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At least 1,153 records · Page 64Linked to original sources

Tectonic elements of the continental margin of East Antarctica, 38-164ºE

The East Antarctic continental margin from 38–164ºE is divided into western and eastern provinces that developed during the separation of India from Australia–Antarctica (Early Cretaceous) and Australia from Antarctica (Late Cretaceous). In the overlap between these provinces the geology is complex and bears the imprint of both extension/spreading episodes, with an overprinting of volcanism. The main rift-bounding faults appear to approximately coincide with the outer edge of the continental shelf. Inboard of these faults, the sedimentary cover thins above shallowing basement towards the coast where crystalline basement generally crops out. The continental slope and the landward flanks of the ocean basins, are blanketed by up to 9–10 km of mainly post-rift sediments in margin-parallel basins, except in the Bruce Rise area. Beneath this blanket, extensive rift basins are identified off Enderby and Wilkes Land/Terre Adélie; however, their extent and detailed structures are difficult to determine.

Open-File Report↗

Major- and Trace-Element Concentrations in Rock Samples Collected in 2006 from the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000-scale Quadrangle, Alaska

Introduction The Kuskokwim mineral belt of Bundtzen and Miller (1997) forms an important metallogenic region in southwestern Alaska that has yielded more than 3.22 million ounces of gold and 400,000 ounces of silver. Precious-metal and related deposits in this region associated with Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary igneous complexes extend into the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000-scale quadrangle. The U.S. Geological Survey is in the process of conducting a mineral resource assessment of this region. This report presents analytical data collected during the third year of this multiyear study. A total of 138 rock geochemistry samples collected during the 2006 field season were analyzed using the ICP-AES/MS42, ICP-AES10, fire assay, and cold vapor atomic absorption methods described in more detail below. Analytical values are provided in percent (% or pct: 1 gram per 100 grams), parts per million (ppm: 1 gram per 1,000,000 grams), or parts per billion (ppb: 1 gram per 1,000,000,000 grams) as indicated in the column heading of the data table. Data are provided for download in Excel (*.xls), comma delimited (*.csv), dBase 4 (*.dbf) and as a point coverage in ArcInfo interchange (*.e00) formats available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1386/.

Open-File Report↗

Summary of the stratigraphy and structural elements related to plate convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region, Balochistan, west-central Pakistan

Obduction of an ophiolite complex onto the northwestern continental margin of the India plate occurred during the Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene, followed by collision of the ophiolitic complex of the India plate with the Eurasia plate in the Eocene. Lower Eocene marine strata overlie the ophiolitic complex suggesting that suturing was completed by early Eocene time. The Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region is a structurally complex area within west-central Pakistan characterized by broad and tight folds, and reverse, thrust, and strike-slip faults. In order to understand this complex deformation, we have divided this region into five structural domains which are separated by four major boundary faults formed during four major periods of deformation related to oblique convergence of the India and Eurasia plates. The five structural domains are (1) a foredeep, (2) a foreland fold-and-thrust belt, (3) a major deep trough that formed within the foreland fold-and-thrust belt and filled with collision molasse, (4) a thick flysch deposit, and (5) a subduction-obduction and related igneous rock terrane on the margin of the Eurasia plate (Afghan block). The four major faults that bound the structural terrane are the Frontal (F), Ghazaband-Zhob (GZ), Gwal-Bagh (GB), and Chaman (C) faults. Four major periods of deformation are recognized: (1) emplacement of ophiolitic rocks onto the continental margin of the India plate; (2) convergence of the India-Eurasia plates; (3) deposition of Tertiary-Quaternary molasse units followed by major folding and thrusting, and formation of strike-slip faults; and (4) deposition of Pleistocene molasse units with subsequent folding, thrusting, and strike-slip motion that continues to the present.

Open-File Report↗

Mineral potential for nickel, copper, platinum group elements(PGE), and chromium deposits hosted in ultramafic rocks in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (phase V, deliverable 67)

PRISM-I summary documents mention the presence of mafic-ultramafic igneous intrusive rocks in several areas of Mauritania and a number of chromium (Cr) and copper-nickel (Cu-Ni (±Co, Au)) occurrences associated with them. Permissive geologic settings generally include greenstone belts of any age, layered mafic-ultramafic and unlayered gabbro-anorthosite intrusive complexes in cratonic settings, ophiolite complexes, flood basalt provinces, and fluid-rich shear zones cutting accumulations of mafic-ultramafic rocks. Regions of Mauritania having these characteristics that are discussed in PRISM-I texts include the Mesoarchean greenstone belts of the TasiastTijirit terrane in the southwestern Rgueïbat Shield, two separate layered ultramafic complexes in the Amsaga Complex west of Atar, serpentinized metadunites in Mesoarchean rocks of the Rgueïbat Shield in the Zednes map sheet, several lateritized annular mafic-ultramafic complexes in the Paleoproterozoic northwestern portion of the Rgueïbat Shield, and the serpentinized ophiolitic segments of the Gorgol Noir Complex in the axial portion of the southern Mauritanides. Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) work in the “Extreme Sud” zone also suggests that small copper occurrences associated with the extensive Jurassic microgabbroic intrusive rocks in the Taoudeni Basin of southeastern Mauritania could have potential for magmatic Cu-Ni (PGE, Co, Au) sulfide mineralization. Similarly, Jurassic mafic intrusive rocks in the northeastern Taoudeni Basin may be permissive. Known magmatic Cu-Ni deposits of these types in Mauritania are few in number and some uncertainty exists as to the nature of several of the more important ones.

Open-File Report↗

Assessment of the geoavailability of trace elements from selected zinc minerals

This assessment focused on five zinc-bearing minerals. The minerals were subjected to a number of analyses including quantitative X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, leaching tests, and bioaccessibility and toxicity studies. Like a previous comprehensive assessment of five copper-bearing minerals, the purpose of this assessment was to obtain structural and chemical information and to characterize the reactivity of each mineral to various simulated environmental and biological conditions. As in the copper minerals study, analyses were conducted consistent with widely accepted methods. Unless otherwise noted, analytical methods used for this study were identical to those described in the investigation of copper-bearing minerals. Two sphalerite specimens were included in the zinc-minerals set. One sphalerite was recovered from a mine in Balmat, New York; the second came from a mine in Creede, Colorado. The location and conditions of origin are significant because, as analyses confirmed, the two sphalerite specimens are quite different. For example, data acquired from a simulated gastric fluid (SGF) study indicate that the hydrothermally formed Creede sphalerite contains orders of magnitude higher arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and lead than the much older metamorphic Balmat sphalerite. The SGF and other experimental results contained in this report suggest that crystallizing conditions such as temperature, pressure, fluidization, or alteration processes significantly affect mineral properties—properties that, in turn, influence reactivity, solubility, and toxicity. The three remaining minerals analyzed for this report—smithsonite, hemimorphite, and hydrozincite—are all secondary minerals or alteration products of zinc-ore deposits. In addition, all share physical characteristics such as tenacity, density, streak, and cleavage. Similarities end there. The chemical composition, unit-cell parameters, acid-neutralizing potential, and other observable and quantifiable properties indicate very different minerals. Only one of each of these minerals was studied. Had this assessment included multiples of these minerals, geochemical and mineralogical distinctions would have emerged, similar to the results for the two sphalerite specimens.

Arizona;Chihuahua;Colorado;New York↗

Major-element compositional data and thermal data for drill core from Kīlauea Iki lava lake, plus analyses of glasses from scoria of the 1959 summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii

This report presents electron microprobe data on glasses and selected crystalline phases from Kīlauea Iki lava lake and glasses from the 1959 summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. Some of these data have been published previously, but the complete set has not been published before. In addition, this report includes electron microprobe data for phases in melting experiments reported earlier, which form the basis for using many of the glass compositions reported here to estimate quenching temperatures of the samples. Finally, because of the latter application, this report includes all useful field determinations of temperature taken in Kīlauea Iki boreholes from 1967 to 1988. These field measurements have been merged with geothermometry based on glass and Fe-Ti oxide compositions to produce a comprehensive review of all available thermal information for Kīlauea Iki. Making these datasets available completes documentation of field and chemical information on Kīlauea Iki lava lake, supplementing six previous U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports listed in the References Cited.

Hawaii↗

Proceedings of the Floodplain Vegetation Monitoring Workshop for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, January 7–8, 2025, Moline, Illinois

Preface In anticipation for increased funding made possible by the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program identified a need to conduct river-wide assessments of floodplain vegetation. In January 2025, we assembled a group of subject matter experts to perform the following tasks: Review Upper Mississippi River Restoration’s current floodplain vegetation research portfolio, Identify important features and goals for long-term floodplain vegetation monitoring, Evaluate the suitability of existing datasets for system-wide vegetation assessments, and Discuss emerging opportunities to learn about floodplain vegetation dynamics from local-scale restoration and management projects. This document is a summarization of what occurred at the meeting and provides suggested next steps toward developing the capacity to conduct routine long-term monitoring and assessment of floodplain vegetation as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program.

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin↗