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Publications

Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Energy and Mineral scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications, click the button below.

Filter Total Items: 1318

Deformation from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake near the southwest margin of the Santa Clara Valley, California Deformation from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake near the southwest margin of the Santa Clara Valley, California

Damage to pavement and near-surface utility pipes, caused by the 17 October 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake, provides evidence for ground deformation in a 663 km2 area near the southwest margin of the Santa Clara Valley, California (USA). A total of 1427 damage sites, collected from more than 30 sources, are concentrated in four zones, three of which lie near previously mapped faults. In...
Authors
Kevin M. Schmidt, Stephen D. Ellen, David M. Peterson

The rare-earth elements: Vital to modern technologies and lifestyles The rare-earth elements: Vital to modern technologies and lifestyles

Until recently, the rare-earth elements (REEs) were familiar to a relatively small number of people, such as chemists, geologists, specialized materials scientists, and engineers. In the 21st century, the REEs have gained visibility through many media outlets because of (1) the public has recognized the critical, specialized properties that REEs contribute to modern technology, as well...
Authors
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Philip L. Verplanck, Keith R. Long, Joseph Gambogi, Robert R. Seal

An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands

Analysis of a sediment core from Lago Puerto Arturo, a closed basin lake in northern Peten, Guatemala, has provided an ∼8700 cal year record of climate change and human activity in the southern Maya lowlands. Stable isotope, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct environmental change in the region. Results indicate a relatively wet early to middle Holocene...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Roger Byrne, Lysanna Anderson

MTpy: A Python toolbox for magnetotellurics MTpy: A Python toolbox for magnetotellurics

We present the software package MTpy that allows handling, processing, and imaging of magnetotelluric (MT) data sets. Written in Python, the code is open source, containing sub-packages and modules for various tasks within the standard MT data processing and handling scheme. Besides the independent definition of classes and functions, MTpy provides wrappers and convenience scripts to...
Authors
Lars Krieger, Jared R. Peacock

Evidence for large-magnitude, post-Eocene extension in the northern Shoshone Range, Nevada, and its implications for Carlin-type gold deposits in the lower plate of the Roberts Mountains allochthon Evidence for large-magnitude, post-Eocene extension in the northern Shoshone Range, Nevada, and its implications for Carlin-type gold deposits in the lower plate of the Roberts Mountains allochthon

The northern Shoshone and Toiyabe Ranges in north-central Nevada expose numerous areas of mineralized Paleozoic rock, including major Carlin-type gold deposits at Pipeline and Cortez. Paleozoic rocks in these areas were previously interpreted to have undergone negligible postmineralization extension and tilting, but here we present new data that suggest major post-Eocene extension along...
Authors
Joseph P. Colgan, Christopher D. Henry, David A. John

Evidence for a marine incursion along the lower Colorado River corridor Evidence for a marine incursion along the lower Colorado River corridor

Foraminiferal assemblages in the stratigraphically lower part of the Bouse Formation in the Blythe Basin indicate marine conditions whereas assemblages in the upper part of the Bouse Formation indicate lacustrine conditions and suggest the presence of a saline lake. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the lower part of the Bouse Formation are similar to lagoonal and inner neritic...
Authors
Kristin McDougall, Adriana Yanet Miranda Martinez

Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar

Rock falls from steep, exfoliating cliffs are common in many landscapes. Of the many mechanisms known to trigger rock falls, thermally driven deformation is among the least quantified, despite potentially being a prevalent trigger due to its occurrence at all times of year. Here we present the results of a field-based monitoring program using instrumentation, ground-based lidar, and...
Authors
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock

Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia

This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152 million metric tons of copper in...
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead

A compilation of K-Ar-ages for southern California A compilation of K-Ar-ages for southern California

The purpose of this report is to make available a large body of conventional K-Ar ages for granitic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks collected in southern California. Although one interpretive map is included, the report consists primarily of a systematic listing, without discussion or interpretation, of published and unpublished ages that may be of value in future regional and other...
Authors
Fred K. Miller, Douglas M. Morton, Janet L. Morton, David M. Miller

Digital database of microfossil localities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California Digital database of microfossil localities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California

The eastern San Francisco Bay region (Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, California) is a geologically complex area divided by faults into a suite of tectonic blocks. Each block contains a unique stratigraphic sequence of Tertiary sediments that in most blocks unconformably overlie Mesozoic sediments. Age and environmental interpretations based on analysis of microfossil assemblages are...
Authors
Kristin McDougall, Debra L. Block

Manganese: it turns iron into steel (and does so much more) Manganese: it turns iron into steel (and does so much more)

Manganese is a common ferrous metal with atomic weight of 25 and the chemical symbol Mn. It constitutes roughly 0.1 percent of the Earth’s crust, making it the 12th most abundant element. Its early uses were limited largely to pigments and oxidants in chemical processes and experiments, but the significance of manganese to human societies exploded with the development of modern...
Authors
William F. Cannon

High-resolution topography and geomorphology of select archeological sites in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona High-resolution topography and geomorphology of select archeological sites in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona

Along the Colorado River corridor between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry, Arizona, located some 25 km downstream from the dam, archaeological sites dating from 8,000 years before present through the modern era are located within and on top of fluvial and alluvial terraces of the prehistorically undammed river. These terraces are known to have undergone significant erosion and retreat...
Authors
Brian D. Collins, Skye C. Corbett, Joel B. Sankey, Helen C. Fairley
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