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Mission Areas
Energy and Minerals
Mission Areas L2 Landing Page Tabs
Mobilization of mercury and arsenic from a carbonate-hosted ore deposit, central Idaho, U.S.A.
The Cinnabar and Fern mine sites in central Idaho are primary source areas for elevated mercury and arsenic entering the South Fork of the Salmon River, which provides critical spawning habitat for bull trout and Chinook salmon. Mercury mineralization is hosted by carbonate rocks, which generate waters dominated by Ca2+ and HCO3 - at pH 7 to 9. A...
Holloway, JoAnn M.; Pribil, Michael; McCleskey, R. Blaine; Etheridge, Alexandra B.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Aiken, George R. Geochemical characteristics of igneous rocks associated with epithermal mineral deposits—A review
Newly synthesized data indicate that the geochemistry of igneous rocks associated with epithermal mineral deposits varies extensively and continuously from subalkaline basaltic to rhyolitic compositions. Trace element and isotopic data for these rocks are consistent with subduction-related magmatism and suggest that the primary source magmas were...
du Bray, Edward A. Geologic map of the Bateman Spring Quadrangle, Lander County, Nevada
This 1:24,000-scale geologic map of the Bateman Spring 7.5-minute quadrangle in Lander County, Nevada contains descriptions of 24 geologic units and one cross section. Accompanying text includes full unit descriptions and references. This quadrangle includes lower Paleozoic siliciclastic sedimentary rocks of the Roberts Mountain allochthon,...
Ramelli, Alan R.; Wrucke, Chester T.; House, P. Kyle Influence of the Eastern California Shear Zone on deposition of the Mio-Pliocene Bouse Formation: Insights from the Cibola area, Arizona
The Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) is a wide zone of late Cenozoic strike-slip faults and related diffuse deformation that currently accommodates ~20–25% of relative Pacific–North America plate motion in the lower Colorado River region (Fig. 1A; Dokka and Travis, 1990; Miller et al., 2001; Guest et al., 2007; Mahan et al., 2009). The ECSZ is...
Dorsey, Rebecca J.; O'Connell, Brennan; Homan, Mindy B.; Bennett, Scott E. K. Post-9.45 Ma depositional and structural history of the Bear Canyon conglomerate between Indian Pass and Picacho State Recreation Area, southeastern California
No abstract available.
Ricketts, Jason; Beard, L. Sue; Crow, Ryan S.; Coffey, Kevin; Haxel, Gordon B. Tectonic evolution
The middle Paleozoic through Present tectonic evolution of the Northern Cordillera is portrayed in a series of 15 Tectonic Model figures. These figures depict the successive stages of formation and accretion of orogenic collages along the western margin of the North American Plate (craton and craton margin) and adjacent marine areas. The orogenic...
Nokleberg, Warren J.; Monger, James W.H.; Stone, David B.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Scholl, David W. Excursions in fluvial (dis)continuity
Lurking below the twin concepts of connectivity and disconnectivity are their first, and in some ways, richer cousins: continuity and discontinuity. In this paper we explore how continuity and discontinuity represent fundamental and complementary perspectives in fluvial geomorphology, and how these perspectives inform and underlie our conceptions...
Grant, Gordon E.; O'Connor, James E.; Safran, Elizabeth Larval aquatic insect responses to cadmium and zinc in experimental streams
To evaluate the risks of metal mixture effects to natural stream communities under ecologically relevant conditions, the authors conducted 30-d tests with benthic macroinvertebrates exposed to cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) in experimental streams. The simultaneous exposures were with Cd and Zn singly and with Cd+Zn mixtures at environmentally...
Mebane, Christopher A.; Schmidt, Travis S.; Balistrieri, Laurie S. Dating of Pliocene Colorado River sediments: Implications for cosmogenic burial dating and the evolution of the lower Colorado River
We applied cosmogenic 26Al/10Be burial dating to sedimentary deposits of the ancestral Colorado River. We compared cosmogenic burial ages of sediments to the age of an independently well-dated overlying basalt flow at one site, and also applied cosmogenic burial dating to sediments with less precise independent age constraints. All dated...
Howard, Keith A.; Matmon, Ari; Stock, Greg M.; Granger, Darryl E. Lidar-Based Rock-Fall Hazard Characterization of Cliffs
Rock falls from cliffs and other steep slopes present numerous challenges for detailed geological characterization. In steep terrain, rock-fall source areas are both dangerous and difficult to access, severely limiting the ability to make detailed structural and volumetric measurements necessary for hazard assessment. Airborne and terrestrial...
Collins, Brian D.; Greg M.Stock Regional geophysics of western Utah and eastern Nevada, with emphasis on the Confusion Range
As part of a long term geologic and hydrologic study of several regional groundwater flow systems in western Utah and eastern Nevada, the U.S. Geological Survey was contracted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to provide geophysical data. The primary object of these data was to enable construction of the geological framework of the flow...
Mankinen, Edward A.; Rowley, Peter D.; Dixon, Gary L.; McKee, Edwin H. Paleogeographic implications of Late Miocene lacustrine and nonmarine evaporite deposits in the Lake Mead region: Immediate precursors to the Colorado River
Thick late Miocene nonmarine evaporite (mainly halite and gypsum) and related lacustrine limestone deposits compose the upper basin fill in half grabens within the Lake Mead region of the Basin and Range Province directly west of the Colorado Plateau in southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Regional relations and geochronologic data indicate...
Faulds, James E.; Schreiber, Charlotte; Langenheim, Victoria; Hinz, Nicholas H.; Shaw, Tom; Heizler, Matthew T.; Perkins, Michael E; El Tabakh, Mohammed; Kunk, Michael J.
Barre Granite
Granite is an igneous rock that we’ve used for building materials for thousands of years. It’s name comes from the Latin word “granum,” meaning “grain,” which refers to the grains of quartz and feldspar that define granite. This one is from the Barre formation in Vermont.
The USGS Coal Assessment Project
Coal project personnel visiting Trapper Mine in northwest Colorado in June, 2016.
Sarah Hawkins Receives the Core
USGS scientist Sarah Hawkins, lead scientist for the Mancos Shale assessment, examining a core drilled by the USGS Core Research Center. This core provided valuable data for the assessment. Image credit: Joshua Hicks, USGS.
Research Drilling Rig and Landscape
The USGS Core Research Center collaborated with the USGS Energy Resources Program to drill a core from the Mancos Shale to aid in the oil and gas assessment. Image Credit: Joshua Hicks, USGS.
USGS Research Drilling
USGS scientists drill a test core into the Mancos Shale to aid in the assessment for oil and gas resources. Credit: Joshua Hicks.
What's the Big Idea?—Multiple Perspectives to Answer Complex Questions
JoAnn Holloway, biogeochemist with the USGS Mineral Resources Program, explains how interdisciplinary science can help better inform the conditions of a complex ecosystem.
Heavy mineral sands, Folly Beach, South Carolina
Layered deposit of unconsolidated heavy mineral sands along the shores of Folly Beach, South Carolina.
Red Mountain near Silverton, Colorado
Intensely altered propylitic rocks (red and yellow) in the Red Mountain mining district, overprinting the regional, propylitically altered igneous rocks (grayish-green), peaks at top of image. View to west.
Eudialyte and Bastnäsite Samples
Sample of eudialyte (pink) within layered vein consisting of quartz, albite, and sodic amphibole, Dora Bay, Alaska. Size of sample is 11 by 9 cm. Sample of coarse-grained, tabular bastnäsite within matrix of ferruginous dolomite, Birthday Claim, Mountain Pass, California. Photographs by Philip Verplanck, U.S. Geological Survey. SIR 2010-5070-J
US Mines Produced an Estimated $74.6 Billion in Minerals during 2016
United States mines in 2016 produced an estimated $74.6 billion of raw mineral materials, a slight increase from 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey announced today.
A Deadly Double Punch: Together, Turbines and Disease Jeopardize Endangered Bats
USGS Releases New Standards for Natural Gas
USGS now has the new standard for natural gas.
Potash Cache: USGS Study Summarizes U.S. Sources of an Essential Nutrient for Agriculture
A new USGS report summarizes the primary sources of potash in the United States. Potash is an essential nutrient that, along with phosphorus and nitrogen, is used as fertilizer for growing crops.
USGS Estimates 20 Billion Barrels of Oil in Texas’ Wolfcamp Shale Formation
This is the largest estimate of continuous oil that USGS has ever assessed in the United States.
Study to Uncover Yellowstone’s Subsurface Mysteries
New study investigates groundwater from the air
When the Whole is Less than the Sum of Its Parts
Environmental Ratios of Cadmium and Zinc are less Toxic to Aquatic Insects than Expected
USGS Assesses Mineral Potential for Sagebrush Habitats in Six Western States
At the request of the Bureau of Land Management, USGS has released an assessment of mineral resources in six Western states.
USGS to Host Public Seminar on China’s Economic Rebalancing Act and its Global Implications
We're live-streaming this seminar at 1:00pm ET on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USGeologicalSurvey/ Check it out!
Large Deposits of Potentially Producible Gas Hydrate Found in Indian Ocean
This research is the result of a partnership between the Government of India, the Government of Japan, and U.S. scientists.
EarthWord–Fugitive
“Whatcha gonna do when they come for you”-thinks this week’s EarthWord...
Technical Announcement: USGS Puts Global Copper Assessments on the Map
We're putting our assessments on the map...literally!
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Locations
Energy and Minerals Mission Area Headquarters
Eastern Energy Resources Science Center
Phone: 703-648-6401
Eastern Mineral & Environmental Resources Science Center
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
Phone: 703-648-5953
Alaska Science Center
Phone: (907) 786-7000
Fax: (907) 786-7020
