Publications
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Assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of Armenia, 2014
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 1 million barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and 6 billion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional natural gas in Armenia.
Authors
Timothy R. Klett, Christopher J. Schenk, Craig J. Wandrey, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Donald L. Gautier
Mantle peridotite in newly discovered far-inland subduction complex, southwest Arizona: Initial report
The latest Cretaceous to early Palaeogene Orocopia Schist and related units are generally considered a low-angle subduction complex that underlies much of southern California and Arizona. A recently discovered exposure of Orocopia Schist at Cemetery Ridge west of Phoenix, Arizona, lies exceptionally far inland from the continental margin. Unexpectedly, this body of Orocopia Schist contains numerou
Authors
Gordon B. Haxel, Carl E. Jacobson, James H. Wittke
Interpretations of evidence for large Pleistocene paleolakes in the Bonneville basin, western North America: COMMENT on: Bonneville basin shoreline records of large lake intervals during marine isotope stage 3 and the last glacial maximum, by Nishizawa et
Nishizawa et al. (2013) argue in support of three large paleolakes in the Bonneville basin during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3). If true, that would be an important contribution to paleoclimate investigations. However, the key evidence in support of their argument consists of four radiocarbon ages that are out of stratigraphic order and near the practical and theoretical limit of the datin
Authors
Charles G. Oviatt, Margorie A. Chan, Paul W. Jewell, Bruce G. Bills, David B. Madsen, David M. Miller
A mechanistic modeling and data assimilation framework for Mojave Desert ecohydrology
This study demonstrates and addresses challenges in coupled ecohydrological modeling in deserts, which arise due to unique plant adaptations, marginal growing conditions, slow net primary production rates, and highly variable rainfall. We consider model uncertainty from both structural and parameter errors and present a mechanistic model for the shrub Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) under condit
Authors
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, David Bedford, David M. Miller
Re-Os geochronology and Os isotope fingerprinting of petroleum sourced from a Type I lacustrine kerogen: insights from the natural Green River petroleum system in the Uinta Basin and hydrous pyrolysis experiments
Rhenium–osmium (Re–Os) geochronology of marine petroleum systems has allowed the determination of the depositional age of source rocks as well as the timing of petroleum generation. In addition, Os isotopes have been applied as a fingerprinting tool to correlate oil to its source unit. To date, only classic marine petroleum systems have been studied. Here we present Re–Os geochronology and Os isot
Authors
Vivien M. Cumming, David Selby, Paul G. Lillis, Michael D. Lewan
Suspected microbial-induced sedimentary structures (MISS) in Furongian (Upper Cambrian; Jiangshanian, Sunwaptan) strata of the Upper Mississippi Valley
The Furongian (Upper Cambrian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan) Tunnel City Group (Lone Rock Formation and Mazomanie Formation), exposed in Wisconsin and Minnesota, represents a shallow-marine clastic environment during a time of exceptionally high sea level. Lithofacies from shoreface to transitional-offshore settings document deposition in a wave- and storm-dominated sea. Flooding of the cratonic int
Authors
Jennifer D. Eoff
Preliminary bedrock and surficial geologic map of the west half of the Sanders 30' x 60' quadrangle, Navajo and Apache Counties, northern Arizona
The bedrock and surficial geologic map of the west half of the Sanders 30' x 60' quadrangle was completed in a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Navajo Nation to provide regional geologic information for management and planning officials. This report provides baseline geologic information that will be useful in future studies of groundwater and surface water resources
Authors
Lee Amoroso, Susan S. Priest, Margaret Hiza-Redsteer
Geologic history of Siletzia, a large igneous province in the Oregon and Washington Coast Range: Correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale and implications for a long-lived Yellowstone hotspot
Siletzia is a basaltic Paleocene and Eocene large igneous province in coastal Oregon, Washington, and southern Vancouver Island that was accreted to North America in the early Eocene. New U-Pb magmatic, detrital zircon, and 40Ar/39Ar ages constrained by detailed field mapping, global nannoplankton zones, and magnetic polarities allow correlation of the volcanics with the 2012 geologic time scale.
Authors
Ray Wells, David Bukry, Richard Friedman, Douglas Pyle, Robert Duncan, Peter J. Haeussler, Joe Wooden
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
Formation temperatures of thermogenic and biogenic methane
Methane is an important greenhouse gas and energy resource generated dominantly by methanogens at low temperatures and through the breakdown of organic molecules at high temperatures. However, methane-formation temperatures in nature are often poorly constrained. We measured formation temperatures of thermogenic and biogenic methane using a “clumped isotope” technique. Thermogenic gases yield form
Authors
D.A. Stolper, M. Lawson, C.L. Davis, A.A. Ferreira, E. V. Santos Neto, G.S. Ellis, M. D. Lewan, Anna M. Martini, Y. Tang, M. Schoell, A.L. Sessions, J.M. Eiler
Standardization of vitrinite reflectance measurements in shale petroleum systems: How accurate are my Ro data?
Vitrinite reflectance generally is considered the most robust thermal maturity parameter available for application to hydrocarbon exploration and petroleum system evaluation. However, until 2011 there was no standardized methodology available to provide guidelines for vitrinite reflectance measurements in shale. Efforts to correct this deficiency resulted in publication of ASTM D7708-11: Standard
Authors
Paul C. Hackley
Steady incision of Grand Canyon at the million year timeframe: A case for mantle-driven differential uplift
The Grand Canyon region provides an excellent laboratory to examine the interplay between river incision, magmatism, and the geomorphic and tectonic processes that shape landscapes. Here we apply U-series, Ar–Ar, and cosmogenic burial dating of river terraces to examine spatial variations in incision rates along the 445 km length of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. We also analyze strath t
Authors
Ryan S. Crow, Karl Karlstrom, Andrew Darling, Laura Crossey, Victor Polyak, Darryl E. Granger, Yemane Asmerom, Brandon Schmandt
Histograms showing variations in oil yield, water yield, and specific gravity of oil from Fischer assay analyses of oil-shale drill cores and cuttings from the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado
Recent studies indicate that the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado contains over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in place, making the basin the largest known oil-shale deposit in the world. Previously published histograms display oil-yield variations with depth and widely correlate rich and lean oil-shale beds and zones throughout the basin. Histograms in this report display oil-yield data plott
Authors
John D. Dietrich, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald C. Johnson, Tracey J. Mercier