Regional Studies and Mineral Resources

This multidisciplinary study seeks to image and characterize the mineral resource potential of the Midcontinent Rift System. Combining various geophysical methods with detailed mapping and geochemical analyses will help to define the geographic extent of the Rift and clarify its geologic makeup and configuration.

Available geophysical data for Alaska have not been fully exploited. Project objectives were to conduct systematic analysis of existing gravity, aeromagnetic and airborne electromagnetic data to map geologic trends, structural geologic and tectonic patterns, and identify key lithologies for direct integration with geologic framework and mineral potential studies.

In 2004, the Mineral Resources Program introduced an External Research Program, which ran through 2014. This grant and/or cooperative agreement opportunity was available to universities, state agencies, industry, or other private sector organizations that had the ability to conduct research in topics that met the goals of the Mineral Resources Program.

Project objectives were to publish a map of the nation's geologic basement. The map portrayed these pieces (domains) from the most ancient to recent, by the events that influenced their composition, starting with their origin.

The Headwaters Province project provided geoscience data and interpretations to the Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA) that were basic to sound policy and land-stewardship practices.