Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Filter Total Items: 2350

Characterization of geologic deposits in the vicinity of US Ecology, Amargosa Basin, southern Nevada

Multiple approaches have been applied to better understand the characteristics of geologic units exposed at the surface and buried at depth in the vicinity of US Ecology (USE), a low-level commercial waste site in the northern Amargosa Desert, Nevada. Techniques include surficial geologic mapping and interpretation of the subsurface using borehole data. Dated deposits at depth were used to estimat
Authors
Emily M. Taylor

Magnetotelluric data, Taos Plateau Volcanic Field, New Mexico

The population of the San Luis Basin region of northern New Mexico is growing. Water shortfalls could have serious consequences. Future growth and land management in the region depend on accurate assessment and protection of the region's groundwater resources. An important issue in managing the groundwater resources is a better understanding of the hydrogeology of the Santa Fe Group and the nature
Authors
Chad E. Ailes, Brian D. Rodriguez

Evaluation of extraction methods for hexavalent chromium determination in dusts, ashes, and soils

One of the difficulties in performing speciation analyses on solid samples is finding a suitable extraction method. Traditional methods for extraction of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in soils, such as SW846 Method 3060A, can be tedious and are not always compatible with some determination methods. For example, the phosphate and high levels of carbonate and magnesium present in the U.S. Environment
Authors
Ruth E. Wolf, Stephen A. Wilson

Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: A global synthesis

Subfossil pollen and plant macrofossil data derived from 14C-dated sediment profiles can provide quantitative information on glacial and interglacial climates. The data allow climate variables related to growing-season warmth, winter cold, and plant-available moisture to be reconstructed. Continental-scale reconstructions have been made for the mid-Holocene (MH, around 6 ka) and Last Glacial Maxim
Authors
P. J. Bartlein, S. P. Harrison, Sandra Brewer, S. Connor, B.A.S. Davis, K. Gajewski, J. Guiot, T. I. Harrison-Prentice, A. Henderson, O. Peyron, I.C. Prentice, M. Scholze, H. Seppa, B. Shuman, S. Sugita, R.S. Thompson, A.E. Viau, J. Williams, H. Wu

Glimpses of East Antarctica: Aeromagnetic and satellite magnetic view from the central Transantarctic Mountains of East Antarctica

Aeromagnetic and satellite magnetic data provide glimpses of the crustal architecture within the Ross Sea sector of the enigmatic, ice-covered East Antarctic shield critical for understanding both global tectonic and climate history. In the central Transantarctic Mountains (CTAM), exposures of Precambrian basement, coupled with new high-resolution magnetic data, other recent aeromagnetic transects
Authors
Carol A. Finn, John W. Goodge

Analytical results for municipal biosolids samples from a monitoring program near Deer Trail, Colorado (U.S.A.), 2009

Since late 1993, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District of Denver, a large wastewater treatment plant in Denver, Colo., has applied Grade I, Class B biosolids to about 52,000 acres of nonirrigated farmland and rangeland near Deer Trail, Colo., U.S.A. In cooperation with the Metro District in 1993, the U.S. Geological Survey began monitoring groundwater at part of this site. In 1999, the Survey bega
Authors
J. G. Crock, D. B. Smith, T. J. B. Yager, C. J. Berry, M. G. Adams

Magnetotelluric survey to characterize the Sunnyside porphyry copper system in the Patagonia Mountains, Arizona

The Sunnyside porphyry copper system is part of the concealed San Rafael Valley porphyry system located in the Patagonia Mountains of Arizona. The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies as part of the Assessment Techniques for Concealed Mineral Resources project. To help characterize the size and resistivity of the mineralized area beneath overburden, a regional
Authors
Brian D. Rodriguez, Jay A. Sampson

Porphyry copper deposit model

This report contains a revised descriptive model of porphyry copper deposits (PCDs), the world's largest source (about 60 percent) and resource (about 65 percent) of copper and a major source of molybdenum, gold and silver. Despite relatively low grades (average 0.44 percent copper in 2008), PCDs have significant economic and societal impacts due to their large size (commonly hundreds of millions
Authors
Robert A. Ayuso, Mark D. Barton, Richard J. Blakely, Robert J. Bodnar, John H. Dilles, Floyd Gray, Fred T. Graybeal, John L. Mars, Darcy McPhee, Robert R. Seal, Ryan D. Taylor, Peter G. Vikre

The tract aggregation problem in probabilistic mineral resource assessment

No abstract available.
Authors
Keith Long, Lawrence Drew, John Schuenemeyer, David M. Sutphin

Fluorine, fluorite, and fluorspar in central Colorado

Fluorine (F) is a widespread element that was deposited in a variety of rocks, minerals, and geologic environments in central Colorado. It occurs as a trace element, as a major component of the mineral fluorite (CaFs), and as a major economic source of fluorine in fluorspar deposits, which are massive concentrations of fluorite. This study has compiled available geochemical analyses of rocks, both
Authors
Alan R. Wallace

Biostratigraphy of the San Joaquin Formation in borrow-source area B-17, Kettleman Hills landfill, North Dome, Kettleman Hills, Kings County, California

The stratigraphic occurrences and interpreted biostratigraphy of invertebrate fossil taxa in the upper San Joaquin Formation and lower-most Tulare Formation encountered at the Chemical Waste Management Kettleman Hills waste disposal facility on the North Dome of the Kettleman Hills, Kings County, California are documented. Significant new findings include (1) a detailed biostratigraphy of the uppe
Authors
Charles L. Powell, Lanny H. Fisk, David F. Maloney, David M. Haasl

The 2007 M5.4 Alum Rock, California, earthquake: Implications for future earthquakes on the central and southern Calaveras Fault

[1] The similarity of seismograms recorded by two seismic stations demonstrate that the 31 October 2007 moment magnitude M5.4 Alum Rock earthquake is a repeat of a 1955 ML5.5 earthquake. Both occurred on Oppenheimer et al.'s (1990) Zone V “stuck patch” on the central Calaveras fault, providing new support for their model of Calaveras fault earthquake activity. We suggest that Zone V fails only in
Authors
David H. Oppenheimer, William H. Bakun, Tom Parsons, Robert W. Simpson, John Boatwright, R. A. Uhrhammer