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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

Zinc isotope and transition-element dynamics accompanying hydrozincite biomineralization in the Rio Naracauli, Sardinia, Italy

The Rio Naracauli in SW Sardinia drains part of the Ingurtosu Zn–Pb mining district, and contains extreme concentrations of dissolved Zn at near-neutral pH. In the upper reaches of the stream, pH, alkalinity and Zn concentrations are such that hydrozincite [Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6] precipitates in a biologically mediated process facilitated by a microalga (Chlorella sp.) and a cyanobacterium (Scytonema sp.
Authors
Richard B. Wanty, F. Podda, Giovanni De Giudici, R. Cidu, Pierfranco Lattanzi

Geochemistry and geophysics field maps used during the USGS 2011 field season in southwest Alaska

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has been studying a variety of geochemical and geophyscial assessment techniques for concealed mineral deposits. The 2011 field season for this project took place in southwest Alaska, northeast of Bristol Bay between Dillingham and Iliamna Lake. Four maps were created for the geochemistry and geophysics teams to use during field activities.
Authors
Stuart A. Giles

Recent, slow normal and strike-slip faulting in the Pasto Ventura region of the southern Puna Plateau, NW Argentina

Recent normal and strike-slip faulting on the Puna Plateau of NW Argentina has been linked to lithospheric foundering, gravitational spreading, plate boundary forces and a decrease in crustal shortening from north to south. However, the timing, kinematics and rate of extension remain poorly constrained. We focus on the Pasto Ventura region (NW Argentina) located on the southern Puna Plateau and re
Authors
Renjie Zhou, Lindsay M. Schoenbohm, Michael Cosca

Mineralogical, chemical, and crystallographic properties of supergene jarosite-group minerals from the Xitieshan Pb-Zn sulfide deposit, northern Tibetan Plateau, China

Supergene jarosite-group minerals are widespread in weathering profiles overlying Pb-Zn sulfide ores at Xitieshan, northern Tibetan Plateau, China. They consist predominantly of K-deficient natrojarosite, with lesser amounts of K-rich natrojarosite and plumbojarosite. Electron microprobe (EMP) analyses, scanning electron microcopy (SEM) investigation, and X-ray mapping reveal that the jarosite-gro
Authors
Lei Chen, Jian-Wei Li, Robert O. Rye, William H. Benzel, H.A. Lowers, Ming-Zhong He

Geophysical constraints on Rio Grande rift structure and stratigraphy from magnetotelluric models and borehole resistivity logs, northern New Mexico

Two- and three-dimensional electrical resistivity models derived from the magnetotelluric method were interpreted to provide more accurate hydrogeologic parameters for the Albuquerque and Española Basins. Analysis and interpretation of the resistivity models are aided by regional borehole resistivity data. Examination of the magnetotelluric response of hypothetical stratigraphic cases using resist
Authors
Brian D. Rodriguez, David A. Sawyer

Observed ices in the Solar System

Ices have been detected and mapped on the Earth and all planets and/or their satellites further from the sun. Water ice is the most common frozen volatile observed and is also unambiguously detected or inferred in every planet and/or their moon(s) except Venus. Carbon dioxide is also extensively found in all systems beyond the Earth except Pluto although it sometimes appears to be trapped rather t
Authors
Roger N. Clark, Will Grundy, Robert R. Carlson, Keith Noll

Ion-probe U–Pb dating of authigenic and detrital opal from Neogene-Quaternary alluvium

Knowing depositional ages of alluvial fans is essential for many tectonic, paleoclimatic, and geomorphic studies in arid environments. The use of U–Pb dating on secondary silica to establish the age of Neogene-Quaternary clastic sediments was tested on samples of authigenic and detrital opal and chalcedony from depths of ∼25 to 53 m in boreholes at Midway Valley, Nevada. Dating of authigenic opal
Authors
Leonid A. Neymark, James B. Paces

Book review: Economic geology: Principles and practice: Metals, minerals, coal and hydrocarbons—Introduction to formation and sustainable exploitation of mineral deposits

This volume, available in both hardcover and paperback, is an English translation of the fifth edition of the German language text Mineralische und Energie-Rohstoffe. The book provides an extensive overview of natural resources and societal issues associated with extracting raw materials. The comprehensive list of raw materials discussed includes metals, industrial minerals, coal, and hydrocarbons
Authors
Eric Anderson

Helicopter electromagnetic data map ice thickness at Mount Adams and Mount Baker, Washington, USA

Ice-thickness measurements critical for flood and mudflow hazard studies are very sparse on Cascade Range (North America) volcanoes. Helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) data collected to detect hydrothermal alteration are used to determine ice thickness over portions of Mount Baker and Mount Adams volcanoes. A laterally continuous inversion method provides good estimates of ice <100 m thick over wate
Authors
Carol A. Finn, Maria Deszcz-Pan, Paul A. Bedrosian

Environmental and medical geochemistry in urban disaster response and preparedness

History abounds with accounts of cities that were destroyed or significantly damaged by natural or anthropogenic disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wildland–urban wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, urban firestorms, terrorist attacks, and armed conflicts. Burgeoning megacities place ever more people in the way of harm from future disasters. In addition to the physical damage
Authors
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Suzette A. Morman, A. Cook

Arsenic-induced biochemical and genotoxic effects and distribution in tissues of Sprague-Dawley rats

Arsenic (As) is a well documented human carcinogen. However, its mechanisms of toxic action and carcinogenic potential in animals have not been conclusive. In this research, we investigated the biochemical and genotoxic effects of As and studied its distribution in selected tissues of Sprague–Dawley rats. Four groups of six male rats, each weighing approximately 60 ± 2 g, were injected intraperito
Authors
Anita K. Patlolla, Todor I. Todorov, Paul B. Tchounwou, Gijsbert van der Voet, Jose A. Centeno

Pyrite–sulfosalt reactions and semimetal fractionation in the Chinkuashih, Taiwan, copper–gold deposit: A 1 Ma paleo-fumarole

The mineralized fracture system that underlay paleo-fumarole field at Chinkuashih, Taiwan has been exposed by copper–gold mining to depths of about 550 m below the paleo-surface. Its mineralogy and systematic variations in metal and semimetal (Fe, Cu, As, Sb, Bi, Hg, Cd, Sn, Zn, Pb, Se, Te, Au, Ag) concentrations provide insights into the chemical responses of a magmatic-vapor phase as it expands
Authors
R.W. Henley, Byron R. Berger