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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 2493

Modeling volcano growth on the Island of Hawaii: Deep-water perspectives Modeling volcano growth on the Island of Hawaii: Deep-water perspectives

Recent ocean-bottom geophysical surveys, dredging, and dives, which complement surface data and scientific drilling at the Island of Hawaii, document that evolutionary stages during volcano growth are more diverse than previously described. Based on combining available composition, isotopic age, and geologically constrained volume data for each of the component volcanoes, this overview...
Authors
Peter W. Lipman, Andrew T. Calvert

Advancements in understanding the aeromagnetic expressions of basin-margin faults—An example from San Luis Basin, Colorado Advancements in understanding the aeromagnetic expressions of basin-margin faults—An example from San Luis Basin, Colorado

Advancements in aeromagnetic acquisition technology over the past few decades have led to greater resolution of shallow geologic sources with low magnetization, such as intrasedimentary faults and paleochannels. Detection and mapping of intrasedimentary faults in particular can be important for understanding the overall structural setting of an area, even if exploration targets are much...
Authors
V. J. Grauch, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin J. Drenth

Consequences of flight height and line spacing on airborne (helicopter) gravity gradient resolution in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado Consequences of flight height and line spacing on airborne (helicopter) gravity gradient resolution in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado

Line spacing and flight height are critical parameters in airborne gravity gradient surveys; the optimal trade-off between survey costs and desired resolution, however, is different for every situation. This article investigates the additional benefit of reducing the flight height and line spacing though a study of a survey conducted over the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve...
Authors
M. Andy Kass

Geologic map of the Valley Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California Geologic map of the Valley Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

The Valley Mountain 15’ quadrangle straddles the Pinto Mountain Fault, which bounds the eastern Transverse Ranges in the south against the Mojave Desert province in the north. The Pinto Mountains, part of the eastern Transverse Ranges in the south part of the quadrangle expose a series of Paleoproterozoic gneisses and granite and the Proterozoic quartzite of Pinto Mountain. Early...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, John Bacheller, Todd T. Fitzgibbon, Robert E. Powell, Charlotte M. Allen

Geochronologic and geochemical data from Mesozoic rocks in the Black Mountain area northeast of Victorville, San Bernardino County, California Geochronologic and geochemical data from Mesozoic rocks in the Black Mountain area northeast of Victorville, San Bernardino County, California

We present geochronologic and geochemical data for Mesozoic rocks in the Black Mountain area northeast of Victorville, California, to supplement previous geologic mapping. These data, together with previously published results, limit the depositional age of the sedimentary Fairview Valley Formation to Early Jurassic, refine the ages and chemical compositions of selected units in the...
Authors
Paul Stone, Andrew P. Barth, Joseph L. Wooden, Nicole K. Fohey-Breting, Jorge A. Vazquez, Susan S. Priest

Atmospheric propagation modeling indicates homing pigeons use loft-specific infrasonic ‘map’ cues Atmospheric propagation modeling indicates homing pigeons use loft-specific infrasonic ‘map’ cues

Results from an acoustic ray-tracing program using daily meteorological profiles are presented to explain ‘release-site biases’ for homing pigeons at three experimental sites in upstate New York where W. T. Keeton and his co-workers at Cornell University conducted extensive releases between 1968 and 1987 in their investigations of the avian navigational ‘map’. The sites are the Jersey...
Authors
Jonathan T. Hagstrum

Stratigraphy and chronology of Provo shoreline deposits and lake-level implications, Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, eastern Great Basin, USA Stratigraphy and chronology of Provo shoreline deposits and lake-level implications, Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, eastern Great Basin, USA

The Provo shoreline of Lake Bonneville formed following the Bonneville flood, and, based on previous dating, was formed during a period of overflow from about 17.5 to 15.0 cal. ka. In many places the Provo shoreline consists of a pair of distinct shorelines, one ∼3 m higher than the other. We present data from two cuts through double beaches to show that the upper beach is younger and...
Authors
David M. Miller, Charles G. Oviatt, John P. McGeehin

Origin of the Sinai-Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history Origin of the Sinai-Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history

The Sinai–Negev erg occupies an area of 13,000 km2 in the deserts of Egypt and Israel. Aeolian sand of this erg has been proposed to be derived from the Nile Delta, but empirical data supporting this view are lacking. An alternative source sediment is sand from the large Wadi El Arish drainage system in central and northern Sinai. Mineralogy of the Negev and Sinai dunes shows that they...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Joel Roskin, Haim Tsoar, Gary Skipp, James R. Budahn, Amihai Sneh, Naomi Porat, Jean-Daniel Stanley, Itzhak Katra, Dan G. Blumberg

Oblique transfer of extensional strain between basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Fault kinematic and paleostress constraints Oblique transfer of extensional strain between basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Fault kinematic and paleostress constraints

The structural geometry of transfer and accommodation zones that relay strain between extensional domains in rifted crust has been addressed in many studies over the past 30 years. However, details of the kinematics of deformation and related stress changes within these zones have received relatively little attention. In this study we conduct the first-ever systematic, multi-basin fault...
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Mark R. Hudson, Jonathan S. Caine, Ren A. Thompson

Covariation of climate and long-term erosion rates acrossa steep rainfall gradient on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i Covariation of climate and long-term erosion rates acrossa steep rainfall gradient on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i

Erosion of volcanic ocean islands creates dramatic landscapes, modulates Earth’s carbon cycle, and delivers sediment to coasts and reefs. Because many volcanic islands have large climate gradients and minimal variations in lithology and tectonic history, they are excellent natural laboratories for studying climatic effects on the evolution of topography. Despite concerns that modern...
Authors
Ken Ferrier, J. Taylor Perron, Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, Matt Rosener, Jonathan D. Stock, Michelle Slosberg, Kimberly L. Huppert

Pathways of coupled arsenic and iron cycling in high arsenic groundwater of the Hetao basin, Inner Mongolia, China: an iron isotope approach Pathways of coupled arsenic and iron cycling in high arsenic groundwater of the Hetao basin, Inner Mongolia, China: an iron isotope approach

High As groundwater is widely distributed all over the world, which has posed a significant health impact on millions of people. Iron isotopes have recently been used to characterize Fe cycling in aqueous environments, but there is no information on Fe isotope characteristics in the groundwater. Since groundwater As behavior is closely associated with Fe cycling in the aquifers, Fe...
Authors
Huaming Guo, Chen Liu, Hai Lu, Richard B. Wanty, Jun Wang, Yinzhu Zhou

The relative contribution of methanotrophs to microbial communities and carbon cycling in soil overlying a coal-bed methane seep The relative contribution of methanotrophs to microbial communities and carbon cycling in soil overlying a coal-bed methane seep

Seepage of coal-bed methane (CBM) through soils is a potential source of atmospheric CH4 and also a likely source of ancient (i.e. 14C-dead) carbon to soil microbial communities. Natural abundance 13C and 14C compositions of bacterial membrane phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and soil gas CO2 and CH4 were used to assess the incorporation of CBM-derived carbon into methanotrophs and other...
Authors
Christopher T. Mills, Gregory F. Slater, Robert F. Dias, Stephanie A. Carr, Christopher M. Reddy, Raleigh Schmidt, Kevin W. Mandernack
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