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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: 1913

Toward an effective global green economy: The Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI) Toward an effective global green economy: The Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI)

Global population growth, economic development and the accelerating pace of technological innovation are driving increased demand for non-fuel mineral commodities that are vital for emerging and low-carbon technologies. Examples of such commodities include cobalt and graphite for rechargeable batteries, tellurium in thin-film solar photovoltaics and rare earth elements (REE) in permanent...
Authors
Karen D. Kelley, David Huston, Jan Peter

Paragenesis of an orogenic gold deposit: New insights on mineralizing processes at the Grass Valley District, California Paragenesis of an orogenic gold deposit: New insights on mineralizing processes at the Grass Valley District, California

The Grass Valley orogenic gold district in the Sierra Nevada foothills province, central California, is the largest historical gold producer of the North American Cordillera. Gold mineralization is associated with shallowly dipping north-south veins hosted by the 160 Ma Grass Valley granodiorite to the southwest of the Grass Valley fault and steeply dipping east-west veins in accreted...
Authors
Ryan D. Taylor, Thomas Monecke, T. James Reynolds, Jochen Monecke

Eocene magma plumbing system beneath Cortez Hills Carlin-type gold deposit, Nevada: Is there a deep-seated pluton? Eocene magma plumbing system beneath Cortez Hills Carlin-type gold deposit, Nevada: Is there a deep-seated pluton?

The magmatic-hydrothermal conceptual model for Carlin-type gold deposit genesis calls upon deep-seated Eocene plutons as the primary source of gold-bearing fluids. However, geophysical surveys, geologic mapping, drilling, geochronology, isotopic tracers, and fluid inclusion chemistry have returned ambiguous evidence for the existence of such plutons. The high-grade Cortez Hills gold...
Authors
Celestine N. Mercer

Decadal-scale hotspot methane ebullition within lakes following abrupt permafrost thaw Decadal-scale hotspot methane ebullition within lakes following abrupt permafrost thaw

Thermokarst lakes accelerate deep permafrost thaw and the mobilization of previously frozen soil organic carbon. This leads to microbial decomposition and large releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) that enhance climate warming. However, the time scale of permafrost-carbon emissions following thaw is not well known but is important for understanding how abrupt permafrost...
Authors
K.W. Anthony, P. Lindgren, P. Hanke, M. Engram, P. Anthony, R. Daanen, A. Bondurant, A.K. Liljedahl, J. Lenz, G. Grosse, B.M. Jones, L. S. Brosius, Stephanie R. James, Burke J. Minsley, Neal Pastick, J. Munk, J. P. Chanton, C.E. Miller, F.J. Meyer

NASA's surface biology and geology designated observable: A perspective on surface imaging algorithms NASA's surface biology and geology designated observable: A perspective on surface imaging algorithms

The 2017–2027 National Academies' Decadal Survey, Thriving on Our Changing Planet, recommended Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) as a “Designated Targeted Observable” (DO). The SBG DO is based on the need for capabilities to acquire global, high spatial resolution, visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR; 380–2500 nm; ~30 m pixel resolution) hyperspectral (imaging spectroscopy) and...
Authors
Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, Philip A. Townsend, David Schimel, Ali M Assiri, Pamela L. Blake, Maria Fabrizia Buongiorno, Petya Campbell, Nimrod Carmon, Kimberly Ann Casey, Rosa Elvira Correa-Pabon, Kyla M. Dahlin, Hamid Dashti, Philip Dennison, Heidi Dierrsen, Adam Erickson, Joshua B. Fisher, Robert Frouin, Charles K. Gatebe, Hamed Gholizadeh, Michelle M. Gierach, Nancy F. Glenn, James A. Goodman, Daniel Mark Griffith, Liane Guild, Christopher R. Hakkenberg, Eric J. Hochberg, Thomas R.H. Holmes, Chaunmin Hu, Glynn Hulley, Karl F. Huemmrich, Raphael M. Kudela, Raymond F. Kokaly, Christine M. Lee, Roberta E. Martin, Charles E. Miller, Wesley J. Moses, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Joseph P. Ortiz, Daniel B. Otis, Nima Pahlevan, Thomas H. Painter, Ryan Pavlick, Benjamin Poulter, Yi Qi, Vincent J. Realmuto, Dar A. Roberts, Michael E. Schaepman, Fabian D Schneider, Florian M. Schwandner, Shawn P. Serbin, Alexey N. Shiklomanov, E. Natasha Stavros, David R. Thompson, Juan L. Torres-Perez, Kevin R. Turpie, Maria Tzortziou, Susan L. Ustin, Qian Yu, Yusri Yusup, Qingyuan Zhang

Petrology and geochronology of 1.48 to 1.45 Ga igneous rocks in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, southeast Missouri Petrology and geochronology of 1.48 to 1.45 Ga igneous rocks in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, southeast Missouri

The igneous geology of the St. Francois Mountains terrane in southeast Missouri is dominated by the products of 1.48 to 1.45 billion year old volcanic and plutonic magmatism but also includes volumetrically minor, compositionally bimodal contributions added during plutonism between 1.34 and 1.27 billion years ago. The 1.48 to 1.45 billion year old igneous rocks in the St. Francois...
Authors
Edward A. du Bray, John N. Aleinikoff, Warren C. Day, Leonid A. Neymark, Seth D. Burgess

Airborne geophysical imaging of weak zones on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska: Implications for slope stability Airborne geophysical imaging of weak zones on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska: Implications for slope stability

Water‐saturated, hydrothermally altered rocks reduce the strength of volcanic edifices and increase the potential for sector collapses and far‐traveled mass flows of unconsolidated debris. Iliamna Volcano is an andesitic stratovolcano located on the western side of the Cook Inlet, ∼225 km southwest of Anchorage and is a source of repeated avalanches. The widespread snow and ice cover on...
Authors
Dana E. Peterson, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian

The critical minerals initiative of the U.S. Geological Survey’s mineral deposit database project: USMIN The critical minerals initiative of the U.S. Geological Survey’s mineral deposit database project: USMIN

The objective of the US Geological Survey’s mineral deposit database project (USMIN) is to develop a comprehensive twenty-first century geospatial database that is the authoritative source of the most important mines, mineral deposits, and mineral districts of the US. Since May 2017, the project has focused on critical minerals. Data for critical minerals that are produced as products...
Authors
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Nick A Karl, Carma A. San Juan, Liam Dandurand Knudsen, German Schmeda, Clayton Robert Forbush, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Morgan Mullins, Patrick Christopher Scott

Geological Surveys unite to improve critical mineral security Geological Surveys unite to improve critical mineral security

The global economy is unprepared to meet the exploding demand for critical minerals. These materials, many of which were of little economic interest until recently, are required to fuel a proliferation of technologies and industries that have become vital for social and economic well-being the world over. But supplies of critical minerals are at risk because of their natural scarcity and...
Authors
Poul Emsbo, Christopher Lawley, Karol Czarnota

Tectonic and magmatic controls on the metallogenesis of porphyry deposits in Alaska Tectonic and magmatic controls on the metallogenesis of porphyry deposits in Alaska

Porphyry Cu and Mo deposits and occurrences are found throughout Alaska; they formed episodically during repeated subduction and arc-continent collisions spanning the Silurian to Quaternary. Porphyry systems occur in continental-margin and island arcs, which are broadly grouped into pre-accretionary or post-accretionary arcs. Pre-Mesozoic occurrences formed in continental or island arcs...
Authors
Douglas C. Kreiner, James V. Jones, Karen D. Kelley, Garth E. Graham

Variation in metal concentrations across a large contamination gradient is reflected in stream but not linked riparian food webs Variation in metal concentrations across a large contamination gradient is reflected in stream but not linked riparian food webs

Aquatic insects link food web dynamics across freshwater-terrestrial boundaries and subsidize terrestrial consumer populations. Contaminants that accumulate in larval aquatic insects and are retained across metamorphosis can increase dietary exposure for riparian insectivores. To better understand potential exposure of terrestrial insectivores to aquatically-derived trace metals, metal
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Richard Wanty, Travis S. Schmidt, David Walters, Ruth E. Wolf

USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman
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