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At least 1,405 records · Page 78Linked to original sources
USGS2017

Rare-earth elements

The rare-earth elements (REEs) are 15 elements that range in atomic number from 57 (lanthanum) to 71 (lutetium); they are commonly referred to as the “lanthanides.” Yttrium (atomic number 39) is also commonly regarded as an REE because it shares chemical and physical similarities and has affinities with the lanthanides. Although REEs are not rare in terms of average crustal abundance, the concentrated deposits of REEs are limited in number. Because of their unusual physical and chemical properties, the REEs have diverse defense, energy, industrial, and military technology applications. The glass industry is the leading consumer of REE raw materials, which are used for glass polishing and as additives that provide color and special optical properties to the glass. Lanthanum-based catalysts are used in petroleum refining, and cerium-based catalysts are used in automotive catalytic converters. The use of REEs in magnets is a rapidly increasing application. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which are the strongest known type of magnets, are used when space and weight are restrictions. Nickel-metal hydride batteries use anodes made of a lanthanum-based alloys. China, which has led the world production of REEs for decades, accounted for more than 90 percent of global production and supply, on average, during the past decade. Citing a need to retain its limited REE resources to meet domestic requirements as well as concerns about the environmental effects of mining, China began placing restrictions on the supply of REEs in 2010 through the imposition of quotas, licenses, and taxes. As a result, the global rare-earth industry has increased its stockpiling of REEs; explored for deposits outside of China; and promoted new efforts to conserve, recycle, and substitute for REEs. New mine production began at Mount Weld in Western Australia, and numerous other exploration and development projects noted in this chapter are ongoing throughout the world. The REE-bearing minerals are diverse and often complex in composition. At least 245 individual REE-bearing minerals are recognized; they are mainly carbonates, fluorocarbonates, and hydroxylcarbonates (n = 42); oxides (n = 59); silicates (n = 85); and phosphates (n = 26). Many of the world’s significant REE deposits occur in carbonatites, which are carbonate igneous rocks. The REEs also have a strong genetic association with alkaline magmatism. The systematic geologic and chemical processes that explain these observations are not well understood. Economic or potentially economic REE deposits have been found in (a) carbonatites, (b) peralkaline igneous systems, (c) magmatic magnetite-hematite bodies, (d) iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits, (e) xenotime-monazite accumulations in mafic gneiss, (f) ion-absorption clay deposits, and (g) monazite-xenotime-bearing placer deposits. Carbonatites have been the world’s main source for the light REEs since the 1960s. Ion-adsorption clay deposits in southern China are the world’s primary source of the heavy REEs. Monazite-bearing placer deposits were important sources of REEs before the mid-1960s and may be again in the future. In recent years, REEs have been produced from large carbonatite bodies mined at the Mountain Pass deposit in California and, in China, at the Bayan Obo deposit in Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, the Maoniuping deposit in Sichuan Province, the Daluxiang deposit in Sichuan Province, and the Weishan deposit in Anhui Province. Alkaline igneous complexes have recently been targeted for exploration because of their enrichments in the heavy REEs. Information relevant to the environmental aspects of REE mining is limited. Little is known about the aquatic toxicity of REEs. The United States lacks drinking water standards for REEs. The concentrations of REEs in environmental media are influenced by their low abundances in crustal rocks and their limited solubility in most groundwaters and surface waters. The scarcity of sulfide minerals, including pyrite, minimizes or eliminates concerns about acid-mine drainage for carbonatite-hosted deposits and alkaline-intrusion-related REE deposits. For now, insights into environmental responses of REE mine wastes must rely on predictive models.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2004

Relations between total-sediment load and peak discharge for rainstorm runoff on five ephemeral streams in Wyoming

Total-sediment loads transported by ephemeral flows are a function of rainstorm energy and peak discharge. Rainstorm energy, estimated by rainfall intensity, is the primary mechanism for soil-particle detachment. Vegetation, soil cohesiveness, and land slope also are related to the amount of sediment detached, but these factors remain nearly constant, except for seasonal or human-induced changes in vegetation. Thus, the largest variability in total-sediment loads is the result of variability in rainstorm energy. The magnitude of the peak discharge in a stream from a runoff-producing rainstorm is a function of the intensity and volume of rainfall. The greater the rainfall intensity for the same volume of rainfall, the larger the peak discharge. Therefore, for each drainage area a relation exists between the total-sediment load for a rainstorm and the peak discharge for the rainstorm, because both are a function of rainstorm energy. Total-sediment loads for runoff-producing rainstorms were computed from sample data collected at five ephemeral streams in semiarid areas of Wyoming. Regression analyses were used to develop equations relating total-sediment load to the peak discharge. Coefficients of determination ranged from 89 to 97 percent. Average standard errors ranged from 35 to 94 percent. The slopes of the lines defined by the equations were not different at the 95-percent level of significance, but the intercepts were significantly different for the five streams.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1998

Consumption of materials in the United States, 1900-1995

The flows of nonfood and nonfuel materials through the economy have significant impact on our lives and the world around us. Growing populations and economies demand more goods, services, and infrastructure. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the types of materials consumed in the United States have significantly changed. In 1900, on a per-weight basis, almost half of the materials consumed were from renewable resources, such as wood, fibers, and agricultural products, the rest being derived from nonrenewable resources. By 1995, the consumption of renewable resources had declined dramatically, to only 8% of total consumption. During this century, the quantity of materials consumed has grown, from 161 million metric tons in 1900 to 2.8 billion metric tons by 1995, an equivalent of 10 metric tons per person per year. Of all the materials consumed during this century, more than half were consumed in the last 25 years. This paper examines the general historical shifts in materials consumption and presents an analysis of different measurements of materials use and the significance of their trends.

Annual Review of Energy and the Environment↗
USGS2023

A test of the green wave hypothesis in omnivorous brown bears across North America

Herbivorous animals tend to seek out plants at intermediate phenological states to improve energy intake while minimizing consumption of fibrous material. In some ecosystems, the timing of green-up is heterogeneous and propagates across space in a wave-like pattern, known as the green wave. Tracking the green wave allows individuals to prolong access to higher-quality forage. While there is a plethora of empirical support for such behavior in herbivorous taxa, the green wave hypothesis (GWH) is nuanced based on factors such as body morphometrics and digestive capacity. Furthermore, little is known about whether other taxa, such as omnivores, track the green wave. Our objective was to assess whether the GWH can be extended to explain the movements of omnivores. Using GPS collar data from seven populations (n = 127 individuals) of brown bears Ursus arctos across their entire North American range, we first tested whether bears tracked the green wave. Using conditional resource selection functions (RSFs), we found that variation in proxies of vegetative forage quality better explained movement and habitat selection than proxies of forage biomass in over half of the bears in our study, providing evidence of green wave tracking. Second, we assess factors that explained variation in green wave tracking using linear mixed effects models. Green wave tracking in brown bears was explained by the variation in availability of green-up within spring home ranges, and how green-up transitioned across those home ranges. Our results demonstrate that the GWH can partially explain movement of a non-migratory omnivorous species, extending the generality of the GWH as a broad predictor of animal space use. The green wave is another resource wave brown bears track, and our findings help predict brown bear space use, which can be used to guide conservation and habitat restoration efforts.

Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
USGS2016

Aeromagnetic map of northwest Utah and adjacent parts of Nevada and Idaho

Two aeromagnetic surveys were flown to promote further understanding of the geology and structure in northwest Utah and adjacent parts of Nevada and Idaho by serving as a basis for geophysical interpretations and by supporting geological mapping, water and mineral resource investigations, and other topical studies. Although this area is in general sparsely populated, (except for cities and towns along the Wasatch Front such as Ogden and Brigham City), it encompasses metamorphic core complexes in the Grouse Creek and Raft River Mountains (figure 1) of interest to earth scientists studying Cenozoic extension. The region was shaken in 1909 and 1934 by M6+ earthquakes east of the Hansel Mountains (Doser, 1989; Arabasz and others, 1994); damage from the 1934 earthquake occurred as far east as Logan, Utah (http:// www.seis.utah.edu/lqthreat/nehrp_htm/1934hans/n1934ha1. shtml#urbse). The presence of Quaternary shield volcanoes and bimodal Pleistocene volcanism in Curlew Valley (Miller and others, 1995; Felger and others, 2016) as well as relatively high temperature gradients encountered in the Indian Cove drillhole in the north arm of Great Salt Lake (Blackett and others, 2014) may indicate some potential for geothermal energy development in the area (Miller and others, 1995). The area also hosts four significant mining districts, in the northern Pilot Range, the Goose Creek Mountains in the northwest corner of the map, the southern end of the Promontory Mountains, and the southwest part of the Raft River Mountains, although production notably waned after World War II (Doelling, 1980). Other prospects of interest include those in the southern Grouse Creek Mountains, Silver Island, and the northern Newfoundland Mountains. Large areas of northwest Utah are covered by young, surficial deposits or by Great Salt Lake or are down-dropped into deep Cenozoic basins, making extrapolation of bedrock geology from widely spaced exposures difficult or tenuous (figure 1). Local spatial variations in the Earth's magnetic field (evident as anomalies on aeromagnetic maps) reflect the distribution of magnetic minerals, primarily magnetite, in the underlying rocks. In many cases the volume content of magnetic minerals can be related to rock type, and abrupt spatial changes in the amount of magnetic minerals commonly mark lithologic or structural boundaries. Magnetic data reflect magnetization variations within the crust and are well suited for mapping the distribution of mafic igneous rocks, although felsic igneous rocks, some mineralized zones, and other rock types also can produce measurable magnetic anomalies. For these reasons, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Utah Geological Survey (UGS) contracted for the collection of aeromagnetic data in this area.

Idaho, Nevada, Utah↗
USGS2005

Kimmeridgian Shales Total Petroleum System of the North Sea Graben Province

The North Sea Graben of northwestern Europe, World Energy Project Province 4025, is entirely offshore within the territorial waters of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Extensional tectonics and failed rifting are fundamental to the distribution of oil and gas in the province. Accordingly, the geologic history and reser-voir rocks of the province are considered in the context of their temporal relationship to the principal extension and rifting events. The oil and gas accumulations of the province are considered part of a single petroleum system: the Kimmeridg-ian Shales Total Petroleum System (TPS). Source rocks of the Kimmeridgian Shales TPS were deposited in Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous time during the period of intensive exten-sion and rifting. The Kimmeridgian Shales contain typical 'type II' mixed kerogen. Oil and gas generation began locally in the North Sea Graben Province by Cretaceous time and has continued in various places ever since. Reservoirs are found in strata with ages ranging from Devonian to Eocene. Pre-rift reservoirs are found in fault-block structures activated during rifting and can be of any age prior to the Late Jurassic. Syn-rift reservoirs are restricted to strata actually deposited during maximum extension and include rocks of Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age. Post-rift reservoirs formed after rifting and range in age from Early Cretaceous to Eocene. Seals are diverse, depending upon the structural setting and reservoir age. Pre-rift reservoirs com-monly have seals formed by fine-grained, post-rift sedimentary sequences that drape the Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous structures. Contemporaneous shales such as the Kimmeridge Clay seal many syn-rift reservoirs. Fields with post-rift res-ervoirs generally require seals in fine-grained Tertiary rocks. In most of the North Sea Graben, source rocks have been continuously buried since deposition. Structural trap forma-tion has also taken place continuously since Mesozoic time. As a result, oil and gas are present in a wide variety of settings within Province 4025. Assessment units for the World Energy Project were defined geographically in order to capture regional differ-ences in exploration history, geography, and geological evolution. Three geographic areas were assessed. The Viking Graben, in the northern part of the province, includes both United Kingdom and Norwegian territorial areas. The Moray Firth/Witch Ground in the west-central part of the province is entirely in United Kingdom. waters. The Central Graben in the southern part of the province includes territorial areas of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The North Sea Graben is estimated to contain between 4.3 and 25.6 billion barrels (BBO) of undiscovered, conventionally recoverable oil. Of that total, the Viking Graben is believed to contain 2.2 to 14.8 BBO of undiscov-ered oil, the Moray Firth/Witch Ground may contain between 0.3 and 1.9 BBO, and the Central Graben was estimated to contain undiscovered oil resources of 1.7 to 8.8 BBO. Prov-ince 4025 was also estimated to hold between 11.8 and 75 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered natural gas. Of this total, 6.8 to 44.5 TCF is thought to exist in the Viking Graben, 0.6 to 3.4 TCF is estimated to be in the Moray Firth/Witch Ground, and 4.5 to 27.1 TCF of undiscovered gas is estimated to be in the Central Graben.

Bulletin↗
USGS2021

Developing a set of indicators to identify, monitor, and track impacts and change in forests of the United States

United States forestland is an important ecosystem type, land cover, land use, and economic resource that is facing several drivers of change including climatic. Because of its significance, forestland was identified through the National Climate Assessment (NCA) as a key sector and system of concern to be included in a system of climate indicators as part of a sustained assessment effort. Here, we describe 11 informative core indicators of forests and climate change impacts with metrics available or nearly available for use in the NCA efforts. The recommended indicators are based on a comprehensive conceptual model which recognizes forests as a land use, an ecosystem, and an economic sector. The indicators cover major forest attributes such as extent, structural components such as biomass, functions such as growth and productivity, and ecosystem services such as biodiversity and outdoor recreation. Interactions between humans and forests are represented through indicators focused on the wildland-urban interface, cost to mitigate wildfire risk, and energy produced from forest-based biomass. Selected indicators also include drought and disturbance from both wildfires and biotic agents. The forest indicators presented are an initial set that will need further refinement in coordination with other NCA indicator teams. Our effort ideally will initiate the collection of critical measurements and observations and lead to additional research on forest-climate indicators.

Climatic Change↗
USGS2010

Estimating discharge of shallow groundwater by transpiration from greasewood in the Northern Great Basin

Evapotranspiration from bare soil and phreatophytes is a principal mechanism of groundwater discharge in arid and semiarid regions of the midwestern and western United States including the Great Basin. The imbalance between independent estimates of groundwater recharge from precipitation and of groundwater discharge based on estimates of groundwater evapotranspiration leads to large uncertainties in groundwater budgets. Few studies have addressed this problem. Energy budget micrometeorological field studies were conducted in a stand of sparse-canopy greasewood growing in an area of shallow groundwater in the western Great Basin during the summer of 1989. The data were used to calculate above-canopy fluxes of sensible and latent heat using the energy budget-Bowen ratio method. The calculated energy budget fluxes were used, with soil surface and plant canopy temperature measurements, to calibrate and apply a two-component, energy-combination model that partitions the energy and heat fluxes between bare soil and the canopy. This permitted the separation of evaporation from the soil and transpiration from greasewood. The calibrated model was used to estimate daily transpiration of groundwater by greasewood growing in an area with a depth to water of about 2 m. The daily rate of groundwater discharge by transpiration during July and August was estimated to be 2.4 mm. A period of 100 days for groundwater discharge at this rate was assumed to estimate an annual discharge of groundwater of 24 cm at the study site.

Great Basin↗
USGS2010

The principal rare earth elements deposits of the United States: A summary of domestic deposits and a global perspective

The rare earth elements (REE) are fifteen elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum to lutetium ('lanthanides'), plus yttrium (39), which is chemically similar to the lanthanide elements and thus typically included with the rare earth elements. Although industrial demand for these elements is relatively small in tonnage terms, they are essential for a diverse and expanding array of high-technology applications. REE-containing magnets, metal alloys for batteries and light-weight structures, and phosphors are essential for many current and emerging alternative energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, energy-efficient lighting, and wind power. REE are also critical for a number of key defense systems and other advanced materials. Section 843 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84, directs the Comptroller General to complete a report on REE materials in the defense supply chain. The Office of Industrial Policy, in collaboration with other U.S. Government agencies, has initiated (in addition to this report) a detailed study of REE. This latter study will assess the Department of Defense's use of REE, as well as the status and security of domestic and global supply chains. That study will also address vulnerabilities in the supply chain and recommend ways to mitigate any potential risks of supply disruption. To help conduct this study, the Office of Industrial Policy asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to report on domestic REE reserves and resources in a global context. To this end, the enclosed report is the initial USGS contribution to assessing and summarizing the domestic REE resources in a global perspective. In 2009, the Mineral Resources Program of the USGS organized a new project under the title Minerals at Risk and For Emerging Technologies in order to evaluate mineral resource and supply issues of rare metals that are of increasing importance to the national economy. Leaders and members of this project, with the assistance of the USGS National Minerals Information Center, prepared the enclosed USGS report on domestic REE resources. The USGS Mineral Resources Program has investigated domestic and selected foreign REE resources for many decades, and this report summarizes what has been learned from this research. The USGS National Minerals Information Center (formerly Minerals Information Team) has monitored global production, trade, and resources for an equally long period and is the principal source of statistics used in this report. The objective of this study is to provide a nontechnical overview of domestic reserves and resources of REE and possibilities for utilizing those resources. At the present time, the United States obtains its REE raw materials from foreign sources, almost exclusively from China. Import dependence upon a single country raises serious issues of supply security. In a global context, domestic REE resources are modest and of uncertain value; hence, available resources in traditional trading partners (such as Canada and Australia) are of great interest for diversifying sources of supply. This report restates basic geologic facts about REE relevant to assessing security of supply, followed by a review of current United States consumption and imports of REE, current knowledge of domestic resources, and possibilities for future domestic production. Further detail follows in a deposit-by-deposit review of the most significant domestic REE deposits (see index map). Necessary steps to develop domestic resources are discussed in a separate section, leading into a review of current domestic exploration and a discussion of the value of a future national mineral resource assessment of REE. The report also includes an overview of known global REE resources and discusses the reliability of alternative foreign sources of REE.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2020

EMD Gas Hydrates Committee annual report

Global research on the potential commercial viability of gas extraction from gas hydrates is continuing, predominantly in Asia and in the United States, where recent efforts have focused on the exploration and characterization of gas hydrate petroleum systems and conducting controlled production tests of gas hydrate deposits hosted in mostly sand-rich reservoir systems. In 2017, gas hydrate production testing was conducted in marine settings in the offshore of Japan and China. An additional test was conducted in the Shenhu region of the South China Sea in 2020 to further evaluate the effectiveness of various well completion technologies to produce gas from gas hydrates. Late in 2018, a research partnership led by the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory and the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation established a new Alaska North Slope test site for an extended gas hydrate production pilot with the completion of a stratigraphic test well. With the successful completion of the Prudhoe Bay Unit Hydrate-01 stratigraphic test well, planning is now underway for drilling of three additional wells at the Alaska test site, which will include a geoscience data well and two production test wells. In 2019, the Government of India released the results of one of the most comprehensive gas hydrate scientific drilling investigations ever undertaken, the leadership of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 reported on the discovery of several significant gas hydrate accumulations that were considered suitable for future gas hydrate production testing. In September of 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey released a new assessment of the technically recoverable gas hydrate resources on the Alaska North Slope. In 2018, the University of Texas at Austin released a comprehensive report describing the operational and initial technical results of the UT-GOM2-1 Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition, which drilled and partially cored two wells in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The results of these recently complete gas hydrate geologic and production studies have been further reviewed in this AAPG-EMD Gas Hydrate Committee report.

Alaska↗
USGS2009

Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep, tectonically active margin, southern California, USA

Small, steep, uplifting coastal watersheds are prolific sediment producers that contribute significantly to the global marine sediment budget. This study illustrates how sedimentation evolves in one such system where the continental shelf is largely sediment-starved, with most terrestrial sediment bypassing the shelf in favor of deposition in deeper basins. The Santa Barbara-Ventura coast of southern California, USA, is considered a classic area for the study of active tectonics and of Tertiary and Quaternary climatic evolution, interpretations of which depend upon an understanding of sedimentation patterns. High-resolution seismic-reflection data over >570 km 2 of this shelf show that sediment production is concentrated in a few drainage basins, with the Ventura and Santa Clara River deltas containing most of the upper Pleistocene to Holocene sediment on the shelf. Away from those deltas, the major factor controlling shelf sedimentation is the interaction of wave energy with coastline geometry. Depocenters containing sediment 5-20 m thick exist opposite broad coastal embayments, whereas relict material (bedrock below a regional unconformity) is exposed at the sea floor in areas of the shelf opposite coastal headlands. Locally, natural hydrocarbon seeps interact with sediment deposition either to produce elevated tar-and-sediment mounds or as gas plumes that hinder sediment settling. As much as 80% of fluvial sediment delivered by the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers is transported off the shelf (some into the Santa Barbara Basin and some into the Santa Monica Basin via Hueneme Canyon), leaving a shelf with relatively little recent sediment accumulation. Understanding factors that control large-scale sediment dispersal along a rapidly uplifting coast that produces substantial quantities of sediment has implications for interpreting the ancient stratigraphic record of active and transform continental margins, and for inferring the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in relict shelf deposits.

Marine Geophysical Research↗
USGS2012

Role of stranded gas from Central Asia, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Australia in meeting Asia’s future demand for gas imports

Demand for natural gas is increasing more rapidly than anticipated in Far East markets because (1) China has modified its policies in order to increase reliance on gas, in part to mitigate the growth in its coal consumption (which now stand at almost half of world coal production), (2) Japan has announced its intention to eventually shutdown its nuclear power industry, and (3) India, which currently has more than 400 million people without electricity, desires to accelerate electrification. This analysis investigates the potential role of stranded gas from Central Asia, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Australia in meeting Asia's future demand for gas imports. It initially surveys the discovered or known gas in stranded gas accumulations in Central Asia, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It then examines the primary gas import markets of China, India, Japan, and South Korea by describing energy use, gas demand trends, and domestic gas supplies to establish boundaries that encompass the wide variation in gas import demands in these markets during the two decades following 2020. Then the cost of developing and delivering gas through overland pipelines from selected stranded gas fields in Central Asia and Russia to China is examined. Analysis shows that for the Shanghai market in China, the costs of developing and delivering Russia's stranded gas from the petroleum provinces of eastern Siberia are competitive with costs estimated for stranded gas from Central Asia. However, for the Western Siberian Basin, delivered gas costs are at least 3 US dollars per thousand cubic feet (USD/Mcf) higher than delivered gas from Central Asia. The extraction and transport costs to a liquefaction plant for gas from stranded gas fields located in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the basins of eastern Siberia are then evaluated. The resource cost functions presented show development and extraction costs as a function of the volume of stranded gas developed for each country. The analysis demonstrates that, although the Russian fields in areas of eastern Siberia are large with relatively low extraction costs, distances to a potential liquefaction plant at Vladivostok make them initially the high cost suppliers of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. For the LNG markets examined, Australia and Malaysia are initially the lowest cost suppliers. For the Shanghai market, a comparison of the cost of supplying gas by pipeline with the cost of supplying LNG shows that the pipeline costs from areas of eastern Siberia and Central Asia are generally lower than delivered cost of gas as LNG from the LNG supply sources considered.

Central Asia, Southeast Asia↗
USGS1951

Carnotite resources of the upper group area, San Miguel County, Colorado

The Upper group area, which consists of 10 Government claims and adjoining public land, is 2 miles southeast of Slick Rock, San Miguel County, Colo., in unsurveyed secs. 5 and 6, T. 43 N., R. 18 W., New Mexico principal meridian. The area is equidistant from mills at Monticello, Utah, and Naturita, Colo. Both mills are reached by about 45 miles of all-weather roads. About 2,700 tons of carnotite ore was produced from the area between 1921 and 1943 (tons used in this report are short tons). This ore had an estimated average grade of 0.25 percent U30g and 1.7 percent V205. The ore deposits are in the top sandstone stratum of the Salt Wash sandstone member of the Tipper Jurassic Morrison formation. The principal ore-bearing minerals, which mainly impregnate the sandstone, consist of uranium-bearing carnotite and a micaceous vanadium-bearing mineral called “roscoelite." The deposits are mostly in small podlike masses called "rolls." The size of the rolls ranges from less than 50 to more than 1,500 tons each. The long axes of the rolls have a dominant northeasterly to easterly trend. Exploration by the Geological Survey was done on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission to test unexplored ground for new deposits of carnotite ore and to gain a better appraisal of the reserves in the area. From 1948 to 1950, 186 diamond-drill holes were completed for a total of 14,577 feet. The areas of favorable sandstone were found and defined by holes drilled 300 to 500 feet apart. Altered mudstone, carbonaceous material in the sandstone, and color of the sandstone were used to determine the favorability of the sandstone. Within areas containing favorable sandstone holes were drilled on 100- to 150-foot centers to find deposits. Where deposits were found more than 20 feet below the surface, they were roughly outlined by holes drilled on 50- to 75- foot centers. Deposits discovered within 20 feet of the surface were not outlined. Reserves in deposits found by the drilling are classed as indicated and inferred, whereas those reserves that are predicted solely on geologic evidence are classed as potential. Indicated reserves computed at the highest thickness and grade cut-offs (1 foot or more thick and 0.10 percent U3O8 or .10 percent V205) total 5,000 tons, averaging 0.19 percent U308 and 1.6 percent V205. Inferred reserves computed at the same cut-offs total 3,500 tons, averaging .22 percent U308 and 1.7 percent V205. Both the indicated and inferred reserves, as well as the pounds of contained U3O8and V205, are summarized in table 1. Potential reserves are predicted to total about 1,500 tons, averaging about 0.20 percent U3O8 and 1.6 percent V205. Most of the potential reserves are expected to be in small scattered deposits within 20 feet of the surface. No additional diamond drilling by the Geological Survey is planned in the Upper group area. Several specific localities, principally in the central part of the area, are recommended for further exploration by jackhammer and wagon drilling by lessees and operators.

Colorado↗
USGS2011

Seasonal variation in nutritional characteristics of the diet of greater white-fronted geese

We studied diet and habitat use of greater white-fronted geese ( Anser albifrons ) from autumn through spring on their primary staging and wintering areas in the Pacific Flyway, 1979–1982. There have been few previous studies of resource use and forage quality of wintering greater white-fronted geese in North America, and as a consequence there has been little empirical support for management practices pertaining to habitat conservation of this broadly distributed species. Observations of >2,500 flocks of geese and collections of foraging birds revealed seasonal and geographic variation in resource use reflective of changes in habitat availability, selection, and fluctuating physiological demands. Autumn migrants from Alaska arrived first in the Klamath Basin of California and southern Oregon, where they fed on barley, oats, wheat, and potatoes. Geese migrated from the Klamath Basin into the Central Valley of California in late autumn where they exploited agricultural crops rich in soluble carbohydrates, with geese in the Sacramento Valley feeding almost exclusively on rice and birds on the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta primarily utilizing corn. White-fronted geese began their northward migration in late winter, and by early spring most had returned to the Klamath Basin where 37% of flocks were found in fields of new growth cultivated and wild grasses. Cereal grains and potatoes ingested by geese were low in protein (7–14%) and high in soluble nutrients (17–47% neutral detergent fiber [NDF]), whereas grasses were low in available energy (47–49% NDF) but high in protein (26–42%). Greater white-fronted geese are generalist herbivores and can exploit a variety of carbohydrate-rich cultivated crops, likely making these geese less susceptible to winter food shortages than prior to the agriculturalization of the North American landscape. However, agricultural landscapes can be extremely dynamic and may be less predictable in the long-term than the historic environments to which geese are adapted. Thus far greater white-fronted geese have proved resilient to changes in land cover in the Pacific Flyway and by altering their migration regime have even been able to adapt to changes in the availability of suitable forage crops.

Pacific Flyway↗
USGS2022

New projections of 21st century climate and hydrology for Alaska and Hawaiʻi

In the United States, high-resolution, century-long, hydroclimate projection datasets have been developed for water resources planning, focusing on the contiguous United States (CONUS) domain. However, there are few statewide hydroclimate projection datasets available for Alaska and Hawaiʻi. The limited information on hydroclimatic change motivates developing hydrologic scenarios from 1950 to 2099 using climate-hydrology impact modeling chains consisting of multiple statistically downscaled climate projections as input to hydrologic model simulations for both states. We adopt an approach similar to the previous CONUS hydrologic assessments where: 1) we select the outputs from ten global climate models (GCM) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 with Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5; 2) we perform statistical downscaling to generate climate input data for hydrologic models (12-km grid-spacing for Alaska and 1-km for Hawaiʻi); and 3) we perform process-based hydrologic model simulations. For Alaska, we have advanced the hydrologic model configuration from CONUS by using the full water-energy balance computation, frozen soils and a simple glacier model. The simulations show that robust warming and increases in precipitation produce runoff increases for most of Alaska, with runoff reductions in the currently glacierized areas in Southeast Alaska. For Hawaiʻi, we produce the projections at high resolution (1 km) which highlight high spatial variability of climate variables across the state, and a large spread of runoff across the GCMs is driven by a large precipitation spread across the GCMs. Our new ensemble datasets assist with state-wide climate adaptation and other water planning.

Alaska, Hawaii↗
USGS2016

Soil phosphorus cycling in tropical soils: An ultisol and oxisol perspective

Phosphorus (P) is essential for life. It is the backbone of our DNA, provides energy for biological reactions, and is an integral component of cell membranes. As such, it is no surprise that P availability plays a strong role in regulating ecosystem structure and function (Wassen et al. 2005, Elser et al. 2007, Condit et al. 2013), and in determining our capacity to grow food for a burgeoning human population (Sharpley et al. 1997, Sims and Sharpley 2005, Lal 2009). Concerns that P supplies are insufficient to meet our species’ growing demands are on the rise (Richardson and Simpson 2011) and scientific and media outlets increasingly discuss P as an element worthy of our attention and concern (e.g., Cordell et al. 2009, Lougheed 2011, Edixhoven et al. 2013, Ulrich et al. 2013). Indeed, a number of groups are calling for the explicit stewardship of our planet’s P stocks (Schipper 2014, Withers et al. 2015). Yet a focus on P as a vital and limited resource is not new in the tropics, where an abundance of soils characterized by low P has resulted in a substantial, longstanding reliance on P inputs for tropical ecosystem function in both unmanaged and agriculture settings (Table 1, Figure 2; Sanchez 1976, Swap et al. 1992, Chadwick et al. 1999, Okin et al. 2004, Lal 2009). Indeed, there is a long history of cultivation in the tropics, where for thousands of years land management practices have included methods that effectively modify P availability for plant growth (e.g., Giardina et al. 2000, Lawrence and Schlesinger 2001, Vitousek et al. 2004, Lewis et al. 2015). Nevertheless, low soil fertility in tropical systems where fertilizer is scarce has enduringly been recognized as a major source of hunger and starvation (Sanchez and Buol 1975, Sanchez 2002, Sanchez and Swaminathan 2005).

Book chapter↗
USGS1983

Reservoir evaporation in central Colorado

Evaporation losses from seven reservoirs operated by the Denver Water Department in central Colorado were determined during various periods from 1974 to 1980. The reservoirs studies were Ralston, Cheesman, Antero, Williams Fork, Elevenmile Canyon, Dillon, and Gross. Energy-budget and mass-transfer methods were used to determine evaporation. Class-A pan data also were collected at each reservoir. The energy-budget method was the most accurate of the methods used to determine evaporation. At Ralston, Cheesman, Antero, and Williams Fork Reservoirs the energy-budget method was used to calibrate the mass-transfer coefficients. Calibrated coefficients already were available for Elevenmile Canyon, Dillon, and Gross Reservoirs. Using the calibrated coefficients, long-term mass-transfer evaporation rates were determined. Annual evaporation values were not determined because the instrumentation was not operated for the entire open-water season. Class-A pan data were used to determine pan coefficients for each season at each reservoir. The coefficients varied from season to season and between reservoirs, and the seasonal values ranged from 0.29 to 1.05. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2014

Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic properties and evaluation of property-transfer models for deep sedimentary interbeds, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Operations at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have the potential to contaminate the underlying Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. Methods to quantitatively characterize unsaturated flow and recharge to the ESRP aquifer are needed to inform water-resources management decisions at INL. In particular, hydraulic properties are needed to parameterize distributed hydrologic models of unsaturated flow and transport at INL, but these properties are often difficult and costly to obtain for large areas. The unsaturated zone overlying the ESRP aquifer consists of alternating sequences of thick fractured volcanic rocks that can rapidly transmit water flow and thinner sedimentary interbeds that transmit water much more slowly. Consequently, the sedimentary interbeds are of considerable interest because they primarily restrict the vertical movement of water through the unsaturated zone. Previous efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have included extensive laboratory characterization of the sedimentary interbeds and regression analyses to develop property-transfer models, which relate readily available physical properties of the sedimentary interbeds (bulk density, median particle diameter, and uniformity coefficient) to water retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curves. During 2013–14, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, focused on further characterization of the sedimentary interbeds below the future site of the proposed Remote Handled Low-Level Waste (RHLLW) facility, which is intended for the long-term storage of low-level radioactive waste. Twelve core samples from the sedimentary interbeds from a borehole near the proposed facility were collected for laboratory analysis of hydraulic properties, which also allowed further testing of the property-transfer modeling approach. For each core sample, the steady-state centrifuge method was used to measure relations between matric potential, saturation, and conductivity. These laboratory measurements were compared to water-retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity parameters estimated using the established property-transfer models. For each core sample obtained, the agreement between measured and estimated hydraulic parameters was evaluated quantitatively using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). The highest correlation is for saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K sat ) with an r value of 0.922. The saturated water content (q sat ) also exhibits a strong linear correlation with an r value of 0.892. The curve shape parameter (λ) has a value of 0.731, whereas the curve scaling parameter (y o ) has the lowest r value of 0.528. The r values demonstrate that model predictions correspond well to the laboratory measured properties for most parameters, which supports the value of extending this approach for quantifying unsaturated hydraulic properties at various sites throughout INL.

Idaho↗