Microanalysis
Microanalysis
Filter Total Items: 11
From Outcrop to Ions: development and application of in-situ isotope ratio measurements to solve geologic problems
Project objectives are to (1) develop innovative analytical techniques for isotope geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and (2) apply these techniques to collaborative research projects of high priority to the Mineral Resources Program, including studies related to the formation of "critical mineral" deposits, and...
Source, transport and deposition of critical minerals using trace metal and isotope systematics: Denver High Resolution Laboratory
The project objective is to develop and apply solution and in situ isotopic and trace element methods to emerging research opportunities to gain a better understanding of the processes controlling critical mineral deposits, metal mobility, and other geological inquiries.
Integrated Hyperspectral, Geophysical and Geochemical Studies of Yellowstone National Park Hydrothermal Systems
We are researching the subsurface groundwater flow systems in Yellowstone and the relation of these systems to understanding the regional movement of water in a volcanic center. New geophysical data will be integrated with existing data sets from hyperspectral data from Yellowstone's thermal areas and thermal water geochemistry to help define regionally extensive mineral assemblages, the evolution...
Development of USGS Geochemical Reference Materials
The project focus was the development of traditional and microanalytical reference materials that support USGS geochemical investigations. Development of new microanalytical reference materials allows USGS scientists and outside customers to examine a greater range of sample types while maintaining a high degree of data reliability.
Non-Traditional Stable Isotopes
Understanding the genesis of ore deposits and their behavior in the environment is a subject of great importance to the Nation. A relatively new tool to aid in these efforts to investigate the origin and environmental effects of ore deposits is the use of "heavy" metal stable isotopes. Our research objectives are to utilize various isotopic systems to advance our understanding of ore genesis and...
Critical Elements in Carbonatites: From Exploration Targets to Element Distribution
Critical elements are essential to the modern economy and have potential supply chain disruptions, but compared to most base and precious metals, little work has been done in understanding ore-grade enrichments. Carbonatites are the primary source of the worlds light rare earth elements and niobium, and a potential source for heavy rare earths, scandium, tantalum, and thorium. Project objectives...
Systems Approach to Critical Minerals Inventory, Research, and Assessment
This project supports the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (EarthMRI) by developing a mineral systems approach for defining focus areas. This project is investigating domestic sources of critical minerals in three sequential stages: inventory, research, and assessment. 1) Inventory the abundance of critical minerals in ore, minerals, and processed materials from major deposits in each system...
Magmas to Metals: Melt Inclusion Insights into the Formation of Critical Element-Bearing Ore Deposits
This project applies innovative melt inclusion and mineralogical techniques to characterize several distinctive magma types occurring together with prodigious, critical rare earth elements (REE) and gold-(antimony-tellurium) ore deposits within the U.S. We will characterize the pre-eruptive/pre-emplacement magmatic conditions in several districts. The goal is to determine the role of magmatism in...
Department of Defense Lung Study
Between 2003 and the present, 2.2 million U.S. military personnel have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. These deployers have been variably exposed to desert dusts, smoke from burn pits, and urban particulate matter, and some have developed constrictive bronchiolitis. A study was undertaken to determine what, if any, markers were statistically different among biopsied lung tissue sections...
Denver Microbeam Laboratory
TThe USGS Denver Microbeam Laboratory provides critical analytical and characterization support for a wide variety of internal USGS projects and external collaborators. In addition, the lab continually works to develop new methods or improve existing methods to analyze a variety of sample matrices.
Environmental Studies of the World Trade Center Area After the September 11, 2001 Attack
USGS scientists conducted a remote sensing and mineralogical characterization study of lower Manhattan around the WTC after the September 11, 2001 attack.