Bio


Don Lowe was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and attended Stanford University for his undergraduate study. In his sophomore year, he chanced to take a class in physical geology from Ben Page, which set the course of his future professional career. He decided to go back "east" for his graduate study and enrolled in geology at the University of Illinois, where he received a PhD degree in 1967. He subsequently was awarded a post-doctoral associate position at the US Geological Survey (1968-70) and started his first academic position as an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University in 1970. He returned to Stanford in 1988 as a Professor and has continued his education, teaching, and research there since then. His research falls into two broad areas: deep-water sedimentation and Archean sedimentary systems. In the former, he examines the processes of sediment transport and deposition in the deep-sea, resulting lithofacies and lithofacies associations, stacking and facies pattern as reflecting environments of deposition, and overall basin history. The Archean research focuses on rocks older than 3.0 billion-years-old and aims to use sedimentary principles to investigate early surface environments, the nature and role of early organisms, the role of giant meteorite impacts in early crustal development, and Archean basinal settings and tectonics.

Academic Appointments


Administrative Appointments


  • Professor of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (1993 - Present)
  • Professor of Geology, Stanford University (1988 - 1993)
  • Consulting Professor, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles (1988 - 1988)
  • Acting Chairman, Department of Geology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1982 - 1983)
  • Visiting Lecturer, Department of Geology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1981 - 1981)
  • Visiting Professor, Department of Geology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1980 - 1981)
  • Professor, Department of Geology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1978 - 1988)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Geology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1973 - 1978)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1970 - 1973)
  • Post-doctoral Research Associate, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California (1968 - 1970)
  • Instructor in Geology, University of Illinois (1967 - 1968)
  • Visiting Graduate Fellow, Sedimentary Research Laboratory University of Reading, Reading, England (1966 - 1967)

Honors & Awards


  • Twenhofel Medal, Society of Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) (2018)
  • 2016 Alumni Achievement Award, University of Illinois, Department of Geology (2016)
  • Fellow, Geological Society of America (2016)
  • Grover E. Murray Memorial Distinguished Educator Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (2014)
  • Honorary Membership, Pacific Section, Society for Sedimentary Geology, SEPM (2012)
  • Max Steineke Professor, Stanford University (2012)
  • Research Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (1994)
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship, U.S. Geological Survey (1968-1970)
  • Graduate Fellowship, National Science Foundation (1964-1967)
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi (1964)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Member, Editorial Board, Precambrian Research (1990 - Present)
  • Co-Director, Stanford Project on Deep-Water Depositional Systems (SPODDS) (1993 - Present)
  • Member, Interschool Faculty Committee for the Goldman Environmental Honors Program, Stanford University (1993 - 1998)
  • Member, GSA Committee on the Penrose Medal Award (1995 - 1997)
  • Member, Grant Proposal Review Panel, NASA Exobiology Program (1995 - 1998)
  • Invited Scientist, Kyushu University, Collaborative Studies of Japanese Siliceous Sinter (1997 - 1997)
  • Invited Lecturer, BP Petroleum (Houston) and Texaco (UK) (1997 - 1997)
  • Invited Participant, SEPM Debate at Annual AAPG-SEPM Meeting: Processes of Deep-water Clastic Sedimentation and Their Reservoir Implications: What Can We PredictNULL (1997 - 1997)
  • Qualline Lecturer (a series of 3 lectures), Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin (1997 - 1997)
  • Member, Soil Scientist Search Committee, Stanford University (1997 - 1998)
  • Member, Penn State Astrobiology Research Consortium (1998 - 2009)
  • Member, GSA Committee on Honorary Fellows (1998 - 2000)
  • Field Trip Leader, Unocal, Deep-water Systems in Western California (1998 - 1998)
  • Invited Lecturer, San Joaquin Geological Society, Bakersfield, CA (1998 - 1998)
  • Invited Participant and Speaker, Statoil Research Summit, Processes, Stratigraphy, and Lithology Distribution in Deep-water Clastic Systems-An Update, Trondheim and Stavanger, Norway (1998 - 1998)
  • Invited Lecturer, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. (1998 - 1998)
  • Leader, Science Definition Team, NASA Astrobiology Research Laboratory (1999 - 2000)
  • Member, NASA Ames Space Science Review Panel (1999 - 1999)
  • Member, advisory panel,, Calif. Acad. Sci., major new directions for CAS programs over the next 10-15 years (1999 - 1999)
  • Member, advisory group, NASA/Ames Astrobiology Program, objectives and goals of new Astrobiology laboratory at NASA/Ames Research Center (1999 - 1999)
  • Invited Lecturer, Conference on North Sea Petroleum province (1999 - 1999)
  • Member, NRC/NSF/GSA panel to consider future research directions and initiatives in sedimentary geology (1999 - 1999)
  • Earth Sciences representative on Walk Through Time committee, Stanford University (1999 - 1999)
  • Stanford Office of Technology and Licensing Grants Committee, Stanford University (1999 - 2000)
  • Member, Editorial Board, Astrobiology (2000 - 2005)
  • Member, UCLA Center for Astrobiology (2000 - 2009)
  • Invited Speaker, Barberton Geological Society, South Africa (2000 - 2000)
  • Invited Speaker, Triton Energy, Dallas, Texas (2000 - 2000)
  • Invited Speaker, Louisiana State University (2000 - 2000)
  • Invited Speaker, UCLA (2000 - 2000)
  • Invited Speaker, Petrobras Conference on Deep-water Sedimentation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2000 - 2000)
  • Member, SETI Advisory Committee on long-range planning for new program on Life in the Universe (2000 - 2002)
  • Organizer and Leader, AAPG Hedberg Field Research Conference, Deep-water Sandstones, Submarine Canyon to Basin Plain, Western California, April 9-14 (2000 - 2000)
  • Chair, GES Long Range Planning Committee, Stanford University (2000 - 2004)
  • Member, GES Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2000 - 2001)
  • Invited Speaker, SEPM Diamond Jubilee Symposium, Denver, CO; Peninsula Geological Society; University of California, Davis, CA; US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (2001 - 2001)
  • Chair, GES Undergraduate Program Committee, Stanford University (2001 - 2002)
  • Member, Impacts Focus Group, NASA Astrobiology Institute (2002 - 2006)
  • Invited Speaker, UCLA Rubey Symposium, Impacts and the origin, Evolution, and Extinction of Life (2002 - 2002)
  • Invited Speaker, Barberton Geological Society, South Africa; Rohol Aussuchungs Gesellschaft, Vienna, Austria; Osterreichische Geologische Gesellschaft (Austrian Geological Society), Vienna; UCLA Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (2002 - 2002)
  • GES Course designer (4 planetary science courses), NASA/Ames Research Center and USGS (2002 - 2004)
  • Organizer and leader of 10-day field conference, Archean Surface Processes, in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa ( 29 international participants) (2003 - 2003)
  • Member, GES Faculty Search Committee (Surface Processes), Stanford University (2003 - 2004)
  • Member, School of Earth Sciences Subcommittee on Core disciplines, Stanford University (2003 - 2004)
  • Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Stanford University (2003 - 2003)
  • Sabbatical leave, Stanford University (2004 - 2005)
  • Invited Speaker, Barberton Geological Society; Goldschmidt Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark (2004 - 2004)
  • Invited Lecturer, G. Derwood Baker Distinguished Lecture Series, Avenidas, Palo Alto, CA (2004 - 2004)
  • Member, NASA 2009 MSL mission team (2004 - 2005)
  • Member, Editorial Board, Astrobiology (2005 - Present)
  • Invited Speaker, Barberton Geological Society, South Africa; UCLA Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics; Shirley A. Kliegal Lecture in Geology, California Institute of Technology (2005 - 2005)
  • Co-Chair, Symposium on Deep-Water Sedimentation, Annual Meeting of GSA Cordilleran Section, San Jose, CA (2005 - 2005)
  • Member, Subcommission on Subdivision and Calibration of the Precambrian Time Scale , International Commission on Stratigraphy (2005 - 2008)
  • Co-Chair, GES Faculty Search Committee (Paleobiology), Stanford University (2005 - 2005)
  • Co-Leader (w/Graham), AAPG Field Seminar: Deep-Water Siliciclastic Reservoirs (2006 - 2006)
  • Invited Speaker, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (2006 - 2006)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in Geological Sciences, Stanford University (2006 - 2007)
  • Invited Keynote Speaker, Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks Workshop, Sudbury, Ontario (2007 - 2007)
  • Invited Speaker/Participant, Core Workshop: Deep-Water Reservoirs of California: AAPG (2007 - 2007)
  • Chair, GES Long Range Planning Committee 2, Stanford University (2007 - 2009)
  • Associate Chair, GES, Stanford University (2007 - Present)
  • Member, GES Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2007 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, Deepwater Sediments, RAG (petroleum company, Vienna, Austria) and Reliance Industries (India) (2008 - 2008)
  • Co-Leader, Pacific Section of AAPG Field Trip, Deepwater Sediments in Central California (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life (COEL) of the National Academies of Sciences, Washington, DC. (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, Geological Society of Vienna (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, CSU-Channel Islands, Symposium, "Early Life on the Ancient Earth and Mars" (2008 - 2008)
  • Chair, GES Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2008 - 2012)
  • Member, GES Space Committee, Stanford University (2008 - 2009)
  • Member, University Committee on Health and Safety, Stanford University (2009 - 2011)
  • Invited Speaker, Hess Forum on Thin-Bedded Sediments (2009 - 2009)
  • Member, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Stanford University (2011 - 2011)
  • Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Stanford University (2011 - 2011)
  • Leader and Organizer, Stanford-KFUPM Field Trip to Death Valley (2012 - 2012)
  • Keynote Speaker, International Geological Congress, Brisbane, Symposium on Large Asteroid Impacts and Crustal Evolution (2012 - 2012)
  • Leader and Organizer, Stanford-KFUPM Field Course to El Paso area and Guadalupe Mtns. (2014 - 2014)

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., University of Illinois, Geology (1967)
  • B.S., Stanford University, Geology (1964)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Research
I enjoy the historical aspects of geology, looking back in time to explore past events and ancient life. My research and that of my students is focused in two main areas. We use the techniques of sedimentary geology and geochemistry to explore the Earth's earliest surface environments, life, and crustal development, generally before 2.5 billion years ago. Much of this research is focused in South Africa and Western Australia. The other half of my research deals with deep-water sedimentation, especially using outcrops and cores to study the processes by which coarse sediment is transported and deposited in the deep sea.

Teaching
My teaching is focused on topics in sedimentary geology and techniques for interpreting the sedimentary record. This includes an undergraduate/graduate course (co-taught with Professor Steve Graham) in sedimentary geology and depositional systems, and graduate courses in sedimentation mechanics, sedimentary petrography, and sedimentary environments.

Professional Activities
I engage in a variety of activities in support of sedimentary geology, especially deep-water sedimentation and Archean sedimentology. I am currently Chair of the SEPM Committeee for the Arnold Bouma Conferences on Deep-Water Geoscience and a member of the Subcommission on Precambrian Stratigraphy of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. I have recently stepped down after 27 years as co-director of the Stanford Project On Deep-water Depositional Systems (SPODDS) and have served on numerous school and departmental committees, especially those aimed at setting goals and directions for long-range planning and graduate admissions, and on the editorial boards of a number of professional journals and on numerous program, grant, and fellowship review panels.

Projects


  • Sedimentology, Palaeoenvironment and Diagenesis of the Tertiary Burqan Formation in the Midyan area, Saudi Arabia: Implications for subsurface reservoir quality., King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUMP), Saudi Arabia

    The project involves a group of 5 professional geologists aimed at studying the sedimentation, diagenesis, and reservoir architecture and quality of syn-rift Miocene deep-water strata in the Midyan area, northwestern Saudi Arabia.

    Location

    Saudi Arabia

  • Investigating the Origin of Layered Outcrops in the Mawrth Vallis Region, Mars, Stanford

    The project, which involves investigators from the SETI Institute and Stanford, is studying the origin of clays in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars

    Location

    Mars

All Publications


  • Spatial distribution and variability of lobe facies in a large sand-rich submarine fan system: Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group, Namibia SEDIMENTOLOGY Nieminski, N. M., McHargue, T. R., Gooley, J. T., Fildani, A., Lowe, D. R. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.1111/sed.13129

    View details for Web of Science ID 001081227200001

  • Origin of Silicate Spherules and Geochemistry of Re and Platinum-Group Elements Within Microfossil-Bearing Archean Chert from the 3.4 Ga Strelley Pool Formation, Western Australia. Astrobiology Sugitani, K., Mimura, K., Senda, R., Kouketsu, Y., Wallis, S., Takagi, N., Iizuka, T., Lowe, D. R. 2023; 23 (6): 670-690

    Abstract

    Silicate spherules have been identified from the ca. 3.4 Ga-old Strelley Pool Formation (SPF) in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Their origins and geochemical characteristics, including the Re and platinum-group elements of their host clastic layer and the overlying and underlying microfossil-bearing finely laminated carbonaceous cherts, were examined. The spherules have various morphologies (completely spherical to angular), sizes (∼20 to >500 μm), textures (layered, non-layered, and fibrous), mineralogy (various proportions of microcrystalline quartz, sericite, anatase and Fe-oxides), and chemistry (enriched in Ni and/or Cr), commonly with thin anatase-rich walls. Their host clastic layer is characterized by rip-up clasts, suggesting a suddenly occurring high-energy depositional environment, such as tsunamis. Although various origins other than asteroid impact were considered, none could unequivocally explain the features of the spherules. In contrast, non-layered spherical spherules that occur as individual framework grains or collectively comprise angular-shaped rock fragments appear to be more consistent with the asteroid impact origin. The calculated Re-Os age of the cherts (3331 ± 220 Ma) was consistent with the established age of the SPF (3426-3350 Ma), suggesting that the Re-Os system was not significantly disturbed by later metamorphic and weathering events.

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2021.0155

    View details for PubMedID 37229534

  • Progressive accretion recorded in sedimentary rocks of the 3.28-3.23 Ga Fig Tree Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Drabon, N., Lowe, D. R. 2022; 134 (5-6): 1258-1276

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B35973.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000797134500004

  • Destabilization of Long-Lived Hadean Protocrust and the Onset of Pervasive Hydrous Melting at 3.8 Ga AGU ADVANCES Drabon, N., Byerly, B. L., Byerly, G. R., Wooden, J. L., Wiedenbeck, M., Valley, J. W., Kitajima, K., Bauer, A. M., Lowe, D. R. 2022; 3 (2)
  • Mars as a time machine to Precambrian Earth Journal of the Geological Society Lapotre, M., Bishop, J., Ielpi, A., Lowe, D., Siebach, K., Sleep, N., Tikoo, S. 2022

    View details for DOI 10.1144/jgs2022-047

  • Paleomagnetism of 3.5-4.0 Ga zircons from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Fu, R. R., Drabon, N., Wiedenbeck, M., Brenner, A. R., Lowe, D. R., Borlina, C. S. 2021; 567
  • Windblown Hadean zircons derived by erosion of impact-generated 3.3 Ga uplifts, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Lowe, D. R., Drabon, N., Byerly, G. R., Byerly, B. L. 2021; 356
  • Provenance and paleogeography of Archean Fig Tree siliciclastic rocks in the East-Central Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Stoll, E., Drabon, N., Lowe, D. R. 2021; 354
  • Heterogeneous Hadean crust with ambient mantle affinity recorded in detrital zircons of the Green Sandstone Bed, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Drabon, N. n., Byerly, B. L., Byerly, G. R., Wooden, J. L., Keller, C. B., Lowe, D. R. 2021; 118 (8)

    Abstract

    The nature of Earth's earliest crust and the processes by which it formed remain major issues in Precambrian geology. Due to the absence of a rock record older than ∼4.02 Ga, the only direct record of the Hadean is from rare detrital zircon and that largely from a single area: the Jack Hills and Mount Narryer region of Western Australia. Here, we report on the geochemistry of Hadean detrital zircons as old as 4.15 Ga from the newly discovered Green Sandstone Bed in the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa. We demonstrate that the U-Nb-Sc-Yb systematics of the majority of these Hadean zircons show a mantle affinity as seen in zircon from modern plume-type mantle environments and do not resemble zircon from modern continental or oceanic arcs. The zircon trace element compositions furthermore suggest magma compositions ranging from higher temperature, primitive to lower temperature, and more evolved tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)-like magmas that experienced some reworking of hydrated crust. We propose that the Hadean parental magmas of the Green Sandstone Bed zircons formed from remelting of mafic, mantle-derived crust that experienced some hydrous input during melting but not from the processes seen in modern arc magmatism.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2004370118

    View details for PubMedID 33602806

  • CONSTRAINTS ON SURFACE TEMPERATURE 3.4 BILLION YEARS AGO BASED ON TRIPLE OXYGEN ISOTOPES OF CHERTS FROM THE BARBERTON GREENSTONE BELT, SOUTH AFRICA, AND THE PROBLEM OF SAMPLE SELECTION AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Lowe, D. R., Ibarra, D. E., Drabon, N., Chamberlain, C. 2020; 320 (9): 790–814

    View details for DOI 10.2475/11.2020.02

    View details for Web of Science ID 000607814800002

  • The non-glacial and non-cratonic origin of an early Archean felsic volcaniclastic unit, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2020; 341
  • Deposition of >3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments. Geological Society of America bulletin Lowe, D. R., Bishop, J. L., Loizeau, D., Wray, J. J., Beyer, R. A. 2020; 132 (1-2): 17-30

    Abstract

    The presence of abundant phyllosilicate minerals in Noachian (>3.7 Ga) rocks on Mars has been taken as evidence that liquid water was stable at or near the surface early in martian history. This study investigates some of these clay-rich strata exposed in crater rim and inverted terrain settings in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars. In Muara crater the 200-m-thick, clay-rich Mawrth Vallis Group (MVG) is subdivided into five informal units numbered 1 (base) to 5 (top). Unit 1 consists of interbedded sedimentary and volcanic or volcaniclastic units showing weak Fe/Mg-smectite alteration deposited in a range of subaerial depositional settings. Above a major unconformity eroded on Unit 1, the dark-toned sediments of Unit 2 and lower Unit 3 are inferred to represent mainly wind-blown sand. These are widely interlayered with and draped by thin layers of light-toned sediment representing fine suspended-load aeolian silt and clay. These sediments show extensive Fe/Mg-smectite alteration, probably reflecting subaerial weathering. Upper Unit 3 and units 4 and 5 are composed of well-layered, fine-grained sediment dominated by Al-phyllosilicates, kaolinite, and hydrated silica. Deposition occurred in a large lake or arm of a martian sea. In the inverted terrain 100 km to the NE, Unit 4 shows very young slope failures suggesting that the clay-rich sediments today retain a significant component of water ice. The MVG provides evidence for the presence of large, persistent standing bodies of water on early Mars as well as a complex association of flanking shoreline, alluvial, and aeolian systems. Some of the clays, especially the Fe/Mg smectites in upper units 1 and 2 appear to have formed through subaerial weathering whereas the aluminosilicates, kaolinite, and hydrated silica of units 3, 4, and 5 formed mainly through alteration of fine sediment in subaqueous environments.

    View details for DOI 10.1130/b35185.1

    View details for PubMedID 33958812

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8098079

  • EDIACARAN (VENDIAN)-PERIOD ALLUVIAL AND COASTAL GEOMORPHOLOGY APPLIED TO DEVELOPMENT OF VERKHNECHONSKOYE AND YARAKTINSKOYE FIELDS, EAST SIBERIA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Tye, R. S., Lowe, D. R., Hickey, J. J. 2020; 90 (1): 67–101

    View details for DOI 10.2110/jsr.2020.8

    View details for Web of Science ID 000512929300004

  • Deposition of > 3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Lowe, D. R., Bishop, J. L., Loizeau, D., Wray, J. J., Beyer, R. A. 2020; 132 (1-2): 17–30

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B35185.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000505809800002

  • EVOLUTION OF AN ARCHEAN FAN DELTA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INITIATION OF UPLIFT AND DEFORMATION IN THE BARBERTON GREENSTONE BELT, SOUTH AFRICA JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Drabon, N., Heubeck, C. E., Lowe, D. R. 2019; 89 (9): 849–74
  • The role of avulsion and splay development in deep-water channel systems: Sedimentology, architecture, and evolution of the deep-water Pliocene Godavari "A" channel complex, India MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Graham, S. A., Malkowski, M. A., Das, B. 2019; 105: 81–99
  • Provenance of the Neoproterozoic deep-water Zerrissene Group of the Damara Orogen, Namibia, and paleogeographic implications for the closing of the Adamastor Ocean and assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Nieminski, N. M., Grove, M., Lowe, D. R. 2019; 131 (3-4): 355–71

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B32032.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000460031700001

  • Crustal fracturing, unconformities, and barite deposition, 3.26-3.23 Ga, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Precambrian Research Lowe, D. R., Drabon, N., Byerly, G. R. 2019
  • Provenance and tectonic implications of the 3.28–3.23 Ga Fig Tree Group, central Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa Precambrian Research Drabon, N., Heubeck, C. E., Lowe, D. R. 2019: 1-19
  • The terrestrial record of Late Heavy Bombardment NEW ASTRONOMY REVIEWS Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2018; 81: 39–61
  • Hadean zircon from a 3.3 Ga sandstone, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOLOGY Byerly, B. L., Lowe, D. R., Drabon, N., Byerly, G. R. 2018

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G45276.1

  • Initial generation of sand across climate zones of the Mojave, Sierra Nevada, and Klamath Batholiths in California, USA SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY Hessler, A. M., Lowe, D. R. 2017; 347: 37-50
  • A high continental weathering flux into Paleoarchean seawater revealed by strontium isotope analysis of 3.26 Ga barite EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Satkoski, A. M., Lowe, D. R., Beard, B. L., Coleman, M. L., Johnson, C. M. 2016; 454: 28-35
  • Sedimentology of the similar to 3.3 Ga upper Mendon Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Trower, E. J., Lowe, D. R. 2016; 281: 473-494
  • Outcrop characterization of a submarine channel-lobe complex: The Lower Mount Messenger Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Masalimova, L. U., Lowe, D. R., Sharman, G. R., King, P. R., Arnot, M. J. 2016; 71: 360-390
  • Interplay between an axial channel belt, slope gullies and overbank deposition in the Puchkirchen Formation in the Molasse Basin, Austria SEDIMENTOLOGY Masalimova, L. U., Lowe, D. R., McHargue, T., Derksen, R. 2015; 62 (6): 1717-1748

    View details for DOI 10.1111/sed.12201

    View details for Web of Science ID 000362555200008

  • Sedimentology and geochemistry of Archean silica granules GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Stefurak, E. J., Lowe, D. R., Zentner, D., Fischer, W. W. 2015; 127 (7-8): 1090-1107

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B31181.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000359010800012

  • Geologic record of partial ocean evaporation triggered by giant asteroid impacts, 3.29-3.23 billion years ago GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2015; 43 (6): 535-538

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G36665.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000358572600023

  • Texture-specific Si isotope variations in Barberton Greenstone Belt cherts record low temperature fractionations in early Archean seawater GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Stefurak, E. J., Fischer, W. W., Lowe, D. R. 2015; 150: 26-52
  • High resolution tephra and U/Pb chronology of the 3.33–3.26 Ga Mendon Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Decker, N. B., Byerly, G. R., Stiegler, M. T., Lowe, D. R., Stefurak, E. 2015; 261: 54-74
  • PROCESSES OF SEDIMENTATION AND STRATIGRAPHIC ARCHITECTURE OF DEEP-WATER BRAIDED LOBE COMPLEXES: THE PLIOCENE REPETTO AND PICO FORMATIONS, VENTURA BASIN, USA JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Rotzien, J. R., Lowe, D. R., Schwalbach, J. R. 2014; 84 (10): 910-934
  • Paleoarchean ocean crust and mantle excavated by meteor impact: Insight into early crustal processes and tectonics GEOLOGY Krull-Davatzes, A. E., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. 2014; 42 (7): 635-638

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G35614.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000339961400023

  • Stratigraphic architecture and evolution of a deep-water slope channel-levee and overbank apron: The Upper Miocene Upper Mount Messenger Formation, Taranaki Basin MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Rotzien, J. R., Lowe, D. R., King, P. R., Browne, G. H. 2014; 52: 22-41
  • Physics of crustal fracturing and chert dike formation triggered by asteroid impact, similar to 3.26 Ga, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Lowe, D. R. 2014; 15 (4): 1054-1070
  • Primary silica granules-A new mode of Paleoarchean sedimentation GEOLOGY Stefurak, E. J., Lowe, D. R., Zentner, D., Fischer, W. W. 2014; 42 (4): 283-286

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G35187.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000333244300006

  • Stratigraphic architecture and evolution of a deep-water slope channel-levee and overbank apron: The Upper Miocene Upper Mount Messenger Formation, Taranaki Basin MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Rotzien, J. R., Lowe, D. R., King, P. R., Browne, G. H. 2014; 52: 22-41
  • Recently discovered 3.42-3.23 Ga impact layers Barberton Belt, South Africa: 3.8 Ga detrital zircons, Archean impact history, and tectonic implications GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., Kyte, F. T. 2014; 42 (9): 747-750

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G35743.1

  • Timing of deposition and deformation of the Moodies Group (Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa): Very-high-resolution of Archaean surface processes PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Heubeck, C., Engelhardt, J., Byerly, G. R., Zeh, A., Sell, B., Luber, T., Lowe, D. R. 2013; 231: 236-262
  • Crustal fracturing and chert dike formation triggered by large meteorite impacts, ca. 3.260 Ga, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Lowe, D. R. 2013; 125 (5-6): 894-912

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B30782.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000323270500014

  • Geologic Map of the West-Central Barberton Greenstone belt, South Africa GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA MAP & CHART SERIES Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., Heubeck, C. 2013; MCS103
  • Channelized debris-flow deposits and their impact on turbidity currents: The Puchkirchen axial channel belt in the Austrian Molasse Basin SEDIMENTOLOGY Bernhardt, A., Stright, L., Lowe, D. R. 2012; 59 (7): 2042-2070
  • Geochemistry and petrology of komatiites of the Pioneer Ultramafic Complex of the 3.3 Ga Weltevreden Formation, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Stiegler, M. T., Cooper, M., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. 2012; 212: 1-12
  • Palaeogeography and diachronous infill of an ancient deep-marine foreland basin, Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation, Magallanes Basin BASIN RESEARCH Bernhardt, A., Jobe, Z. R., Grove, M., Lowe, D. R. 2012; 24 (3): 269-294
  • Climbing-ripple successions in turbidite systems: depositional environments, sedimentation rates and accumulation times SEDIMENTOLOGY Jobe, Z. R., Lowe, D. R., Morris, W. R. 2012; 59 (3): 867-898
  • Mineralogy and diagenesis of 3.24 Ga meteorite impact spherules PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Krull-Davatzes, A. E., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2012; 196: 128-148
  • Geologic map of the west-central Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa: GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Map and Chart Series Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2012; MCS103
  • Fragmentation and dispersal of komatiitic pyroclasts in the 3.5-3.2 Ga Onverwacht Group, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Stiegler, M. T., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2011; 123 (5-6): 1112-1126

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B30191.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000288792500019

  • Two fundamentally different types of submarine canyons along the continental margin of Equatorial Guinea MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Jobe, Z. R., Lowe, D. R., Uchytil, S. J. 2011; 28 (3): 843-860
  • Stratigraphic evolution of a submarine channel-lobe complex system in a narrow fairway within the Magallanes foreland basin, Cerro Toro Formation, southern Chile MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Bernhardt, A., Jobe, Z. R., Lowe, D. R. 2011; 28 (3): 785-806
  • FACIES AND ARCHITECTURAL ASYMMETRY IN A CONGLOMERATE-RICH SUBMARINE CHANNEL FILL, CERRO TORO FORMATION, SIERRA DEL TORO, MAGALLANES BASIN, CHILE JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Jobe, Z. R., Bernhardt, A., Lowe, D. R. 2010; 80 (11-12): 1085-1108
  • Evidence for a low-O-2 Archean atmosphere from nickel-rich chrome spinels in 3.24 Ga impact spherules, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Krull-Davatzes, A. E., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. 2010; 296 (3-4): 319-328
  • The Petrogenesis of Volcaniclastic Komatiites in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: a Textural and Geochemical Study JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY Stiegler, M. T., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2010; 51 (4): 947-972
  • Did LHB end not with a bang but a whimper? The geologic evidence 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2010: 2563
  • Abundant pyroclastic komatiitic volcanism in the 3.5-3.2 Ga Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOLOGY Stiegler, M. T., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2008; 36 (10): 779-782

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G24854A.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000259835800007

  • Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks: A Summary of Discussions at a Field Workshop on Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks ASTROBIOLOGY Ohmoto, H., Runnegar, B., Kump, L. R., Fogel, M. L., Kamber, B., Anbar, A. D., Knauth, P. L., Lowe, D. R., Sumner, D. Y., Watanabe, Y. 2008; 8 (5): 883-895

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2008.0257

    View details for Web of Science ID 000262250100002

    View details for PubMedID 19025466

  • Architecture and evolution of the Paine channel complex, Cerro Toro Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Silla Syncline, Magallanes Basin, Chile SEDIMENTOLOGY Crane, W. H., Lowe, D. R. 2008; 55 (4): 979-1009
  • The evolution of an elongate foreland basin: the deep- to shallow-marine filling of the Cretaceous Magallanes Basin, Chile, 28th Annual GCSSEPM Foundation Bob F. Perkins Research Conference, Bernhardt, A., Jobe, Z. R., Lowe, D. R. 2008: 268-310
  • Sedimentology and architecture of coarse-grained submarine channel fills, Lobitos Village, Peru Deep-Water Outcrops of the World Atlas Duerichen, E. T., Lowe, D. R. edited by Nilsen, T., Shew, R., Steffens, G., Studlick, J. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 2008: 3P
  • Preface Deep-Water Outcrops of the World Atlas Graham, S. A., Lowe, D. R. edited by Nilsen, T., Shew, R., Steffens, G., Studlick, J. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 2008: 2
  • The five stable isotope compositions of Fig Tree barites: Implications on sulfur cycle in ca. 3.2 Ga oceans GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Bao, H., Rumble, D., Lowe, D. R. 2007; 71 (20): 4868-4879
  • A comment on "Weathering of quartz as an Archean climatic indicator" by N.H. Sleep and A.M. Hessler [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 241 (2006) 594-602] EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Lowe, D. R. 2007; 253 (3-4): 530-533
  • Ironstone bodies of the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa: Products of a Cenozoic hydrological system, not Archean hydrothermal vents! GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2007; 119 (1-2): 65-87

    View details for DOI 10.1130/B25997.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000243486200005

  • Tectonic controls on atmospheric, climatic, and biological evolution 3.5-2.4 Ga PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Lowe, D. R., Tice, M. M. 2007; v. 158: p. 177-197
  • An overview of the geology of the Barberton greenstone belt and vicinity: Implications for early crustal development Earth's Oldest Rocks Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. edited by Van Kranendonk, M. J., Smithies, H., Bennett, V. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 2007: 481–526
  • Weathering and sediment generation in the Archean: An integrated study of the evolution of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks of the 3.2 Ga Moodies Group, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Hessler, A. M., Lowe, D. R. 2006; 151 (3-4): 185-210
  • The origin of carbonaceous matter in pre-3.0 Ga greenstone terrains: A review and new evidence from the 3.42 Ga Buck Reef Chert EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS Tice, M. M., Lowe, D. R. 2006; 76 (3-4): 259-300
  • Stable isotope and rare earth element evidence for recent ironstone pods within the Archean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Hren, M. T., Lowe, D. R., Tice, M. M., Byerly, G., CHAMBERLAIN, C. P. 2006; 70 (6): 1457-1470
  • Hydrogen-based carbon fixation in the earliest known photosynthetic organisms GEOLOGY Tice, M. M., Lowe, D. R. 2006; 34 (1): 37-40

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G22012.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000234582100012

  • Compositional grading in an 3,240 Ma impact-produced spherule bed, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa: A key to impact plume evolution JOURNAL OF SOUTH AFRICAN GEOLOGY Krull-Davatzes, A. E., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2006; 76: 233-244
  • Iron and manganese minerals from South African ironstone deposits PHYSICA SCRIPTA Roy, A., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R., Walsh, M. W., Bianchetti, C. 2005; T115: 918-920
  • Textural trends in turbidites and slurry beds from the Oligocene flysch of the East Carpathians, Romania SEDIMENTOLOGY Sylvester, Z., Lowe, D. R. 2004; 51 (5): 945-972
  • Depositional processes of the gravelly debris flow deposits, South Dolomite alluvial fan, Owens Valley, California GEOSCIENCES JOURNAL Kim, B. C., Lowe, D. R. 2004; 8 (2): 153-170
  • Geologic evidence for Archean atmospheric and climatic evolution: Fluctuating levels of CO2, CH4, and O-2, with an overriding tectonic control GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Tice, M. M. 2004; 32 (6): 493-496

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G20342.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000221849500008

  • A lower limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide levels 3.2 billion years ago NATURE Hessler, A. M., Lowe, D. R., Jones, R. L., Bird, D. K. 2004; 428 (6984): 736-738

    Abstract

    The quantification of greenhouse gases present in the Archaean atmosphere is critical for understanding the evolution of atmospheric oxygen, surface temperatures and the conditions for life on early Earth. For instance, it has been argued that small changes in the balance between two potential greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, may have dictated the feedback cycle involving organic haze production and global cooling. Climate models have focused on carbon dioxide as the greenhouse gas responsible for maintaining above-freezing surface temperatures during a time of low solar luminosity. However, the analysis of 2.75-billion-year (Gyr)-old palaeosols--soil samples preserved in the geologic record--have recently provided an upper constraint on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels well below that required in most climate models to prevent the Earth's surface from freezing. This finding prompted many to look towards methane as an additional greenhouse gas to satisfy climate models. Here we use model equilibrium reactions for weathering rinds on 3.2-Gyr-old river gravels to show that the presence of iron-rich carbonate relative to common clay minerals requires a minimum partial pressure of carbon dioxide several times higher than present-day values. Unless actual carbon dioxide levels were considerably greater than this, climate models predict that additional greenhouse gases would still need to have a role in maintaining above-freezing surface temperatures.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature02471

    View details for Web of Science ID 000220823800035

    View details for PubMedID 15085128

  • Deep-water sandstones: Submarine canyon to basin plain western California Pacific Section AAPG and AAPG, Pacific Section AAPG Publication GB Lowe, D. R. 2004; 79
  • A stratigraphic and architectural-element methodology for the subdivision and interpretation of deep-water clastic sequences: an example from the Cretaceous Venado Sandstone, Sacramento Valley, California Deep-Water Sedimentation: Technological Challenges for the Next Millennium Lowe, D. R., Ghosh, B. edited by Appi, C. J., D'Avila, R., Viana, A. ABGP. 2004
  • Early Precambrian stratigraphic record of large extraterrestrial impacts Tempos and Events in Precambrian Time Simonson, B. M., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. edited by Eriksson, P. A., Nelson, D. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 2004: 27–45
  • Photosynthetic microbial mats in the 3 in the 3,416-Myr-old ocean Nature Tice, M. M., Lowe, D. R. 2004; 431: 549-552
  • Ironstone pods in the Archean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa: Earth's oldest seafloor hydrothermal vents reinterpreted as Quaternary subaerial springs: Reply: GEOLOGY, ONLINE FORUM Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2004: e69
  • Thermal history of the 3.5-3.2 Ga Onverwacht and Fig Tree Groups, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, inferred by Raman microspectroscopy of carbonaceous material GEOLOGY Tice, M. M., Bostick, B. C., Lowe, D. R. 2004; 32 (1): 37-40

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G19915.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000188253800010

  • Microstructure of high-temperature (> 73 degrees C) siliceous sinter deposited around hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone National Park: the role of biological and abiological processes in sedimentation CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES Lowe, D. R., Braunstein, D. 2003; 40 (11): 1611-1642

    View details for DOI 10.1139/E03-066

    View details for Web of Science ID 000187035200012

  • Ironstone pods in the Archean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa: Earth's oldest seafloor hydrothermal vents reinterpreted as Quaternary subaerial springs GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2003; 31 (10): 909-912
  • High Archean climatic temperature inferred from oxygen isotope geochemistry of cherts in the 3.5 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, South Africa GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Knauth, L. P., Lowe, D. R. 2003; 115 (5): 566-580
  • Early Archean spherule beds: Chromium isotopes confirm origin through multiple impacts of projectiles of carbonaceous chondrite type GEOLOGY Kyte, F. T., Shukolyukov, A., Lugmair, G. W., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2003; 31 (3): 283-286
  • Facies of slurry-flow deposits, Britannia Formation (Lower Cretaceous), North Sea: implications for flow evolution and deposit geometry SEDIMENTOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Guy, M., Palfrey, A. 2003; 50 (1): 45-80
  • Spherule Beds 3.473.24 Billion Years Old in the Barberton Greenstone Belt South Africa: A Record of Large Meteorite Impacts and Their Influence on Early Crustal and Biological Evolution Astrobiology, Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., Kyte, F. T., Shukolyukov, A., Asaro, F., Krull, A. 2003; 3: 7-48
  • Field guide to the geology of the 3.5-3.2 Ga Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Guidebook prepared for Field Conference, Archean Surface Processes Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 2003; 2
  • An Archean impact layer from the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons SCIENCE Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R., Wooden, J. L., Xie, X. G. 2002; 297 (5585): 1325-1327

    Abstract

    The Barberton greenstone belt of South Africa and the eastern Pilbara block of Western Australia provide information about Earth's surface environments between 3.2 and 3.5 billion years ago, including evidence for four large bolide impacts that likely created large craters, deformed the target rocks, and altered the environment. We have obtained identical single-zircon uranium-lead ages of 3470 +/- 2 million years ago for the oldest impact events from each craton. These deposits represent a single global fallout layer that is associated with sedimentation by an impact-generated tsunami and in Western Australia is represented by a major erosional unconformity.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000177573900040

    View details for PubMedID 12193781

  • Facies architecture of a submarine fan channel-levee complex: The Juniper Ridge Conglomerate, Coalinga, California SEDIMENTOLOGY Hickson, T. A., Lowe, D. R. 2002; 49 (2): 335-362
  • Relationship between spring and geyser activity and the deposition and morphology of high temperature (> 73 degrees C) siliceous sinter, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Braunstein, D., Lowe, D. R. 2001; 71 (5): 747-763
  • Silicified microbial community at Steep Cone Hot (Spring), Yellowstone National Park Microbes and Environments Inagaki, F., Motomura, Y., Doi, K., Taguchi, S., Izawa, E., Lowe, D. R., Ogata, S. 2001; 16: 125-130
  • The zonation and structuring of siliceous sinter around hot springs, Yellowstone National Park, and the role of thermophilic bacteria in its deposition Thermophiles: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution Lowe, D. R., Anderson, K. S., Braunstein, D. edited by Reysenbach, et al. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. 2001: 143–166
  • Slurry-flow deposits in the Britannia Formation (Lower Cretaceous), North Sea: a new perspective on the turbidity current and debris flow problem SEDIMENTOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Guy, M. 2000; 47 (1): 31-70
  • Deep-water sandstones, submarine canyon to basin plain, western California Field guide for AAPG Hedberg Field Research Conference Lowe, D.R. 2000
  • The oldest impact deposits on Earth - First confirmation of an extraterrestrial component 1st Workshop of the European-Science-Foundation Scientific Program Shukolyukov, A., Kyte, F. T., Lugmair, G. W., Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN. 2000: 99–115
  • Foreland basin sedimentation in the Mapepe Formation, southern-facies Fig Tree Group Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R., Nocita, B. W. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 233–258
  • Modes of accumulation of carbonaceous matter in the Early Archean: A petrographic and geochemical study of the carbonaceous cherts of the Swaziland Supergroup Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Walsh, M. M., Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 115–132
  • Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt and vicinity Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 287–312
  • Petrology and sedimentology of cherts and related silicified sedimentary rocks in the Swaziland Supergroup Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 83–114
  • Structural divisions and development of the west-central part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., Heubeck, C. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 37–82
  • Sedimentology, mineralogy, and implications of silicified evaporites in the Kromberg Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R., Fisher-Worrell, G. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 167–188
  • Shallow-water sedimentation of accretionary lapilli-bearing strata of the Msauli Chert: Evidence of explosive hydromagmatic komatiitic volcanism Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 213–232
  • Subaqueous to subaerial Archean ultramafic phreatomagmatic volcanism, Kromberg Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Ransom, B., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 151–166
  • Geologic Evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Geological Society of America Special Paper edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999
  • Sedimentary petrography and provenance of the Archean Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Heubeck, C., Lowe, D. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America. 1999: 259–286
  • Stratigraphy of the west-central part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Geologic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. edited by Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. Geological Society of America . 1999: 1–36
  • Reinterpretation of depositional processes in a classic flysch sequence (Pennsylvanian Jackfork Group), Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas and Oklahoma: Discussion AAPG BULLETIN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS Lowe, D. R. 1997; 81 (3): 460-465
  • Numerical simulation of turbidity current flow and sedimentation .2. Results and geological applications SEDIMENTOLOGY Zeng, J. J., Lowe, D. R. 1997; 44 (1): 85-104
  • Numerical simulation of turbidity current flow and sedimentation .1. Theory SEDIMENTOLOGY Zeng, J. J., Lowe, D. R. 1997; 44 (1): 67-84
  • Statistical analysis of bed-thickness patterns in a turbidite section from the great valley sequence, Cache Creek, northern California JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Murray, C. J., Lowe, D. R., Graham, S. A., Martinez, P. A., Zeng, J. J., Carroll, A. R., Cox, R., Hendrix, M., Heubeck, C., Miller, D., MOXON, I. W., Sobel, E., Wendebourg, J., Williams, T. 1996; 66 (5): 900-908
  • Quantification of the effects of secondary matrix on the analysis of sandstone composition, and a petrographic-chemical technique for retrieving original framework grain modes of altered sandstones JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH Cox, R., Lowe, D. R. 1996; 66 (3): 548-558

    Abstract

    Most studies of sandstone provenance involve modal analysis of framework grains using techniques that exclude the fine-grained breakdown products of labile mineral grains and rock fragments, usually termed secondary matrix or pseudomatrix. However, the data presented here demonstrate that, when the proportion of pseudomatrix in a sandstone exceeds 10%, standard petrographic analysis can lead to incorrect provenance interpretation. Petrographic schemes for provenance analysis such as QFL and QFR should not therefore be applied to sandstones containing more than 10% secondary matrix. Pseudomatrix is commonly abundant in sandstones, and this is therefore a problem for provenance analysis. The difficulty can be alleviated by the use of whole-rock chemistry in addition to petrographic analysis. Combination of chemical and point-count data permits the construction of normative compositions that approximate original framework grain compositions. Provenance analysis is also complicated in many cases by fundamental compositional alteration during weathering and transport. Many sandstones, particularly shallow marine deposits, have undergone vigorous reworking, which may destroy unstable mineral grains and rock fragments. In such cases it may not be possible to retrieve provenance information by either petrographic or chemical means. Because of this, pseudomatrix-rich sandstones should be routinely included in chemical-petrological provenance analysis. Because of the many factors, both pre- and post-depositional, that operate to increase the compositional maturity of sandstones, petrologic studies must include a complete inventory of matrix proportions, grain size and sorting parameters, and an assessment of depositional setting.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1996UL26900014

    View details for PubMedID 11539329

  • Prolonged magmatism and time constraints for sediment deposition in the early Archean Barberton greenstone belt: Evidence from the Upper Onverwacht and Fig Tree groups PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Byerly, G. R., Kroner, A., Lowe, D. R., Todt, W., Walsh, M. M. 1996; 78 (1-3): 125-138
  • COMPOSITIONAL EVOLUTION OF COARSE CLASTIC SEDIMENTS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED-STATES FROM 1.8 TO 0.2 GA AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRUSTAL BLOCKS AND THEIR SEDIMENTARY COVER JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH SECTION A-SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY AND PROCESSES Cox, R., Lowe, D. R. 1995; 65 (3): 477-494
  • THE INFLUENCE OF SEDIMENT RECYCLING AND BASEMENT COMPOSITION ON EVOLUTION OF MUDROCK CHEMISTRY IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED-STATES GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Cox, R., Lowe, D. R., Cullers, R. L. 1995; 59 (14): 2919-2940
  • A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OF REGIONAL-SCALE CONTROLS ON THE COMPOSITION OF CLASTIC SEDIMENT AND THE COEVOLUTION OF CONTINENTAL BLOCKS AND THEIR SEDIMENTARY COVER JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH SECTION A-SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY AND PROCESSES Cox, R., Lowe, D. R. 1995; 65 (1): 1-12

    Abstract

    Both sediment recycling and first-cycle input influence the composition of clastic material in sedimentary systems. This paper examines conceptually the roles played by these processes in governing the composition of clastic sediment on a regional scale by outlining the expected effects on sediment composition of protracted sediment recycling and of continuous first-cycle input on a maturing continental block. Generally speaking, long-term recycling tends to enrich sediments in the most chemically and mechanically stable components: quartz in the sand and silt size fractions, and illite among the clay minerals. Sandstones trend towards pure quartz arenites, and mudrocks become more potassic and aluminous. The average grain size of clastic sediment decreases by a combination of progressive attrition of sand grains and ongoing breakdown of primary silicate minerals to finer-grained clay minerals and oxides. Sandstones derived by continuous first-cycle input from an evolving continental crustal source also become increasingly rich in quartz, but in addition become more feldspathic as the proportion of granitic material in the upper continental crust increases during crustal stabilization. Associated mudrocks also become richer in potassium and aluminum, but will have higher K2O/Al2O3 ratios than recycled muds. The average grain size of the sediment may increase with time as the proportion of sand-prone granitic source rocks increases at the expense of more mud-prone volcanic sources. In general, except in instances where chemical weathering is extreme, first-cycle sediments lack the compositional maturity of recycled detritus, and are characterized by the presence of a variety of primary silicate minerals. Sedimentary systems are not usually completely dominated by either recycling or first-cycle detritus. Generally, however, sedimentary systems associated with the earliest phases of formation and accretion of continental crust are characterized by first-cycle input from igneous and metamorphic rocks, whereas those associated with more mature cratons tend to be dominated by recycled sedimentary material.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1995QE05100001

    View details for PubMedID 11541214

  • LATE SYNDEPOSITIONAL DEFORMATION AND DETACHMENT TECTONICS IN THE BARBERTON GREENSTONE-BELT, SOUTH-AFRICA TECTONICS Heubeck, C., Lowe, D. R. 1994; 13 (6): 1514-1536
  • SPINEL FROM ARCHEAN IMPACT SPHERULES GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. 1994; 58 (16): 3469-3486
  • SM-ND DATING OF FIG TREE CLAY-MINERALS OF THE BARBERTON GREENSTONE-BELT, SOUTH-AFRICA GEOLOGY Toulkeridis, T., Goldstein, S. L., Clauer, N., Kroner, A., Lowe, D. R. 1994; 22 (3): 199-202

    Abstract

    Sm-Nd isotopic data from carbonate-derived clay minerals of the 3.22-3.25 Ga Fig Tree Group, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, form a linear array corresponding to an age of 3102 +/- 64 Ma, making these minerals the oldest dated clays on Earth. The obtained age is 120-160 m.y. younger than the depositional age determined by zircon geochronology. Nd model ages for the clays range from approximately 3.39 to 3.44 Ga and almost cover the age variation of the Barberton greenstone belt rocks, consistent with independent evidence that the clay minerals are derived from material of the belt. The combined isotopic and mineralogical data provide evidence for a cryptic thermal overprint in the sediments of the belt. However, the highest temperature reached by the samples since the time of clay-mineral formation was <300 degrees C, lower than virtually any known early Archean supracrustal sequence.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1994MZ72200002

    View details for PubMedID 11540244

  • ACCRETIONARY HISTORY OF THE ARCHEAN BARBERTON GREENSTONE BELT (3.55-3.22 GA), SOUTHERN AFRICA GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1994; 22: 1099-1102
  • DEPOSITIONAL AND TECTONIC SETTING OF THE ARCHEAN MOODIES GROUP, BARBERTON GREENSTONE BELT, SOUTH AFRICA PRECAMBRIAN RES. Heubeck, C., Lowe, D. R. 1994; 68: 257-290
  • ARCHEAN GREENSTONE-RELATED SEDIMENTARY ROCKS in: Archean crustal evolution, Condie, K. C., ed., Lowe, D. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 1994: 121–169
  • EARLY ENVIRONMENTS: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARLY EVOLUTION in: Early life on Earth: Bengtson, S., ed., Nobel Symposium No. 84 Lowe, D. Columbia University Press. 1994: 24–35
  • THE ABIOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF DESCRIBED STROMATOLITES OLDER THAN 3.2 GA GEOLOGY Lowe, D. 1994; 22: 387-390
  • 3.4-BILLION-YEAR-OLD BIOGENIC PYRITES FROM BARBERTON, SOUTH-AFRICA - SULFUR ISOTOPE EVIDENCE SCIENCE Ohmoto, H., Kakegawa, T., Lowe, D. R. 1993; 262 (5133): 555-557

    Abstract

    Laser ablation mass spectroscopy analyses of sulfur isotopic compositions of microscopic-sized grains of pyrite that formed about 3.4 billion years ago in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, show that the pyrite formed by bacterial reduction of seawater sulfate. These data imply that by about 3.4 billion years ago sulfate-reducing bacteria had become active, the oceans were rich in sulfate, and the atmosphere contained appreciable amounts (>10(-13) of the present atmospheric level) of free oxygen.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1993MC93500036

    View details for PubMedID 11539502

  • GEOCHEMISTRY OF A SILICIFIED, FELSIC VOLCANICLASTIC SUITE FROM THE EARLY ARCHEAN PANORAMA FORMATION, PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN-AUSTRALIA - AN EVALUATION OF DEPOSITIONAL AND POSTDEPOSITIONAL PROCESSES WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Cullers, R. L., DIMARCO, M. J., Lowe, D. R., Stone, J. 1993; 60 (1-4): 99-116
  • TIMING OF DEFORMATION OF THE ARCHAEAN BARBERTON GREENSTONE BELT, SOUTH AFRICA: CONSTRAINTS FROM ZIRCON DATING OF THE SALISBURY KOP PLUTON SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY Heubeck, C., Wendt, J. I., Toulkeridis, T., Kroner, A., Lowe, D. R. 1993; 96: 1-8
  • A NUMERICAL-MODEL FOR SEDIMENTATION FROM HIGHLY-CONCENTRATED MULTI-SIZED SUSPENSIONS MATHEMATICAL GEOLOGY Zeng, J. J., Lowe, D. R. 1992; 24 (4): 393-415
  • NOBLE-METAL ABUNDANCES IN AN EARLY ARCHEAN IMPACT DEPOSIT GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Kyte, F. T., Lei, Z., Lowe, D. R. 1992; 56 (3): 1365-1372

    Abstract

    We report detailed analyses on the concentrations of the noble metals Pd, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au in an early Archean spherule bed (S4) of probable impact origin from the lower Fig Tree Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. Compared to other sedimentary deposits of known or suspected impact origin, some noble metals are present in exceptionally high concentrations. Noble metal abundances are fractionated relative to abundances in chondrites with ratios of Os/Ir, Pt/Ir, Pd/Ir, and Au/Ir at only 80, 80, 41, and 2% of these values in CI chondrites. Although an extraterrestrial source is favored for the noble metal enrichment, the most plausible cause of the fractionation is by regional hydrothermal/metasomatic alteration.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1992HJ96300036

    View details for PubMedID 11537203

  • MAJOR EVENTS IN THE GEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRECAMBRIAN EARTH in: The Proterozoic Biosphere, Schopf, J. W., and Klein, C., eds. Lowe, D. Cambridge University Press. 1992: 67–76
  • THE ARCHEAN GEOLOGIC RECORD in: The Proterozoic Biosphere, Schopf, J.W., and Klein, C., eds. Lowe, D., Ernst, W. G. Cambridge University Press. 1992: 13–20
  • FLOW PROPERTIES OF TURBIDITY CURRENTS IN BUTE INLET, BRITISH-COLUMBIA SEDIMENTOLOGY Zeng, J. J., Lowe, D. R., Prior, D. B., Wiseman, W. J., Bornhold, B. D. 1991; 38 (6): 975-996
  • CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY ARCHEAN GRANITE-GREENSTONE EVOLUTION IN THE BARBERTON MOUNTAIN LAND, SOUTH-AFRICA, BASED ON PRECISE DATING BY SINGLE ZIRCON EVAPORATION EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS KRUNER, A., Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. 1991; 103 (1-4): 41-54

    Abstract

    We report precise 207Pb/206Pb single zircon evaporation ages for low-grade felsic metavolcanic rocks within the Onverwacht and Fig Tree Groups of the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB), South Africa, and from granitoid plutons bordering the belt. Dacitic tuffs of the Hooggenoeg Formation in the upper part of the Onverwacht Group yield ages between 3445 +/- 3 and 3416 +/- 5 Ma and contain older crustal components represented by a 3504 +/- 4 Ma old zircon xenocryst. Fig Tree dacitic tuffs and agglomerates have euhedral zircons between 3259 +/- 5 and 3225 +/- 3 Ma in age which we interpret to reflect the time of crystallization. A surprisingly complex xenocryst population in one sample documents ages from 3323 +/- 4 to 3522 +/- 4 Ma. We suspect that these xenocrysts were inherited, during the passage of the felsic melts to the surface, from various sources such as greenstones and granitoid rocks now exposed in the form of tonalite-trondhjemite plutons along the southern and western margins of the BGB, and units predating any of the exposed greenstone or intrusive rocks. Several of the granitoids along the southern margin of the belt have zircon populations with ages between 3490 and 3440 Ma. coeval with or slightly older than Onverwacht felsic volcanism, while the Kaap Valley pluton along the northwestern margin of the belt is coeval with Fig Tree dacitic volcanism. These results emphasize the comagmatic relationships between greenstone felsic volcanic units and the surrounding plutonic suites. Some of the volcanic plutonic units contain zircon xenocrysts older than any exposed rocks. These indicate the existence of still older units, possibly stratigraphically lower and older portions of the greenstone sequence itself, older granitoid intrusive rocks, or bodies of older, unrelated crustal material. Our data show that the Onverwacht and Fig Tree felsic units have distinctly different ages and therefore do not represent a single, tectonically repeated unit as proposed by others. Unlike the late Archaean Abitibi greenstone belt in Canada, which formed over about 30 Ma. exposed rocks in the BGB formed over a period of at least 220 Ma. The complex zircon populations encountered in this study imply that conventional multigrain zircon dating may not accurately identify the time of felsic volcanic activity in ancient greenstones. A surprising similarity in rock types, tectonic evolution, and ages of the BGB in the Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa and greenstones in the Pilbara Block of Western Australia suggests that these two terrains may have been part of a larger crustal unit in early Archaean times.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1991FM72100004

    View details for PubMedID 11538384

  • LAHARS: VOLCANO-HYDROLOGIC EVENTS AND DEPOSITION IN THE DEBRIS FLOW - HYPERCONCENTRATED FLOW CONTINUUM SEPM SPECIAL PUBLICATION 45 Smith, G. A., Lowe, D. R. 1991: 59-70
  • FAN-DELTA SEQUENCE IN THE ARCHEAN FIG TREE GROUP, BARBERTON GREENSTONE-BELT, SOUTH-AFRICA PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH NOCITA, B. W., Lowe, D. R. 1990; 48 (4): 375-393
  • PETROGRAPHY AND PROVENANCE OF SILICIFIED EARLY ARCHEAN VOLCANICLASTIC SANDSTONES, EASTERN PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN-AUSTRALIA SEDIMENTOLOGY DIMARCO, M. J., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 36 (5): 821-836
  • GEOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL RECORD OF 3400-MILLION-YEAR-OLD TERRESTRIAL METEORITE IMPACTS SCIENCE Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., Asaro, F., KYTE, F. J. 1989; 245 (4921): 959-962

    Abstract

    Beds of sand-sized spherules in the 3400-million-year-old Fig Tree Group, Barberton Greenstone belt, South Africa, formed by the fall of quenched liquid silicate droplets into a range of shallow-to deep-water depositional environments. The regional extent of the layers, their compositional complexity, and lack of included volcanic debris suggest that they are not products of volcanic activity. The layers are greatly enriched in iridium and other platinum group elements in roughly chondritic proportions. Geochemical modeling based on immobile element abundances suggests that the original average spherule composition can be approximated by a mixture of fractionated tholeiitic basalt, komatiite, and CI carbonaceous chondrite. The spherules are thought to be the products of large meteorite impacts on the Archean earth.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1989AM93300022

    View details for PubMedID 17780536

  • SHALLOW-WATER VOLCANICLASTIC DEPOSITION IN THE EARLY ARCHEAN PANORAMA FORMATION, WARRAWOONA GROUP, EASTERN PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN-AUSTRALIA SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY DIMARCO, M. J., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 64 (1-3): 43-63
  • STRATIGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF AN EARLY ARCHEAN FELSIC VOLCANIC SEQUENCE, EASTERN PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE DUFFER FORMATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CRUSTAL EVOLUTION PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH DIMARCO, M. J., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 44 (2): 147-169
  • ENVIRONMENTAL-CONTROL ON DIVERSE STROMATOLITE MORPHOLOGIES IN THE 3000 MYR PONGOLA SUPERGROUP, SOUTH-AFRICA SEDIMENTOLOGY Beukes, N. J., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 36 (3): 383-397
  • POLYTYPES OF 2-1 DIOCTAHEDRAL MICAS IN SILICIFIED VOLCANICLASTIC SANDSTONES, WARRAWOONA GROUP, PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN-AUSTRALIA AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE DIMARCO, M. J., Ferrell, R. E., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 289 (5): 649-660
  • GEOCHEMISTRY OF PRECAMBRIAN CARBONATES .1. ARCHEAN HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Veizer, J., Hoefs, J., RIDLER, R. H., Jensen, L. S., Lowe, D. R. 1989; 53 (4): 845-857
  • GEOCHEMISTRY OF PRECAMBRIAN CARBONATES .2. ARCHEAN GREENSTONE BELTS AND ARCHEAN SEA-WATER GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Veizer, J., Hoefs, J., Lowe, D. R., Thurston, P. C. 1989; 53 (4): 859-871

    Abstract

    Carbonate rocks with geological attributes of marine sediments are a minor component of the Archean greenstone belts. Despite their relative scarcity, these rocks are important because they record chemical and isotopic properties of coeval oceans. The greenstones containing such carbonates appear to cluster at approximately 2.8 +/- 0.2 and approximately 3.5 +/- 0.1 Ga ago. The samples for the younger group are from the Abitibi, Yellowknife, Wabigoon (Steep Rock Lake), Michipicoten and Uchi greenstone belts of Canada and the "Upper Greenstones" of Zimbabwe. The older group includes the Swaziland Supergroup of South Africa, Warrawoona Group of Australia and the Sargur marbles of India. Mineralogically, the carbonates of the younger greenstones are mostly limestones and of the older ones, ferroan dolomites (ankerites); the latter with some affinities to hydrothermal carbonates. In mineralized areas with iron ores, the carbonate minerals are siderite +/- ankerite, irrespective of the age of the greenstones. Iron-poor dolomites represent a later phase of carbonate generation, related to post-depositional tectonic faulting. The original mineralogy of limestone sequences appears to have been an Sr-rich aragonite. The Archean carbonates yield near-mantle Sr isotopic values, with (87Sr/86Sr)o of 0.7025 +/- 0.0015 and 0.7031 +/- 0.0008 for younger and older greenstones, respectively. The best preserved samples give delta 13C of +1.5 +/- 1.5% PDB, comparable to their Phanerozoic counterparts. In contrast, the best estimate for delta 18O is -7% PDB. Archean limestones, compared to Phanerozoic examples, are enriched in 16O as well as in Mn2+ and Fe2+, and these differences are not a consequence of post-depositional alteration phenomena. The mineralogical and chemical attributes of Archean carbonates (hence sea water) are consistent with the proposition that the composition of the coeval oceans may have been buffered by a pervasive interaction with the "mantle", that is, with the oceanic crust and the coeval ubiquitous volcanosedimentary piles derived from mantle sources.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1989U398100010

    View details for PubMedID 11539784

  • SHELF SANDSTONES OF THE ROBULUS L ZONE, OFFSHORE LOUISIANA Hart, G. F., Ferrell, R. E., Lowe, D. R., Lenoir, A. E. Gulf Coast Section SEPM, 7th Annual Research Conference . 1989: 117–141
  • SUSPENDED-LOAD FALLOUT RATE AS AN INDEPENDENT VARIABLE IN THE ANALYSIS OF CURRENT STRUCTURES SEDIMENTOLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1988; 35: 765-776
  • TURBIDITY-CURRENT ACTIVITY IN A BRITISH-COLUMBIA FJORD SCIENCE Prior, D. B., Bornhold, B. D., Wiseman, W. J., Lowe, D. R. 1987; 237 (4820): 1330-1333

    Abstract

    A year-long monitoring program within an elongated channel-fan system in Bute Inlet of British Columbia, Canada, detected active sand-transporting turbidity currents. Measurements of bottom velocities and sediment collected in traps, as well as damage to moorings and equipment, captured the signatures of frequent energetic events. Maximum calculated velocities achieved were 335 centimeters per second, with flow thicknesses of more than 30 meters. Coarse sand was transported at least 6 to 7.5 meters above the sea floor. Turbidity currents flowed a minimum distance of 25.9 kilometers, but possibly as far as 40 to 50 kilometers, over bottom slopes of generally less than 1 degrees.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987J924400020

    View details for PubMedID 17801471

  • REPLY TO COMMENTS ON "EARLY ARCHEAN SILICATE SPHERULES OF PROBABLE IMPACT ORIGIN, SOUTH AFRICA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA:" GEOLOGY Lowe, D., Byerly, G. R. 1987; 15: 179-182
  • GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE TORO AMARILLO ALLUVIAL FAN IN A HUMID TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER Kesel, R. H., Lowe, D. R. 1987; 69A: 85-99
  • ARCHEAN FLOW-TOP ALTERATION ZONES FORMED INITIALLY IN A LOW-TEMPERATURE SULFATE-RICH ENVIRONMENT NATURE Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 1986; 324 (6094): 245-248
  • EARLY ARCHEAN SILICATE SPHERULES OF PROBABLE IMPACT ORIGIN, SOUTH-AFRICA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R. 1986; 14 (1): 83-86
  • LAHARS INITIATED BY THE NOVEMBER 13, 1985, ERUPTION OF NEVADO DEL RUIZ, COLOMBIA NATURE Lowe, D. R., Williams, S. N., Leigh, H., Connor, C. B., Gemmell, J. B., Stoiber, R. E. 1986; 324: 51-53
  • STROMATOLITES FROM THE 3,300-3,500-MYR SWAZILAND SUPERGROUP, BARBERTON MOUNTAIN LAND, SOUTH AFRICA NATURE Byerly, G., Lowe, D. R., Walsh, M. M. 1986; 319: 489-491
  • A PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS GLACIAL PAVEMENT AND RELATED KAROO ROCKS ALONG THE GHAAP ESCARPMENT NEAR BOETSAP, NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE TRANSACTIONS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA Visser, J. N., Lowe, D. R., Beukes, N. J. 1986; 89: 385-388
  • STRATIGRAPHIC AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL EVIDENCE BEARING ON STRUCTURAL REPETITION IN EARLY ARCHEAN ROCKS OF THE BARBERTON GREENSTONE-BELT, SOUTH-AFRICA PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Lowe, D. R., Byerly, G. R., RANSOM, B. L., NOCITA, B. W. 1985; 27: 165-186
  • FILAMENTOUS MICROFOSSILS FROM THE 3,500-MYR-OLD ONVERWACHT GROUP, BARBERTON MOUNTAIN LAND, SOUTH-AFRICA NATURE Walsh, M. M., Lowe, D. R. 1985; 314 (6011): 530-532
  • SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT AS A CONTROL ON THE FORMATION AND PRESERVATION OF ARCHEAN VOLCANOGENIC MASSIVE SULPHIDE DEPOSITS Evolution of Archean Supracrustal Sequences Lowe, D. Geological Association of Canada Spec. Paper 28 . 1985: 193–201
  • FILAMENTOUS MICROFOSSILS FROM THE 3,500 MILLION YEAR OLD ONVERWACHT GROUP, BARBERTON MOUNTAINLAND, SOUTH AFRICA NAURE Walsh, M. M., Lowe, D. R. 1985; 314: 530-532
  • OUACHITA TROUGH: PART OF A CAMBRIAN FAILED RIFT SYSTEM GEOLOGY Lowe, D. 1985: 790-793
  • RESTRICTED SHALLOW WATER SEDIMENTATION OF 3.4 BYR-OLD STROMATOLITIC AND EVAPORITIC STRATA OF THE STRELLEY POOL CHERT, PILBARA BLOCK, WESTERN AUSTRALIA PRECAMBRIAN RES. Lowe, D. R. 1983: 239-283
  • SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE MARKER (3.4 GA), ONVERWACHT GROUP, TRANSVAAL, SOUTH AFRICA PRECAMBRIAN RES. Lanier, W. P., Lowe, D. R. 1982: 237-260
  • SEDIMENT GRAVITY FLOWS II: DEPOSITIONAL MODELS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE DEPOSITS OF HIGH-DENSITY TURBIDITY CURRENTS JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. 1982: 279-297
  • COMPARATIVE SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE PRINCIPAL VOLCANIC SEQUENCES OF ARCHEAN GREENSTONE BELTS IN SOUTH AFRICA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND CANADA PRECAMBRIAN RESEARCH Lowe, D. 1982: 1-29
  • DIFFUSION OF SEDIMENT ON THE LEE OF DUNE-LIKE BEDFORMS: THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS SEDIMENTOLOGY Chakrabarti, C., Lowe, D. R. 1981; 28: 531-545
  • STROMATOLITES 3,400-MYR OLD FROM THE ARCHEAN OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA NATURE Lowe, D. R. 1980; 284: 441-443
  • ARCHEAN SEDIMENTATION ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Lowe, D. 1980; 8: 145-167
  • SEDIMENT GRAVITY FLOWS: THEIR CLASSIFICATION AND PROBLEMS OF APPLICATION TO NATURAL FLOWS AND DEPOSITS SEPM SPECIAL PUBLICATION 27 Lowe, D. R. 1979: 75-82
  • OLDEST MARINE CARBONATE OOIDS REINTERPRETED AS VOLCANIC ACCRETIONARY LAPILLI, ONVERWACHT GROUP, SOUTH-AFRICA - REPLY JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. R., Knauth, L. P. 1979; 49 (2): 664-666
  • OXYGEN ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY OF CHERTS FROM ONVERWACHT GROUP (3.4 BILLION YEARS), TRANSVAAL, SOUTH-AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SECULAR VARIATIONS IN ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF CHERTS EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Knauth, L. P., Lowe, D. R. 1978; 41 (2): 209-222
  • OLDEST MARINE CARBONATE OOIDS REINTERPRETED AS VOLCANIC ACCRETIONARY LAPILLI ONVERWACHT GROUP, SOUTH-AFRICA JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. R., Knauth, L. P. 1978; 48 (3): 709-722
  • SEDIMENTOLOGY OF ONVERWACHT GROUP (3.4 BILLION YEARS), TRANSVAAL, SOUTH-AFRICA, AND ITS BEARING ON CHARACTERISTICS AND EVOLUTION OF EARLY EARTH JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY Lowe, D. R., Knauth, L. P. 1977; 85 (6): 699-723
  • THE ARKANSAS NOVACULITE: SOME ASPECTS OF ITS PHYSICAL SEDIMENTATION: Symposium on the Geology of the Ouachita Mountains Lowe, D. R. Arkansas Geological Commission. 1977: 132–138
  • SUBAQUEOUS LIQUEFIED AND FLUIDIZED FLOWS AND THEIR DEPOSITS SEDIMENTOLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1976; 23: 285-308
  • GRAIN FLOW AND GRAIN FLOW DEPOSITS JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1976; 46: 188-199
  • NONGLACIAL VARVES IN THE LOWER MEMBER OF ARKANSAS NOVACULITE (DEVONIAN), ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS BULLETIN Lowe, D. R. 1976; 60: 2103-2116
  • REGIONAL CONTROLS ON SILICA SEDIMENTATION IN THE OUACHITA SYSTEM GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Lowe, D. R. 1975; 86: 1123-1127
  • WATER ESCAPE STRUCTURES IN COARSE-GRAINED SEDIMENTS SEDIMENTOLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1975; 46: 157-204
  • CHARACTERISTICS AND ORIGINS OF DISH AND PILLAR STRUCTURES JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. R., LoPiccolo, R. D. 1974; 44: 484-501
  • IMPLICATIONS OF THREE SUBMARINE MASS-MOVEMENT DEPOSITS, CRETACEOUS, SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY Lowe, D. R. 1972; 42: 89-101
  • STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS OF PHOSPHATE- AND GYPSUM-BEARING UPPER MIOCENE STRATA, UPPER SESPE CREEK, VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS BULLETIN Dickinson, W. R., Lowe, D. R. 1966; 50: 2464-2481