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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: 1963

The geochemical and textural transition between the Reef Package and its hanging wall, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA The geochemical and textural transition between the Reef Package and its hanging wall, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA

The highest grade Pd-Pt deposit on Earth, the J-M Reef, is hosted in coarse-grained to pegmatoidal cumulates called the Reef Package. Decades of mine development of the J-M Reef have revealed that a distinct discontinuity in rock fabric marks the top of the rock unit that hosts economic-grade sulfide mineralization. Mine geologists refer to this discontinuity as the hanging wall contact...
Authors
M. Christopher Jenkins, James E. Mungall, Michael L. Zientek, Kevin Butak, Sam R. Corson, Paul Holick, Ryan McKinley, Heather A. Lowers

Demonstration of a novel quantitative microscopy technique for automated characterization of in situ particulate matter in coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis Demonstration of a novel quantitative microscopy technique for automated characterization of in situ particulate matter in coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis

Rationale: Increasing exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) linked to changes in mining production processes has been implicated in the resurgence of severe lung disease in U.S. coal miners. Lung mineralogy can provide insight into particle pathogenesis. However, standard approaches to characterizing in situ particulate matter (PM) by pulmonary pathologists have poor inter...
Authors
Jeremy T. Hua, Lauren M. Zell-Baran, L. H. Go, Carlyne D. Cool, Heather A. Lowers, K. S. Almberg, Emily A. Sarver, Susan M. Majka, Kathy D. Pang, R. A. Cohen, Cecil S. Rose

Mapping a magnetic superstorm: March 1989 geoelectric hazards and impacts on United States power systems Mapping a magnetic superstorm: March 1989 geoelectric hazards and impacts on United States power systems

A study is made of the relationships between geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation, Earth-surface impedance, and operational interference (anomalies) experienced on electric-power systems across the contiguous United States during the March 13-14, 1989 magnetic storm. For this, a 1-minute-resolution sequence of geomagnetic field maps is constructed from magnetometer time series...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, E. Joshua Rigler, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian

Addressing stakeholder science needs for integrated drought science in the Colorado River Basin Addressing stakeholder science needs for integrated drought science in the Colorado River Basin

Stakeholders need scientific data, analysis, and predictions of how drought the will impact the Colorado River Basin in a format that is continuously updated, intuitive, and easily accessible. The Colorado River Basin Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology Pilot Project was formed to demonstrate the effectiveness of addressing complex problems through stakeholder...
Authors
Anne C. Tillery, Sally House, Rebecca J. Frus, Sharon L. Qi, Daniel K. Jones, William J. Andrews

The dynamic floor of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA: The last 14 k.y. of hydrothermal explosions, venting, doming, and faulting The dynamic floor of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA: The last 14 k.y. of hydrothermal explosions, venting, doming, and faulting

Hydrothermal explosions are significant potential hazards in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. The northern Yellowstone Lake area hosts the three largest hydrothermal explosion craters known on Earth empowered by the highest heat flow values in Yellowstone and active seismicity and deformation. Geological and geochemical studies of eighteen sublacustrine cores provide the first...
Authors
Lisa Ann Morgan Morzel, Wayne (Pat) Shanks, Kenneth L. Pierce, Nels Iverson, Christopher Schiller, Sabrina R. Brown, Petra Zahajska, Rosine Cartier, Ron Cash, James Best, Cathy Whitlock, Sherilyn Fritz, William Benzel, Heather A. Lowers, D. A. Lovalvo, J. M. Licciardi

Petrogenesis and rare earth element mineralization of the Elk Creek carbonatite, Nebraska, USA Petrogenesis and rare earth element mineralization of the Elk Creek carbonatite, Nebraska, USA

Although carbonatites are the primary source of the world’s rare earth elements (REEs), the processes responsible for ore-grade REE enrichment in carbonatites are still poorly understood. In this study, we present a petrologic, geochemical, and isotopic evaluation of the Elk Creek carbonatite in southeast Nebraska to constrain the origin of REE mineralization. The Elk Creek carbonatite...
Authors
Philip Verplanck, G. Lang Farmer, Richard M. Kettler, Heather A. Lowers, Craig A. Johnson, Alan E. Koenig, Michael J. Blessington

Trans-crustal structural control of CO2-rich extensional magmatic systems revealed at Mount Erebus Antarctica Trans-crustal structural control of CO2-rich extensional magmatic systems revealed at Mount Erebus Antarctica

Erebus volcano, Antarctica, with its persistent phonolite lava lake, is a classic example of an evolved, CO2-rich rift volcano. Seismic studies provide limited images of the magmatic system. Here we show using magnetotelluric data that a steep, melt-related conduit of low electrical resistivity originating in the upper mantle undergoes pronounced lateral re-orientation in the deep crust...
Authors
Graham J Hill, Phil E Wannamaker, Virginie Maris, J. A. Stodt, Michael Kordy, Martyn J. Unsworth, Paul A. Bedrosian, Erin L. Wallin, Danny F. Uhlmann, Yasuo Ogawa, Philip R. Kyle

Watching the Cryosphere thaw: Seismic monitoring of permafrost degradation using distributed acoustic sensing during a controlled heating experiment Watching the Cryosphere thaw: Seismic monitoring of permafrost degradation using distributed acoustic sensing during a controlled heating experiment

Permafrost degradation is rapidly increasing in response to a warming Arctic climate, altering landscapes and damaging critical infrastructure. Solutions for monitoring permafrost thaw dynamics are essential to understand biogeochemical feedbacks as well as to issue warnings for hazardous geotechnical conditions. We investigate the feasibility of permafrost monitoring using permanently...
Authors
Feng Cheng, Nathaniel J. Lindsey, Valeriia Sobolevskaia, Shan Dou, Barry Freifeld, Todd Wood, Stephanie R. James, Anna M. Wagner, Jonathan B. Ajo-Franklin

Airborne electromagnetic survey results near the Poso Creek oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California, fall 2016 Airborne electromagnetic survey results near the Poso Creek oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California, fall 2016

An airborne electromagnetic survey west of the Poso Creek oil field, located in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, was flown in October 2016 to improve understanding of the hydrogeologic setting and the distribution of groundwater salinity in the area. The airborne electromagnetic data were used to develop resistivity models of the subsurface, where the mean depth of...
Authors
Katrina D. Zamudio, Lyndsay B. Ball, Michael J. Stephens

Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems

The clean energy transition will require a vast increase in metal supply, yet new mineral deposit discoveries are declining, due in part to challenges associated with exploring under sedimentary and volcanic cover. Recently, several case studies have demonstrated links between lithospheric electrical conductors imaged using magnetotelluric (MT) data and mineral deposits, notably Iron...
Authors
Alison Kirkby, Karol Czarnota, David L. Huston, David C. Champion, Michael P. Doublier, Paul A. Bedrosian, Jinming Duan, Graham Heinson

Surface parameters and bedrock properties covary across a mountainous watershed: Insights from machine learning and geophysics Surface parameters and bedrock properties covary across a mountainous watershed: Insights from machine learning and geophysics

Bedrock property quantification is critical for predicting the hydrological response of watersheds to climate disturbances. Estimating bedrock hydraulic properties over watershed scales is inherently difficult, particularly in fracture-dominated regions. Our analysis tests the covariability of above- and belowground features on a watershed scale, by linking borehole geophysical data...
Authors
Sebastian Uhlemann, Baptiste Dafflon, Haruko Murakami Wainwright, Kenneth Hurst Williams, Burke J. Minsley, Katrina D. Zamudio, Bradley Carr, Nicola Falco, Craig Ulrich, Susan S. Hubbard
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