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Thorium deposits of the United States — Energy resources for the future?

Many nations are exploring new ways to meet their growing energy supply needs, with a particular focus upon methods that produce lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional oil, natural gas, and coal power plants. As a result, thorium-based nuclear power has experienced renewed attention as a potential energy source. Thus, it benefits the United States and other countries to identify and evaluate their indigenous thorium resources. This report describes the geology and resources of the principal thorium districts of the United States.

Circular

Revised marine bird collision and displacement vulnerability index for U.S. Pacific Outer Continental Shelf offshore wind energy development

The installation of offshore wind energy infrastructure (OWEI) at sea may affect marine birds by increasing the risk of mortality from collision with OWEI (Collision Vulnerability) and causing disturbance and displacement from important habitats (Displacement Vulnerability). In 2017, we published the first comprehensive database quantifying marine bird Collision Vulnerability and Displacement Vulnerability to potential OWEI in the region of the U.S. Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (POCS; waters within the Exclusive Economic Zone of California, Oregon, and Washington). We have updated this Vulnerability Index with new research and data, additional species present in the POCS, and an evolved understanding of the application and utility of the Index. Of the species assessed, phalaropes and Red-billed Tropicbird have the highest Collision Vulnerability, and gulls, terns, jaegers, skuas, and pelicans have moderately high Collision Vulnerability. Boobies, sea ducks, and pelicans have the greatest Displacement Vulnerability. The overall trends in ranked Vulnerability among marine birds in the POCS were consistent between Version 1 and Version 2 although new data and revised calculations updated the outcomes. Alcids, loons, storm-petrels, Brant, and phalaropes ranked higher for Collision Vulnerability in Version 2 compared to Version 1; sea ducks, cormorants, skua, and jaegers ranked lower for Collision Vulnerability in Version 2 compared to Version 1. Displacement Vulnerability ranks were higher in Version 2 for gulls, pelicans, sea ducks, and alcids and lower for albatrosses, terns, and loons. Vulnerability Index Version 2 is an up-to-date, representative, and transparent assessment of marine bird vulnerability to potential offshore wind energy development. This updated Vulnerability Index can assist resource managers and others in understanding and addressing potential interactions between OWEI and marine bird species that inhabit the POCS.

Data Report

Golden eagle records from the Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey: information for wind energy management and planning

The purpose of this Data Series report is to provide the occasions, locations, and counts when golden eagles were recorded during the annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Surveys. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are protected by Federal statutes including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) (16 USC 668-668c) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 USC 703-12). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) manages golden eagles with the goal of maintaining stable or increasing breeding populations (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2009). Development for the generation of electricity from wind turbines is occurring in much of the range of the golden eagle in the western United States. Development could threaten population stability because golden eagles might be disturbed by construction and operation of facilities and they are vulnerable to mortality from collisions with wind turbines (Smallwood and Thelander, 2008). Therefore, the Service has proposed a process by which wind energy developers can collect information that could lead to Eagle Conservation Plans (ECP), mitigation, and permitting that allow for golden eagle management in areas of wind energy development (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2011). The Service recommends that ECP be developed in stages, and the first stage is to learn if golden eagles occur at the landscape level where potential wind facilities might be located. Information about where eagles occur can be obtained from technical literature, agency files, and other sources of information including on-line biological databases. The broad North American distribution of golden eagles is known, but there is a paucity of readily available information about intermediate geographic scales and site-specific scales, especially during the winter season (Kochert and others, 2002).

Data Series

The USGS World Energy Program

The world has recently experienced rapid change to market-driven economies and increasing reliance on petroleum supplies from areas of political instability. The interplay of unprecedented growth of the global population, increasing worldwide energy demand, and political instability in two major petroleum exporting regions (the former Soviet Union and the Middle East) requires that the United States maintains a current, reliable, objective assessment of the world's energy resources. The need is compounded by the environmental implications of rapid increases in coal use in the Far East and international pressure on consumption of fossil fuels.

Fact Sheet

Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project; energy resources activities

Oil, natural gas, and coal (energy resources) have been produced from rocks in the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming for more than a century, and significant quantities of oil and gas continue to be developed in the study area of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project (fig. 1). As an infrastructure resource, energy resources helped to fuel past development of (1) urban areas in the Front Range as well as (2) some of the manufacturing and mining upon which the urban centers were built and thrived. At present, much of the oil and gas extracted from rocks beneath the Front Range urban corridor is used locally; the people living in the urban area provide a need and viable marketplace for these commodities.

Colorado, Wyoming

Key minerals in energy transmission

The electrical grid relies on minerals with unique properties to transform, transmit, and convert electricity. Transmission needs are growing—to support the expansion of data centers and link diverse energy resources into the grid. This expansion will require greater quantities of minerals. Although some minerals are produced in the United States, the United States relies on imports for others. This infographic shows the key minerals that support energy transmission, and how reliant the United States is on imports for these minerals.

General Information Product

NOGA Online: a USGS resource for energy GIS data and services

The PowerPoint presentation in this report was given at the BLM Resource Management Tools Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, April, 2003. Some diagrams that appeared in the original presentation have been updated in this report. It informs that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Central Energy Resources Team (CERT) in Denver, Colorado, is providing National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA) results online at http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/. Available at this site are recently completed assessments of the potential for undiscovered oil and natural gas resources of five priority provinces (Montana Thrust Belt, Powder River Basin, San Juan Basin, Southwestern Wyoming, Uinta-Piceance) to meet the requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000 (EPCA 2000). High demand for current assessment results and for the entirely digital, 1995 NOGA results for other provinces, prompted CERT to develop an internet map application using ArcIMS to deliver geologic data to the public. CERT continues to work on assessing oil and natural gas resources of priority basins in the United States; assessment results and GIS layers are made available at this site on an ongoing basis.

Open-File Report

Mineral, Energy, and Fertilizer Resources of the North Coast of Peru: Perspective from the Santa Rita B Archaeological Site

The Santa Rita B archaeological site is in the Chao Valley, approximately 65 km southeast of Trujillo, northern Peru. Location of Santa Rita B at the emergence of several drainages from the Andean cordillera is an important factor in the almost continuous occupation of the site over the past 3,000 years. Mineral resources are abundant throughout the Andes; however, the north coast of Peru was an important center for pre-Columbian mining, metallurgy, and craftsmanship. Success of the Chavin, Moche, Chimu, and other north coast cultures is directly related to the availability and exploitation of mineral and energy resources that include: gold (?silver), as electrum, mainly from placers, and copper from local oxide and carbonate occurrences and from sulfides related to copper porphyry occurrences in the cordillera. An alloy of these three metals is referred to as tumbaga, which is the primary material for Andean metalcraft. Anthracite was used for mirrors by north coast cultures and is available near Rio Chicama, Rio Santa, and east of Santa Rita B. These outcrops are a part of the Alto Chicama, Peru's largest coalfield, which extends from Rio Chicama, in the north, for 200 km southward to Rio Santa. Charcoal from the algorrobo tree and llama dung are considered to be the common pre-Columbian energy sources for cooking and metalwork; however, availability and the higher heat content of anthracite indicate that it was used in metallurgical applications. Bitumen is available from petroleum seeps near Talara, north of the study area, and may have been used as glue or as cement. Hematite, goethite, limonite, and manganese oxides from clay-altered volcanic rock may have provided color and material for ceramics. Guano from the Islas Gua?apes, Chinchas, and Ballestas was used as fertilizer for cotton and other crops.

Open-File Report

Physical factors determining the fraction of stored energy recoverable from hydrothermal convection systems and conduction-dominated areas

This report contains background analyses for the estimates of Nathenson and Muffler (1975) of geothermal resources in hydrothermal convection systems and conduction-dominated areas. The first section discusses heat and fluid recharge potential of geothermal reservoirs. The second section analyzes the physical factors that determine the fraction of stored energy obtainable at the surface from a geothermal reservoir. Conversion of heat to electricity and the use of geothermal energy for direct-heating applications are discussed in the last two sections. Nathenson, Manuel, and Muffler, L.J.P., 1975, Geothermal resources in hydrothermal convection systems and conduction dominated areas, in White, D.E., and Williams, D.L., eds., Assessment of the Geothermal Resources of the United States--1975: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 726, p. 104-121, available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/cir/cir726

Open-File Report

A theoretical analysis of fluid flow and energy transport in hydrothermal systems

A mathematical derivation for fluid flow and energy transport in hydrothermal systems is presented. Specifically, the mathematical model describes the three-dimensional flow of both single- and two-phase, single-component water and the transport of heat in porous media. The derivation begins with the point balance equations for mass, momentum, and energy. These equations are then averaged over a finite volume to obtain the macroscopic balance equations for a porous medium. The macroscopic equations are combined by appropriate constitutive relationships to form two similified partial differential equations posed in terms of fluid pressure and enthalpy. A two-dimensional formulation of the simplified equations is also derived by partial integration in the vertical dimension. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report

Energy development scenarios and water demands and supplies: an overview

On the basis of average mean annual flows, ample water exists in the upper Missouri River basin for energy development. The lack of storage and diversion works upstream as well as State compacts preclude the ready use of this surplus water. These surplus flows are impounded in mainstream reservoirs on the Missouri downstream from coal mining areas but could be transported back at some expense for use in Wyoming and North Dakota. There are limited water supplies available for the development of coal and oil shale industries in the upper Colorado River Basin. Fortunately oil shale mining, retorting and reclamation do not require as much water as coal conversion; in-situ oil shale retorting would seem to be particularly desirable in the light of reduced water consumption. Existing patterns of energy production, transport, and conversion suggest that more of the coal to be mined out West is apt to be transmitted to existing load centers rather than converted to electricity or gas in the water-short West. Scenarios of development of the West 's fossil fuels may be overestimating the need for water since they have assumed that major conversion industries would develop in the West. Transport of coal to existing users will require all means of coal movement including unit trains, barges, and coal slurry pipelines. The latter is considered more desirable than the development of conversion industries in the West when overall water consumption is considered. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report

Geologic studies in support of the U.S. Department of Energy Multiwell Experiment, Garfield County, Colorado

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a field-oriented, enhanced-gas-recovery research experiment in the southern Piceance Creek basin. This project is called the Multiwell Experiment (MWX) and is being undertaken as a major part of DOE's Fossil Energy Western Gas Sands Subprogram. The main purpose of the research is to provide new and improved technology for the identification of natural gas in tight reservoirs and to develop economically viable and reliable methods to recover the gas (Northrop and others, 1984).

Colorado

Water, energy, and biogeochemical budget research at Sleepers River Research Watershed, Vermont

The U.S. Geological Survey has selected the Sleepers River Research Watershed (Sleepers River) near Danville, Vt., as one of five sites for the investigation of Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB). Sleepers River was chosen because it is a well-designed outdoor laboratory with a long history of hydrologic data collection and research, and also because it provides an ideal opportunity for collaboration among the U.S. Geological Survey, other Federal agencies, and universities at the site. The multiple subwatersheds at Sleepers River present a unique opportunity to investigate hydrologic, energy, and biogeochemical processes over a variety of spatial scales. This WEBB study builds on fundamental research on process mechanisms and rates at the plot scale (in this case, a hillslope). Results then are scaled up to interpret the hydrochemical response of first- and higher- order basins. Five research elements make up the Sleepers River WEBB project. Individually, each of the five elements is designed to investigate specific WEBB processes (such as CO2 efflux through a snowpack), address specific WEBB issues (such as scaling and flowpaths), or apply specific WEBB approaches (such as integrated chemical and physical study of a hillslope). The research elements overlap so that many of the processes investigated will be assessed in more than one way, thus allowing independent verification of research results. For example, flowpath information will be derived separately by use of isotopic tracers, conservative chemical solutes, and soil-moisture fluxes. Collectively, the five elements constitute an integrated approach to a comprehensive understanding of WEBB processes needed for the prediction of the effects of global change.

Open-File Report

Environmental issues associated with fossil fuel resources; an evaluation of research opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey's Energy Resources Program

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States has nearly tripled within the last 50 years (fig. 1), and is expected to continue increasing. As our knowledge and awareness of environmental consequences related to fossil fuel extraction and use grow, we as a nation, face the challenge of balancing our energy requirements with a desire for environmentally cleaner fuel. To help meet this challenge, the Energy Resources Program (ERP) of the Geologic Division (GD), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sponsored three internal workshops and a World Wide Web (WWW) workshop. The primary goal of these workshops was to identify those environmental issues that are related to fossil fuels, are national in scope, and are within the purview of the USGS as an earth-science government agency. Those issues so identified will be prioritized according to ERP's future research plan and according to the extent they provide an environmental framework for ERP's petroleum and coal assessments. The purpose of this paper is to provide the results of the internal and WWW workshops as proposed topics of research for future ERP work, delineate studies to answer the questions related to each proposed research area, and link the studies to the seven science goals of the Geologic Division. The information provided herein will be used in preparing the USGS Geologic Division's FY2000 prospectus and ERP's next five-year strategic plan. Acknowledgements. The authors wish to acknowledge information on ERP environmental projects provided by Les Magoon, Paul Lillis, Keith Kvenvolden, Tom Lorenson, and Bob Rosenbauer. Peter Schweitzer was instrumental in providing the software for the WWW workshop, Cheryl Adkisson for constructing the workshop web pages, and Laura Friedrich for constructing the web pages summarizing the internal workshops. Stan Mroczkowski, Jim Otton, Donna Read, and Dorothy Tanti provided notes of or logistical assistance for the internal workshops. This report reflects the collective input of numerous USGS managers and scientists their participation in the workshops is greatly appreciated.

Open-File Report

Actual evapotranspiration modeling using the operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) approach

Remote-sensing technology and surface-energy-balance methods can provide accurate and repeatable estimates of actual evapotranspiration ( ETa ) when used in combination with local weather datasets over irrigated lands. Estimates of ETa may be used to provide a consistent, accurate, and efficient approach for estimating regional water withdrawals for irrigation and associated consumptive use (CU), especially in arid cropland areas that require supplemental water due to insufficient natural supplies from rainfall, soil moisture, or groundwater. ETa in these areas is considered equivalent to CU, and represents the part of applied irrigation water that is evaporated and/or transpired, and is not available for immediate reuse. A recent U.S. Geological Survey study demonstrated the application of the remote-sensing-based Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model to estimate 10-year average ETa at 1-kilometer resolution on national and regional scales, and compared those ETa values to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Use Information Program’s 1995 county estimates of CU. The operational version of the operational SSEB (SSEBop) method is now used to construct monthly, county-level ETa maps of the conterminous United States for the years 2000, 2005, and 2010. The performance of the SSEBop was evaluated using eddy covariance flux tower datasets compiled from 2005 datasets, and the results showed a strong linear relationship in different land cover types across diverse ecosystems in the conterminous United States (correlation coefficient [r] ranging from 0.75 to 0.95). For example, r for woody savannas (0.75), grassland (0.75), forest (0.82), cropland (0.84), shrub land (0.89), and urban (0.95). A comparison of the remote-sensing SSEBop method for estimating ETa and the Hamon temperature method for estimating potential ET ( ETp ) also was conducted, using regressions of all available county averages of ETa for 2005 and 2010, and yielded correlations of r = 0.60 and r = 0.71, respectively. Correlations generally are stronger in the Southeast where ETa is close to ETp . SSEBop ETa provides more spatial detail and accuracy in the Southwest where irrigation is practiced in a smaller proportion of the region.

Scientific Investigations Report

Preliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a methodology to assess the impacts of wind energy development on wildlife; it is a probabilistic, quantitative assessment methodology that can communicate to decision makers and the public the magnitude of these effects on species populations. The methodology is currently applicable to birds and bats, focuses primarily on the effects of collisions, and can be applied to any species that breeds in, migrates through, or otherwise uses any part of the United States. The methodology is intended to assess species at the national scale and is fundamentally different from existing methods focusing on impacts at individual facilities. Publicly available fatality information, population estimates, species range maps, turbine location data, biological characteristics, and generic population models are used to generate both a ranked list of species based on relative risk as well as quantitative measures of the magnitude of the effect on species' population trend and size. Three metrics are combined to determine direct and indirect relative risk to populations. A generic population model is used to estimate the expected change in population trend and includes additive mortality from collisions with wind turbines. Lastly, the methodology uses observed fatalities and an estimate of potential biological removal to assess the risk of a decline in population size. Data for six bird species have been processed through the entire methodology as a test case, and the results are presented in this report. Components of the methodology are based on simplifying assumptions and require information that, for many species, may be sparse or unreliable. These assumptions are presented in the report and should be carefully considered when using output from the methodology. In addition, this methodology can be used to recommend species for more intensive demographic modeling or highlight those species that may not require any additional protection because effects of wind energy development on their populations are projected to be small.

Scientific Investigations Report

Landscape and climatic influences on actual evapotranspiration and available water using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) Model in eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2015

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, conducted a 1-year study in 2015 to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of evapotranspiration (ET) and available water within the East Mountain area in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. ET and available water vary spatiotemporally because of complex interactions among environmental factors, including vegetation characteristics, soil characteristics, topography, and climate. Precipitation data from the Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) ( P ) were used in conjunction with actual ET ( ETa ) data from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model to estimate available water ( P – ETa ) at 100-meter (m) resolution in the study area. Maps, descriptive statistics, boxplots, regression analyses (continuous data), and multiple comparison tests (categorical data) were used to characterize P , ETa , and available water and their relations to topographic, soil, and vegetation datasets in the East Mountain area. Five categories of the natural land-cover type (evergreen forest, shrub, herbaceous, deciduous forest, and mixed forest) and four categories of developed land-cover type specific to residential intensity (developed open, developed low, developed medium, and developed high) were analyzed individually and in interaction with multiple elevation, tree canopy, and soil texture classes. Annual mean P in 2015 in the East Mountain area was 608 millimeters (mm), and annual mean ETa was 543 mm (89 percent of annual P in 2015), indicating that in 2015, a spatial mean of about 65 mm of water was available for runoff, soil moisture replenishment, or groundwater recharge. Monthly ETa was greatest in July and smallest in January. The intervening months did not show smooth temporal or consistent spatial changes from month to month. Months with lower ETa (January to March, October to December) also tended to have greater available water, indicating that soil moisture (water supply) and potential ET (water demand) may have been out of phase. Regression analyses showed that monthly ETa data had the highest correlation with annual ETa among the atmospheric, topographic, soil, or vegetation datasets, particularly during the early and late growing season (March, April, May, and September). In contrast, monthly P was highly variable and not as highly correlated with annual ETa . Among landscape variables, correlations with annual ETa were highest for tree canopy cover (coefficient of determination [R 2 ] = 0.46). Correlations between ETa and other landscape variables were lower (R 2 = 0.06–0.19): available soil water in the top 100 centimeters, soil bulk density of layer 1, slope, sand content of soil layer 1, soil depth, available soil water in the top 25 centimeters, leaf area index, aspect eastness, and elevation. Evergreen forest areas had the highest annual median ETa , followed by mixed forest, open residential areas, and deciduous forest. Available water typically was higher in landcover types with lower ETa : herbaceous cover, followed by deciduous forest, high-intensity developed areas, and shrub. Deciduous forest had the second highest median available water, despite having the fourth highest ETa , because deciduous forest had greater P than most other areas. Annual median ETa typically was greatest in the second highest elevation band (2,401–2,800 m above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 [NAVD 88]), and lower in the highest elevation band (2,801–3,254 m above NAVD 88), despite having greater P , likely because of decreased tree canopy cover or a shift from evergreen to deciduous trees at the highest elevations. Annual median ETa increased with tree canopy cover, regardless of landcover type. ETa correlation was higher with tree canopy than with leaf area index or normalized difference vegetation index. This result indicates that it is important to include the thermal band (from satellite multispectral data) in vegetation indices used to describe ETa , perhaps to account for the influence of energy limitation or water limitation on ET. Of all natural landcover types, finer soils had the most available water, whereas coarser soils had the least available water. Relations of soil type with P – ETa were different than with ETa , indicating ET and available water have a complex response to differences in soil type. Further modeling would be useful in determining soils’ infiltration, storage, conductivity, and plant-water availability relations to individual storms for each position in the landscape, as well as the corresponding effects of these processes on ET and available water. The best multivariate linear model for annual ETa had an R 2 value of 0.62. Monthly ETa models had R 2 values between 0.16 and 0.65. Models usually, but not always, performed best during the growing season. These results indicate that even the best multivariate linear models cannot explain a notable amount of the variability in ET. The monthly ETa models with the highest correlations (August and September) followed a July having almost twice the mean precipitation for July (1981–2010), which indicates that a soil-moisture variable is needed to more accurately model monthly ETa . Further study is needed to better characterize this system, the variables that affect ET and available water, and the partitioning of available water into runoff, soil moisture storage, and groundwater recharge.

New Mexico

Protocol for route restoration in California’s desert renewable energy conservation plan area

In the deserts of the Southwestern United States, increased off-highway vehicle use can lead to widespread vehicular damage to desert ecosystems. As the popularity and intensity of vehicle use on public lands continues, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is challenged to manage the routes used by recreationists while minimizing activity beyond designated routes and mitigating environmental impacts. Ecosystem function and habitat quality can be degraded by vehicle activities, especially when the activities are occurring outside authorized routes or authorized open areas. Restoration mitigates damage to soils and vegetation; however, methods vary across the desert, results appear to be inconsistent, and standardized monitoring plans do not exist. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Land Use Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Land Use Plan identified the need for, and directed implementation of, standardized monitoring of restoration, which includes minimizing surface disturbance to agency prescribed levels in areas of critical environmental concern and on California Desert National Conservation Lands. To assist the BLM in implementing the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Land Use Plan Amendment, we define ecological restoration as the process of halting or minimizing future degradation while simultaneously assisting the recovery of ecosystem function and community composition in relation to intact reference sites. The monitoring strategies provided in this protocol are used to restore degraded ecosystems after use of non-routes has ceased (non-designated routes or vehicle-caused linear disturbances) by applying techniques to improve edaphic properties, hydrologic function, and biotic community composition. This protocol also provides criteria that can be used to distinguish the status of non-routes and land parcels as “restored” or “disturbed.” This protocol was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with BLM restoration practitioners, to identify standard restoration methods and establish criteria to determine when restoration is achieved. This protocol also develops new methods to increase restoration rates and successes on public lands in the southern California deserts. BLM’s long-term implementation plan for the evaluation of road restoration described in this report is to transition toward managing the work, including developing the workforce and long-term storage and management of the data during the next several years. This report is intended to be regularly updated as the program develops.

California