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: 2354

U-Pb zircon age data for selected sedimentary, metasedimentary, and igneous rocks from northern and central Alaska

This publication contains the complete results of U-Pb zircon age dating studies of sedimentary and metasedimentary units from northern and central Alaska that are discussed and interpreted in other reports by the author. Most of the U-Pb ages are of detrital zircons from sandstones, although U-Pb ages from igneous and sedimentary clasts from conglomerates in some of those same units are also incl
Authors
Thomas E. Moore

Stochastic modeling of a lava-flow aquifer system

This report describes preliminary three-dimensional geostatistical modeling of a lava-flow aquifer system using a multiple-point geostatistical model. The purpose of this study is to provide a proof-of-concept for this modeling approach. An example of the method is demonstrated using a subset of borehole geologic data and aquifer test data from a portion of the Calico Hills Formation, a lava-flow
Authors
Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Geoffrey A. Phelps

A modified procedure for mixture-model clustering of regional geochemical data

A modified procedure is proposed for mixture-model clustering of regional-scale geochemical data. The key modification is the robust principal component transformation of the isometric log-ratio transforms of the element concentrations. This principal component transformation and the associated dimension reduction are applied before the data are clustered. The principal advantage of this modificat
Authors
Karl J. Ellefsen, David B. Smith, John D. Horton

Deformation from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake near the southwest margin of the Santa Clara Valley, California

Damage to pavement and near-surface utility pipes, caused by the 17 October 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake, provides evidence for ground deformation in a 663 km2 area near the southwest margin of the Santa Clara Valley, California (USA). A total of 1427 damage sites, collected from more than 30 sources, are concentrated in four zones, three of which lie near previously mapped faults. In one of these
Authors
Kevin M. Schmidt, Stephen D. Ellen, David M. Peterson

The Late Cretaceous Middle Fork caldera, its resurgent intrusion, and enduring landscape stability in east-central Alaska

Dissected caldera structures expose thick intracaldera tuff and, uncommonly, cogenetic shallow plutons, while remnants of correlative outflow tuffs deposited on the pre-eruption ground surface record elements of ancient landscapes. The Middle Fork caldera encompasses a 10 km × 20 km area of rhyolite welded tuff and granite porphyry in east-central Alaska, ∼100 km west of the Yukon border. Intracal
Authors
Charles R. Bacon, Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John N. Aleinikoff, John F. Slack

The rare-earth elements: Vital to modern technologies and lifestyles

Until recently, the rare-earth elements (REEs) were familiar to a relatively small number of people, such as chemists, geologists, specialized materials scientists, and engineers. In the 21st century, the REEs have gained visibility through many media outlets because of (1) the public has recognized the critical, specialized properties that REEs contribute to modern technology, as well as (2) Chin
Authors
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Philip L. Verplanck, Keith R. Long, Joseph Gambogi, Robert R. Seal

An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands

Analysis of a sediment core from Lago Puerto Arturo, a closed basin lake in northern Peten, Guatemala, has provided an ∼8700 cal year record of climate change and human activity in the southern Maya lowlands. Stable isotope, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct environmental change in the region. Results indicate a relatively wet early to middle Holocene followed b
Authors
David B. Wahl, Roger Byrne, Lysanna Anderson

MTpy: A Python toolbox for magnetotellurics

We present the software package MTpy that allows handling, processing, and imaging of magnetotelluric (MT) data sets. Written in Python, the code is open source, containing sub-packages and modules for various tasks within the standard MT data processing and handling scheme. Besides the independent definition of classes and functions, MTpy provides wrappers and convenience scripts to call standard
Authors
Lars Krieger, Jared R. Peacock

A geologic and mineral exploration spatial database for the Stillwater Complex, Montana

The Stillwater Complex is a Neoarchean, ultramafic to mafic layered intrusion exposed in the Beartooth Mountains in south-central Montana. This igneous intrusion contains magmatic mineralization that is variably enriched in strategic and critical commodities such as chromium, nickel, and the platinum-group elements. One deposit, the J-M Reef, is the sole source of primary production and reserves f
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, Heather L. Parks

Using vertical Fourier transforms to invert potential-field data to magnetization or density models in the presence of topography

A physical property inversion approach based on the use of 3D (or 2D) Fourier transforms to calculate the potential-field within a 3D (or 2D) volume from a known physical property distribution within the volume is described. Topographic surfaces and observations at arbitrary locations are easily accommodated. The limitations of the approach and applications to real data are considered.
Authors
Jeffrey Phillips

Evidence for large-magnitude, post-Eocene extension in the northern Shoshone Range, Nevada, and its implications for Carlin-type gold deposits in the lower plate of the Roberts Mountains allochthon

The northern Shoshone and Toiyabe Ranges in north-central Nevada expose numerous areas of mineralized Paleozoic rock, including major Carlin-type gold deposits at Pipeline and Cortez. Paleozoic rocks in these areas were previously interpreted to have undergone negligible postmineralization extension and tilting, but here we present new data that suggest major post-Eocene extension along west-dippi
Authors
Joseph Colgan, Christopher D. Henry, David John

Sampling and monitoring for the mine life cycle

Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle provides an overview of sampling for environmental purposes and monitoring of environmentally relevant variables at mining sites. It focuses on environmental sampling and monitoring of surface water, and also considers groundwater, process water streams, rock, soil, and other media including air and biological organisms. The handbook includes an appe
Authors
Virginia T. McLemore, Kathleen S. Smith, Carol C. Russell