Conference Papers
Science Quality and Integrity
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The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse almost 5,000 conference papers authored by our scientists and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
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The advantages of electric-grade heat storage in long closed-loop wells The advantages of electric-grade heat storage in long closed-loop wells
Though long (e.g., tens of kilometers) closed-loop geothermal wells are under consideration for the extraction of subsurface heat, these wells might also serve as an efficient energy storage mechanism for electricity generation. Using a semi-analytic model solution, the potential for electric-grade heat storage as a function of ambient temperature (e.g., corresponds to depth of loop)...
Authors
Junyuan Zhang, Erick R. Burns, Hongbin Zhan
Predicting hydrothermal reservoir depth from chemical geothermometers using a three-dimensional temperature model in the Great Basin, USA Predicting hydrothermal reservoir depth from chemical geothermometers using a three-dimensional temperature model in the Great Basin, USA
Recent work in the Great Basin region of the western United States has made it possible to predict the depth of hydrothermal reservoirs (i.e., the depth at which heat is accumulated prior to ascent via hydrothermal upflow) identified through geochemistry and to contextualize the spatial patterns of these reservoir depths. Chemical geothermometers use the chemical and mineral constituents...
Authors
Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, Stanley Paul Mordensky
Colorado Delta riparian plant health improvement Colorado Delta riparian plant health improvement
The riparian corridor along Mexico’s arid Colorado River Delta is being affected by reduction in river flow and increases in heat, drought, human infrastructure, and disturbances. These disturbances can change riparian land cover by limiting water availability for riparian plant species, increasing fire intensity and frequency, and increasing soil and water salinities. In response to...
Authors
Pamela L. Nagler
A journey to the center of the USGS National Strong-motion Project processing and beyond A journey to the center of the USGS National Strong-motion Project processing and beyond
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) has the primary U.S. government responsibility to acquire, process, and disseminate significant strong-motion earthquake ground motion records measured at surficial free-field stations, structures (buildings, dams, and bridges, and geotechnical arrays to the earthquake engineering community. As a result of...
Authors
Lisa Sue Schleicher, Jamison Haase Steidl, Eric M. Thompson, Alan K. Yong, Jeff Brody, James Luke Blair, Mike Hearne, Brad T. Aagaard, Susan E. Hough, Han Shao, Garet Huddleston, Keira Heilpern, Kristin Marano, Gabe Ferragut, B. Worden, David J. Wald, Jason De Cristofaro, Adria Ruth McClain, B. Dunham, D. Nget, J. Aragon, J. Gomez, V. Amador, V. Carrasco Rodriquez, E. E. Luna, D. Cembalski, D. Childs, J. Smith, D. Croker, L. Gee
Models no not provide proof: An example of model ambiguity and application of isotopic data in a mine pit lake Models no not provide proof: An example of model ambiguity and application of isotopic data in a mine pit lake
Geochemical and hydrologic models of pit lakes are commonly used in environmental regulatory decisions to predict future water quality and hydrologic conditions and to understand existing pit lakes. Models may be used to quantify sulfide oxidation, predict thermal/chemical stratification and mixing, and better understand connections between pit lakes and aquifers. One concern related to...
Authors
Connor P. Newman
Site-specific, extended ShakeMaps for earthquake engineering applications Site-specific, extended ShakeMaps for earthquake engineering applications
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) routinely produces ShakeMaps of shaking intensity across the globe. Due to practical constraints, the number of response spectral periods was limited to three standard periods (0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 sec). We have recently developed the tools that are necessary to expand this functionality to include 22 periods (matching the current U.S. National Seismic...
Authors
Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, Charles Worden, Vince Quitoriano, Annabelle Elizabeth Cunningham, David J. Wald
Seasonal and spatial patterns in sediment transport in an erosional marsh system Seasonal and spatial patterns in sediment transport in an erosional marsh system
Salt marshes provide expansive ecosystem services to coastal regions, including serving as bird and fish habitat, providing flood protection, and sequestering carbon and toxins (Barbier et al. 2011). While marshes are naturally dynamic, they are undergoing net loss in the 21st century largely due to lateral erosion (Camp- bell et al. 2022). In regions where marsh migration is constrained...
Authors
Lukas T. WinklerPrins, Jessica R. Lacy, Mark T. Stacey, Karen M. Thorne
Separating signals in elevation data improves supervised machine learning predictions for hydrothermal favorability Separating signals in elevation data improves supervised machine learning predictions for hydrothermal favorability
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...
Authors
Pascal Domingo Caraccioli Salinas, Stanley Paul Mordensky, Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, John Lipor
Landed planetary sensor model support with the community sensor model Landed planetary sensor model support with the community sensor model
This note describes recent work to develop landed planetary sensor model support conforming to the widely adopted Community Sensor Model (CSM) standard. We describe the CSM specification and its use in the planetary sciences, introduce the test sensors carried aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover, and describe the engineering research requirements fulfilled...
Authors
Jason Laura, Oleg Alexandrov, Adam Paquette
The 2023 U.S. 50-state National Seismic Hazard Model: Changes in 2023 compared to 2018 ground motions The 2023 U.S. 50-state National Seismic Hazard Model: Changes in 2023 compared to 2018 ground motions
We present the 2023 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for all 50 states that applies new smoothed seismicity, fault rupture, and ground motion models. New data and methods are introduced in the 2023 earthquake rupture forecast that include: new earthquake catalogs - excluding induced earthquakes, alternative declustering methods, spatially smoothed seismicity distributions, full...
Authors
Mark D. Petersen, Jason M. Altekruse, Oliver S. Boyd, Demi Leafar Girot, Julie A. Herrick, Kishor S. Jaiswal, N. Simon Kwong, Andrea L. Llenos, Kevin Millner, Morgan P. Moschetti, Peter M. Powers, Sanaz Rezaeian, Justin L. Rubinstein, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Allison M. Shumway
Effective site coefficients for the 2024 International Building Code (IBC) Effective site coefficients for the 2024 International Building Code (IBC)
The U.S. National Seismic Hazard Models (NSHMs), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), have long been the scientific foundation of seismic design guidelines and have been used to compute design ground motions for construction of new buildings and retrofit of existing buildings in the United States and its territories. The 2018 NSHM is adopted by the 2024 International Building...
Authors
Sanaz Rezaeian, Nico Luco, Andrew James Makdisi, Henry Mason
The influence of pre-existing structures on geothermal springs: Inferences from potential field mapping in Surprise Valley, CA and other sites In the northwestern Great Basin The influence of pre-existing structures on geothermal springs: Inferences from potential field mapping in Surprise Valley, CA and other sites In the northwestern Great Basin
Surprise Valley, located in the northwestern Great Basin, is an asymmetric extensional basin that marks a major tectonic transition between the relatively un-extended volcanic Modoc Plateau to the west, and the Basin and Range to the east that has undergone 10-15% extension. In addition, it sits just north of the Walker Lane which accommodates up to 20% of dextral slip associated with...
Authors
Jonathan M.G. Glen, Tait E. Earney