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Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the McCarthy Quadrangle, Alaska

These summaries of data on metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences and lists of selected references to .them in Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Mines, and State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (and predecessor State and Territorial agencies) reports and maps and a very.few journal articles are designed to aid in library research on the mineral resources of the McCarthy quadrangle, Alaska. The references listed are selected in the sense that mainly statistical reports such as the annual Minerals Yearbook of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and many annual and biennial reports of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor agencies are not included. Also not included are data on claims about which little more than their locations is known (for example, localities 126- 130 in MacKevett and Holloway, 1977 (OF 77-169A). These omissions should not be interpreted as a judgement that the claims are not on valid mineral occurrences, but only chat there are insufficient data to describe any mineral deposits that might be present. Geochemical anomalies determined by analyses of rock and stream-sediment samples in which no metallic mineral was indentified are also omitted.

Alaska↗

Characteristic analysis-1981: Final program and a possible discovery

The latest ornewest version of thecharacteristicanalysis (NCHARAN)computer program offers the exploration geologist a wide variety of options for integrating regionalized multivariate data. The options include the selection of regional cells for characterizing deposit models, the selection of variables that constitute the models, and the choice of logical combinations of variables that best represent these models. Moreover, the program provides for the display of results which, in turn, makes possible review, reselection, and refinement of a model. Most important, the performance of the above-mentioned steps in an interactive computing mode can result in a timely and meaningful interpretation of the data available to the exploration geologist. The most recent application of characteristic analysis has resulted in the possible discovery of economic sulfide mineralization in the Grong area in central Norway. Exploration data for 27 geophysical, geological, and geochemical variables were used to construct a mineralized and a lithogeochemical model for an area that contained a known massive sulfide deposit. The models were applied to exploration data collected from the Gjersvik area in the Grong mining district and resulted in the identification of two localities of possible mineralization. Detailed field examination revealed the presence of a sulfide vein system and a partially inverted stratigraphic sequence indicating the possible presence of a massive sulfide deposit at depth. ?? 1983 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

A procedure to estimate the parent population of the size of oil and gas fields as revealed by a study of economic truncation

An estimation technique has been derived to predict the number of small fields in a geologic play or basin. Historically, many small oil and gas fields went unreported because they were not economical. This led to an underestimation of the number of undiscovered small fields. A study of the distributions of reported oil and gas fields in well-explored areas suggests that the large fields when grouped into log base 2 size classes are geometrically distributed. Further, the number of small fields reported is a function of the cost of exploration and development. Thus, the population field-size distribution is conjectured to be log geometric in form. ?? 1983 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Bibliography of selected water-resources publications on Nevada by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1885 through 1995

References to 898 water-resources publications are listed alphabetically by senior author and indexed by hydrographic-area name or other geographic features. Most of the publications were written between 1960 and 1995 by U.S. Geological Survey scientists and engineers of the Water Resources Division, Nevada District. Also included are references to publications by other Water Resources Division authors that deal with Nevada hydrology. References to publications written before 1960 are included to provide a historical perspective. The references include several types of Geological Survey book and map publications, as well as State-series reports, journal articles, conference and symposium papers, abstracts, and graduate- degree theses. Information on publication availability is provided also.

Open-File Report↗

Comparative study of aggregations under different dependency assumptions for assessment of undiscovered recoverable oil resources in the world

The U.S. Geological Survey assessed all significant sedimentary basins in the world for undiscovered conventionally recoverable crude-oil resources. Probabilistic methodology was applied to each basin assessment to produce estimates in the form of probability distributions. Basin probability distributions were computer aggregated to produce resource estimates for the entire world. Aggregation was approximated by a three-parameter lognormal distribution by combining the first three central moments of basin distributions. For purposes of experiment and study, world aggregation was conducted under four different sets of assumptions. The four cases are (1) dependent assessments of all basins, (2) dependent assessments within continental areas, but independent assessments among continental areas, (3) dependent assessments within countries, but independent assessments among countries, and (4) independent assessments of all basins. Mean estimate remained the same in all four cases, but the width of interval estimate formed using the 95th and 5th fractiles decreased with reduced dependency in going from first to fourth case. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Resource estimation from historical data: Mercury, a test case

A simple technique based on historical records of tonnage and grade of ore produced provides a means for calculating how much of a mineral product will be available in the future at various average grades. Estimates made on this basis are independent of geologic considerations or changing economic and political factors, although they are based on mining history, which was largely determined by these factors. The relatively minor element, mercury, was used for the test case reported here, but the method has been found applicable to forecasts of resources for other mineral products. Mercury resources available in ore in which the average grade is as low as 0.1% are estimated to be 53 ??106kg (1.5 ??106flasks) for the United States and 1551 ??106kg (45 ??106flasks) for the world; this amount is more than adequate to meet predicted demand to the year 2000. The expectable price of mercury in 1978 dollars at this 0.1% grade is projected to be $58.75 per kg ($2,025 per flask), but at a 10% annual inflation rate, it would be more than $12,000 per flask. To satisfy just the projected U.S. demand for mercury by 2000, the price is calculated to be $48.96 per kg ($1,688 per flask) in 1978 dollars at an average annual grade of 0.12%. ?? 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Scaling variables and interpretation of eigenvalues in principal component analysis of geologic data

The dominant feature distinguishing one method of principal components analysis from another is the manner in which the original data are transformed prior to the other computations. The only other distinguishing feature of any importance is whether the eigenvectors of the inner product-moment of the transformed data matrix are taken directly as the Q-mode scores or scaled by the square roots of their associated eigenvalues and called the R-mode loadings. If the eigenvectors are extracted from the product-moment correlation matrix, the variables, in effect, were transformed by column standardization (zero means and unit variances), and the sum of the p-largest eigenvalues divided by the sum of all the eigenvalues indicates the degree to which a model containing p components will account for the total variance in the original data. However, if the data were transformed in any manner other than column standardization, the eigenvalues cannot be used in this manner, but can only be used to determine the degree to which the model will account for the transformed data. Regardless of the type of principal components analysis that is performed-even whether it is R or Q-mode-the goodness-of-fit of the model to the original data is given better by the eigenvalues of the correlation matrix than by those of the matrix that was actually factored. ?? 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

#TheSmoreYouKnow and #emergencycute: A conceptual model on the use of humor by science agencies during crisis to create connection, empathy, and compassion

Studies from a variety of disciplines reveal that humor can be a useful method to reduce stress and increase compassion, connection, and empathy between agencies and people they serve during times of crisis. Despite this growing evidence base, humor's use during a geohazard (earthquake, volcanoes , landslides, and tsunami) to aid scientific agencies' crisis communication response has been rarely studied. A broad literature review of humor in crisis and an exploratory examination of several case studies reveal that scientific organizations, specifically those that respond to geohazards, can harness the power of humor to help create connection and empathy with the publics they seek to serve. We find evidence that supports our argument that the use of humor acknowledges a shared human experience, reducing the barriers between public officials, scientists, and the people most impacted by crisis. Public statements made by scientists and public officials during the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) response to the Kīlauea eruption in 2018 in Hawai'i, United States, and GNS Science/GeoNet (GeoNet) response to the M7.8 Kaikōura/North Hurunui earthquake in 2016 in Aotearoa New Zealand, are used to inform the development of this conceptual model. We then posit a conceptual model which unifies concepts from the literature with our case studies to provide potential guidelines for those crisis communicators working for science agencies on how best to use humor to help people cope during times of crisis. This model can be further tested for future research to determine its effectiveness and utility for scientific agencies responding to geological crises.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction↗

Using a Geographic Information System to determine the relation between stream quality and geology in the Roberts Creek watershed, Clayton County, Iowa

A geographic information system (GIS) was used to determine the relation between the stream-water quality and underlying geology in Roberts Creek watershed, Clayton County, Iowa, for base-flow conditions during the spring and summer of 1988–90. Geologic, stream, basin and subbasin boundaries, and water-quality sampling-site coverages were created by digitizing available maps. A contour coverage was created from digital line-graph data. The areal extent of geologic units subcropping in each subbasin was quantified with GIS, and the results then were output and joined with the discharge and water-quality data for statistical analyses. Illustrations showing the geology of the study area and the results of the study were prepared using GIS. By using GIS and a statistical software package, a weak but statistically significant relation was found between the water temperature, pH, and nitrogen concentrations in Roberts Creek and the underlying geology during base-flow conditions.

Iowa↗

A universal surface complexation framework for modeling proton binding onto bacterial surfaces in geologic settings

Adsorption onto bacterial cell walls can significantly affect the speciation and mobility of aqueous metal cations in many geologic settings. However, a unified thermodynamic framework for describing bacterial adsorption reactions does not exist. This problem originates from the numerous approaches that have been chosen for modeling bacterial surface protonation reactions. In this study, we compile all currently available potentiometric titration datasets for individual bacterial species, bacterial consortia, and bacterial cell wall components. Using a consistent, four discrete site, non-electrostatic surface complexation model, we determine total functional group site densities for all suitable datasets, and present an averaged set of 'universal' thermodynamic proton binding and site density parameters for modeling bacterial adsorption reactions in geologic systems. Modeling results demonstrate that the total concentrations of proton-active functional group sites for the 36 bacterial species and consortia tested are remarkably similar, averaging 3.2 ?? 1.0 (1??) ?? 10-4 moles/wet gram. Examination of the uncertainties involved in the development of proton-binding modeling parameters suggests that ignoring factors such as bacterial species, ionic strength, temperature, and growth conditions introduces relatively small error compared to the unavoidable uncertainty associated with the determination of cell abundances in realistic geologic systems. Hence, we propose that reasonable estimates of the extent of bacterial cell wall deprotonation can be made using averaged thermodynamic modeling parameters from all of the experiments that are considered in this study, regardless of bacterial species used, ionic strength, temperature, or growth condition of the experiment. The average site densities for the four discrete sites are 1.1 ?? 0.7 ?? 10-4, 9.1 ?? 3.8 ?? 10-5, 5.3 ?? 2.1 ?? 10-5, and 6.6 ?? 3.0 ?? 10-5 moles/wet gram bacteria for the sites with pKa values of 3.1, 4.7, 6.6, and 9.0, respectively. It is our hope that this thermodynamic framework for modeling bacteria-proton binding reactions will also provide the basis for the development of an internally consistent set of bacteria-metal binding constants. 'Universal' constants for bacteria-metal binding reactions can then be used in conjunction with equilibrium constants for other important metal adsorption and complexation reactions to calculate the overall distribution of metals in realistic geologic systems.

American Journal of Science↗

A three-dimensional model to predict future oil discoveries in spatially connected multiple plays

A discovery-process model that had been devised previously to estimate the size distribution of oil and gas fields remaining to be discovered in a single producing horizon was adapted to a basin containing spatially connected multiple plays and producing horizons. This model used the concept of the area of influence of wells to estimate search effort. Other variables estimated from the historical drilling and discovery data are the effective basin size and the exploration-drilling efficiency. Data from the Midland Basin are used to illustrate how the model works. ?? 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Pattern drilling exploration: Optimum pattern types and hole spacings when searching for elliptical shaped targets

In this study the selection of the optimum type of drilling pattern to be used when exploring for elliptical shaped targets is examined. The rhombic pattern is optimal when the targets are known to have a preferred orientation. Situations can also be found where a rectangular pattern is as efficient as the rhombic pattern. A triangular or square drilling pattern should be used when the orientations of the targets are unknown. The way in which the optimum hole spacing varies as a function of (1) the cost of drilling, (2) the value of the targets, (3) the shape of the targets, (4) the target occurrence probabilities was determined for several examples. Bayes' rule was used to show how target occurrence probabilities can be revised within a multistage pattern drilling scheme. ?? 1979 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Vector analysis of chemical variation in the lavas of Parícutin volcano, Mexico

Compositional variations in the lavas of Parícutin volcano, Mexico, have been examined by an extended method of Q-mode factor analysis. Each sample composition is treated as a vector projected from an original eight-dimensional space into a vector system of three dimensions. The compositions represented by the vectors after projection are closely similar to the original compositions except for Na2O and Fe2O3. The vectors in the three-dimensional system cluster about three different planes that represent three stages of compositional change in the Parícutin lavas. Because chemical data on the compositions of the minerals in the lavas are presently lacking, interpretations of the mineral phases that may have been involved in fractional crystallization are based on CIPW norm calculations. Changes during the first stage are attributed largely to the fractional crystallization of plagioclase and olivine. Changes during the second stage can be explained by the separation of plagioclase and pyroxene. Changes during the final stage may have resulted mostly from the assimilation of a granitic material, as previously proposed by R. E. Wilcox.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Lognormal field size distributions as a consequence of economic truncation

The assumption of lognormal (parent) field size distributions has for a long time been applied to resource appraisal and evaluation of exploration strategy by the petroleum industry. However, frequency distributions estimated with observed data and used to justify this hypotheses are conditional. Examination of various observed field size distributions across basins and over time shows that such distributions should be regarded as the end result of an economic filtering process. Commercial discoveries depend on oil and gas prices and field development costs. Some new fields are eliminated due to location, depths, or water depths. This filtering process is called economic truncation. Economic truncation may occur when predictions of a discovery process are passed through an economic appraisal model. We demonstrate that (1) economic resource appraisals, (2) forecasts of levels of petroleum industry activity, and (3) expected benefits of developing and implementing cost reducing technology are sensitive to assumptions made about the nature of that portion of (parent) field size distribution subject to economic truncation. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Spatial analysis of extension fracture systems: A process modeling approach

Little consensus exists on how best to analyze natural fracture spacings and their sequences. Field measurements and analyses published in geotechnical literature imply fracture processes radically different from those assumed by theoretical structural geologists. The approach adopted in this paper recognizes that disruption of rock layers by layer-parallel extension results in two spacing distributions, one representing layer-fragment lengths and another separation distances between fragments. These two distributions and their sequences reflect mechanics and history of fracture and separation. Such distributions and sequences, represented by a 2 ?? n matrix of lengthsL, can be analyzed using a method that is history sensitive and which yields also a scalar estimate of bulk extension, e (L). The method is illustrated by a series of Monte Carlo experiments representing a variety of fracture-and-separation processes, each with distinct implications for extension history. Resulting distributions of e (L)are process-specific, suggesting that the inverse problem of deducing fracture-and-separation history from final structure may be tractable. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗

Resolving controls on epeiric sedimentation using trend surface analysis

An understanding of patterns of regional sedimentation is crucial to identifying trends of perspective petroleum reservoirs. The Upper Pennsylvanian, Missourian Kansas City Group consists of repetitions of widespread carbonate rock and shale. Each of four cyclothems chosen for subsurface study of western Kansas contains transgressive and regressive lithofacies with evidence of extensive subaerial exposure across the entire paleoshelf. Distribution of carbonate facies on the 350+ km-wide shelf was affected strongly by slight changes in structural configuration of the shelf and variations in sea level. Polynomial trend surface models prepared from selected wireline log information for four successive cyclothems assist in resolving regional and local patterns of sedimentation and help to access the effect of subtle structural deformation on sedimentation. Isopachs of marine portions of four cyclothems were fit by fourth-order trend surfaces, optimizing fit by comparing goodness-of-fit and minimizing skewness of residuals using the smallest order surface. Several cyclothems showed simple patterns of regional, basinward thickening with local, strike-elongated anomalies where goodness-of-fit was maximized with increasing order. One cyclothem did not converge to a good fit at small orders nor did distribution of residuals indicate convergence toward zero. Both anomalies reflected a more complex surface. Rather than thickening regionally, the pattern created by this anomalous cyclothem was more irregular. Mapped patterns resemble those of the present-day structural configuration of these horizons suggesting a general persistence in similar epeirogenic deformation. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗