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Publications

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A time-lapse gravity survey of the Coso geothermal field, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, California

We have conducted a gravity survey of the Coso geothermal field to continue the time-lapse gravity study of the area initiated in 1991. In this report, we outline a method of processing the gravity data that minimizes the random errors and instrument bias introduced into the data by the Scintrex CG-5 relative gravimeters that were used. After processing, the standard deviation of the data was esti
Authors
Geoffrey Phelps, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Kelly Blake

Assessment of continuous gas resources in the Phosphoria Formation of the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 198 billion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Phosphoria Formation of the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Janet K. Pitman, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Phuong A. Le, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller

Department of the Interior metadata implementation guide—Framework for developing the metadata component for data resource management

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Federal agency with over 90,000 employees across 10 bureaus and 8 agency offices. Its primary mission is to protect and manage the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and honor its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated i
Authors
Raymond C. Obuch, Jennifer Carlino, Lin Zhang, Jonathan Blythe, Christopher Dietrich, Christine Hawkinson

Experimental investigation of the role of rock fabric in gas generation and expulsion during thermal maturation: Anhydrous closed-system pyrolysis of a bitumen-rich Eagle Ford Shale

Gold-tube pyrolysis experiments were conducted on miniature core plugs and powdered rock from a bitumen-rich sample of Eagle Ford Shale to investigate the role of rock fabric in gas generation and expulsion during thermal maturation. The samples were isothermally heated at 130, 300, 310, 333, 367, 400, and 425 °C for 72 h under a confining pressure of 68.0 MPa, corresponding to six levels of induc
Authors
Deyong Shao, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Yanfang Li, Tongwei Zhang

Evolution of sulfur speciation in bitumen through hydrous pyrolysis induced thermal maturation of Jordanian Ghareb Formation oil shale

Previous studies on the distribution of bulk sulfur species in bitumen before and after artificial thermal maturation using various pyrolysis methods have indicated that the quantities of reactive (sulfide, sulfoxide) and thermally stable (thiophene) sulfur moieties change following consistent trends under increasing thermal stress. These trends show that sulfur distributions change during maturat
Authors
Justin E. Birdwell, Michael Lewan, Kyle D. Bake, Trudy B. Bolin, Paul R. Craddock, Julia C. Forsythe, Andrew E. Pomerantz

New geologic mapping of the northwestern Willamette Valley, Oregon, and its American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)—A foundation for understanding their terroir

A geologic map of the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area is planned that will document the region’s complex geology (currently in review: “Geologic map of the greater Portland metropolitan area and surrounding region, Oregon and Washington,” by Wells, R.E., Haugerud, R.A., Niem, A., Niem, W., Ma, L., Evarts, R., Madin, I., and others). The map, which is planned to be published as a U.S. G
Authors
Ray E. Wells, Ralph A. Haugerud, Alan Niem, Wendy Niem, Lina Ma, Ian Madin, Russell C. Evarts

Disentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity

One of the primary goals of biological assessment of streams is to identify which of a suite of chemical stressors is limiting their ecological potential. Elevated metal concentrations in streams are often associated with low pH, yet the effects of these two potentially limiting factors of freshwater biodiversity are rarely considered to interact beyond the effects of pH on metal speciation. Using
Authors
Riccardo Fornaroli, Alessio Ippolito, Mari J. Tolkkinen, Heikki Mykrä, Timo Muotka, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Travis S. Schmidt

James Dwight Dana and John Strong Newberry in the US Pacific Northwest: The roots of American fluvialism

Recognition of the power of rivers to carve landscapes transformed geology and geomorphology in the late nineteenth century. Wide acceptance of this concept—then known as “fluvialism”—owes to many factors and people, several associated with exploration of western North America. Especially famous are the federal geographic and geologic surveys of the US Southwest with John Wesley Powell and Grove K
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor

Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville flood

At approximately 18.0 ka, pluvial Lake Bonneville reached its maximum level. At its northeastern extent it was impounded by alluvium of the Marsh Creek Fan, which breached at some point north of Red Rock Pass (Idaho), leading to one of the largest floods on Earth. About 5320 km3 of water was discharged into the Snake River drainage and ultimately into the Columbia River. We use a 0D model and a 2D
Authors
José M. Abril-Hernández, Raúl Periáñez, Jim E. O'Connor, Daniel Garcia-Castellanos

Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence

Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow range of oxi
Authors
Duane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth

Middle Pleistocene infill of Hinkley Valley by Mojave River sediment and associated lake sediment: Depositional architecture and deformation by strike-slip faults

Hinkley Valley in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow about 140 km northeast of Los Angeles and midway between Victorville Valley and the Lake Manix basin, contains a thick sedimentary sequence delivered by the Mojave River. Our study of sediment cores drilled in the valley indicates that Hinkley Valley was probably a closed playa basin with stream inflow from four directions prior to Mojave River inf
Authors
David M. Miller, Elizabeth Haddon, Victoria E. Langenheim, Andrew J. Cyr, Elmira Wan, Laura Walkup, Scott W. Starratt

A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era

This study presents a synthesis of century-scale hydroclimate variations in North America for the Common Era (last 2000 years) using new age models of previously published multiple proxy-based paleoclimate data. This North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) examines regional hydroclimate patterns and related environmental indicators, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream flow and
Authors
Jessica R. Rodysill, Lesleigh Anderson, Thomas M. Cronin, Miriam C. Jones, Robert S. Thompson, David B. Wahl, Debra A. Willard, Jason A. Addison, Jay R. Alder, Katherine H. Anderson, Lysanna Anderson, John A. Barron, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Steven W. Hostetler, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Nicole Khan, Julie N. Richey, Scott W. Starratt, Laura E. Strickland, Michael Toomey, Claire C. Treat, G. Lynn Wingard