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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Evaluation of the location and recency of faulting near prospective surface facilities in Midway Valley, Nye County, Nevada

Evaluation of surface faulting that may pose a hazard to prospective surface facilities is an important element of the tectonic studies for the potential Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository in southwestern Nevada. For this purpose, a program of detailed geologic mapping and trenching was done to obtain surface and near-surface geologic data that are essential for determining the location and recency of faults at a prospective surface-facilities site located east of Exile Hill in Midway Valley, near the eastern base of Yucca Mountain. The dominant tectonic features in the Midway Valley area are the north- to northeast-trending, west-dipping normal faults that bound the Midway Valley structural block-the Bow Ridge fault on the west side of Exile Hill and the Paint-brush Canyon fault on the east side of the valley. Trenching of Quaternary sediments has exposed evidence of displacements, which demonstrate that these block-bounding faults repeatedly ruptured the surface during the middle to late Quaternary. Geologic mapping, subsurface borehole and geophysical data, and the results of trenching activities indicate the presence of north- to northeast-trending faults and northwest-trending faults in Tertiary volcanic rocks beneath alluvial and colluvial sediments near the prospective surface-facilities site. North to northeast-trending faults include the Exile Hill fault along the eastern base of Exile Hill and faults to the east beneath the surficial deposits of Midway Valley. These faults have no geomorphic expression, but two north- to northeast-trending zones of fractures exposed in excavated profiles of middle to late Pleistocene deposits at the prospective surface-facilities site appear to be associated with these faults. Northwest-trending faults include the West Portal and East Portal faults, but no disruption of Quaternary deposits by these faults is evident. The western zone of fractures is associated with the Exile Hill fault. The eastern zone of fractures is within Quaternary alluvial sediments, but no bedrock was encountered in trenches and soil pits in this part of the prospective surface facilities site; thus, the direct association of this zone with one or more bedrock faults is uncertain. No displacement of lithologic contacts and soil horizons could be detected in the fractured Quaternary deposits. The results of these investigations imply the absence of any appreciable late Quaternary faulting activity at the prospective surface-facilities site.

Nevada

New geologic, ground magnetic, E-mode VLF, and radiometric surveys at Phillips Mine-Camp Smith uranium prospect, Westchester and Putnam Counties, New York

This report updates U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-780 by including new field data taken in July 1978. A revised geologic map is included, as are new geophysical data from an approximately 0.3-km by 0.5-km area just northeast of and adjoining the area surveyed earlier. The pattern which had been observed to the southwest of spatially coincident radiometric highs, magnetic highs, and resistivity lows deteriorates to the northeast: there the radiometric highs fall on magnetic lows and the correlation with resistivity lows disappears.

New York

Airborne geophysics for geologic mapping of critical mineral systems in the United States southern midcontinent

The increased demand for clean energy technology and a significant reliance on foreign supply chains have given impetus to understanding critical mineral systems and locating potential resources within the United States. At least thirteen critical mineral-bearing systems have been identified throughout the U.S. southern Midcontinent (Hofstra and Kreiner, 2020) but much of the region’s geologic framework is concealed by vegetation and sedimentary cover that hinder traditional geologic mapping efforts. Airborne geophysical data provide an effective way to overcome these obstacles and to provide additional insight into the deeper structures that underlie shallow mineralization. However, legacy airborne magnetic and radiometric data were collected using now-outdated instruments and methods, inconsistent survey parameters, and large flight-line spacings resulting in low-resolution data that present challenges to regional-scale study and interpretation. Over the last decade, the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (EMRI) and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program have conducted a series of high-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys across the southern Midcontinent (Fig. 1) as part of an effort to improve understanding of the geophysical framework and natural resource potential in the region. These surveys are designed using modern survey methods and instruments with consistent parameters for flight-line spacing and flight height relative to magnetic sources. The EMRI airborne surveys are planned in collaboration with State geological surveys based on focus areas (Dicken et al., 2022) according to the presence of or potential for critical mineral deposits. High-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric data cover focus areas such as the southeast Missouri iron metallogenic province and South-Central iron-oxide-apatite (IOA) – iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) province, the Magnet Cove alkaline-carbonatite complex, the Midwest Permian ultramafic dike district, the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district, and several Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits and districts (Fig. 1). These focus areas represent known deposits or prospective host systems of critical minerals including rare earth elements (REEs), platinum-group elements (PGEs), cobalt, lithium, fluorspar, niobium, titanium, vanadium, lead, zinc, gallium, germanium, and many more. Other significant geologic and geophysical features covered include the Reelfoot rift, the New Madrid seismic zone, the Illinois basin, the Arkoma basin, the South-Central magnetic lineament, and the Kentucky-Tennessee magnetic anomaly (Fig. 1). This presentation focuses on new airborne magnetic and radiometric data with continuous coverage across parts of six states, preliminary interpretations, examples of geologic mapping applications, and discussion of newly discovered magnetic anomalies and follow-up investigations.

Conference Paper

Characterizing infiltration through a mine-waste dump using electrical geophysical and tracer-injection methods, Clear Creek County, Colorado

Infiltration of surface water through mine waste can be an important or even dominant source of contaminants in a watershed. The Waldorf mine site in Clear Creek County, Colorado, is typical of tens of thousands of small mines and prospects on public lands throughout the United States. In this study, electromagnetic (EM) conductivity and direct current (dc) resistivity surveys were conducted in tandem with a NaCl tracer study to delineate ground-water flow paths through a mine-waste dump and adjacent wetland area. The tracer was used to tag adit water infiltrating from braided channels flowing over the top of the dump to seeps at the base of the dump. Infiltration from the braided channels had a maximum flow rate of 92 m/day and a hydraulic conductivity of 1.6 × 10 4 cm 3 /s. After rerouting of adit flow around the waste dump, discharge at some of the largest seeps was reduced, although not all seepage was eliminated entirely. Integrating results of the tracer study with those of the EM and dc geophysical surveys revealed two main flow paths of ground water, one beneath the dump and one through the dump. The main source of water to the first flow path is deeper ground water emerging from the fault zone beneath the collapsed adit. This flow path travels beneath the waste dump and appears to have been unaffected by rerouting of the adit discharge around the waste dump. The source of the second flow path is infiltration of adit water from braided channels flowing over the top of the dump, which is intermediate in depth and flows through the center of the waste dump. Following rerouting of adit flow, discharge to seeps at the toe of the dump along this flow path was reduced by as much as two-thirds, although not eliminated entirely. Improved understanding of ground-water flow paths through this abandoned mine site is important in developing effective remediation strategies to target sources of metals emanating from the adit, waste dump, and contaminated wetland area. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

Colorado

GIS-Based Identification of Areas with Mineral Resource Potential for Six Selected Deposit Groups, Bureau of Land Management Central Yukon Planning Area, Alaska

This study, covering the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Yukon Planning Area (CYPA), Alaska, was prepared to aid BLM mineral resource management planning. Estimated mineral resource potential and certainty are mapped for six selected mineral deposit groups: (1) rare earth element (REE) deposits associated with peralkaline to carbonatitic intrusive igneous rocks, (2) placer and paleoplacer gold, (3) platinum group element (PGE) deposits associated with mafic and ultramafic intrusive igneous rocks, (4) carbonate-hosted copper deposits, (5) sandstone uranium deposits, and (6) tin-tungsten-molybdenum-fluorspar deposits associated with specialized granites. These six deposit groups include most of the strategic and critical elements of greatest interest in current exploration. This study has used a data-driven, geographic information system (GIS)-based method for evaluating the mineral resource potential across the large region of the CYPA. This method systematically and simultaneously analyzes geoscience data from multiple geospatially referenced datasets and uses individual subwatersheds (12-digit hydrologic unit codes or HUCs) as the spatial unit of classification. The final map output indicates an estimated potential (high, medium, low) for a given mineral deposit group and indicates the certainty (high, medium, low) of that estimate for any given subwatershed (HUC). Accompanying tables describe the data layers used in each analysis, the values assigned for specific analysis parameters, and the relative weighting of each data layer that contributes to the estimated potential and certainty determinations. Core datasets used include the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Alaska Geochemical Database (AGDB2), the Alaska Division of Geologic and Geophysical Surveys Web-based geochemical database, data from an anticipated USGS geologic map of Alaska, and the USGS Alaska Resource Data File. Map plates accompanying this report illustrate the mineral prospectivity for the six deposit groups across the CYPA and estimates of mineral resource potential. There are numerous areas, some of them large, rated with high potential for one or more of the selected deposit groups within the CYPA.

Alaska

Map showing outcrops of basaltic rocks of early Quaternary and Tertiary age, Basin and Range province, Southern California

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps covering all or parts of States within the Basin and Range province of the western United States. The map reports contain detailed information on subjects that characterize the geohydrology of the province, including the ground-water hydrology/ ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources. This is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of the province to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984). This map was prepared from published geologic maps and reports utilizing the project guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). As used in this study, basaltic rocks include basaltic andesite and basalt. The map shows the known occurrences of basaltic rocks largely of Tertiary age. Locally, however, where basalts of Quaternary age were not differentiated from those of Tertiary age, the younger basalts have been included on the map. The Description of Map Units includes the geologic and, if available, radiometric age; lithology; thickness where available; and sources of data for the basaltic units in outlined and numbered areas within the counties of the study area. No information was available on the rock outcrops that are unnumbered. The listed radiometric ages do not necessarily represent the entire age range of a unit.

California

Introduction to special section: China shale gas and shale oil plays

In the last 10 years, the success of shale gas and shale oil productions as a result of technological advances in horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and nanoscale reservoir characterization have revolutionized the energy landscape in the United States. Resource assessment by the China Ministry of Land and Resources in 2010 and 2012 and by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2011 and 2013 indicates China’s shale gas resource is the largest in the world and shale oil resource in China is also potentially significant. Inspired by the success in the United States, China looks forward to replicating the U.S. experience to produce shale gas to power its economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By 2014, China had drilled 400 wells targeting marine, lacustrine, and coastal swamp transitional shales spanning in age from the Precambrian to Cenozoic in the last five years. So far, China is the leading country outside of North America in the viable production of shale gas, with very promising prospects for shale gas and shale oil development, from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in Fuling in the southeastern Sichuan Basin. Geological investigations by government and academic institutions as well as exploration and production activities from industry indicate that the tectonic framework, depositional settings, and geomechanical properties of most of the Chinese shales are more complex than many of the producing marine shales in the United States. These differences limit the applicability of geologic analogues from North America for use in Chinese shale oil and gas resource assessments, exploration strategies, reservoir characterization, and determination of optimal hydraulic fracturing techniques. Understanding the unique features of the geology, shale oil and gas resource potential, and reservoir characteristics is crucial for sweet spot identification, hydraulic fracturing optimization, and reservoir performance prediction. Even though China shale gas and shale oil exploration is still in an early stage, limited data are already available. We are pleased to have selected eight high-quality papers from fifteen submitted manuscripts for this timely section on the topic of China shale gas and shale oil plays. These selected papers discuss various subject areas including regional geology, resource potentials, integrated and multidisciplinary characterization of China shale reservoirs (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and petrophysics) China shale property measurement using new techniques, case studies for marine, lacustrine, and transitional shale deposits in China, and hydraulic fracturing. One paper summarizes the regional geology and different tectonic and depositional settings of the major prospective shale oil and gas plays in China. Four papers concentrate on the geology, geochemistry, reservoir characterization, lithologic heterogeneity, and sweet spot identification in the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the Sichuan Basin in southwest China, which is currently the primary focus of shale gas exploration in China. One paper discusses the Ordovician Salgan Shale in the Tarim Basin in northwest China, and two papers focus on the reservoir characterization and hydraulic fracturing of Triassic lacustrine shale in the Ordos Basin in northern China. Each paper discusses a specific area.

Interpretation

Near infrared detection of ammonium minerals

Diagnostic near-infrared spectral features have been identified for minerals with ammonium (NH (super +) 4 ) bound in the crystal structure. Spectral bands near 2.12, 2.02, and 1.56 mu m are characteristic of synthetic and natural NH 4 -bearing minerals. Laboratory spectra of NH 4 -bearing minerals are distinct from spectra of OH-bearing minerals and have diagnostic shifts in band position among different mineral types. NH 4 -bearing minerals were detected at several mineralized hot-spring deposits in the western U.S. by means of hand-held and airborne instruments. Near-infrared detection of NH 4 -bearing minerals may provide useful information for prospecting for certain ore deposits and may provide a better understanding of the nitrogen cycle within geologic environments.

Geophysics

Discrimination of hydrothermal altered and unaltered rocks in visible and near infrared multispectral images

Mineralogical differences between altered rocks and most unaltered rocks in south-central Nevada cause visible and near-infrared (0.45 to 2.4 mu m) spectral-reflectance differences which can be used to discriminate these broad categories of rocks in multispectral images. The most important mineralogical differences are the increased abundance of goethite, hematite, and jarosite, and the presence of alunite, montmorillonite, and kaolinite in the altered rocks. Analysis of reflectance spectra recorded in the field showed that the altered rock spectra are characterized by broad absorption bands in the 0.45-0.50 mu m and 0.85-0.95 mu m regions which are due to electronic processes in the iron ions, and a band near 2.2 mu m which is due to vibrational processes in the OH ions. These features are absent or weak in most of the unaltered rock spectra. Therefore, the shapes of the 0.45-2.4 mu m spectra for these altered and unaltered rocks are conspicuously different. However, because of the wavelength positions and widths of the Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) bands, these spectral differences are not apparent in individual or color-infrared composite MSS images.The technique developed to enhance these subtle spectral differences combines rationing of the MSS bands and contrast stretching. The stretched ratio values are used to produce black-and-white images which depict materials according to spectral reflectance; ratioing minimizes the influence of topography and overall albedo on the grouping of spectrally similar materials. Color compositing of two or more stretched ratio images to form color-ratio composites provides additional enhancement. The most effective color-ratio composite for discriminating between the altered and unaltered areas, as well as among many of the unaltered rocks in south-central Nevada, was prepared using the following diazo color and stretched ratio image combinations: blue for MSS 4/5, yellow for MSS 5/6, and magenta for MSS 6/7. Altered areas appear green and brown in this combination.Field evaluation of this color-ratio composite shows that excluding alluvial areas, approximately 80 percent of the green and brown color patterns are related to hydrothermal alteration. The remaining 20 percent consists mainly of pink hematitic crystallized tuff, a result of vapor-phase crystallization, and of tan and red ferruginous shale and siltstone. Discrimination of this unaltered tuff from the altered rocks may be possible in the 2.2 mu m region because this absorption band is absent in the tuff spectra. However, because the shale and siltstone are mineralogically and spectrally similar to the altered rocks, there appears to be little prospect of distinguishing these rocks from altered rocks in visible and near-infrared multispectral images.

Nevada

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range Province, Southern California

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

California

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range Province, New Mexico

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

New Mexico

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range Province, Nevada

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

Nevada

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range Province, Oregon

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

Oregon

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range Province, Texas

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

Texas

Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range province, Utah

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps of States in the Basin and Range Province. These map reports contain information on ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, data on tectonic conditions, areal geophysical data, Pleistocene lakes and marshes and natural resources. This information is the basis for a summary report that characterizes the Basin and Range Province. The geologic and hydrologic characterization will be used to evaluate the Province for prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level radioactive waste. (Bedinger, Sargent and Reed, 1984).

Utah

Geophysical characterization of Range-Front Faults, Snake Valley, Nevada

In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, collected audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) data along two profiles on the eastern flank of the Snake Range near Great Basin National Park to refine understanding of the subsurface geology. Line 1 was collected along Baker Creek, was approximately 6.7-km long, and recorded subsurface geologic conditions to approximately 800-m deep. Line 2, collected farther to the southeast in the vicinity of Kious Spring, was 2.8-km long, and imaged to depths of approximately 600 m. The two AMT lines are similar in their electrical response and are interpreted to show generally similar subsurface geologic conditions. The geophysical response seen on both lines may be described by three general domains of electrical response: (1) a shallow (mostly less than 100-200-m deep) domain of highly variable resistivity, (2) a deep domain characterized by generally high resistivity that gradually declines eastward to lower resistivity with a steeply dipping grain or fabric, and (3) an eastern domain in which the resistivity character changes abruptly at all depths from that in the western domain. The shallow, highly variable domain is interpreted to be the result of a heterogeneous assemblage of Miocene conglomerate and incorporated megabreccia blocks overlying a shallowly eastward-dipping southern Snake Range detachment fault. The deep domain of generally higher resistivity is interpreted as Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (Pole Canyon limestone and Prospect Mountain Quartzite) and Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutonic rocks occurring beneath the detachment surface. The range of resistivity values within this deep domain may result from fracturing adjacent to the detachment, the presence of Paleozoic rock units of variable resistivities that do not crop out in the vicinity of the lines, or both. The eastern geophysical domain is interpreted to be a section of Miocene strata at depth, overlain by Quaternary alluvial fill. These deposits lie east of a steeply east-dipping normal fault that cuts all units and has about 100 m of east-side-down offset.

Open-File Report

Potentially favorable areas for large-yield wells in the Red River Formation and Madison Limestone in parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska

The need for large quantities of energy has created interest in the Fort Union coal region of the Northern Great Plains. Extensive development of this coal, which may include onsite steam-power generation, gasification, liquefaction, and slurry-pipeline transport of the coal from this region, would place a heavy demand on the region's limited streamflow. Paleozoic rocks that underlie the Fort Union coal region and aquifers in these rocks, including the Red River Formation and the Madison Limestone, might supply, at least on a temporary basis, a significant part of the water required for coal development. The area of study covers approximately 200,000 square miles, and includes eastern Montana, western North Dakota and South Dakota, northeastern Wyoming, and northwestern Nebraska. This report, one of a series in the Madison Limestone study, uses hydrologic and geologic data to outline potentially favorable areas for well construction - that is, areas in which there is a good probability that large-yield wells (more than 500 gallons per minute) can be completed in the Red River Formation and in the Madison Limestone. Potentially favorable areas in terms of aquifer characteristics, for both the Red River Formation and the Madison Limestone, are given a numerical evaluation from 1 to 3 based on the number of the following criteria that are met: (1) the presence of more than 100 feet of relatively porous rock, (2) the presence of more than 100 feet of dolomite, and (3) the presence of known geologic structures which could affect yield. Areas rated 3 are those in which all three criteria are satisfied; areas rated 2 are those in which two criteria are satisfied; and areas rated 1 are those in which only one criterion is satisfied. The criteria selected for this analysis were chosen because they can be recognized and mapped over the entire study area. Local features such as minor structures, solution zones, and rock facies of small extent were not included in this regional evaluation. In addition, water quality was considered in a general way in defining the favorable areas, by excluding areas in which the electrical resistivity of formation water, as calculated from geophysical well logs, was less than 1 ohm-meter. The numerical scales of the Red River Formation and Madison Limestone are summed to show potentially favorable areas for the combined aquifers. Certain additional factors which may be important to a prospective water user were not included in the numerical ranking - these include depths to the two aquifers, calcite saturation, water temperature, total dissolved solids, and piezometric head in relation to land surface. For a complete evaluation, potential users should consider these factors plus local structures, facies, and solution zones in conjunction with the numerical rankings reflecting aquifer characteristics. To facilitate consideration of piezometric head, maps are included in this report showing areas in which the piezometric head falls in certain ranges with respect to land surface.

Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyo

The 2011 M = 9.0 Tohoku oki earthquake more than doubled the probability of large shocks beneath Tokyo

1] The Kanto seismic corridor surrounding Tokyo has hosted four to five M ≥ 7 earthquakes in the past 400 years. Immediately after the Tohoku earthquake, the seismicity rate in the corridor jumped 10-fold, while the rate of normal focal mechanisms dropped in half. The seismicity rate decayed for 6–12 months, after which it steadied at three times the pre-Tohoku rate. The seismicity rate jump and decay to a new rate, as well as the focal mechanism change, can be explained by the static stress imparted by the Tohoku rupture and postseismic creep to Kanto faults. We therefore fit the seismicity observations to a rate/state Coulomb model, which we use to forecast the time-dependent probability of large earthquakes in the Kanto seismic corridor. We estimate a 17% probability of a M ≥ 7.0 shock over the 5 year prospective period 11 March 2013 to 10 March 2018, two-and-a-half times the probability had the Tohoku earthquake not struck

Tokyo