Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Helen W. Beeson, Scott W. Mccoy
Summary: The timing, rates, and spatial patterns of elevation change in the Sierra Nevada are analyzed in this study using fluvial geomorphology measures and landscape evolution modeling. The results suggest that westward-draining rivers in the Sierra Nevada are in a disequilibrium state due to significant down-to-the-west tilting in the last 11 million years. The study also finds that surface uplift from late Cenozoic tilting appears to have been similar along strike and heavily modulated by lithology and drainage area exchange.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
H. W. Beeson, S. W. McCoy
Summary: The author responded to Gabet's criticisms and defended their interpretation of migrating knickpoints in the Sierra and their estimates of surface uplift. They used systematic topographic analysis and various methods to identify consistent trends of uplift timing and magnitude along the length of the range. Although pinpointing the timing of the most recent tectonic event is challenging, they argue that the uncertain estimate is valuable for understanding the tectonic history of the Sierra.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jeffrey Lee, Daniel F. Stockli, Ann E. Blythe
Summary: This article discusses the uplift history of the Sierra Nevada in California, focusing on the timing and nature of slip along the range-bounding normal fault. The history of normal fault slip is important for understanding the uplift history of the Sierra Nevada and the geologic factors driving it.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jeffrey Lee, Daniel F. Stockli, Ann E. Blythe
Summary: The uplift history of the Sierra Nevada, California, is a topic of long-standing disagreement. New research suggests that the Sierra Nevada normal fault played a crucial role in the uplift history, with two periods of slip occurring at different times. The Middle Miocene slip along the Sierra Nevada normal fault is a significant regional tectonic event.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Benjamin Z. Klein, Oliver Jagoutz
Summary: The Bear Valley Intrusive Suite (BVIS) in the Southernmost Sierra Nevada represents a unique snapshot of magmatic processes within continental arc crust, with a fundamental dichotomy found between the lower crust composed of mafic cumulates and the middle/upper crust composed of tonalites. Modeling results suggest that BVIS magmas must have cooled below 900 degrees C near 7 kbars depth before rapidly emplacing in the upper crust along near-isothermal paths. The Sierra Nevada Arc magmas are thought to have cooled and differentiated at greater depths than the BVIS magmas, based on seismic velocity observations.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Dominic C. DiGiulio, Robert J. Rossi, Jessie M. Jaeger, Seth B. C. Shonkoff, Joseph N. Ryan
Summary: The investigation highlights the risks posed by the historical and ongoing disposal of oilfield-produced water into unlined produced water ponds (PWPs) on groundwater resources in the San Joaquin Valley, especially in the Tulare Basin. Sparse groundwater monitoring at unlined PWP facilities has shown impacts on aquifers used for public and agricultural water supply, which have proven to be too costly to remediate.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Emmanuel Gabet
Summary: This study examines the formation of the Table Mountains in the Stanislaus River watershed in northern California. The findings refute the theory that the mountains were formed within a bedrock paleovalley, instead suggesting that the latite flowed through a channel cut into underlying Cenozoic deposits.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Lin Huang, Jinjin Sun, Ling Jin, Nancy J. Brown, Jianlin Hu
Summary: Traditionally, PM2.5 and O-3 controls are considered separately due to their seasonal differences, but this study in the San Joaquin Valley reveals their intra-seasonal correlations and chemical-coupling behaviors under different meteorological conditions. While O-3 and PM2.5 are positively correlated on the daily timescale due to atmospheric stagnation, they are negatively correlated on the hourly timescale because of the negative correlation between NO3- and O-3. Control of NOx emissions can lead to reductions in both O-3 and PM2.5 concentrations under specific meteorological conditions.
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mahesh L. Maskey, Gustavo Facincani Dourado, Anna M. Rallings, David E. Rheinheimer, Josue Medellin-Azuara, Joshua H. Viers
Summary: Freshwater aquatic ecosystems are highly sensitive to flow regime alteration caused by anthropogenic activities, and this study evaluated the potential changes to the flow regime of the major tributaries of the San Joaquin River Basin in California due to climate change and reservoir operations. The study found that most indicators of streamflow dynamics had pronounced departures from baseline conditions under anticipated future climate conditions given existing reservoir operations. Additionally, the degree of flow regime alteration due to reservoir operations was found to be higher than that of climate change.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shang Liu, Barbara Barletta, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Alan Fried, Jeff Peischl, Simone Meinardi, Matthew Coggon, Aaron Lamplugh, Jessica B. Gilman, Georgios Gkatzelis, Carsten Warneke, Eric C. Apel, Alan J. Hills, Ilann Bourgeois, James Walega, Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, Toshihiro Kuwayama, Michael FitzGibbon, Donald Blake
Summary: Comprehensive aircraft measurements of VOCs in the South Coast Air Basin and San Joaquin Valley of California were conducted, revealing the important contributions of OVOCs and BVOCs to ozone precursors. The study emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the emission rates and sources of OVOCs and BVOCs to predict ozone abundance and distribution.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
G. Gaitan, J. Adam
Summary: Salt structures can provide valuable insights into tectonic and depositional processes due to their distinct responses. However, previous studies have not systematically identified, mapped, or classified the evolution of multi-stage salt structures in a regional context. The Southern North Sea, with its abundant 3D seismic data, offers a unique opportunity to investigate the evolution of salt structures. Our study used a comprehensive seismic dataset and analyzed the time-thickness variations around salt structures to examine their evolution across different sub-basins. We found that multi-stage salt diapirs in the Southern North Sea developed through three regional phases and up to five local stages.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emily A. Haugen, Bryant C. Jurgens, Jose A. Arroyo-Lopez, George L. Bennett
Summary: In the San Joaquin Valley, California, around 10% of drinking water wells have arsenic concentrations exceeding the US maximum contaminant level, with trends towards decreasing arsenic concentrations despite high initial levels. Factors such as high pH and oxic groundwater derived from agricultural recharge play a role in arsenic mobility. Human-altered flow systems can both positively and negatively impact the natural geochemical character of water.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Laura C. Streib, Jeffery R. Stone, Eva C. Lyon, Hung H. Quang, Kevin M. Yeager, Susan R. H. Zimmerman, Michael M. McGlue
Summary: This study analyzed lake sediment records from the eastern Sierra Nevada over the past three millennia to reveal ecological changes driven by hydroclimate oscillations. Results showed that hot-dry conditions of the Industrial Era altered lake state, leading to profound impacts on high-elevation lakes and the ecosystem services they provide.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nigel W. T. Quinn, Michael K. K. Tansey, James Lu
Summary: Model selection for water quality forecasting is influenced by factors such as analyst expertise, cost, stakeholder involvement, and expected performance. In arid river basins, protecting beneficial uses and livelihoods of agricultural communities poses challenges for water quality forecasting. The California San Joaquin River Basin implements a real-time salinity management program to balance salt export and water supply beneficial uses while avoiding fines associated with salt load exceedances.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Michael D. Flowers, David H. Shimabukuro, Michael J. Stephens, John G. Warden, Janice M. Gillespie, Will Chang
Summary: This paper documents a reversal in groundwater salinity depth gradient in an oil field in California. The study shows that groundwater salinity increases with depth, reaching a peak at 1100 m depth and then gradually decreasing at 1400 m depth. The reversal is attributed to changing depositional environments and decreasing sea level.
ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)