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At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources

A map of environmental values as an aid to planning reclamation of surface-mined areas: The Gap quadrangle, Wyoming

A map showing four levels of values designed to assess the importance of environmental factors to local land use and ecological systems was made for The Gap 7 1/2-minute quadrangle, Wyoming, at 1:100,000 scale, using a computer program based on GMAPS. These map values are the sum of values assigned to each of several factors that are judged to he important components of the present environment. The values represent ranking positions of each factor based on the authors' evaluation of its relative environmental importance. The factors evaluated are ground water, land use, grazing capacity, stream length, elevation change resulting from mining, landscape types, visibility of terrain from main roads, and scenic bedrock formations. The map can be used by engineers to plan reclamation procedures before mining begins, because map areas having high environmental values will cost more to reclaim than areas having low values.

Wyoming↗

The road to Yucca Mountain—Evolution of nuclear waste disposal in the United States

The generation of electricity by nuclear power and the manufacturing of atomic weapons have created a large amount of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. There is a world-wide consensus that the best way to protect mankind and the environment is to dispose of this waste in a deep geologic repository. Initial efforts focused on salt as the best medium for disposal, but the heat generated by the radioactive waste led many earth scientists to examine other rock types. In 1976, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wrote to the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), predecessor agency of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), suggesting that there were several favorable environments at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and that the USGS already had extensive background information on the NTS. Later, in a series of communications and one publication, the USGS espoused the favorability of the thick unsaturated zone. After the passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (1982), the DOE compiled a list of nine favorable sites and settled on three to be characterized. In 1987, as the costs of characterizing three sites ballooned, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act directing the DOE to focus only on Yucca Mountain in Nevada, with the proviso that if anything unfavorable was discovered, work would stop immediately. The U.S. DOE, the U.S. DOE national laboratories, and the USGS developed more than 100 detailed plans to study various earth-science aspects of Yucca Mountain and the surrounding area, as well as materials studies and engineering projects needed for a mined geologic repository. The work, which cost more than 10 billion dollars and required hundreds of man-years of work, culminated in a license application submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2008.

Environmental & Engineering Geoscience↗

Floodplain storage of mine tailings in the Belle Fourche river system: a sediment budget approach

Arsenic‐contaminated mine tailings that were discharged into Whitewood Creek at Lead, South Dakota, from 1876 to 1978, were deposited along the floodplains of Whitewood Creek and the Belle Fourche River. The resulting arsenic‐contaminated floodplain deposit consists mostly of overbank sediments and filled abandoned meanders along White‐wood Creek, and overbank and point‐bar sediments along the Belle Fourche River. Arsenic concentrations of the contaminated sediments indicate the degree of dilution of mine tailings by uncontaminated alluvium. About 13 per cent of the 110 × 10 6 Mg of mine tailings that were discharged at Lead were deposited along the Whitewood Creek floodplain. Deposition of mine tailings near the mouth of Whitewood Creek was augmented by an engineered structure. About 29 per cent of the mine tailings delivered by Whitewood Creek were deposited along the Belle Fourche River floodplain. About 60 per cent of that sediment is contained in overbank deposits. Deposition along a segment of the Belle Fourche River was augmented by rapid channel migration. The proportions of contaminated sediment stored along Whitewood Creek and the Belle Fourche River are consistent with sediment storage along the floodplains of perennial streams in other, similar sized watersheds.

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms↗

Hydraulic tomography: 3D hydraulic conductivity, fracture network, and connectivity in mudstone

We present the first demonstration of hydraulic tomography (HT) to estimate the three-dimensional (3D) hydraulic conductivity ( K ) distribution of a fractured aquifer at high-resolution field scale (HRFS), including the fracture network and connectivity through it. We invert drawdown data collected from packer-isolated borehole intervals during 42 pumping tests in a wellfield at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, in the Newark Basin. Five additional tests were reserved for a quality check of HT results. We used an equivalent porous medium forward model and geostatistical inversion to estimate 3D K at high resolution ( K blocks <1 m 3 ), using no strict assumptions about K variability or fracture statistics. The resulting 3D K estimate ranges from approximately 0.1 (highest- K fractures) to approximately 10 −13 m/s (unfractured mudstone). Important estimated features include: (1) a highly fractured zone (HFZ) consisting of a sequence of high- K bedding-plane fractures; (2) a low- K zone that disrupts the HFZ; (3) several secondary fractures of limited extent; and (4) regions of very low- K rock matrix. The 3D K estimate explains complex drawdown behavior observed in the field. Drawdown tracing and particle tracking simulations reveal a 3D fracture network within the estimated K distribution, and connectivity routes through the network. Model fit is best in the shallower part of the wellfield, with high density of observations and tests. The capabilities of HT demonstrated for 3D fractured aquifer characterization at HRFS may support improved in situ remediation for contaminant source zones, and applications in mining, repository assessment, or geotechnical engineering.

New Jersey↗

Rare earths: Market disruption, innovation, and global supply chains

Rare earths, sometimes called the vitamins of modern materials, captured public attention when their prices increased more than ten-fold in 2010 and 2011. As prices fell between 2011 and 2016, rare earths receded from public view&mdash;but less visibly they became a major focus of innovative activity in companies, government laboratories and universities. Geoscientists worked to better understand the resource base and improve our knowledge about mineral deposits that will be mines in the future. Process engineers carried out research that is making primary production and recycling more efficient. Materials scientists and engineers searched for substitutes that will require fewer or no rare earths while providing properties comparable or superior to those of existing materials. As a result, even though global supply chains are not significantly different now than they were before the market disruption, the innovative activity motivated by the disruption likely will have far-reaching, if unpredictable, consequences for supply chains of rare earths in the future.

Environment and Resources↗

Water-quality monitoring and process understanding in support of environmental policy and management

The quantity and quality of freshwater at any point on the landscape reflect the combined effects of many processes operating along hydrological pathways within a drainage basin/watershed/catchment. Primary drivers for the availability of water are landscape changes and patterns, and the processes affecting the timing, magnitude, and intensity of precipitation, including global climate change. The degradation of air, land, and water in one part of a drainage basin can have negative effects on users downstream; the time and space scales of the effects are determined by the residence time along the various hydrological pathways. Hydrology affects transport, deposition, and recycling of inorganic materials and sediment. These components affect biota and associated ecosystem processes, which rely on sustainable flows throughout a drainage basin. Human activities on all spatial scales affect both water quantity and quality, and some human activities can have a disproportionate effect on an entire drainage basin. Aquatic systems have been continuously modified by agriculture, through land-use change, irrigation and navigation, disposal of urban, mining, and industrial wastes, and engineering modifications to the environment. Interdisciplinary integrated basin studies within the last several decades have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the linkages among air, land, and water resources. This understanding, coupled with environmental monitoring, has evolved a more multidisciplinary integrated approach to resource management, particularly within drainage basins.

Conference Paper↗

Mineral resource of the month: sulfur

The article presents information on sulfur. Sulfur is said to be among the few solid elements found in elemental form in nature and has industrial uses. Changes in the sulfur production process over the years are discussed as well as the mining process developed by German engineer Herman Frasch that involves melting the sulfur underground and pumping it to the surface.

Earth↗

The appraisal of ore reserves at a Japanese copper mine

Estimates of ore reserves at major Japanese metal mines seem, at first glance, to be readily understandable to American engineers and geologists. Close scrutiny, however, generally reveals unexpected features at each mine. For example, the Hitachi copper mine formerly segregated its developed ore reserve into positive and probable on the basis of the possibility of high-grade and low-grade production from individual stopes. Tests were made by the writer at Hitachi on the accuracy of the original reserve estimates of a few ore blocks by comparing those figures with the final production data. The results suggesthat the average reserve estimate of positive ore may be accurate within 20 percent, plus or minus. A ten-year supply of proved ore at the big mines is not unusual; hence Hitachi is not much concerned with the additional categories of probable and possible ore, unless the positive ore has become inaccessible because of caving of the workings. For the sake of comprehensiveness, however, the writer studied the assay maps and stope maps in collaboration with the mine management and estimated tonnages of probable and possible ore, qualified by lower reliability ratings. Exploration prospects also were described in actual figures, subject to a variation of plus-or-minus 75 percent.

Ibaraki Prefecture↗

Sampling and monitoring for closure

The Metals Mining Sector of the Acid Drainage Technology Initiative (ADTI-MMS) addresses technical drainage-quality issues related to metal mining and related metallurgical operations, for future and active mines, as well as, for historical mines and mining districts. One of the first projects of ADTI-MMS is to develop a handbook describing the best sampling, monitoring, predicting, mitigating, and modeling of drainage from metal mines, pit lakes and related metallurgical facilities based upon current scientific and engineering practices. One of the important aspects of planning a new mine in today's regulatory environment is the philosophy of designing a new or existing mine or expansion of operations for ultimate closure. The holistic philosophy taken in the ADTI-MMS handbook maintains that sampling and monitoring programs should be designed to take into account all aspects of the mine-life cycle. Data required for the closure of the operation are obtained throughout the mine-life cycle, from exploration through post-closure.

Conference Paper↗

Earthquake alarm; operating the seismograph station at the University of California, Berkeley.

An alarm bell rings at the seismographic station and at the office of the campus police. It is 3:00 on a foggy San Francisco morning. Somewhere in the world an earthquake has occurred. The police telephone the duty seismologist at home telling him that the alarm has triggered. He makes his way into the seismograph station, bathrobe and all, to locate the earthquake and determine its magnitude. In this way, many seismology graduate students have been initiated into the responsibilities of running a seismographic station. At the University of California seismographic stations, the task of locating and determining magnitudes for both local and distant earthquakes is a continuous one. Teleseisms must be located rapidly so that events that occur in the Pacific can be identified and the Pacific Tsunami Warning System alerted. For great earthquakes anywhere, there is a responsibility to notify public agencies such as the California Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the California Seismic Safety Commission, and the American Red Cross. In the case of damaging local earthquakes, it is necessary to alert also the California Department of Water Resources, California Division of Mines and Geology, U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit. These days, any earthquakes that are felt in northern California cause immediate inquiries from the news media and an interested public. The series of earthquakes that jolted the Livermore area from January 24 to 26 1980, is a good case in point.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗

Behaviour of abandoned room and pillar mines in Illinois

Little comprehensive information has been reported on the behaviour of room-and-pillar mines. The objective of this paper is to present case data on mine failures in the Illinois basin for use in practice. Presented are results of an ongoing study and details on the site characteristics of cases where sags have developed on the surface. Site data are reported to show the geologic, mining, and sag conditions that existed. Sags mainly develop from pillar, floor, or pillar-floor failure. The character of the sags depends upon the type of mine failure as well as the overburden response. Preliminary results show that the statistical no-risk tributary pressure decreases over 300% as the mine age increases from about 2 to 100 years at a long-term value of approximately 300 psi (2070 kPa). As more information is collected and more analysis is done, the allowable tributary pressure can be determined for different site conditions. A plot is also reported that depicts the relationship of the maximum subsidence to site conditions. It was found that the modified subsidence factor was heavily dependent upon the overburden rock thickness. ?? 1989 Chapman & Hall Ltd.

International Journal of Mining and Geological Eng↗

The next generation of products and methodologies to establish biocrusts in degraded ecosystems

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) – thin, coherent soil surface layers aggregated and inhabited by communities of tiny photoautotrophic and heterotrophic organisms – support ecosystem functioning in drylands and influence the Earth system. Biocrust loss due to disturbance, global change and land use leads to altered hydrological function, susceptibility to erosion and diminished biogeochemical cycling, with consequences extending to regional and global environmental quality and ecosystem service provisioning. To restore degraded drylands, specific techniques could inform how to 1. produce biocrust biota ex situ for use as an inoculum in degraded environments and then 2. encourage the establishment of the inoculum in high-stress environments. To re-establish lost biocrusts, a promising pathway could be the integration of adding biocrust biota (inoculation), ensuring that it stays where applied (retention) and softening environmental stresses and limitations (amelioration) at approximately the same time. Several techniques, most of them developed in only the past few years, demonstrate this integration: biocrust sods, cloths, pellets, capsules and slurries. Biocrust sods are fabric-reinforced patches of biocrust growing on soil, produced in farms and transported to and deployed intact in field sites. Biocrust cloths are fabrics and sheets with biocrust biota grown directly on their surface in greenhouse-based fog chambers that can be attached to soil in the field. Biocrust pellets are small, protective pieces of a binder material (often clay) infused with biocrust inoculum. Biocrust capsules are biodegradable gel capsules filled with biocrust inoculum, often with protective substances. Both pellets and capsules are broadcast over degraded soils. Biocrust slurries are semi-liquid suspensions of biocrust inoculum and other solids that are sprayed or spread in degraded sites. Emerging techniques like these have the potential to restore highly functional drylands and their ecosystem services. Potential applications include ecological restoration of dryland areas disturbed by fire, overgrazing, agriculture, mining and other factors or environmental engineering in other contexts such as cultural heritage sites, croplands or human infrastructure. The next-generation techniques for biocrust restoration described here are tools that could be applied to solve small- to medium-scaled challenges now and with increased production efficiency and informed, strategic use of the products, large-scaled challenges in the future.

Drylands↗

Petroleum system and production characteristics of the Muddy (J) Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous) Wattenberg continuous gas field, Denver basin, Colorado

Wattenberg field is a continuous-type gas accumulation. Estimated ultimate recovery from current wells is 1.27 tcf of gas from the Lower Cretaceous Muddy (J) Sandstone. Mean gas resources that have the potential to be added to these reserves in the next 30 yr are 1.09 tcf; this will be primarily through infill drilling to recover a greater percentage of gas in place and to drain areas that are isolated because of geologic compartmentalization. Greatest gas production from the Muddy (J) Sandstone in Wattenberg field occurs (1) from within the most permeable and thickest intervals of Fort Collins Member delta-front and nearshore-marine sandstones, (2) to a lesser extent from the Horsetooth Member valley-fill channel sandstones, (3) in association with a large thermal anomaly that is delineated by measured temperatures in wells and by vitrinite reflectance contours of 0.9% and greater, (4) in proximity to the bounding Mowry, Graneros, and Skull Creek shales that are the hydrocarbon source rocks and reservoir seals, and (5) between the Lafayette and Longmont right-lateral wrench fault zones (WFZs) with secondary faults that act as conduits in areas of the field. The axis of greatest gas production is north 25 to 35 degrees northeast, which parallels the basin axis. Recurrent movement along five right-lateral WFZs that crosscut Wattenberg field shifted the Denver basin axis to the northeast and influenced depositional and erosional patterns of the reservoir and seal intervals. Levels of thermal maturity within the Wattenberg field are anomalously high compared to other areas of the Denver basin. The Wattenberg field thermal anomaly may be due to upward movement of fluids along faults associated with probable igneous intrusions. Areas of anomalous high heat flow within the field correlate with an increased and variable gas-oil ratio. Debra Higley has 5 years experience in uranium exploration and 20 years as a petroleum geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Her research interests include and integrate reservoir characterization, thermal maturation studies, and petroleum resource assessment in basins in North and South America. She received a B.S. degree in geology from Mesa State College (Colorado) and an M.S. degree in geochemistry and Ph.D. in geology from the Colorado School of Mines.Dave Cox is vice president of Reservoir Engineering for Questa Engineering in Golden, Colorado. He has 25 years experience in the oil and gas industry, primarily in reservoir engineering and property evaluations, and has analyzed reservoirs in 31 states of the United States and 19 other countries. He is an expert in coalbed methane, tight gas reservoirs, and enhanced oil recovery. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Robert Weimer has taught courses in stratigraphy, regional and field geology, and energy resource exploration and development for 43 years. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Wyoming and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has been a visiting professor at universities in Calgary, Canada; Adelaide, Australia; and Bandung, Indonesia. He is currently professor emeritus, Colorado School of Mines. Weimer has been honored for teaching excellence, blending basic and applied research, national and international continuing education, and service to scientific societies and to state and national boards.

Colorado↗

Use of USGS earth-science products by county planning agencies in the San Francisco Bay region, California

An inventory of the use of USGS products in selected planning studies, plans, ordinances, and other planning activities was made for eight counties in the San Francisco Bay region--a region of almost five million people. This inventory was designed to determine and document the use of the 87 earth-science information products prepared as a part of the San Francisco Bay Region Environment and Resources Planning Study (SFBRS). The inventory showed that: (1) all eight counties had planning staffs who were very familiar with SFBRS products and had made frequent use of such products; (2) all eight counties had prepared planning documents which cite SFBRS products; (3) the types of planning applications most often indicated were: geologic hazards studies, seismic safety and public safety plan elements, general reference, and the preparation and review of environmental impact reports and statements; (4) over 90 percent of the 87 SFBRS products were used at least once, and nine of the products were used over 30 times each for various county planning activities; and (5) at least 85 other USGS products were also used for various county planning activities. After the inventory, selected county officials, employees, and consultants were interviewed and asked--among other things--to indicate any problems in the use of the SFBRS products, to suggest improvements, and to identify any needed or desired earth-science information. The responses showed that: (1) the scales commonly used for working maps were 1:62,500 or larger and for plan implementation were 1:24,000 or larger; (2) only one county had a geologist on its planning staff, although six others had the benefit of geotechnical services from private consulting firms, county engineering staffs, or the State Division of Mines and Geology; (3) seven of the eight counties expressed some problems in using the products, primarily because of their small scale or lack of detail; (4) all eight counties expected to continue to use the products and expressed a need or desire for additional earth-science, engineering, or other information; (5) all eight counties suggested specific improvements to future products, primarily larger scale or more detail and fewer technical or more interpretive products; and (6) all eight counties received educational, advisory, and review services from USGS personnel. Seventeen selected examples of the application of SFBRS products to various county planning activities are discussed and illustrated. These examples include four planning studies, seven plans, and two ordinances. From the inventory and responses to the interviews, it is concluded that the counties in the Bay region are very familiar with, have made frequent use of, and will continue to use SFBRS products for a wide range of county planning activities. Suggestions to ensure more effective use of earth-science information in the future include: (1) monitoring emerging critical issues and analyzing new state and federal laws and regulations so as to better anticipate and respond to county earth-science information needs; (2) creating a users advisory committee to help identify critical issues and user needs; (3) providing engineering interpretations and land- and water-use capability ratings to make earth-science information more readily usable; (4) giving priority to areas impacted by development so as to husband staff resources; (5) providing earth-science information at the larger scale and greater detail commonly used and needed by counties; (6) releasing earth-science information earlier and according to a formal distribution pattern; and (7) providing educational, advisory, and review services in connection with any earth-science information designed for planners and decisionmakers.

Open-File Report↗

Geologic investigation at the site of the post office building, Welch, West Virginia

Statement of Problem: Cracking in the interior and exterior walls of the post office building at Welch, West Virginia, developed in the summer of 1947. This cracking appeared about two months after the patching of similar cracks that had developed in 1946. The Public Buildings Administration was requested to investigate the damage. They, in turn, requested the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines to furnish representatives to work with their engineer in determining the cause of the cracking. The press gave widespread publicity to the cracking of walls in the post office and other buildings in Welch. This report explains how the investigation was conducted, describes topographic, geologic, and mining conditions found during the field examination, and draws conclusions based on the facts observed.

West Virginia↗

Guidebook on the geology, history, and surface-water contamination and remediation in the area from Denver to Idaho Springs, Colorado

This guidebook for a 1-day drive in the Front Range west of Denver, Colorado, includes commentary on mountain landscapes, notes on the colorful mining history of the area, and discussions on the geology and some miningrelated environmental hazards in the Idaho Springs area. It was originally prepared as U.S. Geological Survey OpenFile Report 91-426 for a field trip sponsored by Division A-5 (Environmental Quality) of the Soil Science Society of America on October 10, 1991. That original report has been revised and expanded to make this circular more useful as a self-contained guide. A pamphlet entitled "Mountains and Plains: Denver's Geologic Setting" is a complimentary general interest publication that is available free of charge from map sales in building 810 on the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, Colorado. The pamphlet contains useful background information on the geologic setting of Denver and nearby portions of the Front Range. A few precautions and suggestions are offered to make the trip safe and enjoyable. Idaho Springs is about 7,500 feet above sea level and the lower oxygen content of the air (about 50 percent that of sea level) may adversely affect people with heart or breathing problems. The wetlands are "wet" so use suitable footwear. The daily weather patterns are changeable. Mornings in Denver may be sunny and warm, but afternoons in Idaho Springs may be cloudy, windy, and cool with rain or snow; be prepared for all types of mountain weather. As you travel westward from Denver into the mountains, successively older rocks are crossed. By studying the descriptions at the various mileage points and by taking time at each described STOP, you will get an excellent overview of the geologic events that shaped the Denver Basin and the mountains to the west. After traveling some 18 miles into the mountains, you will reach the old mining town of Idaho Springs. Here, you can learn about the two longest tunnels in the area-the Argo and Big Five Tunnels-and how the mine drainage affects the water of Clear Creek. The Argo Tunnel near the east end of Idaho Springs drains part of the large Central City and Idaho Springs hardrock mining districts and is a source of acid water (which contains arsenic and other heavy metals) that drains into Clear Creek. At the west end ofldaho Springs is the Big Five Tunnel. Near the tunnel entrance an experimental constructed wetland demonstrates technology for the remediation of acid-mine drainage and removal of arsenic and heavy metals. Take an opportunity to view this experimental method for treatment of mine drainage. For access to the wetlands, prior arrangements must be made with the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Ecology or Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Otherwise, the wetlands may be viewed from the road. Permission to enter the Argo Tunnel property may be obtained from Jim Maxwell of Idaho Springs, who owns the hot springs resort. The tunnel may also be viewed from public roads. After you leave Idaho Springs, the road log guides you down Clear Creek canyon, providing an opportunity to get a closer look at the various Precambrian rocks while traveling through one of Colorado's picturesque canyons.

Denver, Idaho Springs↗

Coastal-zone hazard maps and recommendations: Eastern Puerto Rico

A series of coastal zone hazard maps cover the area impacted by Hurricane Hugo (1989) in eastern Puerto Rico. The mapping strategy was to develop a tool for quick visualization of multiple hazards for use by coastal planners, managers, property owners, and potential property owners. The Puerto Rico shoreline is heavily developed in places and also highly compartmentalized in terms of shoreline types, geology, and adjacent shelf conditions. Hazards such as coastal erosion, storm surge, riverine flooding, landsliding, and seismic impact also may be compartmentalized. From a management perspective, resources therefore can be allocated on a compartment-by-compartment basis. Six types of hazards were considered in this investigation: (1) shoreline-setting hazards (long-term coastal problems), (2) marine hazards (short-term impacts of coastal storms), (3) earthquake and slope hazards (ground shaking, landslides, and liquefaction), (4) riverine hazards (historical floods), (5) development hazards (high-density development at risk or lowdensity development in extreme-hazard settings), and (6) engineering hazards (special cases in which shoreline engineering projects such as breakwaters or sand mining have significant detrimental effects on portions of the shoreline). Shoreline segments were ranked as being at extreme, high, moderate, or low risk, depending on the number of hazards present within that segment. These rankings are likely to change, gradually over decades with natural coastal evolution, more rapidly as human development infringes on the coastal zone, or in an instant during a severe storm. The hazard maps provide a basis for hazard mitigation and management recommendations.

Puerto Rico↗