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Publications

Results from our Program’s research and minerals information activities are published in USGS publications series as well as in outside journals.  To follow Minerals Information Periodicals, subscribe to the Mineral Periodicals RSS feed.

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Wetting and drying of soil in response to precipitation: Data analysis, modeling, and forecasting Wetting and drying of soil in response to precipitation: Data analysis, modeling, and forecasting

This paper investigates methods to analyze and forecast soil moisture time series. We extend an existing Antecedent Water Index (AWI) model, which expresses soil moisture as a function of time and rainfall. Unfortunately, the existing AWI model does not forecast effectively for time periods beyond a few hours. To overcome this limitation, we develop a novel AWI-based model. Our model...
Authors
Aniruddha Basak, Chinmay Kulkarni, Kevin M. Schmidt, Ole Mengshoel

The link between volcanism and plutonism in epizonal magma systems; high-precision U–Pb zircon geochronology from the Organ Mountains caldera and batholith, New Mexico The link between volcanism and plutonism in epizonal magma systems; high-precision U–Pb zircon geochronology from the Organ Mountains caldera and batholith, New Mexico

The Organ Mountains caldera and batholith expose the volcanic and epizonal plutonic record of an Eocene caldera complex. The caldera and batholith are well exposed, and extensive previous mapping and geochemical analyses have suggested a clear link between the volcanic and plutonic sections, making this an ideal location to study magmatic processes associated with caldera volcanism. Here...
Authors
Matthew Rioux, Lang Farmer, Samuel Bowring, Kathleen M. Wooton, Jeffrey M. Amato, Drew S. Coleman, Philip L. Verplanck

The distribution and composition of REE-bearing minerals in placers of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, USA The distribution and composition of REE-bearing minerals in placers of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, USA

Rare earth element (REE) resources are currently of great interest because of their importance as raw materials for high-technology manufacturing. The REE-phosphates monazite (light REE enriched) and xenotime (heavy REE enriched) resist weathering and can accumulate in placer deposits as part of the heavy mineral assemblage. The Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the southeastern United...
Authors
Carleton R. Bern, Anjana K. Shah, William Benzel, Heather A. Lowers

Book review: Mineral resource estimation Book review: Mineral resource estimation

Mineral Resource Estimation is about estimating mineral resources at the scale of an ore deposit and is not to be mistaken with mineral resource assessment, which is undertaken at a significantly broader scale, even if similar data and geospatial/geostatistical methods are used. The book describes geological, statistical, and geostatistical tools and methodologies used in resource...
Authors
Mark J. Mihalasky

Apatite fission-track evidence for regional exhumation in the subtropical Eocene, block faulting, and localized fluid flow in east-central Alaska Apatite fission-track evidence for regional exhumation in the subtropical Eocene, block faulting, and localized fluid flow in east-central Alaska

The origin and antiquity of the subdued topography of the Yukon–Tanana Upland (YTU), the physiographic province between the Denali and Tintina faults, are unresolved questions in the geologic history of interior Alaska and adjacent Yukon. We present apatite fission-track (AFT) results for 33 samples from the 2300 km2 western Fortymile district in the YTU in Alaska and propose an...
Authors
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, Charles R. Bacon, Paul B. O'Sullivan, Warren C. Day

A salt diapir-related Mississippi Valley-type deposit: The Bou Jaber Pb-Zn-Ba-F deposit, Tunisia: Fluid inclusion and isotope study A salt diapir-related Mississippi Valley-type deposit: The Bou Jaber Pb-Zn-Ba-F deposit, Tunisia: Fluid inclusion and isotope study

The Bou Jaber Ba-F-Pb-Zn deposit is located at the edge of the Bou Jaber Triassic salt diapir in the Tunisia Salt Diapir Province. The ores are unconformity and fault-controlled and occur as subvertical column-shaped bodies developed in dissolution-collapse breccias and in cavities within the Late Aptian platform carbonate rocks, which are covered unconformably by impermeable shales and...
Authors
Salah Bouhlel, David Leach, Craig A. Johnson, Erin E. Marsh, Sihem Salmi-Laouar, David A. Banks

Relations between rainfall–runoff-induced erosion and aeolian deposition at archaeological sites in a semi-arid dam-controlled river corridor Relations between rainfall–runoff-induced erosion and aeolian deposition at archaeological sites in a semi-arid dam-controlled river corridor

Process dynamics in fluvial-based dryland environments are highly complex with fluvial, aeolian, and alluvial processes all contributing to landscape change. When anthropogenic activities such as dam-building affect fluvial processes, the complexity in local response can be further increased by flood- and sediment-limiting flows. Understanding these complexities is key to predicting...
Authors
Brian D. Collins, David Bedford, Skye C. Corbett, Helen C. Fairley, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff

Reconnaissance sediment budget for selected watersheds of West Maui, Hawai‘i Reconnaissance sediment budget for selected watersheds of West Maui, Hawai‘i

Episodic runoff brings suspended sediment to the nearshore waters of West Maui, Hawaiʻi. Even small rainfalls create visible plumes over a few hours. We used mapping, field experiments, and analysis of recent (July 19–20, 2014) and historic rainfall to estimate sources of land-based pollution for two watersheds in West Maui: Honolua, and Honokōwai. Former agricultural fields and some...
Authors
Jonathan D. Stock, Kim A. Falinski, Tova Callender

Paleomagnetic record determined in cores from deep research wells in the Quaternary Santa Clara basin, California Paleomagnetic record determined in cores from deep research wells in the Quaternary Santa Clara basin, California

Paleomagnetic study of cores from six deep wells provides an independent temporal framework for much of the alluvial stratigraphy of the Quaternary basin beneath the Santa Clara Valley. This stratigraphy consists of 8 upward-fining cycles in the upper 300 m of section and an underlying 150 m or more of largely fine-grained sediment. The eight cycles have been correlated with the marine...
Authors
Edward A. Mankinen, Carl M. Wentworth

Copper speciation in variably toxic sediments at the Ely Copper Mine, Vermont, United States Copper speciation in variably toxic sediments at the Ely Copper Mine, Vermont, United States

At the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site, Cu concentrations exceed background values in both streamwater (160–1200 times) and sediments (15–79 times). Previously, these sediment samples were incubated with laboratory test organisms, and they exhibited variable toxicity for different stream sites. In this study we combined bulk- and microscale techniques to determine Cu speciation and...
Authors
Bryn E. Kimball, Andrea L. Foster, Robert R. Seal, Nadine M. Piatak, Samuel M. Webb, Jane M. Hammarstrom

Mineral resources: Reserves, peak production and the future Mineral resources: Reserves, peak production and the future

The adequacy of mineral resources in light of population growth and rising standards of living has been a concern since the time of Malthus (1798), but many studies erroneously forecast impending peak production or exhaustion because they confuse reserves with “all there is”. Reserves are formally defined as a subset of resources, and even current and potential resources are only a small...
Authors
Lawrence D. Meinert, Gilpin Robinson, Nedal T. Nassar
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