Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations”

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

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1985

Hydrology of coal-lease areas near Durango, Colorado

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management leases Federal lands and minerals for coal mining near Durango, Colorado. This report addresses the hydrologic suitability of those lands for coal leasing; the report describes the general hydrology of the Durango area and, more specifically, the hydrology of the Stollsteimer Creek study area 32 miles east of the Durango and the Hay Gulch study area, 12 miles southwest of Durango. The most productive aquifers in the Durango study area are Quaternary alluvium and the tertiary Animas Formation. Water wells completed in alluvium typically yield 5 to 20 gallons/min; wells completed is the Animas Formation yield as much as 50 gallons/min. Water quality in these aquifers is variable, but it generally is suitable for domestic use. The coal-bearing Cretaceous Fruitland and Menefee Formations are mined by surface methods at the Chimney Rock Mine in the Stollsteimer Creek study area and by underground methods at the National King Coal Mine in the Hay Gulch study area. Effects of surface mining in the Stollsteimer Creek area are: (1) Dewatering of an alluvial aquifer; and (2) Local degradation of alluvium water quality by spoil-pile effluent. Effects of underground mining in the Hay Gulch area are: (1) Introduction of water with greater dissolved-solids concentrations into the upper Hay Gulch alluvium from mine runoff; (2) Subsidence fracturing which could dewater streams and the alluvial aquifer. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1956

Non-pegmatitic resources of beryllium in United States

During the period from 1948 to 1950 the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a program of field and laboratory research w determine the mode of occurrence of beryllium in non-pegmatitic rocks and mineral deposits as part of the Beryllium Program of the Division of Raw Materials of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Approximately 23 man months were spent in the field collecting samples from 146 localities in 15 states; a total of 680 samples were collected and analyzed for beryllium. Additional samples collected by the Geological Survey. U.S. Bureau of Mines, various state Geological Surveys and other institutions. and private companies were analyzed for beryllium. In total, the beryllium content of 1,238 samples from about 600 localities in the United States is compiled in the final report which is being prepared for publication by the U.S. Geological Survey. The main topics discussed are: uses and properties of beryllium; methods of analysis and mineralogy of beryllium; occurrence of beryllium in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, pyrometasomatic and related deposits, vein deposits, and hot spring deposits; the genesis of beryllium deposits; and a description of the deposits examined. This abstract and table 1 summarize the more pertinent economic data. Beryllium is more abundant than arsenic, gold, silver, and molybdenum in the lithosphere, but its chemical and physical properties prohibit its concentration in minerals which are common w large commercial vein and replacement deposits. There are 29 minerals in which beryllium is an essential constituent but of these only beryl, mined from granite pegmatites, is an ore of beryllium., Beryl also occurs disseminated in granites and high-temperature veins. The other 28 minerals occur as rare constituents in syenite and granite pegmatites, granites, and pyrometasomatic deposits. Beryllium, as a trace constituent, has been detected in 49 minerals but recovery of the beryllium requires metallurgical methods as yet unknown.

Trace Elements Investigations↗
USGS1987

Geochemical survey maps of the wildernesses and roadless areas in the White Mountains National Forest, Coos, Grafton, and Carroll counties, New Hampshire

The Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and related acts require the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to survey certain areas on Federal lands to determine what mineral values, if any, may be present. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results a geochemical survey of the Great Gulf and Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness Areas; the Dartmouth Range, Wild River, Pemigewasset, Kinsman Mountain, Mount Wolf-Gordon Pond, Jobildunk, Carr Mountain, Sandwich Range, and the Dry River Extention (2 parcels) Roadless Areas; and the intervening and immediately surrounding areas in the White Mountain National Forest, Coos, Grafton, and Carroll Counties, New Hampshire. The Great Gulf Wilderness was established when the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, and the Presidential Range-Dray Wiver Wilderness was established by Public Law 93-622, January 3, 1975. The Dartmouth Range, Wild River, Pemigewasset, Kinsman Mountain, Mount Wolf-Gordon Pond, Carr Mountain, and Jobildunk areas were classified as a further planning area during the Second Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) by the U.S. Forest Service, January 1979. The White Mountain National Forest contains two established wilderness areas and ten additional RARE II roadless areas, covering a total of about 380 square miles. The location of these areas is shown on figure 1 and further information about them is contained in table 2. In order to treat all these separate areas as a single entity, they, along with the immediately surrounding areas, were combined into one study area, hereafter referred to as the study area, of about 1,300 square miles. This map is based on joint investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Office of the State Geologists of New Hampshire. The geochemical survey was conducted in the summer of 1980 and was integrated with an on-going multidisciplinary study of mineral resources of the Sherbrooke and Lewiston 1°x2° quadrangles under the Conterminous United States Mineral Assessment Program (CUSMAP).

New Hampshire↗
USGS2018

Groundwater chemistry and water-level elevations in bedrock aquifers of the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, 2013–16

The Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, are known to contain important energy resources (oil shale and natural gas) and mineral resources (nahcolite). The primary sources of fresh groundwater in the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds are bedrock aquifers in the Uinta and Green River Formations. The aquifers are divided into an upper and lower aquifer separated by a regionally extensive semiconfining layer. These aquifers provide water to streams and springs in the watersheds and are an important resource to people living and working in the area. Development of energy and mineral resources has the potential to affect the quality of groundwater in several ways. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Geological Survey began groundwater monitoring in 2010 to characterize the groundwater quality and water-level elevations of shallow bedrock aquifers in the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds. The purpose of this report is to present ground-water chemistry and water-level elevations collected during 2013–16. Comparisons are made to data that were collected from the bedrock aquifers from 2010 to 2012 to identify the potential for changes in water quality and water-level elevations. Appreciable changes in water-level elevations and hydraulic gradient were observed in early April 2015 in two wells completed in the upper and lower aquifers. The hydraulic gradient between the two wells was consistently downward from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer during 2010–15; however, in early April 2015, the gradient changed from downward to upward between the two aquifers. Overall, water-level elevations declined by about 14 and 11 feet in the upper and lower aquifers, respectively, from 2013 to 2016. Previously published data estimated groundwater ages at 1,200 years old in the upper aquifer and 9,600 years old in the lower aquifer. These groundwater ages indicate that ground-water was recharged over thousands of years. With such long periods of time for aquifer recharge, declines in water-level elevation over short time steps (a few months) have important implications for sustainable management of this resource. Solution mining activities or drilling for oil and natural gas in the area could be related to the changes observed in water-level elevations in these wells; however, further investigation would be needed to evaluate causation. Changes in major-ion chemistry were evaluated in the bedrock aquifer using time series plots of select major-ion data from 2010 to 2016. Major-ion chemistry was variable for a single well from 2010 to 2016 where alkalinity and sulfate were the most variable constituents. One possible explanation for the observed changes in major-ion chemistry may be that the sample depth for that well no longer represents the most appreciable flow in the borehole. On a larger scale, potential changes in flow within the borehole may indicate changes in the regional flow system. Methane and volatile organic compound concentrations were evaluated using a similar approach to that of major ions and had similar findings. Methane concentrations in wells sampled from 2010 to 2016 were generally constant. The only exception was observed at a single well where the range of methane concentrations was from 57.4 (2010) to 4.02 milligrams per liter (2013). This is the same well where changes in water-level elevation, hydraulic gradient, and major-ion chemistry were observed, providing multiple lines of evidence to indicate change in the bedrock aquifers. Sampling of a well located in an area with little energy development but where faults or fractures could provide a path for the migration of fluids indicate mixing of groundwater between the upper and lower aquifers.

Colorado↗
USGS2010

Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona

On July 21, 2009, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar proposed a two-year withdrawal of about 1 million acres of Federal land near the Grand Canyon from future mineral entry. These lands are contained in three parcels: two parcels on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land to the north of the Grand Canyon (North and East Segregation Areas) and one on the Kaibab National Forest south of the Grand Canyon (South Segregation Area). The purpose of the two-year withdrawal is to examine the potential effects of restricting these areas from new mine development for the next 20 years. This proposed withdrawal initiated a period of study during which the effects of the withdrawal must be evaluated. At the direction of the Secretary, the U.S. Geological Survey began a series of short-term studies designed to develop additional information about the possible effects of uranium mining on the natural resources of the region. Dissolved uranium and other major, minor, and trace elements occur naturally in groundwater as the result of precipitation infiltrating from the surface to water-bearing zones and, presumably, to underlying regional aquifers. Discharges from these aquifers occur as seeps and springs throughout the region and provide valuable habitat and water sources for plants and animals. Uranium mining within the watershed may increase the amount of radioactive materials and heavy metals in the surface water and groundwater flowing into Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River, and deep mining activities may increase mobilization of uranium through the rock strata into the aquifers. In addition, waste rock and ore from mined areas may be transported away from the mines by wind and runoff.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2010

Factors Affecting Specific-Capacity Tests and their Application--A Study of Six Low-Yielding Wells in Fractured-Bedrock Aquifers in Pennsylvania

This report by the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, evaluates factors affecting the application of specific-capacity tests in six low-yielding water wells in areas of coal mining or quarrying in Pennsylvania. Factors such as pumping rate, duration of pumping, aquifer properties, wellbore storage, and turbulent flow were assessed by theoretical analysis and by completing multiple well tests, selected to be representative of low-yielding household-supply wells in areas of active coal mining or quarrying. All six wells were completed in fractured-bedrock aquifers--five in coal-bearing shale, siltstone, sandstone, limestone, and coal of Pennsylvanian and Permian age and one in limestone of Cambrian age. The wells were pumped 24 times during 2007-09 at rates from 0.57 to 14 gallons per minute during tests lasting from 22 to 240 minutes. Geophysical logging and video surveys also were completed to determine the depth, casing length, and location of water-yielding zones in each of the test wells, and seasonal water-level changes were measured during 2007-09 by continuous monitoring at each well. The tests indicated that specific-capacity values were reproducible within about ? 20 percent if the tests were completed at the same pumping rate and duration. A change in pumping duration, pumping rate, or saturated aquifer thickness can have a substantial effect on the comparability of repeated tests. The largest effect was caused by a change in aquifer thickness in well YO 1222 causing specific capacity from repeated tests to vary by a factor of about 50. An increase in the duration of pumping from 60 to 180 minutes caused as much as a 62 percent decrease in specific capacity. The effect of differing pumping rates on specific capacity depends on whether or not the larger rate causes the water level in the well to fall below a major water-yielding zone; when this decline happened at well CA 462, specific capacity was reduced by about 63 percent. Estimates of the maximum yield for low-yielding wells that are computed by multiplying the available drawdown by the specific-capacity value may contain large errors if the wells were pumped at low rates that do not cause much water-level drawdown. The estimates of yield are likely to be too large because the effects of lowering the water level in the well below water-yielding zones have not been incorporated. Better yield estimates can be made by the use of step-drawdown tests or by over-pumping at a rate large enough to dewater most of the wellbore. The maximum well yield, after overpumping, can be estimated from the rate of water-level recovery or by subtracting the incremental rate of change of borehole storage at the end of the test from the pumping rate.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1986

Results of a preimpoundment water-quality study of Swatara Creek, Pennsylvania

The water quality of Swatara Creek prior to impoundment by the proposed Swatara Creek Reservoir in south-central Pennsylvania was studied from July 1981 through October 1982. The report, done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PaDER), Bureau of State Parks, presents information on existing water-quality conditions. A discussion of possible water-quality conditions in and downstream from the planned impoundment is also included. Precipitation measured near the study area at Lebanon, Pennsylvania from October 1981 through September 1982 was 8 percent below normal. Streamflow for the same period at Swatara Creek at Harper Tavern just downstream from the study area was 15 percent below the average annual flow. Swatara Creek above Highway 895 has been degraded by acid mine drainage. The main inflow to the planned impoundment has 2.1 times the discharge of Lower Little Swatara Creek--a forested and agricultural basin that is also tributary to the proposed impoundment. During the 1982 water year, 17,400 tons of suspended sediment were transported from the study area. About 46 percent of the annual load was transported during 3 days of high flow. Inflows to the planned impoundment from both Lower Little Swatara Creek and Swatara Creek above Highway 895 were poorly buffered. Measured concentrations of alkalinity and acidity were usually less than 10 mg/L (milligrams per liter) and 5 mg/L as CaCO3, respectively. The inflows contain high concentrations of nutrients and metals that would probably stratify in a reservoir. Maximum concentrations of dissolved nitrate and total phosphorus were 2.6 mg/L and 0.31 mg/L, respectively. At Lower Little Swatara Creek; these concentrations are well above those needed for growth of algae. Maximum observed concentrations for total recoverable iron, aluminum, and manganese at Swatara Creek above Highway 895 at Pine Grove were 100,000 ug/L (micrograms per liter), 66,000 ug/L, and 2,300 ug/L, respectively. Large increases in metal concentrations along with simultaneous decreases in pH and increases in acidity confirm that mine drainage continues to degrade the water quality of Swatara Creek and may have a large impact on water quality of the planned impoundment. Iron, lead, copper, and zinc concentrations periodically exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) criteria for freshwater aquatic life. Concentrations of manganese and lead also exceeded the U.S. EPA criteria for domestic water supplies and human health, respectively. The water quality of the Swatara Creek Reservoir will depend on characteristics such as (1) the detention time of water in the lake, (2) the timing and extent of thermal and chemical stratification, (3) sedimentation, and (4) the chemical loading and concentrations in the lake. Each of these characteristics may depend in part, on streamflow. The impoundment will act as a sediment trap and thus reduce the concentrations of total phosphorus, iron, aluminum, lead, copper, and zinc immediately downstream from the impoundment. Large storm discharges and releases from the hypolimnion of the reservoir to attain the winter-pool level may contain low oxygen concentrations and elevated concentrations of iron, aluminum, lead, copper, and zinc. Unless conservation releases from the multi-level release gates are carefully controlled, low dissolved-oxygen levels and high metal concentrations may degrade the downstream water quality and be detrimental to the aquatic community.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2013

Assessment of mercury and methylmercury in water, sediment, and biota in Sulphur Creek in the vicinity of the Clyde Gold Mine and the Elgin Mercury Mine, Colusa County, California

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, we performed a study during April–July 2010 to characterize mercury (Hg), monomethyl mercury (MMeHg), and other geochemical constituents in sediment, water, and biota at the Clyde Gold Mine and the Elgin Mercury Mine, located in neighboring subwatersheds of Sulphur Creek, Colusa County, California. This study was in support of a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act - Removal Site Investigation. The investigation was in response to an abatement notification from the California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to evaluate the release of Hg from the Clyde and Elgin mines. Samples of water, sediment, and biota (aquatic macroinvertebrates) were collected from sites upstream and downstream from the two mine sites to evaluate the level of Hg contamination contributed by each mine to the aquatic ecosystem. Physical parameters, as well as dissolved organic carbon, total Hg (Hg T ), and MMeHg were analyzed in water and sediment. Other relevant geochemical constituents were analyzed in sediment, filtered water, and unfiltered water. Samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates from each mine were analyzed for Hg T and MMeHg. The presence of low to moderate concentrations of Hg T and MMeHg in water, sediment, and biota from the Freshwater Branch of Sulphur Creek, and the lack of significant increases in these concentrations downstream from the Clyde Mine indicated that this mine is not a significant source of Hg to the watershed during low flow conditions. Although concentrations of Hg T and MMeHg were generally higher in samples of sediment and water from the Elgin Mine compared to the Clyde Mine, concentrations in comparable biota from the two mine areas were similar. It is likely that highly saline effluent from nearby hot springs contribute more Hg to the West Fork of Sulphur Creek than the mine waste material at the Elgin Mine.

California↗
USGS2003

Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data, for streams in the upper Prickly Pear Creek watershed, Montana, 2001

The upper Prickly Pear Creek watershed encompasses the upstream 15 miles of Prickly Pear Creek, south of Helena, Montana (fig. 1). The headwaters of Prickly Pear Creek and its tributaries (Beavertown Creek, Clancy Creek, Dutchman Creek, Golconda Creek, Lump Gulch, Spring Creek, and Warm Springs Creek) are primarily in the Helena National Forest, whereas the central part of the watershed primarily is within either Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or privately owned property. Three mining districts are present in the upper Prickly Pear Creek watershed: Alhambra, Clancy, and Colorado. Numerous prospects, adits, tailings piles, mills, dredge piles, and mines (mostly inactive) are located throughout the watershed. These districts contain polymetallic (Ag, Au, Cu, Pb, Zn) vein deposits and precious-metal (Au-Ag) vein and disseminated deposits that were exploited beginning in the 1860’s. Placer Au deposits in the major streams were extensively mined in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. As part of a cooperative effort with Federal land management agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently using an integrated approach to investigate two mining impacted watersheds in the western United States (the Animas River in Colorado and the Boulder River in Montana). These studies provide the USDA Forest Service and BLM scientific data for implementing informed land-management decisions regarding cleanup of abandoned mine lands within each watershed. A similar integrated-science approach will be used to characterize the upper Prickly Pear Creek watershed with respect to water and streambed sediment chemistry, aquatic biota, and geologic framework. This integrated database presents data that will be used to identify important pathways of metals movement and biological impacts, thereby guiding resource management decisions of land-managers in several publications that are in preparation. Watershed-level characterization in terms of water quality, streambed sediment chemistry, and fish health will facilitate determinations of whether removal of contaminated materials or other cleanup activities are necessary, planning of short- and long-term restoration efforts, and development of a monitoring plan to document cleanup effectiveness.

Montana↗
USGS1983

Mineral resource potential map of the Blanco Mountain and Black Canyon Roadless Areas, Inyo and Mono Counties, California

On the basis of geologic, geochemical, and geophysical investigations and a survey of mines and prospects, the mineral resource potential for gold, silver, lead, zinc, tungsten, and barite of the Blanco Mountain and Black Canyon Roadless Areas is judged to be low to moderate, except for one local area that has high potential for gold and tungsten resources. A geochemical survey detected moderately anomalous amounts of lead, copper, and zinc and less anomalous concentrations of tungsten, gold, and silver. Elements in anomalous samples were grouped as suites known to form in various ore deposits. Four element suites that may be indicative of mineralization are recognized in the White Mountains: (1) lead, zinc, and silver in carbonate rocks; (2) copper, barite, and lead in veins and replacement bodies; (3) tungsten, molybdenum, and bismuth in skarns; and (4) gold and arsenic in mineralized quartz veins. The assessment of the areas of resource potential was made in part by the application of ore deposit models to the geochemical results. A mineral deposit survey by the U.S. Bureau of Mines indicates that there are no properties with identified mineral resources in the Blanco Mountain Roadless Area. There is one active placer claim. In the Black Canyon Roadless Area, two properties have 40,000 tons of indicated and inferred low-grade gold, silver, or lead-bearing rock. Five properties near this roadless area have 150,000 tons of indicated and inferred low-grade gold, silver, lead, zinc, or tungsten-bearing rock. About 90 percent of this tonnage is estimated to occur at the Mirage-Mariposa and the Hope mines. The roadless areas have no known resource potential for geothermal energy, coal, oil, or gas.

California↗
USGS1985

Effects of surface coal mining and reclamation on ground water in small watersheds in the Allegheny Plateau, Ohio

The hydrologic effects of surface coal mining in unlimited areas is difficult to predict, partly because of a lack of adequate data collected before and after mining and reclamation. In order to help provide data to assess the effects of surface mining on the hydrology of small basins in the coal fields of the eastern United States, the U.S. Bureau of Mines sponsored a comprehensive hydrologic study at three sites in the Ohio part of the Eastern Coal Province. These sites are within the unqlaciated part of the Allegheny Plateau, and are representative of similar coal-producing areas in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Geological Survey was responsible for the ground-water phase of the study. The aquifer system at each watershed consisted of two localized perched aquifers (top and middle) above a deeper, more regional aquifer. The premining top aquifer was destroyed by mining in each case, and was replaced by spoils during reclamation. The spoils formed new top aquifers that were slowly becoming resaturated at the end of the study period. Water levels in the aquifers were about the same after reclamation as before mining, although levels rose in a few places. It appears that the underclay at the base of the new top aquifers at all three sites prevents significant downward leakage from the top aquifers to lower except in places where the layer may have been damaged during mining. Water in the top aquifers is a calcium sulfate type, whereas calcium bicarbonate type water predominated before mining. The median specific conductance of water in the new top aquifers was about 5 times greater than that of the original top aquifers in two of the watersheds, and 1 1/2 times the level of the original top aquifers in the third. Concentrations of dissolved sulfate, iron, and manganese in the top aquifers before mining generally did not exceed U.S. and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water limits, but generally exceeded these limits after reclamation. Water-quality changes in the middle aquifers were minor by comparison. Water levels and water quality in the deeper, regional aquifers were unaffected by mining.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2008

Geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend National Park (BBNP), Tex., covers 801,163 acres (3,242 km 2 ) and was established in 1944 through a transfer of land from the State of Texas to the United States. The park is located along a 118-mile (190-km) stretch of the Rio Grande at the United States-Mexico border. The park is in the Chihuahuan Desert, an ecosystem with high mountain ranges and basin environments containing a wide variety of native plants and animals, including more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. In addition, the geology of BBNP, which varies widely from high mountains to broad open lowland basins, also enhances the beauty of the park. For example, the park contains the Chisos Mountains, which are dominantly composed of thick outcrops of Tertiary extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks that reach an altitude of 7,832 ft (2,387 m) and are considered the southernmost mountain range in the United States. Geologic features in BBNP provide opportunities to study the formation of mineral deposits and their environmental effects; the origin and formation of sedimentary and igneous rocks; Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic fossils; and surface and ground water resources. Mineral deposits in and around BBNP contain commodities such as mercury (Hg), uranium (U), and fluorine (F), but of these, the only significant mining has been for Hg. Because of the biological and geological diversity of BBNP, more than 350,000 tourists visit the park each year. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been investigating a number of broad and diverse geologic, geochemical, and geophysical topics in BBNP to provide fundamental information needed by the National Park Service (NPS) to address resource management goals in this park. Scientists from the USGS Mineral Resources and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Programs have been working cooperatively with the NPS and several universities on several research studies within BBNP. Because the last geologic map of the entire BBNP was published in the 1960s, one of the primary goals of the USGS is to provide a new geologic map of BBNP at a scale 1:100,000; this work is ongoing among the USGS, NPS, the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, and university scientists. This USGS Circular summarizes eight studies funded and primarily carried out by the USGS, but it is not intended to be a comprehensive reference of work conducted in BBNP. This Circular describes topical research of the recently completed interdisciplinary USGS project, which has provided information leading to a more complete understanding of the following topics in BBNP: Tectonic and geologic history (Chapters 1, 2, and 3), Age and formation processes of a skarn mineral deposit (Chapter 4), Geoenvironmental effects of abandoned mercury mines (Chapter 5), Age, source, and geochemistry of surface and subsurface water resources (Chapter 6), Isotopic tracing of food sources of bears (Chapter 7), and Geophysical characteristics of surface and subsurface geology (Chapter 8). Additional information and the geochemical and geophysical data of the USGS studies in BBNP are available on line at http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/projects/big_bend/index.html.

Texas↗
USGS2000

Mercury bioaccumulation in fish in a region affected by historic gold mining: The South Yuba River, Deer Creek, and Bear River watersheds, California, 1999

Mercury that was used historically for gold recovery in mining areas of the Sierra Nevada continues to enter local and downstream water bodies, including the Sacramento Delta and the San Francisco Bay of northern California. Methylmercury is of particular concern because it is the most prevalent form of mercury in fish and is a potent neurotoxin that bioaccumulates at successive trophic levels within food webs. In April 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with several other agencies the Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture), the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California State Water Resources Control Board, and the Nevada County Resource Conservation District began a pilot investigation to characterize the occurrence and distribution of mercury in water, sediment, and biota in the South Yuba River, Deer Creek, and Bear River watersheds of California. Biological samples consisted of semi-aquatic and aquatic insects, amphibians, bird eggs, and fish. Fish were collected from 5 reservoirs and 14 stream sites during August through October 1999 to assess the distribution of mercury in these watersheds. Fish that were collected from reservoirs included top trophic level predators (black basses, Micropterus spp.) intermediate trophic level predators [sunfish (blue gill, Lepomis macrochirus; green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus; and black crappie, Poxomis nigromaculatus)] and benthic omnivores (channel catfish, Ictularus punctatus). At stream sites, the species collected were upper trophic level salmonids (brown trout, Salmo trutta) and upper-to-intermediate trophic level salmonids (rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss). Boneless and skinless fillet portions from 161 fish were analyzed for total mercury; 131 samples were individual fish, and the remaining 30 fish were combined into 10 composite samples of three fish each of the same species and size class. Mercury concentrations in samples of black basses (Micropterus spp.), including largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass, ranged from 0.20 to 1.5 parts per million (ppm), wet basis. Mercury concentrations in sunfish ranged from less than 0.10 to 0.41 ppm (wet). Channel catfish had mercury concentrations from 0.16 to 0.75 ppm (wet). The range of mercury concentrations observed in rainbow trout was from 0.06 to 0.38 ppm (wet), and in brown trout was from 0.02 to 0.43 ppm (wet). Mercury concentrations in trout were greater than 0.3 ppm in samples from three of 14 stream sites. Mercury at elevated concentrations may pose a health risk to piscivorous wildlife and to humans who eat fish on a regular basis. Data presented in this report may be useful to local, state, and federal agencies responsible for assessing the potential risks associated with elevated levels of mercury in fish in the South Yuba River, Deer Creek, and Bear River watersheds.

California↗
USGS2011

Geophysical investigation of Red Devil mine using direct-current resistivity and electromagnetic induction, Red Devil, Alaska, August 2010

Red Devil Mine, located in southwestern Alaska near the Village of Red Devil, was the state's largest producer of mercury and operated from 1933 to 1971. Throughout the lifespan of the mine, various generations of mills and retort buildings existed on both sides of Red Devil Creek, and the tailings and waste rock were deposited across the site. The mine was located on public Bureau of Land Management property, and the Bureau has begun site remediation by addressing mercury, arsenic, and antimony contamination caused by the minerals associated with the ore deposit (cinnabar, stibnite, realgar, and orpiment). In August 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a geophysical survey at the site using direct-current resistivity and electromagnetic induction surface methods. Eight two-dimensional profiles and one three-dimensional grid of direct-current resistivity data as well as about 5.7 kilometers of electromagnetic induction profile data were acquired across the site. On the basis of the geophysical data and few available soil borings, there is not sufficient electrical or electromagnetic contrast to confidently distinguish between tailings, waste rock, and weathered bedrock. A water table is interpreted along the two-dimensional direct-current resistivity profiles based on correlation with monitoring well water levels and a relatively consistent decrease in resistivity typically at 2-6 meters depth. Three settling ponds used in the last few years of mine operation to capture silt and sand from a flotation ore processing technique possessed conductive values above the interpreted water level but more resistive values below the water level. The cause of the increased resistivity below the water table is unknown, but the increased resistivity may indicate that a secondary mechanism is affecting the resistivity structure under these ponds if the depth of the ponds is expected to extend below the water level. The electromagnetic induction data clearly identified the three monofills and indicate, in conjunction with the three-dimensional resistivity data, additional possible landfill features on the north side of Red Devil Creek. No obvious shallow feature was identified as a possible source for a spring that is feeding into Red Devil Creek from the north bank. However, a discrete, nearly vertical conductive feature observed on the direct-current resistivity line that passes within 5 meters of the spring may be worth investigating. Additional deep soil borings that better differentiate between tailings, waste rock, and weathered bedrock may be very useful in more confidently identifying these rock types in the direct-current resistivity data.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2010

Assessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps and human health hazards associated with uranium exploration and mining, Red, White, and Fry Canyons, southeastern Utah, 2007

During May, June, and July 2007, 58 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium mine waste dumps, background sites, and adjacent streambeds in Red, White, and Fry Canyons in southeastern Utah. The objectives of this sampling program were to (1) assess the nonpoint-source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial drainage basins from uranium waste dumps and (2) assess potential effects on human health due to recreational activities on and around uranium waste dumps on Bureau of Land Management property. Uranium waste-dump samples were collected using solid-phase sampling protocols. After collection, solid-phase samples were homogenized and extracted in the laboratory using a leaching procedure. Filtered (0.45 micron) water samples were obtained from the field leaching procedure and were analyzed for major and trace elements at the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Metals Analysis Laboratory at the University of Utah. A subset of the solid-phase samples also were digested with strong acids and analyzed for major ions and trace elements at the U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Division Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. For the initial ranking of chemical loading potential for uranium waste dumps, results of leachate analyses were compared with existing aquatic-life and drinking-water-quality standards. To assess potential effects on human health, solid-phase digestion values for uranium were compared to soil screening levels (SSL) computed using the computer model RESRAD 6.5 for a probable concentration of radium. One or more chemical constituents exceeded aquatic life and drinking-water-quality standards in approximately 64 percent (29/45) of the leachate samples extracted from uranium waste dumps. Most of the uranium waste dump sites with elevated trace-element concentrations in leachates were located in Red Canyon. Approximately 69 percent (31/45) of the strong acid digestible soil concentration values were greater than a calculated SSL. Uranium waste dump sites with elevated leachate and total digestible concentrations may need to be further investigated to determine the most appropriate remediation method.

Utah↗
USGS2018

Spatial and temporal trends in selenium in the upper Blackfoot River watershed, southeastern Idaho, 2001–16

Phosphate mining in southeastern Idaho has been an important economic driver for the region and State for over 100 years, but weathering of mining waste rock has also released selenium into the Blackfoot River. This report analyzes and presents data from three separate but complementary studies monitoring selenium in streams in the region. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, has been collecting streamflow and water-quality samples year-round on the Blackfoot River above reservoir near Henry, Idaho, (USGS streamgage 13063000) since 2001. Over the same period, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) has collected streamflow and water-quality samples from the Blackfoot River and tributaries during spring runoff. Data collected from 2001 to 2012 during these two studies were analyzed previously. This report extends the analysis using new data collected through 2016. This report also presents the results of a joint USGS and IDEQ seepage study conducted in June 2016 in the Blackfoot River near Dry Valley. Although limited in scope, this study explored the hypothesis that unaccounted selenium loading (loading in excess of tributary inputs) in this reach could be caused by groundwater inflow. USGS dissolved selenium concentration data from streamgage 13063000 on the Blackfoot River and IDEQ data from the mainstem and mining-affected tributaries are highest shortly after peak runoff and correlate with streamflow magnitude. Although earlier analyses indicated increasing selenium concentrations from 2001 to 2012, this study shows that runoff and baseflow dissolved selenium concentrations increased and then decreased during 2001–16. High median runoff concentrations from 2005 through 2011 are associated with high snowpack and streamflow. This result suggests that more snowmelt moving through selenium-bearing waste rock leads to increased instream concentrations. The time lag between peak runoff and then peak selenium concentrations suggests that selenium mobilization may occur as snowmelt percolates through waste rock rather than by faster surface runoff. However, variability in local snow accumulation and snowmelt conditions likely affects interannual variability in selenium concentrations in the mainstem Blackfoot River and tributaries. In contrast to runoff selenium concentrations, median baseflow (August to October) dissolved selenium concentrations were highest from 2009 to 2013. Aquatic plant senescence and release of selenium is an unlikely explanation for this trend because plants are still growing during this time of year. In addition, this trend is observed during and shortly after the observed period of high snowpack. Thus, increased baseflow selenium concentrations suggest that increased selenium loading to alluvial groundwater may occur during periods of high snowmelt and manifest in later years as higher instream concentrations during baseflows when the majority of streamflow is attributable to groundwater gains. Runoff-period streamflow and selenium loads were calculated for the tributaries and mainstem Blackfoot River. Selenium loads vary from year to year with mainstem loads greater than the total tributary contributions in some years and less than tributary contributions in other years. In general, East Mill Creek usually accounted for the largest proportion of the total Blackfoot River load, and unaccounted loads (loads in excess of tributary inputs) often occurred in the vicinity of Spring Creek and Dry Valley. The latter observation led the USGS and IDEQ to conduct a seepage study to further investigate groundwater and selenium loading to the Blackfoot River near Dry Valley. The seepage study results show consistent albeit small unaccounted increases in streamflow and dissolved selenium load in the Blackfoot River near Dry Valley. Field observation of a spring to the north of the river and independent groundwater monitoring data from Dry Valley to the south of the river suggest that alluvial groundwater may discharge to the river from both sides. However, the small unaccounted selenium load measured in the June 2016 study relative to loads measured during runoff suggest that groundwater loading in this reach may occur primarily during runoff. An improved understanding of alluvial groundwater extent, gradient, hydraulic conductivity, and quality would aid in interpreting unaccounted gains and losses in selenium loads in the Blackfoot River. Finally, State of Idaho selenium water-quality criteria have recently shifted to a hierarchical fish tissue and water concentration scheme. This report summarizes existing fish tissue and water-quality data in the mainstem and offers considerations for future selenium monitoring in the Blackfoot River.

Idaho↗
USGS2008

Assessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps associated with uranium exploration and mining, San Rafael Swell, Utah

During July and August of 2006, 117 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium waste dumps, geologic background sites, and adjacent streambeds in the San Rafael Swell, in southeastern Utah. The objective of this sampling program was to assess the nonpoint source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial watersheds from uranium waste dumps on Bureau of Land Management property. Uranium waste dump samples were collected using solid-phase sampling protocols. After collection, solid-phase samples were homogenized and extracted in the laboratory using a field leaching procedure. Filtered (0.45 micron) water samples were obtained from the field leaching procedure and were analyzed for Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, U, V, and Zn at the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Metals Analysis Laboratory at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah and for Hg at the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory, Denver, Colorado. For the initial ranking of chemical loading potential of suspect uranium waste dumps, leachate analyses were compared with existing aquatic life and drinking-water-quality standards and the ratio of samples that exceeded standards to the total number of samples was determined for each element having a water-quality standard for aquatic life and drinking-water. Approximately 56 percent (48/85) of the leachate samples extracted from uranium waste dumps had one or more chemical constituents that exceeded aquatic life and drinking-water-quality standards. Most of the uranium waste dump sites with elevated trace-element concentrations in leachates were along Reds Canyon Road between Tomsich Butte and Family Butte. Twelve of the uranium waste dump sites with elevated trace-element concentrations in leachates contained three or more constituents that exceeded drinking-water-quality standards. Eighteen of the uranium waste dump sites had three or more constituents that exceeded trace-element concentrations for aquatic life water-quality standards. The proximity of the uranium waste dumps in the Tomsich Butte area near Muddy Creek, coupled with the elevated concentration of trace elements, increases the offsite impact potential to water resources. Future assessment and remediation priority of these areas may be done by using GIS-based risk-mapping techniques, such as Sensitive Catchment Integrated Mapping and Analysis Project.

Utah↗
USGS1978

Tin and related elements in sediments and beach sands from Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey

Sixty samples of sediments from stream beds, outwash plains, and beaches were collected in Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey by Fred L. Klinger, U.S. Bureau of Mines, as part of the field work undertaken by the National Geographic-Smithsonian Pyrotechnological Expedition of 1968. Facilities for the analysis of the samples for tin and other metals were not immediately available, but in 1973 arrangements were made for analyses to be made on a time-permitting basis in the U.S. Geological Survey. The original purpose in collecting the samples was to determine whether tin was present in amounts indicative of sources for tin ores used in antiquity for the manufacture of bronze. The results of the analyses not only permitted an evaluation of the potential for tin in the localities sampled, but also afforded chemical and mineralogical data that were interpretable in the context of regional potential for other elements of current industrial use. These include gold, base metals, ferro-alloy metals, beryllium, rare earths, and barium. The original 60 samples of sand were sieved to make three size fraction (>0.707 mm, <O.707->O.177 mm, and <0.177 mm) for spectrographic and chemical analysis. Splits of these fractions were used for replicate analyses to permit evaluation of the precision of the analytical procedures. Further splitting of the <0.707->0.177 mm sand gave fractions from each sample that were separated in bromoform. Concentrates from the heavy-liquid separations were divided magnetically into six parts from most magnetic to least magnetic. These concentrates were analyzed spectrographically. The precision of the spectrographic analyses is well within the limits of precision expected from semiquantitative procedures. Such precision allows semiquantitative spectrographic procedures to be used with confidence as a valuable tool for reconnaissance investigations in which multi-element analyses are necessary. The analyses of the various fractions of sediments and sediment concentrates indicate the sample media in which an element was most likely to occur. Tin exhibited no preferential concentration into any particular medium. However, many elements with which tin is associated, and other elements of industrial use, do concentrate into one or more of the sample media. This indication of a preferred medium permits interpretation of the analyses as to the best sample medium for a particular element in the environment of western Asia. Cassiterite and/or tin were detected in many samples from Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey, but in most of the samples the tin was present in normal crustal abundance. Sixteen samples, including seven from Afghanistan, eight from Iran, and one from Turkey contain unusually large amounts of tin. The most notable areas of anomalous tin are near Mirzaka, Qala-i-Asad, and Shah Agha in Afghanistan; near Meshed, Shir Kuh, Natanz, Nodus, and Talmesi in Iran; and on the shore of the Balck Sea just west of Trabzon in Turkey. Even in these localities the tin appears to be a minor element associated with other ores. The most common association of tin is with copper at known mineralized areas. This relation may have historical significance in the context of the development of bronze. The results of the analyses provided geochemical data on the distribution of other elements of industrial use and clearly identified nine of the ten known mineral deposits represented by the samples. The known metallization at the reported deposits may be only a part of more complex groups of metals. In Afghanistan an array of anomalous elements at the known gold placers around Mirzaka and along the Anguri River signals the presence of complex ore deposits. These elements are silver, arsenic, gold, bismuth, cadmium, copper, mercury, indium, molybdenum, lead, antimony, tin, thallium, tungsten, and zinc. They may indicate a Carlin-type gold deposit in which the wall-rocks are enriched in micron-sized particles of gold. Other localities in Afghanistan signalled by the results of the analyses to be anomalous and to merit further geochemical exploration are: (1) a reach of the Panjshir River for beryllium, lead, zinc, chromium and nickel; (2) the area near Bamian for beryllium; (3) the Siakhak village area for gold and copper; (4) around Qala-i-Asad and Shah Agha for lead, zinc, gold, and tungsten. Some attention to the distribution of monazite around Siakhak, Shahjui, Qala-i-Asad, and Shah Agha is justified to determine if this ore mineral for the rare earths and thorium is enriched over its normally expectable trace as an accessory mineral in granitic rocks, pelitic schists, and gneisses. In Iran, the pluton of granodiorite porphyry near Sar Cheshmeh, an area where a huge porphyry copper deposit was being investigated by the Geological Survey of Iran when the present samples were collected in 1968, shows as a strong geochemical anomaly for copper and molybdenum. The granitic area near Meshed is geochemically enriched persistently in beryllium, tin, and barium, and locally in gold, lanthanum, niobium, yttrium, and other elements. This area deserves a thorough regional geochemical survey for beryl and nonberyl sources of beryllium, for fluorite, and for the ores of niobium, tin, barium, the rare earths, and thorium. Other localities in Iran that merit geochemical exploration on the basis of these data are: ;1) the areas between Tabas and Deyhuk, east of Naiband, and south of Naiband for barium and zinc; (2) a locality about midway between Kerman and Sirdjan for barium, lanthanum, strontium, and zinc; (4) the Meskani copper mine area for mercury, lead, and nickel as well as copper; (5) the Talmesi copper mine area for such other elements as barium, cobalt, mercury, strontium, and zinc; (6) a small pluton of granodiorite north of Natanz for tungsten and base metals; (7) the vicinity of Zendjan for auriferous polymetallic sufide deposits; (8) gold in the gorge 15 km east of Miyaneh; and (9) the area near Nodus for gold, base metals, molybdenum, and niobium, and possibly uranium. The Harsit River basin in Turkey appears to be a suitable target for geochemical exploration for gold and low-temperature hydrothermal deposits of base metals, barium, and mercury.

Open-File Report↗