Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2543
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
Updated paleomagnetic pole from Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada, California: Tectonic displacement of the Sierra Nevada block Updated paleomagnetic pole from Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada, California: Tectonic displacement of the Sierra Nevada block
We report remanent magnetization measurements from 13 sites in Cretaceous plutonic rocks in the northern Sierra Nevada (38°N–39.5°N). By increasing the number of available paleomagnetic sites, the new data tighten constraints on the displacement history of the Sierra Nevada block and its pre-extensional position relative to interior North America. We collected samples in freshly exposed...
Authors
John W. Hillhouse, Sherman Gromme
Early growth of Kohala volcano and formation of long Hawaiian rift zones Early growth of Kohala volcano and formation of long Hawaiian rift zones
Transitional-composition pillow basalts from the toe of the Hilo Ridge, collected from outcrop by submersible, have yielded the oldest ages known from the Island of Hawaii: 1138 ± 34 to 1159 ± 33 ka. Hilo Ridge has long been interpreted as a submarine rift zone of Mauna Kea, but the new ages validate proposals that it is the distal east rift zone of Kohala, the oldest subaerial volcano...
Authors
Peter W. Lipman, Andrew T. Calvert
Three-dimensional model of an ultramafic feeder system to the Nikolai Greenstone mafic large igneous province, central Alaska Range Three-dimensional model of an ultramafic feeder system to the Nikolai Greenstone mafic large igneous province, central Alaska Range
The Amphitheater Mountains and southern central Alaska Range expose a thick sequence of Triassic Nikolai basalts that is underlain by several mafic‐ultramafic complexes, the largest and best exposed being the Fish Lake and Tangle (FL‐T) mafic‐ultramafic sills that flank the Amphitheater Mountains synform. Three‐dimensional (3‐D) modeling of gravity and magnetic data reveals details of...
Authors
Jonathan M.G. Glen, Jeanine M. Schmidt, G. G. Connard
Deciphering fluid sources of hydrothermal systems: A combined Sr- and S-isotope study on barite (Schwarzwald, SW Germany) Deciphering fluid sources of hydrothermal systems: A combined Sr- and S-isotope study on barite (Schwarzwald, SW Germany)
Primary and secondary barites from hydrothermal mineralizations in SW Germany were investigated, for the first time, by a combination of strontium (Sr) isotope systematics (87Sr/86Sr), Sr contents and δ34S values to distinguish fluid sources and precipitation mechanisms responsible for their formation. Barite of Permian age derived its Sr solely from crystalline basement rocks, whereas...
Authors
S. Staude, S. Gob, K. Pfaff, F. Strobele, W. R. Premo, G. Markl
An overview of the petroleum geology of the Arctic An overview of the petroleum geology of the Arctic
Nine main petroleum provinces containing recoverable resources totalling 61 Bbbl liquids+269 Bbbloe of gas are known in the Arctic. The three best known major provinces are: West Siberia–South Kara, Arctic Alaska and Timan–Pechora. They have been sourced principally from, respectively, Upper Jurassic, Triassic and Devonian marine source rocks and their hydrocarbons are reservoired...
Authors
A.M. Spencer, A.F. Embry, Donald L. Gautier, A.V. Stoupakova, K. Sorensen
Age, composition, and areal distribution of the Pliocene Lawlor Tuff, and three younger Pliocene tuffs, California and Nevada Age, composition, and areal distribution of the Pliocene Lawlor Tuff, and three younger Pliocene tuffs, California and Nevada
The Lawlor Tuff is a widespread dacitic tephra layer produced by Plinian eruptions and ash flows derived from the Sonoma Volcanics, a volcanic area north of San Francisco Bay in the central Coast Ranges of California, USA. The younger, chemically similar Huichica tuff, the tuff of Napa, and the tuff of Monticello Road sequentially overlie the Lawlor Tuff, and were erupted from the same...
Authors
Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Alan L. Deino, Robert J. Fleck, Robert J. McLaughlin, David Wagner, Elmira Wan, David B. Wahl, John W. Hillhouse, Michael Perkins
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
Evidence from lava flows for complex polarity transitions: The new composite Steens Mountain reversal record Evidence from lava flows for complex polarity transitions: The new composite Steens Mountain reversal record
Geomagnetic polarity transitions may be significantly more complex than are currently depicted in many sedimentary and lava-flow records. By splicing together paleomagnetic results from earlier studies at Steens Mountain with those from three newly studied sections of Oregon Plateau flood basalts at Catlow Peak and Poker Jim Ridge 70–90 km to the southeast and west, respectively, we...
Authors
Nicholas A. Jarboe, Robert S. Coe, Jonathan M. G. Glen
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
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
New technique for quantification of elemental hg in mine wastes and its implications for mercury evasion into the atmosphere New technique for quantification of elemental hg in mine wastes and its implications for mercury evasion into the atmosphere
Mercury in the environment is of prime concern to both ecosystem and human health. Determination of the molecular-level speciation of Hg in soils and mine wastes is important for understanding its sequestration, mobility, and availability for methylation. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy carried out under ambient P-T conditions has been used in a number of...
Authors
A.D. Jew, C.S. Kim, James J. Rytuba, M.S. Gustin, Gordon E. Brown