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USGS2025

Geochemistry of quartz and fluid inclusions associated with gold, tungsten, and antimony in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district, Idaho

Deposits in the historic Stibnite-Yellow Pine district in east-central Idaho were mined for Ag, Au, Hg, Sb, and W. Ore is hosted in breccia and fault zones along NE-striking faults that transect the Atlanta lobe of the Late Cretaceous Idaho batholith and metamorphosed Neoproterozoic to lower Paleozoic rocks. Geochronological studies have delineated five superimposed and zoned hydrothermal events in the mining district which range in age from Late Cretaceous to the Eocene. They formed the following consecutive assemblages: (1) vein and disseminated pre-ore milky quartz (± calcite), muscovite, and brassy pyrite with minor molybdenite and base metal sulfides; (2) vein and disseminated quartz, calcite, sericite, auriferous-pyrite, and arsenopyrite; (3) potassium feldspar, quartz, dolomite, and calcite with vein and disseminated scheelite ± pyrite and arsenopyrite; (4) Au-Ag veins that contain adularia; and (5) breccia, vein, and disseminated quartz, calcite, and stibnite with minor Ag sulfosalts and distal zones of cinnabar and realgar at Fern and Hermes mines. In this study, the pressure, temperature, and composition of ore-forming fluids were measured in Au-, W-, and Sb-bearing samples collected from drill core and surface exposures. Using optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL) and electron microprobe cathodoluminescence (EMPA-CL) imaging, as well as electron microprobe (EMP) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry trace element analyses, four major overprinting generations of hydrothermal quartz are defined. Fluid inclusion assemblages (FIAs) in each generation of quartz were characterized by microthermometry and laser Raman spectroscopy. Quartz and fluid inclusion paragenesis are as follows: (Qi) altered and overprinted Qi with no coeval FIAs that formed before or during event 1; (Q1) early veins as well as disseminated quartz with dull gray SEM-CL and H 2 O-NaCl-CO 2 FIAs that formed at minimum temperatures and pressures of 281° to 358°C and 1346 to 1789 bar during event 2 (Au); (Q2) vein and disseminated quartz, often euhedral, with H 2 O-NaCl ± CO 2 ± CH 4 FIAs that formed at minimum temperatures and pressures of 183° to 213°C and 72 to 602 bar during event 3 (W); and (Q3) euhedral and disseminated quartz with H 2 O-NaCl FIAs that formed at minimum temperature and pressures of 156° to 161°C and 5 to 6 bar during event 5 (Sb). Stibnite hosts H 2 O-NaCl FIAs trapped at minimum temperatures and pressures of 150° to 189°C and 5 to 12 bar that are similar to those of Q3-hosted FIAs. The quartz paragenetic history in the district follows a progressive temporal path from Tienriched quartz deposited by a relatively deep and higher temperature aqueous-carbonic fluid to a Li, Al, and Sb enriched quartz precipitated from a lower temperature aqueous fluid. Gases in fluid inclusion extracts from ore and gangue minerals were analyzed by mass spectrometry. Noble gas isotope analysis of fluid inclusion extracts revealed three signatures. Pre-ore Qi has R/R A (the isotopic ratio of the sample 3 He/ 4 He to atmospheric 3 He/ 4 He (1.384 × 10 −6 )) values that reflect the composition of the crustal melt-derived Atlanta lobe of the Idaho batholith. Quartz (Q1) and auriferous arsenian pyrite of hydrothermal event 2 have 20 Ne/ 4 He and R/R A values that plot along the air-crust mixing line, and these gases were likely introduced by metamorphic fluids derived from metasedimentary rocks. Stibnite with associated quartz (Q3 ± Q2) have 20 Ne/ 4 He and R/R A values that extend from the air-crust mixing line to the air-mantle mixing line, showing a shift from a crustal signature to an overprinting mantle signature. Late calcite has 20 Ne/ 4 He and R/R A values that extend from air toward the mantle end member, which suggests that magmatic volatiles condensed into meteoric groundwater late in the paragenesis. A mantle volatile source is also supported by high 20 Ne/ 22 Ne ratios. The Stibnite-Yellow Pine district is similar to other Au-W-Sb districts around the world in ore fluid chemistries, with late-stage stibnite being a product of cooling. The fluid pressure-temperature-composition (P-T-X) estimates and the crustal source of He during hydrothermal event 2 gold mineralization are characteristic of orogenic Au deposits, and the observed inclusion reequilibration textures indicate that trapped fluid inclusions were deformed during transitions between the brittle-ductile environment. Scheelite was deposited during event 3 with Q2 quartz and is overgrown by Q3 quartz and stibnite. Our interpretation of the quartz texture, chemistry, and fluid inclusion P-T-X data suggest that Au, W, and Sb mineralization occurred as hydrothermal fluids evolved from H 2 O-NaCl-CO 2 at >300°C and depths of ~4 to 6 km near the ductile to brittle transition to H 2 O-NaCl at ~150°C and epithermal depths as the Idaho batholith was exhumed. Geochronology indicates that from the Late Cretaceous to early Eocene, overprinting hydrothermal events formed deep orogenic Au, intermediate W, and shallow epithermal Au-Ag and Sb. Without comprehensive geochronologic constraints, our fluid inclusion data and textural observations could be interpreted as a single evolving hydrothermal system, as has been done in many other mining districts with similar mineralization.

Idaho↗
USGS2023

Prediction of the probability of elevated nitrate concentrations at groundwater depths used for drinking-water supply in the Puget Sound basin, Washington, 2004–19

The Puget Sound basin encompasses the 13,700-square-mile area that drains to the Puget Sound and the adjacent marine waters of Washington State. Well more than 4 million people live within the basin, with numbers continuing to increase, who rely on the basin’s natural resources including groundwater. The Puget Sound Partnership was created by a Washington State statute to implement a science-based recovery of the Puget Sound to help address impacts to these resources. As part of the recovery, the partnership developed the Puget Sound Vital Signs as measures of ecosystem health that guide the assessment of progress toward Puget Sound recovery goals. The Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council adopted a Drinking Water Vital Sign associated with human health and quality of life, recognizing certain indicators as integral to the sustainability of Puget Sound recovery efforts. One such Vital Sign indicator was the vulnerability of groundwater throughout the aquifers of the Puget Sound basin to elevated nitrate concentrations as defined by the probability of exceeding 2 milligrams/liter (mg/L) at a specific location and well depth. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) led the effort to characterize groundwater vulnerability. For this study, groundwater vulnerability refers to a probability with which a contaminant applied at or near the land surface can migrate to the aquifer of interest for a given set of land-use practices. Nitrate concentration data were selected for evaluation because elevated nitrate concentrations are typically caused by anthropogenic activities and have been associated with deleterious impacts on human health. To identify groundwater vulnerability to elevated nitrate concentrations, logistic regression was used to relate anthropogenic (human associated) and natural variables to the occurrence of elevated nitrate concentrations in untreated groundwater from large public water supply system wells found within the Washington State Department of Health Sentry database. Variables that were analyzed included well depth, soil hydraulic conductivity, precipitation, population density, fertilizer application amounts, and land-use types. Statistically significant models that predicted the probabilities of groundwater nitrate concentrations greater than 2 mg/L based on the predictor variables were created for the time periods 2000–04, 2005–09, 2010–14, and 2015–19. For all time periods, well depth and a measure of the abundance of urban and agricultural land over or near the well consistently helped explain the vulnerability of the well to elevated nitrate concentrations defined as a probability of exceeding 2 mg/L of nitrate. Precipitation and (or) soil hydraulic conductivity were also important predictor variables in the models. The models for each time period were used to create maps of groundwater vulnerability at 150- and 300-foot depths throughout the Puget Sound basin. As expected, the most vulnerable locations were associated with shallower well depths and increased agriculture and urban land cover. Across all four time periods, groundwater vulnerability throughout the Puget Sound was low, with probabilities of exceeding 2 mg/L concentrations of nitrate at depths at 150 and 300 feet typically less than 50 percent. Results also found a slight decrease in probabilities of elevated nitrate concentrations throughout the basin over time. More specifically, additional statistical tests found that groundwater with probabilities of less than about 60 percent declined from 2000 to 2019 and represented more than 75 percent of the modeled Puget Sound basin aquifer. Wells with greater than 60 percent probability increased over the same time period but represented only about 25 percent of the aquifer. The maps and statistical analysis presented in the study provide valuable and informative evaluation of the vulnerability of groundwater in the Puget Sound basin to elevated nitrate concentrations. The probability maps do not represent measured nitrate concentrations in groundwater, but rather they present the probability that nitrate concentrations exceed 2 mg/L. The models and predictions from this study are a viable indicator for the Puget Sound Partnership’s Healthy Human Population—Drinking Water Vital Sign. The logistic regression modeling approach presented here benefits water managers by allowing them to assess temporal trends in a range of probabilities, explore vulnerability changes as new regional land cover and anthropogenic data are generated, and distinguish vulnerabilities at different depths within the aquifer.

Washington↗
USGS2024

Water-quality characteristics of the Red River of the North and tributaries in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, North Dakota, 2019–22

The Flood Risk Management Project was initiated in 2008 in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area to reduce flood risk, flood damages, and flood protection costs in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a water-quality monitoring study to describe the water-quality characteristics of the Red River of the North and its tributaries in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area during the preconstruction period of the Flood Risk Management Project from October 1, 2019, to October 1, 2022. The monitoring study included the collection of discrete and continuous water-quality data and streamflow monitoring at selected sites that integrated and enhanced existing monitoring programs within the study area. Discrete samples collected at 10 sites in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area were analyzed for major ions, trace elements, nutrients, suspended sediment, pesticides, and fecal indicator bacteria. In general, major ion concentrations were higher at sites on the tributaries (Wild Rice, Sheyenne, and Maple Rivers) compared to sites on the Red River of the North. In general, bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, and sulfate represented most of the dissolved ions measured in samples collected at the 10 sites. Calcium, chloride, fluoride, potassium, silica, and sodium were also measured in samples, but they represented a smaller portion of the total dissolved ions. Sulfate was the most dominant dissolved ion that had the highest concentrations among the major ions measured in samples. A total of 18 trace elements were analyzed in discrete samples. Several of the trace elements had concentrations below the laboratory reporting level in all of the samples, including antimony, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, silver, and thallium. Sites on the Wild Rice River generally had the highest concentrations of arsenic, barium, boron, manganese, and nickel compared to the other sites. Nutrients analyzed in discrete samples included filtered and unfiltered concentrations of ammonia, nitrate plus nitrite, phosphorus, and organic carbon. The median filtered ammonia concentration at most sites was less than the laboratory reporting level of 0.03 milligram per liter as nitrogen except for the Sheyenne River at Harwood, North Dakota (U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] station 05060400), and Red River of the North near Georgetown, Minnesota (USGS station 05062130). The lowest median unfiltered nitrate plus nitrite concentration was measured at sites on the Red River of the North upstream from the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and the highest median was at sites on the Red River of the North downstream from the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area compared to all other sites. The increase in nitrate plus nitrite concentrations could reflect the effect of the wastewater-treatment plant discharge that enters the Red River of the North upstream from the site located downstream from the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and from urban runoff. Phosphorus (unfiltered) concentrations were generally higher at sites on the Maple and Sheyenne Rivers compared to the other sites and were higher at sites on the Red River of the North downstream from the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area compared to sites upstream on the Red River of the North. Suspended-sediment concentrations were generally highest at sites in the Sheyenne River and lowest in the upstream Red River of the North sites. Suspended-sediment concentration was highly variable in samples collected at the 10 sites, mostly influenced by the occurrence of snowmelt and rainfall-runoff events. The Sheyenne River near Kindred, N. Dak. (USGS station 05059000) had the largest range in sediment concentrations in samples collected at the 10 sites. For all sites other than the Sheyenne River near Kindred, N. Dak., 95 percent or more of the suspended sediment had particle diameter sizes less than 0.0625 millimeter in 50 percent of the samples (median). Of the 102 pesticides and pesticide degradates analyzed, 45 constituents had no detectable concentrations in any of the 17 samples collected at five sites. The remaining 57 pesticides had at least one detection in the samples collected at the five sites. The sites on the Wild Rice River (near Abercrombie, N. Dak., USGS station 05053000, and near St. Benedict, N. Dak., USGS station 05053500) and Sheyenne River near Kindred, N. Dak., had fewer pesticide detections compared to the Maple River below Mapleton, N.Dak. (USGS station 05060100) and the Red River of the North at Fargo, N. Dak (USGS station 05054000) and near Georgetown, Minn. Patterns in annual loads generally followed the same pattern as streamflow at the 10 sites for water years 2020–22. A water year is the 12-month period from October 1 to September 30 and is designated by the calendar year in which it ends. The greatest loads for all constituents were delivered at the two downstream sites on the Red River of the North; sites that also had the highest annual streamflows among the sites and the greatest loads were delivered in water year 2020 when the highest streamflows occurred at the sites. Likewise, the least loads for most constituents were at the Maple River and were least in 2021 compared to the other years because of low-streamflow conditions. Water-quality measurements continuously recorded at the Red River of the North at Hickson, N. Dak. (USGS station 05051522); Red River of the North at Fargo, N. Dak.; and Red River of the North near Georgetown, Minn. included water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity. Specific conductance values were similar for the Red River of the North near Hickson, N. Dak., and Red River of the North at Fargo, N. Dak., when compared to the Red River of the North near Georgetown, Minn. that had higher values than the other two sites. Dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH were similar among the three sites on the Red River. The patterns in turbidity were mostly related to streamflow conditions and were similar among the three sites on the Red River of the North.

Minnesota, North Dakota↗
USGS2024

Streams, springs, and volcanic lakes for volcano monitoring

Introduction Volcanic unrest can trigger appreciable change to surface waters such as streams, springs, and volcanic lakes. Magma degassing produces gases and soluble salts that are absorbed into groundwater that feeds streams and lakes. As magma ascends, the amount of heat and degassing will increase, and so will any related geochemical and thermal signal. Subsurface magma movement can cause pressurization that alters hydrostatic head and may induce groundwater discharge. Fluid-pressure changes have been linked to distal volcano-tectonic earthquakes (White and McCausland, 2016; Coulon and others, 2017) and phreatic eruptions (for example, Yamaoka and others, 2016). Clearly, changes in groundwater and surface waters are both indicators of unrest and clues to how and where magma is rising toward the surface. Where possible, it is prudent to incorporate real-time hydrologic data into multiparameter monitoring of restless volcanoes. Hydrologic dynamics can also be tracked by changes in groundwater levels that are commonly measured in shallow boreholes (see of Flinders, A.F., Lowenstern, J.B., Coombs, M.L., and Poland, M.P., eds., Recommended capabilities and instrumentation for volcano monitoring in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2024–5062–K, 5 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20245062k. ">chapter K , this volume, on boreholes; Hurwitz and Lowenstern, 2024). Although inferred to be common, relatively few volcano-hydrology anomalies are well documented, and many are essentially anecdotal (Newhall and others, 2001), reflecting the fact that high-resolution time series remain rare. Extreme examples include the 2008 eruption of Nevado del Huila, Colombia, where relatively minor phreatomagmatic eruptions were accompanied by expulsion of as much as 300 million cubic meters of groundwater from fissures high on the volcano (Worni and others, 2011), generating large lahars. Substantial decreases in flow rate from springs about 8 kilometers from the summit of Mayon Volcano, Philippines, have been noted before most eruptions in the 20th century (Newhall and others, 2001). Stream monitoring at Redoubt Volcano in 2009 allowed Werner and others (2012) to recognize that groundwater was unable to absorb (or scrub) the high flux of volcanic gas and that a high CO 2 /SO 2 precursor signal had been evident for 5 months prior to the eruption. A key to better interpreting hydrologic anomalies—or even identifying them—is therefore obtaining adequate baseline data. Most hydrologic monitoring at U.S. volcanoes has been accomplished by intermittent sampling surveys with annual or less frequent sampling (for example, https://hotspringchem.wr.usgs.gov/index.php ). More frequent sampling, however, generally is needed to establish reliable baselines. A recent hydrologic and hydrothermal monitoring experiment at 25 sites and 10 of the 12 level 4 (very high threat) volcanoes in the U.S. portion of the Cascade Range demonstrated that there is sufficient temporal variability in hydrothermal fluxes, even during quiescent periods, that one-time measurements will commonly have limited interpretive value (Crankshaw and others, 2018). Thus, surveys are best augmented with data from streamgages (for example, Evans and others, 2004; Bergfeld and others, 2008). Streamflow (water discharge) data allow measured temperature and specific conductance to be converted to heat and solute mass fluxes, which could be insightful parameters for detecting anomalous activity (McCleskey and others, 2012). At the Yellowstone Caldera, long-term monitoring of river solutes has allowed calculation of the chloride flux, a proxy for heat discharge (Hurwitz and others, 2007; McCleskey and others, 2016) from the subsurface magma. This is readily accomplished because data from streamgages are continuously recorded and archived by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Information System (NWIS) (USGS, 2024). Similar studies on stratovolcanoes or shield volcanoes would be scientifically useful, and yet are logistically challenging, requiring streamgages on numerous radial drainages complemented by either frequent manual sampling or numerous deployments of equipment to measure water temperature and specific conductance as a proxy for water chemistry. Another challenge is that some volcanic areas, especially shield volcanoes, are characterized by near-surface porous rocks and soils, such that surface streams are rare and replaced by distant, dilute large-volume springs with only a trace of any original volcanically sourced water (Manga, 2001; Hurwitz and others, 2021). Volcanic lakes are worthy of special attention for monitoring efforts, as their temperature and composition can provide evidence of increased flux of volatile-rich fluids from below. Quantifying changes in volatile and heat release from magma can be simpler in lakes than for volcanoes with radial drainages and no major lakes. Moreover, volcanic lakes pose a range of hazards themselves, including phreatomagmatic eruptions, debris flows, flank collapse, tsunamis, and toxic gas release (Mastin and Witter, 2000; Delmelle and others, 2015; Manville, 2015; Rouwet and others, 2015)—hazards that have historically been responsible for substantial loss of life at many volcanoes worldwide (Manville, 2015). Catastrophic CO 2 release at Lake Nyos, Cameroon, in 1986 suffocated about 1,750 people and about 3,500 livestock and was probably triggered by a large landslide into the gas-saturated lake (Kling and others, 1987; Evans and others, 1993). Gas-charged springs in Soda Bay within Clear Lake (California) have caused almost a dozen deaths to bathers in the past hundred years (ABC News, 2000). A 2005 example of lake overturn and abundant gas release was documented at Mount Chiginagak in Alaska (Schaefer and others, 2008) but did not result in any human casualties. Although thermally stratified lakes, which promote trapping of exsolved magmatic gas, tend to develop in tropical regions, the phenomenon can also arise where salinity creates meromixis (a condition in which a lake does not mix completely), as occurs in Mono Lake, California (Jellison and Melack, 1993; Jellison and others, 1998). If magma erupts or flows into a lake, the interaction between hot magma and cold water can be explosive (Mastin and others, 2004; Zimanowski and others, 2015) and substantially expand the area affected by the eruption. Another hazard is the breaching of crater rims by landslides triggered by volcanic and (or) seismic activity. Under some circumstances, substantial volumes of water can be displaced, leading to large floods and lahars. Late Holocene lake flooding from Aniakchak Crater in the Alaska Peninsula (Waythomas, 2022) and from Paulina Lake in Newberry Crater, Oregon (Chitwood and Jensen, 2000), caused by the failure of outlet sills, testify to the substantial hazards at lake-filled calderas. Several volcanic systems in the United States host lakes known to receive heat and gas from underlying magma. These lakes vary widely in area, depth, and chemical composition. Lakes are present at level 4 volcanoes, including Crater Lake and Newberry Volcano in Oregon; Yellowstone Caldera in Wyoming; Long Valley Caldera, Clear Lake volcanic field, Medicine Lake, and Salton Buttes in California; and Aniakchak Crater, Mount Katmai, Fisher Caldera, Mount Okmok, and Kaguyak Crater, among others, in Alaska. A water lake was present in Halemaʻumaʻu, the crater of Kīlauea, Hawai‘i (fig. F1), from October 2019 to December 2020. Level 3 volcanoes with lakes include Mono Lake volcanic field (Calif.), Mount Bachelor (Ore.), Ukinrek Maars and Mount Chiginagak (Alaska), and Soda Lake (Nevada). In addition, there are lakes at many levels 1 and 2 volcanoes. In the United States, there are no strongly acidic lakes that receive abundant input of magmatic gas, such as those found at Mount Ruapehu (New Zealand), Ijen and Kelud (Indonesia), and Poás (Costa Rica). Nevertheless, many contain fluids that provide clues to magmatic processes below. Since publication of a previous report on recommended instrumentation for volcano monitoring (Moran and others, 2008), continuous hydrologic monitoring has become increasingly feasible. However, changes in water pressure, temperature, and chemistry remain, in general, poorly studied phenomena at volcanoes (Sparks, 2003; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). Recent efforts by the USGS have included the temporary study of Cascade Range volcanoes, which included frequent (15 minute to hourly) temporal sampling of temperature, depth, and conductivity (Crankshaw and others, 2018; Ingebritsen and Evans, 2019). At Yellowstone Caldera, many streamgages have now added thermistors and specific conductance sensors, allowing estimation of time-dependent chloride flux as a proxy for variations in subsurface heat flux (McCleskey and others, 2012, 2016). Efforts to better understand lakes have also accelerated, with bathymetric mapping and sampling carried out at several locations in the United States. Especially thorough work was done at Yellowstone Lake thanks to the Hydrothermal Dynamics of Yellowstone Lake (HD-YLAKE, https://hdylake.org ) project, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation. In addition to geophysical surveys and recovery of cores and other samples, HD-YLAKE investigations included remotely operated vehicle (ROV) investigations of hydrothermal vents on the lake floor (fig. F2). Data collected by the ROV provided a better understanding of the thermal and chemical influx from lake-bottom hydrothermal systems (Sohn and others, 2017). In this chapter, we focus on detecting changes in the chemistry, temperature, discharge, or water levels of streams, springs, and lakes that can be caused by seismicity, volumetric strains, or increases in gas flux associated with ascending magma. There is unavoidable overlap with other chapters of this report. Samples of water and gas can also be obtained in boreholes ( of Flinders, A.F., Lowenstern, J.B., Coombs, M.L., and Poland, M.P., eds., Recommended capabilities and instrumentation for volcano monitoring in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2024–5062–K, 5 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20245062k. ">chapter K , this volume; Hurwitz and Lowenstern, 2024), both shallow and deep. Gas monitoring ( of Flinders, A.F., Lowenstern, J.B., Coombs, M.L., and Poland, M.P., eds., Recommended capabilities and instrumentation for volcano monitoring in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2024–5062–E, 11 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20245062e.">chapter E , this volume; Lewicki and others, 2024) relies in part on samples from springs and wells, particularly where measurable gas plumes are absent. Water acts as a trigger and lubricant for landslides and sediment-rich floods, and so hydrology has obvious relevance for lahar monitoring, as discussed in of Flinders, A.F., Lowenstern, J.B., Coombs, M.L., and Poland, M.P., eds., Recommended capabilities and instrumentation for volcano monitoring in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2024–5062–H, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20245062h. ">chapter H (this volume; Thelen and others, 2024). Shared situational awareness among scientists engaged in geophysical, gas, and hydrologic monitoring will improve overall understanding of the volcanic hazard.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2025

Estimated average annualized tsunami losses for the United States

Tsunami hazards are substantial threats to coastal communities across the United States (U.S.) and its territories. U.S. states and territories collaborate through the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to develop their own tsunami-hazard information for outreach and evacuation planning. An effort to curate this tsunami-hazard information to support comprehensive risk analysis at the national level has not yet been completed. In support of this effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) collaborated with the NTHMP, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) starting in 2023. This collaboration included the collection and analysis of existing tsunami hazard data and methods in the U.S. Tsunami subject matter experts identified and selected scientifically defensible methods for estimating the risks to buildings and populations in coastal communities. These efforts may support decision making regarding resilience policies, priorities, strategies and funding levels. Tsunamis can be triggered by earthquakes, subaerial or submarine landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacial calving, near-earth objects, weather or other events. These events can cause severe destruction, injuries, and loss of life due to powerful currents and flooding. Tsunamis pose a substantial threat to the western United States and all U.S. territories, as described below. ■ Hawaii is threatened by distant tsunamis due to its central location in the Pacific Ocean basin and has a history of local events. ■ Alaska, particularly the Aleutian Islands, faces local tsunami threats due to proximity to the Alaska-Aleutian Subduction Zone, as well as distant tsunamis from around the Pacific Ocean basin. ■ The western coast of the U.S. is threatened by distant tsunamis from around the Pacific Ocean basin and local source tsunamis from earthquakes generated within the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest. ■ American Samoa faces local tsunami threats from earthquakes generated in the nearby Tonga Trench, as well as distant tsunami threats. ■ Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are threatened by local tsunamis from the nearby Mariana Subduction Zone, as well as distant sources from around the Pacific Ocean Basin. ■ Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands are threatened by multiple local and distant tsunami sources, such as the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT), given their location in the complex seismic region of the Caribbean Sea. Several historical events stand out because of their catastrophic impacts. ■ In the Pacific Northwest, the 1700 Cascadia earthquake caused a tsunami that affected coastal Native American communities, though the extent of the damage is not fully documented (Ludwin, et al., 2005). ■ In Puerto Rico, the 1918 earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused $77 million in damage in 2022 dollars and 116 fatalities, primarily along the western coast (Coffman et al., 1982). ■ The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that devastated Hilo, Hawaii, killing 158 people and resulting in approximately $375 million in damage (adjusted to 2022 dollars) (Fisher et al., 2023). ■ The 1964 Alaska earthquake (M 9.2) generated tsunamis that caused severe destruction in some communities across Alaska, Oregon, and California. This disaster led to a total of 124 fatalities and approximately $2.9 billion in property damage (adjusted to 2022 dollars) (Brocher et al., 2014) (Alaska Science Center, 2024). ■ In American Samoa, a tsunami generated by the 2009 Samoa earthquake (Mw 8.1) caused widespread devastation, resulting in 34 confirmed fatalities (Apatu et al., 2013) and economic losses exceeding $160 million (adjusted to 2022 dollars) (DHS, 2011). More recent events, including the 2010 Chile earthquake, the 2011 Japan earthquake, and the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption, resulted in millions of dollars in damage to numerous ports and harbors in the U.S. South Pacific territories, Hawaii, and along the west coast of the U.S. (Lynett, et al., 2022) (Wilson, et al., 2013). Since these events, the expansion of the built environment in lowlying areas along the coast has increased the exposure of buildings and people, thereby further escalating community risk from tsunamis. This report provides a comprehensive national assessment of earthquake-generated tsunami risk. It does not include impacts from tsunamis generated by landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacial calving, near-earth objects, weather, or other events. This study is based on the best available hazard data from the U.S. Pacific Coast (California, Oregon and Washington), Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Pacific Territories (American Samoa, Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and Caribbean Territories (Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands). Tsunami risks associated with states along the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and Great Lakes are not included in this study because Hazus 6.1 software (FEMA 2024a) does not currently include the ability to analyze tsunami risk in those states. Once modeling capabilities and tsunami hazard data become available for additional states, FEMA may incorporate these data into future editions of this study.

Alaska, California, Hawaii Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2025

ShakeAlert®—Communication, education, outreach and technical engagement strategic vision

Executive Summary In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began directly supporting ShakeAlert ® research and in 2012 the ShakeAlert demonstration system began testing ( Given and others, 2018 ). The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning (EEW) system is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the three West Coast States (Washington, Oregon, and California) served by the ShakeAlert System, which is part of the larger Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). With more than 143 million people exposed to potentially damaging shaking in the United States ( Jaiswal and others, 2015 ), earthquakes are a national hazard. Most of our Nation’s earthquake risk is concentrated in the highly populated areas on the active plate tectonic boundaries on the West Coast of the conterminous United States. ShakeAlert is the first public alert system in the United States to provide rapid mass notification of earthquake detection, potentially offering seconds of warning before strong shaking arrives. A few seconds may not seem like much time, but the information in ShakeAlert Messages can be used to trigger automated actions that can prevent injury or death, reduce immediate damage, and speed recovery from earthquakes. The information product issued by the ShakeAlert system is called a ShakeAlert Message and is one of the information products and tools of the ANSS. The ShakeAlert System includes the USGS component, plus the pathways by which ShakeAlert-powered products and (or) services are delivered to end users. Alerts can be delivered to cell phones or be used to trigger automated systems to protect equipment, facilities, and infrastructure, such as slowing or stopping a train. ShakeAlert-powered automated actions can include fire house doors that can be opened to prevent jamming, heavy equipment (for example, trains, elevators, and cranes) that can be automatically stopped or parked in safe positions, and pipeline valves that can be closed to prevent surges and spills. A few seconds of warning also may be sufficient for people to take protective actions, such as drop, cover, and hold on or modified protective actions for a broad range of populations. Advance training may increase the benefit of a speedy response to an alert. Outreach and education about EEW may raise awareness of the overall earthquake threat and how people can best react when they receive an alert or feel shaking. ShakeAlert communication, education, outreach, and technical engagement (CEO&TE) efforts are highly collaborative and essential for the success of the ShakeAlert System. This strategic vision informs how the vast ShakeAlert CEO&TE Community operates and works together. The CEO&TE Community delineates a strategic framework that is intended to set the path for a long-term, sustainable approach to CEO&TE through three focus areas and five priorities. Focus Areas Technical engagement.— The objective of this focus area is to expand and broaden ShakeAlert technical engagement and implementation. External engagement.— This focus area targets engagement in long-term communication, education, and outreach planning, implementation, and evaluation. Internal engagement.— The purpose of this focus area is to build and sustain a robust infrastructure to optimize collaboration, information sharing, and project planning among the community of stakeholders charged with implementing ShakeAlert CEO&TE. Priorities The enumeration of the five priorities listed below does not suggest priority ranking. Public safety, preparedness, and resilience; Technical implementation and engagement; Consistent messaging and communication; Integration with other Federal and State earthquake hazards products; and Educational resources development and dissemination. This strategic vision is a tangible outcome of collaboration among many stakeholders beginning in July 2016. Since then, the work of the ShakeAlert CEO&TE Community has grown into an international effort. The USGS has developed, tested, and implemented a broad spectrum of communication, education, and outreach tools and resources—all of which recognize that seconds matter when it comes to safety and mitigating harm from earthquake hazards. The CEO&TE social science research effort has provided invaluable insights into the ShakeAlert System’s human interface. USGS-licensed technical partners develop, test, and implement real-world applications using ShakeAlert Messages. The success of ShakeAlert CEO&TE efforts is predicated on robust collaboration across numerous agencies, organizations, and groups. As such, this strategic vision outlines a “partnership model” that delineates roles and responsibilities to ensure alignment with focus areas and priorities. The partnership model includes the CEO&TE lead agency (USGS); its principal partners (State agencies and university partners); its implementation partners (for example, technical partners who build systems to deliver ShakeAlert-powered products and (or) services [focus area one]), earthquake education partners who work to increase public preparedness for seismic events (focus area two); and other organizations that work together to enhance the adoption and effectiveness of the ShakeAlert System. These partners collaborate and convene through a variety of working groups and forums, which are also described in this strategic vision and align with focus area three (internal engagement). The CEO&TE Community collaboratively developed its operating principles and a consensus-based, decision-making strategic framework to guide its collective work. Performance metrics are used to continually measure success. Ultimately, the USGS and ShakeAlert CEO&TE Community are advancing the ShakeAlert System that as of the publication of this strategic vision to “provide earthquake early warning for all” serves more than 50 million people.

Circular↗
USGS2026

Preliminary geologic map of the Sparta East, Sparta West, and parts of the Glade Valley and Whitehead 7.5-minute quadrangles, North Carolina and Virginia, and the epicentral area of the August 9, 2020, Mw 5.1 earthquake near Sparta, North Carolina

Introduction New bedrock and surficial geologic mapping in the Sparta East, Sparta West, and parts of the Glade Valley and Whitehead 7.5-minute quadrangles, North Carolina and Virginia, investigates the geologic framework and causative mechanisms of the August 9, 2020, Mw 5.1 earthquake near Sparta, North Carolina. The mapping documents (1) the coseismic surface rupture from the 2020 earthquake and related brittle structures in the bedrock; (2) the fault contact between the western Blue Ridge and eastern Blue Ridge; (3) lithostratigraphy in the Lynchburg Group, Ashe Metamorphic Suite, and Alligator Back Metamorphic Suite; (4) the nature of the contact between the Lynchburg Group, Ashe Metamorphic Suite, and Alligator Back Metamorphic Suite; and (5) surficial deposits.

North Carolina, Virginia↗
USGS2025

2023 Earthquake Ground-Motion Workshop for the Central and Eastern United States, with a focus on the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains—Agenda and abstracts

The U.S. Geological Survey held a virtual workshop December 7–8, 2023, to share research and ideas about earthquake ground motions in the Central and Eastern United States, with a focus on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. The workshop was organized to learn about potential regionalization of ground-motion characteristics (source, path, and site), consider new explanatory variables for site response, and hear and discuss updates on ground-motion research on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. The workshop was organized into a series of contributed presentations and three panel discussions held during 2 days. This report documents the agenda, contributed abstracts, and panel summaries.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2025

Hydrogeologic framework and considerations for drilling and grouting of closed-loop geothermal bores in the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau of New York State

The hydrogeologic framework at closed-loop geothermal sites in the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau of central and western New York is the result of the complex interaction of bedrock geology, glacial geology, and groundwater hydrology, and the occurrence of petroleum and gas. Considerations for closed-loop geothermal bore installation include the thickness and character of glacial deposits, bedrock solubility and depth to competent rock, karst development, the distribution of highly permeable zones and their hydraulic heads, and the presence of saline water, gas, and oil. The hydrogeology of the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau poses challenges to closed-loop geothermal bore drilling and casing; managing drill cuttings, discharge water, and gas; and grouting. The potential to encounter severe challenges typically increases with bore depth. This report highlights hydrogeologic considerations for closed-loop geothermal bore installation in New York’s Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau to help guide the efficient and safe development of geothermal resources in the regions.

New York↗
USGS2026

Bathymetric maps, surface areas, and storage capacities of Council Grove Lake and Marion Reservoir, Kansas, and Pine Creek Lake, Oklahoma, 2024

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, completed high-resolution multibeam bathymetric surveys to compute new elevation-area-capacity tables for Council Grove Lake and Marion Reservoir, Kansas, and Pine Creek Lake, Oklahoma. Elevation-area-capacity tables identify the relation between the water-surface elevation, surface area, and storage capacity of the lake. The surface areas and storage capacities of each lake were computed from bathymetric surfaces combining multibeam echo sounder data collected in 2024 and light detection and ranging point-cloud data collected in 2016 and 2018.

Kansas, Oklahoma↗
USGS2025

AAPG Energy and Minerals Division Tight Oil and Gas Committee Activities and Commodity Report for 2021-2022: Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast basin, Louisiana and Mississippi

The Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) potential production area encompasses 20.4 million acres across central Louisiana (LA), southern Mississippi (MS), southwestern Alabama (AL), and a small southwestern section of the Florida panhandle (Hackley et al., 2018). It remains a minor and largely undeveloped unconventional shale oil play with production from the TMS confined along the east-west LA-MS State boundary (Fig. 1). The mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in the TMS are estimated at 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 4.6 trillion cubic feet of gas (Hackley et al., 2018). Geochemical analyses of source rock solvent extracts and oil samples indicate that, in the play area, the TMS is the primary source of shale oil produced from the TMS as well as of accumulated oils in the underlying conventional reservoirs of the lower Tuscaloosa (Hackley et al., 2020). The API gravity of TMS oils ranges from approximately 34 to 46 degrees (Hackley et al., 2020; Croke et al., 2020).

AAPG Wiki↗
USGS2024

Geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within parts of Bandera and Kendall Counties, Texas

The karstic Edwards and Trinity aquifers are classified as major sources of water in south-central Texas by the Texas Water Development Board. During 2019–23 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Edwards Aquifer Authority, mapped and described the geology and hydrostratigraphy of the rocks composing the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within parts of Bandera and Kendall Counties from field observations of the surficial expressions of the rocks. The thicknesses of the mapped lithostratigraphic and hydrostratigraphic units were also estimated from field observations in the study area. The Cretaceous rocks in the study area are part of the Trinity Group and Edwards Group. The groups, formations, and members are composed primarily of layers of marls, shales, and limestones. The limestones are composed of mudstone through grainstone, framestone and boundstone, dolomite, and argillaceous and evaporitic rocks. The principal structural feature in the study area is the Balcones fault zone. The Balcones fault zone is the result of late Oligocene and early Miocene extensional faulting and fracturing that was a result of the eastern Edwards Plateau uplift. In the Balcones fault zone, most of the faults in the study area are high-angle to vertical, en echelon, normal faults that are predominantly downthrown to the southeast. Hydrostratigraphically, the rocks exposed in the study area are those that contain the Edwards aquifer, the upper zone of the Trinity aquifer, and the middle zone of the Trinity aquifer. Descriptions of the hydrostratigraphic units, thicknesses, hydrologic function, porosity types, and field identification and observations are provided, including those for the informal Bandera and Love Creek hydrostratigraphic units of the Edwards aquifer, which were identified through the mapping for this study.

Texas↗
USGS2025

Water-resources inventory and assessment at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, prepared a water-resources inventory and assessment for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KAWW). This compilation includes published and publicly accessible hydrologic data and resource assessments of streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, wetlands, vernal pools, and groundwater in and near KAWW. It also includes reports and datasets summarizing attributes of KAWW’s hydrologic infrastructure, such as stream crossings, dams, wastewater discharge plants, groundwater monitoring wells, and U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. Descriptions of data and details of current limitations in available datasets are included. Wetland, groundwater, streamflow, and water-quality information are all limited. Hydrography data are available; however, there are limited ground-truth data. Accurate streamlines within KAWW were developed from light detection and ranging (lidar) as a part of this work. Hydrologic infrastructure information is available from multiple sources; however, differences exist among the datasets. Datasets are summarized in appendix 1.

Maine↗