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Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources. 

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Research in the Geysers-Clear Lake geothermal area, Northern California Research in the Geysers-Clear Lake geothermal area, Northern California

The Geysers-Clear Lake area is one of two places in the world where major vapor-dominated hydrothermal reservoirs are commercially exploited for electric power production. Because energy can be extracted more efficiently from steam than from hot water, vapor-dominated systems are preferable for electric power generation, although most geothermal electric power facilities tap water...

Economics and coal resource appraisal: strippable coal in the Illinois Basin ( USA) Economics and coal resource appraisal: strippable coal in the Illinois Basin ( USA)

Coal-resource appraisals generally describe the location and general characteristics of coal beds. Estimates are made of the average overburden depth (depth of the coal bed below the surface), bed thickness, and perhaps certain chemical properties of the coal [1]. Although such resource compilations represent an important initial step, neither they nor current estimates provide...
Authors
E. D. Attanasi, E.K. Green

Munsell color value as related to organic carbon in Devonian shale of Appalachian basin Munsell color value as related to organic carbon in Devonian shale of Appalachian basin

Comparison of Munsell color value with organic carbon content of 880 samples from 50 drill holes in the Appalachian basin shows that a power curve is the best fit for the data. A color value below 3 to 3.5 indicates the presence of organic carbon but is meaningless in determining the organic carbon content because a large increase in amount of organic carbon causes only a minor decrease...
Authors
John W. Hosterman, Sallie I. Whitlow

Seismic evidence for an extensive gas-bearing layer at shallow depth, offshore from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Seismic evidence for an extensive gas-bearing layer at shallow depth, offshore from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

High-resolution seismic reflection data, recorded offshore from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, were processed digitally to determine the reflectivity structure of the uppermost layers of the seafloor. A prominent reflector, found at 27 m below the mud line (water depths 7-9 m), has a negative reflection coefficient greater than 0.5. The large acoustic impedance contrast, coupled with a report of...
Authors
G. Boucher, E. Reimnitz, E. Kempema

Uranium contents of glassy and devitrified andesites and dacites, Mount Mazama, Oregon Uranium contents of glassy and devitrified andesites and dacites, Mount Mazama, Oregon

By direct comparison of devitrified and granophyrically crystallized specimens with nonhydrated glassy materials from the same units, Rosholt and coworkers (Rosholt and Noble, 1969; Rosholt et al., 1971) showed that specimens of primarily crystallized but otherwise unaltered peralkaline and subalkaline rhyolite from the western United States had lost from 30 to 80 percent of the uranium...
Authors
D. C. Noble, W.I. Rose, Robert A. Zielinski

Tectonic relations of carbon dioxide discharges and earthquakes Tectonic relations of carbon dioxide discharges and earthquakes

CO2‐rich springs occur worldwide along major zones of seismicity. They are mostly in young orogenic belts, but some are in areas of rifting continental platforms. Analyses of 13C content indicate that much of the CO2 is derived from the mantle and that other important sources are the metamorphism of marine carbonate‐bearing sedimentary rocks and the degradation of organic material. The...
Authors
W. P. Irwin, Ivan Barnes

Uranium in secondary silica: A possible exploration guide Uranium in secondary silica: A possible exploration guide

Study of uraniferous silica precipitates in the Shirley Basin, Wyoming, identified areas where ancient uraniferous ground water once ponded. Chalcedony collected from and directly beneath thick accumulations of rhyolite ash contain as much as 250 ppm uranium in a pre-ash topographic low and lesser concentrations (10 to 160 ppm) elsewhere. Differences in the U concentration of chalcedony...
Authors
Robert A. Zielinski
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