Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Duane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth
2018, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (354) 67-73
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow...
Brook trout distributional response to unconventional oil and gas development: Landscape context matters
Eric R. Merriam, J. Todd Petty, Kelly O. Maloney, John A. Young, Stephen Faulkner, E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Atesmachew Hailegiorgis, Jonathan M. Niles
2018, Science of the Total Environment (628-629) 338-349
We conducted a large-scale assessment of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development effects on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) distribution. We compiled 2231 brook trout collection records from the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed, USA. We used boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis to predict occurrence probability at the 1:24,000 stream-segment scale as...
Stress concentrations at structural discontinuities in active fault zones in the western United States: Implications for permeability and fluid flow in geothermal fields
Drew L. Siler, Nicholas H. Hinz, James E. Faulds
2018, GSA Bulletin (130) 1273-1288
Slip can induce concentration of stresses at discontinuities along fault systems. These structural discontinuities, i.e., fault terminations, fault step-overs, intersections, bends, and other fault interaction areas, are known to host fluid flow in ore deposition systems, oil and gas reservoirs, and geothermal systems. We modeled stress transfer associated with slip...
The geochemistry of loess: Asian and North American deposits compared
Daniel R. Muhs
2018, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (155) 81-115
Loess is widely distributed over Asia and North America and constitutes one of the most important surficial deposits that serve as terrestrial records of the Quaternary. The oldest Pleistocene loess in China is likely ∼2.6 Ma, thus spanning much or all of the Pleistocene. In North America, most loess is no...
Quaternary sea-level history and the origin of the northernmost coastal aeolianites in the Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, R. Randall Schumann, Gary L. Skipp, Naomi Porat, Stephen B. DeVogel
2018, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (491) 38-76
Along most of the Pacific Coast of North America, sand dunes are dominantly silicate-rich. On the California Channel Islands, however, dunes are carbonate-rich, due to high productivity offshore and a lack of dilution by silicate minerals. Older sands on the Channel Islands contain enough carbonate to be cemented into aeolianite....
Volcanic ash activates the NLRP3 inflammasome in murine and human macrophages
David Damby, Claire J. Horwell, Peter J. Baxter, Ulrich Kueppers, Max Schnurr, Donald B. Dingwell, Peter Duewell
2018, Frontiers in Immunology (8)
Volcanic ash is a heterogeneous mineral dust that is typically composed of a mixture of amorphous (glass) and crystalline (mineral) fragments. It commonly contains an abundance of the crystalline silica (SiO2) polymorph cristobalite. Inhalation of crystalline silica can induce inflammation by stimulating the NLRP3 inflammasome, a cytosolic receptor complex that...
The Colorado River and its deposits downstream from Grand Canyon in Arizona, California, and Nevada
Ryan S. Crow, Debra L. Block, Tracey J. Felger, Kyle House, Philip A. Pearthree, Brian F. Gootee, Ann M. Youberg, Keith A. Howard, L. Sue Beard
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1005
Understanding the evolution of the Colorado River system has direct implications for (1) the processes and timing of continental-scale river system integration, (2) the formation of iconic landscapes like those in and around Grand Canyon, and (3) the availability of groundwater resources. Spatial patterns in the position and type of...
The suitability of using dissolved gases to determine groundwater discharge to high gradient streams
Tom Gleeson, Andrew H. Manning, Andrea Popp, Mathew Zane, Jordan F. Clark
2018, Journal of Hydrology (557) 561-572
Determining groundwater discharge to streams using dissolved gases is known to be useful over a wide range of streamflow rates but the suitability of dissolved gas methods to determine discharge rates in high gradient mountain streams has not been sufficiently tested, even though headwater streams are critical as ecological habitats...
Radium mobility and the age of groundwater in public-drinking-water supplies from the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system, north-central USA
Paul E. Stackelberg, Zoltan Szabo, Bryant C. Jurgens
2018, Applied Geochemistry (89) 34-48
High radium (Ra) concentrations in potable portions of the Cambrian-Ordovician (C-O) aquifer system were investigated using water-quality data and environmental tracers (3H, 3Hetrit, SF6, 14C and 4Herad) of groundwater age from 80 public-supply wells (PSWs). Groundwater ages were estimated by calibration of tracers to lumped parameter models and ranged from modern (<50 yr) in...
Determining mineralogical variations of aeolian deposits using thermal infrared emissivity and linear deconvolution methods
Bernard E. Hubbard, Donald M. Hooper, Federico Solano, John C. Mars
2018, Aeolian Research (30) 54-96
We apply linear deconvolution methods to derive mineral and glass proportions for eight field sample training sites at seven dune fields: (1) Algodones, California; (2) Big Dune, Nevada; (3) Bruneau, Idaho; (4) Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Alaska; (5) Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado; (6) Sunset Crater, Arizona;...
Detecting geothermal anomalies and evaluating LST geothermal component by combining thermal remote sensing time series and land surface model data
Mireia Romaguera, R. Greg Vaughan, J. Ettema, E. Izquierdo-Verdiguier, C. A. Hecker, van der Meer
2018, Remote Sensing of Environment (204) 534-552
This paper explores for the first time the possibilities to use two land surface temperature (LST) time series of different origins (geostationary Meteosat Second Generation satellite data and Noah land surface modelling, LSM), to detect geothermal anomalies and extract the geothermal component of LST, the LSTgt. We hypothesize that...
Punctuated sediment discharge during early Pliocene birth of the Colorado River: Evidence from regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology
Rebecca J. Dorsey, Brennan O’Connell, Kristin McDougall-Reid, Mindy B. Homan
2018, Sedimentary Geology (363) 1-33
The Colorado River in the southwestern U.S. provides an excellent natural laboratory for studying the origins of a continent-scale river system, because deposits that formed prior to and during river initiation are well exposed in the lower river valley and nearby basinal sink. This paper presents a synthesis of...
Ore-forming adakitic porphyry produced by fractional crystallization of oxidized basaltic magmas in a subcrustal chamber (Jiamate, East Junggar, NW China)
Tao Hong, Xing-Wang Xu, Jungang Gao, Stephen Peters, Di Zhang, Reyaniguli Jielili, Peng Xiang, Hao Li, Chu Wu, Jun You, Jie Liu, Qiang Ke
2018, LITHOS (296-299) 96-112
Adakitic intrusions are supposed to have a close genetic and spatial relationship to porphyry Cu deposits. However, the genesis of adakitic intrusions is still under dispute. Here, we describe newly discovered intrusive complex rocks, which are composed of ore-bearing, layered magnetite-bearing gabbroic and adakitic rocks in Jiamate, East Junggar,...
Lead and strontium isotopes as monitors of anthropogenic contaminants in the surficial environment
Robert A. Ayuso, Nora K. Foley
2018, Book chapter, Environmental Geochemistry
Isotopic discrimination can be an effective tool in establishing a direct link between sources of Pb contamination and the presence of anomalously high concentrations of Pb in waters, soils, and organisms. Residential wells supplying water containing up to 1600 ppb Pb to houses built on the former Mohr orchards commercial site,...
Mapping of compositional properties of coal using isometric log-ratio transformation and sequential Gaussian simulation – A comparative study for spatial ultimate analyses data
C. Ozgen Karacan, Ricardo A. Olea
2018, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (186) 36-49
Chemical properties of coal largely determine coal handling, processing, beneficiation methods, and design of coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, these properties impact coal strength, coal blending during mining, as well as coal's gas content, which is important for mining safety. In order for these processes and quantitative predictions to be successful, safer, and...
Networking our science to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter
Jennifer W. Harden, Gustaf Hugelius, Anders Ahlstrom, Joseph C. Blankinship, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Corey Lawrence, Julie Loisel, Avni Malhotra, Robert B. Jackson, Stephen M. Ogle, Claire Phillips, Rebecca Ryals, Katherine Todd-Brown, Rodrigo Vargas, Sintana E. Vergara, M. Francesca Cotrufo, Marco Keiluweit, Katherine Heckman, Susan E. Crow, Whendee L. Silver, Marcia DeLonge, Lucas E. Nave
2018, Global Change Biology (24) e705-e718
Soil organic matter (SOM) supports the Earth's ability to sustain terrestrial ecosystems, provide food and fiber, and retains the largest pool of actively cycling carbon. Over 75% of the soil organic carbon (SOC) in the top meter of soil is directly affected by human land use. Large land areas have...
A sequential selective dissolution method to quantify storage and stability of organic carbon associated with Al and Fe hydroxide phases
Katherine Heckman, Corey R. Lawrence, Jennifer W. Harden
2018, Geoderma (312) 24-35
Stabilization of SOM (soil organic matter) is regulated in part by sorption and desorption reactions happening at mineral surfaces, as well as precipitation and dissolution of organo-metal complexes. Fe and Al hydroxides play a particularly significant role in SOM stabilization in soils due to their ubiquitous distribution and their highly reactive surface...
Reclamation after oil and gas development does not speed up succession or plant community recovery in big sagebrush ecosystems in Wyoming
Caitlin M. Rottler, Ingrid C. Burke, Kyle A. Palmquist, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth
2018, Restoration Ecology (26) 114-123
Article for intended outlet: Restoration Ecology. Abstract: Reclamation is an application of treatment(s) following a disturbance to promote succession and accelerate the return of target conditions. Previous studies have framed reclamation in the context of succession by studying its effectiveness in re-establishing late-successional plant communities. Re-establishment of these plant communities...
Recent trends in Cuba’s mining and petroleum industries
Susan Wacaster, Michael S. Baker, Yadira Soto-Viruet, Steven D. Textoris
2018, Fact Sheet 2015-3032
In response to recent diplomatic developments between Cuba and the United States, the National Minerals Information Center compiled available information on the mineral industries of Cuba. This fact sheet highlights a new map and table that identify mines, mineral processing facilities, and petroleum facilities as well as information on location,...
Quality of water from crystalline rock aquifers in New England, New Jersey, and New York, 1995-2007
Sarah M. Flanagan, Joseph D. Ayotte, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr.
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5220
Crystalline bedrock aquifers in New England and parts of New Jersey and New York (NECR aquifers) are a major source of drinking water. Because the quality of water in these aquifers is highly variable, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) statistically analyzed chemical data on samples of untreated groundwater collected from...
A fossiliferous spherule-rich bed at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary in Mississippi, USA: Implications for the K–Pg mass extinction event in the Mississippi Embayment and Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain
James D. Witts, Neil H. Landman, Matthew P. Garb, Caitlin Boas, Ekaterina Larina, Remy Rovelli, Lucy E. Edwards, Robert Sherrell, J. Kirk Cochran
2018, Cretaceous Research (91) 147-167
We describe an outcrop of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary exposed due to construction near New Albany, Union County, Mississippi. It consists of the Owl Creek Formation and overlying Clayton Formation. The Owl Creek Formation is rich in the ammonites Discoscaphites iris and Eubaculites carinatus, which, along with biostratigraphically important dinoflagellate...
Multiscale hyperspectral imaging of the Orange Hill Porphyry Copper Deposit, Alaska, USA, with laboratory-, field-, and aircraft-based imaging spectrometers
Raymond F. Kokaly, Garth E. Graham, Todd M. Hoefen, Karen D. Kelley, Michaela R. Johnson, Bernard E. Hubbard, M. Buchhorn, A. Prakash
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of Exploration 17: Sixth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration
In the past decade, use of hyperspectral imaging (imaging spectroscopy) for mineral exploration and mining operations has been increasing at different spatial scales. In this paper, we focus on recent trends in applying imaging spectrometer data to: 1) airborne imaging of high latitude deposits, 2) field-based imaging of outcrops, and...
Element migration of pyrites during ductile deformation of the Yuleken porphyry Cu deposit (NW-China)
Tao Hong, Xing-Wang Xu, Jungang Gao, Stephen Peters, Jilei Li, Mingjian Cao, Peng Xiang, Chu Wu, Jun You
2017, Ore Geology Reviews (100) 205-219
The strongly deformed Yuleken porphyry Cu deposit (YPCD) occurs in the Kalaxiangar porphyry Cu belt (KPCB), which occupies the central area of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) between the Sawu’er island arc and the Altay Terrane in northern Xinjiang. The YPCD is one of several typical subduction-related deposits in...
Control of landslide volume and hazard by glacial stratigraphic architecture, Northwest Washington state, USA
Jonathan Perkins, Mark E. Reid, Kevin M. Schmidt
2017, Geology (45) 1139-1142
Landslide volumes span many orders of magnitude, but large-volume slides tend to travel farther and consequently can pose a greater hazard. In northwest Washington State, USA, a landscape abounding with landslides big and small, the recent occurrence of the large-volume and tragically deadly State Route 530 (Oso) landslide is a stark reminder of...
Geochemical modeling for mine site characterization and remediation
D. Kirk Nordstrom, Andrew Nicholson, editor(s)
2017, Book
Geochemical Modeling for Mine Site Characterization and Remediation is the fourth of six volumes in the Management Technologies for Metal Mining Infl uenced Water series about technologies for management of metal mine and metallurgical process drainage.This handbook describes the important components of hydrogeochemical modeling for mine environments, primarily those mines where...