Characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: a review
Nadine M. Piatak, Michael B. Parsons, Robert R. Seal II
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 236-266
Slag is a waste product from the pyrometallurgical processing of various ores. Based on over 150 published studies, this paper provides an overview of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of different types of slag and their environmental consequences, particularly from the release of potentially toxic elements to water. This chapter...
Geochemical and mineralogical sampling of the Devonian shales in the Broadtop synclinorium, Appalachian basin, in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
Catherine B. Enomoto, James L. Coleman Jr., Christopher S. Swezey, Patrick W. Niemeyer, Frank T. Dulong
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1061
Reconnaissance field mapping and outcrop sampling for geochemical and mineralogical analyses indicate that the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in the Broadtop synclinorium and nearby areas from southeastern West Virginia to south-central Pennsylvania has an organic content sufficiently high and a thermal maturity sufficiently moderate to be considered for a shale...
Moment tensors and other source parameters of mining‐induced earthquakes in TauTona Mine, South Africa
Margaret S. Boettcher, Deborah L. Kane, Arthur F. McGarr, Malcolm J. S. Johnston, Ze’ev Reches
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 1576-1593
Induced seismicity exhibits diverse source mechanisms that are often difficult to constrain for small events. Here, we use data from the in‐mine seismic network, the Natural Earthquake Laboratory in South African Mines network, and a temporary Program for the Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere deployment in TauTona Mine,...
Comparing activated alumina with indigenous laterite and bauxite as potential sorbents for removing fluoride from drinking water in Ghana
Laura Craig, Lisa L. Stillings, David L. Decker, James M. Thomas
2015, Applied Geochemistry (56) 50-66
Fluoride is considered beneficial to teeth and bones when consumed in low concentrations, but at elevated concentrations it can cause dental and skeletal fluorosis. Most fluoride-related health problems occur in poor, rural communities of the developing world where groundwater fluoride concentrations are high and the primary sources of drinking water...
Intertidal biological indicators of coseismic subsidence during the Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii, Canada, earthquake
Peter J. Haeussler, Robert C. Witter, Kelin Wang
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 1265-1279
The 28 October 2012 Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii earthquake was a megathrust earthquake along the very obliquely convergent Queen Charlotte margin of British Columbia, Canada. Coseismic deformation is not well constrained by geodesy, with only six Global Positioning System (GPS) sites and two tide gauge stations within 250 km of the rupture area....
Water quality of groundwater and stream base flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia, 2011-12
Douglas B. Chambers, Mark D. Kozar, Terence Messinger, Michon L. Mulder, Adam J. Pelak, Jeremy S. White
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5233
The Marcellus Shale gas field underlies portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Development of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology led to extensive development of gas from the Marcellus Shale beginning about 2007. The need to identify and monitor changes in water-quality conditions related...
Organic sedimentation in modern lacustrine systems: A case study from Lake Malawi, East Africa
Geoffrey S. Ellis, Barry J. Katz, Christopher A. Scholz, Peter K. Swart
2015, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America (515) 19-47
This study examines the relationship between depositional environment and sedimentary organic geochemistry in Lake Malawi, East Africa, and evaluates the relative significance of the various processes that control sedimentary organic matter (OM) in lacustrine systems. Total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in recent sediments from Lake Malawi range from 0.01 to...
Physical abrasion of mafic minerals and basalt grains: application to Martian aeolian deposits
Carin Cornwall, Joshua L. Bandfield, Timothy N. Titus, B. C. Schreiber, D. R. Montgomery
2015, Icarus (256) 13-21
Sediment maturity, or the mineralogical and physical characterization of sediment deposits, has been used to locate sediment source, transport medium and distance, weathering processes, and paleoenvironments on Earth. Mature terrestrial sands are dominated by quartz, which is abundant in source lithologies on Earth and is physically and chemically stable under...
Physical subdivision and description of the water-bearing sediments of the Santa Clara Valley, California
Carl M. Wentworth, Robert C. Jachens, Robert A. Williams, John C. Tinsley III, Randall T. Hanson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5017
A thick Quaternary alluvial section fills a sedimentary basin beneath the Santa Clara Valley, California, located within the San Andreas Fault system at the south end of San Francisco Bay. This section consists of an upper sequence about 1,000 feet thick containing eight sedimentary cycles and a lower fine-grained unit...
Porphyry copper assessment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides: China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and India: Chapter X in Global mineral resource assessment
Mark J. Mihalasky, Stephen Ludington, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Dmitriy V. Alexeiev, Thomas P. Frost, Thomas D. Light, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., Deborah A. Briggs, John C. Wallis, Robert J. Miller, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Andre Panteleyev, Andre Chitalin, Reimar Seltmann, Yan Guangsheng, Lian Changyun, Mao Jingwen, Li Jinyi, Xiao Keyan, Qiu Ruizhao, Shao Jianbao, Shai Gangyi, Du Yuliang
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-X
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with international colleagues to assess undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides. These areas host 20 known porphyry copper deposits, including the world class Oyu Tolgoi deposit in Mongolia that was discovered in the late 1990s. The...
Development, evolution, and destruction of the saline mineral area of Eocene Lake Uinta, Piceance Basin, western Colorado
Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5176
Halite and the sodium bicarbonate mineral nahcolite were deposited in Eocene-age saline Lake Uinta in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado. Variations in the areal extent of saline mineral deposition through time were studied using descriptions of core and outcrop. Saline minerals have been extensively leached by groundwater, and the original...
Water-quality trends for selected sites in the Boulder River and Tenmile Creek watersheds, Montana, based on data collected during water years 1997-2013
Steven K. Sando, Melanie L. Clark, Tom Cleasby, Elliott P. Barnhart
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5008
In the Boulder River and Tenmile Creek watersheds in southwestern Montana, there was intensive mining during a 40-year period after the discovery of gold in the early 1860s. Potential effects from the historic mining activities include acid-mine drainage and elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements from mining remnants such...
A Laurentian margin back-arc: the Ordovician Wedowee-Emuckfaw-Dahlonega basin
Clinton I. Barineau, James F. Tull, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
2015, GSA Field Guides (39) 21-78
Independent researchers working in the Talladega belt, Ashland-Wedowee-Emuckfaw belt, and Opelika Complex of Alabama, as well as the Dahlonega gold belt and western Inner Piedmont of Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, have mapped stratigraphic sequences unique to each region. Although historically considered distinct terranes of disparate origin, a synthesis of...
Geotechnical aspects in the epicentral region of the 2011, Mw5.8 Mineral, Virginia earthquake
Russell A. Green, Samuel Lasley, Mark W. Carter, Jeffrey W. Munsey, Brett W. Maurer, Martitia P. Tuttle
2015, GSA Special Papers (509) 151-172
A reconnaissance team documented the geotechnical and geological aspects in the epicentral region of the Mw (moment magnitude) 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake of 23 August 2011. Tectonically and seismically induced ground deformations, evidence of liquefaction, rock slides, river bank slumps, ground subsidence, performance of earthen dams, damage to public infrastructure...
Stochastic reservoir simulation for the modeling of uncertainty in coal seam degasification
C. Özgen Karacan, Ricardo A. Olea
2015, Fuel (148) 87-97
Coal seam degasification improves coal mine safety by reducing the gas content of coal seams and also by generating added value as an energy source. Coal seam reservoir simulation is one of the most effective ways to help with these two main objectives. As in all modeling and simulation...
Lapland longspur mortality at an oil well drilling rig site, Laramie County, Wyoming
Pedro Ramirez Jr., Kimberly K. Dickerson, Jim Lindstrom, Carol U. Meteyer, Scott Darrah
2015, Wildlife Society Bulletin (39) 165-168
Two hundred fifty-one Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) carcasses were recovered around an oil well drilling rig in Laramie County, Wyoming, USA, on December 13–14, 2010, apparent victims of a winter storm and “light entrapment” from the lights on the drilling rig during foggy conditions. We found Lapland longspur carcasses distributed...
Uranium isotopes and dissolved organic carbon in loess permafrost: Modeling the age of ancient ice
Stephanie A. Ewing, James B. Paces, J.A. O'Donnell, M.T. Jorgenson, M.Z. Kanevskiy, George R. Aiken, Y. Shur, Jennifer W. Harden, Robert G. Striegl
2015, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (152) 143-165
The residence time of ice in permafrost is an indicator of past climate history, and of the resilience and vulnerability of high-latitude ecosystems to global change. Development of geochemical indicators of ground-ice residence times in permafrost will advance understanding of the circumstances and evidence of permafrost formation, preservation, and thaw...
Basement domain map of the conterminous United States and Alaska
Karen Lund, Stephen E. Box, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Carma A. San Juan, Richard J. Blakely, Richard W. Saltus, Eric D. Anderson, Ed DeWitt
2015, Data Series 898
The basement-domain map is a compilation of basement domains in the conterminous United States and Alaska designed to be used at 1:5,000,000-scale, particularly as a base layer for national-scale mineral resource assessments. Seventy-seven basement domains are represented as eighty-three polygons on the map. The domains are based on interpretations of...
Environmental assessment of water, sediment, and biota collected from the Bear Creek watershed, Colusa County, California
James J. Rytuba, Roger L. Hothem, Brianne E. Brussee, Daniel Goldstein, Jason T. May
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1070
The Cache Creek watershed lies within California's North Coast Range, an area with abundant geologic sources of mercury (Hg) and a long history of Hg contamination (Rytuba, 2000). Bear Creek, Cache Creek, and the North Fork of Cache Creek are the major streams of the Cache Creek watershed, encompassing 2978...
Mineral commodity summaries 2015
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2015, Report
Each chapter of the 2015 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 and resources. The...
Beach ridges as paleoseismic indicators of abrupt coastal subsidence during subduction zone earthquakes, and implications for Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone paleoseismology, southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Harvey M. Kelsey, Robert C. Witter, Simon E. Engelhart, Richard W. Briggs, Alan R. Nelson, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 147-158
The Kenai section of the eastern Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone straddles two areas of high slip in the 1964 great Alaska earthquake and is the least studied of the three megathrust segments (Kodiak, Kenai, Prince William Sound) that ruptured in 1964. Investigation of two coastal sites in the eastern part of...
Mercury concentrations and distribution in soil, water, mine waste leachates, and air in and around mercury mines in the Big Bend region, Texas, USA
John E. Gray, Peter M. Theodorakos, David L. Fey, David P. Krabbenhoft
2015, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (37) 35-48
Samples of soil, water, mine waste leachates, soil gas, and air were collected from areas mined for mercury (Hg) and baseline sites in the Big Bend area, Texas, to evaluate potential Hg contamination in the region. Soil samples collected within 300 m of an inactive Hg mine contained elevated Hg concentrations...
Mount St. Helens: Controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) data and inversions
Jeff Wynn, Herbert A. Pierce
2015, Data Series 901
This report describes a series of geoelectrical soundings carried out on and near Mount St. Helens volcano, Washington, in 2010–2011. These soundings used a controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) approach (Zonge and Hughes, 1991; Simpson and Bahr, 2005). We chose CSAMT for logistical reasons: It can be deployed by helicopter, has...
Geochemical conditions and the occurrence of selected trace elements in groundwater basins used for public drinking-water supply, Desert and Basin and Range hydrogeologic provinces, 2006-11: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Michael T. Wright, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5173
The geochemical conditions, occurrence of selected trace elements, and processes controlling the occurrence of selected trace elements in groundwater were investigated in groundwater basins of the Desert and Basin and Range (DBR) hydrogeologic provinces in southeastern California as part of the Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring...
Natural or Induced: Identifying Natural and Induced Swarms from Pre-production and Co-production Microseismic Catalogs at the Coso Geothermal Field
Martin Schoenball, J. Ole Kaven, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Nicholas C. Davatzes
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of Fortieth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
Increased levels of seismicity coinciding with injection of reservoir fluids have prompted interest in methods to distinguish induced from natural seismicity. Discrimination between induced and natural seismicity is especially difficult in areas that have high levels of natural seismicity, such as the geothermal fields at the Salton Sea and Coso,...
