Publications

Potential adverse ecological effects of expanded uranium (U) mining within the Grand Canyon region motivated studies to better understand U exposure and risk to endemic species. This study documents U exposures and analyzes geochemical and biological factors affecting U bioaccumulation at spring-fed systems within the Grand Canyon region. The principal objective was to determine if aqueous U was b

The Taurus porphyry Cu-Mo district contains four mineralized porphyry centers in the eastern interior of Alaska. All four centers were emplaced during a magmatic episode that spanned from ca. 72 to 67 Ma, with seven distinct igneous suites. Each igneous suite resulted in hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, with younger pulses overprinting older pulses. Each magmatic-hydrothermal system is

Study regionChaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) is in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, U.S.A. Its only water supply is in Gallup Sandstone aquifer, stratigraphically surrounded by layers long targeted for oil and natural gas extraction.Study focusTo assess groundwater flow direction, age, mixing between aquifers, and whether hydrocarbons extraction may affect water quality

Modelling and analysis of helicopter electromagnetic data result in resistivity and susceptibility models and derivatives of magnetic data that characterise shallow parts of the Stillwater Complex, critical for aiding exploration and expansion of globally scarce critical and battery mineral resources that include platinum group elements, nickel, copper and chromium. The magnetic susceptibly models

Mineral resource assessments performed by the U.S. Geological Survey provide a synthesis of available information about the location of known and suspected mineral deposits. This study focuses on skarn-hosted tungsten resources in the northern Rocky Mountain region of east-central Idaho and western Montana which have seen moderate tungsten trioxide production in the past from a variety of minerali

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, is used to compress natural gas as it is transported through a pipeline from Texas to California. Between 1952 and 1964, cooling water was treated with a compound containing hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), to prevent corrosion of machinery within the compressor

Permafrost underlies approximately one quarter of Northern Hemisphere terrestrial surfaces and contains 25–50% of the global soil carbon (C) pool. Permafrost soils and the C stocks within are vulnerable to ongoing and future projected climate warming. The biogeography of microbial communities inhabiting permafrost has not been examined beyond a small number of sites focused on local-scale variatio

The idea of mining the Moon, once purely science-fiction, is now on the verge of becoming reality. Taking advantage of the resources on the Moon is part of the plans of many nations and some enterprising commercial entities; demonstrating in-situ (in place) resource utilization near the lunar south pole is an explicit goal of the United States’ Artemis program. Economic extraction and sustainable

This field trip traverses a cross section of northern Sierra Nevada geology and landscape along two major corridors, Highway 49 (Yuba Pass) and Highway 70. These highways, and adjacent roadways, offer roadcuts, outcrops, and overviews through diverse pre-Cenozoic metamorphic rocks along the Laurentian margin, Mesozoic batholithic rocks, and Miocene volcanic rocks. Observing this array of rocks on

Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Limecola petalum (World Register of Marine Species, 2020; formerly reported as Macoma balthica and M. petalum), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer (km) south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francis

The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption in January 2022 generated catastrophic tsunami and contends for the largest natural explosion in more than a century. The main island, Tongatapu, suffered waves up to 17 m, and Tofua Island suffered waves up to 45 m, comfortably placing HTHH in the “megatsunami” league. We present a tsunami simulation of the Tongan Archipelago calibrated by fi

This preliminary geologic map presents mapping of the Leuhman Ridge area of Edwards Air Force Base, California, conducted between April 2020 and June 2021. The report focuses on surficial materials and bedrock to evaluate potential faults and other geologic features that may influence groundwater movement. The preliminary work confirms that the Spring Fault, previously mapped by Dibblee (1960, 196