Suzanne Nicholson, USGS, collecting soil at one of the sites in New Jersey, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Atlantic City.
Laurel G. Woodruff
Laurel Woodruff is a Research Geologist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Science and Products
Synthesis of the Tectonic, Magmatic, and Metallogenic Evolution of the Midcontinent Rift System
Application of the National-Scale Soil Geochemical and Mineralogical Data for the Conterminous U.S.
Database of mineral deposits related to the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) in the northern United States and northern Ontario, Canada
The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America is one of the world’s largest continental rifts and has an age of 1.1 Ga (giga-annum). The MRS hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. As part of the construction of a database summarizing information on mineral deposits in the MRS, data f
Critical mineral deposits of the United States
GIS, supplemental data table, and references for focus areas of potential domestic resources of critical minerals and related commodities in the United States and Puerto Rico
GIS, supplemental data table, and references for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 13 critical minerals in the United States and Puerto Rico - antimony, barite, beryllium, chromium, fluorspar, hafnium, helium, magnesium, manganese, potash, ur
Till geochemistry from rotosonic cores in Minnesota, USA
Density and magnetic susceptibility measurements on Precambrian rocks in the Iron Mountain-Menominee region, Michigan-Wisconsin
Geochemical characterization of solid media from three watersheds that transect the basal contact of the Duluth Complex, northeastern Minnesota
GIS and Data Tables for Focus Areas for Potential Domestic Nonfuel Sources of Rare Earth Elements
Oxide and Cation Compositions of Olivine Grains from Drill Core in the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
Oxide and Cation Compositions of Feldspar Grains from Drill Core of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
Oxide and Cation Compositions of Pyroxene Grains from Drill Core of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
Major, Minor, and Trace Element Compositions of Bulk Drill Core Samples from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
Suzanne Nicholson, USGS, collecting soil at one of the sites in New Jersey, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Atlantic City.
Exploring the geology of the Midcontinent Rift under western Lake Superior using a preliminary velocity model of seismic line GLIMPCE C
National map of focus areas for potential critical mineral resources in the United States
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 13 critical minerals in the conterminous United States and Puerto Rico — Antimony, barite, beryllium, chromium, fluorspar, hafnium, helium, magnesium, manganese, potash, uranium, vanadiu
Mineral deposits of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region – Metallogeny of the prolifically mineralized Keweenawan LIP
Integrated geophysical analysis provides an alternate interpretation of the northern margin of the North American Midcontinent Rift System, Central Lake Superior
Mineral deposits of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift system in the Lake Superior region – A space and time classification
Mineral resource database for deposits related to the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System, United States and Canada
Assessing the influence of natural copper-nickel-bearing bedrocks of the Duluth Complex on water quality in Minnesota, 2013–15
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin,
Soil mineralogy and geochemistry along a north-south transect in Alaska and the relation to source-rock terrane
Geochemical and mineralogical maps, with interpretation, for soils of the conterminous United States
Titanium
Science and Products
- Science
Synthesis of the Tectonic, Magmatic, and Metallogenic Evolution of the Midcontinent Rift System
The overall project objective is to develop a comprehensive synthesis of the tectonic, magmatic, and metallogenic evolution of the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) through time by integrating geophysical, magmatic, and geochemical data and to create 3-D models of the rift over its evolution.Application of the National-Scale Soil Geochemical and Mineralogical Data for the Conterminous U.S.
Project goals were to produce interpretive products based on the existing national-scale geochemical and mineralogical data and maps for soils of the conterminous U.S. - Data
Database of mineral deposits related to the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) in the northern United States and northern Ontario, Canada
The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America is one of the world’s largest continental rifts and has an age of 1.1 Ga (giga-annum). The MRS hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. As part of the construction of a database summarizing information on mineral deposits in the MRS, data f
Critical mineral deposits of the United States
A goal of the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program, which partners the USGS with State Geological Surveys, Federal agencies, and the private sector, is to collect new geological, geophysical, geochemical, and topographic (lidar) data in key areas of the U.S., with the purpose of stimulating domestic mineral exploration and production of critical minerals. As a first step, thGIS, supplemental data table, and references for focus areas of potential domestic resources of critical minerals and related commodities in the United States and Puerto Rico
In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 36 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.) (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021.pdf). Acquiring information on possible domestic sources of these cGIS, supplemental data table, and references for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 13 critical minerals in the United States and Puerto Rico - antimony, barite, beryllium, chromium, fluorspar, hafnium, helium, magnesium, manganese, potash, ur
In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 35 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.) (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021.pdf). Acquiring information on possible domestic sources of these cTill geochemistry from rotosonic cores in Minnesota, USA
Samples for analysis were selected from 1) archived rotosonic cores drilled by the Minnesota Geological Survey and archived at the Lands and Minerals Drill Core Library, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Hibbing, Minnesota, USA; or b) freshly collected rotosonic cores, collected on-site at the time of coring. Cores in the sample archive are stored in wooden core-boxes in ambient air. CoreDensity and magnetic susceptibility measurements on Precambrian rocks in the Iron Mountain-Menominee region, Michigan-Wisconsin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected rock physical property measurements to help understand causative sources of gravity and magnetic survey anomalies in the Iron Mountain-Menominee region, Michigan-Wisconsin. A total of 2,356 measurements of magnetic susceptibility and density from 152 locations have been conducted on Precambrian rocks. The measurements aid in interpretation of newly acquiGeochemical characterization of solid media from three watersheds that transect the basal contact of the Duluth Complex, northeastern Minnesota
To document regional water quality in areas of potential base-metal mining, bedrock, soil, streambed sediment, and surface-water samples were collected and analyzed in three watersheds that cross the basal part of the Duluth Complex (northeastern Minnesota). The three watershed each had different mineral-deposit settings: (1) copper-nickel-platinum group element mineralization (Filson Creek), (2)GIS and Data Tables for Focus Areas for Potential Domestic Nonfuel Sources of Rare Earth Elements
In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 35 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.). Acquiring information on possible domestic sources of these critical minerals is the basis of the USGS Earth MappiOxide and Cation Compositions of Olivine Grains from Drill Core in the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
The table contains oxide and cation compositions of olivine grains from drill core of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota. The oxides were determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and are reported in weight percent (wt%). The cations were calculated based on the oxide compositions and are reported in mole percent (mol%). Olivine is a magnesium iron orthosilicate mineral with the formula (Mg2+,Oxide and Cation Compositions of Feldspar Grains from Drill Core of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
The table contains oxide and cation compositions of feldspar grains from drill core of the Duluth Complex. The oxides were determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and are are reported in weight percent (wt%). The cations were then calculated and are reported in mole percent (mol%). Feldspar grains are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals with potassium (K), sodium (Na), and calOxide and Cation Compositions of Pyroxene Grains from Drill Core of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
The table contains oxide and cation compositions of pyroxene grains from drill core in the Duluth Complex. The oxides were determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and are reported in weight percent (we%). The cations were calculated from the oxide concentrations and are reported in mole percent (mol%). Pyroxene minerals are a group of rock-forming inosilicate minerals with calcium (Ca),Major, Minor, and Trace Element Compositions of Bulk Drill Core Samples from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota
This table reports major, minor, and trace element compositions of bulk drill core samples from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota. Major elements were measured using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES); minor and trace elements were determined using ICP-AES, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and hydri - Maps
- Multimedia
The Effects of Human Activity versus Natural Processes on U.S. SoilThe Effects of Human Activity versus Natural Processes on U.S. Soil
Suzanne Nicholson, USGS, collecting soil at one of the sites in New Jersey, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Atlantic City.
Suzanne Nicholson, USGS, collecting soil at one of the sites in New Jersey, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Atlantic City.
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 41
Exploring the geology of the Midcontinent Rift under western Lake Superior using a preliminary velocity model of seismic line GLIMPCE C
Seismic-reflection data were collected in the 1980s as part of the Great Lakes International Multidisciplinary Program on Crustal Evolution (GLIMPCE) to investigate the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift System (MRS). GLIMPCE Line C crosses western Lake Superior from north to south shores (Fig. 1 inset). Many previous workers have interpreted the MRS in Line C as an asymmetric central graben filled with 10–AuthorsV. J. S. Grauch, Samuel J. Heller, Esther K. Stewart, Laurel G. WoodruffNational map of focus areas for potential critical mineral resources in the United States
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) to modernize the surface and subsurface geologic mapping of the United States, with a focus on identifying areas that may have the potential to contain critical mineral resources. EarthMRI can inform strategies to ensure secure and reliable domestic critical mineral supplies for the United StAuthorsJane M. Hammarstrom, Douglas C. Kreiner, Connie L. Dicken, Laurel G. WoodruffFocus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 13 critical minerals in the conterminous United States and Puerto Rico — Antimony, barite, beryllium, chromium, fluorspar, hafnium, helium, magnesium, manganese, potash, uranium, vanadiu
The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) is conducted in phases to identify areas for acquiring new geologic framework data to identify potential domestic resources of the 35 mineral materials designated as critical minerals for the United States. This report describes the data sources and summary results for 13 critical minerals evaluated in the conterminous United States and Puerto RicAuthorsJane M. Hammarstrom, Connie L. Dicken, Laurel G. Woodruff, Allen K. Andersen, Sean T. Brennan, Warren C. Day, Benjamin J. Drenth, Nora K. Foley, Susan Hall, Albert H. Hofstra, Anne E. McCafferty, Anjana K. Shah, David A. PonceByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Mineral Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)Mineral deposits of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region – Metallogeny of the prolifically mineralized Keweenawan LIP
The Keweenawan large igneous province (LIP) of the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America is perhaps the most prolifically and diversely mineralized LIP known on Earth (Nicholson et al., 1992). The MRS is an approximately 2,200 km curvilinear continental rift that stretches from Kansas northeast to the Lake Superior region where it turns southeast and extends through lower Michigan (Fig.AuthorsLaurel G. Woodruff, Klaus Schulz, Suzanne Nicholson, Connie L. DickenIntegrated geophysical analysis provides an alternate interpretation of the northern margin of the North American Midcontinent Rift System, Central Lake Superior
The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) is a 1.1 Ga sequence of voluminous basaltic eruptions and multiple intrusions followed by widespread sedimentation that extends across the Midcontinent and northern Great Lakes region of North America. Previous workers have commonly used seismic-reflection data (Great Lakes International Multidisciplinary Program on Crustal Evolution [GLIMPCE] line A) to demonstrAuthorsV. J. Grauch, Eric D. Anderson, Samuel J. Heller, Esther K. Stewart, Laurel G. WoodruffMineral deposits of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift system in the Lake Superior region – A space and time classification
The Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. Historically, hydrothermal deposits, such as Michigan’s native copper deposits and the White Pine sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposit, were major MRS metal producers. On-going eAuthorsLaurel G. Woodruff, Klaus J. Schulz, Suzanne W. Nicholson, Connie L. DickenMineral resource database for deposits related to the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System, United States and Canada
The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America is one of the world’s largest continental rifts and has an age of 1.1 Ga (giga-annum). The MRS hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. As part of the construction of a database summarizing information on mineral deposits in the MRS, data fAuthorsLaurel G. Woodruff, Klaus J. Schulz, Connie L. Dicken, Suzanne W. NicholsonAssessing the influence of natural copper-nickel-bearing bedrocks of the Duluth Complex on water quality in Minnesota, 2013–15
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, completed an assessment of regional water quality in areas of potential base-metal mining in Minnesota. Bedrock, soil, streambed sediment, and surface-water samples were collected in three watersheds that cross the basal part of the Duluth Complex with different mineral-depositAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Perry M. Jones, Laurel G. Woodruff, Carrie E. Jennings, Aliesha L. Krall, Daniel L. MorelFocus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin,
In response to a need for information on potential domestic sources of critical minerals, the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) was established to identify and prioritize areas for acquisition of new geologic mapping, geophysical data, and elevation data to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework of the United States. Phase 1 of Earth MRI concentrated on those geologic terraneAuthorsJane M. Hammarstrom, Connie L. Dicken, Warren C. Day, Albert H. Hofstra, Benjamin J. Drenth, Anjana K. Shah, Anne E. McCafferty, Laurel G. Woodruff, Nora K. Foley, David A. Ponce, Thomas P. Frost, Lisa L. StillingsSoil mineralogy and geochemistry along a north-south transect in Alaska and the relation to source-rock terrane
Soils collected along a predominately north-south transect in Alaska were used to evaluate regional differences in the soil mineralogy and geochemistry in the context of a geotectonic framework for Alaska. The approximately 1,395-kilometer-long transect followed the Dalton, Elliott, and Richardson Highways from near Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Sites were selected with a site spacing of approximately 10AuthorsBronwen Wang, Chad P. Hults, Dennis D. Eberl, Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, Larry P. GoughGeochemical and mineralogical maps, with interpretation, for soils of the conterminous United States
Between 2007 and 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a low-density (1 site per 1,600 square kilometers, 4,857 sites) geochemical and mineralogical survey of soils in the conterminous United States. The sampling protocol for the national-scale survey included, at each site, a sample from a depth of 0 to 5 centimeters, a composite of the soil A horizon, and a deeper sample from the soil C horAuthorsDavid B. Smith, Federico Solano, Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, Karl J. EllefsenTitanium
Titanium is a mineral commodity that is essential to the smooth functioning of modern industrial economies. Most of the titanium produced is refined into titanium dioxide, which has a high refractive index and is thus able to impart a durable white color to paint, paper, plastic, rubber, and wallboard. Because of their high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance, titanium metal and titaAuthorsLaurel G. Woodruff, George M. Bedinger, Nadine M. Piatak