Our Impact
Earth MRI is making an impact across the Nation. These are stories of Earth MRI in action.
Earth MRI is making an impact across the Nation. These are stories of Earth MRI in action.
Our Partners
Partnerships are central to Earth MRI. Learn how they benefit the Nation.
Partnerships are central to Earth MRI. Learn how they benefit the Nation.
Connect with Us
Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)
Earth MRI is modernizing mapping of the Nation's surface and subsurface. We deliver high-quality data needed to understand our Nation's geology, find new critical and other mineral resources, and inform decisions about how the Nation will meet its evolving needs.
What is Earth MRI?
What is Earth MRI?
Earth MRI is an initiative within the USGS Mineral Resources Program.
Mapping and Science
Mapping and Science
We collect multiple types of data across the full extent of the Nation.
Explore our Data
Explore our Data
Explore Earth MRI mapping areas and data through this interactive web-tool.
News
Media Alert: Low-level airplane flights to scan geology over parts of four Midwestern states
Media Alert: Low-level airplane flights to scan geology over parts of four Midwestern states
Media Alert: Low-level flights to image geology over eastern Maine
Media Alert: Low-level flights to image geology over eastern Maine
Media Alert: Low-level flights to image geology over portions of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon and western Idaho
Media Alert: Low-level flights to image geology over portions of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon and western Idaho
Publications
Earth Mapping Resources Initiative protocols—Sampling hard-rock mine waste and perpetual mine water sources Earth Mapping Resources Initiative protocols—Sampling hard-rock mine waste and perpetual mine water sources
Supporting the overarching goal to evaluate critical minerals nationwide, the mine waste characterization effort in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative has created a series of protocols to standardize sampling carried out under this effort by the participating State geological surveys and their cooperators. The protocols are based on published, reviewed...
Synergy between geology and geophysics in graphite mineral resource assessment Synergy between geology and geophysics in graphite mineral resource assessment
Graphite is designated as a critical mineral by the U.S. Government due to its essential role in modern technology and its vulnerability to supply chain disruption. To evaluate domestic graphite resources, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted two airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys as part of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) over prospective areas in the...
Critical minerals in mine waste Critical minerals in mine waste
Introduction Critical minerals are commodities with vulnerable supply chains that play a vital role in supporting the United States’ economy, national defense and security, emerging technologies, and energy independence. The prosperity of our Nation depends on generating a resilient supply of domestic critical minerals; mine waste may be an untapped source of these commodities. Mine...
Science
Alaska Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)
Our objective is to provide a strategic framework for planning, coordination, and execution of the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) in Alaska. Earth MRI aims to improve knowledge of the U.S. geologic framework through new geological and geophysical mapping and to identify areas that have the potential to contain undiscovered critical mineral resources.
Geologic Map of Alaska
In January 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey released the first ever digital geologic map of Alaska. This map reflects more than a century of work and provides a visual context for the abundant mineral and energy resources found throughout the state. The map also is available to use in three different formats: a professional GIS database, a public interactive version via a web browser, and an...
Earth MRI Progress
Earth MRI is a national effort to map critical mineral resources needed to drive the U.S. economy and national security, searching below ground and in tailings from old mines. As directed by the Energy Act of 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey has identified 50 critical minerals essential to the U.S. economy and national security, with a supply chain vulnerable to disruption. We partner on this...