Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2533
Ammonium in thermal waters of Yellowstone National Park: Processes affecting speciation and isotope fractionation Ammonium in thermal waters of Yellowstone National Park: Processes affecting speciation and isotope fractionation
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, largely in reduced form (NH4(T)≈NH4(aq)++NH3(aq)o), has been documented in thermal waters throughout Yellowstone National Park, with concentrations ranging from a few micromolar along the Firehole River to millimolar concentrations at Washburn Hot Springs. Indirect evidence from rock nitrogen analyses and previous work on organic compounds associated with...
Authors
J.M. Holloway, D. Kirk Nordstrom, J.K. Böhlke, R. Blaine McCleskey, J.W. Ball
Oligocene and Miocene arc volcanism in northeastern California: evidence for post-Eocene segmentation of the subducting Farallon plate Oligocene and Miocene arc volcanism in northeastern California: evidence for post-Eocene segmentation of the subducting Farallon plate
The Warner Range in northeastern California exposes a section of Tertiary rocks over 3 km thick, offering a unique opportunity to study the long-term history of Cascade arc volcanism in an area otherwise covered by younger volcanic rocks. The oldest locally sourced volcanic rocks in the Warner Range are Oligocene (28–24 Ma) and include a sequence of basalt and basaltic andesite lava...
Authors
J.P. Colgan, A.E. Egger, D. A. John, B. Cousens, R.J. Fleck, C.D. Henry
Metagenomic analysis of a permafrost microbial community reveals a rapid response to thaw Metagenomic analysis of a permafrost microbial community reveals a rapid response to thaw
Permafrost contains an estimated 1672 Pg carbon (C), an amount roughly equivalent to the total currently contained within land plants and the atmosphere1,2,3. This reservoir of C is vulnerable to decomposition as rising global temperatures cause the permafrost to thaw2. During thaw, trapped organic matter may become more accessible for microbial degradation and result in greenhouse gas...
Authors
R. MacKelprang, M. P. Waldrop, K.M. Deangelis, M.M. David, K.L. Chavarria, S.J. Blazewicz, E.M. Rubin, J.K. Jansson
An analysis of modern pollen rain from the Maya lowlands of northern Belize An analysis of modern pollen rain from the Maya lowlands of northern Belize
In the lowland Maya area, pollen records provide important insights into the impact of past human populations and climate change on tropical ecosystems. Despite a long history of regional paleoecological research, few studies have characterized the palynological signatures of lowland ecosystems, a fact which lowers confidence in ecological inferences made from palynological data. We...
Authors
T. Bhattacharya, T. Beach, David B. Wahl
Introduction: Tectonics, volcanism, and stratigraphy within the evolving transform margin north of San Francisco Bay, California Introduction: Tectonics, volcanism, and stratigraphy within the evolving transform margin north of San Francisco Bay, California
No abstract available.
Authors
Victoria E. Langenheim, Donald S. Sweetkind
The influence of stream channels on distributions of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa in the Mojave Desert, CA, USA: Patterns, mechanisms and effects of stream redistribution The influence of stream channels on distributions of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa in the Mojave Desert, CA, USA: Patterns, mechanisms and effects of stream redistribution
Drainage channels are among the most conspicuous surficial features of deserts, but little quantitative analysis of their influence on plant distributions is available. We analysed the effects of desert stream channels (‘washes’) on Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa density and cover on an alluvial piedmont in the Mojave Desert, based on a spatial analysis of transect data...
Authors
S. Schwinning, D.R. Sandquist, D. M. Miller, D. R. Bedford, S. L. Phillips, J. Belnap
Ages and sources of components of Zn-Pb, Cu, precious metal, and platinum group element deposits in the goodsprings district, Clark County, Nevada Ages and sources of components of Zn-Pb, Cu, precious metal, and platinum group element deposits in the goodsprings district, Clark County, Nevada
The Goodsprings district, Clark County, Nevada, includes zinc-dominant carbonate replacement deposits of probable late Paleozoic age, and lead-dominant carbonate replacement deposits, copper ± precious metal-platinum group element (PGE) deposits, and gold ± silver deposits that are spatially associated with Late Triassic porphyritic intrusions. The district encompasses ~500 km2 although...
Authors
Peter G. Vikre, Quentin J. Browne, Robert J. Fleck, Albert H. Hofstra, Joseph L. Wooden
Aeromagnetic anomalies over faulted strata Aeromagnetic anomalies over faulted strata
High-resolution aeromagnetic surveys are now an industry standard and they commonly detect anomalies that are attributed to faults within sedimentary basins. However, detailed studies identifying geologic sources of magnetic anomalies in sedimentary environments are rare in the literature. Opportunities to study these sources have come from well-exposed sedimentary basins of the Rio...
Authors
V. J. S. Grauch, Mark R. Hudson
Chromium(VI) generation in vadose zone soils and alluvial sediments of the southwestern Sacramento Valley, California: a potential source of geogenic Cr(VI) to groundwater Chromium(VI) generation in vadose zone soils and alluvial sediments of the southwestern Sacramento Valley, California: a potential source of geogenic Cr(VI) to groundwater
Concentrations of geogenic Cr(VI) in groundwater that exceed the World Health Organization’s maximum contaminant level for drinking water (50 μg L−1) occur in several locations globally. The major mechanism for mobilization of this Cr(VI) at these sites is the weathering of Cr(III) from ultramafic rocks and its subsequent oxidation on Mn oxides. This process may be occurring in the...
Authors
Christopher T. Mills, Jean M. Morrison, Martin B. Goldhaber, Karl J. Ellefsen
Magmatic-vapor expansion and the formation of high-sulfidation gold deposits: Structural controls on hydrothermal alteration and ore mineralization Magmatic-vapor expansion and the formation of high-sulfidation gold deposits: Structural controls on hydrothermal alteration and ore mineralization
High-sulfidation copper–gold lode deposits such as Chinkuashih, Taiwan, Lepanto, Philippines, and Goldfield, Nevada, formed within 1500 m of the paleosurface in volcanic terranes. All underwent an early stage of extensive advanced argillic silica–alunite alteration followed by an abrupt change to spatially much more restricted stages of fracture-controlled sulfide–sulfosalt mineral...
Authors
Byron R. Berger, Richard W. Henley
Episodic growth of a Late Cretaceous and Paleogene intrusive complex of pegmatitic leucogranite, Ruby Mountains core complex, Nevada, USA Episodic growth of a Late Cretaceous and Paleogene intrusive complex of pegmatitic leucogranite, Ruby Mountains core complex, Nevada, USA
Gneissic pegmatitic leucogranite forms a dominant component (>600 km3) of the midcrustal infrastructure of the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range core complex (Nevada, USA), and was assembled and modified episodically into a batholithic volume by myriad small intrusions from ca. 92 to 29 Ma. This injection complex consists of deformed sheets and other bodies emplaced syntectonically into...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, J. L. Wooden, C. G. Barnes, W. R. Premo, A.W. Snoke, S.-Y. Lee
Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the upper Pleistocene Chemehuevi Formation along the lower Colorado River Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the upper Pleistocene Chemehuevi Formation along the lower Colorado River
The Chemehuevi Formation forms a conspicuous, widespread, and correlative set of nonmarine sediments lining the valleys of the Colorado River and several of its larger tributaries in the Basin and Range geologic province. These sediments have been examined by geologists since J. S. Newberry visited the region in 1857 and are widely cited in the geologic literature; however their origin...
Authors
Daniel V. Malmon, Keith A. Howard, P. Kyle House, Scott C. Lundstrom, Philip A. Pearthree, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Elmira Wan, David B. Wahl