Publications

Large quantities of impact-related microspherules have been found in fine-grained sediments retained within seven out of nine, radiocarbon-dated, Late Pleistocene mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and bison (Bison priscus) skull fragments. The well-preserved fossils were recovered from frozen “muck” deposits (organic-rich silt) exposed within the Fairbanks and Klondike mining districts of...

Various geochemical records suggest that atmospheric O2 increased in the Ediacaran (635–541 Ma), broadly coincident with the emergence and diversification of large animals and increasing marine ecosystem complexity. Furthermore, geochemical proxies indicate that seawater sulfate levels rose at this time too, which has been hypothesized to reflect increased sulfide oxidation in marine...

Black shales of the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Bakken Formation are characterized by high concentrations of organic carbon and the hyper-enrichment (> 500 to 1000s of mg/kg) of V and Zn. Deposition of black shales resulted from shallow seafloor depths that promoted rapid development of euxinic conditions. Vanadium hyper-enrichments, which are unknown in modern environments, are...

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey published an assessment of technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources of the Mississippian Barnett Shale in the Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province of north-central Texas. Of the two assessment units involved in the overall assessment, one included a roughly equal number of oil wells and gas wells as classified by the U.S. Geological...

Recent oil production from the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) has elevated the formation, previously assessed by the USGS in 2011 as part of the Eagle Ford Group, to its own distinct assessment unit for an upcoming assessment. Geologic characterization in preparation for the 2017 assessment has included the analysis of rock samples and produced oils, and the...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Zyryanka Basin Province as part of the 2008 USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province is in the Russian Federation and is situated on the Omolon superterrane of the Kolyma block. The one assessment unit (AU) that was defined for this study, called the Zyryanka...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, north of the Arctic Circle, as part of the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province is in the Russian Federation and is situated between the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt and the Siberian craton. The one assessment unit (AU) defined...

Professional Paper 1824 comprises 30 chapters by various U.S. Geological Survey authors, including introduction and methodology chapters, which together provide documentation of the geological basis and methodology of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal, results of which were first released in August 2008. Twenty-eight chapters summarize the petroleum geology and resource potential...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the North Kara Basins and Platforms Province as part of the its Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. This geologic province is north of western Siberia, Russian Federation, in the North Kara Sea between Novaya Zemlya to the west and Severnaya Zemlya to the east. One assessment unit...

The amount of yet-to-find oil and gas in the high northern latitudes is one of the great uncertainties of future energy supply. The possibility of extensive new petroleum developments in the Arctic Ocean is of interest to the Arctic nations, to petroleum companies, and to those concerned with the delicate and changing Arctic environment. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2008 Circum...

The Timan-Pechora Basin Province is a triangular area that represents the northeasternmost cratonic block of east European Russia. A 75-year history of petroleum exploration and production in the area there has led to the discovery of more than 16 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 40 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG). Three geologic assessment units (AUs) were defined for assessing the...

The methodological procedures used in the geologic assessments of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) were based largely on the methodology developed for the 2000 U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment. The main variables were probability distributions for numbers and sizes of undiscovered accumulations with an associated risk of occurrence. The CARA methodology...