Publications
Listed below are publication products directly associated with the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center:
Filter Total Items: 1166
Gas emissions, tars, and secondary minerals at the Ruth Mullins and Tiptop coal mine fires
Both the Tiptop and Ruth Mullins coal fires, Kentucky, were reinvestigated in 2009 and 2010. The Tiptop fire was not as active in 2009 and may have been on the path to burning out at the time of the 2009 visit. The Ruth Mullins coal mine fire, Perry County, Kentucky, has been the subject of several field investigations, including November 2009–February 2010 investigations in which we measured gas
Authors
Jennifer M. K. O'Keefe, Erika R. Neace, Maxwell L. Hammond, James C. Hower, Mark A. Engle, Joseph A. East, Nicholas J. Geboy, Ricardo A. Olea, Kevin R. Henke, Gregory C. Copley, Edward W. Lemley, Rachel S. Hatch Nally, Antonia E. Hansen, Allison R. Richardson, Anne B. Satterwhite, Glenn B. Stracher, Larry F. Radke, Charles Smeltzer, Christopher Romanek, Donald R. Blake, Paul A. Schroeder, Stephen D. Emsbo-Mattingly, Scott A. Stout
Subseasonal variations in marine reservoir age from pre-bomb Donax obesulus and Protothaca asperrima shell carbonate
Two Donax obesulus and two Protothaca asperrima shells collected prior to the nuclear testing of the 1950's were micromilled at sub-seasonal resolution to yield new reservoir effect (ΔR) estimates for the coast of Peru. Shells from northern (4°40′S to 8°14′S) and central (13°52′S) Peru produced ΔR values of 123 ± 50 and 110 ± 49 years respectively. We found such values statistically indistinguisha
Authors
Miguel F. Etayo-Cadavid, C. Fred T. Andrus, Kevin B. Jones, Gregory W. L. Hodgins
Cadmium isotope fractionation during coal combustion: Insights from two U.S. coal-fired power plants
Coal combustion, one of the principal energy sources of electricity in the United States, produces over 100 million tons of coal combustion products (CCPs) per year in the U.S. The reuse and disposal of CCPs has the potential to release toxic trace elements, including cadmium (Cd), into the environment. In this study, we investigated CCPs, including bottom ash (BA), economizer fly ash (EFA), and f
Authors
Fotio Fouskas, Ma Lin, Mark A. Engle, Leslie F. Ruppert, Nicholas J. Geboy, Matthew A. Costa
Advances in sensitivity analysis of uncertainty to changes in sampling density when modeling spatially correlated attributes
A comparative analysis of distance methods, kriging and stochastic simulation is conducted for evaluating their capabilities for predicting fluctuations in uncertainty due to changes in spatially correlated samples. It is concluded that distance methods lack the most basic capabilities to assess reliability despite their wide acceptance. In contrast, kriging and stochastic simulation offer signifi
Authors
Ricardo A. Olea
Understanding and distinguishing reflectance measurements of solid bitumen and vitrinite using hydrous pyrolysis: Implications to petroleum assessment
Solid bitumen is a common organic component of thermally mature shales and typically is identified by embayment against euhedral mineral terminations and by groundmass textures. However, because these textures are not always present, solid bitumen can be easily misidentified as vitrinite. Hydrous-pyrolysis experiments (72 hr, 300°C–360°C) on shale and coal samples show that solid-bitumen reflectan
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Michael Lewan
Sulfur isotopes of host strata for Howards Pass (Yukon–Northwest Territories) Zn-Pb deposits implicate anaerobic oxidation of methane, not basin stagnation
A new sulfur isotope stratigraphic profile has been developed for Ordovician-Silurian mudstones that host the Howards Pass Zn-Pb deposits (Canada) in an attempt to reconcile the traditional model of a stagnant euxinic basin setting with new contradictory findings. Our analyses of pyrite confirm the up-section 34S enrichment reported previously, but additional observations show parallel depletion o
Authors
Craig A. Johnson, John F. Slack, Julie A. Dumoulin, Karen Duttweiler Kelley, Hendrik Falck
The chemistry of eolian quartz dust and the origin of chert
Among the numerous models that have been suggested for the primary and predominant source of silica for chert, we suggest that eolian dust is worthy of further considerations. Such considerations are supported by the common association of Phanerozoic chert with evaporites, limestones, dolomites, or other strata that were deposited within or near arid paleoclimates. This association suggests a dire
Authors
C. Blaine Cecil, Bruce Hemingway, Frank T. Dulong
DDT and related compounds in pore water of shallow sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA
For nearly two and a half decades following World War II, production wastes from the world's largest manufacturer of technical DDT (1-chloro-4-[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene) were discharged into sewers of Los Angeles County. Following treatment, the wastes were released via a submarine outfall system to nearshore coastal waters where a portion accumulated in shallow sediments of
Authors
Robert P. Eganhouse, Erica L. DiFilippo, James Pontolillo, William H. Orem, Paul C. Hackley, Brian Edwards
On the petrographic distinction of bituminite from solid bitumen in immature to early mature source rocks
The oil-prone maceral bituminite (and its equivalents: ‘amorphous organic matter’, ‘sapropelinite’, ‘amorphinite’, etc.) converts to petroleum during thermal maturation of source rocks, resulting in formation of a mobile saturate-rich hydrocarbon and a polar-rich residue of solid bitumen. Evidence of this transition is preserved in immature to early mature source rocks (e.g., Alum, Bakken, Kimmeri
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Brett J. Valentine, Javin J. Hatcherian
User’s guide for MapMark4GUI—A graphical user interface for the MapMark4 R package
MapMark4GUI is an R graphical user interface (GUI) developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to support user implementation of the MapMark4 R statistical software package. MapMark4 was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to implement probability calculations for simulating undiscovered mineral resources in quantitative mineral resource assessments. The GUI provides an easy-to-use tool to input d
Authors
Jason L. Shapiro
USGS critical minerals review
The United States’ supply of critical minerals has been a concern and a source of potential strategic vulnerabilities for U.S. economic and national security interests for decades (for example, see Strategic and Critical Minerals Stockpiling Act, 1939). More recently, with the rapid increase in the types of materials being used in advanced technologies (Fortier et al. 2018a), and geopolitical even
Authors
Steven M. Fortier, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Sarah J. Ryker, Warren C. Day, Robert R. Seal
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the downdip Paleogene formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2017
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional resources of 100 million barrels of oil and 16.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in the downdip Paleogene formations in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
Marc L. Buursink, Colin A. Doolan, Catherine B. Enomoto, William H. Craddock, James L. Coleman, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Ofori N. Pearson, Janet K. Pitman, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine J. Whidden, Cheryl A. Woodall