Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2350
Eroding Cascadia— Sediment and solute transport and landscape denudation in western Oregon and northwestern California
Riverine measurements of sediment and solute transport give empirical basin-scale estimates of bed-load, suspended-sediment, and silicate-solute fluxes for 100,000 km2 of northwestern California and western Oregon. This spatially explicit sediment budget shows the multifaceted control of geology and physiography on the rates and processes of fluvial denudation. Bed-load transport is greatest for s
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Joseph F. Mangano, Daniel R. Wise, Joshua R. Roering
The case for a long-lived and robust Yellowstone hotspot
The Yellowstone hotspot is recognized as a whole-mantle plume with a history that extends to at least 56 Ma, as recorded by offshore volcanism on the Siletzia oceanic plateau. Siletzia accreted onto the North American plate at 51–49 Ma, followed by repositioning of the Farallon trench west of Siletzia from 48 to 45 Ma. North America overrode the hotspot, and it transitioned from the Farallon plate
Authors
Victor E. Camp, Ray Wells
Three-dimensional electrical resistivity characterization of Mountain Pass, California and surrounding region
The Sulphide Queen carbonatite deposit at Mountain Pass in southeast California is a world class rare earth element (REE) resource. This study images electrical resistivity structure of the REE deposit and surrounding area to characterize resources under cover. An east-west elongated grid (35 × 15 km) of 65 wideband magnetotelluric stations spanning from eastern Shadow Valley to eastern Ivanpah Va
Authors
Jared R. Peacock, Kevin Denton, David A. Ponce
Lake Andrei: A pliocene pluvial lake in Eureka Valley, Eastern California
We used geologic mapping, tephrochronology and 40Ar/39Ar dating to describe evidence of a ca. 3.5 Ma pluvial lake in Eureka Valley, eastern California, that we informally name herein Lake Andrei. We identified six different tuffs in the Eureka Valley drainage basin including two previously undescribed tuffs: the 3.509 ± 0.009 Ma tuff of Hanging Rock Canyon and the 3.506 ± 0.010 Ma tuff of Last Cha
Authors
Jeffrey R. Knott, Elmira Wan, Alan L. Deino, Mitch Casteel, Marith C. Reheis, Fred Phillips, Laura Walkup, Kyle McCarty, David N. Manoukian, Ernest Nuñez
Oases: Finding hidden biodiversity gems in the southern Sonoran Desert
In the arid southern Sonoran Desert, the rugged canyons of the Sierra El Aguaje contain numerous freshwater oases. These habitats are supported by small springs which are usually located along geologic faults in volcanic and granitic bedrock. Genetic evidence from freshwater-obligate species (e.g., fish and frogs) suggests these or similar spring-fed habitats have persisted for thousands to millio
Authors
Michael T. Bogan, Carlos Ballesteros-Córdova, S. Bennett, Michael H. Darin, Lloyd T. Findley, Alejandro Varela-Romero
Mapa metalogenético de América Central y El Caribe
La Asociación de Servicios Geológicos y Mineros de Iberoamérica (ASGMI), bajo los auspicios de la Comisión de la Carta Geológica del Mundo (CCGM) preparó la primera versión del Mapa Metalogénico de América Central y el Caribe. La coordinación general estuvo a cargo del Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino (SEGEMAR), con tres coordinaciones regionales: América Central a cargo del Servicio Geológico
Authors
Eduardo O Zappettini, Gloria Prieto-Rincon, Natalia Amezcua, Santiago Munoz-Tapia, Janeth Sepúlveda-Ospina, Carlos M. Celada-Arango, David Jara, X Cazanas-Diaz, Jorge L. Torres-Zafra, Jorge L. Cobiella-Reguera, Lukas Zürcher, Greta J. Orris, Floyd Gray, Carolina Maldonado-Diaz, Noe Rodriguez, Ramon Mérida-Montiel, Carlos A. Zarruk
Extension directions in the Colorado River extensional corridor compared to fragmentation of a structurally disrupted caldera in the Sacramento Mountains, southeastern California
The northwest trend of the southern Colorado River extensional corridor in the southwestern USA veers northward between 34° and 35° north latitude. The tilt axes of early Miocene west-tilted volcanic strata in the west-central Sacramento Mountains mirror this bend. Steeply dipping early Miocene strata and volcanics north and south of the bend indicate the strong respectively westward to southwestw
Authors
Keith A. Howard, Charles A. Ferguson
Reconnaissance map of the Cenozoic geology in the Carlin basin area, Elko and Eureka counties, Nevada
The middle Miocene Carlin sedimentary basin encompasses a large area between the Adobe Range to the east, the Piñon Range to the south, the southern Independence Mountains and Marys Mountain to the west, and Swales Mountain to the north. The town of Carlin is in the southern part of the basin. The geologic map includes detailed to more reconnaissance mapping of Cenozoic units in the main part of t
Authors
Alan R. Wallace
Fault trace mapping and surface-fault-rupture special study zone delineation of the Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah and Idaho
The Wasatch fault zone (WFZ) is a 220-mile-long (350-km) fault zone divided into 10 structural segments extending from southeastern Idaho to central Utah. The central five segments of the WFZ underlie the densely populated Wasatch Front region, where the majority of Utah’s population and economy are proximal to the fault zone. The West Valley fault zone (WVFZ) is an antithetic structure related to
Authors
Greg N. McDonald, Emily J. Kleber, Adam I. Hiscock, S. Bennett, Steve D. Bowman
Machine learning for natural resource assessment: An application to the blind geothermal systems of Nevada
A study is underway to apply machine learning methods to evaluate natural resource potential. In particular, we are considering the search for blind geothermal systems in Nevada. Beginning with the data and experience from the previous Nevada play fairway analysis project, we are building models in TensorFlow/Keras and gaining experience toward predicting the geothermal resource potential as a pro
Authors
Stephen C. Brown, Mark F. Coolbaugh, Jacob DeAngelo, James E. Faulds, Michael Fehler, Chen Gu, John H. Queen, Sven Treitel, Connor M. Smith, Eli Mlawsky
Using gravity to map faults and basins in the Mojave Desert, California
No abstract available.
Authors
Victoria Langenheim
Outburst floods
Outbursts from impounded water bodies produce large, hazardous, and geomorphically significant floods affecting the Earth as well as other planetary surfaces. Two broad classes of impoundments are: (1) valleys blocked by ice, landslides, constructed dams, and volcanic materials; and (2) closed basins such as tectonic depressions, calderas, meteor craters, and those rimmed by glaciers and moraines.
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, John J. Clague, Joseph S. Walder, Vernon Manville, Robin A. Beebee