USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Open File Report”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources

Geologic map of the Cook Inlet region, Alaska, including parts of the Talkeetna, Talkeetna Mountains, Tyonek, Anchorage, Lake Clark, Kenai, Seward, Iliamna, Seldovia, Mount Katmai, and Afognak 1:250,000-scale quadrangles

In 1976, L.B. Magoon, W.L. Adkinson, and R.M. Egbert published a major geologic map of the Cook Inlet region, which has served well as a compilation of existing information and a guide for future research and mapping. The map in this report updates Magoon and others (1976) and incorporates new and additional mapping and interpretation. This map is also a revision of areas of overlap with the geologic map completed for central Alaska (Wilson and others, 1998). Text from that compilation remains appropriate and is summarized here; many compromises have been made in strongly held beliefs to allow construction of this compilation. Yet our willingness to make interpretations and compromises does not allow resolution of all mapping conflicts. Nonetheless, we hope that geologists who have mapped in this region will recognize that, in incorporating their work, our regional correlations may have required some generalization or lumping of map units. Many sources were used to produce this geologic map and, in most cases, data from available maps were combined, without generalization, and new data were added where available. A preliminary version of this map was published as U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009–1108. The main differences between the versions concern revised mapping of surfical deposits in the northern and eastern parts of the map area. Minor error corrections have been made also.

Alaska↗

Water resources data, Iowa, water year 2001, Volume 2. surface water--Missouri River basin, and ground water

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, county, municipal, and other Federal agencies, obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Iowa each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make this data readily available to interested parties outside of the Geological Survey, the data is published annually in this report series entitled “Water Resources Data - Iowa” as part of the National Water Data System. Water resources data for water year 2001 for Iowa consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality of ground water. This report, in two volumes, contains stage or discharge records for 132 gaging stations; stage records for 9 lakes and reservoirs; water-quality records for 4 gaging stations; sediment records for 13 gaging stations; and water levels for 163 ground-water observation wells. Also included are peak-flow data for 92 crest-stage partial-record stations, water-quality data from 86 municipal wells, and precipitation data collected at 6 gaging stations and 2 precipitation sites. Additional water data were collected at various sites not included in the systematic data-collection program, and are published here as miscellaneous measurements and analyses. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating local, State, and Federal agencies in Iowa. Records of discharge or stage of streams, and contents or stage of lakes and reservoirs were first published in a series of U.S. Geological Survey water-supply papers entitled “Surface Water Supply of the United States.” Through September 30, 1960, these water-supply papers were published in an annual series; during 1961-65 and 1966-70, they were published in 5- year series. Records of chemical quality, water temperatures, and suspended sediment were published from 1941 to 1970 in an annual series of water-supply papers entitled “Quality of Surface Waters of the United States.” Records of ground-water levels were published from 1935 to 1974 in a series of water-supply papers entitled “Ground-Water Levels in the United States.” Water-supply papers may be consulted in the libraries of the principal cities in the United States, or they may be purchased from Books and Open-File Reports Section, Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, Colorado 80225. For water years 1961 through 1970, streamflow data were released by the Geological Survey in annual reports on a State-boundary basis. Water-quality records for water years 1964 through 1970 were similarly released either in separate reports or in conjunction with streamflow records. Beginning with the 1971 water year, water data for streamflow, water quality, and ground water is published in official U.S. Geological Survey reports on a State-boundary basis. These official reports carry an identification number consisting of the two-letter State postal abbreviation, the last two digits of the water year, and the volume number. For example, this report is identified as “U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report IA-01-1.” These water-data reports are for sale by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22161.

Iowa↗

Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3): North polar region (MC-1) distribution, applications, and volume estimates

The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD 3 ) now extends from 90°N to 65°S. The recently released north polar portion (MC‐1) of MGD 3 adds ~844 000 km 2 of moderate‐ to large‐size dark dunes to the previously released equatorial portion (MC‐2 to MC‐29) of the database. The database, available in GIS‐ and tabular‐format in USGS Open‐File Reports, makes it possible to examine global dune distribution patterns and to compare dunes with other global data sets (e.g. atmospheric models). MGD 3 can also be used by researchers to identify areas suitable for more focused studies. The utility of MGD 3 is demonstrated through three example applications. First, the uneven geographic distribution of the dunes is discussed and described. Second, dune‐derived wind direction and its role as ground truth for atmospheric models is reviewed. Comparisons between dune‐derived winds and global and mesoscale atmospheric models suggest that local topography may have an important influence on dune‐forming winds. Third, the methods used here to estimate north polar dune volume are presented and these methods and estimates (1130 km 3 to 3250 km 3 ) are compared with those of previous researchers (1158 km 3 to 15 000 km 3 ). In the near future, MGD 3 will be extended to include the south polar region.

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms↗

Studying geodesy and earthquake hazard in and around the New Madrid Seismic Zone

Workshop on New Madrid Geodesy and the Challenges of Understanding Intraplate Earthquakes; Norwood, Massachusetts, 4 March 2011 Twenty-six researchers gathered for a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and FM Global to discuss geodesy in and around the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) and its relation to earthquake hazards. The group addressed the challenge of reconciling current geodetic measurements, which show low present-day surface strain rates, with paleoseismic evidence of recent, relatively frequent, major earthquakes in the region. The workshop presentations and conclusions will be available in a forthcoming USGS open-file report (http://pubs.usgs.gov).

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗

Regional surficial geochemistry of the northern Great Basin

The regional distribution of arsenic and 20 other elements in stream-sediment samples in northern Nevada and southeastern Oregon was studied in order to gain new insights about the geologic framework and patterns of hydrothermal mineralization in the area. Data were used from 10,261 samples that were originally collected during the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program in the 1970s. The data are available as U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-0227. The data were analyzed using traditional dot maps and interpolation between data points to construct high-resolution raster images, which were correlated with geographic and geologic information using a geographic information system (GIS). Wavelength filters were also used to deconvolute the geochemical images into various textural components, in order to study features with dimensions of a few kilometers to dimensions of hundreds of kilometers. The distribution of arsenic, antimony, gold, and silver is different from distributions of the other elements in that they show a distinctive high background in the southeast part of the area, generally in areas underlain by the pre-Mesozoic craton. Arsenic is an extremely mobile element and can be used to delineate structures that served as conduits for the circulation of metal-bearing fluids. It was used to delineate large crustal structures and is particularly good for delineation of the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend and the Steens lineament, which corresponds to a post-Miocene fault zone. Arsenic distribution patterns also delineated the Black Rock structural boundary, northwest of which the basement apparently consists entirely of Miocene and younger crust. Arsenic is also useful to locate district-sized hydrothermal systems an d clusters of systems. Most important types of hydrothermal mineral deposit in the northern Great Basin appear to be strongly associated with arsenic; this is less so for low-sulfidation epithermal deposits. In addition to individual elements, the distribution of factor scores that resulted from principal component studies of the data was used. The strongest factor is characterized by Fe, Ti, V, Cu, Ni, and Zn and is used to map the distribution of distinctive basalts that are high in Cu, Ni, and Zn and that appear to be related to the Steens Basalt. The other important factor is related to hydrothermal precious metal mineralization and is characterized by Sb, Ag, As, Pb, Au, and Zn. The map of the distribution of this factor is similar in appearance to the one for arsenic, and we used wavelength filters to remove regional variations in the background for this factor score. The resulting residual map shows a very strong association with the most significant precious metal deposits and districts in the region. This residual map also shows a number of areas that are not associated with known mineral deposits, illustrating the utility of the method as a regional exploration tool. A number of these prospective areas are distant from known significant mineral deposits. The deconvolution of the spatial wavelength structure of geochemical maps, combined with the use of large regional geochemical data sets and GIS, permits new possibilities for the use of stream-sediment geochemistry in the study of large-scale crustal features as well as the isolation of mineral-district scale anomalies. ?? 2006 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Economic Geology↗

Principal facts for gravity stations in the area north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona

Observed gravity values, station location, terrain corrections, and Bouguer gravity data are provided in tabular form for approximately 610 gravity observations in northern Arizona. These data were used in preparation of - - Popenoe, Peter, 1968, Complete Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the area north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report.

Arizona↗

Principal facts for gravity stations in the Bearpaw Mountains and vicinity, Montana

Observed gravity values, station locations, terrain corrections, and Bouguer gravity data are provided in tabular form for approximately 500 gravity observations in north-central Montana. These data were used in preparation of -- Peterson, Donald L. and Rambo, William L., 1967, Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the Bearpaw Mountains and vicinity, Montana: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report.

Montana↗

Geophysical abstracts 164, January-March 1956

Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. A new table of contents, alphabetically arranged, has been adapted to show more clearly the material covered. Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

Bulletin↗

Geophysical abstracts 165, April-June 1956

Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered. Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

Bulletin↗

Geophysical abstracts 166, July-September 1956

Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered. Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

Bulletin↗

Gazetteer of planetary nomenclature 1994

Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is used to uniquely identify a feature on the surface of a planet or satellite so that the feature can be easily located, described, and discussed. This volume contains detailed information about all names of topographic and albedo features on planets and satellites (and some planetary ring and ring-gap systems) that the International Astronomical Union has named and approved from its founding in 1919 through its triennial meeting in 1994. This edition of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature supersedes an earlier informal volume distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1986 as Open-File Report 84-692 (Masursky and others, 1986). Named features are depicted on maps of the Moon published first by the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency or the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center and more recently by the U.S. Geological Survey; on maps of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus published by the U.S. Geological Survey; and on maps of the Moon, Venus, and Mars produced by the U.S.S.R. Although we have attempted to check the accuracy of all data in this volume, we realize that some errors will remain in a work of this size. Readers noting errors or omissions are urged to communicate them to the U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeology, Rm. 409, 2255 N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

Bulletin↗

The ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario— A story that southern Californians are writing

The question is not if but when southern California will be hit by a major earthquake - one so damaging that it will permanently change lives and livelihoods in the region. How severe the changes will be depends on the actions that individuals, schools, businesses, organizations, communities, and governments take to get ready. To help prepare for this event, scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have changed the way that earthquake scenarios are done, uniting a multidisciplinary team that spans an unprecedented number of specialties. The team includes the California Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center, and nearly 200 other partners in government, academia, emergency response, and industry, working to understand the long-term impacts of an enormous earthquake on the complicated social and economic interactions that sustain southern California society. This project, the ShakeOut Scenario, has applied the best current scientific understanding to identify what can be done now to avoid an earthquake catastrophe. More information on the science behind this project will be available in The ShakeOut Scenario (USGS Open-File Report 2008-1150; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1150/). The 'what if?' earthquake modeled in the ShakeOut Scenario is a magnitude 7.8 on the southern San Andreas Fault. Geologists selected the details of this hypothetical earthquake by considering the amount of stored strain on that part of the fault with the greatest risk of imminent rupture. From this, seismologists and computer scientists modeled the ground shaking that would occur in this earthquake. Engineers and other professionals used the shaking to produce a realistic picture of this earthquake's damage to buildings, roads, pipelines, and other infrastructure. From these damages, social scientists projected casualties, emergency response, and the impact of the scenario earthquake on southern California's economy and society. The earthquake, its damages, and resulting losses are one realistic outcome, deliberately not a worst-case scenario, rather one worth preparing for and mitigating against. Decades of improving the life-safety requirements in building codes have greatly reduced the risk of death in earthquakes, yet southern California's economic and social systems are still vulnerable to large-scale disruptions. Because of this, the ShakeOut Scenario earthquake would dramatically alter the nature of the southern California community. Fortunately, steps can be taken now that can change that outcome and repay any costs many times over. The ShakeOut Scenario is the first public product of the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, created to show how hazards science can increase a community's resiliency to natural disasters through improved planning, mitigation, and response.

California↗

Database for the east half of "Preliminary Geologic Map of the Blythe 30' by 60' quadrangle, California and Arizona"

This digital map database was prepared from the published Preliminary Geologic Map of the Blythe 30' by 60' Quadrangle, California and Arizona (U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-497). This database represents the east half of the original published map. The database contains exactly the same scientific content as the original map; no data have been added to, subtracted from, or modified from the original map. Like the original paper map, this database represents the general distribution of bedrock and surficial deposits in the mapped area. It provides information on the geologic structure and stratigraphy of the area covered. The database delineates map units that are identified by general age and lithology following the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. The scale of the original published map limits the spatial resolution (scale) of the database to 1:100,000 or smaller.

Arizona, California↗

The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, earthquake: selected photographs

This CD-ROM contains 103 digitized color 35-mm images from Open-File Report 90-547 (Nakata and others, 1990). Our photographic coverage reflects the time and resources available immediately after the event and is not intended to portray the full extent of earthquake damage. This CD-ROM provides images for use by the interested public, multimedia producers, desktop publishers, and the high-end printing industry.

Data Series↗

Relational database for the geology of the northern Rocky Mountains— Idaho, Montana, and Washington

A relational database was created to prepare and organize geologic map-unit and lithologic descriptions for input into a spatial database for the geology of the northern Rocky Mountains, a compilation of forty-three geologic maps for parts of Idaho, Montana, and Washington in U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2005-1235. Not all of the information was transferred to and incorporated in the spatial database due to physical file limitations. This report releases that part of the relational database that was completed for that earlier product. In addition to descriptive geologic information for the northern Rocky Mountains region, the relational database contains a substantial bibliography of geologic literature for the area. The relational database nrgeo.mdb (linked below) is available in Microsoft Access version 2000, a proprietary database program. The relational database contains data tables and other tables used to define terms, relationships between the data tables, and hierarchical relationships in the data; forms used to enter data; and queries used to extract data.

Idaho, Montana, Washington↗

Thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks in Alaska: Digital resources

This CD-ROM is an updated re-release of three USGS publications on the thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks in Alaska: 1) Vitrinite reflectance and conodont color alteration index data from Alaska; data to accompany the thermal maturity map of Alaska; Open-File Report 92-409 (1992), version 1.1 (revised 1999), 2) Generalized thermal maturity map of Alaska; Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-2494, scale 1:2,500,000 (1996), 3) Thermal evolution of sedimentary basins in Alaska; Bulletin 2142, 131 p. (1996).

Alaska↗

Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series data catalog

In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 initiated the Puget Sound Scientific Studies and Technical Investigations Assistance Program, which was designed to support research for implementing the Puget Sound Action Agenda. The Action Agenda was created because Puget Sound was designated as one of 28 estuaries of National Significance under section 320 of the Clean Water Act, and its overall goal is to restore the environment of the Puget Sound Estuary by 2020. The Southern Salish Sea Mapping Project was funded through the Assistance Program request for proposal process which also supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, and includes the recommendations of the Marine Protected Areas Work Group to the Washington State Legislature. These recommendations include a Puget Sound and coast-wide marine conservation needs assessment, gap analysis of existing Marine Protected Areas and recommendations for action. Four areas with recently acquired National Ocean Service hydrographic data are included in the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series (fig. 1), each to be published individually as USGS Open File Reports at a scale of 1:40,000. The map products display seafloor geoforms, substrate, and biotopes using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard. This data catalog contains much of the data used to prepare the SIMs in the Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series. Other data that were used to prepare the maps were compiled from previously published sources (for example, sediment samples and seismic reflection profiles) and are not included in this data series.

Washington↗

National assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources: Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an evaluation of the technically accessible storage resource ( TA SR ) for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) for 36 sedimentary basins in the onshore areas and State waters of the United States. The TA SR is an estimate of the geologic storage resource that may be available for CO 2 injection and storage and is based on current geologic and hydrologic knowledge of the subsurface and current engineering practices. By using a geology-based probabilistic assessment methodology, the USGS assessment team members obtained a mean estimate of approximately 3,000 metric gigatons (Gt) of subsurface CO 2 storage capacity that is technically accessible below onshore areas and State waters; this amount is more than 500 times the 2011 annual U.S. energy-related CO 2 emissions of 5.5 Gt (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2012, http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/carbon/). In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directed the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for CO 2 in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and State geological surveys. The USGS developed a methodology to estimate storage resource potential in geologic formations in the United States (Burruss and others, 2009, USGS Open-File Report (OFR) 2009–1035; Brennan and others, 2010, USGS OFR 2010–1127; Blondes, Brennan, and others, 2013, USGS OFR 2013–1055). In 2012, the USGS completed the assessment, and the results are summarized in this Fact Sheet and are provided in more detail in companion reports (U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources Assessment Team, 2013a,b; see related reports at right). The goal of this project was to conduct an initial assessment of storage capacity on a regional basis, and results are not intended for use in the evaluation of specific sites for potential CO 2 storage. The national assessment was a geology-based examination of all sedimentary basins in the onshore and State waters area of the United States that contain storage assessment units (SAUs) that could be defined according to geologic and hydrologic characteristics. Although geologic storage of CO 2 may be possible in some areas not assessed by the USGS, the SAUs identified in this assessment represent those areas within sedimentary basins that met the assessment criteria. A geologic description of each SAU was prepared; descriptions for SAUs in several basins are in Warwick and Corum (2012, USGS OFR 2012–1024).

Fact Sheet↗