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Paleomagnetic Study at a Nuclear Power Plant Site near Bakersfield, California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

P. Davis ,
J. Smith ,
G.J. Kukla  and
N.D. Opdyke
P. Davis
Affiliation:
Fugro Inc., P. O. Box 7765, Long Beach, California 90807 USA
J. Smith
Affiliation:
Fugro Inc., P. O. Box 7765, Long Beach, California 90807 USA
G.J. Kukla
Affiliation:
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Palisades, New York 10964 USA
N.D. Opdyke
Affiliation:
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Palisades, New York 10964 USA
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Abstract

At the San Joaquin plant site near Bakersfield, California, the Brunhes/Matuyama reversal was identified 4 m below an ash probably correlative with the Bishop Tuff. Deposition of coarse detritus in a high-energy environment preceded the reversal, whereas a low-energy lake and back-swamp type sedimentation persisted through most of the interval, separating the reversal and the ash. Sediments below the reversal are strongly remagnetized in a normal field. Identification of the original polarity is possible only with some of the specimens, so that accurate positioning of the reversal plane required dense and multiple sampling. Similar precaution at all sites where reversals are used for time-stratigraphic correlations is recommended. Paleomagnetic investigation was particularly useful in proving the presence of unfaulted strata at least 0.5 my old, as required by safety regulations of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This is due to the fact that any thick layer of reversely magnetized sediment is with high probability older than 0.7 my.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , May 1977 , pp. 380 - 397
Copyright
University of Washington

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