Publications
Filter Total Items: 335
Mineralogical and chemical characteristics of some natural jarosites
This paper presents a detailed study of the mineralogical, microscopic, thermal, and spectral characteristics of jarosite and natrojarosite minerals. Systematic mineralogic and chemical examination of a suite of 32 natural stoichiometric jarosite and natrojarosite samples from diverse supergene and hydrothermal environments indicates that there is only limited solid solution between Na and K at lo
Authors
George A. Desborough, Kathleen S. Smith, Heather A. Lowers, Gregg A. Swayze, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Sharon F. Diehl, Reinhard W. Leinz, Rhonda L. Driscoll
The architecture of the Cassini division
The Cassini Division in Saturn's rings contains a series of eight named gaps, three of which contain dense ringlets. Observations of stellar occultations by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft have yielded 40 accurate and precise measurements of the radial position of the edges of all of these gaps and ringlets. These data reveal suggestive patterns in the s
Authors
M.M. Hedman, P. D. Nicholson, K. H. Baines, B. J. Buratti, Christophe Sotin, R. N. Clark, R. H. Brown, R.G. French, E.A. Marouf
Questa Baseline and Pre-mining Ground-Water Quality Investigation, 7. A Pictorial Record of Chemical Weathering, Erosional Processes, and Potential Debris-flow Hazards in Scar Areas Developed on Hydrothermally Altered Rocks
Erosional scar areas developed along the lower Red River basin, New Mexico, reveal a complex natural history of mineralizing processes, rapid chemical weathering, and intense physical erosion during periodic outbursts of destructive, storm-induced runoff events.
The scar areas are prominent erosional features with craggy headwalls and steep, denuded slopes. The largest scar areas, including, f
Authors
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Steve Ludington, Kirk R. Vincent, Philip L. Verplanck, Jonathan S. Caine, K. Eric Livo
Sample collection of ash and burned soils from the October 2007 southern California Wildfires
Between November 2 through 9, 2007 scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected samples of ash and burned soils from 28 sites in six areas burned as a result of the Southern California wildfires of October 2007, including the Harris, Witch, Santiago, Ammo, Canyon, and Grass Valley Fires. The primary goal of this sampling and analysis effort was to understand how differences in ash a
Authors
Todd M. Hoefen, Raymond F. Kokaly, Deborah A. Martin, Carlton J. Rochester, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Greg Mendez, Eric G. Reichard, Robert N. Fisher
Inorganic chemical composition and chemical reactivity of settled dust generated by the World Trade Center building collapse
Samples of dust deposited around lower Manhattan by the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center (WTC) collapse have inorganic chemical compositions that result in part from the variable chemical contributions of concrete, gypsum wallboard, glass fibers, window glass, and other materials contained in the buildings. The dust deposits were also modified chemically by variable interactions with rain wa
Authors
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Philip L. Hageman, Paul J. Lamothe, Thomas L. Ziegler, Gregory P. Meeker, Peter M. Theodorakos, Isabelle Brownfield, Monique G. Adams, Gregg A. Swayze, Todd M. Hoefen, Joseph E. Taggart, Roger N. Clark, S. Wilson, Stephen J. Sutley
Materials characterization of dusts generated by the collapse of the World Trade Center
The major inorganic components of the dusts generated from the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001 were concrete materials, gypsum, and man-made vitreous fibers. These components were likely derived from lightweight Portland cement concrete floors, gypsum wallboard, and spray-on fireproofing and ceiling tiles, respectively. All of the 36 samples collected by the USGS
Authors
Gregory P. Meeker, Stephen J. Sutley, Isabelle Brownfield, Heather Lowers, Amy M. Bern, Gregg A. Swayze, Todd M. Hoefen, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Roger N. Clark, Carol A. Gent
Environmental mapping of the World Trade Center area with imaging spectroscopy after the September 11, 2001 attack
The Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) was flown over the World Trade Center area on September 16, 18, 22, and 23, 2001. The data were used to map the WTC debris plume and its contents, including the spectral signatures of asbestiform minerals. Samples were collected and used as ground truth for the AVARIS mapping. A number of thermal hot spots were observed with temperatures
Authors
Roger N. Clark, Gregg A. Swayze, Todd M. Hoefen, Robert O. Green, Keith E. Livo, Gregory P. Meeker, Stephen J. Sutley, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Betina Pavri, Charles M. Sarture, Joe Boardman, Isabelle Brownfield, Laurie C. Morath
VIMS spectral mapping observations of Titan during the Cassini prime mission
This is a data paper designed to facilitate the use of and comparisons to Cassini/visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) spectral mapping data of Saturn's moon Titan. We present thumbnail orthographic projections of flyby mosaics from each Titan encounter during the Cassini prime mission, 2004 July 1 through 2008 June 30. For each flyby we also describe the encounter geometry, and we disc
Authors
J. W. Barnes, J.M. Soderblom, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, Christophe Sotin, K. H. Baines, R. N. Clark, R. Jaumann, T. B. McCord, R. Nelson, S. Le Mouelic, S. Rodriguez, C. Griffith, P. Penteado, F. Tosi, K.M. Pitman, L. Soderblom, K. Stephan, P. Hayne, G. Vixie, J.-P. Bibring, G. Bellucci, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, A. Coradini, D. P. Cruikshank, P. Drossart, V. Formisano, Y. Langevin, D. L. Matson, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy
Mapping potentialy asbestos-bearing rocks using imaging spectroscopy
Rock and soil that may contain naturally occurring asbestos (NOA), a known human carcinogen, were mapped in the Sierra Nevada, California, using the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) to determine if these materials could be uniquely identified with spectroscopy. Such information can be used to prepare or refine maps of areas that may contain minerals that can be asbestiform,
Authors
G.A. Swayze, R.F. Kokaly, C.T. Higgins, J.P. Clinkenbeard, R. N. Clark, H.A. Lowers, S. J. Sutley
Characterizing canopy biochemistry from imaging spectroscopy and its application to ecosystem studies
For two decades, remotely sensed data from imaging spectrometers have been used to estimate non-pigment biochemical constituents of vegetation, including water, nitrogen, cellulose, and lignin. This interest has been motivated by the important role that these substances play in physiological processes such as photosynthesis, their relationships with ecosystem processes such as litter decomposition
Authors
R.F. Kokaly, Gregory P. Asner, S.V. Ollinger, M.E. Martin, C.A. Wessman
Discovery of lake-effect clouds on Titan
Images from instruments on Cassini as well as from telescopes on the ground reveal the presence of sporadic small-scale cloud activity in the cold late-winter north polar region of Saturn's large moon Titan. These clouds lie underneath the previously discovered uniform polar cloud attributed to a quiescent ethane cloud at ???40 km and appear confined to the same latitudes as those of the largest k
Authors
M.E. Brown, E.L. Schaller, H.G. Roe, C. Chen, J. Roberts, R. H. Brown, K. H. Baines, R. N. Clark
Storm clouds on Saturn: Lightning-induced chemistry and associated materials consistent with Cassini/VIMS spectra
Thunderstorm activity on Saturn is associated with optically detectable clouds that are atypically dark throughout the near-infrared. As observed by Cassini/VIMS, these clouds are ~20% less reflective than typical neighboring clouds throughout the spectral range from 0.8 ??m to at least 4.1 ??m. We propose that active thunderstorms originating in the 10-20 bar water-condensation region vertically
Authors
K. H. Baines, M.L. Delitsky, T.W. Momary, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson