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Research about New Mexico

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including New Mexico.

At least 631 records · Page 35Linked to original sources
USGS1982

Stratigraphic framework and coal correlation of the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation, Bisti-Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah area, San Juan Basin, New Mexico

This report illustrates and describes the detailed stratigraphic framework and coal correlation of the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation exposed in isolated badlands and along washes within a 20-mile outcrop belt in the Bisti-Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah area, southwestern San Juan Basin, Nex Mexico (see index). The stratigraphic framework showing the vertical and lateral distributions of rock types and the lateral continuity of coal beds is illustrated in cross sections. The cross sections were constructed from 112 stratigraphic sections measured at an average distance of 0.4 mi apart. Each section contained key marker beds (sandstone, coal, and tonstein) that were physically traced to adjacent sections. Each measured section was "hung" on multiple marker beds arranged in a geometric best-fit method that accounts for the differential compaction and facies associations of the deposits.

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USGS1982

Map of erosion potential and sediment sources in the Navajo Mine area, San Juan County, New Mexico

This map shows estimated erosion and sediment yields of an area designated for extensive surface mining, in San Juan County, New Mexico. The results of this study are important for the planning of future mining operations and will aid in developing suitable reclamation procedures. In addition, these data will serve as a base line from which a long-term program for determining rates of erosion and deposition could be developed. Such measurements are essential to understanding the impact of surface mining on geomorphic processes affected by extraction of resources form arid lands. The area chosen for the study lies within for 7-1/2-minute quadrangles (The Hogback South, Kirtland SW, Newcomb NE, and The Pillar NW) in the northwest San Juan Basin (figs. 1,2). The area includes five drainage basins covering approximately 200 mi 2 (520 km 2 ) that flow west into the Chaco River (fig. 1). Approximately 41 mi 2 (106 km 2 ) of this area is scheduled for surface mining during the next several years as part of the southern extension of the Navajo Mine.

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USGS1982

Origin of the Mariano Lake uranium deposit, McKinley County, New Mexico

The Mariano Lake uranium deposit, hosted by the Brushy Basin Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation, occurs in the trough of an east-west trending syncline at the western end of the Smith Lake-Mariano Lake group of uranium deposits near Crownpoint, New Mexico. The orebody, which contains abundant amorphous organic material, is situated on the reduced side of a regional reduction-oxidation (redox) interface. The presence of amorphous organic material suggests the orebody may represent a tabular (primary) deposit, whereas the close proximity of the orebody to the redox interface is suggestive that uranium was secondarily redistributed by oxidative processes from pre-existing tabular orebodies. Uranium contents correlate positively with both organic carbon and vanadium contents. Petrographic evidence and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive analyses point to uranium residence in the epigentically introduced amorphous organic material, which coats detrital grains and fills voids. Uranium mineralization was preceded by the following diagenetic alterations: precipitation of pyrite (ẟ 34 S values ranging from-11.0 to-38.2 per mil); precipitation of mixed-layer smectite-illite clays; partial dissolution of some of the detrital feldspar population; and precipitation of quartz and adularia overgrowths. Alterations associated with uranium mineralization include emplacement of amorphous organic material (possibly uranium bearing); destruction of detrital iron-titanium oxide grains; coprecipitation of chlorite and microcrystalline quartz, and precipitation of pyrite and marcasite (ẟ 34 S values for these sulfides ranging from -29.4 to -41.6 per mil). After mineralization, calcite, dolomite, barite, and kaolinite precipitated, and authigenic iron disulfides were replaced by ferric oxides and hydroxides. Geochemical data (primarily the positive correlation of uranium content to both organic carbon and vanadium contents) and petrographic observations (epigentically introduced amorphous organic matter and uranium residence in this organic matter) indicate that the Mariano Lake orebody is a tabular-type uranium deposit. Oxidative processes have not noticeably redistributed and reconcentrated primary uranium in the immediate vicinity of the deposit nor have they greatly modified geochemical characteristics in the ore. Preservation of the Mariano Lake deposit may not only be related to its position along the synclinal trough, where oxidative destruction of the orebody has been inhibited by stagnation of oxidizing ground waters by the structure, but also due to the deflection of ground waters (resulting from low orebody porosity) around the orebody.

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USGS1982

Water resources data, New Mexico, water year 1981

Water resources data for the 1981 water year for New Mexico consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; stage, contents and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 227 gaging stations; stage and contents for 25 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 89 gaging stations, 91 observation wells. Also included are 135 crest-stage partial-record stations .. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements .. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in New Mexico.

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USGS1982

Results of hydrologic tests and water-chemistry analyses, wells H-5A, H-5B, and H-5C, at the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site, southeastern New Mexico

Data were collected during hydrologic testing at wells H-5A, H-5B, and H-5C in the northeastern part of the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in southeastern New Mexico. The three water-bearing zones tested, the Magenta and Culebra Dolomite Members of the Rustler Formation and the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact, yield water to wells at rates less than 0.6 gallon per minute. Throughout the testing, water-pressure response in the tested zone was monitored by a pressure-transducer system. Shut-in and slug tests were conducted to acquire data from which the following values were derived. Dissolved-solids concentrations In water samples were: (1) Magenta Dolomite Member, 6,090 milligrams per liter; (2) Culebra Dolomite Member, 144,000 milligrams per liter; and (3) Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact, 412,000 milligrams per liter. The major chemical constituents of water samples from the Magenta Dolomite Member were sodium and sulfate; from the Culebra Dolomite Member, sodium and chloride; and from the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact, magnesium and chloride. Radium-226, a naturally occurring radioactive element, was present in samples from all three zones.

New Mexico↗
USGS1982

Techniques for estimating flood discharges for unregulated streams in New Mexico

Equations for estimating flood magnitudes at selected recurrence intervals from 2 to 500 years were developed using multiple-regression analyses. These equations relate flood magnitudes to basin characteristics, contributing drainage area and site altitude, and only are applicable to unregulated streams in New Mexico that are relatively unaffected by urban runoff. Estimates of floods at or near gaged sites may be computed with an equation that adjusts discharges developed with the regression equations using station-specific discharges. (USGS)

New Mexico↗
USGS1982

Results of hydrologic tests and water-chemistry analyses, Wells H-6A, H-6B, and H-6C, at the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site, southeastern New Mexico

Hydrologic testing was conducted at wells H-6A, H-6B, and H-6C in the northwestern part of the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in southeastern New Mexico to define hydraulic properties of three water-bearing zones. The zones tested were the Magenta and Culebra Dolomite Members of the Rustler Formation and the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact. The Magenta Dolomite and the Rustler-Salado contact yield water to wells at rates less than 0.5 gallon per minute as determined from shut-in and slug tests. A transmissivity value for the Culebra Dolomite Member was obtained by conducting conventional pumping and recovery tests in well H-6B; this well was pumped at a rate of approximately 11 gallons per minute. Water samples from the Magenta Dolomite Member of the Rustler Formation had a dissolved-solids concentration of 5,760 milligrams per liter. The major chemical constituents of water samples from this zone were sulfate, sodium, and chloride. Water samples from the Culebra Dolomite Member of the Rustler Formation had dissolved-solids concentration of 52,600 milligrams per liter, and samples from the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact had 316,000 milligrams per liter; chloride and sodium were the major constituents in the water samples. Radium-266, a naturally occurring radioactive element, was present in samples from all three zones.

New Mexico↗
USGS1981

The relationship of geophysical measurements to hydraulic conductivity at the Brantley damsite, New Mexico

The objective of this study was to develop techniques to correlate hydraulic conductivity tests with geophysical logs. In addition, the relationships obtained from boreholes were correlated to surface resistivity soundings in an effort to define areas of potential high water loss at the proposed site for Brantley Dam. Hydraulic conductivity obtained from water injection pump tests is correlated with neutron logs. Archie's Law and experimental relationships of neutron logs and cores are used for the quantitative evaluation of resistivity. Average porosity, hydraulic conductivity, and transmissivity are mapped to a depth of 300 ft. based on the geophysical data.

New Mexico↗
USGS1981

An iridium abundance anomaly at the palynological Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in northern New Mexico

An iridium abundance anomaly, with concentrations up to 5000 parts per trillion over a background level of 4 to 20 parts per trillion, has been located in sedimentary rocks laid down under freshwater swamp conditions in the Raton Basin of northeastern New Mexico. The anomaly occurs at the base of a coal bed, at the same stratigraphic position at which several well-known species of Cretaceous-age pollen became extinct.

New Mexico↗
USGS1981

Aeromagnetic map of the El Malpais Instant Study Area and adjacent areas, Valencia County, New Mexico

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (Public Law 94-579, October 21, 1976), requires the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to conduct mineral surveys on certain areas to determine their mineral resource potential. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a mineral survey of the El Malpais Instant Study Area and adjacent areas, Valencia County, New Mexico.

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