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At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
USGS2019

Carbon dioxide mineralization feasibility in the United States

Geologic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) storage is one of many methods for stabilizing the increasing concentration of CO 2 in the Earth’s atmosphere. The injection of CO 2 in deep subsurface sedimentary reservoirs is the most commonly discussed method; however, the potential for CO 2 leakage can create long-term stability concerns. This report discusses the feasibility of an alternative form of geologic CO 2 storage: CO 2 mineralization. In this method, CO 2 reacts with rocks and minerals to form solid and stable carbonate rocks. New pilot projects and laboratory-based kinetics experiments have revealed that this method, both in situ and ex situ, may be a viable option for storage. In situ storage targets in-place rocks at the surface or subsurface. Ex situ storage targets industrial byproducts at the surface like mine tailings. Environmental risks include induced seismicity for in situ methods if pressure is not managed properly, as well as potential water and land use effects. However, there are fewer long-term CO 2 -leakage concerns for mineralization methods compared to saline storage methods and therefore potentially lower long-term monitoring costs. The costs and benefits of CO 2 mineralization are compared to those of CO 2 storage in saline reservoirs using estimates of pressure-limited dynamic storage capacity. This report highlights the regional potential of areas in the United States for in situ and ex situ storage, as well as their proximity to potential sources of CO 2 . Especially suitable targets include asbestos or other ultramafic mine tailings, in situ ultramafic rocks on the East and West Coasts, the Columbia River basalts in the Pacific Northwest, the Midcontinent Rift basalts in the midcontinent, and the basaltic Hawaiian Islands.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2014

Dust and human health

It is generally accepted that exposure to fine particulate matter may increase risk for human morbidity and mortality. Until recently, population health related studies examining the effects of particulate matter on human health generally examined anthropogenic (industry and combustion by-products) sources with few studies considering contributions from natural sources. This chapter provides an overview of naturally occurring inorganic mineral dust research and associated human health ailments and some of the challenges in elucidating the etiological mechanisms responsible.

Book chapter↗
USGS2014

Deep‐well salinity‐exploration

One of the outstanding accomplishments of recent years in connection with the study of the geologic source of groundwater and the quality of water yielded by different formations has been the development of methods and equipment for the exploration of wells. The description and use of the deep ‐ well current‐meter on well ‐ exploration work in Hawaii and New Mexico has already appeared in published literature (John McCombs and A. G. Fiedler, Methods of exploring and repairing leaky artesian wells, U.S. Geol. Sur. Water‐Supply Paper 596, pp. 1–32, 1928) on hydrology but recent developments in the application of electrical conductivity‐measurements for determining the salinity of water in wells have not heretofore been presented. In addition to being of considerable scientific importance in connection with problems of ground‐water hydrology, the practical value of locating the place at which salt water is entering a well and contaminating a potable water‐supply is great. Such information may be the means of preventing the loss of large investments in industries, irrigation‐projects, and cities that are dependent upon well ‐water supplies that may at some time become contaminated by salty or other highly mineralized water.

Nevada, Hawaii↗
USGS1960

Ground-water supplies in shale and sandstone in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties, Virginia

The Triassic rocks of northern Virginia may be a potential source of moderately large supplies of ground water for municipal end industrial use if the performance of two deep wells drilled at the site of the new Dulles International Airport is a criterion. These two wells produced 327 and 600 gpm (gallons per minute) from depths of 860-and 955 feet in sedimentary rocks in an immediate area where the previous maximum depth reported was 180 feet and the maximum yield 12 gpm. Chemical analyses of the water indicates that it is extremely hard--533 and 500 ppm (parts per million) in the two wells--and would require treatment to be satisfactory for domestic and some industrial uses. However, water of better quality may be present at greater depths, and it may be possible to case off the more highly mineralized water. Further exploration and sampling of water from various depths will be necessary for efficient development of the Triassic groundwater reservoir.

Circular↗
USGS1975

Hydrologic evaluation of the Haystack Butte area : with emphasis on possible discharge of class-I wastes, Edwards Air Force Base, California

The discharge of 3 acre-feet (4 x 10 -3 cubic hectometres) per year of Class-I wastes in the Haystack Butte area of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., has been proposed by the Air Force. Evaporation in this arid basin exceeds the 4 inches (100 millimetres) of annual precipitation. Fifteen test holes, ranging in depth from 40 to 240 feet (12 to 73 metres) below land surface, indicate that ground water occurs mostly in Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks overlying pre-Tertiary quartz monzonite. Depth to water averages about 100 feet (30 metres) below land surface. Hydraulic conductivity of cores of Tertiary rock taken from a test hole at depths of 9 to 88 feet (2.7 to 27 metres) below land surface suggests values of 6.9 x 10-5 to 4.9 x 10 -3 feet per day (2.1 x 10 -5 to 1.5 x 10 -3 metres per day). Petrographic analyses of these cores indicate a material consisting mostly of weathered volcanic rocks with a moderate concentration of montmorillonite clay. The water-level gradient averages about 4 feet per mile (0.76 metre per kilometre). Ground-water discharge through a narrow gap in the southeastern part of the basin is calculated to be 3.8 x 10 -4 acre-feet (4.7 x 10 -7 cubic hectometres) per year. After leaving the basin, the underflow becomes part of a regional flow system discharging into Harper Lake playa. An increase in the underflow from 3.8 x 10 -4 acre-feet (4.7 x 10 -7 cubic hectometres) per year to 3 acre-feet (4 x 10 -3 cubic hectometres) per year may result in an undesirable surface-water flow by increasing the saturated thickness of the aquifer near the narrow gap in the southeastern part of the basin. Also, the very low hydraulic-conductivity values suggest that some difficulties may exist in percolating 3 acre-feet (4 x 10 -3 cubic hectometres) per year of wastes resulting in possible saturation of the ground surface outside the boundaries of the potential Class-I site. Because the rate of evaporation is very high (116 inches or 294.6 millimetres per year) in the study area, many of the problems associated with the percolation of the waste water and the subsequent changes in ground-water movement could be minimized by evaporating the wastes to complete dryness. The quality of the ground water in the basin is generally unsuitable for domestic, industrial, and irrigation purposes. The concentration and type of chemical constituents in the ground water suggest slow circulation in a geologic environment with soluble minerals.

California↗
USGS1982

Water-quality and hydrogeologic data for three phosphate industry waste-disposal sites in central Florida, 1979-80

This report is a complilation of geologic, hydrologic, and water-quality data and information on test holes collected in the vicinity of gypsum stack complexes at two phosphate chemical plants and one phosphatic clayey waste disposal pond at a phosphate mine and beneficiation plant in central Florida. The data were collected from September 1979 to October 1980 at thee AMAX Phosphate, Inc., chemical plant, Piney Point; the USS AgriChemicals chemical plant, Bartow; and the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation Clear Springs mine, Bartow. Approximmmtely 5,400 field and laboratory water-quality determinations on water samples were collected from about 78 test holes and 31 surface-water, rainfall, and other sampling sites at phosphate industry beneficiation and chemical plant waste-disposal operations. Maps show locations of sampling sites. (USGS)

Florida↗
USGS2006

Influence of layer charge and charge distribution of smectites on the flow behaviour and swelling of bentonites

The influence of layer charge and charge distribution of dioctahedral smectites on the rheological and swelling properties of bentonites is examined. Layer charge and charge distribution were determined by XRD using the LayerCharge program [Christidis, G.E., Eberl, D.D., 2003. Determination of layer charge characteristics of smectites. Clays Clay Miner. 51, 644-655.]. The rheological properties were determined, after sodium exchange using the optimum amount of Na2CO3, from free swelling tests. Rheological properties were determined using 6.42% suspensions according to industrial practice. In smectites with layer charges of - 0.425 to - 0.470 per half formula unit (phfu), layer charge is inversely correlated with free swelling, viscosity, gel strength, yield strength and thixotropic behaviour. In these smectites, the rheological properties are directly associated with the proportion of low charge layers. By contrast, in low charge and high charge smectites there is no systematic relation between layer charge or the proportion of low charge layers and rheological properties. However, low charge smectites yield more viscous suspensions and swell more than high charge smectites. The rheological properties of bentonites also are affected by the proportion of tetrahedral charge (i.e. beidellitic charge), by the existence of fine-grained minerals having clay size, such as opal-CT and to a lesser degree by the ionic strength and the pH of the suspension. A new method for classification of smectites according to the layer charge based on the XRD characteristics of smecites is proposed, that also is consistent with variations in rheological properties. In this classification scheme the term smectites with intermediate layer charge is proposed. ?? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Applied Clay Science↗
USGS2014

Geologic map of the Ahankashan-Rakhna basin, Badghis, Ghor, and Herat Provinces, Afghanistan, modified from the 1974 original map compilation of Y.I. Shcherbina and others

This geologic map of the Ahankashan-Rakhna basin, Afghanistan, is a redrafted and modified version of the Geological map of the area of Ahankashan-Rakhna basin, scale 1:50,000 and Geological map of the Ahankashan area with data on mineral resources, scale 1:12,000 from Shcherbina and others (1974) (Soviet report no. 0822). That unpublished Soviet report contains the original maps and cross sections, which were prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Mines and Industries of the Republic of Afghanistan in Kabul during 1974 under contract no. 50728 (Technoexport, USSR). The redrafted maps and cross sections in this USGS publication illustrate the geology of the Ahankashan and Rakhna basins, located within Badghis, Ghor, and Herat Provinces. The Ahankashan and Rakhna prospect area is one of several gold and copper deposits within west-central Afghanistan. Here, various felsic to intermediate igneous porphyries intrude Lower Triassic to lower Paleogene sedimentary rocks, producing mineral and ore-bearing zones related to hydrothermal alteration, skarns, silicification, and crushing (brecciation). Mineralized skarns contain assemblages such as magnetite, magnetite-hematite, epidote-hematite, and epidote-garnet, as well as disseminations of chalcopyrite, covellite, chalcocite, cuprite, malachite, and azurite. Gold mineralization is mainly associated with zones of crushing along faults, and with small silicified igneous veins within granite and quartz porphyry.

Badghis, Ghor, Herat↗
USGS2008

Central Colorado Assessment Project - Application of integrated geologic, geochemical, biologic, and mineral resource studies

Central Colorado is one of the fastest-growing regions in the Western United States. Population along the Front Range increased more than 30 percent between 1990 and 2000 (http://www.demographia.com/db-metro3newworld.htm) with some counties within the study area, such as Park County, experiencing greater than 100-percent growth (http://www.censusscope.org/us/s8/rank_popl_growth.html). This growth has caused tremendous demand for natural resources and has created challenging land-management issues related to the interface between wilderness and urban expansion. Management of this wilderness/urban interface will benefit from current digital geoscience information collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Central Colorado Assessment Project that began in 2003. Approximately 20,800 square miles (53,800 km2) of land divided almost equally between the public and private sectors were part of the assessment. The study area includes much of the Colorado Mineral Belt, a northeast-trending zone that contains 30 economically significant metal deposits. Historically, the area provided much of Colorado's metal production. The only active gold and molybdenum mines in Colorado lie within the study area. Recently, metal and uranium exploration activity has increased sharply in response to record prices for metals and uranium. This further underscores the need for up-to-date geoscience information presented in compatible GIS databases to facilitate rapid land-management decisions. Cooperative studies by USDA Forest Service, National Park Service supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP), and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Programs (NCGMP) contributed to the mineral-resource assessment and included regional geologic mapping at the scale 1:100,000, collection and geochemical studies of stream sediments, surface water, and bedrock samples, macroinvertebrate and biofilm studies in the riparian environment, remote-sensing studies, and geochronology. Geoscience information available as GIS layers has improved understanding of the distribution of metallic, industrial, and aggregate resources, location of areas that have potential for their discovery or development, helped to understand the relation of tectonics, magmatism, and paleohydrology to the genesis of the metal deposits in the region, and provided insight on the geochemical and environmental effects that historical mining and natural, mineralized rock exposures have on surface water, ground water, and aquatic life.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2014

Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Green River Formation using Fischer Assay, Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado

The spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of northwestern Colorado was studied in detail using some 321,000 Fischer assay analyses in the U.S. Geological Survey oil-shale database. The oil-shale section was subdivided into 17 roughly time-stratigraphic intervals, and the distribution of water in each interval was assessed separately. This study was conducted in part to determine whether water produced during retorting of oil shale could provide a significant amount of the water needed for an oil-shale industry. Recent estimates of water requirements vary from 1 to 10 barrels of water per barrel of oil produced, depending on the type of retort process used. Sources of water in Green River oil shale include (1) free water within clay minerals; (2) water from the hydrated minerals nahcolite (NaHCO 3 ), dawsonite (NaAl(OH) 2 CO 3 ), and analcime (NaAlSi 2 O 6 .H 2 0); and (3) minor water produced from the breakdown of organic matter in oil shale during retorting. The amounts represented by each of these sources vary both stratigraphically and areally within the basin. Clay is the most important source of water in the lower part of the oil-shale interval and in many basin-margin areas. Nahcolite and dawsonite are the dominant sources of water in the oil-shale and saline-mineral depocenter, and analcime is important in the upper part of the formation. Organic matter does not appear to be a major source of water. The ratio of water to oil generated with retorting is significantly less than 1:1 for most areas of the basin and for most stratigraphic intervals; thus water within oil shale can provide only a fraction of the water needed for an oil-shale industry.

Colorado↗
USGS2014

Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Green River Formation using Fischer assay, Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado

The spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of northwestern Colorado was studied in detail using some 321,000 Fischer assay analyses in the U.S. Geological Survey oil-shale database. The oil-shale section was subdivided into 17 roughly time-stratigraphic intervals, and the distribution of water in each interval was assessed separately. This study was conducted in part to determine whether water produced during retorting of oil shale could provide a significant amount of the water needed for an oil-shale industry. Recent estimates of water requirements vary from 1 to 10 barrels of water per barrel of oil produced, depending on the type of retort process used. Sources of water in Green River oil shale include (1) free water within clay minerals; (2) water from the hydrated minerals nahcolite (NaHCO 3 ), dawsonite (NaAl(OH) 2 CO 3 ), and analcime (NaAlSi 2 O 6 .H 2 0); and (3) minor water produced from the breakdown of organic matter in oil shale during retorting. The amounts represented by each of these sources vary both stratigraphically and areally within the basin. Clay is the most important source of water in the lower part of the oil-shale interval and in many basin-margin areas. Nahcolite and dawsonite are the dominant sources of water in the oil-shale and saline-mineral depocenter, and analcime is important in the upper part of the formation. Organic matter does not appear to be a major source of water. The ratio of water to oil generated with retorting is significantly less than 1:1 for most areas of the basin and for most stratigraphic intervals; thus water within oil shale can provide only a fraction of the water needed for an oil-shale industry.

Colorado↗
USGS1977

Entropy, materials, and posterity

Materials and energy are the interdependent feedstocks of economic systems, and thermodynamics is their moderator. It costs energy to transform the dispersed minerals of Earth's crust into ordered materials and structures. And it costs materials to collect and focus the energy to perform work - be it from solar, fossil fuel, nuclear, or other sources. The greater the dispersal of minerals sought, the more energy is required to collect them into ordered states. But available energy can be used once only. And the ordered materials of industrial economies become disordered with time. They may be partially reordered and recycled, but only at further costs in energy. Available energy everywhere degrades to bound states and order to disorder - for though entropy may be juggled it always increases. Yet industry is utterly dependent on low entropy states of matter and energy, while decreasing grades of ore require ever higher inputs of energy to convert them to metals, with ever increasing growth both of entropy and environmental hazard. Except as we may prize a thing for its intrinsic qualities - beauty, leisure, love, or gold - low-entropy is the only thing of real value. It is worth whatever the market will bear, and it becomes more valuable as entropy increases. It would be foolish of suppliers to sell it more cheaply or in larger amounts than their own enjoyment of life requires, whatever form it may take. For this reason, and because of physical constraints on the availability of all low-entropy states, the recent energy crises is only the first of a sequence of crises to be expected in energy and materials as long as current trends continue. The apportioning of low-entropy states in a modern industrial society is achieved more or less according to the theory of competitive markets. But the rational powers of this theory suffer as the world grows increasingly polarized into rich, over-industrialized nations with diminishing resource bases and poor, supplier nations with little industry. The theory also discounts posterity, the more so as population density and percapita rates of consumption continue to grow. A new social, economic, and ecologic norm that leads to population control, conservation, and an apportionment of low-entropy states across the generations is needed to assure to posterity the options that properly belong to it as an important but voiceless constituency of the collectivity we call mankind. ?? 1977 Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart.

Geologische Rundschau↗
USGS2012

Review and update of the applications of organic petrology: Part 2, geological and multidisciplinary applications

The present paper is focused on organic petrology applied to unconventional and multidisciplinary investigations and is the second part of a two part review that describes the geological applications and uses of this branch of earth sciences. Therefore, this paper reviews the use of organic petrology in investigations of: (i) ore genesis when organic matter occurs associated with mineralization; (ii) the behavior of organic matter in coal fires (self-heating and self-combustion); (iii) environmental and anthropogenic impacts associated with the management and industrial utilization of coal; (iv) archeology and the nature and geographical provenance of objects of organic nature such as jet, amber, other artifacts and coal from archeological sites; and (v) forensic science connected with criminal behavior or disasters. This second part of the review outlines the most recent research and applications of organic petrology in those fields.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2024

Mass-balance-consistent geological stock accounting: A new approach toward sustainable management of mineral resources

Global resource extraction raises concerns about environmental pressures and the security of mineral supply. Strategies to address these concerns depend on robust information on natural resource endowments, and on suitable methods to monitor and model their changes over time. However, current mineral resources and reserves reporting and accounting workflows are poorly suited for addressing mineral depletion or answering questions about the long-term sustainable supply. Our integrative review finds that the lack of a robust theoretical concept and framework for mass-balance (MB)-consistent geological stock accounting hinders systematic industry-government data integration, resource governance, and strategy development. We evaluate the existing literature on geological stock accounting, identify shortcomings of current monitoring of mine production, and outline a conceptual framework for MB-consistent system integration based on material flow analysis (MFA). Our synthesis shows that recent developments in Earth observation, geoinformation management, and sustainability reporting act as catalysts that make MB-consistent geological stock accounting increasingly feasible. We propose first steps for its implementation and anticipate that our perspective as “resource realists” will facilitate the integration of geological and anthropogenic material systems, help secure future mineral supply, and support the global sustainability transition.

Environmental Science and Technology↗
USGS2005

The World Coal Quality Inventory: A status report

National and international policy makers and industry require accurate information on coal, including coal quality data, to make informed decisions regarding international import needs and export opportunities, foreign policy, technology transfer policies, foreign investment prospects, environmental and health assessments, and byproduct use and disposal issues. Unfortunately, the information needed is generally proprietary and does not exist in the public domain. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with partners in about 60 countries, is developing a digital compilation of worldwide coal quality. The World Coal Quality Inventory (WoCQI) will contain coal quality information for samples obtained from major coal beds in countries having significant coal production, as well as from many countries producing smaller volumes of coal, with an emphasis on coals currently being burned. The information that will be incorporated includes, but is not limited to, proximate and ultimate analyses; sulfur-form data; major, minor, and trace element analysis; and semi-quantitative analyses of minerals, modes of occurrence, and petrography. The coal quality information will eventually be linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) that shows the coal basins and sample locations along with geologic, land use, transportation, industrial, and cultural information. The WoCQI will be accessible on the USGS web page and new data added periodically. This multi-national collaboration is developing global coal quality data that contain a broad array of technologic, economic, and environmental parameters, which should help to ensure the efficient and environmentally compatible use of global coal resources in the 21st century.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2020

Geologic and mineral map (modified from the 1975 original map compilation by A.S. Shadchinev and others) and hyperspectral surface materials maps of the Ghorband, Salang, and Panjsher River Basins; Kapisa, Panjsher, Parwan, and Baghlan Provinces, Afghanistan

Introduction The geologic map and cross sections are a redrafted and modified version of the Geologic map and map of mineral resources of the basins of Ghorband, Salang, and Panjsher ; located in the Kapisa, Panjsher, Parwan, and Baghlan Provinces, Afghanistan. The original map and cross sections are contained in an unpublished Soviet report no. 1162A (Shadchinev and others, 1975) prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Mines and Industries of the Royal Government of Afghanistan, in Kabul during 1975, under contract no. 55–184/17500. This redrafted map consists of parts of quadrangle map sheets 503–F, 504–C, 504–D, 504–E, and 504–F shown on an index map that can be found on the original 1:100,000-scale map by Shadchinev and others (1975). The redrafted map and cross sections illustrate the mineral deposits and geologic structure of the Ghorband, Salang, and Panjsher River Basins. Because there were no location coordinates provided on the original Soviet map, the map was registered to drainage patterns identified by contours from the Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM). The end result can only be considered a best fit for the map extend, and some features may not be positioned in their correct geographic location. The redrafted geologic map and cross sections reproduce the topology of rock units, contacts, and faults of the original Soviet map and cross sections, and includes minor modifications based on our examination of the originals. Table 1, provided on both map sheets 1 and 2, shows mineral commodity locations also from the original Soviet map. However, because of the poor quality of the original map, some map features could not be identified and some may be misinterpreted. Further, we have attempted to translate the original Russian terminology and rock classifications into modern English geologic usage as literally as possible without changing any genetic or process-oriented implications in the original rock-unit descriptions. We also use the rock-unit age designations from the original maps, however, rock-unit colors and symbols differ from the colors and symbols shown on the original version. Unit colors were selected according to the color and pattern scheme of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (http://www.ccgm.org). Unit symbols were assigned based on the geologic age and unit descriptions provided on the original Soviet map. Elevations on the cross sections are derived from the original topography and may not match the Global GDEM topography used on the redrafted geologic map of this report.

Baghlan, Kapisa, Panjsher, Parwan↗