Transient changes in shallow groundwater chemistry during the MSU ZERT CO2 injection experiment
J. A. Apps, Lingyun Zheng, N. Spycher, J.T. Birkholzer, Yousif K. Kharaka, James J. Thordsen, Evangelos Kakouros, R. Trautz
2011, Conference Paper, Energy Procedia
Food-grade CO2 was injected into a shallow aquifer through a perforated pipe placed horizontally 1–2 m below the water table at the Montana State University Zero Emission Research and Technology (MSU-ZERT) field site at Bozeman, Montana. The possible impact of elevated CO2 levels on...
U-Pb (zircon) and geochemical constraints on the age, origin, and evolution of Paleozoic arc magmas in the Oyu Tolgoi porphyry Cu-Au district, southern Mongolia
A.J. Wainwright, R. M. Tosdal, J. L. Wooden, F.K. Mazdab, R.M. Friedman
2011, Gondwana Research (19) 764-787
Uranium–Pb (zircon) ages are linked with geochemical data for porphyry intrusions associated with giant porphyry Cu–Au systems at Oyu Tolgoi to place those rocks within the petrochemical framework of <a title="Learn more about...
Lead isotopes in soils and groundwaters as tracers of the impact of human activities on the surface environment: The Domizio-Flegreo Littoral (Italy) case study
G. Grezzi, Robert A. Ayuso, B. de Vivo, A. Lima, S. Albanese
2011, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (109) 51-58
The isotopic signature of geogenic and anthropogenic materials, in combination with concentration data for pollutants, can help trace the origin and the extent of contamination in the environment. This approach is particularly effective if naturally occurring and anthropogenically introduced metals have different isotopic ratios. Lead isotope analysis on soils from 7 profiles...
Potential for iron oxides to control metal releases in CO2 sequestration scenarios
P.M. Berger, William R. Roy
2011, Energy Procedia (4) 3195-3201
The potential for the release of metals into groundwater following the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the subsurface during carbon sequestration projects remains an open research question. Changing the chemical composition of even the relatively deep formation brines during CO2 injection and storage may be of concern because of the...
Diel variation of selenium and arsenic in a wetland of the Great Salt Lake, Utah
G. Dicataldo, W.P. Johnson, David L. Naftz, D.F. Hayes, W.O. Moellmer, T. Miller
2011, Applied Geochemistry (26) 28-36
Diel (24-h) changes in Se and As concentrations in a freshwater wetland pond bordering the Great Salt Lake (GSL) were examined. Selenium concentrations (filtered and unfiltered) changed on a diel basis, i.e., were depleted during early morning and enriched during daytime over August 17–18. During the May 24–25, 2006 and...
Neoarchean paleoweathering of tonalite and metabasalt: Implications for reconstructions of 2.69Ga early terrestrial ecosystems and paleoatmospheric chemistry
S.G. Driese, M.A. Jirsa, M. Ren, S.L. Brantley, N.D. Sheldon, Dana C. Parker, M. Schmitz
2011, Precambrian Research (189) 1-17
Field and laboratory investigations of a 2690.83 Ma (207Pb/206Pb age of Saganaga Tonalite) unconformity exposed in outcrop in northeastern Minnesota, USA, reveal evidence for development of a deep paleoweathering profile with geochemical biosignatures consistent with the presence of microbial communities and weakly oxygenated conditions. Weathering profiles are characterized by a 5–50 m...
Groundwater chemistry near an impoundment for produced water, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA
R. W. Healy, T.T. Bartos, C. A. Rice, M.P. McKinley, B. D. Smith
2011, Journal of Hydrology (403) 37-48
The Powder River Basin is one of the largest producers of coal-bed natural gas (CBNG) in the United States. An important environmental concern in the Basin is the fate of the large amounts of groundwater extracted during CBNG production. Most of this produced water is disposed of in unlined surface...
Optical maturity variation in lunar spectra as measured by Moon Mineralogy Mapper data
J.W. Nettles, M. Staid, S. Besse, J. Boardman, R. N. Clark, D. Dhingra, P. Isaacson, R. Klima, G. Kramer, C.M. Pieters, L.A. Taylor
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (116)
High spectral and spatial resolution data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument on Chandrayaan-1 are used to investigate in detail changes in the optical properties of lunar materials accompanying space weathering. Three spectral parameters were developed and used to quantify spectral effects commonly thought to be associated with increasing...
Effects of slow recovery rates on water column geochemistry in aquitard wells
K. E. Schilling
2011, Applied Geochemistry (26) 1108-1114
Monitoring wells are often installed in aquitards to verify effectiveness for preventing migration of surface contaminants to underlying aquifers. However, water sampling of aquitard wells presents a challenge due to the slow recovery times for water recharging the wells, which can take as long as weeks, months or years to...
Approach for environmental baseline water sampling
K. S. Smith
2011, Conference Paper, SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit and CMA 113th National Western Mining Conference 2011
Samples collected during the exploration phase of mining represent baseline conditions at the site. As such, they can be very important in forecasting potential environmental impacts should mining proceed, and can become measurements against which future changes are compared. Constituents in stream water draining mined and mineralized areas tend to...
High-resolution well-log derived dielectric properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Y. Sun, D. Goldberg, Timothy S. Collett, R. Hunter
2011, Marine and Petroleum Geology (28) 450-459
A dielectric logging tool, electromagnetic propagation tool (EPT), was deployed in 2007 in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well (Mount Elbert Well), North Slope, Alaska. The measured dielectric properties in the Mount Elbert well, combined with density log measurements, result in a vertical high-resolution (cm-scale) estimate...
Mineral resource of the month: sulfur
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2010, Earth (55) 26-27
The article presents information on sulfur. Sulfur is said to be among the few solid elements found in elemental form in nature and has industrial uses. Changes in the sulfur production process over the years are discussed as well as the mining process developed by German engineer Herman Frasch that...
Effect of clay content and mineralogy on frictional sliding behavior of simulated gouges: binary and ternary mixtures of quartz, illite, and montmorillonite
Sheryl Tembe, David A. Lockner, Teng-Fong Wong
2010, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (115)
We investigated the frictional sliding behavior of simulated quartz-clay gouges under stress conditions relevant to seismogenic depths. Conventional triaxial compression tests were conducted at 40 MPa effective normal stress on saturated saw cut samples containing binary and ternary mixtures of quartz, montmorillonite, and illite. In all cases, frictional strengths of...
Magnesium compounds
D.A. Kramer
2010, Mining Engineering (62) 62-63
Seawater and natural brines accounted for about 40 percent of U.S. magnesium compounds production in 2009. Dead-burned magnesia was produced by Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties from well brines in Michigan. Caustic-calcined magnesia was recovered from seawater by Premier Chemicals in Florida, from well brines in Michigan by Martin Marietta and...
Colloidal and physical transport textures exhibited by electrum and naumannite in bonanza epithermal veins from western USA, and their significance
James A. Saunders, Peter G. Vikre, Derick L. Unger, Lee Beasley
2010, Conference Paper, Great Basin evolution and metallogeny : Geological Society of Nevada, 2010 Symposium, May 14-22
It is reasonably clear that disequilibrium or “far-from equilibrium” conditions lead to the formation of silica colloids and their deposition in many epithermal deposits. This implies ore-forming solutions had elevated concentrations of dissolved silica, well in excess of amorphous silica saturation. We have previously demonstrated that such colloidal silica particles...
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2010, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010
Each chapter of the 2010 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...
Contamination movement around a permeable reactive barrier at Solid Waste Management Unit 12, Naval Weapons Station Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina, 2009
Don A. Vroblesky, Matthew D. Petkewich, Kevin J. Conlon
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5086
The U.S. Geological Survey and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast investigated natural and engineered remediation of chlorinated volatile organic compound groundwater contamination at Solid Waste Management Unit 12 at the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in 2000. In early 2004, groundwater contaminants began moving around...
Episodic swell growth inferred from variable uplift of the Cape Verde hotspot islands
R. Ramalho, G. Helffrich, M. Cosca, D. Vance, D. Hoffmann, D.N. Schmidt
2010, Nature Geoscience (3) 774-777
On the Beagle voyage, Charles Darwin first noted the creation and subsidence of ocean islands1, establishing in geology’s infancy that island freeboard changes with time. Hotspot ocean...
Feeding preferences of West Indian manatees in Florida, Belize, and Puerto Rico as indicated by stable isotope analysis
Christy D. Alves-Stanley, Graham A.J. Worthy, Robert K. Bonde
2010, Marine Ecology Progress Series (402) 255-267
The endangered West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus has 2 recognized subspecies: the Florida T. m. latirostris and Antillean T. m. manatus manatee, both of which are found in freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats. A better understanding of manatee feeding preferences and habitat use is essential to establish criteria on which conservation plans can be based. Skin...
Geohydrology of the stratified-drift aquifer system in the lower Sixmile Creek and Willseyville Creek trough, Tompkins County, New York
Todd S. Miller, Daniel E. Karig
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5230
In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tompkins County Planning Department began a series of studies of the stratified-drift aquifers in Tompkins County to provide geohydrologic data for planners to develop a strategy to manage and protect their water resources. This aquifer study in lower Sixmile Creek...
A Servicewide Benthic Mapping Program for National Parks
Christopher S. Moses, Amar Nayegandhi, Rebecca Beavers, John Brock
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1264
In 2007, the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program directed the initiation of a benthic habitat mapping program in ocean and coastal parks in alignment with the NPS Ocean Park Stewardship 2007-2008 Action Plan. With 74 ocean and Great Lakes parks stretching over more than 5,000 miles of...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2008 through September 2009) and statistical summaries of long-term data for streams in the Clark Fork basin, Montana
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1267
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a long-term monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork basin; additional water samples were collected in the Clark Fork basin from sites near Missoula downstream to near the confluence of the Clark...
Factors Affecting Specific-Capacity Tests and their Application--A Study of Six Low-Yielding Wells in Fractured-Bedrock Aquifers in Pennsylvania
Dennis W. Risser
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5212
This report by the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, evaluates factors affecting the application of specific-capacity tests in six low-yielding water wells in areas of coal mining or quarrying in Pennsylvania. Factors such as pumping rate, duration...
Geophysical investigations at Hidden Dam, Raymond, California — Flow simulations
Burke J. Minsley, Scott Ikard
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1153
Numerical flow modeling and analysis of observation-well data at Hidden Dam are carried out to supplement recent geophysical field investigations at the site (Minsley and others, 2010). This work also is complementary to earlier seepage-related studies at Hidden Dam documented by Cedergren (1980a, b). Known seepage areas on the northwest...
Mercury-contaminated hydraulic mining debris in San Francisco Bay
Robin M. Bouse, Christopher C. Fuller, Samuel N. Luoma, Michelle I. Hornberger, Bruce E. Jaffe, Richard E. Smith
2010, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (8) 1-28
The hydraulic gold-mining process used during the California Gold Rush and in many developing countries today contributes enormous amounts of sediment to rivers and streams. Commonly, accompanying this sediment are contaminants such as elemental mercury and cyanide used in the gold extraction process. We show that some of the mercurycontaminated...
