been contested on grounds that the Miocene river gradient had to be assumed and that the Sierran Batholith could have warped during tilting, thus failing to uplift the range crest. The objective of this study was to obtain quantitative data that test these criticisms. The Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table is a chain of 33 remnants of a single lava flow as thick as 65 m, preserved for 21 km from Squaw Leap to Little Dry Creek, close to the modern San Joaquin River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Several remnants lie on fluvial gravel of the late Miocene San Joaquin River. Early workers speculated that the lava concealed its own (unrecognized) vent, but in 2011, we identified the vent on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, 13.5 km south of Deadman Pass and 70 km northeast of Kennedy Table. The vent complex intrudes Cretaceous granite, has 285 m relief, and is an intricately jointed intrusion that grades up into a glassy lava flow. Composition (58% SiO2) and 40Ar/39Ar age (9.3 Ma) are identical at the vent and downstream. Basal elevations of remnants were recorded, and the present-day basal gradients of several were adjusted for apparent dip and projected along a vertical plane at 220° (the estimated tilt azimuth). The basal gradients are far steeper than that of the modern river, but they differ slightly from reach to reach and are thus inconsistent measures of the post-Miocene tilt. Likewise, relief eroded atop most remnants renders modeling of upper surfaces suspect. At Little Dry Creek, however, a chain of nine remnants rests on fluvial floodplain sand and gravel; this chain trends 230°, and its smooth basal contact now dips 1.36° (adjusted at 220°). Projection of this dip 89 km from the 207 m base of the most distal remnant at Little Dry Creek to the vent intrusion falls far below the 2760 m intrusion-to-lava-flow transition near the Sierran crest, showing that the Sierran block has not undergone pronounced convex warping. Using elevation data on paleoriver meanders preserved by the lava flow, we show that the paleogradient has a cosine dependence on meander-section azimuth, indicating tilting. Subtraction of 1.07° of dip restores the data to an azimuth-independent configuration, indicating total tilting since 9.3 Ma of 1.07° and an original large-scale gradient of 0.46°, similar to the published value of 0.33° at Squaw Leap, but larger than the previously obtained value of 0.057° at Little Dry Creek. Subtraction of those Miocene estimates from the observable 1.643° tilt along the section from Little Dry Creek to the vent yields vent uplift of 2464 m (for 0.057°), 1835 m (for 0.46°), and 2040 m (for 0.33°). Confirmation of earlier assumptions regarding Miocene river gradient and block rigidity greatly strengthens the case for ∼2 km of late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada crest.

scholarly journals Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada: Comment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Gabet
Keyword(s):  
Lava Flow ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Rigid Block ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Table Mountains

Hildreth et al. (2021) analyzed a set of table mountains near the San Joaquin River that are capped by a 9.3 Ma trachyandesite lava flow and concluded that, since the deposition of the volcanic rocks, the table mountains have been tilted 1.07° due to uplift of the central Sierra Nevada. While Gabet (2014) suggested that, under a limited set of conditions, the size of fluvial gravels under the table mountains would support the hypothesis of postdepositional uplift, the authors claimed that their evidence is more definitive. In addition, the authors proposed that the central Sierra Nevada tilted as a rigid block. However, their analyses rely on inferences and assumptions that are not supported by field evidence.

scholarly journals Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada: Reply

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wes Hildreth ◽  
Judy Fierstein ◽  
Fred M. Phillips ◽  
Andy Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Lava Flow ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Topographic Data ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

We thank Emmanuel Gabet for his interest in our work on the Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table and for the opportunity to more fully explain our methods. We (Hildreth et al., 2021) claimed that various lines of evidence from the lava flow strongly support ∼1° of tilting of the central Sierra Nevada since 9.3 Ma. Gabet (2021) stated, “However, their analyses rely on inferences and assumptions that are not supported by field evidence.” First, he addressed the issue of whether the sinuous lava-flow remnants east of Millerton Lake are fortuitously shaped erosional remnants of a planar lava flow, or whether they are fossilized meanders of the paleo−San Joaquin River, which he terms to be our “interpretation.” We strongly disagree with this characterization. In Hildreth et al. (2021), we treated the meander question as a hypothesis to be tested using topographic data.

Transportation and the Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-61
Author(s):  
Douglas R. Littlefield
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
San Joaquin Valley ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Major Health ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Natural Wetlands ◽  
Prevailing View

Some histories of California describe nineteenth-century efforts to reclaim the extensive swamplands and shallow lakes in the southern part of California's San Joaquin Valley – then the largest natural wetlands habitat west of the Mississippi River – as a herculean venture to tame a boggy wilderness and turn the region into an agricultural paradise. Yet an 1850s proposition for draining those marshes and lakes primarily was a scheme to improve the state's transportation. Swampland reclamation was a secondary goal. Transport around the time of statehood in 1850 was severely lacking in California. Only a handful of steamboats plied a few of the state's larger rivers, and compared to the eastern United States, roads and railroads were nearly non-existent. Few of these modes of transportation reached into the isolated San Joaquin Valley. As a result, in 1857 the California legislature granted an exclusive franchise to the Tulare Canal and Land Company (sometimes known as the Montgomery franchise, after two of the firm's founders). The company's purpose was to connect navigable canals from the southern San Joaquin Valley to the San Joaquin River, which entered from the Sierra Nevada about half way up the valley. That stream, in turn, joined with San Francisco Bay, and thus the canals would open the entire San Joaquin Valley to world-wide commerce. In exchange for building the canals, the Montgomery franchise could collect tolls for twenty years and sell half the drained swamplands (the other half was to be sold by the state). Land sales were contingent upon the Montgomery franchise reclaiming the marshes. Wetlands in the mid-nineteenth century were not viewed as they are today as fragile wildlife habitats but instead as impediments to advancing American ideals and homesteads across the continent. Moreover, marshy areas were seen as major health menaces, with the prevailing view being that swampy regions’ air carried infectious diseases.

Characterization of seawater reverse osmosis fouled membranes from large scale commercial desalination plant

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chem Int
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Transmembrane Pressure ◽  
Hydraulic Permeability ◽  
Seawater Reverse Osmosis ◽  
A Chain

The objective of this work is to study the ageing state of a used reverse osmosis (RO) membrane taken in Algeria from the Benisaf Water Company seawater desalination unit. The study consists of an autopsy procedure used to perform a chain of analyses on a membrane sheet. Wear of the membrane is characterized by a degradation of its performance due to a significant increase in hydraulic permeability (25%) and pressure drop as well as a decrease in salt retention (10% to 30%). In most cases the effects of ageing are little or poorly known at the local level and global measurements such as (flux, transmembrane pressure, permeate flow, retention rate, etc.) do not allow characterization. Therefore, a used RO (reverse osmosis) membrane was selected at the site to perform the membrane autopsy tests. These tests make it possible to analyze and identify the cause as well as to understand the links between performance degradation observed at the macroscopic scale and at the scale at which ageing takes place. External and internal visual observations allow seeing the state of degradation. Microscopic analysis of the used membranes surface shows the importance of fouling. In addition, quantification and identification analyses determine a high fouling rate in the used membrane whose foulants is of inorganic and organic nature. Moreover, the analyses proved the presence of a biofilm composed of protein.

scholarly journals ON GENERATING DIGITAL ELEVATION MODELS FROM LIDAR DATA – RESOLUTION VERSUS ACCURACY AND TOPOGRAPHIC WETNESS INDEX INDICES IN NORTHERN PEATLANDS

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulghani Hasan ◽  
Petter Pilesjö ◽  
Andreas Persson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Drainage Area ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Topographic Wetness Index ◽  
Absolute Deviation ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Elevation Data ◽  
Scale Modelling ◽  
Data Points ◽  
Emission Modelling

Global change and GHG emission modelling are dependent on accurate wetness estimations for predictions of e.g. methane emissions. This study aims to quantify how the slope, drainage area and the TWI vary with the resolution of DEMs for a flat peatland area. Six DEMs with spatial resolutions from 0.5 to 90 m were interpolated with four different search radiuses. The relationship between accuracy of the DEM and the slope was tested. The LiDAR elevation data was divided into two data sets. The number of data points facilitated an evaluation dataset with data points not more than 10 mm away from the cell centre points in the interpolation dataset. The DEM was evaluated using a quantile-quantile test and the normalized median absolute deviation. It showed independence of the resolution when using the same search radius. The accuracy of the estimated elevation for different slopes was tested using the 0.5 meter DEM and it showed a higher deviation from evaluation data for steep areas. The slope estimations between resolutions showed differences with values that exceeded 50%. Drainage areas were tested for three resolutions, with coinciding evaluation points. The model ability to generate drainage area at each resolution was tested by pair wise comparison of three data subsets and showed differences of more than 50% in 25% of the evaluated points. The results show that consideration of DEM resolution is a necessity for the use of slope, drainage area and TWI data in large scale modelling.

Object-based image segmentation in photogrammetry for cartographic use

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Béla Kovács ◽  
Márton Pál ◽  
Fanni Vörös
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Social Fund ◽  
Elevation Data ◽  
Control Technologies

<p>The use of aerial photography in topography has started in the first decades of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. Remote sensed data have become indispensable for cartographers and GIS staff when doing large-scale mapping: especially topographic, orienteering and thematic maps. The use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for this purpose has also become widespread for some years. Various drones and sensors (RGB, multispectral and hyperspectral) with many specifications are used to capture and process the physical properties of an examined area. In parallel with the development of the hardware, new software solutions are emerging to visualize and analyse photogrammetric material: a large set of algorithms with different approaches are available for image processing.</p><p>Our study focuses on the large-scale topographic mapping of vegetation and land cover. Most traditional analogue and digital maps use these layers either for background or highlighted thematic purposes. We propose to use the theory of OBIA – Object-based Image Analysis to differentiate cover types. This method involves pixels to be grouped into larger polygon units based on either spectral or other variables (e.g. elevation, aspect, curvature in case of DEMs). The neighbours of initial seed points are examined whether they should be added to the region according to the similarity of their attributes. Using OBIA, different land cover types (trees, grass, soils, bare rock surfaces) can be distinguished either with supervised or unsupervised classification – depending on the purposes of the analyst. Our base data were high-resolution RGB and multispectral images (with 5 bands).</p><p>Following this methodology, not only elevation data (e.g. shaded relief or vector contour lines) can be derived from UAV imagery but vector land cover data are available for cartographers and GIS analysts. As the number of distinct land cover groups is free to choose, even quite complex thematic layers can be produced. These layers can serve as subjects of further analyses or for cartographic visualization.</p><p> </p><p>BK is supported by Application Domain Specific Highly Reliable IT Solutions” project  has been implemented with the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the Thematic Excellence Programme TKP2020-NKA-06 (National Challenges Subprogramme) funding scheme.</p><p>MP and FV are supported by EFOP-3.6.3-VEKOP-16-2017-00001: Talent Management in Autonomous Vehicle Control Technologies – The Project is financed by the Hungarian Government and co-financed by the European Social Fund.</p>

scholarly journals Hydrologic sensitivity of the Upper San Joaquin River Watershed in California to climate change scenarios

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zili He ◽  
Zhi Wang ◽  
C. John Suen ◽  
Xiaoyi Ma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Hydrological Simulation ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
System Sensitivity ◽  
Hspf Model ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
San Joaquin River Watershed

To examine the hydrological system sensitivity of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California to climate change scenarios (CCS), five headwater basins in the snow-dominated Upper San Joaquin River Watershed (USJRW) were selected for hydrologic simulations using the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) model. A pre-specified set of CCS as projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were adopted as inputs for the hydrologic analysis. These scenarios include temperature increases between 1.5 and 4.5 °C and precipitation variation between 80 and 120% of the baseline conditions. The HSPF model was calibrated and validated with measured historical data. It was then used to simulate the hydrologic responses of the watershed to the projected CCS. Results indicate that the streamflow of USJRW is sensitive to the projected climate change. The total volume of annual streamflow would vary between −41 and +16% compared to the baseline years (1970–1990). Even if the precipitation remains unchanged, the total annual flow would still decrease by 8–23% due to temperature increases. A larger portion of the streamflow would occur earlier in the water year by 15–46 days due to the temperature increases, causing higher seasonal variability of streamflow.

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