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Publications

USGS has a long history of interdisciplinary research in the Salton Sea basin. Browse the publications below for more information about our research.

Filter Total Items: 131

Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Program

This article briefly describes the progress of drilling in the Salton Sea to depths exceeding 10 000 ft (3050 m) in the search for geothermal energy supplies. -A.Scarth
Authors
J. H. Sass

Analysis of geophysical well logs obtained in the State 2-14 borehole, Salton Sea geothermal area, California

A complete suite of conventional geophysical well logs was obtained in the upper part of a 3220-m-deep borehole drilled into geothermally altered alluvial sediments on the southeastern edge of the Salton Sea. Geophysical logs obtained in the State 2-14 borehole indicate that neutron porosity, gamma-gamma, and deep-induction logs provide useful information on lithologic trends with depth. The natur
Authors
Frederick L. Paillet, R. H. Morin

Trace elements and pesticides in Salton Sea area, California

Concentrations of numerous potentially toxic trace elements and pesticides were determined in water, sediment, and biota from the Salton Sea area in southestern California. Comparison of results with data from other studies in this area and from other areas, and with various water-quality standards or criteria, indicate that selenium probably is the principal contaminant of concern in the Salton S
Authors
Roy A. Schroeder, James G. Setmire, John C. Wolfe

Aerial views of the San Andreas Fault

These aerial photographs of the San Andreas fault were taken in 1965 by Robert E. Wallace of the U.S Geological Survey. The pictures were taken with a Rolliflex camera on 20 format black and white flim; Wallace was aboard a light, fixed-wing aircraft, flying mostly at low altitudes. He photographed the fault from San Francisco near its north end where it enters by the Salton Sea. These images repr
Authors
M. Moore

Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Program

The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Program (SSSDP) was the first large-scale drilling project undertaken by the U.S Continental Scientific Drilling Program. The objectives of the SSSDP were (1) to drill a deep well into the Salton Sea Geothermal Field in the Imperial Valley of California, (2) to retrieve a high percentage of core and cuttings along the entire depth of the well, (3) to obtain a com
Authors
J. H. Sass

SALTON SEA SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROJECT: SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM.

The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, was spudded on 24 October 1985, and reached a total depth of 10,564 ft. (3. 2 km) on 17 March 1986. There followed a period of logging, a flow test, and downhole scientific measurements. The scientific goals were integrated smoothly with the engineering and economic objectives of the program and the ideal of 'science driving the drill' in continental sci
Authors
J. H. Sass, W.A. Elders

Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project; on-site science management; California

No abstract available.
Authors
J. H. Sass, S. S. Priest, L.C. Robison, J. D. Hendricks

Preliminary report on geophysical well-logging activity on the Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, Imperial Valley, California

The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project has culminated in a 10,564-ft deep test well, State 2-14 well, in the Imperial Valley of southern California. A comprehensive scientific program of drilling, coring, and downhole measurements, which was conducted for about 5 months, has obtained much scientific information concerning the physical and chemical processes associated with an active hydrotherm
Authors
Frederick L. Paillet, R. H. Morin, H.E. Hodges

Instability model for recurring large and great earthquakes in southern California

The locked section of the San Andreas fault in southern California has experienced a number of large and great earthquakes in the past, and thus is expected to have more in the future. To estimate the location, time, and slip of the next few earthquakes, an earthquake instability model is formulated. The model is similar to one recently developed for moderate earthquakes on the San Andreas fault n
Authors
W.D. Stuart

The evolution of the southern California uplift, 1955 through 1976

The southern California uplift culminated in 1974 as a 150- km-wide crustal swell that extended about 600 km eastward and east-southeastward from Point Arguello to the Colorado River and Salton Sea, respectively; it was characterized by remarkably uniform height changes between 1959 and 1974 of 0.30-0.35 m over at least half of its 60,000-70,000 km2 area. At its zenith, the uplift included virtual
Authors
Robert O. Castle, Michael R. Elliot, Jack P. Church, Spencer H. Wood