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Publications

Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Filter Total Items: 2510

Dissolved and labile concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho: Comparisons among chemical equilibrium models and implications for biotic ligand models Dissolved and labile concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho: Comparisons among chemical equilibrium models and implications for biotic ligand models

In order to evaluate thermodynamic speciation calculations inherent in biotic ligand models, the speciation of dissolved Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic systems influenced by historical mining activities is examined using equilibrium computer models and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique. Several metal/organic-matter complexation models, including WHAM VI, NICA-Donnan...
Authors
Laurie S. Balistrieri, R.G. Blank

Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03 Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, California, 2001-03

This report documents water quality in Camp Far West Reservoir from October 2001 through August 2003. The reservoir, located at approximately 300 feet above sea level in the foothills of the northwestern Sierra Nevada, California, is a monomictic lake characterized by extreme drawdown in the late summer and fall. Thermal stratification in summer and fall is coupled with anoxic conditions...
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, A. Robin Stewart, Michael K. Saiki, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Brent R. Topping, Kelly M. Rider, Steven K. Gallanthine, Cynthia A. Kester, Robert O. Rye, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. De Wild

Axial high topography and partial melt in the crust and mantle beneath the western Galápagos Spreading Center Axial high topography and partial melt in the crust and mantle beneath the western Galápagos Spreading Center

The hot spot-influenced western Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) has an axial topographic high that reaches heights of ∼700 m relative to seafloor depth ∼25 km from the axis. We investigate the cause of the unusual size of the axial high using a model that determines the flexural response to loads resulting from the thermal and magmatic structure of the lithosphere. The thermal structure...
Authors
Tanya M. Blacic, Garrett Ito, Anjana K. Shah, Juan Pablo Canales, Jian Lin

Origin and paleoclimatic significance of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: Evidence from stratigraphy, chronology, sedimentology, and geochemistry Origin and paleoclimatic significance of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: Evidence from stratigraphy, chronology, sedimentology, and geochemistry

Loess is one of the most extensive surficial geologic deposits in midcontinental North America, particularly in the central Great Plains region of Nebraska. Last-glacial-age loess (Peoria Loess) reaches its greatest known thickness in the world in this area. New stratigraphic, geochronologic, mineralogic, and geochemical data yield information about the age and provenance of Peoria Loess...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis, John N. Aleinikoff, John P. McGeehin, Jossh Beann, Gary Skipp, Brian D. Marshall, Helen M. Roberts, William C. Johnson, Rachel Benton

Mineral deposit densities for estimating mineral resources Mineral deposit densities for estimating mineral resources

Estimates of numbers of mineral deposits are fundamental to assessing undiscovered mineral resources. Just as frequencies of grades and tonnages of well-explored deposits can be used to represent the grades and tonnages of undiscovered deposits, the density of deposits (deposits/area) in well-explored control areas can serve to represent the number of deposits. Empirical evidence...
Authors
Donald A. Singer

Fractionation of Cu and Zn isotopes during adsorption onto amorphous Fe(III) oxyhydroxide: Experimental mixing of acid rock drainage and ambient river water Fractionation of Cu and Zn isotopes during adsorption onto amorphous Fe(III) oxyhydroxide: Experimental mixing of acid rock drainage and ambient river water

Fractionation of Cu and Zn isotopes during adsorption onto amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide is examined in experimental mixtures of metal-rich acid rock drainage and relatively pure river water and during batch adsorption experiments using synthetic ferrihydrite. A diverse set of Cu- and Zn-bearing solutions was examined, including natural waters, complex synthetic acid rock drainage, and...
Authors
Laurie S. Balistrieri, D.M. Borrok, R. B. Wanty, W.I. Ridley

Isotopic evidence for the diversity of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: Glaciogenic and nonglaciogenic sources Isotopic evidence for the diversity of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: Glaciogenic and nonglaciogenic sources

Pb isotope compositions of detrital K-feldspars and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons are used as indicators for determining the sources of Peoria Loess deposited during the last glacial period (late Wisconsin, ca. 25–14 ka) in Nebraska and western Iowa. Our new data indicate that only loess adjacent to the Platte River has Pb isotopic characteristics suggesting derivation from this river...
Authors
John N. Aleinikoff, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis, William C. Johnson, C. Mark Fanning, Rachel Benton

Limestone - A Crucial and Versatile Industrial Mineral Commodity Limestone - A Crucial and Versatile Industrial Mineral Commodity

Limestone, as used by the minerals industry, is any rock composed mostly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Although limestone is common in many parts of the United States, it is critically absent from some. Limestone is used to produce Portland cement, as aggregate in concrete and asphalt, and in an enormous array of other products, making it a truly versatile commodity. Portland cement is...
Authors
James D. Bliss, Timothy S. Hayes, Greta J. Orris

Stratigraphy of Colorado River deposits in lower Mohave Valley, Arizona and California Stratigraphy of Colorado River deposits in lower Mohave Valley, Arizona and California

Deposits in lower Mohave Valley and upper Topock Gorge near Topock, Arizona and Park Moabi, California record a succession of depositional and erosional events since late Miocene time that relate to the development of the Colorado River. Upper Miocene alluvial fans were deposited toward a depocenter east of the present valley bottom, indicating there was no valley outlet then through the...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, D.V. Malmon

Wild, scenic and rapid trip down the Colorado River trough: Desert Symposium field trip Wild, scenic and rapid trip down the Colorado River trough: Desert Symposium field trip

This rapid trip will explore wild fluvial and tectonic events resulting in scenic and rugged topography. The extreme differences in elevation caused valleys to be choked by alluvium and incised by the Colorado River drainage system.
Authors
R. E. Reynolds, J. Faulds, P.K. House, Keith A. Howard, Daniel V. Malmon, C. F. Miller, P. A. Pearthree
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