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

June 18, 2026

USGS: Lithium in Carolinas Could Replace Imports for a Century or More

April 28, 2026

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

August 28, 2025

USGS Unveils New National Geologic Map

View All

Publications

July 15, 2026

Background and geologic model for the 2024 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast Background and geologic model for the 2024 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast

The Upper Jurassic Norphlet Formation is a stratigraphic unit located in the subsurface of the United States Gulf coastal plain and offshore Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico). The Norphlet consists of clastic sediments derived from the southern Appalachian highlands, and was deposited in a continental dryland setting on the margins of the early Gulf of America rift basin. The formation...

Authors

John W. Counts

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

July 13, 2026

Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska

The northeastern Brooks Range is a vast fold-thrust belt that records the northernmost expression of Cenozoic deformation in Alaska, likely with complex dynamic linkages to distant tectonic elements. The principal focus of this manuscript is the Marsh Creek anticline (MCA), which is a large and recently active structure within the broader northeastern Brooks Range. The MCA is a complex...

Authors

William H. Craddock, Julie C Fosdick, Christopher D. Connors, Richard O. Lease, David W. Houseknecht, Megan Mueller, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

June 24, 2026

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Buda Limestone of Texas, 2025 Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Buda Limestone of Texas, 2025

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 12 million barrels of oil and 184 billion cubic feet of gas in the Buda Limestone of Texas.

Authors

Celeste D. Lohr, Colin A. Doolan, Matthew D. Merrill, William H. Craddock, Rand Gardner, Christopher P. Anderson, Phuong A. Le, Tracey J. Mercier, Christopher J. Schenk

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

View All