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

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At least 757 records · Page 42Linked to original sources
USGS1980

Maps showing kinds and sources of environmental geologic and geophysical data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Baltimore Canyon trough area

Exploration for petroleum on the Continental Shelf and Slope off the eastern United States has generated great interest in the quantity and quality of data available to evaluate the nature and magnitude of possible geological enveironmental hazards. This set of maps presents a compilation of publicly available geological and geophysical data acquireed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the Baltimore Canyon Trough area of the eastern United States Outer Continental Shelf and Slope. Funding for the collection and analysis of much of the data indicated in this report was provided by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Locations of blocks leased for petroleum development and locations of industry wells terminated or being drilled as of February 1980, as well as several other sampling sites, are included for comparison.

Baltimore Canyon Trough↗
USGS2007

Log ASCII Standard (LAS) Files for Geophysical Wireline Well Logs and Their Application to Geologic Cross Sections Through the Central Appalachian Basin

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses geophysical wireline well logs for a variety of purposes, including stratigraphic correlation (Hettinger, 2001, Ryder, 2002), petroleum reservoir analyses (Nelson and Bird, 2005), aquifer studies (Balch, 1988), and synthetic seismic profiles (Kulander and Ryder, 2005). Commonly, well logs are easier to visualize, manipulate, and interpret when available in a digital format. In recent geologic cross sections E-E' and D-D', constructed through the central Appalachian basin (Ryder, Swezey, and others, in press; Ryder, Crangle, and others, in press), gamma ray well log traces and lithologic logs were used to correlate key stratigraphic intervals (Fig. 1). The stratigraphy and structure of the cross sections are illustrated through the use of graphical software applications (e.g., Adobe Illustrator). The gamma ray traces were digitized in Neuralog (proprietary software) from paper well logs and converted to a Log ASCII Standard (LAS) format. Once converted, the LAS files were transformed to images through an LAS-reader application (e.g., GeoGraphix Prizm) and then overlain in positions adjacent to well locations, used for stratigraphic control, on each cross section. This report summarizes the procedures used to convert paper logs to a digital LAS format using a third-party software application, Neuralog. Included in this report are LAS files for sixteen wells used in geologic cross section E-E' (Table 1) and thirteen wells used in geologic cross section D-D' (Table 2).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1953

Preliminary report on uranium deposits in the Miller Hill area, Carbon County, Wyoming

A sequence of radioactive rocks of Miocene (?) age, the Browns Park formation, in the Miller Hill area of southern Wyoming is more than 1,000 feet thick. The formation crops out in an area of approximately 600 square miles, and consists of a basal conglomerate, tuffs, tuffaceous limy sandstones, and thin persistent radioactive algal limestones. Uranium is concentrated in both algal limestones and in tuffaceous limy sandstones. The uranium is believed to have been deposited. at least in part with the sediments, rather than to have come in at a later date. The highest uranium values were found in a widespread algal limestone bed, which contains as much as 0. 15 percent uranium. Values of 0.01 percent uranium or more were obtained from 8 samples taken from approximately 220 feet of stratigraphic section in the Browns Park formation. This is the first reported occurrence of limestone source rock from Wyoming that has been found to contain a commercial grade of uranium. The economic possibilities of the area have not been determined adequately and no estimates of tonnage are warranted at the present time. An airborne radiometric survey was made by the Geophysics Branch of the Geological Survey, of the west half of the area, recommended by the writer for investigation. Ground check of all anomalies reported at that time showed that they were in localities where the background radiation was much higher than average. Additional localities with high background radiation were found on the ground in the area east of that which was flown.

Wyoming↗
USGS2022

GSPy: A new toolbox and data standard for Geophysical Datasets

The diversity of geophysical methods and datatypes, as well as the isolated nature of various specialties (e.g., electromagnetic, seismic, potential fields) leads to a profusion of separate data file formats and documentation conventions. This can hinder cooperation and reduce the impact of datasets researchers have invested in heavily to collect and prepare. An open, portable, and well-supported community data standard could greatly improve the interoperability, transferability, and long-term archival of geophysical data. Airborne geophysical methods particularly need an open and accessible data standard, and they exemplify the complexity that is common in geophysical datasets where critical auxiliary information on the survey and system parameters are required to fully utilize and understand the data. Here, we propose a new Geophysical Standard, termed the GS convention, that leverages the well-established and widely used NetCDF file format and builds on the Climate and Forecasts (CF) metadata convention. We also present an accompanying open-source Python package, GSPy, to provide methods and workflows for building the GS-standardized NetCDF files, importing and exporting between common data formats, preparing input files for geophysical inversion software, and visualizing data and inverted models. By using the NetCDF format, handled through the Xarray Python package, and following the CF conventions, we standardize how metadata is recorded and directly stored with the data, from general survey and system information down to specific variable attributes. Utilizing the hierarchical nature of NetCDF, GS-formatted files are organized with a root Survey group that contains global metadata about the geophysical survey. Data are then organized into subgroups beneath Survey and are categorized as Tabular or Raster depending on the geometry and point of origin for the data. Lastly, the standard ensures consistency in constructing and tracking coordinate reference systems, which is vital for accurate portability and analysis. Development and adoption of a NetCDF-based data standard for geophysical surveys can greatly improve how these complex datasets are shared and utilized, making the data more accessible to a broader science community. The architecture of GSPy can be easily transferred to additional geophysical datatypes and methods in future releases.

Frontiers in Earth Science - Environmental Informa↗
USGS2014

Drilling and geophysical logs of the tophole at an oil-and-gas well site, Central Venango County, Pennsylvania

In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, drilling and geophysical logs were used to characterize the geohydrologic framework and the freshwater and saline-water zones penetrated by the tophole at an oil-and-gas well site in central Venango County, Pennsylvania. The geohydrologic setting of the well site is typical of the dissected Appalachian Plateau underlain by Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstone and shale. The drilling, gamma, and acoustic-televiewer logs collected from the 575-foot deep tophole define the penetrated Pennsylvanian and Mississippian stratigraphic units and their lithology. The caliper, video, and acoustic-televiewer logs delineate multiple bedding-related and high-angle fractures in the lower Pottsville Group and Shenango Formation from 22 to 249 feet below land surface. The caliper and acoustic-televiewer logs indicate a sparsity of fractures below 249 feet below land surface in the lowermost Shenango Formation, Cuyahoga Group, Corry Sandstone, “Drake Well” formation, and upper Riceville Formation. About half of the blown yield during drilling of the tophole was from fractures in the upper Shenango Formation between 80 and 167 feet below land surface and the other half from fractures in the lower Shenango between 190 and 249 feet below land surface. Following drilling, fractures above the water level at about 145 feet below land surface produced freshwater with a specific conductance of less than 150 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius that cascaded down the hole. As indicated by the fluid resistivity and temperature logs, most of the downflow exited the hole at the water-bearing fractures at 249 feet below land surface. The downward flow in the tophole reflects the downward hydraulic gradient between the water-bearing fractures above the water level and those at 249 feet below land surface. Low conductivity and high resistivity values on the dual induction logs indicate freshwater above 285 feet below land surface in the Shenango sandstones, which is consistent with a specific conductance of blown yield of 400 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius at 200 feet below land surface. High conductivity and low resistivity values on the induction logs indicate the presence of saline water below 450 feet in the Corry Sandstone. The highest specific conductance of the blown yield, 1,200 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius, was measured at 480 feet below land surface following penetration of the Corry Sandstone. Collection and integrated analysis of drilling and geophysical logs provided an efficient and effective means for characterizing the geohydrologic framework and conditions penetrated by the tophole at the selected oil-and-gas well site. The logging methods and lessons learned at this well site could be applied at other oil-and-gas drilling sites to better characterize the shallow subsurface with the overall goal of protecting freshwater aquifers during hydrocarbon development.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2014

Sediment data collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys in 2010 around Cat Island, Mississippi, which is the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain. The objective of the study was to understand the geologic evolution of Cat Island relative to other barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico by identifying relationships between the geologic history, present day morphology, and sediment distribution. This data series serves as an archive of terrestrial and marine sediment vibracores collected August 4-6 and October 20-22, 2010, respectively. Geographic information system data products include marine and terrestrial core locations and 2007 shoreline data. Additional files include marine and terrestrial core description logs, core photos, results of sediment grain-size analyses, optically stimulated luminescence dating and carbon-14 dating locations and results, Field Activity Collection System logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata.

Mississippi↗
USGS1981

Preliminary report on geophysics ground follow-up of the 1977 airborne survey in the Wadi Bidah District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Reconnaissance geologic and geochemical sampling was made during the 1978 field season at most of the 50 or so electromagnetic anomalies detected in the 1977 airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey of the Wadi Bidah district. These Phase 1 studies also included reconnaissance geophysical traverses of nine of the AEM conductors. In addition the AEM anomalies were classified on the basis of this reconnaissance work into a list of priority targets for use in economic studies, and six AEM anomalies were selected for further studies. During Phase 2 conducted in the 1979 field season, ground geophysical work consisting of electromagnetic (EM), self-potential (SP), and selected magnetic surveys were carried out in the six targets selected in the Phase 1 studies. These target areas in aggregate cover about 30 km 2, and are approximately half of the Wadi Bidah Class 1 and Class 2 priority targets found during the 1977 airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey of parts of the Arabian Shield. The results indicate possible extension of known reserves at the Rabathan area (AEM anomaly B-29), with possible potential for mineralization in the area extending 15-20 km north (anomaly B-13), where the geologic and geophysical environment is similar. An important observation is that mineralization in the B-29 (Rabathan) zone is coincident with narrow SP anomalies superimposed on the larger, broader, and more formational-type SP anomalies encountered in both areas B-29 and B-13. AEM anomaly B-25-26 areahas geophysical characteristics that show in the groundwork and that make it an attractive drill target. EM and SP anomalies are associated, in part, with magnetic anomalies and with exposures of significant limonitic gossan. Wadi al Khadra prospect, not included in the 1977 AEM survey, and the AEM anomaly B-25-26 area were also high-mineralization-potential products of the Phase 2 studies. Target area B-35 remains an unknown quantity, and AEM anomaly B-24 is almost certainly due to a carbonaceous schist. Geochemical results, along with detailed geologic mapping and the geophysical data, indicate several potential mineralized targets. Further detailed geophysics (EM and SP) will assist in understanding the geophysical data thus far collected. Further ground follow-up studies are recommended.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2012

Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys around Cat Island, the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain (fig. 1). The objectives of the study were to understand the geologic evolution of Cat Island relative to other barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico and to identify relationships between the geologic history, present day morphology, and sediment distribution. This report contains data from the bathymetry and side-scan sonar portion of the study collected during two geophysical cruises. Interferometric swath bathymetry and side-scan sonar data were collected aboard the RV G.K. Gilbert September 7-15, 2010. Single-beam bathymetry was collected in shallow water around the island (< 2 meter (m)) from the RV Streeterville from September 28 to October 2, 2010, to cover the data gap between the landward limit of the previous cruise and the shoreline. This report serves as an archive of processed interferometric swath and single-beam bathymetry and side scan sonar data. GIS data products include a 50-m cell size interpolated gridded bathymetry surface, trackline maps, and an acoustic side-scan sonar image. Additional files include error analysis maps, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FDGC) metadata.

Alabama;Mississippi↗
USGS2009

Integrated Geophysical Investigation of Preferential Flow Paths at the Former Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Missouri, May 2006

In May 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted surface and borehole geophysical surveys at the former Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Mo., to identify preferential pathways for potential contaminant transport along the bedrock surface and into dissolution-enhanced fractures. The Tyson Valley Powder Farm was formerly used as a munitions storage and disposal facility in the 1940s and 1950s, and the site at which the surveys were performed was a disposal area for munitions and waste solvents such as trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene. Direct-current resistivity and seismic refraction data were acquired on the surface; gamma, electromagnetic induction, and full waveform sonic logs were acquired in accessible boreholes. Through the combined interpretation of the seismic refraction tomographic and resistivity inversion results and borehole logs, inconsistencies in the bedrock surface were identified that may provide horizontal preferential flow paths for dense nonaqueous phase liquid contaminants. These results, interpreted and displayed in georeferenced three-dimensional space, should help to establish more effective monitoring and remediation strategies.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1971

Resistivity sections, upper Arkansas River basin, Colorado

A reconnaissance investigation of ground-water resources in the upper Arkansas River basin from Pueblo to Leadville is being made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and the Colorado Division of Water Resources, Colorado State Engineer. As part of the investigation, surface geophysical electrical resistivity surveys were made during the summer and fall of 1970 near Buena Vista and Westcliffe, Colo. (p1.1). The resistivity surveys were made to verify a previous gravity survey and to help locate areas where ground-water supplies might be developed. This report presents the results of the surveys in the form of two resistivity sections.

Colorado↗
USGS2014

Magnetic studies by the Geophysical Section of the United States Geological Survey

Continued progress has been made in magnetic surveys over large sectional areas by G. R. MacCarthy. Beginning in Florida south of the Okeefenokee Swamp, magnetic traverses were measured and continued through the southern part of Georgia. The most northerly traverses crossed regions where they contacted the crystallines near the surface of the ground. All traverses were run in an east‐west direction. It is planned to continue the magnetic relief‐map described in the Transactions of 1939 of the American Geophysical Union by adding to it this portion of the State of Georgia.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS1999

Identification of water-bearing fractures by the use of geophysical logs, May to July 1998, former Naval Air Warfare Center, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Between May and July 1998, 10 monitor wells were drilled near the site of the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Warminster, Bucks County, Pa., to monitor water levels and sample ground water in shallow and intermediate water-bearing fractures. The sampling will determine the horizontal and vertical distribution of contaminated ground water migrating from known or suspected sources. Three boreholes were drilled on the property at 960 Jacksonville Road, at the northwestern side of NAWC, along strike from Area A; seven boreholes were drilled in Area B in the southeastern corner of NAWC. Depths range from 40.5 to 150 feet below land surface. Borehole geophysical logging and video surveys were used to identify water-bearing fractures so that appropriate intervals could be screened in each monitor well. Geophysical logs were obtained at the 10 monitor wells. Video surveys were obtained at three monitor wells in the southeastern corner of the NAWC property. Caliper logs and video surveys were used to locate fractures. Inflections on fluid-temperature and fluid-resistivity logs were used to locate possible water-bearing fractures. Heatpulse-flowmeter measurements verified these locations. Natural-gamma logs provided information on stratigraphy. After interpretation of geophysical logs, video surveys, and driller's logs, all wells were screened such that water-level fluctuations could be monitored and water samples collected from discrete water-bearing fractures in each monitor well.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2025

Near-surface geophysics: Environmental applications

The field of geophysics encompasses a broad and diverse compilation of methodologies that employs principles of physics to characterize properties of earth materials within the subsurface. While geophysical methods have a long history in resource exploration and studies of Earth’s interior, the subdiscipline of “near-surface geophysics” has evolved in recent decades for examination of the shallow, near-surface environment for a range of purposes ranging from archaeological or forensic investigations to assessment of geologic, hydrologic, biologic, and geochemical properties and processes. “Environmental geophysics” are near-surface geophysical studies and methods that focus on understanding natural systems (e.g., watershed hydrology, groundwater–surface water connections, biophysical processes) as well as research pertaining to anthropogenic impacts and land management, (e.g., contamination and remediation, saltwater intrusion, agricultural practices). This field can be further subdivided into subdisciplines focused on specific topics and applications, such as water resources and hydrology (hydrogeophysics) or biologic and microbial processes (biogeophysics). Studies in environmental geophysics span a range of scales, from pore-scale laboratory tests to watershed-scale or regional field experiments. Methods vary by the nature of physics employed, the specific measurement acquired, and how that data is ultimately processed and analyzed to produce interpretable results. There exists further diversity in the acquisition logistics, geometry, and timing of data collection. Geophysical data can be collected in boreholes (one-dimensional, 1-D, vertical profiles), along survey lines (two-dimensional, 2-D, cross-sections), or in dense sensor arrays or gridded profiles (three-dimensional, 3-D, models). Regarding the temporal aspect, studies can conduct one-time geophysical surveys to obtain detailed imaging of subsurface structure or use timelapse and continuous monitoring to investigate variations in subsurface properties over time. The cumulation of all possible permutations of these factors (method, acquisition geometry, survey design, and target application) results in an immense diversity among environmental geophysical studies. Nevertheless, this field remains unified in the pursuit of understanding natural and human-impacted near-surface environments through geophysical investigations. Here we highlight some key references within environmental geophysics. Resources on geophysical theory, acquisition logistics, processing and inversion workflows, and example case studies are categorized into the most common geophysical classes within Geophysical Methods. Lastly, example references for the dominant types of applications in environmental geophysical studies are catalogued in Environmental Applications.

Book chapter↗