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Michael Lane

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Lane.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Potomac Tributary Summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985 - 2022

The Potomac Tributary Summary outlines change over time for a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the period of 1985 to 2022, and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface (above pycnocline) total nitrogen (TN), surface total phosphorus (TP), surface water temperature (WTEMP), spring (March-May) and summer (July-September) surface chlorophyll a, summer bottom (below pycnocline) dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, and Secchi disk depth (a measure of water clarity). Results for annual bottom TP, bottom TN, surface ortho-phosphate (PO4), surface dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), surface total suspended solids (TSS), and summer surface DO concentrations are provided in Appendix B. Drivers discussed include physiographic watershed characteristics, changes in TN, TP, and sediment loads from the watershed to tidal waters, expected effects of changing land use, and implementation of nutrient management and natural resource conservation practices. Factors internal to estuarine waters that also play a role as drivers are described including biogeochemical processes, physical forces such as wind driven mixing of the water column and increase in rainfall intensity and volume, and biological factors such as phytoplankton biomass and the presence of submerged aquatic vegetation. Continuing to track water quality response and investigating these influencing factors are important steps to understanding water quality patterns and changes in the Potomac River. The intended audiences for this report include, but are not limited to, 1) technical managers within jurisdictions who are looking at tidal water quality data and trying to understand why patterns are occurring, 2) local watershed organizations that are trying to understand these analyses and working to connect them to their local area(s), and 3) federal, state, and academic researchers. Figure 1 presents a conceptual model highlighting these intended audiences. Our goal is for the Tributary Summary documents to be sources of readily available background for change over time in tidal water quality observed with monitoring data. The intended purpose of the Tributary Summary documents is to help answer questions related to water quality, show how landscape factors drive water quality change over time, provide support for management decisions that may alter water quality trends and living resources conditions, and highlight where there may be information or knowledge gaps.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia↗

Mine and prospect map of the Vermilion Cliffs-Paria Canyon Instant Study Area and adjacent wilderness areas, Coconino County, Arizona, and Kane County, Utah

Vermilion Cliffs-Paria Canyon Instant Study Area and adjacent wilderness areas are mostly in Coconino County Ariz., but extend into Kane County, Utah. The area studied in this report encompasses about 560 mi 2 (1,450 km 2 ). The study area includes the established Paria Canyon Primitive and Vermilion Cliffs Natural Areas between U.S. Highways 89 and 89A.

Arizona, Utah↗

Mineral resource potential map of the Gila-San Francisco Wilderness Study Area, Graham and Greenlee counties, Arizona

The mineral resource potential of the Gila-San Francisco Wilderness Study Area (AZ-040-022/023/024) is low (fig. 2). Although favorable geologic environments for placer gold deposits and manganese vein deposits are present in the study area, the probability of discovering economically exploitable deposits of these metals is low, and not encouraging. Even more speculative is the study area's porphyry copper potential which is based solely on the possibility of favorable host terranes underlying the study area at depth. The study area does contain substantial deposits of pumice, but their economic significance is probably minor. A part of the study area has been previously designated a Known Geothermal Resource Area (KGRA).

Arizona↗

Mineral resource potential map of the lower San Francisco Wilderness study area and contiguous roadless area, Greenlee County, Arizona and Catron and Grant Counties, New Mexico

The Lower San Francisco Wilderness Study Area consists of a narrow strip 1-2 mi (2-3 km) wide between the rims of the San Francisco River canyon. The wilderness study area has a moderately high potential for geothermal resources, a low to moderate potential for base metal or precious metal resources in middle to upper Tertiary volcanic rocks, essentially no oil, gas, or coal potential, and a largely unassessable potential for metal deposits related to Laramide igneous intrusions in pre-Tertiary or lower Tertiary rocks that underlie the area. The contiguous roadless area, which borders the New Mexico half of the wilderness study area, mainly on the north side of the San Francisco River, has a low to moderate potential for molybdenum or copper deposits related to intrusive igneous rocks in the core of a volcano of dacitic composition at Goat Basin.

Arizona, New Mexico↗

Mineral resource potential map of the Vermilion Cliffs-Paria Canyon instant study area, Coconino County, Arizona, and Kane County, Utah

In general, the mineral potential of the study area is low; in the past the area has yielded only several hundred tons of uranium ore, and there have been a number of unsuccessful efforts to produce gold. The generally small uraniferous deposits are in the Chinle Formation, mostly in the basal Shinarump Member, and mostly on the east side of the Paria Plateau. To the south and west, around the plateau, the Shinarump host rock pinches out or is present in only a few places, and the same relationships are likely below the plateau, where the host rocks are deeply buried, from 1,500 to 3,000 ft below the surface. These factors suggest the total uranium-copper-vanadium-silver potential to be very low. Gold and mercury occur in very low concentrations in the clayey units of the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle. Gold concentrations are 40 ppb and less, and the gold is present in very fine particles; recovery is very difficult. Overall, the mercury concentrations are so low that no realistic mineral resource potential can be estimated. Nonmetallic mineral materials of possible value include limestone, flagstone, clay, and gravel, but they are of only local interest. No oil or gas resources are known in the study area. Coal resources within the area are nonexistent, but the Dakota Sandstone does contain coaly beds a few miles to the north. Water is perhaps the most significant resource needed in the study area. A number of perennial springs support the few local ranchers and tourist facilities. Some ground water would be available below the plateau, but drilling depths would be more than 2,000 ft (600-700 m).

Arizona↗

Preliminary report on the mineral resources of the Powderhorn Instant study area, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties, Colorado

The Powderhorn Instant Study Area covers approximately 51,000 acres of land under BLM administration located about 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Gunnison, Colorado. A mineral resource survey, made in 1979 by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines, indicates that both the mineral potential and the energy potential for the Powderhorn Instant Study Area are low. This report is based on geologic and geochemical investigations, examination of prospects, and an aeromagnetic survey. Spectrographic analyses were made of approximately 120 stream-sediment and rock samples. No mining districts are located within the study area.

Colorado↗