Open-File and Technical Reports
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This section includes two Open File reports for the U.S. Geological Survey documenting amino acid racemization research on the U.S. Pacific coast (Wehmiller et al.,1977a and 1977b), Gomez Pit research by June Mirecki (1985, 1990) and Lamothe et al. (1995), database research by Vincent Pellerito (2004), a compilation of racemization data from sites in Florida (Wehmiller and colleagues, unpublished), and a technical report regarding studies of the organic geochemistry of Delaware Bay sediments (Wehmiller and Lethen, 1975).
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Browsing Open-File and Technical Reports by Author "Wehmiller, John F."
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Item Amino acid racemization age estimates for Pleistocene marine deposits in the Eukeka-Fields Landing Area, Homboldt County, California(U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey, 1977) Wehmiller, John F.; Kennedy, George L.; Lajoie, Kenneth R.Amino acid enantiomeric (D/L) ratios in fossil Saxidomus samples from four localities in the Eureka - Fields Landing area of the Humboldt Bay region, California yield age estimates of 180,000 to 280,000 years for exposed and slightly deformed bay and estuarine deposits.Item Comparison of approaches to dating Atlantic coastal plain sediments, Virginia Beach, Virginia(Washington, DC : U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1998-03) Lamothe, Michel; Wehmiller, John F.; Noller, Jay S.Item Compilation of Florida Amino Acid Racemization Data(2014-07-24) Wehmiller, John F.Item Correlation and chronology of Pacific Coast marine terrace deposits of continental United States by fossil amino acid stereochemistry technique, evaluation, relative ages, kinetic model ages, and geologic implications(U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey, 1977) Wehmiller, John F.; Lajoie, Kenneth R.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Peterson, Etta; Belknap, Daniel F.; Kennedy, George L.; Addicott, Warren O.; Vedde, John G.; Wright, Robert W.Enantiomeric (D/L) ratios of six or more amino acids have been determined in Pleistocene mollusks from fifty-one terrace localities on the Pacific coast of the United States from Puget Sound, Washington, to San Diego, California. Samples have been selected for the purpose of evaluation of various aspects of the amino acid dating technique as well as for the application of the technique to unresolved chronologic problems. Samples with known stratigraphic relationships (upper and lower Pleistocene, Pliocene) have been examined to document the relationships between geologic age and extent of racemization. Most genera investigated exhibit the expected trend of increasing extent of racemization with increasing age, but some genera do not document this trend, probably because of contamination during diagenesis. Of all genera examined in this manner, the bivalve mollusk Saxidomus appears to be the most reliable.Item Saturated hydrocarbon material in sediments of the Delaware estuary as determined by gas chromatographic analyses(College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, Del., 1975) Wehmiller, John F.; Lethen, MargaretThis report presents a preliminary interpretation of the analyses of hydrocarbon material in sediments of the Delaware Estuary as determined by solvent extraction, column chromatography, and gas-liquid chromatography. The specific focus has been on the saturated group of compounds isolated by silica gel chromatography. Approximately 35 stations (out of a total of 100 sampled localities) from Philadelphia to the bay mouth have been analyzed, and several stations have been reoccupied and reanalyzed following the oil spill associated with the Corinthos tanker explosion on January 31, 1975. Many of these "post-Corinthos" samples are discussed in the appendix to this report.Item Uranium-series coral ages from the US Atlantic Coastal Plain–the ‘‘80 ka problem’’ revisited(Department of Geology and College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, 2004) Wehmiller, John F.; Simmons, Kathleen R.; Cheng, Hai; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Martin-McNaughton, Jamie; York, Linda L.; Krantz, David E.; Shen, Chuan-ChouUranium series coral ages for emergent units from the passive continental margin US Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) suggest sea level above present levels at the end of marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 5, contradicting age-elevation relations based on marine isotopic or coral reef models of ice equivalent sea level. We have reexamined this problem by obtaining high precision Th-230/U-238 and Pa-231/U-235 thermal ionization mass spectrometric ages for recently collected and carefully cleaned ACP corals, many in situ. We recognize samples that show no evidence for diagenesis on the basis of uranium isotopic composition and age concordance. Combining new and earlier data, among those ages close to or within the age range of MIS 5, over 85% cluster between 65 and 85 ka BP. Of the corals that we have analyzed, those that show the least evidence for diagenesis on the basis of uranium isotopic composition and age concordance have ages between 80 and 85 ka BP, consistent with a MIS 5a correlation. The units from which these samples have been collected are all emergent and have elevations within B3–5m of those few units where early stage 5 (B125,000 ka BP) coral ages have been obtained. The ACP appears to record an unusual history of relative sea level throughout MIS 5, a history that is also apparent in the dated coral record for Bermuda. We speculate that this history is related to the regional (near-to intermediate-field) effects of ancestral Laurentide Ice sheets on last interglacial shorelines of the western North Atlantic.