Publications
Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Energy and Mineral scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.
Filter Total Items: 1168
Clockwise rotation and implications for northward drift of the western Transverse Ranges from paleomagnetism of the Piuma Member, Sespe Formation, near Malibu, California
New paleomagnetic results from mid-Tertiary sedimentary beds in the Santa Monica Mountains reinforce the evidence for large-scale rotation of the western Transverse Ranges, and anisotropy measurements indicate that compaction-induced inclination flattening may resolve a long-standing controversy regarding the original paleolatitude of the rotated block. Previously published paleomagnetic data indi
Authors
John W. Hillhouse
Preliminary Aeromagnetic Map of Joshua Tree National Park and Vicinity, Southern California
This aeromagnetic map of Joshua Tree National Park and vicinity is intended to promote further understanding of the geology and structure in the region by serving as a basis for geophysical interpretations and by supporting geological mapping, water-resource investigations, and various topical studies. Local spatial variations in the Earth's magnetic field (evident as anomalies on aeromagnetic map
Authors
V. E. Langenheim, P. L. Hill
Geologic map of Lake Mead and surrounding regions, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona
Regional stratigraphic units and structural features of the Lake Mead region are presented as a 1:250,000 scale map, and as a Geographic Information System database. The map, which was compiled from existing geologic maps of various scales, depicts geologic units, bedding and foliation attitudes, faults and folds. Units and structural features were generalized to highlight the regional stratigraph
Authors
Tracey J. Felger, Sue Beard
The upper crust on its side---Steeply tilted slabs in the basin and range
No abstract available.
Authors
Keith A. Howard
Aggregation methodology for the circum-arctic resource appraisal
This paper presents a methodology that intends to aggregate the results of a recent assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Arctic by the U.S. Geological Survey. The assessment occurred in 48 geologically defined regions called assessment units. The methodology includes using assessor specified pair-wise correlations as the basis to construct a correlation matrix. Samp
Authors
John H. Schuenemeyer, Donald L. Gautier
Stratigraphy, age, and depositional setting of the Miocene Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, central Mojave Desert, California
New detailed geologic mapping and geochronology of the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, 30 km east of Barstow, CA, help to constrain Miocene paleogeography and tectonics of the central Mojave Desert. A northern strand of the Quaternary ENE-striking, sinistral Manix fault divides the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill into two distinct lithologic assemblages. Strata north of the fault consist of:
Authors
Shannon R. Leslie, David M. Miller, Joseph L. Wooden, Jorge A. Vazquez
Correlation of the Miocene Peach Spring Tuff with the geomagnetic polarity time scale and new constraints on tectonic rotations in the Mojave Desert, California
We report new paleomagnetic results and 40Ar/39Ar ages from the Peach Spring Tuff (PST), a key marker bed that occurs in the desert region between Barstow, California, and Peach Springs, Arizona. The 40Ar/39Ar ages were determined using individual hand-picked sanidine crystals from ash-flow specimens used in previous paleomagnetic studies at eight sites correlated by mineralogy, stratigraphic posi
Authors
John W. Hillhouse, David M. Miller, Brent D. Turrin
By
Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Geomagnetism Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: Implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert
Early to middle Miocene lacustrine strata of the Barstow Formation are well dated in just a few places, limiting our ability to infer basin evolution and regional tectonics. At the type section in the Mud Hills, previous studies have shown that the lacustrine interval of the Barstow Formation is between ~16.3 Ma and ~13.4 Ma. Elsewhere, lake beds of the Barstow Formation have yielded vertebrate fo
Authors
David M. Miller, Shannon R. Leslie, John W. Hillhouse, Joseph L. Wooden, Jorge A. Vazquez, R. E. Reynolds
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Volcano Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Molybdenum-A Key Component of Metal Alloys
Molybdenum, whose chemical symbol is Mo, was first recognized as an element in 1778. Until that time, the mineral molybdenite-the most important source of molybdenum-was believed to be a lead mineral because of its metallic gray color, greasy feel, and softness. In the late 19th century, French metallurgists discovered that molybdenum, when alloyed (mixed) with steel in small quantities, creates a
Authors
S. J. Kropschot
The Quaternary Silver Creek Fault Beneath the Santa Clara Valley, California
The northwest-trending Silver Creek Fault is a 40-km-long strike-slip fault in the eastern Santa Clara Valley, California, that has exhibited different behaviors within a changing San Andreas Fault system over the past 10-15 Ma. Quaternary alluvium several hundred meters thick that buries the northern half of the Silver Creek Fault, and that has been sampled by drilling and imaged in a detailed se
Authors
Carl M. Wentworth, Robert A. Williams, Robert C. Jachens, Russell W. Graymer, William J. Stephenson
The Mt. Lewis fault zone: Tectonic implications for eastern San Francisco Bay
No abstract available
Authors
Janet Watt, David A. Ponce, Robert W. Simpson, Russell W. Graymer, Robert C. Jachens, Carl M. Wentworth
Algal blooms and "Marine snow": Mechanisms that enhance preservation of organic carbon in ancient fine-grained sediments
Combined petrographic and geochemical methods are used to investigate the microfabrics present in thin sections prepared from representative organic carbon-rich mudstones collected from three successions (the Kimmeridge Clay Formation, the Jet Rock Member of the Whitby Mudstone Formation, and the pebble shale and Hue Shale). This study was initiated to determine how organic carbon-rich materials w
Authors
Joe H.S. Macquaker, Margaret A. Keller, Sarah J. Davies