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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: 1989

Potash—A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits Potash—A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits

This report summarizes the primary sources of potash in the United States. Potash is an essential nutrient that, along with phosphorus and nitrogen, is used as fertilizer for growing crops. Plants require sufficient potash to activate enzymes, which in turn catalyze chemical reactions important for water uptake and photosynthesis. When potassium is available in quantities necessary for...
Authors
Douglas B. Yager

Linking silicate weathering to riverine geochemistry—A case study from a mountainous tropical setting in west-central Panama Linking silicate weathering to riverine geochemistry—A case study from a mountainous tropical setting in west-central Panama

Chemical analyses from 71 watersheds across an ∼450 km transect in west-central Panama provide insight into controls on weathering and rates of chemical denudation and CO2 consumption across an igneous arc terrain in the tropics. Stream and river compositions across this region of Panama are generally dilute, having a total dissolved solute value = 118 ± 91 mg/L, with bicarbonate and...
Authors
Russell S. Harmon, Gerhard Wörner, Steven T. Goldsmith, Brendan A. Harmon, Christopher B. Gardner, W. Berry Lyons, Fred L. Ogden, Michael J. Pribil, David T. Long, Zoltán Kern, István Fórizs

The use of amino acid indices for assessing organic matter quality and microbial abundance in deep-sea Antarctic sediments of IODP Expedition 318 The use of amino acid indices for assessing organic matter quality and microbial abundance in deep-sea Antarctic sediments of IODP Expedition 318

The Adélie Basin, located offshore of the Wilkes Land margin, experiences unusually high sedimentation rates (~ 2 cm yr− 1) for the Antarctic coast. This study sought to compare depthwise changes in organic matter (OM) quantity and quality with changes in microbial biomass with depth at this high-deposition site and an offshore continental margin site. Sediments from both sites were...
Authors
Stephanie A Carr, Christopher T. Mills, Kevin W Mandernack

Sedimentary exhalative (sedex) zinc-lead-silver deposit model Sedimentary exhalative (sedex) zinc-lead-silver deposit model

This report draws on previous syntheses and basic research studies of sedimentary exhalative (sedex) deposits to arrive at the defining criteria, both descriptive and genetic, for sedex-type deposits. Studies of the tectonic, sedimentary, and fluid evolution of modern and ancient sedimentary basins have also been used to select defining criteria. The focus here is on the geologic...
Authors
Poul Emsbo, Robert R. Seal, George N. Breit, Sharon F. Diehl, Anjana K. Shah

USGS mineral-resource assessment of Sagebrush Focal Areas in the western United States USGS mineral-resource assessment of Sagebrush Focal Areas in the western United States

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have completed an assessment of the mineral-resource potential of nearly 10 million acres of Federal and adjacent lands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The assessment of these lands, identified as Sagebrush Focal Areas, was done at the request of the Bureau of Land Management. The assessment results will be used in the...
Authors
David G. Frank, Thomas P. Frost, Warren C. Day

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Montana Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter D in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Montana Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter D in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

Authors
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Michael L. Zientek, B. Carter Hearn, Heather L. Parks, M. Christopher Jenkins, Eric D. Anderson, Mary Ellen Benson, Donald I. Bleiwas, Jacob DeAngelo, Paul Denning, Connie L. Dicken, Ronald M. Drake, Gregory L. Fernette, Helen W. Folger, Stuart A. Giles, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Matthew Granitto, Jon E. Haacke, John D. Horton, Karen D. Kelley, Joyce A. Ober, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Carma A. San Juan, Elizabeth S. Sangine, Peter N. Schweitzer, Brian N. Shaffer, Steven M. Smith, Colin F. Williams, Douglas B. Yager

Coastal deposits of heavy mineral sands; Global significance and US resources Coastal deposits of heavy mineral sands; Global significance and US resources

Ancient and modern coastal deposits of heavy mineral sands (HMS) are the principal source of several heavy industrial minerals, with mining and processing operations on every continent except Antarctica. For example, HMS deposits are the main source of titanium feedstock for the titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments industry, obtained from the minerals ilmenite (Fe2+TiO3), rutile (TiO2) and...
Authors
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Donald I. Bleiwas, George M. Bedinger, Karl J. Ellefsen, Anjana K. Shah

Use of mineral/solution equilibrium calculations to assess the potential for carnotite precipitation from groundwater in the Texas Panhandle, USA Use of mineral/solution equilibrium calculations to assess the potential for carnotite precipitation from groundwater in the Texas Panhandle, USA

This study investigated the potential for the uranium mineral carnotite (K2(UO2)2(VO4)2·3H2O) to precipitate from evaporating groundwater in the Texas Panhandle region of the United States. The evolution of groundwater chemistry during evaporation was modeled with the USGS geochemical code PHREEQC using water-quality data from 100 groundwater wells downloaded from the USGS National Water...
Authors
Anthony J. Ranalli, Douglas B. Yager

Element concentrations in surface soils of the Coconino Plateau, Grand Canyon region, Coconino County, Arizona Element concentrations in surface soils of the Coconino Plateau, Grand Canyon region, Coconino County, Arizona

This report provides the geochemical analyses of a large set of background soils collected from the surface of the Coconino Plateau in northern Arizona. More than 700 soil samples were collected at 46 widespread areas, sampled from sites that appear unaffected by mineralization and (or) anthropogenic contamination. The soils were analyzed for 47 elements, thereby providing data on metal
Authors
Bradley S. Van Gosen
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