Publications
Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 2539
VIPER site analysis VIPER site analysis
We needed to evaluate available orbital data of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission area in order to derive a variety of maps to help the science team identify scientifically interesting places for the rover to visit and to provide scientific context for our mission. Some of these maps also fulfilled engineering and mission design needs to enable safe...
Authors
Ross A. Beyer, Mark Shirley, Anthony Colaprete, Caleb I. Fassett, Benjamin Fernando, Tanish P. Himani, Myriam Lemelin, José Martinez-Comacho, Matthew A. Siegler, Andrew M. Annex, Edward Balaban, Valentin T. Bickel, Joshua A. Coyan, Ariel N. Deutsch, Jennifer L. Heldmann, Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Kevin W. Lewis, Darlene S.S. Lim, Eldar Noe Dobrea
Petrogenesis and mineralization potential of spinifex komatiitic basalts in the Bradley Peak greenstone terrane, Wyoming Province Petrogenesis and mineralization potential of spinifex komatiitic basalts in the Bradley Peak greenstone terrane, Wyoming Province
Komatiitic volcanic rocks are important hosts of Ni sulfide mineralization and record early Earth evolution; however, those in the well-studied Archean Wyoming Province have received little attention. Here, we elucidate the timing and petrogenesis of the Bradley Peak komatiitic volcanic rocks using field and textural observations, geochronology, and geochemistry. Detrital and igneous...
Authors
Lisa J. Zieman, Michael Jenkins, Jacob Evan Poletti
A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities
Soil microbes drive ecosystem function and play a critical role in how ecosystems respond to global change. Research surrounding soil microbial communities has rapidly increased in recent decades, and substantial data relating to phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and potential enzyme activity have been collected and analysed. However, studies have mostly been restricted to local and...
Authors
Laura G. van Galen, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Andrew J. Margenot, Mark P. Waldrop, Thomas W. Crowther, Kabir G. Peay, Robert B. Jackson, Kailiang Yu, Anna Abrahão, Talaat A. Ahmed, Sten Anslan, Mark A. Anthony, Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo, Judith Ascher-Jenull, Elizabeth M. Bach, Mohammad Bahram, Christopher C.M. Baker, Petr Baldrian, Richard D. Bardgett, M. Noelia Barrios-Garcia, Felipe Bastida, Francesca Beggi, Liane G. Benning, Luca Bragazza, Arth A.D. Broadbent, Concha Cano-Díaz, Anna M. Cates, Carlos E.P. Cerri, Simone Cesarz, Baodong Chen, Amy T. Classen, Mathilde Borg Dahl, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Nico Eisenhauer, Svetlana Evgrafova, Nicolas Fanin, Flavio Fornasier, Romeu Francisco, Andre L.C. Franco, Serita D. Frey, Hannu Fritze, Carlos García, Pablo García-Palacios, Maria Gómez-Brandón, Marina Gonzalez-Polo, Beatriz Gozalo, Robert Griffiths, Carlos Guerra, Moritz Hallama, Inga Hiiesalu, Hossain, Yajun Hu, Heribert Insam, Vincent E.J. Jassey, Lili Jiang, Ellen Kandeler, Petr Kohout, Urmas Kõljalg, Valentyna Krashevska, Xiaofei Li, Jing-Zhong Lu, Xiankai Lu, Shan Luo, Stefanie Lutz, Kathleen Allison Mackie-Haas, Fernanado T. Maestre, Minna Malmivaara-Lämsä, Kai Mangelsdorf, Maria Manjarrez, Sven Marhan, Ashley Martin, Kelly E. Mason, Jordan Mayor, Rebecca L. McCulley, Mari Moora, Paula V. Morais, Miriam Muñoz-Rojas, Rajasekaran Murugan, Andrew T. Nottingham, Victoria Ochoa, Raul Ochoa-Hueso, Jane Oja, Pål Axel Olsson, Maarja Öpik, Nick Ostle, Krista Peltoniemi, Taina Pennanen, David S. Pescador, G. Kenny Png, Christian Poll, Sergei Põlme, Anton M. Potapov, Anders Priemé, William Pritchard, Jeremy Puissant, Sandra Mara Barbosa Rocha, Christoph Rosinger, Liliane Ruess, Emma J. Sayer, Stefan Scheu, Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Lindsey C. Slaughter, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Jose Paulo Sousa, Lee Stanish, Shu-ichi Sugiyama, Leho Tedersoo, Pankaj Trivedi, Tanel Vahter, Jana Voriskova, Dirk Wagner, Cong Wang, David A. Wardle, Jeanette Whitaker, Yuanhe Yang, Zhiwei Zhong, Kai Zhu, Lori A. Ziolkowski, Martin Zobel, Johan van den Hoogen
Utilizing downhole datasets for modelling the aeromagnetic signature of the Iron Creek Co-Cu deposit in the Idaho Cobalt Belt Utilizing downhole datasets for modelling the aeromagnetic signature of the Iron Creek Co-Cu deposit in the Idaho Cobalt Belt
The Idaho Cobalt Belt in east-central Idaho is host to some of the largest domestic Co resources, including the informal Iron Creek deposit. The two main ore zones of this deposit, the Iron Creek and the Ruby, are hosted in greenschist-grade interbedded argillite/siltstone and quartz-rich units of the Mesoproterozoic Apple Creek Formation of Lemhi Group. The primary ore mineral is cobalt...
Authors
Daniel Schmidt, Geoffrey Phelps, Katharina I. Pfaff, Thomas Monecke
Stable isotope composition and geochemistry of calcite and dolomite in the Mountain Pass carbonatite: A lens into petrogenesis Stable isotope composition and geochemistry of calcite and dolomite in the Mountain Pass carbonatite: A lens into petrogenesis
Carbonatites host most of the global rare earth element (REE) deposits. The petrogenesis of these rocks, including magmatic and post-magmatic processes, are poorly understood but critical in forming and upgrading these deposits. The Mountain Pass carbonatite, which hosts the only active REE mine in North America, is lithologically variable but consistently contains >50% calcite and/or...
Authors
Erin Kay Benson, Kathryn E. Watts, Jay M. Thompson, Heather A. Lowers
Geology and geochemistry of Ni-Co laterite occurrences of northern California and southern Oregon Geology and geochemistry of Ni-Co laterite occurrences of northern California and southern Oregon
Ni-Co laterite occurrences in the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California contain Ni, Co, and Sc values comparable to global deposits. However, they are thin and limited in extent, often occurring as landslides and slumps. Olivine in the parent material contains Ni and Co and enstatite contains Sc. Through pervasive weathering, these elements where concentrated in Fe...
Authors
Erin E. Marsh, Andrea L. Foster, Graham W. Lederer, Heather A. Lowers, Mitchell M. Bennett
In-situ geochronology using LA-ICP-MS/MS: Application of the Lu-Hf system in carbonate, apatite and fluorite In-situ geochronology using LA-ICP-MS/MS: Application of the Lu-Hf system in carbonate, apatite and fluorite
Geochronology is a fundamental tool for reconstructing earth history and constraining the timing of ore deposit formation. Traditionally, U-rich minerals like zircon, titanite, monazite and apatite have been analysed to determine the timing of mineralization and alteration events. However, not all deposits or alteration assemblages contain these minerals, and the U-Pb system can be...
Authors
Jay M. Thompson, Amanda Kate Souders, Kathryn E. Watts, Jacob Evan Poletti, Erin Kay Benson, Nicole Hurtig, Alexander Gysi
Mappable criteria for Li-mineralized pegmatites in the Appalachian orogen (utilizing the mineral systems approach) Mappable criteria for Li-mineralized pegmatites in the Appalachian orogen (utilizing the mineral systems approach)
Li-mineralized pegmatites are found throughout the Appalachian orogenic belt. Available evidence layers (e.g. tectonic setting, structures, geochemistry, geochronology) are used to develop mappable criteria for mineral resource assessments of Li-mineralized pegmatites in the northern and southern U.S. Appalachians. These evidence layers are placed into a mineral systems anatomy and...
Authors
Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Joshua Mark Rosera, Niki E. Wintzer, Kelsey Elizabeth Crocker, Laura S. Pianowski, George N.D. Case, Jacob T. Murchek, Dalton M. McCaffrey, Joshua A. Coyan
Uppermost Oligocene and Miocene diatom biostratigraphy of Ocean Drilling Program Sites 682 and 688 from the Peru Margin Uppermost Oligocene and Miocene diatom biostratigraphy of Ocean Drilling Program Sites 682 and 688 from the Peru Margin
The diatom biochronology of ODP (Ocean Drilling Program) Holes 682A and 688E provides a detailed framework for refiningMiocene diatom zonation in the East Pisco Basin of southern Peru, establishing both a nearly complete offshore reference section and a correlation tool for the fragmentary onshore vertebrate-bearing deposits. This new biostratigraphic record documents a complete...
Authors
Jason Coenen, John A. Barron, Thomas J. DeVries
Origin of the high Pd/Pt ratio of the J-M Reef, Stillwater Complex Montana USA Origin of the high Pd/Pt ratio of the J-M Reef, Stillwater Complex Montana USA
The J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex exhibits a high and consistent Pd/Pt ratio (~3.8). This ratio results from the equilibration of an immiscible sulfide liquid with a relatively high Pd/Pt silicate melt rather than an unusually Pd- and Pt-enriched parental melt. Numerical modeling suggests that the original silicate melt contained typical mantle-derived concentrations of Pd and Pt (...
Authors
Michael Jenkins, William D. Smith
The role of alkali bicarbonate-sulfate brines in the genesis of carbonatite REE resources at the Bear Lodge Alkaline Complex, Wyoming The role of alkali bicarbonate-sulfate brines in the genesis of carbonatite REE resources at the Bear Lodge Alkaline Complex, Wyoming
Rare-earth element (REE) resources in the Bear Lodge Alkaline Complex, Wyoming, are hosted in a variably leached carbonatite dike swarm spatially related to bodies of diatreme breccia. This study examines fluid inclusions in carbonatite dikes, peripheral fluorite breccias, and smoky quartz veins to reconstruct the physiochemical conditions of REE mineralization. Results reveal a multi...
Authors
Allen K. Andersen, Danielle A. Olinger, Mitchell M. Bennett
Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the Appalachian Orogen, USA Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the Appalachian Orogen, USA
Lithium is classified as a U.S. critical mineral commodity, and its demand is projected to drastically increase through 2040, driven by electric vehicle production and energy storage applications (IEA 2021).Most global lithium production is not in the United States increasing vulnerability to a supply disruption. The U.S. Geological Survey is actively assessing domestic lithium deposits...
Authors
Niki E. Wintzer, Joshua Mark Rosera, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Dalton M. McCaffrey, Kelsey Elizabeth Crocker, Joshua Aaron Coyan, Graham W. Lederer