William H. Orem, Ph.D.
William Orem (Bill), Ph.D. is a Supervisory Research Chemist (Geochemist) and Principal Investigator with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Professional Experience
Research Chemist, U.S. Geological Survey (1984-present)
Adjunct Faculty, University of Maryland, Department of Geology (1982-1992)
National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate (1982-1984)
Education and Certifications
B.S. Chemistry, Lehigh University
M.S. Oceanography, University of Delaware
Ph.D. Chemistry, University of New Hampshire
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 129
Particulate, colloidal, and dissolved-phase associations of plutonium, americium, and uranium in water samples from well 1587 and surface-water sites SW-51 and SW-53 at the Rocky Flats Plant, Colorado
No abstract available.
Authors
R.A. Harnish, Diane M. McKnight, J. F. Ranville, V. C. Stephens, W. H. Orem
AMS radiocarbon analyses from Lake Baikal, Siberia: Challenges of dating sediments from a large, oligotrophic lake
A suite of 146 new accelerator-mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon ages provides the first reliable chronology for late Quaternary sediments in Lake Baikal. In this large, highly oligotrophic lake, biogenic and authigenic carbonate are absent, and plant macrofossils are extremely rare. Total organic carbon is therefore the primary material available for dating. Several problems are associated with
Authors
Steven M. Colman, Glenn A. Jones, M. Rubin, J.W. King, J.A. Peck, W. H. Orem
Assessing the coal resources of the United States
In 1994, coal production in the United States reached the highest level in history (slightly more than 909 million metric tons or one billion short tons), continuing the upward trend of coal production and utilization that began 34 years ago. Previous assessments of the coal resources of the United States, which were completed as early as 1909, clearly indicated that the total coal resources of th
Authors
Harold J. Gluskoter, R. M. Flores, J. Hatch, M.A. Kirschbaum, L.F. Ruppert, Peter D. Warwick
Geochemical and palynological indicators of the paleoecology of the River Gem coal bed, Whitley County, Kentucky
The River Gem coal bed (upper Westphalian A) was sampled at five sites in a single mine in Whitley County, Kentucky. Previous petrographic and sulfur analyses of the collected interval samples showed that the coal bed could be divided into a basal low-sulfur lithotype, a middle high-sulfur bone lithotype and an upper high-sulfur lithotype. At one location a high-sulfur rider unit is present. In th
Authors
J.C. Hower, L.F. Ruppert, C.F. Eble, U.M. Graham
Differentiation of volcanic ash-fall and water-borne detrital layers in the Eocene Senakin coal bed, Tanjung Formation, Indonesia
The Sangsang deposit of the Eocene Senakin coal bed, Tanjung Formation, southeastern Kalimantan, Indonesia, contains 11 layers, which are thin ( 70%). These layers are characterized by their pelitic macroscopic texture. Examination of eight of the layers by scanning-electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction analyses show that they are composed primarily of fairly well-cry
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, T.A. Moore
Factors affecting the geochemistry of a thick, subbituminous coal bed in the Powder River Basin: volcanic, detrital, and peat-forming processes
The inorganic geochemistry and mineralogy of three cores from the Anderson-Dietz 1 coal bed, a 15.2-m-thick subbituminous coal bed in the Tongue River Member (Paleocene) of the Fort Union Formation, were examined (1) to determine if the cores could be correlated by geochemical composition alone over a total distance of 2 km and (2) to identify the major factors that influenced the geochemistry of
Authors
S.S. Crowley, L.F. Ruppert, H. E. Belkin, R.W. Stanton, T.A. Moore
Speciation and isotopic composition of sulfur in sediments from Jellyfish Lake, Palau
Jellyfish Lake, Palau, is a meromictic marine lake with high organic productivity, low reactive Fe content, and anoxic bottom waters. Sediment samples from Jellyfish Lake were examined for the distribution of sulfur species and their isotopic signatures in order to gain a better understanding of sedimentary sulfur incorporation in Fe-poor environments. Surface samples were taken along a transect f
Authors
A. L. Bates, E.C. Spiker, W. H. Orem, W. C. Burnett
An unusual occurrence of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed, West-Central Pennsylvania
Scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis were used to identify a rare type of As-bearing pyrite in selected specific gravity separates from the Pennsylvanian age Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania. Arsenic was detected mainly in cell-wall replacement pyrite where concentrations ranged from nondetectable to 1.9 wt %. Although the majority of arsenic-bearing pyri
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, J.A. Minkin, J. J. McGee, C. B. Cecil
Jellyfish Lake, Palau: early diagenesis of organic matter in sediments of an anoxic marine lake
The major postdepositional change in the sedimentary organic matter is carbohydrate biodegradation. Lignin and aliphatic substances are preserved in the sediments. Dissolved organic matter in pore waters is primarily composed of carbohydrates, reflecting the degradation of sedimentary carbohydrates. Rate constants for organic carbon degradation and sulfate reduction in sediments of the lake are ab
Authors
W. H. Orem, W. C. Burnett, W.M. Landing, W.B. Lyons, W. Showers
Volcanic ash dispersed in the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed, Powder River Basin, Wyoming
Minerals derived from air-fall volcanic ash were found in two zones in the upper Paleocene Wyodak-Anderson coal bed of the Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, and are the first reported evidence of such volcanic material in this thick (> 20 m) coal bed. The volcanic minerals occur in zones that are not visually obvious because they contain little or no clay. These zones were
Authors
Don M. Triplehorn, R.W. Stanton, L.F. Ruppert, S.S. Crowley
Effects of detrital influx in the Pennsylvanian Upper Freeport peat swamp
Quartz cathodoluminescence properties and mineralogy of three sets of samples and vegetal and/ or miospore data from two sets of samples from the Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, show that detrital influence from a penecontemporaneous channel is limited to an area less than three km from the channel. The sets of samples examined include localities of the coal bed where (1) the c
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, R.W. Stanton, C.Blaine Cecil, C.F. Eble, F.T. Dulong
Organic matter in hydrothermal metal ores and hydrothermal fluids
Massive polymetallic sulfides are currently being deposited around active submarine hydrothermal vents associated with spreading centers. Chemoautolithotrophic bacteria are responsible for the high production of organic matter also associated with modern submarine hydrothermal activity. Thus, there is a significant potential for organic matter/metal interactions in these systems. We have studied m
Authors
W. H. Orem, E.C. Spiker, R. K. Kotra
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 129
Particulate, colloidal, and dissolved-phase associations of plutonium, americium, and uranium in water samples from well 1587 and surface-water sites SW-51 and SW-53 at the Rocky Flats Plant, Colorado
No abstract available.
Authors
R.A. Harnish, Diane M. McKnight, J. F. Ranville, V. C. Stephens, W. H. Orem
AMS radiocarbon analyses from Lake Baikal, Siberia: Challenges of dating sediments from a large, oligotrophic lake
A suite of 146 new accelerator-mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon ages provides the first reliable chronology for late Quaternary sediments in Lake Baikal. In this large, highly oligotrophic lake, biogenic and authigenic carbonate are absent, and plant macrofossils are extremely rare. Total organic carbon is therefore the primary material available for dating. Several problems are associated with
Authors
Steven M. Colman, Glenn A. Jones, M. Rubin, J.W. King, J.A. Peck, W. H. Orem
Assessing the coal resources of the United States
In 1994, coal production in the United States reached the highest level in history (slightly more than 909 million metric tons or one billion short tons), continuing the upward trend of coal production and utilization that began 34 years ago. Previous assessments of the coal resources of the United States, which were completed as early as 1909, clearly indicated that the total coal resources of th
Authors
Harold J. Gluskoter, R. M. Flores, J. Hatch, M.A. Kirschbaum, L.F. Ruppert, Peter D. Warwick
Geochemical and palynological indicators of the paleoecology of the River Gem coal bed, Whitley County, Kentucky
The River Gem coal bed (upper Westphalian A) was sampled at five sites in a single mine in Whitley County, Kentucky. Previous petrographic and sulfur analyses of the collected interval samples showed that the coal bed could be divided into a basal low-sulfur lithotype, a middle high-sulfur bone lithotype and an upper high-sulfur lithotype. At one location a high-sulfur rider unit is present. In th
Authors
J.C. Hower, L.F. Ruppert, C.F. Eble, U.M. Graham
Differentiation of volcanic ash-fall and water-borne detrital layers in the Eocene Senakin coal bed, Tanjung Formation, Indonesia
The Sangsang deposit of the Eocene Senakin coal bed, Tanjung Formation, southeastern Kalimantan, Indonesia, contains 11 layers, which are thin ( 70%). These layers are characterized by their pelitic macroscopic texture. Examination of eight of the layers by scanning-electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction analyses show that they are composed primarily of fairly well-cry
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, T.A. Moore
Factors affecting the geochemistry of a thick, subbituminous coal bed in the Powder River Basin: volcanic, detrital, and peat-forming processes
The inorganic geochemistry and mineralogy of three cores from the Anderson-Dietz 1 coal bed, a 15.2-m-thick subbituminous coal bed in the Tongue River Member (Paleocene) of the Fort Union Formation, were examined (1) to determine if the cores could be correlated by geochemical composition alone over a total distance of 2 km and (2) to identify the major factors that influenced the geochemistry of
Authors
S.S. Crowley, L.F. Ruppert, H. E. Belkin, R.W. Stanton, T.A. Moore
Speciation and isotopic composition of sulfur in sediments from Jellyfish Lake, Palau
Jellyfish Lake, Palau, is a meromictic marine lake with high organic productivity, low reactive Fe content, and anoxic bottom waters. Sediment samples from Jellyfish Lake were examined for the distribution of sulfur species and their isotopic signatures in order to gain a better understanding of sedimentary sulfur incorporation in Fe-poor environments. Surface samples were taken along a transect f
Authors
A. L. Bates, E.C. Spiker, W. H. Orem, W. C. Burnett
An unusual occurrence of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed, West-Central Pennsylvania
Scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis were used to identify a rare type of As-bearing pyrite in selected specific gravity separates from the Pennsylvanian age Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania. Arsenic was detected mainly in cell-wall replacement pyrite where concentrations ranged from nondetectable to 1.9 wt %. Although the majority of arsenic-bearing pyri
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, J.A. Minkin, J. J. McGee, C. B. Cecil
Jellyfish Lake, Palau: early diagenesis of organic matter in sediments of an anoxic marine lake
The major postdepositional change in the sedimentary organic matter is carbohydrate biodegradation. Lignin and aliphatic substances are preserved in the sediments. Dissolved organic matter in pore waters is primarily composed of carbohydrates, reflecting the degradation of sedimentary carbohydrates. Rate constants for organic carbon degradation and sulfate reduction in sediments of the lake are ab
Authors
W. H. Orem, W. C. Burnett, W.M. Landing, W.B. Lyons, W. Showers
Volcanic ash dispersed in the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed, Powder River Basin, Wyoming
Minerals derived from air-fall volcanic ash were found in two zones in the upper Paleocene Wyodak-Anderson coal bed of the Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, and are the first reported evidence of such volcanic material in this thick (> 20 m) coal bed. The volcanic minerals occur in zones that are not visually obvious because they contain little or no clay. These zones were
Authors
Don M. Triplehorn, R.W. Stanton, L.F. Ruppert, S.S. Crowley
Effects of detrital influx in the Pennsylvanian Upper Freeport peat swamp
Quartz cathodoluminescence properties and mineralogy of three sets of samples and vegetal and/ or miospore data from two sets of samples from the Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, show that detrital influence from a penecontemporaneous channel is limited to an area less than three km from the channel. The sets of samples examined include localities of the coal bed where (1) the c
Authors
L.F. Ruppert, R.W. Stanton, C.Blaine Cecil, C.F. Eble, F.T. Dulong
Organic matter in hydrothermal metal ores and hydrothermal fluids
Massive polymetallic sulfides are currently being deposited around active submarine hydrothermal vents associated with spreading centers. Chemoautolithotrophic bacteria are responsible for the high production of organic matter also associated with modern submarine hydrothermal activity. Thus, there is a significant potential for organic matter/metal interactions in these systems. We have studied m
Authors
W. H. Orem, E.C. Spiker, R. K. Kotra