Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center

Comprehensive, Interdisciplinary Research and Surveys

Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Scientists within the GEMSC represent a breadth of programs focused on the USGS mission; Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, and Environmental Health Programs. GEMSC conducts comprehensive, interdisciplinary research and surveys of the origin, occurrence, distribution, quantity, and composition of oil, gas, coal, minerals, and more.

What We Provide

GEMSC conducts comprehensive, interdisciplinary research and surveys of the origin, occurrence, distribution, quantity, and composition of oil, gas, coal, minerals, and associated deposits. We provide up-to-date, publicly available, scientific data.

Explore Our Science

What We Address

GEMSC was established in 2020 through the merger of the Eastern Energy Resources and the Eastern Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Centers. Our work is broadly applicable to current and emerging geology, energy, and minerals issues.

About The Center

Science Priorities

News

April 28, 2026

Lithium in Eastern States Could Replace Imports for a Century or More

August 28, 2025

USGS Unveils New National Geologic Map

July 23, 2025

Department of the Interior launches effort to recover critical minerals from mine waste

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Publications

May 29, 2026

Neutron scattering reveals fractionation of natural gas mixtures in unconventional petroleum reservoir pores: Perspectives on energy resource recovery and storage Neutron scattering reveals fractionation of natural gas mixtures in unconventional petroleum reservoir pores: Perspectives on energy resource recovery and storage

In unconventional petroleum reservoirs hydrocarbon fluids are hosted by both mineral and organic matter pores. These pores can have diameters that range from microns to less than a single nanometer and, for unconventional reservoirs, there is evidence that small pores (

Authors

Aaron M. Jubb, Justin E. Birdwell, Leslie F. Ruppert, Martha Stokes, Ashton M. Wiens, Thomas Headen, Tristan G. A. Youngs

Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

May 19, 2026

Remote sensing enables basin-scale inventories of coal mine methane Remote sensing enables basin-scale inventories of coal mine methane

Underground coal mines are important global sources of methane, but emission estimates are uncertain. We show that emission estimates for individual mines from aircraft remote-sensing surveys in the United States agree within 40% with direct measurements used for national emission reporting (IPCC Tier 3 estimate). Such direct measurements are unavailable in most countries, which rely on...

Authors

Elise Penn, Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel M. Bon, Kate Howell, Kelly O’Neill, Tia Scarpelli, Zichong Chen, Robert A. Field, C. Ozgen Karacan, Elfie Roy, Daniel Cusworth

Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

May 14, 2026

Syn-magmatic subsidence during the early stages of continental rifting in the Mesoproterozoic—A reanalysis of legacy data for the Midcontinent Rift, western Lake Superior Syn-magmatic subsidence during the early stages of continental rifting in the Mesoproterozoic—A reanalysis of legacy data for the Midcontinent Rift, western Lake Superior

The Midcontinent Rift system (ca. 1.1 Ga) is a 2000-km-long series of elongated volcanic and sedimentary troughs and associated intrusive centers exposed chiefly in the Lake Superior region of North America. The rift system represents a long history of intense magmatism and subsequent sedimentation that was arrested by far-field tectonic events before sea-floor spreading was established...

Authors

V. J. Grauch, Laurel G. Woodruff, Samuel J. Heller, Esther K. Stewart

Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

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