Gypsum
R.D. Crangle
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 49-50
The United States is the world’s fifth ranked producer and consumer of gypsum. Production of crude gypsum in the United States during 2012 was estimated to be 9.9 Mt (10.9 million st), an increase of 11 percent compared with 2011 production. The average price of mined crude gypsum was $7/t...
Gemstones
D.W. Olson
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 45-46
The estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits during 2012 was $11.1 million, a slight increase from 2011. U.S. gemstone production included agate, amber, beryl, coral, garnet, jade, jasper, opal, pearl, quartz, sapphire, shell, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise and many other gem materials....
Fluorspar
M. Miller
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 42-43
World fluorspar demand slowed in 2012 and, according to some sources prices decreased, especially in the latter half of the year. In 2012, nearly all fluorspar (CaF2) consumption in the United States was from imports. Hastie Mining and Trucking Co. produced some fluorspar as a byproduct of its limestone quarry...
Fire clay
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 41-41
Four companies mined fire clay in three states in 2012. Production, based on a preliminary survey of the fire clay industry, was estimated to be 230 kt (254,000 st) valued at $6.98 million, an increase from 215 kt (237,000 st) valued at $6.15 million in 2011. Missouri was the leading...
Diatomite
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 39-40
The United States continues to be the world’s leading producer and consumer of diatomite. Production of diatomite in the United States during 2012 was estimated to be 820 kt (903,000 st), a slight increase compared with 2011 production. The unit value of diatomite varied widely by end use in 2012....
Common clay and shale
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 36-37
Common clay is a natural, fine-grained material composed of hydrous aluminum silicates. Shale is a laminated sedimentary rock formed by the consolidation of clay, mud and or silt....
Bromine
J.A. Ober
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 29-30
The element bromine is found principally as a dissolved species in seawater, evaporitic (salt) lakes and underground brines associated with petroleum deposits. Seawater contains about 65 parts per million of bromine or an estimated 907 Gt (100 trillion st). In the Middle East, the highly saline waters of the Dead...
Borates
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 28-29
Four minerals represent 90 percent of the borates used by industry worldwide — the sodium borates (tincal and kernite), calcium borate (colemanite) and the sodium-calcium borate (ulexite). Borax is a white crystalline substance, chemically known as sodium tetraborate decahydrate, and is found naturally as the mineral tincal. Boric acid is...
Bauxite and alumina
E. Lee Bray
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 24-25
The United States is reliant upon imports for nearly all of the bauxite that it consumes. Small amounts of bauxite and bauxitic clays are produced in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia for nonmetallurgical uses. Metallurgical-grade bauxite (crude dry) imports in 2012 totaled 10.3 Mt (11.3 million st), 8 percent more than...
Barite
M. Miller
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 23-24
Barite is the mineralogical name for barium sulfate, which is also referred to as barytes. The most basic marketable product is known as “crude barite,” which is barite that usually has undergone simple beneficiation methods, such as jigging, tabling and washing, or more complex methods, such as flotation, heavy-media separation...
Ball clay
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 22-23
Four companies — H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Inc., Imerys, Old Hickory Clay Co. and Unimin Corp. — mined ball clay in five U.S. states in 2012. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 900 kt (992,000 st), with an estimated value of $42.3 million. This was a slight increase...
Enhanced innate immune responses in a brood parasitic cowbird species: degranulation and oxidative burst
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
2013, Avian Diseases (57) 285-289
We examined the relative effectiveness of two innate immune responses in two species of New World blackbirds (Passeriformes, Icteridae) that differ in resistance to West Nile virus (WNV). We measured degranulation and oxidative burst, two fundamental components of phagocytosis, and we predicted that the functional effectiveness of these innate immune...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the "1,500-foot" sand and "2,000-foot" sand and movement of saltwater in the "2,000-foot" sand of the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana
Charles E. Heywood, Jason M. Griffith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1153
Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Groundwater investigations in the 1960s identified a freshwater-saltwater interface located at the Baton Rouge Fault, across which abrupt changes in water levels occur. Aquifers south of the fault generally contain saltwater, and aquifers north of the...
Total suspended solids concentrations and yields for water-quality monitoring stations in Gwinnett County, Georgia, 1996-2009
Mark N. Landers
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1145
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established a water-quality monitoring program during late 1996 to collect comprehensive, consistent, high-quality data for use by watershed managers. As of 2009, continuous streamflow and water-quality data as well as discrete water-quality samples were being collected...
Mineral resource of the month: barite
M. Michael Miller
2013, Earth (2013) 55-55
Mineral resource of the month: nickel
Peter H. Kuck
2013, Earth (2013) 57-57
A multi-decade time series of kelp forest community structure at San Nicolas Island, California
Kevin D. Lafferty, Michael C. Kenner, James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, James L. Bodkin, Robert K. Cowen, Christopher Harrold, Mark Novak, Andrew Rassweiler, Daniel C. Reed
2013, Ecology (94)
San Nicolas Island is surrounded by broad areas of shallow subtidal habitat, characterized by dynamic kelp forest communities that undergo dramatic and abrupt shifts in community composition. Although these reefs are fished, the physical isolation of the island means that they receive less impact from human activities than most reefs...
Ecological impacts of energy-wood harvests: Lessons from whole-tree harvesting and natural disturbance
Alaina L. Berger, Brian Palik, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, John B. Bradford, Keith H. Nislow, David King, Robert T. Brooks
2013, Journal of Forestry (111) 139-153
Recent interest in using forest residues and small-diameter material for biofuels is generating a renewed focus on harvesting impacts and forest sustainability. The rich legacy of research from whole-tree harvesting studies can be examined in light of this interest. Although this research largely focused on consequences for forest productivity, in...
Consideration of vertical uncertainty in elevation-based sea-level rise assessments: Mobile Bay, Alabama case study
Dean B. Gesch
2013, Journal of Coastal Research (63) 197-210
The accuracy with which coastal topography has been mapped directly affects the reliability and usefulness of elevationbased sea-level rise vulnerability assessments. Recent research has shown that the qualities of the elevation data must be well understood to properly model potential impacts. The cumulative vertical uncertainty has contributions from elevation data...
The predicted influence of climate change on lesser prairie-chicken reproductive parameters
Blake A. Grisham, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos, D. Davis, Kathy K. Boydston, Charles Dixon, Willard R. Heck
2013, PLoS ONE (8) 1-10
The Southern High Plains is anticipated to experience significant changes in temperature and precipitation due to climate change. These changes may influence the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in positive or negative ways. We assessed the potential changes in clutch size, incubation start date, and nest survival for lesser prairie-chickens for...
Geology, water-quality, hydrology, and geomechanics of the Cuyama Valley groundwater basin, California, 2008--12
Rhett R. Everett, Dennis R. Gibbs, Randall T. Hanson, Donald S. Sweetkind, Justin T. Brandt, Sarah E. Falk, Christopher R. Harich
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5108
To assess the water resources of the Cuyama Valley groundwater basin in Santa Barbara County, California, a series of cooperative studies were undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Santa Barbara County Water Agency. Between 2008 and 2012, geologic, water-quality, hydrologic and geomechanical data were collected from selected sites...
Construction of 3-D geologic framework and textural models for Cuyama Valley groundwater basin, California
Donald S. Sweetkind, Claudia C. Faunt, Randall T. Hanson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5127
Groundwater is the sole source of water supply in Cuyama Valley, a rural agricultural area in Santa Barbara County, California, in the southeasternmost part of the Coast Ranges of California. Continued groundwater withdrawals and associated water-resource management concerns have prompted an evaluation of the hydrogeology and water availability for the...
Accuracy assessment of a mobile terrestrial lidar survey at Padre Island National Seashore
Samsung Lim, Cindy A. Thatcher, John Brock, Dustin R. Kimbrow, Jeffrey J. Danielson, B.J. Reynolds
2013, International Journal of Remote Sensing (34) 6355-6366
The higher point density and mobility of terrestrial laser scanning (light detection and ranging (lidar)) is desired when extremely detailed elevation data are needed for mapping vertically orientated complex features such as levees, dunes, and cliffs, or when highly accurate data are needed for monitoring geomorphic changes. Mobile terrestrial lidar...
Preliminary stratigraphic and hydrogeologic cross sections and seismic profile of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1141
To help water-resource managers evaluate the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) as an alternative water supply, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study, in cooperation with the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department, to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the FAS in the eastern part of Broward County. This...
Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract
I. B. Kuffner, T.D. Hickey, J.M. Morrison
2013, Coral Reefs (32) 987-997
Coral reefs are degrading on a global scale, and rates of reef-organism calcification are predicted to decline due to ocean warming and acidification. Systematic measurements of calcification over space and time are necessary to detect change resulting from environmental stressors. We established a network of calcification monitoring stations at four...
