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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
USGS2010

Aligning USGS senior leadership structure with the USGS science strategy

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is realigning its management and budget structure to further enhance the work of its science programs and their interdisciplinary focus areas related to the USGS Science Strategy as outlined in 'Facing Tomorrow's Challenges-U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017' (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). In 2007, the USGS developed this science strategy outlining major natural-science issues facing the Nation and focusing on areas where natural science can make a substantial contribution to the well being of the Nation and the world. These areas include global climate change, water resources, natural hazards, energy and minerals, ecosystems, and data integration.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1969

The geographic applications program of the U. S. Geological Survey

The fundamental objective of modern Geography is to improve man's level of living through a better understanding of man-environment inter actions. Related goals of the USGS program for applications of remote sensor data to Geographical research are: (1) the analysis and improvement of land use, with special emphasis on urban problems; and (2) more effective use of the total available energy budget, including insolation, mineral fuels, atomic energy, human resources, and mental energy, all of which are integrated into man-environment interactions. The collection of data through remote sensors in air craft and spacecraft is financed largely by funds from NASA, and is part of the much broader EROS Program of the Department of the Interior. Results to date have achieved much toward the identification of remote sensor signatures for Earth features and human activities, and toward evaluation of instruments for collecting essential information.

Photogrammetric Engineering↗
USGS2009

Unconventional energy resources: 2007-2008 review

This paper summarizes five 2007–2008 resource commodity committee reports prepared by the Energy Minerals Division (EMD) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Current United States and global research and development activities related to gas hydrates, gas shales, geothermal resources, oil sands, and uranium resources are included in this review. These commodity reports were written to advise EMD leadership and membership of the current status of research and development of unconventional energy resources. Unconventional energy resources are defined as those resources other than conventional oil and natural gas that typically occur in sandstone and carbonate rocks. Gas hydrate resources are potentially enormous; however, production technologies are still under development. Gas shale, geothermal, oil sand, and uranium resources are now increasing targets of exploration and development, and are rapidly becoming important energy resources that will continue to be developed in the future.

Natural Resources Research↗
USGS2014

Powder X-ray diffraction laboratory, Reston, Virginia

The powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) laboratory is managed jointly by the Eastern Mineral and Environmental Resources and Eastern Energy Resources Science Centers. Laboratory scientists collaborate on a wide variety of research problems involving other U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science centers and government agencies, universities, and industry. Capabilities include identification and quantification of crystalline and amorphous phases, and crystallographic and atomic structure analysis for a wide variety of sample media. Customized laboratory procedures and analyses commonly are used to characterize non-routine samples including, but not limited to, organic and inorganic components in petroleum source rocks, ore and mine waste, clay minerals, and glassy phases. Procedures can be adapted to meet a variety of research objectives.

Virginia↗
USGS2016

Overview with methods and procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey mineral-resource assessment of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming: Chapter A in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

This report, chapter A of Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089, provides an overview of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA). The report also describes the methods, procedures, and voluminous fundamental reference information used throughout the assessment. Data from several major publicly available databases and other published sources were used to develop an understanding of the locatable, leaseable, and salable mineral resources of this vast area. This report describes the geologic, mineral-occurrence, geochemical, geophysical, remote-sensing, and Bureau of Land Management mineral-case-status data used for the assessment, along with the methods for evaluating locatable mineral-resource potential. The report also discusses energy-resource data (oil and gas, coal, and geothermal) used in the assessment. Appendixes include summary descriptive mineral-deposit models that provide the criteria necessary to assess for the pertinent locatable minerals and market-demand commodity profiles for locatable mineral commodities relevant to the project. Datasets used in the assessment are available as USGS data releases.

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming↗
USGS1997

The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey

Nearly half of all Americans live within an hour's drive of an ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Great Lakes. The U.S. coastal oceans are an economically vital transportation, commercial and recreational resource. They provide food, energy, and minerals for the entire Nation: on a global scale, they harbor critical habitat for important animal and plant species.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1976

Coal resources of the Alton, Utah, EMRIA site

The estimated original identified coal resources of the Alton, Utah, EMRIA (Energy Minerals Rehabilitation Inventory and Analysis) site--an area of about 3.6 square miles (9.3 square kilometres)--total almost 49 million tons (45 megatonnes). A larger area that surrounds and includes the Alton EMRIA site proper contains estimated original identified coal resources of almost 309 million tons (281 megatonnes). Of these estimated resources in the EMRIA site proper, almost 27 million tons (25 megatonnes) are in beds more than 10 feet thick (3 metres); these beds are overlain by less-than 200 feet (60 metres) of overburden. In the larger area around and including the EMRIA site, about 88.5 million tons (81 megatonnes) are in beds more than ten feet (3 metres) thick with less than 200 feet (60 metres) of overburden. All the estimated resources are in the Smirl zone in the upper part of the Dakota Formation of Cretaceous age. The coal has an apparent rank of subbituminous B, an average heating value of about 9,560 Btu, an average sulfur content of about 1.0 percent, and an average ash content of 7.2 percent. When compared with the average abundance of elements in the crust of the Earth as a whole, only selenium and boron were present in the Alton area coal samples in amounts an order of magnitude greater than the average crustal abundance. Beryllium, fluorine, nickel, zinc, and zirconium are all present in the Alton area samples in amounts that are about an order of magnitude less than the average crustal abundance.

Utah↗
USGS2013

Fertilizer consumption and energy input for 16 crops in the United States

Fertilizer use by U.S. agriculture has increased over the past few decades. The production and transportation of fertilizers (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; potassium, K) are energy intensive. In general, about a third of the total energy input to crop production goes to the production of fertilizers, one-third to mechanization, and one-third to other inputs including labor, transportation, pesticides, and electricity. For some crops, fertilizer is the largest proportion of total energy inputs. Energy required for the production and transportation of fertilizers, as a percentage of total energy input, was determined for 16 crops in the U.S. to be: 19–60% for seven grains, 10–41% for two oilseeds, 25% for potatoes, 12–30% for three vegetables, 2–23% for two fruits, and 3% for dry beans. The harvested-area weighted-average of the fraction of crop fertilizer energy to the total input energy was 28%. The current sources of fertilizers for U.S. agriculture are dependent on imports, availability of natural gas, or limited mineral resources. Given these dependencies plus the high energy costs for fertilizers, an integrated approach for their efficient and sustainable use is needed that will simultaneously maintain or increase crop yields and food quality while decreasing adverse impacts on the environment.

Natural Resources Research↗
USGS2024

Uranium redox and deposition transitions embedded in deep-time geochemical models and mineral chemistry networks

Uranium (U) is an important global energy resource and a redox sensitive trace element that reflects changing environmental conditions and geochemical cycling. The redox evolution of U mineral chemistry can be interrogated to understand the formation and distribution of U deposits and the redox processes involved in U geochemistry throughout Earth history. In this study, geochemical modeling using thermodynamic data, and mineral chemistry network analysis are used to investigate U geochemistry and deposition through time. The number of U 6+ mineral localities surpasses the number of U 4+ mineral localities in the Paleoproterozoic. Moreover, the number of sedimentary U 6+ mineral localities increases earlier in the Phanerozoic than the number of U 4+ sedimentary mineral localities, likely due to the necessity of sufficient sedimentary organic matter to reduce U 6+ –U 4+ . Indeed, modeling calculations indicate that increased oxidative weathering due to surface oxygenation limited U 4+ uraninite (UO 2 ) formation from weathered granite and basalt. Louvain network community detection shows that U 6+ forms minerals with many more shared elements and redox states than U 4+ . The range of weighted Mineral Element Electronegativity Coefficient of Variation (wMEE CV ) values of U 6+ minerals increases through time, particularly during the Phanerozoic. Conversely, the range of wMEE CV values of U 4+ minerals is consistent through time due to the relative abundance of uraninite, coffinite, and brannerite. The late oxidation and formation of U 6+ minerals compared to S 6+ minerals illustrates the importance of the development of land plants, organic matter deposition, and redox-controlled U deposition from ground water in continental sediments during this time-period.

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems↗
USGS2020

Mineral deposits of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift system in the Lake Superior region – A space and time classification

The Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. Historically, hydrothermal deposits, such as Michigan’s native copper deposits and the White Pine sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposit, were major MRS metal producers. On-going exploration for and potential development of copper-nickel sulfide deposits hosted by the Duluth Complex of Minnesota and the opening of the Eagle nickel mine in Michigan indicate an expanding interest in MRS magmatic deposits. MRS hydrothermal and magmatic mineral deposits, many of which are significant past, present, and likely future providers of critical minerals, here are placed into a space and time metallogenic framework. To construct this framework, regional MRS mineral deposits extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) and the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Mineral Deposit Inventory (MDI) were supplemented by other known and recently recognized mineral deposits described in the literature. All mineral deposits were classified by deposit type, host rock age and type, and estimated timing of mineralization. Deposits were then put into a tectonic evolutionary framework (stages) for the MRS, which shows that deposits formed within discrete spatial and temporal stages of rift evolution.

Lake Superior region↗
USGS2025

Critical minerals in mine waste

Introduction Critical minerals are commodities with vulnerable supply chains that play a vital role in supporting the United States’ economy, national defense and security, emerging technologies, and energy independence. The prosperity of our Nation depends on generating a resilient supply of domestic critical minerals; mine waste may be an untapped source of these commodities. Mine waste from centuries of legacy mining persist on the landscape and may contain critical minerals and other valuable commodities previously deemed uneconomic to recover. At modern mines, the financial viability of recovering byproduct critical minerals, which are not the primary target, may be marginal and can ultimately destine them to mine waste. Further, mine waste can be a liability for the mining company or, at legacy mines, the taxpayer because of its effect on the landscape. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has several initiatives to evaluate critical mineral resources in various types of waste. This factsheet highlights studies of mine waste carried out by USGS scientists at the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center in collaboration with other science centers funded through the USGS Mineral Resources Program. Recovery of critical minerals from mine waste can aid in remediation efforts and increase domestic supply of vital mineral resources.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1987

Mineral resource potential map of the South Sierra Wilderness and the South Sierra Roadless Area, Inyo and Tulare Counties, California

There are five areas with mineral resource potential and one area with geothermal energy potential in the South Sierra Wilderness and the South Sierra Roadless Area. The area south of Summit Meadows and the area south of Hogback Creek have moderate resource potential for tungsten and molybdenum in small skarn deposits. The area between Summit meadow and Hogback Creek and the area from south of Jackass Meadows to northwest of Granite Knob have low mineral resource potential for tungsten and molybdenum. The area south of and including Walker Creek has low mineral resource potential for lead and zinc. The area including and surrounding Monache Mountain has high geothermal energy resource potential.

California↗
USGS2016

GIS-based identification of areas that have resource potential for critical minerals in six selected groups of deposit types in Alaska

Alaska has considerable potential for undiscovered mineral resources. This report evaluates potential for undiscovered critical minerals in Alaska. Critical minerals are those for which the United States imports more than half of its total supply and which are largely derived from nations that cannot be considered reliable trading partners. In this report, estimated resource potential and certainty for the state of Alaska are analyzed and mapped for the following six selected mineral deposit groups that may contain one or more critical minerals: (1) rare earth elements-thorium-yttrium-niobium(-uranium-zirconium) [REE-Th-Y-Nb(-U-Zr)] deposits associated with peralkaline to carbonatitic igneous intrusive rocks; (2) placer and paleoplacer gold (Au) deposits that in some places might also produce platinum group elements (PGE), chromium (Cr), tin (Sn), tungsten (W), silver (Ag), or titanium (Ti); (3) platinum group elements(-cobalt-chromium-nickel-titanium-vanadium) [PGE(-Co-Cr-Ni-Ti-V)] deposits associated with mafic to ultramafic intrusive rocks; (4) carbonate-hosted copper(-cobalt-silver-germanium-gallium) [Cu(-Co-Ag-Ge-Ga)] deposits; (5) sandstone-hosted uranium(-vanadium-copper) [U(-V-Cu)] deposits; and (6) tin-tungsten-molybdenum(-tantalum-indium-fluorspar) [Sn-W-Mo(-Ta-In-fluorspar)] deposits associated with specialized granites. This study used a data-driven, geographic information system (GIS)-implemented method to identify areas that have mineral resource potential in Alaska. This method systematically and simultaneously analyzes geoscience data from multiple geospatially referenced datasets and uses individual subwatersheds (12-digit hydrologic units) as the spatial unit of classification. The final map output uses a red, yellow, green, and gray color scheme to portray estimated relative potential (High, Medium, Low, Unknown) for each of the six groups of mineral deposit types, and it indicates the relative certainty (High, Medium, Low) of that estimate for each 12-digit hydrologic unit through color shading. Accompanying tables describe the data layers employed to score favorability for the presence of each mineral deposit group, the values assigned for specific analysis parameters, and the relative weighting of each data layer that contributes to estimated measures of potential and certainty . Core datasets used include the Alaska Geochemical Database, Version 2.0 (AGDB2); the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS) web-based geochemical database; the digital “Geologic Map of Alaska;” the Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF); and aerial gamma-ray surveys flown as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program by the U.S. Department of Energy. Maps accompanying this report illustrate the scores for estimated mineral resource potential for the six deposit groups for the state of Alaska. Areas that have known potential, as well as new areas that were not previously known to have potential, for the targeted minerals and deposit groups are identified and described. Numerous areas in Alaska, some of them large, have high potential for one or more of the selected groups of deposit types within Alaska. Contributors Matthew Granitto, Timothy S. Hayes, James V. Jones, III, Susan M. Karl, Keith A. Labay, Jeffrey L. Mauk, Jeanine M. Schmidt, Nora B. Shew, Erin Todd, Bronwen Wang, Melanie B. Werdon, and Douglas B. Yager

Alaska↗
USGS2006

Metallogeny of the Great Basin: Crustal evolution, fluid flow, and ore deposits

The Great Basin physiographic province in the Western United States contains a diverse assortment of world-class ore deposits. It currently (2006) is the world’s second leading producer of gold, contains large silver and base metal (Cu, Zn, Pb, Mo, W) deposits, a variety of other important metallic (Fe, Ni, Be, REE’s, Hg, PGE) and industrial mineral (diatomite, barite, perlite, kaolinite, gallium) resources, as well as petroleum and geothermal energy resources. Ore deposits are most numerous and largest in size in linear mineral belts with complex geology. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are in the final year of a research project initiated in the fall of 2001 to increase understanding of relations between crustal evolution, fluid flow, and ore deposits in the Great Basin. Because of its substantial past and current mineral production, this region has been the focus of numerous investigations over the past century and is the site of ongoing research by industry, academia, and state agencies. A variety of geoinformatic tools was used to organize, reinterpret, and display, in space and time, the large amounts of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and hydrologic information deemed pertinent to this problem. This information, in combination with concentrated research on (1) critical aspects of the geologic history, (2) an area in northern Nevada that encompasses the major mineral belts, and (3) important mining districts and deposits, is producing new insights about the interplay between key tectonic events, hydrothermal fluid flow, and ore genesis in mineral belts. The results suggest that the Archean to Holocene history of the Great Basin was punctuated by several tectonic events that caused fluids of different origins (sea water, basinal brine, meteoric water, metamorphic water, magmatic water) to move through the crust. Basement faults reactivated during these events localized deformation, sedimentation, magmatism, and hydrothermal fluid flow in overlying rocks to form mineral belts that contain ore deposits of different types and ages that are locally superimposed (demonstrating inheritance). Fluid flow in these systems also was influenced by the distribution of permeable lithologies and paleotopographic highs and lows. Hydrothermal fluids evolved from their initial chemistries towards compositions that reflect the ƒ O 2 and ƒ S 2 buffering capacity of, and the ligands and metals present in, the rocks (±older mineralization) through which they moved. In northern Nevada, where gold deposits are relatively common, carbonaceous, pyritic strata buffered fluids of diverse origins to H 2 S-rich compositions so they could transport gold repeatedly over Paleozoic-Cenozoic time (convergent evolution). Ore formed where metal-laden fluids encountered effective physicochemical traps. Maps of Neogene basin fill and erosion surfaces identify areas where preexisting ore deposits have been progressively exposed or concealed. Comparisons with analogous terrains and deposit types in other parts of the world provide global context. The initial findings and some of the databases, geologic maps, sections, reconstructions, hydrogeologic models, topical syntheses, regional overviews, short courses, field guides, and deposit comparisons produced by project staff and associated managers, contractors, and collaborators have been presented in numerous abstracts, symposia, USGS publications, and professional journals over the last 5 years (see the extensive bibliography). Notable among these was the 2005 Geological Society of Nevada symposium in Reno, Nevada, and the 2005 Geological Society of America annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, where project results were presented to audiences from around the nation and world. The final results of the project will be submitted for publication in 2007 to appropriate USGS and professional journals. A special issue of GEOSPHERE, scheduled for publication in 2007, will be devoted to the results of this project and related work. This special issue will reach an international audience and be available worldwide on the internet. Much of the research for this project has concentrated on areas that will receive the focused attention of the mining industry in the future. As such, the data and interpretations generated by this project have direct use for land-use managers in Federal, State, and local agencies. Improved hydrogeologic models developed by this project will considerably enhance ongoing and future water resource investigations in the region. The increased understanding of when, where, and how hydrothermal systems produce significant economic deposits has direct uses for mineral exploration and for future USGS mineral resource assessments in the Great Basin and other parts of the world.

Great Basin↗
USGS2022

Opportunities to improve alignment with the FAIR Principles for U.S. Geological Survey data

In 2016, an interdisciplinary, international group of 53 scientists introduced a framework named “the FAIR Principles” for addressing 21st century scientific data challenges. The FAIR Principles are increasingly used as a guide for producing digital scientific products that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR), especially to enable use of such products in automated systems. Data aligned with the FAIR Principles can increase the efficiency of science integration capabilities such as those envisioned for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Monitoring, Analyses, and Projections (EarthMAP) initiative. The FAIR Principles clearly define the characteristics of reusable scientific products, but it is less clear how to facilitate consistency in achieving these characteristics across the Bureau. USGS data are produced by local research projects distributed over more than 100 centers in 7 regions. After data are approved for release, they could be managed in numerous repositories and online data systems. The diversity of USGS data is illustrated by the topical range of the USGS mission areas: Core Science Systems, Ecosystems, Energy and Minerals, Natural Hazards, and Water Resources. In the USGS context, realizing the EarthMAP vision for automated, predictive, integrated science that provides timely and actionable results involves providing knowledge and support services and developing the skills, infrastructure, and culture to enable Bureau-wide implementation of the FAIR Principles. In 2019, the USGS Community for Data Integration funded a project to convene a broadly representative workshop and produce recommendations to enable consistency with the FAIR Principles across the USGS. The workshop, held in Fort Collins, Colorado, in September 2019, brought together 28 participants for 3 days to engage with the FAIR Principles, analyze USGS use cases, and discuss the roles of data producers and managers, data storage and catalogs, value-added services, and policy makers in implementing the FAIR Principles. Workshop participants agreed that scientific reproducibility requires the extension of the FAIR Principles beyond measured data to include physical samples, research methods, software, and tools at the USGS. Workshop discussions focused on how the USGS can implement the FAIR Principles by supporting research teams in creating data, metadata, and other scientific products and also by supporting enterprise systems that maintain and leverage the products’ consistency with the FAIR Principles. The resulting FAIR roadmap of recommendations describes nine proposed interdependent strategies that could be achieved by coordinated actions taken by different parts of the USGS. A proposed early action would be the creation of a coordinating council that includes representatives from the groups engaged in activities consistent with better alignment with the FAIR Principles. The nine proposed strategies, which are presented in more detail in this roadmap report, focus on enabling improvements to individual data products, providing infrastructure, and structuring administrative activities to support an organizational culture that values the FAIR Principles.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1977

National coal resource investigations of the United States Geological Survey

The objective of this report is to provide a record of some of the goals and accomplishments of the coal resource investigations of the U. S. Geological Survey for 1977. Successful completion of these goals will aid the Nation in the years ahead because proper usage of coal resource data may lessen economic displacements resulting from the energy shortage. This report is concerned only with one mineral fuel -- coal -- and only with coal resource investigations in the Geologic Division of the U. S. Geological Survey. Other divisions involved with coal or coal-related work are the Conservation, Water Resources, and Topographic Divisions. It is one of a series of reports on the energy resource studies conducted by the Geological Survey that provide a public record of the objectives, activities, and accomplishments of these programs. Similar reports have been prepared on oil and gas, oil shale, uranium, thorium, and energy-related industrial minerals. This report includes descriptions of the program, each sub-element of the program, individual projects, and a selected list of program publications from 1970-76. It also describes how the program is responsive to Presidential pronouncements and Congressional mandates. The program is cooperative with several Federal bureaus, many state agencies, universities, and industry. This coordination assures that the program supplements the work of these interested groups and is not duplicative. A scientific program such as the coal resource investigations is difficult for the non-involved person to understand solely from the existing reports on various studies made in the program. This report provides an explanation that the scientist, decision maker, personnel of other government agencies, and the layman can use to relate various activities and to gain a better understanding of the relation of coal to the Nation's requirements for energy and of the importance of a carefully planned program on this energy resource.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2026

Key minerals in energy transmission

The electrical grid relies on minerals with unique properties to transform, transmit, and convert electricity. Transmission needs are growing—to support the expansion of data centers and link diverse energy resources into the grid. This expansion will require greater quantities of minerals. Although some minerals are produced in the United States, the United States relies on imports for others. This infographic shows the key minerals that support energy transmission, and how reliant the United States is on imports for these minerals.

General Information Product↗