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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Improving the Inventory of Large Lunar Basins: Using LOLA Data to Test Previous Candidates and Search for New Ones

Topography and crustal thickness data from LOLA altimetry were used to test the validity of 98 candidate large lunar basins derived from photogeologic and earlier topographic and crustal thickness data, and to search for possible new candidates. We eliminate 23 previous candidates but find good evidence for 20 new candidates. The number of basins greater than 300 km diameter on the Moon is almost certainly a factor 2 (maybe 3?) larger than the number of named features having basin-like topography. Unified Lunar Control Net 2005 data [1] and model crustal thickness data [2] were previously used to search for possible previously unrecognized large lunar impact basins [3,4]. An inventory of 98 candidate topographic basins greater than 300 km in diameter was found [5]. This includes 33 named features (only those having basin-like topography) out of the 45 listed by Wilhelms [6], 38 additional Quasi-Circular Depressions (QCDs) found in the ULCN2005 topography, and 27 Circular Thin Areas (CTAs) found in model crustal thickness data [2]. Most named features and additional QCDs have strong CTA signatures, but there may be a class of CTAs that are not easily recognized in the old and low resolution ULCN2005 topography. Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) data have recently become publically available. We used these data to (a) refine the center and ring diameters of known basins, (b) test the viability of the candidate basins previously found (as described above), and (c) search for additional candidate basins not revealed by the earlier lower resolution data. We used the LOLA topography directly but also a recent new model crustal thickness data that includes Kaguya gravity data [7]. We repeated a Topographic Expression (TE) and a Crustal Thickness Expression (CTE) scoring exercise originally done with the basins found in ULCN and earlier model crustal thickness data [5]. Each candidate was scored on a scale from 0 (no topographic basin or circular thin area signature) to 5 (strong circular low or strong circular thin area signature). These were combined into a total score used to rank the probability for each candidate basin. We used the same GRIDVIEW software to stretch, contour and profile the LOLA and new crustal thickness data as was done with the ULCN2005 and older model crustal thickness data.

Frey, H. V.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Large Impact Basins on Mercury: Global Distribution, Characteristics, and Modification History from MESSENGER Orbital Data

The formation of large impact basins (diameter D greater than or equal to 300 km) was an important process in the early evolution of Mercury and influenced the planet's topography, stratigraphy, and crustal structure. We catalog and characterize this basin population on Mercury from global observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft, and we use the new data to evaluate basins suggested on the basis of the Mariner 10 flybys. Forty-two certain or probable impact basins are recognized a few additional basins that may have been degraded to the point of ambiguity are plausible on the basis of new data but are classified as uncertain. The spatial density of large basins (D greater than or equal to 500 km) on Mercury is lower than that on the Moon. Morphological characteristics of basins on Mercury suggest that on average they are more degraded than lunar basins. These observations are consistent with more efficient modification, degradation, and obliteration of the largest basins on Mercury than on the Moon. This distinction may be a result of differences in the basin formation process (producing fewer rings), greater relaxation of topography after basin formation (subduing relief), and/or higher rates of volcanism during the period of heavy bombardment on Mercury compared to the Moon (burying basin rings and interiors).

Fassett, Caleb I.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Prospective Seal Unit Spatial Extent Database for U.S. Sedimentary Basins

The Prospective Seal Unit Spatial Extent Database for U.S. Sedimentary Basins contains a series of spatial datasets representing spatial extents of publicly available data for caprock and seal rock units within the Appalachian Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin, Great Valley Basin (Sacramento and San Joaquin Basins), Illinois Basin, Michigan Basin, San Juan Basin, U.S. Gulf Coast Basin, and Williston Basin. The database is designed to support carbon storage feasibility and resources assessment for carbon transport and storage (CTS) projects while displaying the spatial extent of prospective seal units and provide a guide to the original data source. This database leverages publicly available data resources from authoritative sources (e.g. U.S. Geological Survey, State Geologic Surveys, and published reports), and aims to help guide users to understand the seal unit's spatial coverage and data gaps from the regional to sub-basin/field scale. The database is organized by seal unit/formation, including the spatial extent for data found to be available for the seal unit. The various datasets represented include spatial extents of the lithologic formation, depth to top structural contour maps, and thickness/isopach maps. Included in this submission are the following resources: 1. Geodatabase/Dataset: “prospective-seal-unit-extents-2025.gdb” 2. ReadMe: “readme-prospective-seal-unit-spatial-extent-dataset-2025.pdf” 3. Data Catalog: “prospective-seal-unit-spatial-extents-data-catalog-2025.xlsx” 4. Data Sources Key: “data-source.csv” Please see NETL disclaimers here: https://netl.doe.gov/home/disclaimer

Basin↗
NASA NTRS1986

Archean foreland basin tectonics in the Witwatersrand, South Africa

The Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa is the best-known of Archean sedimentary basins and contains some of the largest gold reserves in the world. Sediments in the basin include a lower flysch-type sequence and an upper molassic facies, both of which contain abundant silicic volcanic detritus. The strata are thicker and more proximal on the northwestern side of the basin which is, at least locally, bound by thrust faults. These features indicate that the Witwatersrand strata may have been deposited in a foreland basin and a regional geologic synthesis suggests that this basin developed initially on the cratonward side of an Andean-type arc. Remarkably similar Phanerozoic basins may be found in the southern Andes above zones of shallow subduction. It is suggested that the continental collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons at about 2.7 Ga caused further subsidence and deposition in the Witwatersrand Basin. Regional uplift during this later phase of development placed the basin on the cratonward edge of a collision-related plateau, now represented by the Limpopo Province. Similarities are seen between this phase of Witwatersrand Basin evolution and that of active basins north of the Tibetan Plateau. The geologic evidence does not agree with earlier suggestions that the Witwatersrand strata were deposited in a rift or half-graben.

Burke, K.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Archean foreland basin tectonics in the Witwatersrand, South Africa

The Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa is the best-known of Archean sedimentary basins and contains some of the largest gold reserves in the world. Sediments in the basin include a lower flysch-type sequence and an upper molassic facies, both of which contain abundant silicic volcanic detritus. The strata are thicker and more proximal on the northwestern side of the basin which is, at least locally, bound by thrust faults. These features indicate that the Witwatersrand strata may have been deposited in a foreland basin and a regional geologic synthesis suggests that this basin developed initially on the cratonward side of an Andean-type arc. Remarkably similar Phanerozoic basins may be found in the southern Andes above zones of shallow subduction. It is suggested that the continental collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons at about 2.7 Ga caused further subsidence and deposition in the Witwatersrand Basin. Regional uplift during this later phase of development placed the basin on the cratonward edge of a collision-related plateau, now represented by the Limpopo Province. Similarities are seen between this Phase of Witywatersrand Basin evolution and that of active basins north of the Tibetan Plateau. The geologic evidence does not agree with earlier suggestions that the Witwatersrand strata were deposited in a rift or half-graben.

Burke, K.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Distribution, Statistics, and Resurfacing of Large Impact Basins on Mercury

The distribution and geological history of large impact basins (diameter D greater than or equal to 300 km) on Mercury is important to understanding the planet's stratigraphy and surface evolution. It is also informative to compare the density of impact basins on Mercury with that of the Moon to understand similarities and differences in their impact crater and basin populations [1, 2]. A variety of impact basins were proposed on the basis of geological mapping with Mariner 10 data [e.g. 3]. This basin population can now be re-assessed and extended to the full planet, using data from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. Note that small-to- medium-sized peak-ring basins on Mercury are being examined separately [4, 5]; only the three largest peak-ring basins on Mercury overlap with the size range we consider here. In this study, we (1) re-examine the large basins suggested on the basis of Mariner 10 data, (2) suggest additional basins from MESSENGER's global coverage of Mercury, (3) assess the size-frequency distribution of mercurian basins on the basis of these global observations and compare it to the Moon, and (4) analyze the implications of these observations for the modification history of basins on Mercury.

Fassett, Caleb I.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wetting and drying trends in the land–atmosphere reservoir of large basins around the world

Abstract. Global change is altering hydrologic regimes worldwide, including large basins that play a central role in the sustainability of human societies and ecosystems. The basin water budget is a fundamental framework for understanding these basins' sensitivity and future dynamics under changing forcings. In this budget, studies often treat atmospheric processes as external to the basin and assume that atmosphere-related water storage changes are negligible in the long term. These assumptions are potentially misleading in large basins with strong land–atmosphere feedbacks, including terrestrial moisture recycling, which is critical for global water distribution. Here, we introduce the land–atmosphere reservoir (LAR) concept, which includes atmospheric processes as a critical component of the basin water budget and use it to study long-term changes in the water storage of some of the world's largest basins. Our results show significant LAR water storage trends over the last 4 decades, with a marked latitudinal contrast: while low-latitude basins have accumulated water, high-latitude basins have been drying. If they continue, these trends will disrupt the discharge regime and compromise the sustainability of these basins, resulting in widespread impacts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2005

Simulation of Water Sources and Precipitation Recycling for the MacKenzie, Mississippi and Amazon River Basins

An atmospheric general circulation model simulation for 1948-1997 of the water budgets for the MacKenzie, Mississippi and Amazon River basins is presented. In addition to the water budget, we include passive tracers to identify the geographic sources of water for the basins, and the analysis focuses on the mechanisms contributing to precipitation recycling in each basin. While each basin s precipitation recycling has a strong dependency on evaporation during the mean annual cycle, the interannual variability of the recycling shows important relationships with the atmospheric circulation. The MacKenzie River basin has only a weak interannual dependency on evaporation, where the variations in zonal moisture transport from the Pacific Ocean can affect the basin water cycle. On the other hand, the Mississippi River basin has strong interannual dependencies on evaporation. While the precipitation recycling weakens with increased low level jet intensity, the evaporation variations exert stronger influence in providing water vapor for convective precipitation at the convective cloud base. High precipitation recycling is also found to be partly connected to warm SSTs in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The Amazon River basin evaporation exhibits small interannual variations, so that the interannual variations of precipitation recycling are related to atmospheric moisture transport from the tropical south Atlantic Ocean. Increasing SSTs over the 50-year period are causing increased easterly transport across the basin. As moisture transport increases, the Amazon precipitation recycling decreases (without real time varying vegetation changes). In addition, precipitation recycling from a bulk diagnostic method is compared to the passive tracer method used in the analysis. While the mean values are different, the interannual variations are comparable between each method. The methods also exhibit similar relationships to the terms of the basin scale water budgets.

Bosilovich, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

Water↗
DOE OSTI2025

Streamflow Response to Glacier Mass Loss Varies With Basin Precipitation Across Alaska

Abstract Diminishing glaciers affect streamflow, and given the extent of glaciers in Alaska and adjacent Canada, continued glacier mass loss is likely to have profound effects on ecosystems sensitive to runoff. The effects of glacier mass loss on streamflow are likely to vary across the wide ranges of basin size, glacier cover, and precipitation in this region. In this study, we use U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow data with satellite‐based glacier volume change estimates to quantify how glacier mass loss subsidized streamflow over the 2000–2019 period for 116 glacierized basins. We examine interannual variability in that subsidy at three USGS‐monitored glaciers to explore the ability of the subsidy to buffer streamflow derived solely from precipitation. We found the relative importance of percent glacier cover on streamflow magnitude increases in drier basins. In the driest basins, glaciers produced 40 times greater percent glacier mass loss subsidies to streamflow for the percent glacier cover compared to the wettest basins. While the subsidy from glacier mass loss buffers interannual variability in streamflow to varying degrees, it can also increase streamflow variability. Smaller amounts of percent glacier cover are needed to produce summer‐melt‐dominated seasonal flow regimes in drier basins than in wetter basins. Decreasing glacier cover will eventually decrease summer streamflow, increasing spring streamflow in drier basins, and attenuating seasonality with increasing spring and autumnal streamflow in wetter basins. Quantifying the downstream effects of continued glacier mass loss without the computational expense of a hydrological model is broadly applicable in this changing climate.

Curran, Janet H. [U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Sc↗
DOE OSTI2024

Water Resource Assessment In The New Mexico Permian Basin: BLM 2023 Assessment Report

The Permian Basin is the highest producing oil field in the United States and is comprised of three component basins including; the Midland Basin, Delaware Basin and the Marfa Basin. This report describes the work conducted by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to investigate the occurrence of usable water (quality, and depth to water) in the Delaware Sub-basin of the Permian Basin. High Production Areas (HPAs) were identified for the region based on Reasonable Foreseeable Development Scenario (RFD) published by New Mexico Tech University. HPAs were established based on potential for future development of oil reserves. The study was initiated by the BLM-Carlsbad Field Office (CFO) based on concerns that special protections for groundwater in these HPAs may be warranted. A combination of analysis of existing data and field work to collect new data for analysis were used to complete the investigation objectives. This study summarizes the most recent analyses in an ongoing project and builds on previously completed work as listed in Table 1. Advancements in directional drilling and well completion technologies have resulted in an exponential growth in the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas extraction in the Permian Basin. Within the New Mexico portion of the Delaware Sub-basin, water demand to complete each hydraulically fractured well is estimated to average 7.3 acre-feet (2.4 million gallons), resulting in 30 billion barrels of water over the life of the plan or 1.5 billion barrels per year. This rising demand is creating concern for the regions ability to provide the necessary water in a manner that fulfills BLM’s role of protecting human health and the environment while sustainably meeting the needs of various water users in the region. This report documents water-level and water chemistry baselines to aid the BLM in understanding the regional water supply dynamics under various management, policy, and growth scenarios and to pre-emptively identify risks to water sustainability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Multiple ring structures and the problem of correlation between lunar basins

Comparison of multi-ringed, mare-filled basins on the nearside of the moon indicates that a simple one-to-one correspondence of all rings between lunar basins does not exist. The only rings which can be correlated reasonably well between such basins are concentric systems of mare ridges and basin rims, and the frequently cited square-root-of-2 spacing relationship does not correctly describe their spacing. It is concluded that the Cordillera is the rim of the Orientale Basin and is equivalent to the 1340 km diameter ring of the Imbrium Basin and the rims of the other mare-filled basins. The area between the Rook and Cordillera rings is believed equivalent to the marginal shelf areas of the more completely mare-filled basins. A circular arc approximately 520 km diameter located just inside the outer Rook Ring would have been the most likely site for formation of a concentric system of mare ridges, had filling of the Orientale Basin been complete.

Brennan, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The structure and evolution of ancient impact basins on Mars

It is pointed out that characteristic styles of degradation and modification of obvious Martian basins make it possible to recognize more subtle expressions. This approach is seen as providing not only additional basins to the existing inventory but also fundamental clues for initial impact basin structure and stratigraphy. It also reveals the long-lasting influence of basin formation on the crust of Mars in spite of extensive erosion and resurfacing. Consideration is given to five clear examples of modified impact basins, and regions around each that have undergone similar processes (fracturing, collapse, channeling) are delineated. These processes among the different basins are then compared, and similar zones of modification are correlated with concentric basin rings. Consideration is then given to the implications of these observations for current models of basin formation and to the role of impact basins in controlling regional tectonics. The results indicate that large multiring impact scars leave a major but sometimes subtle imprint on the geologic structure of stable crustal regions on Mars.

Schultz, P. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Report of the Workshop on Geologic Applications of Remote Sensing to the Study of Sedimentary Basins

The Workshop on Geologic Applications of Remote Sensing to the Study of Sedimentary Basins, held January 10 to 11, 1985 in Lakewood, Colorado, involved 43 geologists from industry, government, and academia. Disciplines represented ranged from vertebrate paleontology to geophysical modeling of continents. Deliberations focused on geologic problems related to the formation, stratigraphy, structure, and evolution of foreland basins in general, and to the Wind River/Bighorn Basin area of Wyoming in particular. Geological problems in the Wind River/Bighorn basin area that should be studied using state-of-the-art remote sensing methods were identified. These include: (1) establishing the stratigraphic sequence and mapping, correlating, and analyzing lithofacies of basin-filling strata in order to refine the chronology of basin sedimentation, and (2) mapping volcanic units, fracture patterns in basement rocks, and Tertiary-Holocene landforms in searches for surface manifestations of concealed structures in order to refine models of basin tectonics. Conventional geologic, topographic, geophysical, and borehole data should be utilized in these studies. Remote sensing methods developed in the Wind River/Bighorn Basin area should be applied in other basins.

Lang, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Late quaternary geomorphology of the Great Salt Lake region, Utah, and other hydrographically closed basins in the western United States: A summary of observations

Attributes of Quaternary lakes and lake basins which are often important in the environmental prehistory of semideserts are discussed. Basin-floor and basin-closure morphometry have set limits on paleolake sizes; lake morphometry and basin drainage patterns have influenced lacustrine processes; and water and sediment loads have influenced basin neotectonics. Information regarding inundated, runoff-producing, and extra-basin spatial domains is acquired directly from the paleolake record, including the littoral morphostratigraphic record, and indirectly by reconstruction. Increasingly detailed hypotheses regarding Lake Bonneville, the largest late Pleistocene paleolake in the Great Basin, are subjects for further testing and refinement. Oscillating transgression of Lake Bonneville began about 28,000 yr B.P.; the highest stage occurred about 15,000 yr B.P., and termination occurred abruptly about 13,000 yr B.P. A final resurgence of perennial lakes probably occurred in many subbasins of the Great Basin between 11,000 and 10,000 yr B.P., when the highest stage of Great Salt Lake (successor to Lake Bonneville) developed the Gilbert shoreline. The highest post-Gilbert stage of Great Salt Lake, which has been one of the few permanent lakes in the Great Basin during Holocene time, probably occurred between 3,000 and 2,000 yr B.P.

Currey, Donald R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A new survey of multiring impact basins on Mars

Literature data on Martian multiring impact basins with diameters greater than 500 km are summarized, and evidence is found for eight new such basins. The pattern of changes of basin morphology with increasing basin size suggests three subclasses of multiring basins: (1) multiring basins with diameters up to about 1850 km, which are characterized by the Orientale type concentric structure and cumulative frequency power law slope of -0.75; (2) the Argyre-type basins (with diameters between 1850 and 3600 km, defined by rugged concentric annnuli and a power law slope of nearly -2.0; and (3) the Chryse-type basins (with diameters greater than 3600 km), which exhibit multiple concentric rings and very shallow topographic profiles. Multiring basins are found in all parts of Mars, including the northern lowlands, Tharsis, and surrounding highlands, and are associated with much of the subsequent resurfacing of cratered terrain.

Schultz, Richard A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Lunar Basins: New Evidence from Gravity for Impact-Formed Mascons

The prominent gravity highs (mascons) associated with uncompensated mass anomalies in lunar mare basins are a dramatic expression of the present-day rigidity of the lunar lithosphere. First discovered in Lunar Orbiter tracking data, these about 350-mGal gravity highs have been redetermined from the analysis of Clementine and historical tracking. These highs coincide with topographic lows, indicating nonisostatic support. One of the rediscoveries of this analysis is the encirclement of the highs by substantial negative anomalies over topographic highs. Recent gravity fields are providing the increased resolution necessary to determine the causes of this unique mascon signature. The compensation of the basin anomalies remains controversial. The mascon highs have long been interpreted as the result of mare loading, subsequent to the decay of residual stresses resulting from the impact. Substantially more mare fill is required to produce mascon highs than has been inferred on geological grounds, and the amount of near-surface mass deficit required to produce a gravity most exceeds bounds inferred from terrestrial examples. This problem is most acute for the youngest basin, Orientale. Recent gravity fields from Lunar Prospector have suggested mascon highs associated with nonmare basins such as Mendel-Rydberg, or minimally filled basins like Humboldtianum, further calling this explanation into question. We suggest that the mascon gravity signal is produced by a combination of crustal thickness changes, manifested by central mantle uplift, outward displacement of crust, and downward flexure of the lithosphere under mare loading. The mantle uplift is superisostatic, maintained by residual stresses resulting from the process of impact cratering and modification. In particular, the process of crater collapse and mantle rebound terminates abruptly, leaving the mantle plug in a non-equilibrium state, surrounded by a ring of thickened crust. Viscous relaxation over geological timescales has erased some but not all of the signature of the impact process. Mantle uplift inferred from gravity modeling is inversely correlated with age. While the oldest basins such as South Pole Aitken are mainly compensated isotatically, the younger basins appear to have been in a state of superisostatic loading prior to mare emplacement. If this is true, this places an important constraint on the impact process at basin scales. The idea that rebound of the transient crater via acoustic fluidization may freeze substantial stresses imcomplete to this day, may be tested by examining the gravity signatures of major basins on terrestrial bodies. The moon provides the clearest resolved examples to date, but uncertainty in gravity knowledge remains problematic.

Neumann, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Comparing morphologies of drainage basins on Mars and Earth using integral-geometry and neural maps

We compare morphologies of drainage basins on Mars and Earth in order to confine the formation process of Martian valley networks. Basins on both planets are computationally extracted from digital topography. Integral-geometry methods are used to represent each basin by a circularity function that encapsulates its internal structure. The shape of such a function is an indicator of the style of fluvial erosion. We use the self-organizing map technique to construct a similarity graph for all basins. The graph reveals systematic differences between morphologies of basins on the two planets. This dichotomy indicates that terrestrial and Martian surfaces were eroded differently. We argue that morphologies of Martian basins are incompatible with runoff from sustained, homogeneous rainfall. Fluvial environments compatible with observed morphologies are discussed. We also construct a similarity graph based on the comparison of basins hypsometric curves to demonstrate that hypsometry is incapable of discriminating between terrestrial and Martian basins. INDEX TERMS: 1824 Hydrology: Geomorphology (1625); 1886 Hydrology: Weathering (1625); 5415 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Erosion and weathering; 6225 Planetology: Solar System Objects Mars. Citation: Stepinski, T. F., and S. Coradetti (2004), Comparing morphologies of drainage basins on Mars and Earth using integral-ge

Stepinski, T. F.↗