Conference Papers

The Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field has a large magmatic system supplying heat and mass into the overlying hydrothermal system. To interpret changes in the composition and/or emission rates of hydrothermal fluids as possible indicators of volcanic unrest requires discriminating between magmatic, crustal, hydrothermal, and hybrid sources and processes. Significant progress in...

Gas hydrates are increasingly acknowledged as a potential future natural gas resource, sparking extensive global research into their geological characteristics and the technology needed for production. This paper offers a comprehensive review of gas hydrate-related research initiatives and production testing activities, including those in the Alaska North Slope (USA), Mackenzie Delta...

No abstract available.

Understanding temporal variations in a geothermal field can support operators in decision making that pertains to optimizing production and mitigating hazards. Between 2021 and 2023, The Geysers geothermal field in northern California was monitored with an array of continuous passive seismic sensors and annual repeat magnetotelluric (MT) measurements. Each of these data sets were...

The San Andreas Fault – Imperial Fault (SAF-IF) transtensional step-over zone along the southern margin of the Salton Sea hosts substantial geothermal production and lithium brine resources. Recent volcanism at the Salton Buttes and active seismicity along the SAFIF fault system highlight active tectonic and magmatic processes that pose natural hazards and may impact energy and mineral...

This paper creates a first set of forest natural capital accounts and demonstrates how these accounts can be integrated with general equilibrium models of the economy. Focusing on the Colorado River Basin, we show that deforestation has direct implications for the forest industry and indirect impacts on the economy through water treatment costs and carbon stock. 327,000 acres of forest...

In response to the Energy Act of 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is updating the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) resource assessment for the Great Basin, USA. The previous 2008 provisional assessment estimated how much electricity could be generated from EGS resources of the western United States using models of electric-grade heat, models of heat extraction over time, and...

Mammoth Lakes, California hosts a productive hydrothermal system within the seismically active south moat of Long Valley Caldera. Surficial evidence of the shallow hydrothermal system includes discrete zones of tree-kill dispersed between Shady Rest Park and the Casa Diablo Geothermal Power Plant (40 MW), as well as east of the power plant. The tree-kill areas are associated with...

Energy consumption in the United States (U.S.) and across the world is shifting away from traditional fossil fuels like coal and oil, and towards natural gas and renewable sources, including hydrogen. Because gas demand is typically greatest during cold seasons and renewable sources sometimes produce variable supplies, it is important to store energy for use when demand exceeds supply...

Recent studies found a significant underprediction in ground motion intensity measures for finite-fault simulations of moderate magnitude events in southern California relative to established ground motion models. This study aims to understand the source(s) of this bias by evaluating ground motion residuals. For this, simulations have been performed for a total of 27 well-recorded...

The Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data (CESMD) is utilized by seismologists, engineers, and disaster management professionals in the US and has historically achieved and distributed waveforms from across the globe for significant earthquakes. The increased access to the waveforms via Web API (Application Programming Interface) offers a unique opportunity to provide the community...

A recent study identified topography (land surface elevation above sea level) as an important input dataset (feature) for predicting the location of hydrothermal systems in the Great Basin in Nevada. Yet, topography is generally a result of more than one geological process and may consequently contain multiple distinct signals. For example, the geologic evolution of the Great Basin has...