SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Technology”

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

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

At least 1,477 records · Page 82Linked to original sources

USGS2014

Sub-decadal turbidite frequency during the early Holocene: Eel Fan, offshore northern California

Remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicle technologies were used to image and sample exceptional deep sea outcrops where an &sim;100-m-thick section of turbidite beds is exposed on the headwalls of two giant submarine scours on Eel submarine fan, offshore northern California (USA). These outcrops provide a rare opportunity to connect young deep-sea turbidites with their feeder system. 14 C measurements reveal that from 12.8 ka to 7.9 ka, one turbidite was being emplaced on average every 7 yr. This emplacement rate is two to three orders of magnitude higher than observed for turbidites elsewhere along the Pacific margin of North America. The turbidites contain abundant wood and shallow-dwelling foraminifera, demonstrating an efficient connection between the Eel River source and the Eel Fan sink. Turbidite recurrence intervals diminish fivefold to &sim;36 yr from 7.9 ka onward, reflecting sea-level rise and re-routing of Eel River sediments.

Geology Today↗

USGS2025

Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera

Renewable energy technologies rely on the extraction of metals not historically in high demand, such as lithium (Li), for which ore deposit models are incompletely understood. One of the world’s largest Li deposits is hosted in lake sediments of the 16.4 Ma McDermitt caldera, which formed during the early stages of Yellowstone hotspot volcanism in the western United States. Eruptive and posteruptive mobility of Li are major challenges in elucidating deposit formation. Melt inclusions preserved in quartz crystals provide a means to assess pre-eruptive magmatic Li contents. Concentrations of Li determined by ion microprobe for melt inclusions in a McDermitt rhyolite lava are 400−1350 ppm, compared to 20−70 ppm Li in matrix rhyolite glasses. Synthesis with melt inclusion data for eight additional calderas demonstrates a recurrence of Li-rich rhyolitic magmas (200−2000 ppm Li) in the western part of the Yellowstone hotspot track. However, unlike the multicyclic caldera complexes with overlapping fault networks that may have compromised Li retention, the McDermitt caldera remained a closed hydrologic system throughout its evolution. Modeling indicates 100 km 3 of resurgent magma could yield 25−150 Mt Li in a magmatic fluid and supports accumulation of Li-rich magmatic fluid in a closed intracaldera lake, followed by evaporative concentration and sequestration of Li within clay minerals to generate the McDermitt deposit.

Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming↗

USGS1978

Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault systems of northern Arizona

Regional geologic mapping using pictures from the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) has led to the recognition of two parallel northeast-trending systems of normal faults, each of which can be traced more than 100 km. Many eruptive centers appear to be localized along these fault systems or along their extensions. The faults are chiefly observed in Phanerozoic rocks and have minor displacement but are interpreted by us to reflect fault zones of major displacement in the crystalline Precambrian basement. The Bright Angel fault system extends as a continuous zone of normal faults from Cataract Creek on the southwest to the Echo Cliffs on the northeast. Beyond the Echo Cliffs, the system continues northeastward to the vicinity of Monument Valley as a more diffuse, discontinuous zone of normal faults. The Bright Angel fault, Vishnu fault, and Eminence Break graben are among the larger individual members of the total system. The Navajo mountain intrusive center lies along the discontinuous part of the system. Three major eruptive centers of the Mount Floyd volcanic field lie on the southwestern projection of the Bright Angel fault system. If the eruptive centers are included as part of the recognizable structural system, the Bright Angel system has a total known length of slightly more than 300 km. The Mesa Butte fault system, as now recognized, extends from Chino Valley on the southwest to Shadow Mountain on the northeast. Bill Williams Mountain, Sitgreaves Peak, and Kendrick Peak are principal silicic to intermediate eruptive centers of the San Francisco volcanic field that appear to be localized along the fault system. Red Mountain, Mesa Butte, and Shadow Mountain are prominent basaltic eruptive centers along the system; monchiquite diatremes at Tuba Butte and Wildcat Peak lie on the northeast projection of the fault system. The total distance from Chino Valley to Wildcat Peak is more than 200 km. Comparison of the Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault systems with a residual aeromagnetic map of Arizona reveals a close correspondence between the positions of the observed relatively minor normal faults and the margins of a series of large northeast-trending magnetic anomalies. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the aeromagnetic map is a 400-km-long northeast-trending belt of large positive aeromagnetic anomalies that extends from the vicinity of Congress to the northern border of Arizona. The Mesa Butte fault system lies along the southeast margin of this anomaly belt. Another large positive anomaly, bounded on the southeast by the Bright Angel fault, corresponds in the Grand Canyon to a belt of Precambrian amphibolite and schist. Most of the large positive aeromagnetic anomalies along the Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault systems may correspond to similar bodies of mafic metavolcanic rocks, which have been offset along two major and perhaps several minor faults of Precambrian age. The normal faults that displace the overlying Phanerozoic rocks have been formed by renewed movement along these ancient fault zones, in response to dilation of the crust from late Tertiary time to the present. The ancient fault zones inferred to be present along the Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault systems may be related in origin to the Shylock and Chaparral fault zones in central Arizona described by Anderson (1967). Both the Shylock fault zone and the Chaparral fault have right-lateral transcurrent displacement. As shown by Anderson, the Shylock zone has a probable minimum horizontal displacement of 8 km. A large contrast in the magnetic properties of the rocks on opposite sides of the fault zone, indicated by the aeromagnetic map, suggests that the displacement may be several tens of kilometres or more. Comparably large right-lateral displacements may have occurred along the ancestral Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault zones. The location of epicenters of recent earthquakes and reports of earthquakes by residents in the region indicate that the Bright Angel and Mesa Butte fault systems are currently active.

Arizona↗

USGS2022

Next-generation lampricides: A three-stage process to develop improved control tools for invasive sea lamprey

Successful integrated management of the invasive predatory sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America is owed largely to the long history of beneficial use of two lampricides: 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and 2′,5-dichloro-4′-nitrosalicylanilide (niclosamide). Ensuring continued successful sea lamprey control necessitates consideration of possible next-generation lampricides to supplement or replace current lampricides. This review identifies fifteen hallmarks of success for current lampricides to be used as design criteria in a search for next-generation lampricides. A three-stage research approach is outlined. Targeted research using omics, computer modelling, and high-throughput technology to define molecular mechanisms and high probability molecular targets for sea lamprey selective toxic action is crucial to prioritizing chemical candidates. Targeted delivery or identifying synergists to existing or new lampricides can provide increased efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Ultimate development of next-generation lampricides will rely on traditional toxicity testing methodologies to ensure safety and regulatory compliance.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗

USGS2012

Storm surge modeling and applications in coastal areas

This chapter introduces the reader to a wide spectrum of storm surge modeling systems used to assess the impact of tropical cyclones, covering a range of numerical methods, model domains, forcing and boundary conditions, and purposes. New technologies to obtain data such as deployment of temporary sensors and remote sensing practices to support modeling are also presented. Extensive storm surge modeling applications have been made with existing modeling systems and some of them are described in this chapter. The authors recognize the importance of evaluating river-ocean interactions in coastal environments during tropical cyclones. Therefore, the coupling of hydraulic (riverine) and storm surge models is discussed. In addition, results from studies performed in the coast of India are shown which generated maps to help emergency managers and reduce risk due to coastal inundation.

Book chapter↗

USGS2022

Reserve growth in oil fields of the North Sea

The assessment of petroleum resources of the North Sea, as well as other areas of the world, requires a viable means to forecast the amount of growth of reserve estimates (reserve growth) for discovered fields and to predict the potential fully developed sizes of undiscovered fields. This study investigates the utility of North Sea oil field data to construct reserve-growth models. Oil fields of the North Sea provide an excellent dataset in which to examine the mechanisms, characteristics, rates and quantities of reserve growth because of the high level of capital investments, implementation of sophisticated technologies and careful data collection. Additionally, these field data are well reported and available publicly. Increases in successive annual estimat es of recoverable crude oil volumes indicate that oil fields in the North Sea, collectively and in each country, experience reserve growth. Specific patterns of reserve growth are observed among countries and primary producing reservoir-rock types. Since 1985, Norwegian oil fields had the greatest volume increase; Danish oil fields increased by the greatest percentage relative to 1985 estimates; and British oil fields experienced an increase in recoverable oil estimates for the first ten years since 1985, followed by a slight reduction. Fields producing primarily from clastic reservoirs account for the majority of the estimated recoverable oil and, therefore, these fields had the largest volumetric increase. Fields producing primarily from chalk (limestone) reservoirs increased by a greater percentage relative to 1985 estimates than did fields producing primarily from clastic reservoirs. Additionally, the largest oil fields had the greatest volumetric increases. Although different reserve-growth patterns are observed among oil fields located in different countries, the small number of fields in Denmark precludes construction of reserve-growth models for that country. However, differences in reserve-growth patterns among oil fields that produce from primarily clastic and primarily chalk reservoirs, in addition to a greater number of fields in each of the two categories, allow separate reserve-growth models to be constructed based on reservoir-rock type. Reserve-growth models referenced to the date of discovery and to the date of first production may be constructed from North Sea field data. Years since discovery or years since first production are used as surrogates for, or measures of, field-development effort that is applied to promote reserve growth. Better estimates of recoverable oil are made as fields are developed. Because much of the field development occurs some time later than the field discovery date, reserve-growth models referenced to the date of first production may provide a more appropriate measure of development than does date of discovery. ?? 2005 EAGE/Geological Society of London.

Petroleum Geoscience↗

USGS2025

Geochemical processes related to mined, milled, or natural metal deposits in a rapidly changing global environment

The demand for metals and raw materials, such as nickel and copper, has been projected to expand in the coming decades, driven by the global energy transition, the need for green technologies, and expanding infrastructure. Consequently, the increasing extraction and production of mining waste can have adverse impacts on surrounding environments and human health. The aim of this thematic collection is to fill critical knowledge gaps in the present-day cycles of metal(loid)s from source to larger sinks, and the effect of environmental management, anthropogenic development, and climate change. Altogether, the studies have been conducted in different natural settings around the world and comprise investigations in laterites, a soil-medicinal plant system, watersheds, and banded iron formations, among others. The geochemical applications in tracing mineralization, its secondary products, and/or potential impact on the immediate environment are highly diverse with applied tools ranging from isotope tracers to major and trace element systematics. Particularly the use of rare earth elements, their patterns and anomalies are methods employed by several studies in this collection. We summarize the findings to offer a potential future direction for the use of geochemical tracing techniques in resource exploration in the context of climate change and environmental challenges.

Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis↗

USGS2020

The Modern Geological Survey; a model for research, innovation, synthjesis: A USGS perspective

Geological Surveys have long filled the role of providing Earth system science data and knowledge. These functions are increasingly complicated by accelerating environmental and societal change. Here we describe the USGS response to these evolving conditions. Underpinning the USGS approach is the recognition that many of the issues facing the U.S. and the world involve the interaction among geologic, hydrologic, and biologic processes, and how these interactions in turn affect society. Therefore, a goal of USGS planning is fostering interdisciplinary science. This focus is occurring in part through implementation of the recommendations of strategic planning teams. The USGS has also put in place groups building a broad information technology infrastructure as well as identifying and disseminating new Earth science research tools. In addition, the USGS has established an analysis and synthesis center that brings together groups of scientists who address interdisciplinary Earth system science issues. The goal is for these building blocks to evolve towards a comprehensive USGS data and knowledge platform; EarthMAP (Earth Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection). We also recognize that the modern geological survey must be a member of a community of geological surveys contributing data to a global database of 3-dimensional biogeophysical observations and interpretations.

Book chapter↗

USGS2020

Lessons learned from monitoring of turbidity currents and guidance for future platform designs

Turbidity currents transport globally significant volumes of sediment and organic carbon into the deep-sea and pose a hazard to critical infrastructure. Despite advances in technology, their powerful nature often damages expensive instruments placed in their path. These challenges mean that turbidity currents have only been measured in a few locations worldwide, in relatively shallow water depths (<<2 km). Here, we share lessons from recent field deployments about how to design the platforms on which instruments are deployed. First, we show how monitoring platforms have been affected by turbidity currents including instability, displacement, tumbling and damage. Second, we relate these issues to specifics of the platform design, such as exposure of large surface area instruments within a flow and inadequate anchoring or seafloor support. Third, we provide recommended improvements to improve design by simplifying mooring configurations, minimising surface area, and enhancing seafloor stability. Finally we highlight novel multi-point moorings that avoid interaction between the instruments and the flow, and flow-resilient seafloor platforms with innovative engineering design features, such as ejectable feet and ballast. Our experience will provide guidance for future deployments, so that more detailed insights can be provided into turbidity current behaviour, and in a wider range of settings.

Special Publications↗

USGS2019

Enabling real-time user interaction for decision support: Experiences extending a local agave platform metadata service

The University of Hawai'i Information Technology Services Cyber-infrastructure team in partnership with the United States Geological Survey developed the Hawai'i groundwater recharge tool, a decision support tool, as part of the 'Ike Wai Gateway to support water sustainability research for the state of Hawai'i. To enable the development of the tool within the existing University of Hawai'i Agave platform that the 'Ike Wai Gateway is built on, the Metadata application programmatic interface (API) and Agave infrastructure needed to be extended to store and retrieve spatial data and handle a larger number of requests. The development team successfully added the functionality to the local University of Hawai'i Agave platform instance to support the storage of deserialized vector data and metadata that can be spatially queried across hundreds of thousands of records to enable decision support applications within a science gateway.

Hawaii↗

USGS2023

Reimagining standardization and geospatial interoperability in today’s GeoAI culture

Integrating Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) into our technological landscape has revolutionized our capacity to understand and engage with the world. However, the burgeoning adoption of GeoAI applications has underscored the imperative of data, format, and conveyance standardization and enhancing geospatial interoperability. This vision paper delves into the intricacies of the evolving GeoAI environment, emphasizing the indispensable role of standardized practices and elevated interoperability. By synthesizing insights from geography, computer science, and data ethics, this contribution envisions a future characterized by seamless synergy between AI systems and geospatial data, driving impactful decision-making and transformative innovation.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2022

Climate change risks to global forest health: Emergence of unexpected events of elevated tree mortality worldwide

Recent observations of elevated tree mortality following climate extremes, like heat and drought, raise concerns about climate change risks to global forest health. We currently lack both sufficient data and understanding to identify whether these observations represent a global trend towards increasing tree mortality. Here, we document events of sudden and unexpected elevated tree mortality following heat and drought events in ecosystems that previously were considered tolerant or not at risk of exposure. These events underscore the fact that climate change may affect forests with unexpected force in the future. We use the events as examples to highlight current difficulties and challenges for realistically predicting such tree mortality events and the uncertainties about future forest condition. Advances in remote sensing technology and greater availably of high-resolution data, from both field assessments and from satellites, are needed to improve both understanding and prediction of forest responses to future climate change.

California, New Mexico↗

USGS2016

Transformative environmental governance

Transformative governance is an approach to environmental governance that has the capacity to respond to, manage, and trigger regime shifts in coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) at multiple scales. The goal of transformative governance is to actively shift degraded SESs to alternative, more desirable, or more functional regimes by altering the structures and processes that define the system. Transformative governance is rooted in ecological theories to explain cross-scale dynamics in complex systems, as well as social theories of change, innovation, and technological transformation. Similar to adaptive governance, transformative governance involves a broad set of governance components, but requires additional capacity to foster new social-ecological regimes including increased risk tolerance, significant systemic investment, and restructured economies and power relations. Transformative governance has the potential to actively respond to regime shifts triggered by climate change, and thus future research should focus on identifying system drivers and leading indicators associated with social-ecological thresholds.

Annual Review of Environment and Resources↗

USGS2020

Website usability differences between males and females: An eye-tracking evaluation of a climate decision support system

Decision support systems, which are collections of related information located in a central place, can be used as platforms from which climate information can be shared with decision-makers. In this study, a web-based climate decision support system (DSS) for foresters in the Southeast United States was evaluated using eye-tracking technology. The initial study design was exploratory and focused on assessing usability concerns within the website. Results showed differences between male and female forestry experts in their eye-tracking behavior and in their success with completing tasks and answering questions related to the climate information presented in the DSS. A follow-up study, using undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeast United States, aimed to determine if similar gender differences would be detected, and if so, if the cause(s) could be determined. The second evaluation, similar to the first, showed that males and females focused their attention on different aspects of the website; males focused more on the maps depicting climate information, while females focused more on other aspects of the website (e.g., text, search bars, color bars). DSS developers should consider these gender differences when designing a web-based DSS in order to effectively support various populations of users.

Weather, Climate, and Society↗

USGS2022

Drought and water management in ancient Maya society

Paleoclimate research in the Maya region of Mesoamerica provides compelling evidence of drought during key periods of cultural transition in Maya society. These include the transition from the Preclassic to the Classic, and from Classic to the Postclassic. Previous research emphasized a causal relationship between drought and cultural change, or so-called “collapse” in the Maya region. Recent advances in the range and precision of climate-sensitive proxies and the development of new archives have enabled quantitative reconstructions of past hydroclimate, as well as providing evidence of high impact, short-duration events, such as tropical cyclones. Simultaneously, archaeological research has unearthed widespread evidence of technologies used by the Maya to exert control over water resources in urban, rural, and agricultural settings. Evidence suggests that many of these water features were in use for multiple generations, possibly centuries, and many were constructed during the Terminal Preclassic and Terminal Classic periods. We suggest that, given the availability of new archaeological and paleoclimate records, these data can be combined to identify the full complexity of Maya adaptation to hydroclimate variability to emphasize adaptation and resilience to both water scarcity and over-abundance (e.g., flooding). Such syntheses, which can offer lessons for present-day efforts to grapple with regional climate change, will benefit from additional studies in data-poor zones of the Maya region, as well as public archiving of paleoclimate and archaeological data.

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environm↗

USGS2006

Detection and quantification of Renibacterium salmoninarum DNA in salmonid tissues by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis

Renibacterium salmoninarum is an important salmonid pathogen that is difficult to culture. We developed and assessed a real-time, quantitative, polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for the detection and enumeration of R. salmoninarum. The qPCR is based on TaqMan technology and amplifies a 69-base pair (bp) region of the gene encoding the major soluble antigen (MSA) of R. salmoninarum. The qPCR assay consistently detected as few as 5 R. salmoninarum cells per reaction in kidney tissue. The specificity of the qPCR was confirmed by testing the DNA extracts from a panel of microorganisms that were either common fish pathogens or reported to cause false-positive reactions in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Kidney samples from 38 juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in a naturally infected population were examined by real-time qPCR, a nested PCR, and ELISA, and prevalences of R. salmoninarum detected were 71, 66, and 71%, respectively. The qPCR should be a valuable tool for evaluating the R. salmoninarum infection status of salmonids.

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation↗

USGS2025

Planning considerations related to contamination control for the return and analysis of Martian samples

The joint National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign is a proposed multi-mission effort to bring selected geological samples from Mars to Earth for the purpose of scientific investigation. Significant parts of these investigations could be affected by Earth-sourced contamination that is either misinterpreted as having a martian origin or that masks a martian signal. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover implemented strict contamination control requirements to limit contamination of the samples during sample collection. Contamination control and contamination knowledge requirements have not yet been established for the samples after they arrive on Earth. The MSR Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) Contamination Panel (SCP) was tasked with defining the terrestrial biological, organic, and inorganic contamination limits for martian samples during their residence inside the SRF. To reach our recommendations, the SCP studied (i) the previously proposed limits and rationale of the Organic Contamination Panel, (ii) cleanliness levels achieved for sampling hardware by the M2020 mission, (iii) recent improvements in analytical technology and detection limits, (iv) updated information regarding the organic content of martian samples ( e.g. , from the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument on the Curiosity rover and laboratory analyses of martian meteorites), and (v) information about the composition and geologic context of samples being collected by the Perseverance rover for return to Earth.

Astrobiology↗

USGS2021

NGA-East Ground-Motion Characterization model part I: Summary of products and model development

In this article, we present an overview of the research project NGA-East, Next Generation Attenuation for Central and Eastern North America (CENA), and summarize the key methodology and products. The project was tasked with developing a new ground motion characterization (GMC) model for CENA. The final NGA-East GMC model includes a set of 17 median ground motion models (GMMs) for peak ground acceleration and velocity (PGA, PGV) and response spectral ordinates for periods ranging from 0.01 to 10 s. The NGA-East GMMs are applicable to horizontal components of ground motions on very hard rock, for the moment magnitude range of 4.0–8.2, and distances of up to 1500 km. The aleatory standard deviations of GMMs are also provided for site-specific analysis (single-station standard deviation) and for general probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHA) applications (ergodic standard deviation). In addition, adjustment factors are provided for source depth and hanging-wall effects, as well as for hazard computations at sites in the Gulf Coast Region. During the course of the project, several innovative technologies were developed and implemented to increase the transparency and repeatability of the GMC building process. This involved expanding on a set of candidate median GMMs to define and capture an appropriate range of epistemic uncertainty in ground motions. We also developed a new approach for modeling the aleatory variability that was completely independent of the median GMMs. The development made extensive use of the CENA database but also borrowed data from other parts of the world when relevant and led to an integrated suite of models. Through this repeatable process, epistemic uncertainty could be quantified more objectively than before, relying less on expert opinion. The NGA-East project went through a comprehensive Seismic Senior Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) Level 3 peer review process before its release.

Earthquake Spectra↗