Publications
Products (journal articles, reports, fact sheets) authored by current and past scientists are listed below. Please check the USGS Pubs Warehouse for other USGS publications.
Filter Total Items: 1938
Saturn's Titan: Surface change, ammonia, and implications for atmospheric and tectonic activity Saturn's Titan: Surface change, ammonia, and implications for atmospheric and tectonic activity
Titan is known to have a young surface. Here we present evidence from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer that it is currently geologically active. We report that changes in the near-infrared reflectance of a 73,000 km2 area on Titan (latitude 26° S, longitude 78° W) occurred between July 2004 and March of 2006. The reflectance of the area increased by a factor of two...
Authors
R.M. Nelson, L.W. Kamp, D. L. Matson, P.G.J. Irwin, K. H. Baines, M.D. Boryta, F.E. Leader, R. Jaumann, W. D. Smythe, Christophe Sotin, R. N. Clark, D. P. Cruikshank, P. Drossart, J.C. Pearl, B.W. Hapke, J. Lunine, M. Combes, G. Bellucci, J.-P. Bibring, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, A. Coradini, V. Formisano, G. Filacchione, R.Y. Langevin, T. B. McCord, V. Mennella, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy
Characterizing canopy biochemistry from imaging spectroscopy and its application to ecosystem studies Characterizing canopy biochemistry from imaging spectroscopy and its application to ecosystem studies
For two decades, remotely sensed data from imaging spectrometers have been used to estimate non-pigment biochemical constituents of vegetation, including water, nitrogen, cellulose, and lignin. This interest has been motivated by the important role that these substances play in physiological processes such as photosynthesis, their relationships with ecosystem processes such as litter...
Authors
R.F. Kokaly, Gregory P. Asner, S.V. Ollinger, M.E. Martin, C.A. Wessman
A synthesis of Martian aqueous mineralogy after 1 Mars year of observations from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter A synthesis of Martian aqueous mineralogy after 1 Mars year of observations from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Martian aqueous mineral deposits have been examined and characterized using data acquired during Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's (MRO) primary science phase, including Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars hyperspectral images covering the 0.4-3.9 ??m wavelength range, coordinated with higher-spatial resolution HiRISE and Context Imager images. MRO's new high-resolution...
Authors
S.L. Murchie, J.F. Mustard, B.L. Ehlmann, R.E. Milliken, J.L. Bishop, N.K. McKeown, E.Z. Noe Dobrea, F.P. Seelos, D.L. Buczkowski, S.M. Wiseman, R. E. Arvidson, J.J. Wray, G. Swayze, R. N. Clark, D.J. Des Marais, A. S. McEwen, J.-P. Bibring
Characterization of clouds in Titan's tropical atmosphere Characterization of clouds in Titan's tropical atmosphere
Images of Titan's clouds, possible over the past 10 years, indicate primarily discrete convective methane clouds near the south and north poles and an immense stratiform cloud, likely composed of ethane, around the north pole. Here we present spectral images from Cassini's Visual Mapping Infrared Spectrometer that reveal the increasing presence of clouds in Titan's tropical atmosphere...
Authors
C.A. Griffith, P. Penteado, S. Rodriguez, S. Le Mouelic, K. H. Baines, B. Buratti, R. Clark, P. Nicholson, R. Jaumann, Christophe Sotin
Accelerated weathering of limestone for CO2 mitigation: Opportunities for the stone and cement industries Accelerated weathering of limestone for CO2 mitigation: Opportunities for the stone and cement industries
Large amounts of limestone fines co-produced during the processing of crushed limestone may be useful in the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2). Accelerated weathering of limestone (AWL) is proposed as a low-tech method to capture and sequester CO2 from fossil fuel-fired power plants and other point sources such as cement manufacturing. AWL reactants are readily available, inexpensive...
Authors
William H. Langer, Carma A. San Juan, Greg H. Rau, Ken Caldeira
Discovery of jarosite within the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Implications for the geologic history of the region Discovery of jarosite within the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Implications for the geologic history of the region
Analysis of visible to near infrared reflectance data from the MRO CRISM hyperspectral imager has revealed the presence of an ovoid-shaped landform, approximately 3 by 5 km in size, within the layered terrains surrounding the Mawrth Vallis outflow channel. This feature has spectral absorption features consistent with the presence of the ferric sulfate mineral jarosite, specifically a K...
Authors
W. H. Farrand, T.D. Glotch, J. W. Rice, J.A. Hurowitz, G.A. Swayze
Geochemistry of standard mine waters, Gunnison County, Colorado, July 2009 Geochemistry of standard mine waters, Gunnison County, Colorado, July 2009
In many hard-rock-mining districts water flowing from abandoned mine adits is a primary source of metals to receiving streams. Understanding the generation of adit discharge is an important step in developing remediation plans. In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the Standard Mine in the Elk Creek drainage basin near Crested Butte, Colorado as a superfund site...
Authors
Philip L. Verplanck, Andrew H. Manning, Jeffrey T. Graves, R. Blaine McCleskey, Todor I. Todorov, Paul J. Lamothe
Appendix B: Description of Map Units for Northeast Asia Summary Geodynamics Map Appendix B: Description of Map Units for Northeast Asia Summary Geodynamics Map
The major purposes of this chapter are to provide (1) an overview of the regional geology, tectonics, and metallogenesis of Northeast Asia for readers who are unfamiliar with the region, (2) a general scientific introduction to the succeeding chapters of this volume, and (3) an overview of the methodology of metallogenic and tectonic analysis used in this study. We also describe how a...
Authors
Leonid M. Parfenov, Gombosuren Badarch, Nikolai A. Berzin, Duk-Hwan Hwang, Alexander I. Khanchuk, Mikhail I. Kuzmin, Warren J. Nokleberg, Alexander A. Obolenskiy, Masatsugu Ogasawara, Andrei V. Prokopiev, Sergey M. Rodionov, Alexander P. Smelov, Hongquan Yan
Storm clouds on Saturn: Lightning-induced chemistry and associated materials consistent with Cassini/VIMS spectra Storm clouds on Saturn: Lightning-induced chemistry and associated materials consistent with Cassini/VIMS spectra
Thunderstorm activity on Saturn is associated with optically detectable clouds that are atypically dark throughout the near-infrared. As observed by Cassini/VIMS, these clouds are ~20% less reflective than typical neighboring clouds throughout the spectral range from 0.8 ??m to at least 4.1 ??m. We propose that active thunderstorms originating in the 10-20 bar water-condensation region...
Authors
K. H. Baines, M.L. Delitsky, T.W. Momary, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson
Fast forward modeling of Titan's infrared spectra to invert VIMS/Cassini hyperspectral images Fast forward modeling of Titan's infrared spectra to invert VIMS/Cassini hyperspectral images
The surface of Titan, the largest icy moon of Saturn, is veiled by a very thick and hazy atmosphere. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since July 2004, conduct an intensive survey of Titan with the objective to understand the complex nature of the atmosphere and surface of the mysterious moon and the way they interact...
Authors
S. Rodriguez, Stéphane Le Mouélic, P. Rannou, J. #NAME? Combe, L.L. Corre, G. Tobie, J. W. Barnes, Christophe Sotin, R. H. Brown, K. H. Baines, B. J. Buratti, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson
Modern U-Pb chronometry of meteorites: advancing to higher time resolution reveals new problems Modern U-Pb chronometry of meteorites: advancing to higher time resolution reveals new problems
In this paper, we evaluate the factors that influence the accuracy of lead (Pb)-isotopic ages of meteorites, and may possibly be responsible for inconsistencies between Pb-isotopic and extinct nuclide timescales of the early Solar System: instrumental mass fractionation and other possible analytical sources of error, presence of more than one component of non-radiogenic Pb, migration of...
Authors
Y. Amelin, J. Connelly, R. E. Zartman, J.-H. Chen, C. Gopel, L.A. Neymark
VIMS spectral mapping observations of Titan during the Cassini prime mission VIMS spectral mapping observations of Titan during the Cassini prime mission
This is a data paper designed to facilitate the use of and comparisons to Cassini/visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) spectral mapping data of Saturn's moon Titan. We present thumbnail orthographic projections of flyby mosaics from each Titan encounter during the Cassini prime mission, 2004 July 1 through 2008 June 30. For each flyby we also describe the encounter geometry...
Authors
J. W. Barnes, J.M. Soderblom, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, Christophe Sotin, K. H. Baines, R. N. Clark, R. Jaumann, T. B. McCord, R. Nelson, S. Le Mouelic, S. Rodriguez, C. Griffith, P. Penteado, F. Tosi, K.M. Pitman, L. Soderblom, K. Stephan, P. Hayne, G. Vixie, J.-P. Bibring, G. Bellucci, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, A. Coradini, D. P. Cruikshank, P. Drossart, V. Formisano, Y. Langevin, D. L. Matson, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy