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Geology topics

J. L. Peard

Publications and source records attributed to J. L. Peard.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1984

Chemical analyses of soils and other surficial materials, Alaska

Introduction: The favorable response to the reports on the geochemistry of unconsolidated surficial materials of the conterminous United States (informally called the '50-mile geochemical survey,' Shacklette and others, 1971a, 1971b, 1973, and 1974) led us, in 1975, to initiate a somewhat similar survey of Alaska. The principal objective of studies of this type is to establish estimates of the abundance of elements in soils and other surficial materials. Such information is useful in the evaluation of geochemical data for (1) mineral resources, (2) environmental appraisals, and (3) the definition of broad-scale geochemical patterns. For about six years this effort progressed slowly on a non-funded, time-available basis. During fiscal years 1982 and 1983, however, some funds were made available through the USGS Energy Lands and Alaska Mineral Surveys programs which allowed for the completion of the field-work phase of the project. The sampling plan was kept simple because, as with the 50-mile study, the acquisition of samples depended on the voluntary cooperation of field personnel (only about 40 percent of the total number of samples was obtained by the authors).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Distribution of corticolous noncrustose lichens on trunks of Rocky Mountain junipers in Boulder County, Colorado.

Nineteen species of noncrustose lichens were found on Juniperus scopulorum bark; 3 species had relatively high cover and frequency values and were characterized as typical lichens of Rocky Mountain junipers: Xanthoria fallax, Phaeophyscia hirsuta and Physcia caesia. Total cover per tree was low (4%) and most species preferred the N and E sides of trunk bases. These distributional trends may reflect gradients of exposure to wind, insolation, and rate of bark exfoliation. -Author Juniperus scopulorum Phaeophyscia hirsuta Physcia caesia Xanthoria fallax.

Colorado↗
USGS1982

Whole-rock chemical composition of some samples from two drill hole cores in the Capps coal field, Beluga coal area, south-central Alaska

Whole-rock chemical analysis was done on samples from drill cores of rocks lying atop and between coal beds in the Beluga coal area, south-central Alaska. The samples were classified as sandstone, siltstone or claystone at time of hand specimen description. Chemical data were compared to those from corresponding rocks from other sites in the conterminous United States. The study supports the following conclusions: 1. The sample suites from the two cored Alaska holes, about 1 km apart, contrast sharply in their degree of lithologic differentiation, one having relatively purer sandstones and claystones, the other having more mixed rock types. This suggests that considerable variation occurs in depositional environments and, possibly, in rock chemistry over small distances in the Beluga coal area. 2. Hand specimen inspection is a reasonably reliable way of assigning names denoting the lithologic type of Alaska rocks, and thereby making broad predictions of their whole-rock chemistry.

Open-File Report↗