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Characterization of feed coals and coal combustion byproducts from the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone, Powder River Basin, Wyoming

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) determined the physical and chemical properties of more than 260 feed coal and coal combustion byproducts from two coal-fired power plants. These plants utilized a low-sulfur (0.23-0.47 wt. % S) and low ash (4.9-6.3 wt. % ash) subbituminous coal from the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone in the Tongue River Member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation, Powder River Basin,
Authors
Michael E. Brownfield

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008

The Sverdrup Basin Province, an area of 515,000 square kilometers on the northern margin of North America, extends 1,300 kilometers across the Canadian Arctic Islands from near the Mackenzie Delta to northern Ellesmere Island. It consists of an intracratonic late Paleozoic to early Cenozoic rift-sag basin and a Mesozoic rift shoulder that bounds it on the north.Basin inception was Mississippian, m
Authors
Marilyn E. Tennyson, Janet K. Pitman

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Franklinian Shelf Province, Arctic Canada and North Greenland, 2008

In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Franklinian Shelf Province of northern Canada and Greenland as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Program. The Franklinian Shelf Province lies along the northernmost edge of the North American craton in Greenland and Canada. It encompasses a Cambrian through Mid
Authors
Marilyn E. Tennyson, Janet K. Pitman

Biomarker similarities between the saline lacustrine Eocene Green River and the Paleoproterozoic Barney Creek Formations

The Paleoproterozoic Barney Creek Formation, which is currently interpreted as a restricted, deep marine paleoenvironment, plays a disproportionate role in our understanding of Proterozoic ocean chemistry and the rise of complex life. The Barney Creek Formation hosts several unusual biomarker features, specifically its methylhopane and carotenoid signatures. Herein, we demonstrate that the saline
Authors
Katherine L. French, Justin E. Birdwell, Michael Vanden Berg

Natural gas hydrates: Status of potential as an energy resource

Gas hydrate is a widespread naturally-occurring combination of water and natural gases. Gas hydrate is found in shallow sediments of deepwater regions of the continental margins and in areas of continuous permafrost. Where gas supply is sufficient and migration pathways connect gas sources to favorable reservoirs, gas hydrate can accumulate to resource densities that may be attractive for gas pr
Authors
Ray Boswell, Steve Hancock, Koji Yamamoto, Timothy Collett, Mahendra Pratap, Sung-Rock Lee

Using a dense seismic array to determine structure and site effects of the Two Towers earthflow in northern California

We deployed a network of 68 three-component geophones on the slow moving Two Towers earthflow in northern California. We compute horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSRs) from the ambient seismic field. The HVSRs have two prominent peaks, one near 1.23 Hz and another between 4 and 8 Hz at most stations. The 1.23 Hz resonance is a property of the background noise field and may be due to a v
Authors
Amanda M. Thomas, Zack Spica, Miles Bodmer, William Schulz, Joshua J. Roering

Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas, 2019

Building on a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources in the Eagle Ford Group in south Texas, the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the required water and proppant demands and formation water production volumes associated with possible future development of these petroleum resources. The results of the water and proppant assessment are presented her
Authors
Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Katherine J. Whidden, Justin E. Birdwell, Lauri A. Burke, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Katherine L. French, Karen E. Jenni, Scott A. Kinney, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Christopher J. Schenk, Brian N. Shaffer, Chilisa M. Shorten, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall

Sulfur isotope composition of individual compounds in immature organic-rich rocks and possible geochemical implications

We applied compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis (CSSIA) to organic matter (OM) extracted from ancient and immature organic-rich rocks from the Cretaceous Ghareb (Shefela Basin locality, Israel) and Miocene Monterey (Naples Beach locality, California, USA) Formations. Large variations in the δ34S values of different organosulfur compounds (OSCs), that reach up to 28‰ and 36‰, were observed in
Authors
Lubna Shawar, Ward Said-Ahmad, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Alon Amrani

Element cycling in the Middle-Late Triassic Shublik Formation: Mineralization vs. recycling of biolimiting nutrients in an unconventional resource play

The Triassic Shublik Formation in northern Alaska is one of the major source rocks in North America, having generated much of the petroleum in Prudhoe Bay and associated fields. The middle Shublik Formation, the focus of this study, is a highly phosphatic, organic-rich carbonate mudstone interval. Apatite cements can occur as phosphatic peloids, steinkerns, elongate or angular nodules, and shells
Authors
Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, James Macquaker, Justin E. Birdwell, Adam Boehlke, Katherine L. French

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in Jurassic Posidonia Shales of Greece and Albania, 2019

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 118 million barrels of continuous oil and 170 billion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Jurassic Posidonia Shale Total Petroleum System of western Greece and southern Albania.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Thomas M. Finn, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Phuong A. Le, Ronald M. Drake

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in Jurassic Shales of the eastern Arabian Peninsula, 2019

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 5.6 billion barrels of oil and 109.1 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Jurassic Hanifa-Tuwaiq Total Petroleum System of the Arabian Peninsula.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Thomas M. Finn, Michael E. Brownfield, Kristen R. Marra, Phuong A. Le, Ronald M. Drake, Scott A. Kinney

Assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert assessment area, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming

The assessment of the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert area covers approximately 2,300 square miles in the eastern portion of the Greater Green River Basin in south-central Wyoming. Coal-bearing formations are present throughout the Eocene, Paleocene, and Cretaceous strata in the assessment area. Paleogene-age coal beds are present in the Eocene Wasatch Formation and Paleocene Fort Uni
Authors
Brian N. Shaffer, Paul E. Pierce, Scott A. Kinney, Ricardo A. Olea, James A. Luppens