Relating systematic molecular and textural properties of graptolite pyrolyzed via gold tube hydrous pyrolysis: Implications for thermal proxies in lower Paleozoic marine shales
Xiaowei Zheng, Hamed Sanei, Fujie Jiang, Qingyong Luo, Yewei Wang, Jennifer Nedzweckas, Brett J. Valentine, Martha Stokes, Liu Cao, Paul C. Hackley
2025, International Journal of Coal Geology (306)
A series of gold tube pyrolysis experiments (72 h, 300–550 °C, 50 MPa) conducted on a graptolite-rich lower Paleozoic marine shale generated pyrolysis residues for a comprehensive evaluation of the molecular and structural variability of three types of graptolite periderm. Organic petrology, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy...
Oligocene–Miocene development and evolution of the south Dome Rock Mountains basin, lower Colorado River corridor, Arizona, USA
Timothy A. Brickey, Paul J. Umhoefer, Scott E.K. Bennett, Christine Regalla, Nancy R. Riggs, Skyler Pendleton Mavor
2025, Geosphere (21) 352-389
Sedimentary basins in the Colorado River extensional corridor record large-magnitude Basin and Range extension and younger dextral shear deformation in the evolving Pacific−North America plate boundary. The south Dome Rock Mountains basin is located in west-central Arizona (USA), where the history of basin evolution, style of deformation, and timing of...
Machine learning provides reconnaissance-type estimates of carbon dioxide storage resources in oil and gas reservoirs
Emil Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman, Timothy C. Coburn
2025, Frontiers in Enviornmental Science (13)
Oil and gas reservoirs represent suitable containers to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) in a supercritical state because they are accessible, reservoir properties are known, and they previously contained stored buoyant fluids. However, planners must quantify the relative magnitude of the CO2 storage resource in these reservoirs to formulate a comprehensive strategy...
Prospectivity modeling of the NASA VIPER landing site at Mons Mouton near the Lunar South Pole
Joshua Aaron Coyan, Matthew Siegler, José Martinez-Comacho, Ross A. Beyer, Mark Shirley
2025, Planetary Science Journal (6)
We use a high-resolution digital elevation model and a numerical thermal model to produce a variety of inputs for a water-ice prospectivity model for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) landing site. These input data are maps of topography, surface slope, surface aspect, surface curvature, maximum temperature, depth to...
From hydrated silica to quartz: Potential hydrothermal precipitates found in Jezero crater, Mars
P.S.A. Beck, O. Beyssac, E. Dehouck, S. Bernard, M. Pineau, L. Mandon, C. Royer, E. Clave, S. Schroder, O. Forni, R. Francis, N. Mangold, C. Bedford, A. Broz, E.A. Cloutis, J.R. Johnson, F. Poulet, T. Fouchet, C. Quantin-Nataf, C. Pilorget, W. Rapin, P.-Y. Meslin, Travis S.J. Gabriel, G. Arana, J.M. Madariaga, A.J. Brown, S. Maurice, S. M. Clegg, O. Gasnault, A. Cousin, R.C. Wiens, The SuperCam Team
2025, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (656)
On Earth, silica-rich phases from opal to quartz are important indicators and tracers of geological processes. Hydrated silica, such as opal, is a particularly good matrix for the preservation of molecular and macroscopic biosignatures. Cherts, a type of silica-dominated rocks, provide a unique archive of ancient terrestrial life while quartz...
Characterizing Meteor Crater impact melts through geochemistry and textural analysis
Amber L. Gullikson, Tenielle A. Gaither, Justin Hagerty
2025, Open-File Report 2024-1062
The U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center houses the Meteor Crater sample collection, an assemblage of over 2,500 meters of cuttings from 161 drill holes into Meteor Crater’s rim, flanks, and ejecta blanket. We have utilized this unique collection to study the composition and spatial distribution of impact-generated materials from...
Nanometer-scale relationships between sedimentary organic matter molecular composition, fluorescence, cathodoluminescence, and reflectance: The importance of oxygen content at low thermal maturities
Aaron M. Jubb, Paul C. Hackley, Ryan J. McAleer, Jing Qu
2025, Organic Geochemistry (204)
Molecular characterization of sedimentary organic matter (SOM), termed macerals, is a common goal when seeking to understand petroleum generation as well as other geologic processes in deep time. However, unambiguous measurement of discrete macerals is challenging due to the small size of organic particles in sedimentary rocks, the proximity of...
Temporal and spatial comparison of coal mine ventilation methane emissions and mitigation quantified using PRISMA satellite data and on-site measurements
C. Ozgen Karacan, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, Robert A. Field, Peter D. Warwick
2025, Science of the Total Environment (975)
Emission monitoring at the facility level (bottom-up, BU) is key for accurate reporting of coal mine methane (CMM) emissions. Recent advances in aerial and satellite observations (top-down, TD) indicate that these methods have the potential to support CMM emissions monitoring and reporting of, as well as track the effectiveness of,...
U.S. Geological Survey global seabed mineral resources
U.S. Geological Survey
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides science and data on seabed mineral resources and ecosystems, as well as on the potential hazards associated with extraction. The Nation relies on minerals for infrastructure, technology, manufacturing, and energy production. Critical minerals are essential to the economic and national security of the United...
Fossil diatoms in Arctic marine surface sediments
Christof Pearce, Beth Elaine Caissie, Alice Carter-Champion, Audrey Limoges, Tiia Luostarinen, Gavin L. Simpson, Kaarina Weckstrom
2025, Newsletter
Diatoms are one of the main constituents of marine phytoplankton in the Arctic, and thanks to their siliceous skeletons, diatom fossils are relatively well preserved in sediments. Due to their species-specific sensitivity to different ocean conditions, their abundance and assemblages in sediments are routinely used by paleoceanographers to reconstruct the...
Wangyanite, PdNi8S8, a new Pd end-member mineral of the pentlandite group from the J-M reef, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA
Chen Chen, Haiyang Xian, Christopher Jenkins, Zhuosen Yao, Yiping Yang, Xiaoju Lin, Shan Li, Jiaxin Xi, Yuhuan Yuan, Jianxi Zhu, Hongping He
2025, American Mineralogist (110) 1844-1853
Wangyanite (IMA2024-008a), ideally PdNi8S8, is a Pd end-member mineral of the pentlandite group that was discovered in the J-M reef of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA. Wangyanite occurs as anhedral-subhedral granular crystals 200–400 µm in size, associated with isoferroplatinum, braggite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite interstitial to plagioclase grains within anorthosite. Wangyanite exhibits...
World minerals outlook—Cobalt, gallium, helium, lithium, magnesium, palladium, platinum, and titanium through 2029
Elisa Alonso, Amanda Sarah Brioche, Ruth Schulte, Loyd M. Trimmer III, Ji-Eun Kim, Andrew L. Gulley, David Pineault
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5021
Given the rapid expansion in the demand for mineral commodities that underpin worldwide economic growth and technological advancement, information regarding expected country-level mine production and production capacity is becoming increasingly important to industry stakeholders, end users, and policymakers. Production capacity can limit future supply, depending on how rapidly that capacity...
Effect of copper mill waste material on benthic invertebrates and zooplankton diversity and abundance
James H. Larson, Michael R. Lowe, Sean Bailey, Amanda H. Bell, Danielle M. Cleveland
2025, PLoS ONE (20)
Copper (Cu) stamp mill mining in North America from the early 1900s produced a pulverized ore by-product now known as stamp sands (SS). In a mining operation near the city of Gay (Michigan, USA), SS were originally deposited near a Lake Superior beach, but erosion and wave action have moved...
Summary of results from monitoring the Geysers with continuous passive seismic and repeat magnetotelluric measurements (2021-2023)
Jared R. Peacock, David Alumbaugh, Roland Gritto, Evan Um, Craig Ulrich, Michael A. Mitchell, Craig Hartline
2025, Conference Paper
Understanding temporal variations in a geothermal field can support operators in decision making that pertains to optimizing production and mitigating hazards. Between 2021 and 2023, The Geysers geothermal field in northern California was monitored with an array of continuous passive seismic sensors and annual repeat magnetotelluric (MT) measurements. Each of...
Tracking diagenetic alteration of magnetic susceptibility in thrust ridge and slope basin sediments of the Cascadia margin (ODP Sites 1249 and 1252; IODP Site U1325)
Stephen C. Phillips, Joel E. Johnson, William Clyde, Wei-Li Hong, Jacob Setera, Marta E. Torres
2025, Marine Geology (483)
We investigated sediment core records from the Cascadia Margin (Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1249 and 1252 at Hydrate Ridge; Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1325 offshore Vancouver Island) using a Zr/Rb heavy mineral proxy from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning to identify intervals of primary detrital magnetic susceptibility (κ) and...
Geologic map of the Buckner 7.5-Minute quadrangle, Louisa County, Virginia
Mark W. Carter, David B. Spears, Virginia M. Latane, E. Allen Crider, Jr., Benjamin R. Weinmann, Holly Mangum, Ryan J. McAleer, J. Wright Horton, Jr., Anjana K. Shah, Sean P. Regan
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3533
The Buckner 7.5-minute quadrangle straddles three terrane boundaries in the Piedmont Physiographic Province in central Virginia: the Chopawamsic terrane, the Elk Hill Complex, and the Goochland terrane. In much of the map area, the Elk Hill Complex separates the Chopawamsic and Goochland terranes. Rocks of the Chopawamsic terrane include Ordovician...
AAPG Energy and Minerals Division Tight Oil and Gas Committee Activities and Commodity Report for 2021-2022: Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast basin, Louisiana and Mississippi
Celeste D. Lohr
2025, Preprint
The Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) potential production area encompasses 20.4 million acres across central Louisiana (LA), southern Mississippi (MS), southwestern Alabama (AL), and a small southwestern section of the Florida panhandle (Hackley et al., 2018). It remains a minor and largely undeveloped unconventional shale oil play with production...
Update of the 2008 provisional Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) assessment for the Great Basin, USA
Erick R. Burns, Junyuan Zhang, Hongbin Zhan, Colin F. Williams
2025, Conference Paper, Proceedings 50th Stanford Geothermal Workshop
In response to the Energy Act of 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is updating the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) resource assessment for the Great Basin, USA. The previous 2008 provisional assessment estimated how much electricity could be generated from EGS resources of the western United States using models of...
Mineral commodity summaries 2025
U.S. Geological Survey
2025, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025
Introduction Each mineral commodity chapter of the 2025 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production, reserves,...
Towards mobile wind measurements using joust configured ultrasonic anemometer for applications in gas flux quantification
Derek Hollenbeck, Colin W. Edgar, Eugenie Euskirchen, Kristen L. Manies
2025, Drones (9)
Small uncrewed aerial systems (sUASs) can be used to quantify emissions of greenhouse and other gases, providing flexibility in quantifying these emissions from a multitude of sources, including oil and gas infrastructure, volcano plumes, wildfire emissions, and natural sources. However, sUAS-based emission estimates are sensitive to the accuracy of wind...
Tracing metal sources and groundwater flow paths in the Upper Animas River watershed using rare earth elements and stable isotopes
Connor P. Newman, Rory M. Cowie, Rick Wilkin, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler
2025, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (25)
Groundwater flow paths and processes that govern metal mobility and transport are difficult to characterize in mountainous bedrock watersheds. Despite the difficulty in holistic characterization, conceptual understanding of subsurface hydrologic and geochemical processes is key to developing remediation plans for locations affected by acid mine drainage, such as the Upper...
Widespread occurrence of former anhydrite phenocrysts in Laramide-age magmas related to porphyry-skarn Cu mineralization at Santa Rita and Hanover-Fierro, New Mexico, USA
Andreas Audétat, Jia Chang, Sean Patrick Gaynor
2025, Journal of Petrology (66)
Reports of magmatic anhydrite are relatively rare, with only ~30 occurrences documented worldwide so far. However, magmatic anhydrite saturation is difficult to recognize because anhydrite decomposes rapidly in near-surface environments. In most cases, only anhydrite inclusions shielded within other phenocryst phases were able to survive. Alternatively, since anhydrite phenocrysts preserved...
Physicochemical properties and bioreactivity of sub-10 µm geogenic particles: Comparison of volcanic ash and desert dust
Ines Tomašek, Julia Eychenne, David Damby, Adrian Hornby, Manolis N Romanias, Severine Moune, Gaëlle Uzu, Federica Schiavi, Maeva Dole, Emmanuel Gardes, Mickael Laumonier, Clara Gorce, Regine Minet-Quinard, Julie Durif, Corinne Belville, Ousmane Traore, Loic Blanchon, Vincent Sapin
2025, GeoHealth (9)
Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 μm (PM10) is a well-established health hazard. There is increasing evidence that geogenic (Earth-derived) particles can induce adverse biological effects upon inhalation, though there is high variability in particle bioreactivity that is associated with particle source and physicochemical properties....
Hypothetical CO2 leakage into, and hydrological plume management within, an underground source of drinking water at a proposed CO2 storage facility, Kemper County, Mississippi, USA
Michelle R. Plampin, Matthew D. Merrill
2025, Environmental Geosciences (84)
A large Geologic Carbon Sequestration (GCS) hub has been proposed in Kemper County, Mississippi. The target injection interval consists of numerous Cretaceous-aged deep saline aquifers overlain by a competent and extensive regional sealing layer. Above the seal, the deepest Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW) at the site is the...
The influence of pre-existing structures on geothermal springs: Inferences from potential field mapping in Surprise Valley, CA and other sites In the northwestern Great Basin
Jonathan M.G. Glen, Tait E. Earney
2025, Conference Paper, Using the Earth to save the Earth
Surprise Valley, located in the northwestern Great Basin, is an asymmetric extensional basin that marks a major tectonic transition between the relatively un-extended volcanic Modoc Plateau to the west, and the Basin and Range to the east that has undergone 10-15% extension. In addition, it sits just north of...
