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At least 631 records · Page 35Linked to original sources

USGS1984

Government investment in mineral resource information on leasable public lands: The case of strippable coal

A scheme is presented to aid the government in estimating the net benefits, in terms of itsrecovery of expected rents, of performing various levels of exploration of mineral tracts prior to leasing and making such information available to potential bidders. Conditions are identified where the government will profit by investment in geologic data that are collected and provided to potential bidders without reducing the expected returns to bidders. Expected benefits of an optimal data-collection program depend on (1) the degree of bidder risk aversion, (2) the expected degree of lease competition and (3) unique lease tract factors that determine economic rents—thickness of seams, proximity to markets, extraction costs, and the spatial correlation characteristics of data. The effects of price uncertainty and government policies affecting market stability on the value of information are also discussed.

Resources and Energy↗

USGS2024

Risk of invasive waterfowl interaction with poultry production: Understanding potential for avian pathogen transmission via species distribution models

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have devastated poultry production across the United States, with more than 77 million birds culled in 2022–2024 alone. Wild waterfowl, including various invasive species, host numerous pathogens, including highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV), and have been implicated as catalysts of disease outbreaks among native fauna and domestic birds. In major poultry-producing states like Arkansas, USA, where the poultry sector is responsible for significant economic activity (>$4 billion USD in 2022), understanding the risk of invasive waterfowl interactions with domestic poultry is critical. Here, we assessed the risk of invasive waterfowl-poultry interaction in Arkansas by comparing the density of poultry production sites (chicken houses) to areas of high habitat suitability for two invasive waterfowl species, (Egyptian Goose [ Alopochen aegyptiaca ] and Mute Swan [ Cygnus olor ]), known to host significant pathogens, including avian influenza viruses. The percentage of urban land cover was the most important habitat characteristic for both invasive waterfowl species. At the 95% confidence interval, chicken house densities in areas highly suitable for both species (Egyptian Goose = 0.91 ± 0.11 chicken houses/km 2 ; Mute Swan = 0.61 ± 0.03 chicken houses/km 2 ) were three to five times higher than chicken house densities across the state (0.17 ± 0.01 chicken houses/km 2 ). We show that northwestern and western Arkansas, both areas of high importance for poultry production, are also at high risk of invasive waterfowl presence. Our results suggest that targeted monitoring efforts for waterfowl-poultry contact in these areas could help mitigate the risk of avian pathogen exposure in Arkansas and similar regions with high poultry production.

Biological Invasions↗

USGS1990

Residual currents and long-term transport

Estuaries, bays, and contiguous coastal seas of the world are the most valuable and yet most vulnerable marine ecosystems. For centuries, society has placed enormous value on coastal areas for living, working, and recreation. In nearly all regions of the world, the largest population is distributed along the coastlines. The marine ecosystems provide food, shelter, and spawning grounds for fisheries, and refuge and sanctuary for wildlife. Dramatic increases in the population living in coastal regions have changed the pattern of land use and the movement of sediments. Obviously, these changes have not come without a price. Accompanying the coastal population increase is competition for the use of estuarine and coastal resources: the diversion of fresh water for irrigation and the discharge of waste water into these systems. The changing patterns of water use have resulted in deterioration of water quality, and in irreversible impacts on many marine ecosystems. All of these alterations directly affect the economic development and the quality of life in adjacent regions.

Book↗

USGS1986

Prospects for mineral resource assessments on public lands: Proceedings of the Leesburg workshop

Modern geological surveys pursue a wide spectrum of research activities in the earth sciences. From the beginning, however, one of the core tasks of any national geological survey has been the assessment and evaluation of its nation's mineral and fuel resources. The methods by which such assessments are carried out have become more sophisticated over time, in keeping with advancing geoscientific knowledge and the development and application of new concepts and technologies. However, the basic objectives of such work have changed little, and the fundamental goal remains the construction of the best possible base of information on the nature, distribution and economic potential of the resources within a nation's landmass and its offshore jurisdictions.

Circular↗

USGS2011

Wind energy in the United States and materials required for the land-based wind turbine industry from 2010 through 2030

The generation of electricity in the United States from wind-powered turbines is increasing. An understanding of the sources and abundance of raw materials required by the wind turbine industry and the many uses for these materials is necessary to assess the effect of this industry's growth on future demand for selected raw materials relative to the historical demand for these materials. The U.S. Geological Survey developed estimates of future requirements for raw (and some recycled) materials based on the assumption that wind energy will supply 20 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States by 2030. Economic, environmental, political, and technological considerations and trends reported for 2009 were used as a baseline. Estimates for the quantity of materials in typical "current generation" and "next generation" wind turbines were developed. In addition, estimates for the annual and total material requirements were developed based on the growth necessary for wind energy when converted in a wind powerplant to generate 20 percent of the U.S. supply of electricity by 2030. The results of the study suggest that achieving the market goal of 20 percent by 2030 would require an average annual consumption of about 6.8 million metric tons of concrete, 1.5 million metric tons of steel, 310,000 metric tons of cast iron, 40,000 metric tons of copper, and 380 metric tons of the rare-earth element neodymium. With the exception of neodymium, these material requirements represent less than 3 percent of the U.S. apparent consumption for 2008. Recycled material could supply about 3 percent of the total steel required for wind turbine production from 2010 through 2030, 4 percent of the aluminum required, and 3 percent of the copper required. The data suggest that, with the possible exception of rare-earth elements, there should not be a shortage of the principal materials required for electricity generation from wind energy. There may, however, be selective manufacturing shortages if the total demand for raw materials from all markets is greater than the available supply of these materials or the capacity of industry to manufacture components. Changing economic conditions could also affect the development schedule of anticipated capacity.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS1940

Phosphate deposits of the United States

Different types of phosphate deposits and different sources of phosphate in the United States are briefly discussed. In Florida two types of phosphate are now mined, land pebble and hard rock. The principal characteristics of these types of rock are stated and methods of prospecting, mining and recovery briefly outlined. Testimony given before the Congressional Committee to Investigate the Adequacy and Use of Phosphate Resources of the United States, November 28, 1938, at Lakeland, Fla., showed Florida's reserves to be far greater than previously supposed. Similarly at corresponding hearings in Tennessee a few days earlier the reserves of brown phosphate, the only type now mined in that State, were shown to exceed earlier official estimates. Reserves of the Western fields have been raised a little to bring them abreast of current information but no attempt has been made, as in the other States named, to include lower grades of rock than those formerly considered in the estimates. Professor J. Stewart Williams has shown for Utah that such a procedure would tremendously increase these figures . Reserves of the United States as a whole are now considered to exceed ten billion tons, not counting those classed as possible or certain phosphatic limestones mentioned at the hearings of the Congressional Committee. As nearly 2,000,000 acres of public land in the Western States and 66,000 acres in Florida remain to be examined for their phosphate content the stated figure will ultimately be greatly increased. At the present rate of consumption, 3,000,000 tons annually, ten billion tons would last more than 3,000 years.

Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, South Carolina,↗

USGS1950

Characteristics of marine uranium-bearing sedimentary rocks

Many marine sedimentary black shale and phosphorite formations contain 0.01 to 0.02 percent uranium, and one, the alum shale of Sweden, contains as much as 0.5 percent. The published fact that uranium is already being recovered on a laboratory scale from Swedish deposits forcefully suggests that similar deposits in the United States and possibly many other countries may prove to be an important future source of uranium.The marine uranium-bearing black shales are rich in organic matter and sulfides and contain little or no carbonate. The best are found in relatively thin formations of pre-Mesozoic age. The nature of the uranium-bearing mineral or compound is not known. In contrast, nonmarine black shales, as a group, are not uraniferous.All marine phosphorites tested thus far are uraniferous and so too are the phosphatic nodules found in many marine black shales. With some exceptions, the uranium increases in a general way with increase in phosphate content and is believed to be in the phosphate mineral. Like the black shales, the phosphorite formations are characteristically thin; many are associated with unconformities or, in other words, periods during which little else in the way of sediment accumulated.Significant concentrations of uranium in marine sediments other than black shales and phosphorites are thus far known only in beach placer deposits and the gold-bearing conglomerates of the Witwatersrand district, South Africa.Uranium may be found in other types of marine sediments on further prospecting, but especially promising are the sediments rich in organic matter, phosphate, or both, found in relatively thin formations believed to be the entire depositional products of long periods of geologic time. Such formations are most characteristic of those areas where, at the time of deposition, the adjacent land masses were so stable and low that the influx of clastic materials was small; the basin of deposition was large or of such configuration that fine-grained sediments could accumulate; and chemical conditions in the seawater prevented deposition of large amounts of carbonate.

Economic Geology↗

USGS2019

Assessing beach and island habitat loss in the Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva coastal bay region, USA, through processing of Landsat TM and OLI imagery: A case study

Beaches and islands provide economic value to humans and critical habitat for breeding and foraging wildlife. These ecosystems, however, are being severely impacted by global climate change and sea level rise through increased erosion and frequency of inundation. The case study presented here aimed to document island loss in the Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva coastal bay region of the United States using image processing techniques within a GIS from 1986 to 2016. Satellite imagery from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors were processed within ArcMap 10.5 to determine spatial and temporal trends in island and beach habitat. Calculation of unweighted Cohen’s Kappa showed that classified scenes were, on average, within the range of moderate agreement between the classified Landsat scenes and the validation imagery within Google Earth (0.539). Recommendations regarding existing beach habitat management and future supplementation were created based on these results. From 1986 to 2016, island area declined by over 1,200 hectares (ha) with agriculture/open field (all open vegetated spaces) declining by nearly 82% and beach, surprisingly, increasing nearly 2%. This study was the first to document Chesapeake Bay region-wide island loss beyond the mid-2000s. The accuracy of this study was limited slightly by the 30 m spatial resolution of the imagery used. This technique may be best suited for documenting trends on large islands and along the mainland coastline.

Maryland, Virginia↗

USGS2000

Monitoring surface-water quality in Arizona: the fixed-station network

Arizona is an arid State in which economic development is influenced largely by the quantity and quality of water and the location of adequate water supplies. In 1995, surface water supplied about 58 percent of total withdrawals in Arizona. Of the total amount of surface water used in 1995, about 89 percent was for agriculture, 10 percent for public supply, and 1 percent for industrial supply (including mining and thermoelectric; Solley and others, 1998). As a result of rapid population growth in Arizona, historic agricultural lands in the Phoenix (Maricopa County) and Tucson (Pima County) areas are now being developed for residential and commercial use; thus, the amount of water used for public supply is increasing. The Clean Water Act was established by U.S. Congress (1972) in response to public concern about water-pollution control. The act defines a process by which the United States Congress and the citizens are informed of the Nation’s progress in restoring and maintaining the quality of our waters. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is the State-designated agency for this process and, as a result, has developed a monitoring program to assess water quality in Arizona. The ADEQ is required to submit a water-quality assessment report to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) every 2 years. The USEPA summarizes the reports from each State and submits a report to the Congress characterizing water quality in the United States. These reports serve to inform Congress and the public of the Nation’s progress toward the restoration and maintenance of water quality in the United States (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 1998).

Arizona↗

USGS2002

USGS capabilities for interdisciplinary investigations in coastal and nearshore ecosystems of the Great Lakes

People choose to reside, work, and vacation in coastal areas of the Great Lakes because of the lakes' scenic beauty and their historic and cultural features. Great Lakes nearshore areas also constitute a valuable economic resource. Two million anglers added \$1 billion to the region's economy in 1996. More than 300 million tons of goods were transported out of major Great Lakes ports at a value of \$3 billion in 1996. A 1998 survey of Lake Erie beaches estimated contributions of $5 million per year to each local economy with a public beach. More than 70 million people yearly visit national, state and provincial parks in the Great Lakes area. Uncontrolled land development, recreational development, invasive species, climate change, water availability, and water-level changes and fluctuations lead a long list of current and potential issues in coastal and nearshore areas. To be effectively addressed, these complex issues require an interdisciplinary approach.

Great Lakes↗

USGS1974

Geohydrology of Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservations, South Dakota

Effective improvement of economic and social conditions of Indians living on Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reservations has been hampered by lack of adequate and reliable information about the quantity and quality of water supplies available for development. Compounding the problem, and making especially pressing the need for discovery and development of new water supplies, is the recent filling of Fort Randall and Big Bend Reservoirs on the Missouri River, and the consequent relocation of may residents. Much of the best land and known water supplies are inundated beneath the reservoirs. This report summarized the results of a water-resources study made at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

South Dakota↗

USGS1983

Mineral resource potential map of the Gee Creek Wilderness, Polk and Monroe counties, Tennessee

The Gee Creek Wilderness comprises 2,493 acres (nearly 4 square miles) in the Cherokee National Forest, Polk and Monroe Counties, Tennessee, about 4 miles (6 km) southeast of Etowah, Tenn., and about 20 miles northeast of Cleveland, Tenn. All of the surface in the wilderness is in U.S. Government ownership; mineral rights on nearly half of the land remain in private ownership. The study area is in the Blue Ridge physiographic province. The major rock types in the wilderness area consist of sandstone, shale, and conglomerate of the Chilhowee Group of Cambrian and Cambrian(?) age. Faulting appears to have controlled the location of minor subeconomic iron deposits, but no potential mineral resources were detected by the present survey. Shales, useful for brick or lightweight aggregate, and sandstone, useful for crushed stone or sand, have little economic interest because these rock types are common throughout the region and are found closer to potential markets. The possibility of natural gas occurring in untested rocks structurally beneath the Chilhowee strata cannot be discounted. No potential was found for any other mineral resource.

Tennesee↗

USGS2000

Management of land use conflicts in the United States Rocky Mountains

People have long been attracted to the beauty and grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. Until very recently, however, the Rocky Mountain region was sparsely populated and its use mostly extractive. Commodities removed in massive quantities included first beaver, then precious metals, timber, energy, and finally water. There has been a fundamental change in migration patterns since the 1980s. Populations are expanding not only in urban areas; many rural areas are also growing faster. In an affluent and mobile society, Americans are moving to the West for aesthetic reasons, often based on perceptions that have little to do with regional roots, family ties, or economic opportunities. Wallace Stegner described the West into the 1980s as a colony for the rest of the nation. “It seems to be almost like a continuous repetitive act of God that the western resources should be mined …, that populations should rush in and have to rush out again, or trickle out again…. Get in, get rich, get out….Every boom and bust leaves the West physically a little poorer, a little worse damaged” ( Stegner 1996 ). In an article about actor and director Robert Redford, writer Richard Raynor talks about unexpected side effects Redford's movies have had on American behavior. “A River Runs Through It" dangerously swelled the banks of American rivers with novice fishermen. It seems likely that Redford's loving rendition of ranch life in The Horse Whisperer … will have a similar effect on western Montana, filling it with even more people in a nostalgic search for American rapture and simplicity” (1998).

Rocky Mountains↗

USGS2020

Pilot-scale testing of dairy manure treatments to reduce nutrient transport from land application, northwest Ohio, 2015–17

Manure and wastewater from large livestock operations have the potential to negatively affect surface water and groundwater, including the eutrophication of surface waters and harmful algal blooms. In the Western Lake Erie Basin, where there is a high density of animal agriculture, harmful algal blooms have been attributed, in part, to phosphorus loading from dairy manure and fertilizer applications. Liquid lagoon manure produced by dairy operations typically has low nutrient concentrations and high-water content, so transportation costs are high relative to the value of the nutrients when applied to fields. Treatment systems are needed to transform manure into a dewatered product that is more economical to transport greater distances and that slows and (or) reduces the release of nutrients in soil, allowing nutrients to remain available for crop growth. This study was designed to pilot test a treatment solution in the Western Lake Erie Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey and Bowling Green State University field tested a dewatering treatment process (coagulant/polymer mixture) for dairy manure at pilot-scale test plots at The Ohio State University Agricultural Research and Development Center Northwest Agricultural Research Station. Automatic samplers were used to collect samples during 13 baseline and 9 post-manure application rainfall events that resulted in substantial surface runoff and (or) tile flow from October 2015 through early November 2017. Results are reported for three test plots that received liquid lagoon manure (raw manure) and three test plots that received polymer-treated manure (treated manure). Nutrient concentrations and flow volumes in surface runoff and tile flow were determined in baseline and post-manure application rainfall events. Nutrient concentration ranges are reported for 9 baseline and 9 post-manure application events as follows: dissolved reactive phosphorus, less than (<) 0.013−2.16 milligrams per liter (mg/L); nitrate plus nitrite, filtered, 0.32−77 mg/L; ammonia, filtered, <0.05−2.6 mg/L; total phosphorus, <0.01−12.8 mg/L; and total nitrogen, 1.49−77.2 mg/L. Volumes are reported for 6 baseline and 9 post-manure application rainfall events. None of the post-manure application runoff volumes were significantly different by plot or by treatment type (raw manure versus treated manure). Because concentrations alone do not reflect the true effects of different manure treatments, loads and flow-weighted mean concentrations of nutrients during post-manure application rainfall events were compared between plots with treated manure and those with raw manure. Loads of dissolved reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrate plus nitrite, and total nitrogen were calculated using the U.S. Geological Survey Graphical Constituent Loading and Analysis System. Loads of ammonia were not calculated because many of the ammonia concentrations were below the reporting limit. During the post-manure application period, higher nitrogen loads resulted from tile flow than surface runoff. For phosphorus, the opposite was true in that higher loads resulted from surface runoff than tile flow. Combined loads (surface runoff and tile flow) of dissolved reactive phosphorus were significantly different between raw manure and treated manure plots, but there was no significant difference in combined loads of total phosphorus, nitrate plus nitrite, or total nitrogen between raw manure and treated manure plots. Flow-weighted mean concentrations were calculated for the combined loads for the post-manure application rainfall events. Flow-weighted mean concentrations of dissolved reactive phosphorus and, to a lesser extent, total phosphorus were significantly different between raw manure and treated manure plots. Flow-weighted mean concentrations of nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen were not significantly different between raw manure and treated manure plots. The differences in loads and flow-weighted mean concentrations between raw manure and treated manure plots indicate that dissolved reactive phosphorus was likely retained in the soil and hydrological transport was reduced for the plots amended with the treated manure as compared to raw manure. Although confirmation field testing needs to be done, these results indicate that the use of this coagulant/polymer mixture shows potential in helping to reduce flow of dissolved phosphorus from agricultural fields with applied manure.

Ohio↗

USGS2010

Chemistry of selected core samples, concentrate, tailings, and tailings pond waters: Pea Ridge iron (-lanthanide-gold) deposit, Washington County, Missouri

The Minerals at Risk and for Emerging Technologies Project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program is examining potential sources of lanthanide elements (rare earth elements) as part of its objective to provide up-to-date geologic information regarding mineral commodities likely to have increased demand in the near term. As part of the examination effort, a short visit was made to the Pea Ridge iron (-lanthanide-gold) deposit, Washington County, Missouri in October 2008. The deposit, currently owned by Wings Enterprises, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri (Wings), contains concentrations of lanthanides that may be economic as a primary product or as a byproduct of iron ore production. This report tabulates the results of chemical analyses of the Pea Ridge samples and compares rare earth elements contents for world class lanthanide deposits with those of the Pea Ridge deposit. The data presented for the Pea Ridge deposit are preliminary and include some company data that have not been verified by the USGS or by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Land Survey (DGLS), Geological Survey Program (MGS). The inclusion of company data is for comparative purposes only and does not imply an endorsement by either the USGS or MGS.

Missouri↗

USGS2009

Optical dating of the anastasia formation, northeastern florida, USA

The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) procedure was used to obtain optically stimulated luminescence ages to determine the depositional age of the upper part of the Anastasia Formation. This unit, which crops out along the east coast of Florida, is one of the most culturally and economically important coquina deposits in North America. Rock samples from the upper three meters of exposure at three locations were collected. Additional materials for paleontological analysis were also taken. Based on our samples, the luminescence ages of the Anastasia Formation are well within marine isotope stage 5, which is supported by the results of Osmond et al. (1970) based on U/Th ages. The associated fossil assemblages support our luminescence age determinations. Associated fossils fall within the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age (300 10 ka) and the fossil mollusk assemblage consists entirely of modern species.

Southeastern Geology↗

USGS2003

Mapping hydrothermally altered rocks at Cuprite, Nevada, using the advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (Aster), a new satellite-imaging system

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is a 14-band multispectral instrument on board the Earth Observing System (EOS), TERRA. The three bands between 0.52 and 0.86 ??m and the six bands from 1.60 and 2.43 ??m, which have 15- and 30-m spatial resolution, respectively, were selected primarily for making remote mineralogical determinations. The Cuprite, Nevada, mining district comprises two hydrothermal alteration centers where Tertiary volcanic rocks have been hydrothermally altered mainly to bleached silicified rocks and opalized rocks, with a marginal zone of limonitic argilized rocks. Country rocks are mainly Cambrian phyllitic siltstone and limestone. Evaluation of an ASTER image of the Cuprite district shows that spectral reflectance differences in the nine bands in the 0.52 to 2.43 ??m region provide a basis for identifying and mapping mineralogical components which characterize the main hydrothermal alteration zones: opal is the spectrally dominant mineral in the silicified zone; whereas, alunite and kaolinite are dominant in the opalized zone. In addition, the distribution of unaltered country rocks was mapped because of the presence of spectrally dominant muscovite in the siltstone and calcite in limestone, and the tuffaceous rocks and playa deposits were distinguishable due to their relatively flat spectra and weak absorption features at 2.33 and 2.20 ??m, respectively. An Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) image of the study area was processed using a similar methodology used with the ASTER data. Comparison of the ASTER and AVIRIS results shows that the results are generally similar, but the higher spectral resolution of AVIRIS (224 bands) permits identification of more individual minerals, including certain polymorphs. However, ASTER has recorded images of more than 90 percent of the Earth's land surface with less than 20 percent cloud cover, and these data are available at nominal or no cost. Landsat TM images have a similar spatial resolution to ASTER images, but TM has fewer bands, which limits its usefulness for making mineral determinations.

Economic Geology↗

USGS1953

Hydrology of Lake Erie and tributaries

The drainage area of the Great Lakes is equal to nearly one-tenth of the entire area of the United States; 58 percent of this area lies within the United States. The information in Table 3 affords a ready comparison of the land and water areas involved in the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes system. It will be noted that the total water surface is almost one-third of the entire drainage area and more than five-eighths of this water area is on the United States side of the international boundry. Throughout the history of the North American continent, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River have formed a navigable water system of tremendous social and economic importance, extending from the interior of the continent to the Atlantic Ocean.

Lake Erie↗