Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2354
Simulation of groundwater flow and the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the Willamette Basin and Central Willamette subbasin, Oregon
Full appropriation of tributary streamflow during summer, a growing population, and agricultural needs are increasing the demand for groundwater in the Willamette Basin. Greater groundwater use could diminish streamflow and create seasonal and long-term declines in groundwater levels. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) cooperated in a study to develo
Authors
Nora B. Herrera, Erick R. Burns, Terrence D. Conlon
Evidence for a marine incursion along the lower Colorado River corridor
Foraminiferal assemblages in the stratigraphically lower part of the Bouse Formation in the Blythe Basin indicate marine conditions whereas assemblages in the upper part of the Bouse Formation indicate lacustrine conditions and suggest the presence of a saline lake. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the lower part of the Bouse Formation are similar to lagoonal and inner neritic biofacies of th
Authors
Kristin McDougall, Adriana Yanet Miranda Martínez
Robust, low-cost data loggers for stream temperature, flow intermittency, and relative conductivity monitoring
Water temperature and streamflow intermittency are critical parameters influencing aquatic ecosystem health. Low-cost temperature loggers have made continuous water temperature monitoring relatively simple but determining streamflow timing and intermittency using temperature data alone requires significant and subjective data interpretation. Electrical resistance (ER) sensors have recently been de
Authors
Thomas Chapin, Andrew S. Todd, Matthew P. Zeigler
Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar
Rock falls from steep, exfoliating cliffs are common in many landscapes. Of the many mechanisms known to trigger rock falls, thermally driven deformation is among the least quantified, despite potentially being a prevalent trigger due to its occurrence at all times of year. Here we present the results of a field-based monitoring program using instrumentation, ground-based lidar, and ground-based r
Authors
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152 million metric tons of copper in greater than
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead
A compilation of K-Ar-ages for southern California
The purpose of this report is to make available a large body of conventional K-Ar ages for granitic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks collected in southern California. Although one interpretive map is included, the report consists primarily of a systematic listing, without discussion or interpretation, of published and unpublished ages that may be of value in future regional and other geologic stud
Authors
Fred K. Miller, Douglas M. Morton, Janet L. Morton, David M. Miller
Digital database of microfossil localities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California
The eastern San Francisco Bay region (Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, California) is a geologically complex area divided by faults into a suite of tectonic blocks. Each block contains a unique stratigraphic sequence of Tertiary sediments that in most blocks unconformably overlie Mesozoic sediments. Age and environmental interpretations based on analysis of microfossil assemblages are key factor
Authors
Kristin McDougall, Debra L. Block
By
Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary
Understanding heat and groundwater flow through continental flood basalt provinces: insights gained from alternative models of permeability/depth relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA
Heat-flow mapping of the western USA has identified an apparent low-heat-flow anomaly coincident with the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, a thick sequence of basalt aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A heat and mass transport model (SUTRA) was used to evaluate the potential impact of groundwater flow on heat flow along two different regional groundwater flow paths. L
Authors
Erick R. Burns, Colin F. Williams, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Clifford I. Voss, Frank A. Spane, Jacob DeAngelo
Magnetic resonance sounding survey data collected in the North Platte, Twin Platte, and South Platte Natural Resource Districts, Western Nebraska, Fall 2012
This report is a release of digital data and associated survey descriptions from a series of magnetic resonance soundings (MRS, also known as surface nuclear magnetic resonance) that was conducted during October and November of 2012 in areas of western Nebraska as part of a cooperative hydrologic study by the North Platte Natural Resource District (NRD), South Platte NRD, Twin Platte NRD, the Nebr
Authors
Mason A. Kass, Benjamin R. Bloss, Trevor P. Irons, James C. Cannia, Jared D. Abraham
Geophysical expression of a buried niobium and rare earth element deposit: the Elk Creek carbonatite, Nebraska, USA
The lower Paleozoic Elk Creek carbonatite is a 6–8-km-diameter intrusive complex buried under 200 m of sedimentary rocks in southeastern Nebraska. It hosts the largest known niobium deposit in the U.S. and a rare earth element (REE) deposit. The carbonatite is composed of several lithologies, the relations of which are poorly understood. Niobium mineralization is most enriched within a magnetite b
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth
Quantifying biomineralization of zinc in the Rio Naracauli (Sardinia, Italy), using a tracer injection and synoptic sampling
Streams draining mined areas throughout the world commonly have high concentrations of Zn. Because Zn is not easily removed from stream water and because it can be toxic to aquatic organisms, its presence is a persistent problem. The discovery of biomineralization of Zn-bearing solids in the mine drainage of Rio Naracauli, in Sardinia, Italy, provides insights into strategies for removing Zn and i
Authors
Giovanni De Giudici, Richard B. Wanty, F. Podda, Briant A. Kimball, Philip L. Verplanck, P. Lattanzi, R. Cidu, D. Medas
Revised Wonoka isotopic anomaly in South Australia and Late Ediacaran mass extinction
The global Late Ediacaran Shuram–Wonoka carbon isotope anomaly has been regarded as the largest and longest known isotopic anomaly in the ocean, assuming that all Ediacaran carbonate is marine. Disregarding carbonate in South Australia shown here to be palaeosol or palaeokarst, the synchronous marine organic–carbonate excursion is only −8‰ for δ13C organic and −6‰ for δ13C carbonate, and lasted le
Authors
Gregory J. Retallack, André Marconato, Jeffery T. Osterhout, Kathryn E. Watts, Ilya N. Bindeman