Publications
Listed below are publication products directly associated with the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center:
Filter Total Items: 1167
Surficial geochemistry and bioaccessibility of tellurium in semi-arid mine tailings
Tellurium (Te) is a critical element due to its use in solar technology. However, some forms are highly toxic. Few studies have examined Te behavior in the surficial environment, thus little is known about its potential human and environmental health impacts. This study characterizes two physicochemically distinct Te-enriched mine tailings piles (big and flat tailings) deposited by historic gold
Authors
Sarah M. Hayes, Nicole A Ramos
Tectono-magmatic evolution of porphyry belts in the central Tethys region of Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, western Pakistan, and southern Afghanistan
Exploration in the central Tethys region of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and western Pakistan has led to the identification of the giant Reko Diq (24 Mt Cu and 1300 t Au), Sar Cheshmeh (8.9 Mt Cu and 0.46 Mt Mo), Sungun (5.1 Mt Cu and 0.20 Mt Mo), and Kadjaran (4.6 Mt Cu, 0.94 Mt Mo, and 1100 t Au), and 10 other large (1–2 Mt Cu) porphyry deposits including Saindak, Cevizlidere, Teg
Authors
Lukas Zürcher, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Jane M. Hammarstrom, John C. Mars, Stephen Ludington, Michael L. Zientek, Pamela Dunlap, John Wallis
Understanding organic matter heterogeneity and maturation rate by Raman spectroscopy
Solid organic matter (OM) in sedimentary rocks produces petroleum and solid bitumen when it undergoes thermal maturation. The solid OM is a ‘geomacromolecule’, usually representing a mixture of various organisms with distinct biogenic origins, and can have high heterogeneity in composition. Programmed pyrolysis is a common method to reveal bulk geochemical characteristics of the dominant OM, while
Authors
Seyedalireza Khatibi, Mehdi Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, David Tuschel, Arash Abarghani, Bailey Bubach
Self-organizing maps for compositional data: coal combustion products of a Wyoming power plant
A self-organizing map (SOM) is a non-linear projection of a D-dimensional data set, where the distance among observations is approximately preserved on to a lower dimensional space. The SOM arranges multivariate data based on their similarity to each other by allowing pattern recognition leading to easier interpretation of higher dimensional data. The SOM algorithm allows for selection of differen
Authors
Josep M. Martín-Fernández, Mark A. Engle, Leslie F. Ruppert, Ricardo A. Olea
Lithologies, ages, and provenance of clasts in the Ordovician Fincastle Conglomerate, Botetourt County, Virginia, USA
The Fincastle Conglomerate is an Ordovician polymictic, poorly sorted, matrix- and clast-supported cobble to boulder-rich conglomerate located just north of Fincastle, Botetourt County, VA. At least nine other cobble and boulder conglomerates are located in a similar stratigraphic position from Virginia to Georgia west of the Blue Ridge structural front. All except the Fincastle are dominated (~80
Authors
Harvey E. Belkin, John E. Repetski, Frank T. Dulong, Nelson L. Hickling
User’s guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A graphical user interface for the AggtEx.fn R script
The U.S. Geological Survey three-part method for mineral resource assessments estimates numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits as probability distributions in geologically defined regions termed “permissive tracts.” This report describes a graphical user interface (GUI) script developed in open-source statistical software (R) that aggregates estimated undiscovered deposits of a given type from t
Authors
Jason L. Shapiro, Gilpin R. Robinson,
Carbon dioxide mineralization feasibility in the United States
Geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage is one of many methods for stabilizing the increasing concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere. The injection of CO2 in deep subsurface sedimentary reservoirs is the most commonly discussed method; however, the potential for CO2 leakage can create long-term stability concerns. This report discusses the feasibility of an alternative form of geologic CO2 s
Authors
Madalyn S. Blondes, Matthew D. Merrill, Steven T. Anderson, Christina A. DeVera
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the South Florida basin, 2016
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 49 million barrels of oil and 18 billion cubic feet of gas in the onshore and State waters part of the South Florida basin.
Authors
Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Paul C. Hackley, Celeste D. Lohr, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Katherine J. Whidden, Phuong A. Le, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Thomas M. Finn
Assessment of undiscovered copper resources of the world, 2015
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the first-ever global assessment of undiscovered copper resources for the two most significant sources of global copper supply: porphyry copper deposits and sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits. The geology-based study identified 236 areas for undiscovered copper in 11 regions of the world. Estimated amounts of undiscovered copper resources are reported
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Michael L. Zientek, Heather L. Parks, Connie L. Dicken
Organic geochemistry and toxicology of a stream impacted by unconventional oil and gas wastewater disposal operations
Water and sediment extracts samples were analyzed for extractable hydrocarbons by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using an Agilent (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) 7890 series GC and 5975 electron ionization (EI) mass selective detector (MSD) operated in scan mode. Agilent ChemStation software was used for data acquisition and analysis (version E.02.00.493 on GC/MS computer
Authors
William H. Orem, Matthew S. Varonka, Lynn M. Crosby, Karl B. Haase, Keith A. Loftin, Michelle L. Hladik, Denise M. Akob, Calin Tatu, Adam C. Mumford, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Anne L. Bates, Tiffani Schell, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic sources of critical minerals—Rare earth elements
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical mineral commodities for the United States. In response to a need for information on potential domestic sources of REEs in mineral deposits, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified broad focus areas throughout the conterminous United States and Alaska as a guide for selecting new geoscience research areas. This study was done to support the USGS Earth Ma
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Connie L. Dicken
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Amerasia Basin Province, 2008
The Amerasia Basin Province encompasses the Canada Basin and the sediment prisms along the Alaska and Canada margins, outboard from basinward margins (hingelines) of the rift shoulders that formed during extensional opening of the Canada Basin. The province includes the Mackenzie River delta and slope, the outer shelves and marine slopes along the Arctic margins of Alaska and Canada, and the deep
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, Kenneth J. Bird, Christopher P. Garrity