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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water levels, springs, and depth to ground water, Basin and Range Province, Southern California

This report on ground-water levels, springs and depth to ground water in the Basin and Range province of southern California (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

California↗
USGS1983

Map showing outcrops of basaltic rocks of early Quaternary and Tertiary age, Basin and Range province, Southern California

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps covering all or parts of States within the Basin and Range province of the western United States. The map reports contain detailed information on subjects that characterize the geohydrology of the province, including the ground-water hydrology/ ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources. This is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of the province to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984). This map was prepared from published geologic maps and reports utilizing the project guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). As used in this study, basaltic rocks include basaltic andesite and basalt. The map shows the known occurrences of basaltic rocks largely of Tertiary age. Locally, however, where basalts of Quaternary age were not differentiated from those of Tertiary age, the younger basalts have been included on the map. The Description of Map Units includes the geologic and, if available, radiometric age; lithology; thickness where available; and sources of data for the basaltic units in outlined and numbered areas within the counties of the study area. No information was available on the rock outcrops that are unnumbered. The listed radiometric ages do not necessarily represent the entire age range of a unit.

California↗
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water units and withdrawal, Basin and Range Province, Nevada

This report on ground-water units and withdrawal in the Basin and Range province of Nevada (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger f Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

Nevada↗
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water levels, springs, and depth to water, Basin and Range Province, Nevada

This report on ground-water levels, springs and depth to ground water in the Basin and Range province of Nevada (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

Nevada↗
USGS1984

Map showing outcrops of granitic rocks, Basin and Range Province, Nevada

This map report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic maps covering all or parts of States within the Basin and Range province of the western United States. The map reports contain information on subjects that characterize the geohydrology of the province, including the ground-water hydrology, ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources. This work is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of the Basin and Range province to identify potentially suitable regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984). Data for this report were taken largely from Spengler and others (1979), supplemented by data from individual geologic maps and reports, following the project guidelines as defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). As used in this report, granitic rocks include granodiorite, quartz monzonite, and granite, and locally associated mafic rocks such as diorite and gabbro. In the Snake Range and Ruby Mountains, Stewart (1980) has recognized large areas as metamorphic core complexes, and in these complexes some plutonic masses may not extend to great depth because of lateral displacement along low-angle faults subsequent to intrusion. The Description of Map Units includes the sources of data, the geologic, and if available, the radiometric age, lithologic character, type of intrusive body and relation to rock units, where known, for the granitic rocks within outlined and numbered areas in each county of the study area. The radiometric ages of the rock units are only those which are available and do not necessarily represent the entire age range of the geologic units.

Nevada↗
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water levels, springs, and depth to water, Basin and Range Province, Oregon

This report on ground-water levels, springs and depth to ground water in the Basin and Range province of Oregon (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

Oregon↗
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water levels, springs, and depth to ground water, Basin and Range Province, Texas

This report on ground-water levels, springs, and depth to ground water in the Basin and Range province of Texas (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984). Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

Texas↗
USGS1984

Maps showing ground-water levels, springs, and depth to ground water, Basin and Range province, Utah

This report on ground-water levels, springs, and depth to ground water in the Basin and Range province of Utah (see index map) was prepared as part of a program of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prospective regions for further study relative to isolation of high-level nuclear waste (Bedinger, Sargent, and Reed, 1984), utilizing program guidelines defined in Sargent and Bedinger (1984) . Also included in this report are selected references on pertinent geologic and hydrologic studies of the region. Other map reports in this series contain detailed data on ground-water quality, surface distribution of selected rock types, tectonic conditions, areal geophysics, Pleistocene lakes and marshes, and mineral and energy resources.

Utah↗
USGS2017

Between hot rocks and dry places: The status of the Dixie Valley toad

In Dixie Valley, Nevada, an isolated population of toads has been the subject of proactive conservation measures by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 2008 due to concerns about potential habitat degradation resulting from exploitation of nearby geothermal energy resources. These toads appear to belong within the Anaxyrus boreas species group but are commonly referred to as Dixie Valley toads (DVTs). The DVT is currently confined to an extremely narrow habitat range (370 ha) that is geographically isolated from any other A. boreas population. In this study, genetic variations in mitochondrial genes and 11 microsatellite loci were used to assess the affinities of DVTs in relation to members of the A. boreas species group. We compared results from DVTs with previously published data spanning much of the range of A. boreas in the United States and new data from a nearby toad population within Dixie Valley. Data from both mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites placed DVTs inside the A. boreas species group. In particular, DVTs fell into a cluster of A. boreas from Washington and California, along with other species from the A. boreas species group, namely A. nelsoni, A. canorus, and A. exsul. Genetic differentiation of DVTs was lowest between A. boreas populations in Washington and California. However, allele frequencies were significantly different between DVTs and all other populations, including a nearby locality within Dixie Valley. This genetic differentiation, along with the DVT's geographical isolation and restricted habitat, warrants recognition of the DVT as a distinct management unit.

Nevada↗
USGS1978

The Aleutian Basin, Bering Sea a frontier area for hydrocarbon exploration

The Aleutian Basin is the deep water (>3000 m) basin that lies north of the Aleutian Islands adjacent to the Bering Sea continental shelf. The basin, about the size of the state of Texas, is underlain by a 2-9 km-thick flat-lying sequence of mostly Cenozoic sediment and rock that includes diatomaceous silty clay interbedded with turbidities in the upper 1 km. Before 1974, geologic and geophysical investigations in the Aleutian Basin were directed at determining its geologic history; more recently, investigations have also been aimed at assessing the basin's hydrocarbon potential. The four major requirements for hydrocarbon accumulation may be present, namely, structural and stratigraphic traps, source rocks, reservoir beds, and an adequate thermal and sedimentation history. Energy resource investigations by the US Geological Survey indicate that: (1) numerous structural features (gentle folds, diapirs, basement ridges) are present in the central and eastern parts of the basin, (2) acoustic features (VAMP's _ Velocity AMPlitude features) that may be due to trapped gases within the sedimentary section are common (over 350 identified) in the central basin, (3) concentrations of organic gases, primarily methane, in the upper 1-3 m beneath the seafloor are very small, they increase with depth, and they are highest in areas near VAMP's, and (4) both the thermal gradient and the sediment thickness are sufficiently great to allow hydrocarbon maturation at depth, if source rocks are present. Adverse conditions in the Aleutian Basin such as excessive water depths and severe weather pose difficult technical problems for the recovery of hydrocarbons that may be present. The data nevertheless suggest the basin is a promising site for hydrocarbon accumulations and therefore warrants further exploration.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2025

Variable partitioning of lithium in rhyolitic melt during decompression and ascent

The partitioning behavior of Li in magmatic systems is increasingly being investigated due to the economic importance of Li in the transition to sustainable energy resources (e.g., batteries). However, at upper crustal pressures, it remains uncertain whether Li preferentially partitions into the vapor or liquid (brine) phase or remains in the silicate melt. This complicates our ability to determine where Li resides—silicate melt, minerals, or fluid phase—upon eruption, a crucial factor for understanding its postdepositional movement and concentration into a brine or volcano-sedimentary deposit. Here, we present a novel investigation into the behavior of Li within natural evolved melts during continuous magma decompression and ascent using melt embayments (open melt inclusions). Mineral-hosted melt embayments preserve records of the evolving composition of the exterior melt, including degassing pathways and ascent timescales, when paired with appropriate diffusion coefficients. Lithium concentration profiles were measured in quartz-hosted melt embayments from the rapidly quenched eruptive phases of five rhyolitic, caldera-forming eruptions to investigate the behavior of Li during magma decompression and ascent, where vapor partitioning and ascent dynamics were previously established by investigating H 2 O and CO 2 profiles. We find that in four systems, embayments contain lower interior Li concentrations than the coerupted melt inclusions; the fifth system contains the same Li concentrations in embayments and melt inclusions. However, many of these embayments contain gradients, with 84 % preserving Li enrichment near the melt-bubble interface, as compared to their interior concentration. We interpret these characteristics to represent two distinct stages of Li partitioning during magma decompression and ascent, in contrast to existing literature that proposes only one type of partitioning behavior. The first stage is interpreted as melt depletion of Li, likely driven by partitioning into an exsolved supercritical fluid phase, supported by the strong correlation between the extent of Li depletion and Cl concentration in the melt, as well as the decompression rate. This behavior then fundamentally shifts, where Li reenriches in the melt, postulated to be driven by the unmixing of the supercritical fluid phase at shallow pressures. For the one system that did not develop Li gradients through decompression, we attribute this to the lower values of Na and Cl in the melt, potentially inhibiting the partitioning of Li into a fluid phase. Importantly, the behavior of Li during decompression is not consistent within or between volcanic centers, highlighting the need for systematic experimental investigation in variable composition melts at pressures relevant to conduit dynamics. This knowledge would improve our ability to model Li profiles to understand magma decompression, and predict where Li resides (e.g., stored in volcanic glass, gas, or crystals) upon eruption prior to any later extraction.

Economic Geology↗
USGS2025

Review and synthesis of the applications of machine learning to coalbed methane recovery

Over the last 30 years, a substantial literature has evolved on the use of machine learning (ML) to assess, predict, and improve the efficiency of coalbed methane (CBM) recovery. In the United States, the production of CBM declined as shale gas production matured, but CBM continues to be an important energy resource in other parts of the world. ML applications that have the potential to improve CBM reservoir management and production forecasts, and to increase exploration and operational efficiency, are still of significant interest. The integration of geostatistical techniques into the CBM ML applications has been largely absent but represents an opportunity for improvement. The literature demonstrates the widespread interest in, and applicability of, ML algorithms applied to CBM problems, and that they continue to result in improvements in predictive performance. However, (1) much of the research is more academic than operational, (2) many results are based on simulations, or small or proprietary datasets, (3) ML performance information can be inconsistent and sometimes entirely omitted, (4) most methodologies are unique to the specific CBM situation and likely not generalizable, (5) no standard data repositories are available to directly compare the performance of competing algorithms, and (6) the spatial component is often omitted. Finally, relatively new ML protocols involving causality analysis and reinforced learning, as well as hybrid workflows combining both supervised and unsupervised learning, are anticipated to dominate the future investigations. Integration of geostatistical and geospatial analysis with ML should enhance performance.

Book chapter↗
USGS2011

Multicomponent seismic methods for characterizing gas hydrate occurrences and systems in deep-water Gulf of Mexico

In-situ characterization and quantification of natural gas hydrate occurrences remain critical research directions, whether for energy resource, drilling hazard, or climate-related studies. Marine multicomponent seismic data provide the full seismic wavefield including partial redundancy, and provide a promising set of approaches for gas hydrate characterization. Numerous authors have demonstrated the possibilities of multicomponent data at study sites around the world. We expand on this work by investigating the utility of very densely spaced (10’s of meters) multicomponent receivers (ocean-bottom cables, OBC, or ocean-bottom seismometers, OBS) for gas hydrate studies in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. Advanced processing techniques provide high-resolution compressional-wave (PP) and converted shearwave (PS) reflection images of shallow stratigraphy, as well as P-wave and S-wave velocity estimates at each receiver position. Reflection impedance estimates can help constrain velocity and density, and thus gas hydrate saturation. Further constraint on velocity can be determined through identification of the critical angle and associated phase reversal in both PP and PS wideangle data. We demonstrate these concepts with examples from OBC data from the northeast Green Canyon area and numerically simulated OBS data that are based on properties of known gas hydrate occurrences in the southeast (deeper water) Green Canyon area. These multicomponent data capabilities can provide a wealth of characterization and quantification information that is difficult to obtain with other geophysical methods.

Green Canyon, Gulf of Mexico↗
USGS2011

Conservation of greater sage-grouse- a synthesis of current trends and future management

Recent analyses of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations indicate substantial declines in many areas but relatively stable populations in other portions of the species? range. Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats neces-sary to support sage-grouse are being burned by large wildfires, invaded by nonnative plants, and developed for energy resources (gas, oil, and wind). Management on public lands, which con-tain 70% of sagebrush habitats, has changed over the last 30 years from large sagebrush control projects directed at enhancing livestock grazing to a greater emphasis on projects that often attempt to improve or restore ecological integrity. Never-theless, the mandate to manage public lands to provide traditional consumptive uses as well as recreation and wilderness values is not likely to change in the near future. Consequently, demand and use of resources contained in sagebrush land-scapes plus the associated infrastructure to sup-port increasing human populations in the western United States will continue to challenge efforts to conserve Greater Sage-Grouse. The continued widespread distribution of sage-grouse, albeit at very low densities in some areas, coupled with large areas of important sagebrush habitat that are relatively unaffected by the human footprint, sug-gest that Greater Sage-Grouse populations may be able to persist into the future. We summarize the status of sage-grouse populations and habitats, provide a synthesis of major threats and chal-lenges to conservation of sage-grouse, and suggest a roadmap to attaining conservation goals.

Book chapter↗
USGS2000

Oil and gas reserve growth-a model for the Volga-Ural Province, Russia

An understanding of reserve growth in known oil and gas fields has become a critical component of energy resource analysis. Significant statistical studies of reserve growth have been published in the U.S., whereas little information is available on other regions of the world. It may be expected that in many countries the magnitude of reserve growth is different from that in the U.S. because of differences in reporting systems and in exploration and production practices. This paper describes the results of a reserve growth study in a group of largest oil and gas fields of the Volga-Ural petroleum province, Russia. The dynamics of reserve growth in these fields shows rapid reserve additions during the first 5 years of field exploration and development, which results from intensive step-out and delineation drilling. Later reserve growth is slow and is related to improvements in recovery technologies and discoveries of new pools and extensions. These two stages of reserve growth are described by two different groups of empirical models. A comparison of these models with the models developed for the lower 48 states and Gulf Coast offshore of the U.S. demonstrates that the reserve growth in the Volga-Ural province is significantly lower than in the U.S. The proposed models may be used for assessment of future reserve additions in known fields of countries that presently have or recently had a centrally-planned economic system.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2000

Natural gas hydrate: A frozen asset?

Vast stores of methane are locked away below the ocean floor and under the polar permafrost. Could they represent an important future energy resource?

Chemistry and Industry (London)↗
USGS2001

Global occurrences of gas hydrate

Natural gas hydrate is found worldwide in sediments of outer continental margins of all oceans and in polar areas with continuous permafrost. There are currently 77 localities identified globally where geophysical, geochemical and/or geological evidence indicates the presence of gas hydrate. Details concerning individual gas-hydrate occurrences are compiled at a new world-wide-web (www) site (http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/globalhydrate). This site has been created to facilitate global gas-hydrate research by providing information on each of the localities where there is evidence for gas hydrate. Also considered are the implications of gas hydrate as a potential (1) energy resource, (2) factor in global climate change, and (3) geohazard.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2007

Nitrogen saturation in the Rocky Mountains: Linking emissions, deposition, and ecosystem effects using stable isotopes of nitrogen compounds

Elevated levels of atmospheric N deposition are affecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at high elevations in Rocky Mountain National Park and adjacent areas of the Front Range of Colorado. Federal and state agencies are now working together to develop cost-effective means for reducing atmospheric N deposition. A discussion on N saturation covers the need for better understanding of N emission source areas and source types that contribute to N deposition in the Rocky Mountains Front Range of Colorado; reductions in NO emissions that resulted from Clean Air Act Amendments, which caused NO3 deposition to decrease between 1984 and 2003; factors contributing to N deposition, e.g., rapid population growth and energy development; origins of NO3, e.g., as NO emissions from fossil fuel combustion, including stationary sources (e.g. emission from coal combustion in electric generating units), and mobile sources (vehicle emissions); disperse stationary sources from energy resource development, e.g., natural gas production; and the importance of incorporating local source characterization and finer spatial and temporal sampling into future studies, which could provide additional insight into N deposition source attribution. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 100th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association (Pittsburgh, PA 6/26-29/2007).

Conference Paper↗