Publications
Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources.
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Rock-water interaction in ash-flow tuffs (Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA)- The record from uranium studies Rock-water interaction in ash-flow tuffs (Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA)- The record from uranium studies
Forty-eight core samples of ash-flow tuffs from Yucca Mountain, NV, were selected for comparative analysis by uranium-based methods to estimate past interaction with oxidizing water. Results aid in the selection of hydrologically isolated host rocks for radioactive waste disposal. U abundances were consistently more variable than thorium in whole rocks, suggesting some selective...
Authors
Robert A. Zielinski, Charles A. Bush, R.W. Spengler, Barney J. Szabo
Blueschist metamorphism of the Eastern Franciscan belt, northern California Blueschist metamorphism of the Eastern Franciscan belt, northern California
Rocks of the Eastern Franciscan belt, northern California, are divided into two tectonostratigraphic terranes metamorphosed to the blueschist facies, both with a distinct lithologic association and deformational history. The easternmost terrane, the Pickett Peak terrane of Early Cretaceous isotopic age, consists of crenulated mica schist and gneissic to schistose metagraywacke, with...
Authors
A. S. Jayko, M.C. Blake, R.N. Brothers
Tectonic evolution of Northwest California and Southwest Oregon Tectonic evolution of Northwest California and Southwest Oregon
Tectonostratigraphic terrances in northwest California and southwest Oregon record a complex history of subduction, collision, and transform faulting. During the late Jurassic Nevadan orogeny, the Elder Creek-Snow Camp and western Klamath terranes were imbricated during collision of an island-arc system with the continental margin. Subsequent collisions are recorded in the Pickett Peak...
Authors
M. Clark Blake, Angela S. Jayko
Significance of Klamath rocks between the Franciscan Complex and Coast Range ophiolite, northern California Significance of Klamath rocks between the Franciscan Complex and Coast Range ophiolite, northern California
Small fault‐bounded slabs of low‐grade (prehnite‐pumpellyite‐bearing) slate, metagraywacke, and greenstone occur between the Coast Range ophiolite and South Fork Mountain Schist for at least 60 km south of the Klamath Mountains, northern California. The metagraywacke slabs differ from typical Franciscan Complex metagraywacke to the west by the absence of blueschist‐facies minerals and...
Authors
A. S. Jayko, Blake, R.N. Brothers
The non-transferability of a Cretaceous coal model in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado The non-transferability of a Cretaceous coal model in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado
The San Juan Basin of northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado contains several Upper Cretaceous coal-bearing formations. The coals in these formations were deposited in environments associated with repeated transgressions and regressions of the Western Interior seaway in Late Cretaceous time. A detailed subsurface and surface study of the coal beds in one of these units, the...
Authors
James E. Fassett
Paleomagnetism of Middle Tertiary volcanic rocks from the Western Cascade Series, northern California Paleomagnetism of Middle Tertiary volcanic rocks from the Western Cascade Series, northern California
The Western Cascade Series (WCS) is a 3.5‐km‐thick, crudely homoclinal (east dipping) calcalkaline volcanic sequence of mid‐Oligocene to early Miocene age that crops out near the southern tip of the Cascade Range in northern California. The mean direction of remanent magnetization in the WCS is D, 4.9°; I, 57.6° (N, 53; k, 14.4; α95, 5.3°). When compared to a reference direction for the...
Authors
Myrl E. Beck, Russell F. Burmester, Douglas E. Craig, C. Sherman Gromme, Ray E. Wells
Paleomagnetism of the Tertiary Clarno Formation of central Oregon and its significance for the tectonic history of the Pacific Northwest Paleomagnetism of the Tertiary Clarno Formation of central Oregon and its significance for the tectonic history of the Pacific Northwest
The Clarno Formation, a mostly Eocene and partly early Oligocene sequence of andesitic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks, is the oldest Tertiary formation exposed in north central Oregon. Remanent magnetization directions at 46 sites in the lavas provide a paleomagnetic pole at 84°N, 278°E with a 95% confidence cone of 7°. Comparison of this pole with the North American reference pole for...
Authors
C. Sherman Gromme, Myrl E. Beck, Ray E. Wells, David C. Engebretson
Southern hemisphere origin of the Cretaceous Laytonville Limestone of California Southern hemisphere origin of the Cretaceous Laytonville Limestone of California
New paleomagnetic, paleontologic, and stratigraphic data from outcrops of the Laytonville Limestone (101 to 88 million years old) support a Southern Hemisphere orgin. A paleomagnetic megaconglomerate test is statistically significant and suggests magnetization at 14?? ?? 5?? south, predating Late Cretaceous to Eocene (70 to 50 million years ago) accretion. Rapid Kula plate movement or...
Authors
J.A. Tarduno, M. McWilliams, W.V. Sliter, H. E. Cook, M.C. Blake, I. Premoli-Silva
Some practical approaches to world petroleum resource assessment Some practical approaches to world petroleum resource assessment
No abstract available.
Authors
Emil D. Attanasi, D. H. Root, C.D. Masters
Preliminary geologic map of Santa Cruz County, California Preliminary geologic map of Santa Cruz County, California
No abstract available.
Authors
Earl E. Brabb
Map showing the status of landslide inventory and susceptibility mapping in California Map showing the status of landslide inventory and susceptibility mapping in California
No abstract available.
Authors
Fred Taylor, E. E. Brabb