Publications

Using available data, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that 306 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium is presently within the known geologic natural gas reservoirs of the United States.

Given a numerical dataset, a frequency distribution is a summary displaying fluctuations of an attribute within the range of values. In contrast to an analytical probability distribution, a frequency distribution always deals with empirically observed values (Everitt and Skondall 2010). In general, the larger the number of values, the more useful is the frequency distribution relative to...

Preferential sampling is a form of data collection that may significantly distort the histogram and the semivariogram of spatially correlated data. Typical situations are a higher sampling density at high-valued areas favorable for mining, and highly contaminated areas in need of environmental remediation. Multiple statistical procedures are devoted to obtaining representative statistics...

The ShBOQ-1 geochemical reference material is relevant to studies of the organic geochemistry and mineralogy of petroleum source rocks containing high concentrations of carbonate minerals and organic sulfur-rich, oil-prone marine organic matter. ShBOQ-1 is geochemically and mineralogically similar to the lower part of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale.

No abstract available.

Typical meter-scale lithofacies cycles from the Wolfcamp A in the Delaware and Midland Basins comprise basal carbonate facies overlain by calcareous or siliceous mudrocks. Siliceous mudstones are the most organic-rich facies with high total organic carbon (TOC > 3 wt. %), whereas thin carbonate beds have the lowest organic matter (OM) content among the lithofacies present (TOC TOC...

Background Indoor air pollution is associated with adverse health effects; however, few studies exist studying indoor air pollution on the Navajo Nation in the southwest U.S., a community with high rates of respiratory disease.Methods Indoor PM2.5 concentration was evaluated in 26 homes on the Navajo Nation using real-time PM2.5 monitors. Household risk factors and daily activities were...

Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data for 26 elements from three hydrocarbon...

Anoxygenic photosynthesis by phototrophic sulfur bacteria is prevalent in microbial mat ecosystems and in restricted, highly stratified aquatic environments. This limited distribution reflects their simultaneous requirements for an anoxic habitat, reduced sulfur to supply electrons for carbon fixation, and an appropriate light regime. Although these conditions were often satisfied in...

At a former uranium pilot mill in Grand Junction, Colorado, mine tailings and some subpile sediments were excavated to various depths to meet surface radiological standards, but residual solid-phase uranium below these excavation depths still occurs at concentrations above background. The combination of fission-track radiography and scanning electron microscope energy-dispersive X-ray...

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 879 million barrels of conventional oil and 286.2 trillion cubic feet of conventional gas in the eastern Mediterranean area.

Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in...