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M.D. Carter

Publications and source records attributed to M.D. Carter.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2001

Economic and environmental evaluations of extractable coal resources conducted by the U. S. Geological Survey

The Economic and Environmental Evaluations of Extractable Coal Resources (E4CR) project integrates economic analyses of extractable coal resources with environmental and coal quality considerations in order to better understand the contribution that coal resources can make to help meet the Nation’s future energy needs. The project utilizes coal resource information derived from the recent National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA), National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA), and Coal Availability and Recoverability Studies (CARS) conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and other State and Federal cooperating agencies. The E4CR evaluations are designed to augment economic models created by the U.S. Geological Survey CARS and NCRA projects and by the Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA). E4CR evaluations are conducted on potentially minable coal beds within selected coalfields in the United States. Emphasis is placed on coalfields containing Federally owned coal and within or adjacent to Federal lands, as shown in U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheets 012-98, 145-99, and 011-00 (U.S. Geological Survey, 1998, 1999, 2000). Other considerations for the selection of study areas include coal quality, potential environmental impact of coal production activities and coal utilization, the potential for coalbed methane development from the coal, and projected potential for future mining. Completion dates for the E4CR studies loosely follow the schedule for analogous NOGA studies to allow for a comparison of different energy resources in similar geographic areas.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1977

Slope angle distribution of coal beds with strippable reserves

Slope angles were determined in representative strip mining areas of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey to provide the Strip Mining Task Force, assembled by the Council of Environmental Quality, with data relating to the slope angle distribution of coal beds with strippable reserves. For the purpose of this study, slope determinations were made for 22 counties (table 1), selected by the Strip Mining Task Force, for coal beds known to contain strippable reserves as reported by Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8531, "Strippable Reserves of Bituminous Coal and Lignite in the United States." Available geologic maps that delineated coal bed outcrop lines on a topographic base were utilized for most slope angle determinations and coal resource reports provided additional data concerning the areas likely to contain recoverable coal reserves in the selected beds. The angles of slopes along which these coal beds occur were determined by measuring the spacing of topographic contour lines and were assigned to the appropriate slope categories selected for this purpose by the Strip Mining Task Force as follows: (A) 0-10°, (B) 10°-15°, (C) 15°-20°, (D) 20°-25°, and (E) 25°+. The overall sampling technique and measurement procedure are described in the following section and modification to this approach, necessitated by the availability and distribution of data, are described for each county. A list of source material used in compiling slope angles, slope distribution tables, and histograms are also included for each county.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

The national coal-resources data system of the U.S. geological survey

The National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS) was designed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to meet the increasing demands for rapid retrieval of information on coal location, quantity, quality, and accessibility. An interactive conversational query system devised by the USGS retrieves information from the data bank through a standard computer terminal. The system is being developed in two phases. Phase I, which currently is available on a limited basis, contains published areal resource and chemical data. The primary objective of this phase is to retrieve, calculate, and tabulate coal-resource data by area on a local, regional, or national scale. Factors available for retrieval include: state, county, quadrangle, township, coal field, coal bed, formation, geologic age, source and reliability of data, and coal-bed rank, thickness, overburden, and tonnage, or any combinations of variables. In addition, the chemical data items include individual values for proximate and ultimate analyses, BTU value, and several other physical and chemical tests. Information will be validated and deleted or updated as needed. Phase II is being developed to store, retrieve, and manipulate basic point source coal data (e.g., field observations, drill-hole logs), including geodetic location; bed thickness; depth of burial; moisture; ash; sulfur; major-, minor-, and trace-element content; heat value; and characteristics of overburden, roof rocks, and floor rocks. The computer system may be used to generate interactively structure-contour or isoline maps of the physical and chemical characteristics of a coal bed or to calculate coal resources. ?? 1976.

Computers & Geosciences↗