Geology topics

Research about Red Desert

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Red Desert.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

Do mule deer surf peaks in forage quality while on summer range?

Many animals track ephemeral peaks in food abundance and quality that propagate across landscapes. Migrating ungulates, in particular, track waves of newly emerging plants from low-elevation winter ranges to high-elevation summer ranges—known as “green-wave surfing.” Because plants lose crude protein and gain insoluble fiber with maturation, ruminants are expected to exploit peaks in forage quality among individual plants (i.e., Forage Maturation Hypothesis). Although ample evidence supports the long-standing hypothesis that migratory ungulates surf peaks in forage quality during migration, the hypothesis that ungulates track peaks in forage quality at a small scale (i.e., microsurf while on summer range) remains less known. We studied a partially migratory population of mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) in Wyoming, USA, to understand whether temperate ungulates optimize the use of high-quality forage as plants grow and senesce on disparate summer ranges. Specifically, we evaluated how crude protein, digestible energy, and relative abundance changed throughout the growing season and whether deer altered their diet to reflect species-specific changes in plant phenology. In support of the Forage Maturation Hypothesis, forage quality declined as large-scale patterns of phenology progressed away from a remotely sensed metric of peak green-up for most plant species on the summer ranges of deer that migrated short (<50 km), medium (50–130 km), and long distances (>130 km). Declining rates in forage quality among plant species were heterogeneous, providing deer with the phenological diversity required to microsurf. Deer changed their diet throughout the growing season and prioritized the consumption of some plants, including Rosa woodsii and Purshia tridentata , as the rank of forage quality increased ( p < 0.01). In light of the complexities common to studies on foraging behavior, our findings suggest that deer may have some potential to microsurf on summer range when heterogeneity in resource phenology is prevalent. Moreover, our findings validate the accuracy of remote sensing in quantifying peak forage quality for plants within sagebrush shrublands and montane habitats.

Wyoming↗

USGS1979

Soil-gas helium concentrations in the vicinity of a uranium deposit, Red Desert, Wyoming

A survey of the helium concentration in soil-gas was conducted in the Red Desert Area, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The area studied is directly over a low-grade uranium deposit that may be suitable for recovery by in-situ leaching techniques. The area was sampled twice, once in December, 1977, and again in July, 1978. Wind was a significant factor affecting the helium concentrations. Wind gusts exceeded 110 km/hr (70 mph) during the December, 1977, sampling; wind gusts did not exceed 30 km/hr (20 mph) during the July, 1978, sampling. The average helium concentration for all the July, 1978, soil-gas samples was about twice the average of the December, 1977, samples. In addition, a contour plot of the July, 1978, soil-gas samples showed an area of higher helium values that corresponds to the location of anomalies detected by other exploration techniques, and may be associated with the uranium deposit.

Wyoming↗

USGS1955

Geochemistry and mineralogy of a uraniferous sub bituminous coal

A sample of subbituminous uraniferous coal from the Red Desert, Sweetwater County, Wyo., has been studied mineralogically. The coal contains gypsum (6 percent), kaolinite (1 percent), quartz (0.3 percent), calcite (trace), and limonite (trace). This suite of minerals and the absence of pyrite show that the coal has been subjected to weathering and oxidation. No uranium minerals have been found; mechanical fractionation has indicated that the uranium is associated with the organic constituents of the coal. The minerals that have been isolated contain 0.0006 percent uranium, a content that is to be expected for nonuraniferous sedimentary rocks. The organic components of the coal contain approximately 0.002 percent uranium. On the basis of material-balance calculations, the organic components carry 98 percent of the uranium in the coal. Batch extraction of the Wyoming coal with 6 N hydrochloric acid leads to the solution of almost 90 percent of its uranium. Recovery of uranium is independent of the particle size of the coal between - 4 and - 20 mesh, and is accompanied by the solution of approximately 70 percent of the inorganic constituents (ash) of the coal. The extract contains, together with uranium, a concentration of several elements such as manganese, cerium, and vanadium that are present in the coal. Fischer assays of this weathered coal from the Red Desert indicate a yield of 16.7 gallons of tar per ton. Yields of both tar and char are about 15 percent lower if the coal is first treated with 6 N hydrochloric acid to extract the uranium. It is suggested that uranium was introduced into the coal by means of ground water carrying soluble alkaline or alkaline-earth uranyl carbonate complexes. The mineral schroeckingerite-a similar complex-is found near this subbituminous coal in the Red Desert of Wyoming. These complexes, which are unstable in acid medium, release the uranyl ion (U02++), which may then react with organic constituents of the coal to form ionic uranyl-organic compounds that are insoluble above a pH of about 2.2. Preliminary data indicate that the uranium is associated with various humic components of the coal. The distribution of uranium among the components of the subbituminous coal from Wyoming is similar to the distribution in a lignite from South Dakota. There is no indication that uranium was introduced into or retained by the two coals by appreciably different geochemical processes. © 1955 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Wyoming↗

USGS1953

Mineralogy and geochemistry of a uraniferous coal from the Red Desert Area, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

A sample of subbituminous uraniferous coal from the Red Desert, Sweetwater County, Wyo., was studied mineralogically. The coal contains gypsum (6 percent), kaolinite (1 percent), quartz (0.3 percent), calcite (trace), and limonite (trace). This suite of minerals and the absence of pyrite show that the coal has been subjected to weathering and oxidation. No uranium minerals have been found; mechanical fractionation has indicated that the uranium is associated with the organic constituents of the coal. The minerals that have been isolated contain 0.0006 percent uranium, a content which is to be expected for nonuraniferous sedimentary rocks. The organic components of the coal contain approximately 0.002 percent uranium. On the basis of material balance calculations, the organic components carry 98 percent of the uranium in the coal. Fischer assays of this weathered coal from the Red Desert indicate a yield of 16.7 gallons of tar per ton on low-temperature retorting. In view of the large reserve of subbituminous coal in the Red Desert, its probable ease of mining, and its tar yield, it may be desirable to carry out further evaluation of the coal as a fuel or raw material for the manufacture of tar or chemicals. If economic factors permit utilization of the coal, the uranium, although present in small percentages, could be recovered as a byproduct.

Wyoming↗