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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Reclamation after oil and gas development does not speed up succession or plant community recovery in big sagebrush ecosystems in Wyoming

Article for intended outlet: Restoration Ecology. Abstract: Reclamation is an application of treatment(s) following a disturbance to promote succession and accelerate the return of target conditions. Previous studies have framed reclamation in the context of succession by studying its effectiveness in re-establishing late-successional plant communities. Re-establishment of these plant communities is especially important and potentially challenging in regions such as drylands and shrub steppe ecosystems where succession proceeds slowly. Dryland shrub steppe ecosystems are frequently associated with areas rich in fossil-fuel energy sources, and as such the need for effective reclamation after disturbance from fossil-fuel-related energy development is great. Past research in this field has focused primarily on coal mines; few researchers have studied reclamation after oil and gas development. To address this research gap and to better understand the effect of reclamation on rates of succession in dryland shrub steppe ecosystems, we sampled oil and gas wellpads and adjacent undisturbed big sagebrush plant communities in Wyoming, USA and quantified the extent of recovery for major functional groups on reclaimed and unreclaimed (recovered via natural succession) wellpads relative to the undisturbed plant community. Reclamation increased the rate of recovery for all forb and grass species as a group and for perennial grasses, but did not affect other functional groups. Rather, analyses comparing recovery to environmental variables and time since wellpad abandonment showed that recovery of other groups were affected primarily by soil texture and time since wellpad abandonment. This is consistent with studies in other ecosystems where reclamation has been implemented, suggesting that reclamation may not help re-establish late-successional plant communities more quickly than they would re-establish naturally.

Wyoming↗
USGS2026

Metalloporphyrins in the Eagle Ford Shale

Using Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), Zheng et al. (2018, Energy & Fuels 32, 10382) reported abundant iron and vanadyl porphyrins and minor amounts of gallium and nickel porphyrins in asphaltenes extracted from a single lower Eagle Ford Shale sample. This finding is most unusual as iron and gallium porphyrins have been previously found only in coal. In this study, petroporphyrins in samples of the Eagle Ford Shale previously studied by French et al. (2020, Marine Petrol. Geol. 118, 104459), were examined using atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) FT-ICR-MS. Vanadyl porphyrins (N4VO) dominated the asphaltenes in thermally immature (VRo < 0.56%) samples decreasing in relative abundance with increasing maturity. Only minor amounts of nickel porphyrins were detected in the immature and early oil samples. The distribution of the vanadyl porphyrins is comparable to those reported for marine oils at varying levels of maturity. Immature samples contained porphyrins that were predominantly deoxophylloerythroetio- (DPEP: DBE = 18) and di- deoxophylloerythroetio (di-DPEP: DBE = 19) porphyrins, while ETIO- (DBE = 17), rhodo- (DBE = 20, 21, and 22) and higher condensed (DBE ≥ 23) porphyrins increased with increasing maturity. The vanadyl porphyrins included species with additional one to three oxygen atoms (N4VOx, x= 1 to 4) and one sulfur atom with one to two oxygen atoms (S1N4VOx, x=1 to 3). The degree of additional oxygen and sulfur atoms is consistent with O/C and Sorg/C of associated kerogen. No iron or gallium porphyrins were detected, showing that they are not a ubiquitous feature of the Eagle Ford. We hypothesize that the previously reported iron and gallium porphyrins (Zheng et al., 2018) were present because the specific sample that was analyzed in detail was from the early onset of the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2) in contrast to the samples investigated in this study that are primarily from the lower part of the Eagle Ford pre-dating OAE-2. Submarine volcanism, associated with eruption of large igneous provinces, occurred pre-OAE-2, injecting iron and other inorganic nutrients, giving rise to algal blooms and the acidification of the seawater. At the onset of OAE-2, boreal water masses flowed into the southern Western Interior Seaway, shifting the water column to more oxygenated conditions. Low pH-high Eh (oxic) conditions enhance the availability of iron and gallium such that these events abruptly changed the seawater chemistry, specifically enriching iron and gallium relative to vanadium and nickel. These pH-Eh conditions are similar to the depositional conditions associated with coals, which are known to contain iron and gallium porphyrins, suggesting similar conditions resulted in iron and gallium metalation of porphyrins in the marine setting of the Western Interior Seaway.

Texas↗
USGS2024

Evaluation of the lithium resource in the Smackover Formation brines of southern Arkansas using machine learning

Global demand for lithium, the primary component of lithium-ion batteries, greatly exceeds known supplies, and this imbalance is expected to increase as the world transitions away from fossil fuel energy sources. High concentrations of lithium in brines have been observed in the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas (>400 milligrams per liter). We used published and newly collected brine lithium concentration data to train a random forest machine-learning model using geologic, geochemical, and temperature explanatory variables and create a map of predicted lithium concentrations in Smackover Formation brines across southern Arkansas. Using these predicted lithium maps with reservoir parameters and geologic information, we calculated that there are 5.1 to 19 million tons of lithium in Smackover Formation brines in southern Arkansas, which represents 35 to 136% of the current US lithium resource estimate. Based on these calculations, in 2022, 5000 tons of dissolved lithium were brought to the surface within brines as waste streams of the oil, gas, and bromine industries.

Arkansas↗
USGS2014

Fifteen-year patterns of soil carbon and nitrogen following biomass harvesting

The substitution of forest-derived woody biofuels for fossil fuel energy has garnered increasing attention in recent years, but information regarding the mid- and long-term effects on soil productivity is limited. We investigated 15-yr temporal trends in forest floor and mineral soil (0–30 cm) C and N pools in response to organic matter removal treatments (OMR; stem-only harvest, SOH; whole-tree harvest, WTH; and whole-tree plus forest floor removal, FFR) at three edaphically distinct aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx. and P. grandidentata Michx.) forests in the Great Lakes region. The OMR and temporal effects were generally site specific, and both were most evident in the forest floor and combined profile (mineral soil and forest floor) compared with the mineral soil alone. Forest floor and combined profile C and N pools were generally similar in the SOH and WTH treatments, suggesting that slash retention has little impact on soil C and N in this time frame. Temporal changes in C and N at one of the three sites were consistent with patterns documented following exotic earthworm invasion, but mineral soil pools at the other two sites were stable over time. Power analyses demonstrated that significant effects were more likely to be detected for temporal differences than the effects of OMR and in the combined profile than in the mineral soil. Our findings are consistent with previous work demonstrating that OMR effects on soil C and N pools are site specific and more apparent in the forest floor than the mineral soil.

Soil Science Society of America Journal↗
USGS2021

Surface-mining modeling for USGS coal assessments

The value of national coal deposits is determined for the Solid Fuel Energy Resources Assessment and Research Project through economic evaluations using hypothetical mining models. Deposits near the surface are evaluated with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) surface-mining model, which is patterned after the standard mining techniques and infrastructures of commercial mining projects. The USGS surface-mining model uses these commercial mining project techniques as guides to develop a quantitative measurement to distinguish between potential recoverable resources and reserves by comparing total project cost and market value.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1958

Borate deposits of the Mojave Region, California

Output of the United States borate producers reached approximately 1,000,000 tons in 1957, nearly four times the average annual production of 1941-45. Increasing consumption for long-established uses and several new ones accounts for the rise; further rise, for new uses such as high energy fuels, lies ahead. Among known borate deposits, the largest are at Searles Lake and Kramer, which supply 90 percent of the world's recorded production. The Kramer ore body, which is very large, consists of remarkably pure sodium borates in Tertiary lake beds. At Searles Lake, also large, the borax is produced from brines pumped out of salt layers which are the residue of a dessicated Pleistocene lake. Prospecting for borates is now more active than it has been for years. The best prospecting ground is in the alluvial-covered basins of western Nevada and particularly southeastern California, in concealed sections of Tertiary continental sediments. Several playas or salt flats that resemble Searles Lake were test-drilled for the U. S. Geological Survey by a contractor but the holes encountered no borates. Drill holes near Kramer, however, encountered a deposit of colemanite in lake beds.

California, Nevada↗
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↗
USGS2003

Preparing for climate change: The potential consequences of climate variability and change

Over the past decades, scientific research has greatly advanced the knowledge and understanding of global environmental change. Research supported by the U. S. Global Change Research Programme (USGCRP) and research and assessment results by international organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), and the International Geosphere and Biosphere Programme (IGBP) have demonstrated that human activities exert powerful environmental influences on global, regional, and local scales. Recent findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 1997) indicate that human activities are increasing the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide (NO x ), methane (CH 4 ), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS), partially halogenated fluorocarbons, and ozone (O 3 ), which alter radiative balances, and tend to warm the Earth’s surface. These changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols constitute key factors in global and regional changes in temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables, resulting in local and regional changes in soil moisture, an increase in global mean sea level, and prospects for more severe extreme high temperature events, floods, and droughts in some places. In the United States and elsewhere in the industrialized world, energy use contributes to global warming more than any other human activity. This is because most of our energy comes from carbon-based fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). Fossil fuels provide energy for a variety of purposes, including transporting goods and people, manufacturing products, heating and cooling buildings, lighting spaces, and cooking foods. Each year U.S. energy use releases more than 5.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Present global CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are 130% of pre-industrial levels (Figure 1). The global surface temperature last century is warmer than any other century in the past millennium. The global average temperature has increased by about 1 o F over the last century and is projected to rise another 2-6.5 o F by year 2100 (Figure 2). The last two decades have been the warmest last century. Average global sea level has risen about 4 to 10 inches in the last hundred years, and is projected to rise another 6-38 inches by year 2100. Mid- and low- latitude mountain glaciers have retreated world-wide last century. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, it is expected that an increase in rainfall amount and consequent increase in river flooding will occur. Recent floods in the Gulf Coast areas (1993, 1997) are examples of such events, and perhaps indicate the high sensitivity of flood occurrence to changing climate. Because of its unique location adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast region of the United States is particularly vulnerable to various environmental alterations resulting from climate change.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,↗
USGS2014

Environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy

Renewable energy is a promising alternative to fossil fuel-based energy, but its development can require a complex set of environmental tradeoffs. A recent increase in solar energy systems, especially large, centralized installations, underscores the urgency of understanding their environmental interactions. Synthesizing literature across numerous disciplines, we review direct and indirect environmental impacts – both beneficial and adverse – of utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development, including impacts on biodiversity, land-use and land-cover change, soils, water resources, and human health. Additionally, we review feedbacks between USSE infrastructure and land-atmosphere interactions and the potential for USSE systems to mitigate climate change. Several characteristics and development strategies of USSE systems have low environmental impacts relative to other energy systems, including other renewables. We show opportunities to increase USSE environmental co-benefits, the permitting and regulatory constraints and opportunities of USSE, and highlight future research directions to better understand the nexus between USSE and the environment. Increasing the environmental compatibility of USSE systems will maximize the efficacy of this key renewable energy source in mitigating climatic and global environmental change.

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews↗
USGS2003

Alternative Sources of Energy - An Introduction to Fuel Cells

Fuel cells are important future sources of electrical power and could contribute to a reduction in the amount of petroleum imported by the United States. They are electrochemical devices similar to a battery and consist of a container, an anode, a cathode, catalysts, an intervening electrolyte, and an attached electrical circuit. In most fuel cell systems, hydrogen is supplied to the anode and oxygen to the cathode which results in the production of electricity, water, and heat. Fuel cells are comparatively efficient and reliable, have no moving parts, operate without combustion, and are modular and scale-able. Their size and shape are flexible and adaptable. In operation, they are nearly silent, are relatively safe, and generally do not pollute the environment. During recent years, scientists and engineers have developed and refined technologies relevant to a variety of fuel cells. Types of fuel cells are commonly identified by the composition of their electrolyte, which could be either phosphoric acid, an alkaline solution, a molten carbonate, a solid metal oxide, or a solid polymer membrane. The electrolyte in stationary power plants could be phosphoric acid, molten carbonates, or solid metal oxides. For vehicles and smaller devices, the electrolyte could be an alkaline solution or a solid polymer membrane. For most fuel cell systems, the fuel is hydrogen, which can be extracted by several procedures from many hydrogen-bearing substances, including alcohols, natural gas (mainly methane), gasoline, and water. There are important and perhaps unresolved technical problems associated with using fuel cells to power vehicles. The catalysts required in several systems are expensive metals of the platinum group. Moreover, fuel cells can freeze and not work in cold weather and can be damaged by impacts. Storage tanks for the fuels, particularly hydrogen, must be safe, inexpensive, of a reasonable size, and contain a supply sufficient for a trip of several hundred miles. Additional major problems will be the extensive and costly changes in the national infrastructure to obtain, store, and distribute large amounts of the fuels, and in related manufacturing

Bulletin↗
USGS1999

Environmental issues associated with fossil fuel resources; an evaluation of research opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey's Energy Resources Program

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States has nearly tripled within the last 50 years (fig. 1), and is expected to continue increasing. As our knowledge and awareness of environmental consequences related to fossil fuel extraction and use grow, we as a nation, face the challenge of balancing our energy requirements with a desire for environmentally cleaner fuel. To help meet this challenge, the Energy Resources Program (ERP) of the Geologic Division (GD), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sponsored three internal workshops and a World Wide Web (WWW) workshop. The primary goal of these workshops was to identify those environmental issues that are related to fossil fuels, are national in scope, and are within the purview of the USGS as an earth-science government agency. Those issues so identified will be prioritized according to ERP's future research plan and according to the extent they provide an environmental framework for ERP's petroleum and coal assessments. The purpose of this paper is to provide the results of the internal and WWW workshops as proposed topics of research for future ERP work, delineate studies to answer the questions related to each proposed research area, and link the studies to the seven science goals of the Geologic Division. The information provided herein will be used in preparing the USGS Geologic Division's FY2000 prospectus and ERP's next five-year strategic plan. Acknowledgements. The authors wish to acknowledge information on ERP environmental projects provided by Les Magoon, Paul Lillis, Keith Kvenvolden, Tom Lorenson, and Bob Rosenbauer. Peter Schweitzer was instrumental in providing the software for the WWW workshop, Cheryl Adkisson for constructing the workshop web pages, and Laura Friedrich for constructing the web pages summarizing the internal workshops. Stan Mroczkowski, Jim Otton, Donna Read, and Dorothy Tanti provided notes of or logistical assistance for the internal workshops. This report reflects the collective input of numerous USGS managers and scientists their participation in the workshops is greatly appreciated.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2017

Sustainability of utility-scale solar energy – critical ecological concepts

Renewable energy development is an arena where ecological, political, and socioeconomic values collide. Advances in renewable energy will incur steep environmental costs to landscapes in which facilities are constructed and operated. Scientists – including those from academia, industry, and government agencies – have only recently begun to quantify trade-offs in this arena, often using ground-mounted, utility-scale solar energy facilities (USSE, ≥1 megawatt) as a model. Here, we discuss five critical ecological concepts applicable to the development of more sustainable USSE with benefits over fossil-fuel-generated energy: (1) more sustainable USSE development requires careful evaluation of trade-offs between land, energy, and ecology; (2) species responses to habitat modification by USSE vary; (3) cumulative and large-scale ecological impacts are complex and challenging to mitigate; (4) USSE development affects different types of ecosystems and requires customized design and management strategies; and (5) long-term ecological consequences associated with USSE sites must be carefully considered. These critical concepts provide a framework for reducing adverse environmental impacts, informing policy to establish and address conservation priorities, and improving energy production sustainability.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment↗
USGS1993

A preliminary review of coal exploration activities conducted by the government of Armenia and the coal resource potential of Armenia

A coal resource assessment team from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Armenian Department of Underground Resources (DUR) and elements of the Ministry of Energy and Fuel, has completed an initial visit to Armenia under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development JUSAID). The visit included discussions of the coal resources, identification of problems associated with on-going exploration and development activities, and field visits to selected solid fuel areas. The USGS team will return in November with a draft of the final report for discussion of conclusions and recommendations with Armenian counterparts, representatives of USAID, and the American Embassy. The final report, which will contain tabulated coal-sample analytical results and detailed recommendations, will be submitted to the USAID by the end of December 1993. Preliminary conclusions are that: 1) Armenia has usable deposits of coal that could form a viable, though relatively small, component of Armenia's energy budget; 2) on-going exploration and development activities must be augmented and expedited to increase understanding of the coal resource potential and subsequent utilization; 3) deficiencies in supplies (primarily fuel) and equipment (replacement of aging parts and units) have greatly reduced the gathering of necessary resource data; and 4) training of Armenian counterparts in conducting and managing coal exploration activities is desirable.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2017

The Nitrogen Footprint Tool network: A multi-institution program to reduce nitrogen pollution

Anthropogenic sources of reactive nitrogen have local and global impacts on air and water quality and detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health. This paper uses the nitrogen footprint tool (NFT) to determine the amount of nitrogen (N) released as a result of institutional consumption. The sectors accounted for include food (consumption and upstream production), energy, transportation, fertilizer, research animals, and agricultural research. The NFT is then used for scenario analysis to manage and track reductions, which are driven by the consumption behaviors of both the institution itself and its constituent individuals. In this paper, the first seven completed institution nitrogen footprint results are presented. The institution NFT network aims to develop footprints for many institutions to encourage widespread upper-level management strategies that will create significant reductions in reactive nitrogen released to the environment. Energy use and food purchases are the two largest sectors contributing to institution nitrogen footprints. Ongoing efforts by institutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also help to reduce the nitrogen footprint, but the impact of food production on nitrogen pollution has not been directly addressed by the higher-ed sustainability community. The NFT Network found that institutions could reduce their nitrogen footprints by optimizing food purchasing to reduce consumption of animal products and minimize food waste, as well as reducing dependence on fossil fuels for energy.

Sustainability↗
USGS2019

Lotic freshwater: Rivers

Ecosystems associated with rivers are intricately connected to their entire watershed. The river ecosystem includes the channel of active water flow, floodplain, and riparian and hyporheic zones. This ecosystem is shaped by interactions among the natural flow of water, sediments within the river and entering the river, and large wood regimes within the riparian zone. River integrity describes the ability of a river ecosystem to adjust to changes in these elements and through these adjustments maintain the habitat, disturbance regime, and connectivity necessary to sustain native biotic communities. Riverine food webs conceptualize the coupling between the physical environment and biotic communities and can be used to examine recovery from disturbance, variation in the structure of communities, and sources of energy that fuel metabolism within the ecosystem.

Book chapter↗
USGS2021

Greenhouse gas emissions from an arid-zone reservoir and their environmental policy significance: Results from existing global models and an exploratory dataset

Reservoirs in arid regions often provide critical water storage but little is known about their greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. While there is growing appreciation of the role reservoirs play as GHG sources, there is a lack of understanding of GHG emission dynamics from reservoirs in arid regions and implications for environmental policy. Here we present initial GHG emission measurements from Lake Powell, a large water storage reservoir in the desert southwest United States. We report CO 2 -eq emissions from the shallow (< 15 m) littoral regions of the reservoir that are higher than the global average areal emissions from reservoirs (9.4 vs. 5.8 g CO 2 -eq m −2 d −1 ) whereas fluxes from the main reservoir were two orders of magnitude lower (0.09 g CO 2 -eq m −2 d −1 ). We then compared our measurements to modeled CO 2 + CH 4 emissions from the reservoir using four global scale models. Factoring these emissions into hydropower production at Lake Powell yielded low GHG emissions per MWh −1 as compared to fossil-fuel based energy sources. With the exception of one model, the estimated hydropower emissions for Lake Powell ranged from 10−32 kg CO 2 -eq MWh −1 , compared to ∼400−1000 kg CO 2 -eq MWh −1 for natural gas, oil, and coal. We also estimate that reduced littoral habitat under low water levels leads to ∼50% reduction in the CO 2 equivalent emissions per MWh. The sensitivity of GHG emissions to reservoir water levels suggests that the interaction will be an important policy consideration in the design and operation of arid region systems.

Utah↗
USGS2020

Exploring methane behavior in Marcellus Shale micropores via contrast matching neutron scattering

Petroleum in shale reservoirs is hosted in organic matter and mineral pores as well as in natural fractures and voids. For thermally mature plays, e.g., the Marcellus Shale, methane and other light alkane gases are thought to be primarily contained in organic matter pores with radii ≦50 nm. Thus, in order to understand natural gas occurrence, transport, storage, and recoverability within unconventional reservoirs at the dry-gas stage of thermal maturity, it is critical to characterize the associated organic matter porosity across length scales from 50 nm down to the angstrom level. We utilized wide Q-range neutron total scattering to characterize deuterated methane (CD 4 ) adsorption at 60ºC up to the zero average contrast (ZAC) pressure (~60 MPa) within two mineralogically different samples collected from the same producing interval from the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale. The neutron scattering approach used here provides structural information from the inter-atomic regime up to a nominal pore radius of ~12.5 nm and, by reaching the CD 4 ZAC pressure (~60 MPa), it is possible to examine the distribution of open versus closed pores within this pore size range in the samples. Our results indicate that ~10% of the largest pores measured are closed to CD 4 for a quartz-rich sample whereas up to 25% of pores with a nominal radius of ~12.5 nm are inaccessible within a sample with an equivalent proportion of quartz, carbonate, and clay. As pore size decreases, accessibility also decreases; all pores with radii ~0.5 nm are effectively closed to CD 4 in both samples. Additionally, up to ~4.5× more CD 4 is adsorbed within the quartz-rich sample at 60 MPa and we see no evidence for densification of CD 4 within the shale pores. These findings suggest that, for shale samples within the dry-gas window, (i) nanometer-scale porosity is primarily located within organic matter, (ii) the amount of available nano-porosity can vary widely over meter scales, and (iii) mineralogy plays a secondary role in dictating methane behavior within these systems.

West Virginia↗