Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to D. E. White.
This dataset contains contacts, geologic units, and map boundaries from Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1371, "The Geologic map of upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone, National Park, Wyoming". This dataset was constructed to produce a digital geologic map as a basis for ongoing studies of hydrothermal processes.
Parícutin's volcanic activity during its first year of life included a number of periods characterized by flowing lava. The length of time of individual periods ranged from a few days up to more than a month, and were separated by intervals during which little or no lava flowed at the surface. A cyclic activity is therefore obvious, and a more or less permanent record remains in the form of the lava‐flows. The complete cycle, however, is believed to consist essentially of four stages: (1) Flowing lava; (2) maximum gas activity from the central crater (without flow); (3) the rise of lava in the vent; (4) breaching of the cone in preparation for renewed flow.
The availability of fresh ground water in El Paso and adjacent areas that is needed to meet increased demand for water supply concerns local, State, and Federal agencies. The Hueco bolson is the principal aquifer in the El Paso area. Starting in the early 1900s and continuing to the 1950s, most of the municipal and industrial water supply in El Paso was pumped from the Hueco bolson aquifer from wells in and near the Rio Grande Valley and the international border. The Rio Grande is the principal surface-water feature in the El Paso area, and a major source of recharge to the shallow aquifer (Rio Grande alluvium) within the study area is leakage of flow from the Rio Grande. The shallow aquifer and the underlying Hueco bolson aquifer are in general hydrologic connection, but wells that penetrate these aquifers have different water levels and water quality. The configuration (slope) of the predevelopment (pre- 1903) water table indicates that ground water in the Hueco bolson flowed south from the Texas-New Mexico State line toward the El Paso Valley and the Rio Grande. There the water moved upward from the Hueco bolson fill through the alluvium and discharged as seepage at the land surface or through evapotranspiration on the river flood plain. Subsequent (post-January 1903) development of the Hueco bolson has caused water levels to decline in both the bolson aquifer and the shallow aquifer, and these declines have reversed the original vertical hydraulic gradient and now cause vertical leak- 1 Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey. 2 Geologist, El Paso Water Utilities-Public Service Board. age downward. Water-level declines in the shallow aquifer have in turn induced increasing amounts of leakage from the Rio Grande and from irrigation canals. The reversal from upward to downward in vertical hydraulic gradient between the Rio Grande alluvium and the underlying Hueco bolson aquifer has induced shallow water in the alluvium to move downward into the deeper aquifer. The introduction of water from the alluvium probably has led to a gradual water-quality deterioration of ground water in the Hueco bolson aquifer. The extent of any deterioration is a major concern because the dissolved solids concentration in water from some wells is approaching 1,000 milligrams per liter and already has exceeded this limit in other wells.
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The aquifers in the lower Mesilla Valley of Texas and New Mexico provide water for irrigation, industrial use, and municipal supply. At present (1984), the shallow aquifer is used principally for irrigation. The medium-depth aquifer (the top of which is about 160 to 260 feet below land surface) and deep aquifer (about 460 to 680 feet below land surface) are used almost exclusively by the city of El Paso to provide about 28 percent of the city's ground-water withdrawal of about 82,000 acre-feet in 1980; however, a small percentage of the pumpage is from the shallow aquifer. The potential use of the medium-depth and deep aquifers for irrigation, together with a planned increase in pumping by the city, is causing concern on the part of El Paso water planners over the impact of this development on the limited supply from the two aquifers. A three-dimensional digital model of the aquifers was developed to evaluate the responses of water levels to various plans of development, with particular emphasis on the medium-depth and deep aquifers in and near the Canutillo well field. Simulations also were made to show the effect of eliminating seepage from the Rio Grande to the aquifer system. The model simulations indicate that if pumpage by the city of El Paso during 1^76-80 increases to 10,000 acre-feet, per year from the medium-depth aquifer and to 20,000 acre-feet per year from the deep aquifer, and elsewhere in the study area pumping was held constant at the 1975 rate, then additional lowering of water levels in representative observation wells would be as much as 24 feet in the medium-depth aquifer and as much as 52 feet in the deep aquifer. The water levels would decline sharply during the first few months, after which the levels would become nearly stable because the leakage between the aquifers probably is enough to balance the increased pumpage. The model also indicated that lining of the channel of the Rio Grande would result in an additional lowering of water levels in representative observation wells by 10 feet in the medium-depth aquifer and 8 feet in the deep aquifer. The accuracy of water levels simulated by a model is dependent on the accuracy and distribution of input data and how well model boundary conditions approximate actual boundary conditions. Because of a lack of hydro!ogic data (especial ly water-1 evel information) everywhere except the Canutillo wellfield area, because the simulated cone of depression reached two boundaries, and because the model contained an error and several deficiencies as explained in the "Discussion" section, the simulated results need to be interpreted carefully. The authors believe that the simulated results could be used best as a preliminary and conceptual evaluation of the pumping effects at the Canutillo well field, not as a quantitative interpretation. Although the patterns of simulated hydrographs of water-level change in observation wells in the Canutillo field generally may be correct, the amount of change simulated probably is not correct. Because the salinity of water in all three aquifers south of Canutillo is greater than elsewhere in the study area, there is potential for movement of this water northward toward the Canutillo well field if the cone of depression reaches that part of the aquifer system. This potential should be evaluated in future geohydrologic studies of the lower Mesilla Valley.
No abstract available.
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The chemical and isotopic compositions of hot-spring water and gas are used to estimate subsurface temperatures. The basic assumptions inherent in the methods are seldom stipulated. These assumptions include (1) a temperature-dependent reaction at depth, (2) a supply of the solid phase involved in the reaction to permit saturation of the constituent used for geothermometry, (3) water-rock equilibrium at depth, (4) negligible re-equilibration as the water flows to the surface, and (5) no dilution or mixing of hot and cold water. The first three assumptions are probably good for a few reactions that occur in many places. The last two assumptions probably are not valid for many hot-spring systems; information obtained is therefore for the shallower parts of those systems, or a limiting temperature (generally a minimum) is indicated.
Chemical, isotopic, and thermodynamic properties have been measured of CO 2 -rich ground waters in the central California Coast Ranges. The acidic CO 2 -rich waters react with serpentine to form silica-carbonate rock, the host rock of many mercury deposits in the Coast Range of California. In part the waters are of a metamorphic origin and in part the waters are locally derived meteoric waters. The CO 2 is entirely derived from metamorphic reactions at depth. Depending on the relative importance of several reactions, the relative abundances of silica and carbonate minerals vary in the silica-carbonate rock. If the CO 2 -rich fluids react directly with peridotite or dunite, massive magnesite deposits may form. © 1973 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
The Organic Act of 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31) that established the U.S. Geological Survey provided, among other things, for the classification of the public lands and for the examination of the geological structure, mineral sources, and products of the national domain. In order to provide uniform executive action in classifying public lands, standards for determining which lands are valuable for mineral resources, for example, leasable mineral lands, or for other products are prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. This report presents the classification standards for determining which Federal lands are classifiable as geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources lands under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (84 Star. 1566). The concept of a geothermal resources province is established for classification of lands for the purpose of retention in Federal ownership of rights to geothermal resources upon disposal of Federal lands. A geothermal resources province is defined as an area in which higher than normal temperatures are likely to occur with depth and in which there is a reasonable possibility of finding reservoir rocks that will yield steam or heated fluids to wells. The determination of a 'known geothermal resources area' is made after careful evaluation of the available geologic, geochemical, and geophysical data and any evidence derived from nearby discoveries, competitive interests, and other indicia. The initial classification required by the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 is presented.
A radiogenic tracer study has been made of lead and strontium in deep geothermal brines , salt from brine , and the upper Quaternary rhyolite domes near the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, California. The data on the brines and rhyolite glasses are compared to those from Quaternary Colorado River and Tertiary sediments of the area . The brines sampled contain '-'100 ppm Pb, sufficient for consideration as a possible ore-forming fluid. The isotopic data indicate that 80-100 percent of the strontium and 50-100 percent of the lead in these brines were acquired from the associated sediments. The isotopic compositions of lead and strontium in the Quaternary rhyolite glasses are distinctly different from those of the sediments and brines . The strontium data suggest that the rhyolite glasses were derived from basaltic or gabbroic material but may have attained as much as 40 percent of their strontium from upper crustal rocks such as the sediments analyzed.
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A deep geothermal well in California has tapped a very saline brine extraordinarily high in heavy metals and other rare elements; copper and silver are precipitated during brine production. Preliminary evidence suggests that the brine may be pure magmatic water and an active ore-forming solution. Metamorphism of relatively young rocks may also be occurring within accessible depths.