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Publications

Products (journal articles, reports, fact sheets) authored by current and past scientists are listed below. Please check the USGS Pubs Warehouse for other USGS publications.

Filter Total Items: 1826

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

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

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

Spectral properties of Ca-sulfates: Gypsum, bassanite, and anhydrite

This study of the spectral properties of Ca-sulfates was initiated to support remote detection of these minerals on Mars. Gypsum, bassanite, and anhydrite are the currently known forms of Ca-sulfates. They are typically found in sedimentary evaporites on Earth, but can also form via reaction of acidic fluids associated with volcanic activity. Reflectance, emission, transmittance, and Raman spectra
Authors
Janice L. Bishop, Melissa D. Lane, M. Darby Dyar, Sara J. King, Adrian J. Brown, Gregg A. Swayze

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

Potassium-argon (argon-argon), structural fabrics

Definition: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of structural fabrics: The application of 40Ar/39Ar methods to date development of structural fabrics in geologic samples. Introduction: Structural fabrics develop during rock deformation at variable pressures (P), temperatures (T), fluid compositions (X), and time (t). Structural fabrics are represented in rocks by features such as foliations and shear zones
Authors
Michael A. Cosca

Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska

The Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) consists of a carbonate platform that extends for >1000 km across northern Alaska, and diverse margin, slope, and basin facies that contain world-class deposits of Zn and Ba, notable phosphorites, and petroleum source rocks. Lithologic, paleontologic, isotopic, geochemical, and seismic data gathered from outcrop and subsurface studies during the past 20 y
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin, Craig A. Johnson, John F. Slack, Kenneth J. Bird, Michael T. Whalen, Thomas E. Moore, Anita G. Harris, Paul B. O'Sullivan

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

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

Mercury deposition and methylmercury formation in Narraguinnep Reservoir, southwestern Colorado, USA

Narraguinnep Reservoir in southwestern Colorado is one of several water bodies in Colorado with a mercury (Hg) advisory as Hg in fish tissue exceed the 0.3 μg/g guideline to protect human health recommended by the State of Colorado. Concentrations of Hg and methyl-Hg were measured in reservoir bottom sediment and pore water extracted from this sediment. Rates of Hg methylation and methyl-Hg demeth
Authors
John E. Gray, Mark E. Hines, Harland L. Goldstein, Richard L. Reynolds