SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Minerals and Energy - Raw Materials Report”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2003

Geochemistry of bedrock and glacial deposits in the vicinity of the Bend massive sulfide deposit, north central Wisconsin

In 1998 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated a study to examine the natural regional environmental impact of sulfide mineralization exposed to episodic weathering and glaciation. The study focused on the Bend copper-gold massive sulfide deposit located in the Medford District of the Chequamegon National Forest in north central Wisconsin. The Bend massive sulfide deposit is a small, metal-rich sulfide body hosted by Paleoproterozoic metavolcanics. The mineralized horizon subcrops beneath 100-120 feet of glacial cover, and consists of massive pyrite and other sulfides. Bedrock and ore geochemistry are well characterized by analyses of diamond drill core provided to the USGS by Sharpe Energy and Resources. In July 1999, five rotasonic drillholes were completed through the unconsolidated Quaternary sediment, averaging about 100 feet thick, on a transect across the Bend deposit. Nearly continuous core was recovered from the surficial material along with several feet of the underlying bedrock. Samples representing the entire section were analyzed by the USGS to give a two-dimensional representation of element dispersal from the unmineralized bedrock. In addition, one hundred regional till samples were subsampled from the archives of the Quaternary Sediment Laboratory in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geology and Geophysics. These regional samples were collected mainly from Taylor County, where the Bend deposit is located, as well as contiguous parts of Clark and Marathon Counties. This open file report presents all of the geochemical data collected for this study. Additional publications describing the data in more detail are being completed.

Wisconsin↗

USGS1953

Results of reconnaissance for radioactive minerals in parts of the Alma district, Park County, Colorado

Pitchblende was discovered in July 1951 in the Alma mining district, Park County, Colo., by the U. S. Geological Survey acting on behalf of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The pitchblende is associated with Tertiary veins of three different geologic environments: (1) veins in pre-Cambrian rocks, (2) the London vein system in the footwall block of the London fault, and (3) veins in a mineralized area east of the Cooper Gulch fault. Pitchblende is probably not associated with silver-lead replacement deposits in dolomite. Secondary uranium minerals, as yet undetermined, are associated with pitchblende on two London vein system mine dumps and occur in oxidized vein material from dumps of mines in the other environments. Although none of the known occurrences is of commercial importance, the Alma district is considered a moderately favorable area in which to prospect for uranium ore because 24 of the 43 localities examined show anomalous radioactivity; samples from anomalously radioactive localities, which include mine dumps and some underground workings, have uranium contents ranging from 0.001 to 1.66 percent.

Circular↗

USGS1997

Coal-Quality Information - Key to the Efficient and Environmentally Sound Use of Coal

The rock that we refer to as coal is derived principally from decomposed organic matter (plants) consisting primarily of the element carbon. When coal is burned, it produces energy in the form of heat, which is used to power machines such as steam engines or to drive turbines that produce electricity. Almost 60 percent of the electricity produced in the United States is derived from coal combustion. Coal is an extraordinarily complex material. In addition to organic matter, coal contains water (up to 40 or more percent by weight for some lignitic coals), oils, gases (such as methane), waxes (used to make shoe polish), and perhaps most importantly, inorganic matter (fig. 1). The inorganic matter--minerals and trace elements--cause many of the health, environmental, and technological problems attributed to coal use (fig. 2). 'Coal quality' is the term used to refer to the properties and characteristics of coal that influence its behavior and use. Among the coal-quality characteristics that will be important for future coal use are the concentrations, distribution, and forms of the many elements contained in the coal that we intend to burn. Knowledge of these quality characteristics in U.S. coal deposits may allow us to use this essential energy resource more efficiently and effectively and with less undesirable environmental impact.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2023

Assessment of lunar resource exploration in 2022

The idea of mining the Moon, once purely science-fiction, is now on the verge of becoming reality. Taking advantage of the resources on the Moon is part of the plans of many nations and some enterprising commercial entities; demonstrating in-situ (in place) resource utilization near the lunar south pole is an explicit goal of the United States’ Artemis program. Economic extraction and sustainable management of these resources require understanding the nature, quantity, and quality of each resource. This publication aims to provide a relatively simple, but technically rigorous, assessment of the status of lunar resource exploration in 2022. Building on the experience of the U.S. Geological Survey in conducting resource assessments for Earth, we propose a general methodology for quantitative lunar resources assessments. Lunar resources can be categorized as energy, mineral, and water and classified with respect to their certainty and their recoverability. The portion of the technically recoverable resource that can be converted to a commodity within budgetary and other mission constraints can be classified as a “reserve.” For energy resources, solar energy is known to be especially abundant along some high ridges near the lunar poles and the technology to exploit it is mature. Mineral resources, largely in the form of loose rock powder that covers the surface of the Moon, are also widely accessible in large quantities. Many different technologies to convert this material into useful commodities (such as landing pads and oxygen) are currently being developed and are likely to be available for industrial-scale application within 30 years. Water ice almost certainly exists in the polar regions of the Moon but there are fundamental unanswered questions about when and how the ice formed—leaving us without knowledge of the form, quantity, quality, and distribution of lunar ice. Until rover missions bring new ground truth data, lunar ice will remain a highly speculative resource that may be both limited and non-renewable.

Circular↗

USGS2015

Tellurium: providing a bright future for solar energy

Tellurium is one of the least common elements on Earth. Most rocks contain an average of about 3 parts per billion tellurium, making it rarer than the rare earth elements and eight times less abundant than gold. Grains of native tellurium appear in rocks as a brittle, silvery-white material, but tellurium more commonly occurs in telluride minerals that include varied quantities of gold, silver, or platinum. Tellurium is a metalloid, meaning it possesses the properties of both metals and nonmetals. Tellurium was discovered within gold ores in the late 1780s in Transylvania, Romania. Fifteen years later, the element was isolated as a distinct substance and named tellurium, after the Latin word “tellus,” which means “fruit of the Earth.” Recovered tellurium has historically been used in metallurgy as an additive to stainless steel and in alloys made with copper, lead, and iron. Because of its low abundance, little is known about environmental baseline concentrations for tellurium or its toxic effect on humans and ecosystems. Human exposure to tellurium can lead to a garlic odor on the breath, nausea, and eventual respiratory problems.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS1955

Engineering geology as applied to highway construction

A geologic study of the site for a relocated segment of State Highway 93 northwest of Denver Colo., was made by by the Engineering Geology Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey as a demonstration of the applicability of geologic mapping to problems of highway construction. The relocated segment provides access to the Rocky Flats plant of the Atomic Energy Commission. The geologic conditions along five miles of the relocation route were examined. In most places apparently well-indurated sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills sandstone and Laramie formation can be excavated without using explosives. The intersection of a six foot thick coal seam in the roadbed in one proposed cut was predicted and removal and replacement with more suitable subgrade material was recommended. Near Marshall the alignment crosses three northeast-trending normal faults which do not adversely affect the highway. Clay minerals with expanding properties are present in some of the claystones of the Laramie, and special measures must be taken to ensure that ground water will not seep into them and cause swelling beneath the roadbed. Late Tertiary or Early Quaternary gravel cap pediments along the mountain front. Ground water issuing from seeps and springs found at the contact between these gravels and the underlying bedrock should be intercepted and removed from beneath the roadbed.

Colorado↗

USGS1998

Remote sensing in the USGS Mineral Resource Surveys Program in the eastern United States

Mineral deposits commonly occur within special geologic units or structures, such as fault zones, which can be detected and mapped from aircraft and satellite images. Modern techniques analyze multispectral images that record the way solar energy is reflected or emitted by the materials exposed at the Earth's surface. In sparsely vegetated regions, including most of the Western United States, mineral composition is determined directly by analyzing the spectral properties of rock outcrops. In more densely vegetated terrain, such as the Eastern United States, rock and soil composition can be determined directly in manmade exposures, such as plowed fields and construction sites, or much more general determinations can be made indirectly by analyzing the distribution and apparent health of naturally occurring plants. The association of certain plants with particular rock or soil types has been known for decades. For example, coniferous trees grow preferentially on well-drained sandy soil, whereas deciduous trees dominate on shaly bedrock. These two forest types reflect solar radiation quite differently and, therefore, are distinguished readily in conventional aerial photographs. More subtle plant-bedrock associations require digital multispectral image analysis to infer compositional information from the spectral characteristics of the forest canopy.

Information Handout↗

USGS1973

Chemical interactions of aluminum with aqueous silica at 25 degrees Celsius

Solutions containing from 10 -5 to 10 -2 moles per liter of aluminum and dissolved silica in various ratios were aged at pH levels between 4 and 10 at 25?C. A colloidal amorphous product having the composition of halloysite was produced in most solutions. It had a consistent and reversible equilibrium solubility equivalent to a standard free energy of formation of -8974 ? 1.0 kcal per mole for the formula A12Si2O5(OH)4. Some aging times were longer than 4 years, but most solutions gave consistent solubilities after only a few months of aging. Where silica concentrations were below about 10 -4 molar, microcrystalline gibbsite was formed below pH 6.0 and crystalline bayerite above pH 7.0, but only after much longer aging than was required for crystallization in silica-free solutions. Electron micrographs and diffraction patterns of the synthesized material indicate some crystallinity in the aluminosilicate, but no X-ray diffraction patterns could be obtained even in the material aged 4 years. Solubility relationships for solutions containing fluoride as well as silica and aluminum are explainable by using cryolite stabilities determined in previous work. Aluminum contents of 51 samples of water analyzed for other purposes are in reasonable agreement with the assumption of equilibrium with amorphous clay mineral species similar to the material synthesized in this work. Solubility calculations are summarized graphically for solutions of ionic strength of 0.01 and 0.10.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1980

High-resolution seismic-reflection profiling data from the inner continental shelf of southeastern Massachusetts

Six hundred-seventy kilometers of closely spaced high-resolution seismic-reflection data have been collected from eastern Rhode Island Sound and Vineyard Sound, Mass, by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. These data were obtained during the June 1975 cruise of the R/V ASTERIAS as part of a continuing regional study of the Massachusetts offshore area to assess potential mineral resources, to evaluate environmental impact of mining of resources and of offshore disposal of solid waste and harbor dredge-spoil materials, and to map the offshore geology and shallow structure. The data were obtained by using a surface-towed EG&G Unit Pulse Boomer* (300 joules: 400 Hz-8kHz frequency) sound source. Reflected acoustic energy was detected by a 4.6-m, a-element hydrophone array, was amplified, was actively filtered (400 Hz-4kHz bandpass), and was graphically displayed on an EPC* dry paper recorder at a 0.25-second sweep rate. System resolution was generally 1 to 1.5 m. Navigational control was provided by Loran C (positional accuracy within 0.2 km) and was supplemented by radar and visual fixes. Positional information was logged at 15-minute intervals and at major course changes. The original records may be examined at the Data Library, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA 02543. Microfilm copies of the data are available for purchase from the National Geophysical and Solar-Terrestrial Data Center (NGSDC), Boulder, CO 80302.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2017

Critical mineral resources of the United States—An introduction

Many changes have taken place in the mineral resource sector since the publication by the U.S. Geological Survey of Professional Paper 820, “United States Mineral Resources,” which is a review of the long-term United States resource position for 65 mineral commodities or commodity groups. For example, since 1973, the United States has continued to become increasingly dependent on imports to meet its demands for an increasing number of mineral commodities. The global demand for mineral commodities is at an alltime high and is expected to continue to increase, and the development of new technologies and products has led to the use of a greater number of mineral commodities in increasing quantities to the point that, today, essentially all naturally occurring elements have several significant industrial uses. Although most mineral commodities are present in sufficient amounts in the earth to provide adequate supplies for many years to come, their availability can be affected by such factors as social constraints, politics, laws, environmental regulations, land-use restrictions, economics, and infrastructure. This volume presents updated reviews of 23 mineral commodities and commodity groups viewed as critical to a broad range of existing and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and national security. The commodities or commodity groups included are antimony, barite, beryllium, cobalt, fluorine, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, manganese, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare-earth elements, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, vanadium, and zirconium. All these commodities have been listed as critical and (or) strategic in one or more of the recent studies based on assessed likelihood of supply interruption and the possible cost of such a disruption to the assessor. For some of the minerals, current production is limited to only one or a few countries. For many, the United States currently has no mine production or any significant identified resources and is largely dependent on imports to meet its needs. As a result, the emphasis in this volume is on the global distribution and availability of each mineral commodity. The environmental issues related to production of each mineral commodity, including current mitigation and remediation approaches to deal with these challenges, are also addressed. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the mineral resource classifications, terms, and definitions used in this volume. A review of the history of the use and meaning of the term “critical” minerals (or materials) is included as an appendix to the chapter.

Professional Paper↗

USGS2025

Characterizing Meteor Crater impact melts through geochemistry and textural analysis

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 within the ejecta blanket. Meteor Crater has historically been known to have generated only a relatively small amount of impact melt compared to other terrestrial craters of similar size. A detailed compositional and textural dataset of impact-derived melts from this impact can therefore be a useful asset in improving our understanding of crater formation, and in particular impact melt formation. We have characterized 42 impact-melt particles from Meteor Crater using a scanning electron microscope and an electron microprobe for textural and compositional analysis. We analyzed samples from six drill holes in the ejecta blanket, situated to the northwest, southeast, south, and southwest of the crater (ejecta northeast of the crater is devoid of impact melts). Impact melts were collected from drill cuttings at various depths within the ejecta blanket, ranging from a few centimeters below the surface down to ~6.5 meters. Backscattered electron (BSE) images were acquired for each analyzed impact-melt particle. To characterize the various textures and phases present in each impact melt, we also took many detailed BSE images. Our geochemical analyses include full spectral profiles using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and well-calibrated wavelength dispersive spectrometry for a number of phases, including minerals (olivine, pyroxene, and so on), pristine glass, and metallic inclusions. The full dataset is available in ScienceBase as a data release (Gullikson and others, 2024), accessible at https://doi.org/10.5066/P9OGAJ8P . Our goal for this Open-File Report is to provide a summary of this immense dataset, details on data collection, descriptions of the different phases observed within impact-melt particles (both geochemically and texturally), and observable trends.

Arizona↗

USGS2004

Mineral, Energy, and Fertilizer Resources of the North Coast of Peru: Perspective from the Santa Rita B Archaeological Site

The Santa Rita B archaeological site is in the Chao Valley, approximately 65 km southeast of Trujillo, northern Peru. Location of Santa Rita B at the emergence of several drainages from the Andean cordillera is an important factor in the almost continuous occupation of the site over the past 3,000 years. Mineral resources are abundant throughout the Andes; however, the north coast of Peru was an important center for pre-Columbian mining, metallurgy, and craftsmanship. Success of the Chavin, Moche, Chimu, and other north coast cultures is directly related to the availability and exploitation of mineral and energy resources that include: gold (?silver), as electrum, mainly from placers, and copper from local oxide and carbonate occurrences and from sulfides related to copper porphyry occurrences in the cordillera. An alloy of these three metals is referred to as tumbaga, which is the primary material for Andean metalcraft. Anthracite was used for mirrors by north coast cultures and is available near Rio Chicama, Rio Santa, and east of Santa Rita B. These outcrops are a part of the Alto Chicama, Peru's largest coalfield, which extends from Rio Chicama, in the north, for 200 km southward to Rio Santa. Charcoal from the algorrobo tree and llama dung are considered to be the common pre-Columbian energy sources for cooking and metalwork; however, availability and the higher heat content of anthracite indicate that it was used in metallurgical applications. Bitumen is available from petroleum seeps near Talara, north of the study area, and may have been used as glue or as cement. Hematite, goethite, limonite, and manganese oxides from clay-altered volcanic rock may have provided color and material for ceramics. Guano from the Islas Gua?apes, Chinchas, and Ballestas was used as fertilizer for cotton and other crops.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2017

Niobium and tantalum

Niobium and tantalum are transition metals that are almost always found together in nature because they have very similar physical and chemical properties. Their properties of hardness, conductivity, and resistance to corrosion largely determine their primary uses today. The leading use of niobium (about 75 percent) is in the production of high-strength steel alloys used in pipelines, transportation infrastructure, and structural applications. Electronic capacitors are the leading use of tantalum for high-end applications, including cell phones, computer hard drives, and such implantable medical devices as pacemakers. Niobium and tantalum are considered critical and strategic metals based on the potential risks to their supply (because current production is restricted to only a few countries) and the significant effects that a restriction in supply would have on the defense, energy, high-tech industrial, and medical sectors. The average abundance of niobium and tantalum in bulk continental crust is relatively low—8.0 parts per million (ppm) niobium and 0.7 ppm tantalum. Their chemical characteristics, such as small ionic size and high electronic field strength, significantly reduce the potential for these elements to substitute for more common elements in rock-forming minerals and make niobium and tantalum essentially immobile in most aqueous solutions. Niobium and tantalum do not occur naturally as pure metals but are concentrated in a variety of relatively rare oxide and hydroxide minerals, as well as in a few rare silicate minerals. Niobium is primarily derived from the complex oxide minerals of the pyrochlore group ((Na,Ca,Ce) 2 (Nb,Ti,Ta) 2 (O,OH,F) 7 ), which are found in some alkaline granite-syenite complexes (that is, igneous rocks containing sodium- or potassium-rich minerals and little or no quartz) and carbonatites (that is, igneous rocks that are more than 50 percent composed of primary carbonate minerals, by volume). Tantalum is derived mostly from the mineral tantalite ((Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb) 2 O 6 ), which is found as an accessory mineral in rare-metal granites and pegmatites that are also enriched in lithium and cesium (termed lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT)-type pegmatites). Brazil and Canada are the leading nations that produce niobium mineral concentrates, but Brazil is by far the leading producer, accounting for about 90 percent of production, which comes mostly from weathered material derived from carbonatites. Brazil and Canada also have the largest identified niobium resources; additional resources, although they are less well reported, occur in Angola, Australia, China, Greenland, Malawi, Russia, and South Africa. Australia and Brazil have been the leading producers of tantalum mineral concentrates, although recently Ethiopia and Mozambique have also been significant suppliers of tantalum. Artisanal mining of columbite-tantalite (also called coltan) is practiced in many countries, particularly Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo [Kinshasa]), Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. Brazil has about 40 percent of the identified tantalum resources; other countries and regions with identified tantalum resources include, in decreasing order of resources, Australia, Asia, Russia and the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Europe. Identified niobium and tantalum resources in the United States are small, low grade, and difficult to recover and process, and are thus not commercially recoverable at current prices. Consequently, the United States meets its current and expected future needs for niobium and tantalum through imports of primary mineral concentrates and alloys and through recovery from foreign and domestic alloy scrap that contain the metals. Environmentally, the main issues related to niobium and tantalum mining are land disruptions, the volume of waste materials and their disposal, and the radioactivity of some tailings and waste materials that contain thorium and uranium. Because of the relative biological inertness of niobium and tantalum, human and ecological health concerns are generally minimal under most natural conditions. Demand for both niobium and tantalum is expected to increase as the world economy continues to recover from the downturn that began in 2008. Increased demand for niobium is linked to increased consumption of microalloyed steel, which is used in the manufacture of cars, buildings, ships, and refinery equipment. Demand for these steels will likely increase with continued economic development in such countries as Brazil, China, and India. In addition, increased global demand for cars, cell phones, computers, superconducting magnets, and other high-tech devices will likely spur increased demand for both niobium and tantalum. The estimated global reserves and resources of niobium and tantalum are large and appear more than sufficient to meet global demand for the foreseeable future, possibly the next 500 years. The sale of “conflict coltan” attributed to rebel forces waging a civil war in Congo (Kinshasa) has been of recent concern and has highlighted the need for a transparent and traceable global supply chain that can exclude illegal columbite-tantalite from the conventional market while discerning legitimate artisanal mine production in central Africa.

Professional Paper↗

USGS1964

Geology and hydrology of the West Milton area, Saratoga County, New York

This report describes the geology, ground-water conditions, streamflow characteristics, and quality of water in the West Milton area, Saratoga County, N.Y. The West Milton area is in the east-central part of New York in the hilly region that forms a transition zone between the Adirondack Mountains and the Hudson-Mohawk valley lowland. Bedrock underlying the area consists of crystalline rocks of Precambrian age and sandstone, dolomite, limestone, and shale formations of Cambrian and Ordovician age. The formations have been moderately folded and have been displaced as much as several hundred feet' along at least three northeast-trending normal faults. The bedrock is overlain in nearly all parts of the area by a layer of unconsolidated deposits which ranges in thickness from a few feet to more than 200 feet. The unconsolidated deposits are of Pleistocene age and consist of unstratified materials (till) laid down by glacial ice at stratified sediments deposited by glacial meltwaters. The topography of the bedrock surface differs greatly from the topography of the land surface. Although not evident in the present topography, at least two channels, cut in bedrock by preglacial streams, pass through the area. Ground-water supplies adequate to satisfy domestic requirements can be obtained from wells in any part of the area. Large ground-water supplies may be taken from coarse-grained stratified deposits comprising two aquifers in the valley of Kayaderosseras Creek. The Atomic Energy Commission has pumped as much as 1 mgd from a horizontal well drawing from the uppermost aquifer which is composed of flood-plain deposits. Part of the water yielded by this well during extended periods of pumping is induced flow from the creek. Three nearby vertical wells drilled by the Commission comprise a separate well field capable of yielding at least 2 mgd and possibly as much as 3 mgd from the deeper stratified deposits underlying the valley. A pumping test showed that at near the center of this well field the coefficient of transmissibility is about 125,000 gpd per ft and the coefficient of storage is about 0.0003. The water obtained from the sand and gravel has a hardness of about 125 ppm and contains about 150 ppm of dissolved solids. Most of the Government reservation is drained by Glowegee Creek, one of the larger tributaries of Kayaderosseras Creek. The average streamflow of Kayaderosseras Creek at West Milton is 141 cfs or about 1.5 cfs per sq. mi. The monthly mean discharge has ranged from a low of 21.7 cfs in September 1958 to a high of 866 cfs in March 1936, and the annual mean discharge has ranged from 94.5 cfs in 1941 to 198 cfs in 1952. The mean annual flood is 1,740 cfs and the 50-year flood is 5,300 cfs. Streamflow data have been collected on Glowegee Creek since 1948 at a station 0.5 mile south of West Milton. The average streamflow of Glowegee Creek at this station is 41 cfs or about 1.5 cfs per sq mi. The mean annual flood is 740 cfs and the 50-year flood is 2,250 cfs. The quality of the water in both Kayaderosseras Creek and Glowegee Creek is satisfactory for public supply and most industrial purposes. The mineral content of both streams is low--the dissolved-solids content averaging about 93 ppm in Kayaderosseras Creek and about 131 ppm in Glowegee Creek. The average hardness of water in Kayaderosseras Creek and Glowegee Creek is 68 ppm and 102 ppm, respectively. During periods of low flow, suspended sediment discharge in both streams is less than 10 tons per day, but during periods of high flow, the sediment discharge has been as great as 163 tons per day in Glowegee Creek and 437 tons per day in Kayaderosseras Creek.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1953

Airborne radioactivity survey of the Gulf of Mexico beach between Sanibel Island and Caladesi Island, Florida

The accompanying map shows the results of an airborne radioactivity survey along the Gulf of Mexico beach between Sanibel Island and Caladesi Island in Florida. This survey was made May 4, 1953, as part of a cooperative program with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The survey was made with scintillation detection equipment mounted in a Douglas DC-3 aircraft and consisted of one flight line, at a 500-foot altitude , parallel to the beach. The vertical projection of the flight line coincided approximately with the landward limit of the modern beach. The width of the zone on the ground from which anomalous radiation is measured at the nominal 500 foot flight altitude varies with the areal extent and intensity of the radioactivity the width of the zone may be as much as 1400 feet. The accompanying map and index map show the approximate locations of the areas of greater-than-average radioactivity and the location of the traverse flown. The abnormal radioactivity is apparently caused by radioactive minerals associated with "black sand" deposits which occur locally along the beach in the region. The present technique of airborne radioactivity measurement does not permit distinguishing between activity due to thorium and that due to uranium. An anomaly, therefore, may represent radioactivity due entirely to one or to a combination of these elements. It is not possible to determine the extent or radioactive content of the materials responsible for the abnormal radioactivity. The information given in the accompanying map showing the localities of greater-than-average radioactivity therefore, suggests area in which uranium or thorium deposits are more likely to occur.

Florida↗

USGS2015

Barite: a case study of import reliance on an essential material for oil and gas exploration and development drilling

Global dependence on a limited number of countries for specific mineral commodities could lead to sudden supply disruptions for the United States, and barite is one such commodity. Analyses of barite supply amounts and sources for the United States are demonstrative of mineral commodities on which the country is import reliant. Mineral commodity trade flows can be analyzed more easily than import reliances for commodities in which U.S. domestic demand is primarily met by materials contained within manufactured products, as with the rare-earth elements in cellular phones and computers. Barite plays an essential role as a weighting material in drilling muds used in oil and gas drilling, primarily to prevent the explosive release of gas and oil during drilling. The Nation’s efforts to become more energy independent are based largely on the domestic oil and gas industry’s ability to explore and develop onshore and offshore fuel deposits. These activities include increased efforts by the United States to locate and recover oil and gas within unconventional deposits, such as those in the Bakken, Eagle Ford, and Marcellus Formations, using advanced drilling technologies. Domestic barite production was about 670,000 metric tons (t) in 2012, equivalent to about 20 percent of the domestic drilling industry’s barite demand. Mine production for the United States in 2012 was about one-third of what was produced in 1980. In 2012, barite imported from China was approximately 2.2 million t and comprised about 77 percent of total barite imports and about 70 percent of the barite used in domestic drilling. Barite from India (14 percent), Morocco (6 percent) and Mexico (2 percent) comprised the bulk of the remaining total import balance; drilling applications consumed nearly all barite imported from these three countries.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS1953

Airborne radioactivity survey of parts of the Atlantic Ocean beach, North and South Carolina

The accompanying map shows the results of an airborne radioactivity survey along the Atlantic Ocean beach between Edisto Island, South Carolina and Cape Fear, North Carolina. The survey was made May 20, 1953, as part of a cooperative program with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The survey was made with scintillation detection equipment mounted in a Douglas DC-3 aircraft and consisted of one flight line, at a 500-foot altitude, parallel to the beach. The vertical projection of the flight line coincided approximately with the landward limit of the modern beach. The width of the zone on the ground from which anomalous radiation is measured at the nominal 500 foot flight altitude varies with areal extent and intensity of radioactivity of the source. For strong sources of radioactivity the width of the zone may be as much as 1400 feet. The accompanying maps show the approximate locations of the areas of greater-than-average radioactivity (at left) and the location of the traverse flown (at right). The abnormal radioactivity is apparently caused by radioactive minerals associated with "black sand" deposits which occur locally along the beach in this region. The present technique of airborne radioactivity measurement does not permit distinguishing between activity due to thorium and that due to uranium. An anomaly, therefore, may represent radioactivity due entirely to one or a combination of these elements. It is not possible to determine the extent or radioactive content of the materials responsible for the abnormal radioactivity. The information given in the accompanying map showing the localities of greater-than-average radioactivity therefore, suggests areas in which uranium and thorium deposits are more likely to occur.

North Carolina;South Carolina↗

USGS1984

A workshop model simulating fate and effect of drilling muds and cuttings on benthic communities

Oil and gas exploration and production at marine sites has generated concern over potential environmental impacts resulting from the discharge of spent drilling muds and cuttings. This concern has led to a broad array of publicly and privately sponsored research. This report described a cooperative modeling effort designed to focus information resulting from this research through construction of explicit equations that simulate the potential impacts of discharge drilling fluids (muds) and cuttings on marine communities. The model is the result of collaboration among more than 30 scientists. The principal cooperating organizations were the E.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the Offshore Operators Committee, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. The overall simulation model can be conceptualized as three connected submodels: Discharge and Plume Fate, Sediment Redistribution, and Benthic Community Effects. On each day of simulation, these submodels are executed in sequence, with flows of information between submodels. The Benthic Community Effects submodel can be further divided into sections that calculate mortality due to burial, mortality due to toxicity, mortality due to resuspension disturbance, and growth of the community. The model represents a series of seven discrete 1-m 2 plots at specified distances along a transect in one direction away from a discharge point. It consists of coupled difference equations for which parameter values can easily be set to evaluate different conditions or to examine the sensitivity of output to various assumptions. Sets of parameter values were developed to represent four general cases or scenarios: (1) a shallow (5 m), cold environment with ice cover during a substantial fraction of the year, such as might be encountered in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska; (2) a shallow (20 m), temperate environment, such as might be encountered in the Gulf of Mexico; (3) a deeper (80 m), temperate environment, such as might be encountered in the Gulf of Mexico; and (4) a very deep (1,000 m) environment, such as might be encountered on the Atlantic slope. The focus of the modeling effort was on the connection of a reasonable representation of physical fate to the biological responses of populations, rather than on highly detailed representations of individual processes. For example, the calculations of physical fate are not as detailed as those in the recently published model of Brandsma et al. (1983). The value of the model described herein is in the broad scope of processes that are explicitly represented and linked together. The model cannot be considered to produce reliable predictions of the quantitative impacts of discharged drilling fluids and cuttings on biological populations at a particular site. Limitations of the model in predicting integrated fate and effects can be traced to three general areas: level of refinement of the algorithms used in the model; lack of understanding of the processes determining fate and effects; and parameter and data values. Despite the limitations, several qualitative conclusions concerning both potential impacts and the importance of various remaining data gaps can be drawn from the modeling effort. These include: (1) Simple, unequivocal conclusions about fate and effects across geographical regions and drilling operations are difficult, if not misleading, due to the large amount of variability in characteristics of discharged materials (e.g., oil content and toxicity), discharge conditions (e.g., duration of drilling operations), physical environments (e.g., water depth, current direction, and sediment disturbance regimes), and biological communities (e.g., intrinsic growth rates). Different combinations of these characteristics can result in substantial differences in simulated environmental fate and biological effects. For examples, simulated recovery in some high-energy environments occurs within months after the cessation of discharge operations, even at heavily impacted sites, whereas simulated recover in some low-energy environments takes years at heavily impacted sites. <2) Considerable difficulties remain in the reliable extrapolation of results from laboratory toxicity experiments to predictions of population effects in the field. (3) The volume of material discharged and duration of operations in the production drilling operations simulated by the model are sufficient to produce substantial simulated biological impacts at some plots, both in terms of differences from a control plot during the period of discharge operations, and in terms of the recovery period following the perturbations. Evaluation of the significance of potential effects involves the following factors: • Definition of a specific spatial and temporal reference frame (e.g., What is the natural variation? Is 1 year to be considered a "long" or "short" time? Is 50 m to be considered a "large" or "trivial" distance? • Consideration of rare or unique resources and particularly sensitive biotic assemblages. • Consideration of the potential for long term, cumulative effects. Some of these aspects are clearly beyond the scope of this modeling efforts (e.g., the model does not simulate the long term fate of resuspended material). The model does, however, contain an internal "reference frame" by comparison to simulated behavior at a control plot. The model, in general, simulates substantial "natural" variation at the reference or control plots, both over time, due to sediment disturbance events in medium to high energy environments, and over space, due to geographically varying conditions, such as water depth and current regime.

Report↗