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At least 631 records · Page 35Linked to original sources

USGS1987

Quality of water from freshwater aquifers and principal well fields in the Memphis Area, Tennessee

Water from the freshwater aquifers in the Memphis area is suitable for most uses. Freshwater aquifers are the alluvium and fluvial (terrace) deposits of Quaternary age, the Memphis Sand and Fort Pillow Sand of Tertiary age, and the Ripley Formation and McNairy Sand of Cretaceous age. About 180 million gallons/day (mgd) of freshwater are withdrawn from the Memphis Sand, primarily for municipal and industrial use; the Memphis Sand is the principal aquifer supplying the City of Memphis. The alluvium provides water for irrigation and some industrial uses, and the fluvial deposits provide water for domestic use in rural areas. The Fort Pillow Sand supplies water for some municipal and industrial uses. The Ripley-McNairy aquifer is not used as a source of water. Water from the alluvium, fluvial deposits, and Memphis Sand is a calcium bicarbonate type, and water from the Fort Pillow Sand and Ripley-McNairy aquifer is a sodium bicarbonate type. Dissolved solids concentrations are low in the Memphis Sand, with a median value of 83 mg/L, and are high in the Ripley-McNairy aquifer with a value of about 1,000 mg/L. Water is very soft in the Fort Pillow Sand with a median hardness value of 9 mg/L as CaCO3 and is very hard in the alluvium with a median value of 285 mg/L. Iron concentrations are low in the fluvial deposits with a median value of 50 micrograms/L and are high in the alluvium with a median value of 5,200 micrograms/L. Temperature of the water generally increases with depth, ranging from 16.0 C in the alluvium and fluvial deposits to about 32.0 C in the Ripley-McNairy aquifer. Water from the Memphis Sand at Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division well fields has very low mineralization. Median values are 79 mg/L dissolved solids concentrations, 56 mg/L alkalinity as CaCO3, 46 mg/L hardness as CaCO3, 4 mg/L chloride, 3.5 mg/L sulfate, and 600 micrograms/L iron.

Tennessee↗

USGS2022

One hundred years of cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cobalt is an indispensable element for the manufacture of strategic technologies including advanced batteries, jet engines, rare-earth permanent magnets, petroleum catalysts, and tool parts that enable construction, manufacturing, and mining. Cobalt routinely scores high in mineral supply risk assessments due to the concentration of cobalt mine production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This stands in contrast to the fact that DRC cobalt mine production had a 20% compound annual growth rate from 1995 through 2020—in large part due to investments by Chinese firms beginning in the mid-2000s. Given this continuous growth, one may ask why this supply is perceived to be so risky. This analysis illuminates the causes of historic disruptions to DRC cobalt mine and refinery production by analyzing country-level production, historical reports, and cobalt prices back to 1924. The results indicate that the main causes of supply disruptions were damage to transportation routes, underinvestment in maintaining nationalized mining assets, and the disintegration of the DRC economy during the early 1990s. On the other hand, cobalt mine production increased 50% from 1977 to 1979 despite two secessionist conflicts in DRC's cobalt producing region and increased seven-fold from 1996 to 2003 despite two African wars over the DRC and its resources. These results indicate that—barring another economic disintegration or mining industry nationalization—DRC mine production will likely continue to be the dominant supplier of the world's growing demand for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries. These results also indicate that sustained development of transportation (and other) infrastructure in Africa, as well as support for good governance in the DRC may prove key to the continued stability of DRC cobalt mine supplies.

Resources Policy↗

USGS1907

Twenty-eighth annual report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey

The plan of operations for the last fiscal year, including an itemized statement of the appropriations, amounting to $1,758,720, with the allotments thereof, was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on July 10, 1906. The work of the various branches and divisions conformed to this plan, and a detailed statement of their operations may be found on later pages. On January 23 the former Director, Charles D. Walcott, was appointed to the position of Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and his resignation as Director was accepted by the President, becoming effective April 30, 1907. Mr. Walcott has been a member of the Survey since its organization, and the thirteen years of his service as the administrative head of the bureau cover the period of its greatest growth. At the beginning of his directorship Mr. Walcott disclaimed any desire to make radical changes in either the policy or the administration of the Survey as developed under his predecessors, King and Powell, but in his first report, the Director's sixteenth, he mentioned certain readjustments which he deemed desirable in order that the Survey might better meet the economic and educational needs of the country. It is noteworthy that, almost without exception, these improvements have been accomplished, and even more fully than as then outlined. Among these changes may be mentioned : The raising of the standard of the topographic maps, with the representation thereon of land subdivision lines, and the extension of exact leveling and primary triangulation; the placing of the entire topographic and geologic force within the classified service; the obtaining of authority from Congress to issue separates of the annual report in pamphlet form, thus permitting advance publication of chapters of the Mineral Resources report, as well as of papers on economic geology; the enlargement of the work of the divisions of hydrography, mineral resources, and geology, in the last case providing for reconnaissance surveys of regions of economic importance. Equally notable was the growth of the Survey under Mr. Walcott's administration, as shown by the increase in both the extent and the scope of its operations. The appropriations for the last fiscal year amounted to more than four times the total of those made thirteen years ago, and there was, of course, a corresponding increase in the amount of field and office work performed. The development of the relations between the Geological Survey and the public within the same period is measured by a more than fourfold increase in amount of official correspondence, nearly fourfold increase in number of printed pages in the various reports of the year, and a more than fivefold increase in copies of maps printed, while the total annual distribution of publications, books, and maps grew from less than 200,000 to nearly a million copies, the sales increasing from $2,100 to over $18,000. The extent to which the results of the work by this organization are now utilized by both the industrial world and the educational and scientific institutions furnishes the best index of the degree of success attained by Mr. Walcott and his colleagues.

Annual Report↗

USGS1949

Ground-water supplies of the Ypsilanti area, Michigan

As of the date of this report (August 1945), the major water users in the Ypsilanti area are: (1) the city of Ypsilanti, (2) the Willow Run bomber plant, built by the Federal Government and operated by the Ford Motor Co., and (3) the war housing project of the Federal Public Housing Authority, designated in this report the Willow Run Townsite. The city, bomber plant, and townsite have required large quantities of water for domestic and industrial uses, and the necessary water supplies have been developed from wells. The Federal Works Agency had the responsibility of deciding whether the existing water facilities were adequate to meet the expected demands and determining the character of any additional public water-supply facilities that might be constructed with Federal assistance. In order to appraise the ground-water resources of the area the Federal Works Agency requested the Geological Survey to investigate the adequacy of the existing supplies and the availability of additional water. The present report is the result of the investigation, which was made in cooperation with the Michigan Geological Survey Division. The water supplies of the three major users are obtained from wells penetrating glacial and associated sands and gravels. Supplies for the city of Ypsilanti and the Willow Run bomber plant are obtained from wells in the valley of the Huron River; the supply for the Willow Run Townsite is obtained from wells penetrating glacial gravels underlying the upland northeast of the valley. The bedrock formations of the area either yield little water to wells or yield water that is too highly mineralized for most uses. The water supply for the bomber plant is obtained from three closely spaced, highly productive wells at the northern edge of the Huron River, a little more than 3 miles southeast of Ypsilanti. The water receives complete treatment in a modern treatment plant. River water also can be treated and has been used occasionally in the winter and spring. The average daily pumpage during periods of maximum production at the bomber plant has been 4.5 to 4.75 million gallons. On June 30, 1945, production of bombers was suspended, and the plant went on a. maintenance basis. The water supply of the bomber-plant well field is replenished by recharge from precipitation and from the Huron River. The evidence shows that recharge from the river is one of the principal sources of water and gives assurance both of the adequacy of the present supply and of the availability of additional water if needed. The safe yield of the three existing wells is estimated to be not less than 6 million gallons per day. The Ypsilanti public water supply is obtained from three tubular wells drilled in 1943, which replaced a number of suction-pumped tubular wells and one large dug well. All the wells penetrate sand and gravel in the bend of the Huron River in the southeastern part of Ypsilanti. The water is treated in a modern treatment plant completed in 1939. The average daily pumpage in million gallons was about 1.68 in 1942, 1.70 in 1943, and 1.66 in 1944. Considerable water was furnished to the Willow Run bomber plant from the Ypsilanti public-supply system during the period from August 1941 through March 1943. The available information indicates that the water pumped from the Ypsilanti well field is replenished by ground-water flow from adjacent stretches of the Huron Valley and from the upland areas outside the valley, from precipitation on the valley in the vicinity of the well field, and possibly from the Huron River. It is believed that sufficient water can be obtained from the well field to meet the expected demand for a considerable time. The safe yield of the present wells is estimated to be not less than 3 million gallons per day, and detailed pumping tests might show that still larger supplies could be safely developed. The water supply of the Willow Run Townsite is obtained from four wells in two well fields about 2 miles apart, one well in the northwest or Prospect and Geddes Road field, and three wells in the southeast or Wiard Road field. The pumpage was originally expected to be 2 to 3 million gallons per day, but it averaged only about 450,000 gallons per day from March 1943 through June 1945. The evidence afforded by logs of wells and by pumping tests indicates that the water-bearing gravels at the townsite are covered by relatively impermeable materials and thus that the rate of recharge is low. However, only relatively small declines in water level have occurred during more than 2 years' operation of the wells, indicating that recharge may occur nearby. The safe yield of the present wells is estimated to be 1.0 to 1.5 million gallons per day, and detailed pumping tests might show it to be somewhat greater. The water supply of the Willow Run Townsite has the smallest potential capacity of the three major ground-water supplies in the area; however, the demand has been relatively small, and no difficulty should arise unless this demand increases greatly. The investigation involved the drilling of 13 test wells to locate additional ground-water supplies, on the assumption that the wartime demand for water in the Ypsilanti area might increase beyond the capacity of the present sources. All 13 wells were drilled at sites selected by the Geological Survey. Two wells on the Willow Run Townsite were drilled by the Federal Public Housing Authority and 11 at other sites by the Federal Works Agency. Records of the wells are given in the report and discussed with respect to the availability of water at the different sites; similarly, the results of the controlled pumping tests made on four of the test wells drilled by the Federal Works Agency are analyzed and discussed with respect to the availability of additional water. The combined results of the test drilling and the pumping tests show that emergency supplies of several million gallons per day can be developed at the sites of the test wells. The best site shown by the test drilling is on the south bank of the Huron River opposite the bomber-plant well field, where a Well with a capacity of several thousand gallons per minute could be constructed if necessary. Three wells in the outwash-filled valley now occupied by Fleming Creek, on two of which pumping tests were made, show that emergency supplies ranging from a few hundred thousand to a million gallons per day could be developed at these test-well sites if necessary. Smaller Supplies ranging from a gallon or two per minute to perhaps 100,000 or 200,000 gallons per day could be developed at the sites of the remaining test Wells. Pumping tests made on the supply wells of the three major water users by the consulting-engineering firms who designed the systems are analyzed and discussed briefly by the authors. The report includes maps and graphs showing the surficial geology of the area, the location of wells, and fluctuations of water level in selected wells. Alsp included are tables giving data on water levels and pumpage, chemical analyses of representative ground waters, and records of wells.

Michigan↗

USGS2025

Shallow geologic framework of the Mississippi Sound and the potential for sediment resources

The Mississippi Sound, an estuarine environment located between the mainland and barrier islands bordering the northern Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico), serves as a vital ecosystem for the States of Mississippi and Alabama. Spanning approximately 100 kilometers from east to west and covering 1,400 square kilometers, the sound is home to marine industry and ports, and its shallow and brackish waters sustain a diverse array of marine life. Barrier islands along the southern edge of the sound separate the microtidal estuary from the Gulf of America. This protection from gulf wave action mediates current flow within the sound, resulting in predominantly fine-grained sediment deposition along the seafloor. This study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, provides insight on fluvial and tidal processes spanning the past 5,000 years. The report synthesizes existing research to provide a comprehensive overview of the sound geology, from Pleistocene origins to present-day morphology, and utilizes high-resolution single channel seismic profiles and sediment data to identify and map sedimentary deposits and morphologic features at and below the seafloor. Despite its ecological significance, the Mississippi Sound faces environmental challenges, including water-quality issues, habitat degradation, storm-induced erosion, and the ongoing threats of sea-level rise and environmental changes. This study uses the present-day understanding of the sound's geology to inform coastal management decisions, hazard assessment, and potential mineral resources.

Louisiana, Mississippi↗

USGS2015

Detailed description of oil shale organic and mineralogical heterogeneity via fourier transform infrared mircoscopy

Mineralogical and geochemical information on reservoir and source rocks is necessary to assess and produce from petroleum systems. The standard methods in the petroleum industry for obtaining these properties are bulk measurements on homogenized, generally crushed, and pulverized rock samples and can take from hours to days to perform. New methods using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been developed to more rapidly obtain information on mineralogy and geochemistry. However, these methods are also typically performed on bulk, homogenized samples. We present a new approach to rock sample characterization incorporating multivariate analysis and FTIR microscopy to provide non-destructive, spatially resolved mineralogy and geochemistry on whole rock samples. We are able to predict bulk mineralogy and organic carbon content within the same margin of error as standard characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Validation of the method was performed using two oil shale samples from the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin with differing sedimentary structures. One sample represents laminated Green River oil shales, and the other is representative of oil shale breccia. The FTIR microscopy results on the oil shales agree with XRD and LECO TOC data from the homogenized samples but also give additional detail regarding sample heterogeneity by providing information on the distribution of mineral phases and organic content. While measurements for this study were performed on oil shales, the method could also be applied to other geological samples, such as other mudrocks, complex carbonates, and soils.

Energy & Fuels↗

USGS2014

Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel

Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, but it does not occur in nature in a useful metallic form. Although ancient people may have recovered some iron from meteorites, it wasn’t until smelting was invented that iron metal could be derived from iron oxides. After the beginning of the Iron Age in about 1200 B.C., knowledge of iron- and steelmaking spread from the ancient Middle East through Greece to the Roman Empire, then to Europe and, in the early 17th century, to North America. The first successful furnace in North America began operating in 1646 in what is now Saugus, Mass. Introduction of the Bessemer converter in the mid-19th century made the modern steel age possible. Pig iron is a high-carbon alloy made by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace with carbonaceous material, typically coke, as a reducing agent. Limestone is added to the iron ore-coke charge as a fluxing agent to remove impurities. Steel is produced from pig iron by removing some of the carbon in a basic oxygen converter and adding several alloying elements, such as manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, titanium, molybdenum, tungsten and vanadium. Steel is also made by recycling ferrous scrap in an electric arc furnace. There are many grades of steel, but the three major types of steel are carbon, alloy and stainless. About 93 percent of the steel made in the United States is carbon steel, which contains a maximum 2 percent carbon. Applications are found in appliances, construction, shipbuilding, containers and packaging, as well as in the automotive, machinery and equipment industries. Alloy steel, about 5 percent of annual production, contains as much as 4 percent alloying elements. Special applications for alloy steel include use in machined parts and tool fabrication. Stainless steel, which accounts for about 2 percent of annual steel production, is formed by adding chromium and usually nickel to steel to make it highly corrosion-resistant. Since 2008, steelmaking capacity has greatly exceeded apparent steel consumption, primarily as a result of China’s rapid economic expansion and rapidly increasing capacity. This has resulted in an influx of steel products into the United States and other steelmaking countries that already have excess capacity. Demand by China’s steelmakers has also driven unprecedented increases in the prices of iron ore and metallurgical coal. In the short term, steelmaking capacity, globally and especially in China, is expected to continue to exceed steel consumption, with steel prices and production costs remaining stable.

Earth↗

USGS1976

Oil spills, 1971-75, Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf

Oil spillage connected with federally supervised drilling and production activities has been a matter of wide public concern. In its supervision of mineral-resource development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the U.S. Geological Survey is responsible for the day-to-day inspection and monitoring of OCS oil and gas operations. During these activities, the U.S. Geological Survey records and investigates hydrocarbon discharges resulting from such operations. Beginning in 1971, all spills have been recorded, and a computer file has been maintained on all spills of 1 barrel or more. The total Gulf of Mexico OCS oil spillage recorded during January 1, 1971-December 31, 1975, amounted to 51,421 barrels. Production during that period amounted to 35,219 barrels per barrel spilled. In all, 5,857 spills were recorded, but 85.5 percent of the total spill volume was contributed by just 5 incidents. The environmental effect of these incidents apparently was minimal and of short duration. No spills of more than 50 barrels resulted from drilling operations during the period. The only spillage resulting from blowouts was caused by nondrilling incidents, including completion, production, and workover. The amount of oil discharged from spills of less than 50 barrels decreased by more than half between 1971 and 1975. The improvement reflects changes in the operating philosophy of the offshore industry, tightening of U.S. Geological Survey operating orders, and substantial increases in the inspection force. Most production-platform spills involve failures in the sump system, the separator system, or other hydrocarbon-handling equipment; improved sump-system designs and better high-low-level controls have reduced both the number and the volume of spills. Pipeline and pump spills also declined significantly, although the decline appears less attributable to revisions in OCS operating requirements. No operator consistently contributed a disproportionate amount of spillage. Most of the platforms having production spills had only one spill during the period. Of the 304 platforms having incidents, 255 had 2 spills or less and 188 had only 1 spill. Comparison of the volume spilled with the volume produced for Gulf of Mexico OCS operations during 1971-75 results in a spillage rate of 0.0028 percent. Spillage from tankers is estimated to be greater. The OCS drilling and production spillage rate is not expected to increase during exploration and development of the frontier areas.

Circular↗

USGS2005

Mineral commodity profiles: Silver

Overview -- Silver is one of the eight precious, or noble, metals; the others are gold and the six platinum-group metals (PGM). World mine production in 2001 was 18,700 metric tons (t) and came from mines in 60 countries; the 10 leading producing countries accounted for 86 percent of the total. The largest producer was Mexico, followed by Peru, Australia, and the United States. About 25 percent of the silver mined in the world in 2001 came from silver ores; 15 percent, from gold ores and the remaining 60 percent, from copper, lead, and zinc ores. In the United States, 14 percent of the silver mined in 2001 came from silver ores; 39 percent, from gold ores; 10 percent, from copper and copper-molybdenum ores; and 37 percent, from lead, zinc, and lead-zinc ores. The precious metal ores (gold and silver) came from 30 lode mines and 10 placer mines; the base-metal ores (copper, lead, molybdenum, and zinc) came from 24 lode mines. Placer mines yielded less than 1 percent of the national silver production. Silver was mined in 12 States, of which Nevada was by far the largest producer; it accounted for nearly one-third of the national total. The production of silver at domestic mines generated employment for about 1,100 mine and mill workers. The value of mined domestic silver was estimated to be $290 million. Of the nearly 27,000 t of world silver that was fabricated in 2001, about one-third went into jewelry and silverware, one-fourth into the light-sensitive compounds used in photography, and nearly all the remainder went for industrial uses, of which there were 7 substantial uses and many other small-volume uses. By comparison, 85 percent of the silver used in the United States went to photography and industrial uses, 8 percent to jewelry and silverware, and 7 percent to coins and medals. The United States was the largest consumer of silver followed by India, Japan, and Italy; the 13 largest consuming countries accounted for nearly 90 percent of the world total. In the United States, about 30 companies accounted for more than 90 percent of the silver fabricated. The consumption of silver for all fabrication uses is expected to grow slowly through the decade ending in 2010 at about 1.3 percent per year for the world and 2.4 percent per year for the United States. World and U.S. reserves and reserve bases are more than adequate to satisfy the demand for newly mined silver through 2010. The other components of supply will be silver recovered from scrap, silver from industrial stocks, and silver bullion that is sold into the market from commodity exchange and private stocks.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2018

Quantifying anthropogenic contributions to century-scale groundwater salinity changes, San Joaquin Valley, California, USA

Total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in groundwater tapped for beneficial uses (drinking water, irrigation, freshwater industrial) have increased on average by about 100 mg/L over the last 100 years in the San Joaquin Valley, California (SJV). During this period land use in the SJV changed from natural vegetation and dryland agriculture to dominantly irrigated agriculture with growing urban areas. Century-scale salinity trends were evaluated by comparing TDS concentrations and major ion compositions of groundwater from wells sampled in 1910 (Historic) to data from wells sampled in 1993-2015 (Modern). TDS concentrations in subregions of the SJV, the southern (SSJV), western (WSJV), northeastern (NESJV), and southeastern (SESJV) were calculated using a cell-declustering method. TDS concentrations increased in all regions, with the greatest increases found in the SSJV and SESJV. Evaluation of the Modern data from the NESJV and SESJV found higher TDS concentrations in recently recharged (post-1950) groundwater from shallow (< 50 m) wells surrounded predominantly by agricultural land uses, while premodern (pre-1950) groundwater from deeper wells, and recently recharged groundwater from wells surrounded by mainly urban, natural, and mixed land uses had lower TDS concentrations, approaching the TDS concentrations in the Historic groundwater. For the NESJV and SESJV, inverse geochemical modeling with PHREEQC indicated that weathering of primary silicate minerals accounted for the majority of the increase in TDS concentrations, contributing more than nitrate from fertilizers and sulfate from soil amendments combined. Bicarbonate showed the greatest increase among major ions, resulting from enhanced silicate weathering due to recharge of irrigation water enriched in CO2 during the growing season. The results of this study demonstrate that large anthropogenic changes to the hydrologic regime, like massive development of irrigated agriculture in semi-arid areas like the SJV, can cause large changes in groundwater quality on a regional scale.

California↗

USGS2015

Mercury in stream water at five Czech catchments across a Hg and S deposition gradient

The Czech Republic was heavily industrialized in the second half of the 20th century but the associated emissions of Hg and S from coal burning were significantly reduced since the 1990s. We studied dissolved (filtered) stream water mercury (Hg) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations at five catchments with contrasting Hg and S deposition histories in the Bohemian part of the Czech Republic. The median filtered Hg concentrations of stream water samples collected in hydrological years 2012 and 2013 from the five sites varied by an order of magnitude from 1.3 to 18.0 ng L − 1 . The Hg concentrations at individual catchments were strongly correlated with DOC concentrations r from 0.64 to 0.93 and with discharge r from 0.48 to 0.75. Annual export fluxes of filtered Hg from individual catchments ranged from 0.11 to 13.3 μg m − 2 yr − 1 and were highest at sites with the highest DOC export fluxes. However, the amount of Hg exported per unit DOC varied widely; the mean Hg/DOC ratio in stream water at the individual sites ranged from 0.28 to 0.90 ng mg − 1 . The highest stream Hg/DOC ratios occurred at sites Pluhův Bor and Jezeří which both are in the heavily polluted Black Triangle area. Stream Hg/DOC was inversely related to mineral and total soil pool Hg/C across the five sites. We explain this pattern by greater soil Hg retention due to inhibition of soil organic matter decomposition at the sites with low stream Hg/DOC and/or by precipitation of a metacinnabar (HgS) phase. Thus mobilization of Hg into streams from forest soils likely depends on combined effects of organic matter decomposition dynamics and HgS-like phase precipitation, which were both affected by Hg and S deposition histories.

Journal of Geochemical Exploration↗

USGS2009

Compositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs

Sediments in Marshall and Hidden Lakes in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah contain records of atmospheric mineral-dust deposition as revealed by differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of lake sediments relative to Precambrian clastic rocks in the watersheds. In cores spanning more than a thousand years, the largest changes in composition occurred within the past approximately 140 years. Many elements associated with ore deposits (Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, In, Mo, Pb, S, Sb, Sn, and Te) increase in the lake sediments above depths that correspond to about AD 1870. Sources of these metals from mining districts to the west of the Uinta Mountains are suggested by (1) the absence of mining and smelting of these metals in the Uinta Mountains, and (2) lower concentrations of most of these elements in post-settlement sediments of Hidden Lake than in those of Marshall Lake, which is closer to areas of mining and the densely urbanized part of north-central Utah that is termed the Wasatch Front, and (3) correspondence of Pb isotopic compositions in the sediments with isotopic composition of ores likely to have been smelted in the Wasatch Front. A major source of Cu in lake sediments may have been the Bingham Canyon open-pit mine 110 km west of Marshall Lake. Numerous other sources of metals beyond the Wasatch Front are likely, on the basis of the widespread increases of industrial activities in western United States since about AD 1900. In sediment deposited since ca. AD 1945, as estimated using 239+240 Pu activities, increases in concentrations of Mn, Fe, S, and some other redox-sensitive metals may result partly from diagenesis related to changes in redox. However, our results indicate that these elemental increases are also related to atmospheric inputs on the basis of their large increases that are nearly coincident with abrupt increases in silt-sized, titanium-bearing detrital magnetite. Such magnetite is interpreted as a component of atmospheric dust, because it is absent in catchment bedrock. Enrichment of P in sediments deposited after ca. AD 1950 appears to be caused largely by atmospheric inputs, perhaps from agricultural fertilizer along with magnetite-bearing soil.

Utah↗

USGS1990

International strategic minerals inventory summary report; tin

The International Strategic Minerals Inventory tin inventory contains records for 56 major tin deposits and districts in 21 countries. These countries accounted for 98 percent of the 10 million metric tons of tin produced in the period 1934-87. Tin is a good alloying metal and is generally nontoxic, and its chief uses are as tinplate for tin cans and as solder in electronics. The 56 locations consist of 39 lode deposits and 17 placers and contain almost 7.5 million metric tons of tin in identified economic resources (R1E) and another 1.5 million metric tons of tin in other resource categories. Most of these resources are in major deposits that have been known for over a hundred years. Lode deposits account for 44 percent of the R1E and 87 percent of the resources in other categories. Placer deposits make up the remainder. Low-income and middle-income countries, including Bolivia and Brazil and countries along the Southeast Asian Tin Belt such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia account for 91 percent of the R1E resources of tin and for 61 percent of resources in other categories. The United States has less than 0.05 percent of the world's tin R1E in major deposits. Available data suggest that the Soviet Union may have about 4 percent of resources in this category. The industrial market economy countries of the United States, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom are major consumers of tin, whereas the major tin-producing countries generally consume little tin. The Soviet Union and China are both major producers and consumers of tin. At the end of World War II, the four largest tin-producing countries (Bolivia, the Belgian Congo (Zaire), Nigeria, and Malaysia) produced over 80 percent of the world's tin. In 1986, the portion of production from the four largest producers (Malaysia, Brazil, Soviet Union, Indonesia) declined to about 55 percent, while the price of tin rose from about $1,500 to $18,000 per metric ton. In response to tin shortages during World War II, the United States began stockpiling refined tin metal from approximately 1946 to 1953 to ensure a strategic supply in the event of another war. Since World War II, there have been six International Tin Agreements to maintain price and supply stability between tin producers and consumers. Artificially high prices set by the tin-producing members and a tin glut brought on by independent producers like Brazil caused the collapse of the world tin market in late 1985; the International Tin Council exhausted its credit to support the market price. By the year 2025, Bolivia's underground lode mines will likely have insignificant production, as will those in the United Kingdom. Tin mines in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt will still be active. Brazil, which has risen from the eighth-ranked tin-producing country in 1982 to the largest producer in 1988, will likely be a major influence on world tin production well into the 21st century. The future mining activity of deposits presently inactive in Australia is impossible to predict.

Circular↗

USGS1985

Undiscovered phosphate resources in the Caribbean region and their potential value for agricultural development

The countries of the world's humid tropical regions lack the soil fertility necessary for high agricultural productivity. A recently developed agricultural technology that increases soil fertility can make tropical agriculture highly productive, but the technique requires large inputs into the soil of phosphorus and other fertilizers and soil amendments. Use of fertilizers derived from phosphate rock is increasing greatly throughout the world, and fertilizer raw materials are being produced more and more frequently from phosphate rock deposits close to the areas of use. An increased understanding of the origin of phosphate rock in ancient oceans has enabled exploration geologists to target areas of potential mineral resource value and to search directly for deposits. However, because of the difficulty of prospecting for mineral deposits in forested tropical regions, phosphate rock deposits are not being explored for in the countries of the humid tropics, including most countries of the Caribbean region. As a result, the countries of the Caribbean must import phosphate rock or phosphorus fertilizer products. In the present trade market, imports of phosphate are too low for the initiation of new agricultural technology in the Caribbean and Central American region. A newly proposed program of discovery and development of undiscovered phosphate rock deposits revolves around reconnaissance studies, prospecting by core drilling, and analysis of bulk samples. The program should increase the chance of discovering economic phosphate rock deposits. The search for and evaluation of phosphate rock resources in the countries of the Caribbean region would take about 5 years and cost an average of $15 million per country. The program is designed to begin with high risk-low cost steps and end with low risk-high cost steps. A successful program could improve the foreign exchange positions of countries in the Caribbean region by adding earnings from agricultural product exports and by substituting domestically produced phosphate rock and fertilizer products for imported phosphate fertilizers. A successful program also could provide enough domestically produced phosphorus fertilizer products to allow initiation of new agricultural technology in the region and thus increase domestic food production. Finally, a new phosphorus fertilizer industry would create new jobs in the mining, chemical, and transportation industries of the Caribbean region.

Circular↗

USGS2009

U.S. Geological Survey Science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative - 2008 Annual Report

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was launched in 2007 in response to concerns about threats to the State's world class wildlife resources, especially the threat posed by rapidly increasing energy development in southwest Wyoming. The overriding purpose of the WLCI is to assess and enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale, while facilitating responsible energy and other types of development. The WLCI includes partners from Federal, State, and local agencies, with participation from public and private entities, industry, and landowners. As a principal WLCI partner, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides multidisciplinary scientific and technical support to inform decisionmaking in the WLCI. To address WLCI management needs, USGS has designed and implemented five integrated work activities: (1) Baseline Synthesis, (2) Targeted Monitoring and Research, (3) Integration and Coordination, (4) Data and Information Management, and (5) Decisionmaking and Evaluation. Ongoing information management of data and products acquired or generated through the integrated work activities will ensure that crucial scientific information is available to partners and stakeholders in a readily accessible and useable format for decisionmaking and evaluation. Significant progress towards WLCI goals has been achieved in many Science and Technical Assistance tasks of the work activities. Available data were identified, acquired, compiled, and integrated into a comprehensive database for use by WLCI partners and to support USGS science activities. A Web-based platform for sharing these data and products has been developed and is already in use. Numerous map products have been completed and made available to WLCI partners, and other products are in progress. Initial conceptual, habitat, and climate change models have been developed or refined. Monitoring designs for terrestrial and aquatic indicators have been completed, pilot data have been collected for terrestrial indicators, and evaluations of alternative monitoring designs are underway. Initial models and map products have been developed for assessing vegetation, surface disturbance, oil and gas resources, mineral resources, surficial geology, invasive species, aspen treatments, ungulate migration corridors, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis), and songbirds, and data were collected or compiled to validate and refine the models. Coordination and collaboration among partners has led to the production of several documents addressing WLCI objectives, strategies, and guiding principles, and has facilitated implementation of on-the-ground habitat treatments.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2000

Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1997

The eight papers that follow continue the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports on investigations in the geologic sciences in Alaska. The series presents new and sometimes preliminary findings that are of interest to earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. Reports presented in Geologic Studies in Alaska cover a broad spectrum of topics from all parts of the State (fig. 1), which serves to emphasize the diversity of USGS efforts to meet the Nation's needs for earth-science information in Alaska. The papers in this volume are organized under the topics Resources, Geologic Framework, and Environment and Climate. Such an organization is intended to reflect the scope and objectives of USGS programs currently active in Alaska. Resource papers include one that presents detailed observations from a Mississippian Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag occurrence in the Brooks Range (Werdon). Mineralogic, chemical, and isotopic data provide the basis for a proposed relationship between this vein-breccia deposit and the shale-hosted massive sulfide deposit type, which includes the active Red Dog mine in the western Brooks Range. Also included under the topic of Resources is a paper that presents geochemical and isotopic data from the Greens Creek and Woewodski Island volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in southeastern Alaska (Newberry and Brew). The depositional environment and sedimentological setting of Tertiary coal beds in the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys is the focus of a third paper under the topic of Resources (Flores and others). Geologic Framework studies provide background information that is the scientific basis for present and future studies of the environment, mineral and energy resources, paleoclimate, and hazards in Alaska. One paper presents the results of sedimentologic and paleontologic comparisons of lower Paleozoic, deep-water-facies rock units in central Alaska (Dumoulin and others). The authors show which of these units are likely to correlate with one another, suggest likely source regions, and provide a structural restoration of units that have been fragmented by large fault motions. A second framework paper provides a map, rock descriptions, and chemical compositions of volcanic rocks in a newly recognized, geologically young volcanic center in the Aleutian volcanic arc (Hildreth and others). A third paper presents an interesting summary of gravity changes that occurred in south-central Alaska during the great earthquake of 1964 and for the following 25 years (Barnes). Gravity changes correlate with land-elevation changes in some cases, but not in others, which means that different processes are responsible for the gravity changes.

Alaska↗

USGS1991

Gold-bearing skarns

In recent years, a significant proportion of the mining industry's interest has been centered on discovery of gold deposits; this includes discovery of additional deposits where gold occurs in skarn, such as at Fortitude, Nevada, and at Red Dome, Australia. Under the classification of Au-bearing skarns, we have modeled these and similar gold-rich deposits that have a gold grade of at least 1 g/t and exhibit distinctive skarn mineralogy. Two subtypes, Au-skarns and byproduct Au-skarns, can be recognized on the basis of gold, silver, and base-metal grades, although many other geological factors apparently are still undistinguishable largely because of a lack of detailed studies of the Au-skarns. Median grades and tonnage for 40 Au-skarn deposits are 8.6 g/t Au, 5.0 g/t Ag, and 213,000 t. Median grades and tonnage for 50 byproduct and Au-skarn deposits are 3.7 g/t Au, 37 g/t Ag, and 330,000 t. Gold-bearing skarns are generally calcic exoskarns associated with intense retrograde hydrosilicate alteration. These skarns may contain economic amounts of numerous other commodities (Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, As, Bi, W, Sb, Co, Cd, and S) as well as gold and silver. Most Au-bearing skarns are found in Paleozoic and Cenozoic orogenic-belt and island-arc settings and are associated with felsic to intermediate intrusive rocks of Paleozoic to Tertiary age. Native gold, electru, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena, bismuth minerals, and magnetite or hematite are the most common opaque minerals. Gangue minerals typically include garnet (andradite-grossular), pyroxene (diopside-hedenbergite), wollastonite, chlorite, epidote, quartz, actinolite-tremolite, and (or) calcite.

Bulletin↗

USGS2009

Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida, 2005

In 2005, the total amount of water withdrawals in Florida was estimated at 18,359 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Saline water accounted for 11,486 Mgal/d (63 percent), and freshwater accounted for 6,873 Mgal/d (37 percent). Groundwater accounted for 4,247 Mgal/d (62 percent) of freshwater withdrawals, and surface water accounted for the remaining 2,626 Mgal/d (38 percent). Surface water accounted for nearly all (99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals. An additional 660 Mgal/d of reclaimed wastewater was used in Florida during 2005. The largest amount of freshwater was withdrawn from Palm Beach County, and the largest amount of saline water was withdrawn from Pasco County. Fresh groundwater provided drinking water (public supplied and self-supplied) for 16.19 million people (90 percent of Florida's population), and fresh surface water provided drinking water for 1.73 million people (10 percent). The majority of groundwater withdrawals (nearly 60 percent) in 2005 was obtained from the Floridan aquifer system which is present throughout the entire State. The majority of fresh surface-water withdrawals (59 percent) came from the southern Florida hydrologic unit subregion and is associated with Lake Okeechobee and the canals in the Everglades Agricultural Area of Glades, Hendry, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as the Caloosahatchee River and its tributaries in the agricultural areas of Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties. Overall, agricultural irrigation accounted for 40 percent of the total freshwater withdrawals (ground and surface), followed by public supply with 37 percent. Public supply accounted for 52 percent of groundwater withdrawals, followed by agricultural self-supplied (31 percent), ommercial-industrial-mining self-supplied (8.5 percent), recreational irrigation and domestic self-supplied (4 percent each), and power generation (0.5 percent). Agricultural self-supplied accounted for 56 percent of fresh surface-water withdrawals, followed by power generation (20.5 percent), public supply (13 percent), recreational irrigation (6 percent), and commercial-industrial self-supplied (4.5 percent). Power generation accounted for nearly all (99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals. Of the 17.92 million people who resided in Florida during 2005, 41 percent (7.36 million people) resided in the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), followed by the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) with 25 percent each (4.46 and 4.44 million people, respectively), the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) with 7.5 percent (1.34 million people), and the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) with 1.5 percent (0.32 million people). The largest amount of freshwater withdrawals was from the SFWMD, which was one-half (50 percent) of the State's total freshwater withdrawals, followed by the SJRWMD (19 percent), SWFWMD (16 percent), NWFWMD (10 percent), and SRWMD (5 percent). Between 1950 and 2005, the population of Florida increased by 15.15 million (550 percent), and the total water withdrawals (fresh and saline) increased 15,700 Mgal/d (600 percent). More recently, total withdrawals decreased 1,790 Mgal/d (9 percent) between 2000 and 2005, but the total population increased by 1.94 million (12 percent). Between 1990 and 2005, saline-water withdrawals increased 1,120 Mgal/d (11 percent), whereas between 2000 and 2005, saline-water withdrawals decreased 470 Mgal/d (4 percent). Between 1990 and 2005, freshwater withdrawals decreased 710 Mgal/d (9 percent), whereas between 2000 and 2005, freshwater withdrawals decreased 1,320 Mgal/d (16 percent). The use of highly mineralized groundwater as a source of supply, primarily for public supply, also has increased in Florida. This water, referred as nonpotable water, increased from just less than 2 Mgal/d in 1970, to 142 Mgal/d in 2005. Nonpotable water is treated to meet drin

Scientific Investigations Report↗