Mineral resource of the month: iron oxide pigments
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Earth (53) 25-25
The article discusses iron oxide pigments, which have been used as colorants since human began painting as they resist color change due to sunlight exposure, have good chemical resistance and are stable under normal ambient conditions. Cyprus, Italy and Spain are among the countries that are known for the production...
Exploration review
D.R. Wilburn
2008, Mining Engineering (60) 45-57
This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2007 draws upon available information from industry, literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the...
Mineral resource of the month: Graphite
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Earth (53) 29-29
The article presents facts about graphite ideal for industrial applications. Among the characteristics of graphite are its metallic luster, softness, perfect basal cleavage and electrical conductivity. Batteries, brake linings and powdered metals are some of the products that make use of graphite. It attributes the potential applications for graphite in...
Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response)
D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, T.I. Allen, K. Jaiswal, K. Porter, M. Hearne
2008, Conference Paper, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering: October 12-17, 2008, Beijing, China
The Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) System plays a primary alerting role for global earthquake disasters as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) response protocol. We provide an overview of the PAGER system, both of its current capabilities and our ongoing research and development. PAGER monitors...
Mineral resource of the month: antimony
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Earth (53) 29-29
The article describes the characteristics and industrial uses of antimony. Antimony, which is produced as a byproduct of mining other metals such as gold, lead or silver, is used in everything from flame retardants, batteries, ceramics and glass. It is also used in glass for television picture tubes, computer monitors,...
Mineral resource of the month: cultured quartz crystal
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Earth (53) 29-29
The article presents information on cultured quartz crystals, a mineral used in mobile phones, computers, clocks and other devices controlled by digital circuits. Cultured quartz, which is synthetically produced in large pressurized vessels known as autoclaves, is useful in electronic circuits for precise filtration, frequency control and timing for consumer...
Mineral resource of the month: strontium
Joyce A. Ober
2008, Geotimes (2008)
Last month as Americans sat transfixed watching fireworks on July 4, they were probably unaware that strontium was responsible for the beautiful reds in the display. Strontium, a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that turns yellow when exposed to air (and red when it burns), is prized for its...
Finite-fault analysis of the 2004 Parkfield, California, earthquake using Pnl waveforms
C. Mendoza, S. Hartzell
2008, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (98) 2746-2755
We apply a kinematic finite-fault inversion scheme to Pnl displacement waveforms recorded at 14 regional stations (Δ<2°) to recover the distribution of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake using both synthetic Green’s functions (SGFs) calculated for one-dimensional (1D) crustal-velocity models and empirical Green’s functions (EGFs) based on the recordings...
[Book Review] Avian influenza
Steven Schwarzbach, Sabir Muzzafar, John Y. Takekawa
2008, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (44) 1056-1058
Review of: Avian Influenza. By David E. Swayne, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford, UK. 2008. 605 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-8138-2047-7/2008. US $149.99 (hardback)....
Low prevalence of avian influenza virus in shorebirds on the Pacific coast of North America
Samuel A. Iverson, John Y. Takekawa, Steven Schwarzbach, Carol J. Cardona, Nils Warnock, Mary Anne Bishop, Greg A. Schirato, Sara Paroulek, Joshua T. Ackerman, S. Ip, Walter M. Boyce
2008, Waterbirds (31) 602-610
The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 has elevated concerns about wild birds as virus hosts; however, little is known about the ecological and epidemiological factors of transmission by shorebirds. Here we summarize results for 2,773 shorebirds that were live-trapped on the Pacific coast of the United States...
Mineral resource of the month: gemstones
Donald W. Olson
2008, Geotimes (2008)
Humans have been intrigued by gemstones since prehistoric times. Gemstones have been valued as treasured objects throughout history by all societies in all parts of the world. The first stones known to have been used for making jewelry include amber, amethyst, coral, diamond, emerald, garnet, jade, jasper, lapis lazuli, pearl,...
Mineral resource of the month: arsenic
William E. Brooks
2008, Geotimes (2008)
Arsenic has a long and varied history: Although it was not isolated as an element until the 13th century, it was known to the ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks in compound form in the minerals arsenopyrite, realgar and orpiment. In the 1400s, “Scheele’s Green” was first used as an arsenic...
Estimating pore-space gas hydrate saturations from well log acoustic data
Myung W. Lee, William F. Waite
2008, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (9)
Relating pore-space gas hydrate saturation to sonic velocity data is important for remotely estimating gas hydrate concentration in sediment. In the present study, sonic velocities of gas hydrate–bearing sands are modeled using a three-phase Biot-type theory in which sand, gas hydrate, and pore fluid form three homogeneous, interwoven frameworks. This...
Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A modular framework to diagnose differences between hydrological models
Martyn P. Clark, Andrew G. Slater, David E. Rupp, Ross A. Woods, Jasper A. Vrugt, Hoshin V. Gupta, Thorsten Wagener, Lauren E. Hay
2008, Water Resources Research (44)
The problems of identifying the most appropriate model structure for a given problem and quantifying the uncertainty in model structure remain outstanding research challenges for the discipline of hydrology. Progress on these problems requires understanding of the nature of differences between models. This paper presents a methodology to diagnose differences...
Converting HAZUS capacity curves to seismic hazard-compatible building fragility functions: effect of hysteretic models
Hyeuk Ryu, Nicolas Luco, Jack W. Baker, Erdem Karaca
2008, Conference Paper, The 14th world conference on earthquake engineering: innovation, practice, safety: October 12-17, 2008, Beijing, China
A methodology was recently proposed for the development of hazard-compatible building fragility models using parameters of capacity curves and damage state thresholds from HAZUS (Karaca and Luco, 2008). In the methodology, HAZUS curvilinear capacity curves were used to define nonlinear dynamic SDOF models that were subjected to the nonlinear time...
Landslide risk in the San Francisco Bay region
J. A. Coe, R. A. Crovelli
2008, Conference Paper, Landslides an d Engineered Slopes, From the Past to the Future, Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Landslides, June 30-July 4, 2008, Xi'an, China
We have used historical records of damaging landslides triggered by rainstorms, and a newly developed Probabilistic Landslide Assessment Cost Estimation System (PLACES), to estimate the numbers and direct costs of future landslides in the San Francisco Bay region. The estimated annual cost of future landslides in the entire region is...
Water-resources data for the United States: water year 2008
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Water Data Report 2008
Water resources data are published annually for use by engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public. These archival products supplement direct access to current and historical water data provided by NWISWeb. Beginning with Water Year 2006, annual water data reports are available as individual electronic Site Data Sheets for...
An illustrated landslide handbook for developing nations
Lynn M. Highland, Peter Bobrowsky
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the First World Landslide Forum, November 18 - 21, Tokyo, Japan: Parallel Sessions Volume, International Program on Landslides
As landslides continue to be a hazard that account for large numbers of human and animal casualties, property loss, and infrastructure damage, as well as impacts on the natural environment, it is incumbent on developed nations that resources be allocated to educate affected populations in less developed nations, and provide...
A four-dimensional petroleum systems model for the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: Chapter 12 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California
Kenneth E. Peters, Leslie B. Magoon, Carolyn Lampe, Allegra Hosford Scheirer, Paul G. Lillis, Donald L. Gautier
2008, Professional Paper 1713-12
A calibrated numerical model depicts the geometry and three-dimensional (3-D) evolution of petroleum systems through time (4-D) in a 249 x 309 km (155 x 192 mi) area covering all of the San Joaquin Basin Province of California. Model input includes 3-D structural and stratigraphic data for key horizons and...
Thiamine Deficiency Complex Workshop final report: November 6-7, 2008, Ann Arbor, MI
Dale C. Honeyfield, Donald E. Tillitt, Stephen C. Riley
2008, Report
Fry mortality which was first observed in the late 1960s in Great Lakes salmonines and in Baltic Sea salmon in 1974 has now been linked to thiamine deficiency (historically referred to as Early Mortality Syndrome, or EMS and M74, respectively). Over the past 14 years significant strides have been made...
Petroleum systems of the San Joaquin Basin Province -- geochemical characteristics of gas types: Chapter 10 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California
Paul G. Lillis, Augusta Warden, George E. Claypool, Leslie B. Magoon
2008, Professional Paper 1713-10
The San Joaquin Basin Province is a petroliferous basin filled with predominantly Late Cretaceous to Pliocene-aged sediments, with organic-rich marine rocks of Late Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene age providing the source of most of the oil and gas. Previous geochemical studies have focused on the origin of the oil in...
Bjørn Bølviken - 2008 IAGC Vernadsky medalist
David B. Smith
2008, Newsletter of the International Association of GeoChemistry (49) 6-6
Prof. Bjørn Bølviken, 80, formerly with the Geological Survey of Norway, was the 2nd recipient of the IAGC's Vernadsky Medal. The IAGC Vernadsky Medal is awarded biennially to a single person for a distinguished record of scientific accomplishment in geochemistry over the course of a career. Dr. David Smith of...
Development of hazard-compatible building fragility and vulnerability models
E. Karaca, N. Luco
2008, Conference Paper, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering: October 12-17, 2008, Beijing, China
We present a methodology for transforming the structural and non-structural fragility functions in HAZUS into a format that is compatible with conventional seismic hazard analysis information. The methodology makes use of the building capacity (or pushover) curves and related building parameters provided in HAZUS. Instead of the capacity spectrum method...
Miocene Total Petroleum System -- Lower Bakersfield Arch Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province: Chapter 14 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California
Donald L. Gautier, Allegra Hosford Scheirer
2008, Professional Paper 1713-14
The Lower Bakersfield Arch Assessment Unit (AU) of the Miocene Total Petroleum System (San Joaquin Basin Province) is primarily defined by the distribution of hydrocarbons generated from biosiliceous shale of the Monterey Formation and by the distribution of basinal-facies sandstones of the Stevens sand of Eckis (1940; hereafter referred to...
Rapid Assessment of earthquake-induced landsliding
J. W. Godt, B. Sener, K.L. Verdin, D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, E. L. Harp, R.W. Jibson
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the First World Landslide Forum, November 18 - 21, Tokyo, Japan: Parallel Sessions Volume, International Program on Landslides
The Pacific Northwest in the United States including Seattle, Washington, experienced unusually heavy rainfall in the winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997, which caused numerous landslides. Following these two winters, the City of Seattle resolved to reduce future landslide losses within its jurisdiction. By coincidence, in 1997 the U.S. Geological Survey...
