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Mineral resource of the month: potash Mineral resource of the month: potash

The article offers basic information about the mineral resource potash. According to the author, potash is the generic term for a variety of mined and manufactured salts that contain the mineral potassium in a water-soluble form. The author adds that potash is used in fertilizers, soaps and detergents, glass and ceramics, and alkaline batteries.
Authors
Stephen M. Jasinski

Examination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation Examination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation

Collecting and preserving undamaged core samples containing gas hydrates from depth is difficult because of the pressure and temperature changes encountered upon retrieval. Hydrate-bearing core samples were collected at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well in February 2007. Coring was performed while using a custom oil-based drilling mud, and the cores were...
Authors
T.J. Kneafsey, H. Lu, W. Winters, R. Boswell, R. Hunter, T. S. Collett

Mortality of American alligators attributed to cannibalism Mortality of American alligators attributed to cannibalism

Mortality of juvenile (
Authors
Michael F. Delany, Allan R. Woodward, Richard A. Kiltie, Clinton T. Moore

Migration strategies of Swan Geese Anser cygnoides from northeast Mongolia Migration strategies of Swan Geese Anser cygnoides from northeast Mongolia

In 2006–2008, 25 Swan Geese Anser cygnoides were marked with solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters in northeast Mongolia to examine the timing and pathways of their migration. Most geese began their autumn migration in August, flying southeast toward a staging area at the Yalu River Estuary on the China-North Korea border. After staging for several weeks, the Swan Geese continued to...
Authors
Nyambayar Batbayar, John Y. Takekawa, Scott H. Newman, Diann J. Prosser, Tseveenmyadag Natsagdorj, Xiangming Xiao

Pathogens and diseases of freshwater mussels in the United States: Studies on bacterial transmission and depuration Pathogens and diseases of freshwater mussels in the United States: Studies on bacterial transmission and depuration

Unionid mussels are recognized as important contributors to healthy aquatic ecosystems, as well as bioindicators of environmental perturbations. Because they are sedentary, filter feeding animals and require hosts (i.e., fishes) to transform embryonic glochidia, mussels are susceptible to direct adverse environmental parameters, and indirect parameters that restrict the timely presence...
Authors
Clifford E. Starliper

Did intense volcanism trigger the first Late Ordovician icehouse? REPLY Did intense volcanism trigger the first Late Ordovician icehouse? REPLY

We appreciate the Comment by Herrmann et al. (2011) to our paper (Buggisch et al., 2010). When we compiled the data set for our publication, we were aware that we had not enough pre-Deicke conodont oxygen isotope data because Webers’ (1966) conodont collections from the Pecatonica Member did not yield enough specimens for isotope analysis. At that time, the recently published data of...
Authors
Werner Buggisch, Michael M. Joachimski, Oliver Lehnert, Stig M. Bergstrom, John E. Repetski

Evaluation of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic method to determine sediment thickness in the vicinity of the South Well Field, Franklin County, OH Evaluation of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic method to determine sediment thickness in the vicinity of the South Well Field, Franklin County, OH

The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic method involves analyzing measurements of ambient seismic noise in three dimensions to determine the fundamental site resonance frequency. Resonance is excited by the interaction of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love) and body waves (vertically incident shear) with the high-contrast aconstic impedance boundary at the bedrock-sediment...
Authors
Ralph J. Haefner, Rodney A. Sheets, Robert E. Andrews

Application of a new vertical profiling tool (ESASS) for sampling groundwater quality during hollow-stem auger drilling Application of a new vertical profiling tool (ESASS) for sampling groundwater quality during hollow-stem auger drilling

A new tool called ESASS (Enhanced Screen Auger Sampling System) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The use of ESASS, because of its unique U.S. patent design (U.S. patent no. 7,631,705 B1), allows for the collection of representative, depth-specific groundwater samples (vertical profiling) in a quick and efficient manner using a 0.305-m long screen auger during hollow-stem...
Authors
Philip T. Harte, Sarah M. Flanagan

Use of recent and historical records to estimate status and trends of a rare and imperiled stream fish, Percina jenkinsi (Percidae) Use of recent and historical records to estimate status and trends of a rare and imperiled stream fish, Percina jenkinsi (Percidae)

Rarely encountered animals may be present but undetected, potentially leading to incorrect assumptions about the persistence of a local population or the conservation priority of a particular area. The federally endangered and narrowly endemic Conasauga logperch (Percina jenkinsi) is a good example of a rarely encountered fish species of conservation concern, for which basic population...
Authors
Megan M. Hagler, Mary Freeman, Seth J. Wenger, Byron J. Freeman, Patrick L. Rakes, J.R. Shute

The greenhouse gas flux and potential global warming feedbacks of a northern macrotidal and microtidal salt marsh The greenhouse gas flux and potential global warming feedbacks of a northern macrotidal and microtidal salt marsh

Conversion of wetlands by drainage for agriculture or other anthropogenic activities could have a negative or positive feedback to global warming (GWF). We suggest that a major predictor of the GWF is salinity of the wetland soil (a proxy for available sulfate), a factor often ignored in other studies. We assess the radiative balance of two northern salt marshes with average soil...
Authors
Gail L. Chmura, Lisa Kellman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region

We evaluate the long-term seismic activity of the North-American/Caribbean plate boundary from 500 years of historical earthquake damage reports. The 2010 Haiti earthquakes and other earthquakes were used to derive regional attenuation relationships between earthquake intensity, magnitude, and distance from the reported damage to the epicenter, for Hispaniola and for Puerto Rico and the...
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, W. H. Bakun, C.H. Flores
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