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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.

Filter Total Items: 2545

The Bonneville Flood—A veritable débâcle The Bonneville Flood—A veritable débâcle

The Bonneville Flood was one of the largest floods on Earth. First discovered by G.K. Gilbert in the 1870s during his inspection of the outlet at Red Rock Pass, it was rediscovered in the 1950s by Harold Malde and coworkers, leading to mapping and assessment of spectacular flood features along Marsh Creek, Portneuf River, and Snake River for over 1100 km between the outlet and Lewiston...
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor

High spatial resolution U-Pb geochronology and Pb isotope geochemistry of magnetite-apatite ore from the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite deposit, St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri, USA High spatial resolution U-Pb geochronology and Pb isotope geochemistry of magnetite-apatite ore from the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite deposit, St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri, USA

The Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit is one of the major rhyolite-hosted magnetite deposits of the St. Francois Mountains terrane, which is located within the Mesoproterozoic (1.5–1.3 Ga) Granite-Rhyolite province in the U.S. Midcontinent. Precise and accurate determination of the timing and duration of oreforming processes in this deposit is crucial for understanding its...
Authors
Leonid A. Neymark, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Aaron Pietruszka, John N. Aleinikoff, C. Mark Fanning, Renee M. Pillers, Richard J. Moscati

Geochemistry, Nd-Pb Isotopes, and Pb-Pb Ages of the Mesoproterozoic Pea Ridge Iron Oxide-Apatite–Rare Earth Element Deposit, Southeast Missouri Geochemistry, Nd-Pb Isotopes, and Pb-Pb Ages of the Mesoproterozoic Pea Ridge Iron Oxide-Apatite–Rare Earth Element Deposit, Southeast Missouri

Iron oxide-apatite and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits occur within ~1.48 to 1.47 Ga volcanic rocks of the St. Francois Mountains terrane near a regional boundary separating crustal blocks having contrasting depleted-mantle Sm-Nd model ages (TDM). Major and trace element analyses and Nd and Pb isotope data were obtained to characterize the Pea Ridge deposit, improve identification of...
Authors
Robert A. Ayuso, John F. Slack, Warren C. Day, Anne E. McCafferty

Magnetic and gravity gradiometry framework for Mesoproterozoic iron oxide-apatite and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, southeast Missouri, USA Magnetic and gravity gradiometry framework for Mesoproterozoic iron oxide-apatite and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, southeast Missouri, USA

High-resolution airborne magnetic and gravity gradiometry data provide the geophysical framework for evaluating the exploration potential of hidden iron oxide deposits in Mesoproterozoic basement rocks of southeast Missouri. The data are used to calculate mineral prospectivity for iron oxide-apatite (IOA) ± rare earth element (REE) and iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits. Results...
Authors
Anne E. McCafferty, Jeffrey Phillips, Rhonda L. Driscoll

Potash—A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits Potash—A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits

This report summarizes the primary sources of potash in the United States. Potash is an essential nutrient that, along with phosphorus and nitrogen, is used as fertilizer for growing crops. Plants require sufficient potash to activate enzymes, which in turn catalyze chemical reactions important for water uptake and photosynthesis. When potassium is available in quantities necessary for...
Authors
Douglas B. Yager

Beryllium—A critical mineral commodity—Resources, production, and supply chain Beryllium—A critical mineral commodity—Resources, production, and supply chain

Beryllium is a lightweight metallic element used in a wide variety of specialty and industrial applications. As a function of its unique chemical and physical properties, such as a high stiffness-to-weight ratio, resistance to temperature extremes, and high thermal conductivity, beryllium cannot be easily replaced by substitute materials in applications where combinations of these...
Authors
Graham W. Lederer, Nora K. Foley, Brian W. Jaskula, Robert A. Ayuso

Linking silicate weathering to riverine geochemistry—A case study from a mountainous tropical setting in west-central Panama Linking silicate weathering to riverine geochemistry—A case study from a mountainous tropical setting in west-central Panama

Chemical analyses from 71 watersheds across an ∼450 km transect in west-central Panama provide insight into controls on weathering and rates of chemical denudation and CO2 consumption across an igneous arc terrain in the tropics. Stream and river compositions across this region of Panama are generally dilute, having a total dissolved solute value = 118 ± 91 mg/L, with bicarbonate and...
Authors
Russell S. Harmon, Gerhard Wörner, Steven T. Goldsmith, Brendan A. Harmon, Christopher B. Gardner, W. Berry Lyons, Fred L. Ogden, Michael J. Pribil, David T. Long, Zoltán Kern, István Fórizs

Age, distribution and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60°N: Implications for assembly of Alaska Age, distribution and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60°N: Implications for assembly of Alaska

The structural architecture of Alaska is the product of a complex history of deformation along both the Cordilleran and Arctic margins of North America involving oceanic plates, subduction zones and strike-slip faults and with continental elements of Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia. We use geological constraints to assign regions of deformation to 14 time intervals and to map their...
Authors
Thomas E. Moore, Stephen E. Box

Bedrock morphology and structure, upper Santa Cruz Basin, south-central Arizona, with transient electromagnetic survey data Bedrock morphology and structure, upper Santa Cruz Basin, south-central Arizona, with transient electromagnetic survey data

The upper Santa Cruz Basin is an important groundwater basin containing the regional aquifer for the city of Nogales, Arizona. This report provides data and interpretations of data aimed at better understanding the bedrock morphology and structure of the upper Santa Cruz Basin study area which encompasses the Rio Rico and Nogales 1:24,000-scale U.S. Geological Survey quadrangles. Data...
Authors
Mark W. Bultman, William R. Page

Sedimentary exhalative (sedex) zinc-lead-silver deposit model Sedimentary exhalative (sedex) zinc-lead-silver deposit model

This report draws on previous syntheses and basic research studies of sedimentary exhalative (sedex) deposits to arrive at the defining criteria, both descriptive and genetic, for sedex-type deposits. Studies of the tectonic, sedimentary, and fluid evolution of modern and ancient sedimentary basins have also been used to select defining criteria. The focus here is on the geologic...
Authors
Poul Emsbo, Robert R. Seal, George N. Breit, Sharon F. Diehl, Anjana K. Shah

Probing the volcanic-plutonic connection and the genesis of crystal-rich rhyolite in a deeply dissected supervolcano in the Nevada Great Basin: Source of the late Eocene Caetano Tuff Probing the volcanic-plutonic connection and the genesis of crystal-rich rhyolite in a deeply dissected supervolcano in the Nevada Great Basin: Source of the late Eocene Caetano Tuff

Late Cenozoic faulting and large-magnitude extension in the Great Basin of the western USA has created locally deep windows into the upper crust, permitting direct study of volcanic and plutonic rocks within individual calderas. The Caetano caldera in north–central Nevada, formed during the mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up, offers one of the best exposed and most complete records of...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, David A. John, Joseph P. Colgan, Christopher D. Henry, Ilya N. Bindeman, Axel K. Schmitt

Larval aquatic insect responses to cadmium and zinc in experimental streams Larval aquatic insect responses to cadmium and zinc in experimental streams

To evaluate the risks of metal mixture effects to natural stream communities under ecologically relevant conditions, the authors conducted 30-d tests with benthic macroinvertebrates exposed to cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) in experimental streams. The simultaneous exposures were with Cd and Zn singly and with Cd+Zn mixtures at environmentally relevant ratios. The tests produced...
Authors
Christopher A. Mebane, Travis S. Schmidt, Laurie S. Balistrieri
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