Matthew D. Merrill
Matthew Merrill is a Research Geologist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Matt received a masters and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Earth Sciences with focuses in Mars remote sensing and Andean volcanology respectively. Since joining the USGS in 2005 he has focused on numerous energy and minerals issues and specializes in carbon dioxide related topics, such as natural CO2 geochemistry, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. Other areas of research include various oil and gas assessments and methodology creation for assessing enhanced oil recovery with CO2 and also the impacts to wildlife from wind turbine facilities.
Professional Experience
2007 - present: Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, USGS
2005 - 2007: Eastern Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center, USGS
Education and Certifications
M.A. Earth Science, Wesleyan University, 2005
B.A. Earth and Environmental Science, Wesleyan University, 2003
Science and Products
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins
A database and probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention in the United States
A method to assess the population-level consequences of wind energy facilities on bird and bat species
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report, chapter M, is the geologic framework d
Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Albian Clastic and Updip Albian Clastic Assessment Units, U.S. Gulf Coast Region
GIS representation of coal-bearing areas in Antarctica
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources─South Florida Basin: Chapter L in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Permian and Palo Duro Basins and Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin: Chapter K in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
Preliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Williston Basin, Central Montana Basins, and Montana Thrust Belt study areas
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Alaska North Slope and Kandik Basin, Alaska
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Filter Total Items: 56
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
AuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Philip A. Freeman, Jinxun Liu, Peter D. Warwick, Bradley C. ReedGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins
This chapter presents information pertinent to the geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration potential within saline aquifers located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins of the Eastern United States. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is underlain by a Jurassic to Quaternary succession of sedimentary strata that onlap westward onto strata of the Appalachian Piedmont physiograpAuthorsWilliam H. Craddock, Matthew D. Merrill, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Ronald M. Drake, Peter D. Warwick, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Philip A. Freeman, Mayur A. Gosai, Celeste D. LohrA database and probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention in the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed an assessment methodology for estimating the potential incremental technically recoverable oil resources resulting from carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) in reservoirs with appropriate depth, pressure, and oil composition. The methodology also includes a procedure for estimating the CO2 that remains in the reservoir after the CO2-EOR proAuthorsPeter D. Warwick, Mahendra K. Verma, Emil D. Attanasi, Ricardo A. Olea, Madalyn S. Blondes, Philip Freeman, Sean T. Brennan, Matthew D. Merrill, Hossein Jahediesfanjani, Jacqueline Roueche, Celeste D. LohrA method to assess the population-level consequences of wind energy facilities on bird and bat species
For this study, a methodology was developed for assessing impacts of wind energy generation on populations of birds and bats at regional to national scales. The approach combines existing methods in applied ecology for prioritizing species in terms of their potential risk from wind energy facilities and estimating impacts of fatalities on population status and trend caused by collisions with windAuthorsJames E. Diffendorfer, Julie A. Beston, Matthew D. Merrill, Jessica C. Stanton, M.D. Corum, Scott R. Loss, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Douglas H. Johnson, Richard A. Erickson, Kevin W. HeistGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report, chapter M, is the geologic framework d
AuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Ronald M. Drake, Marc L. Buursink, William H. Craddock, Joseph A. East, Ernie R. Slucher, Peter D. Warwick, Sean T. Brennan, Madalyn S. Blondes, Philip A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. LohrGeologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Albian Clastic and Updip Albian Clastic Assessment Units, U.S. Gulf Coast Region
U.S. Geological Survey National Oil and Gas Assessments (NOGA) of Albian aged clastic reservoirs in the U.S. Gulf Coast region indicate a relatively low prospectivity for undiscovered hydrocarbon resources due to high levels of past production and exploration. Evaluation of two assessment units (AUs), (1) the Albian Clastic AU 50490125, and (2) the Updip Albian Clastic AU 50490126, were based on aAuthorsMatthew D. MerrillGIS representation of coal-bearing areas in Antarctica
Understanding the distribution of coal-bearing geologic units in Antarctica provides information that can be used in sedimentary, geomorphological, paleontological, and climatological studies. This report is a digital compilation of information on Antarctica’s coal-bearing geologic units found in the literature. It is intended to be used in small-scale spatial geographic information system (GIS) iAuthorsMatthew D. MerrillGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources─South Florida Basin: Chapter L in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
This report presents five storage assessment units (SAUs) that have been identified as potentially suitable for geologic carbon dioxide sequestration within a 35,075-square-mile area that includes the entire onshore and State-water portions of the South Florida Basin. Platform-wide, thick successions of laterally extensive carbonates and evaporites deposited in highly cyclic depositional environmeAuthorsTina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Matthew D. Merrill, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. LohrGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Permian and Palo Duro Basins and Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin: Chapter K in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resource in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report is the geologic framework document for tAuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Ernie R. Slucher, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Peter D. Warwick, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. LohrPreliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a methodology to assess the impacts of wind energy development on wildlife; it is a probabilistic, quantitative assessment methodology that can communicate to decision makers and the public the magnitude of these effects on species populations. The methodology is currently applicable to birds and bats, focuses primarily on the effects of collisions, and canAuthorsJames E. Diffendorfer, Julie A. Beston, Matthew D. Merrill, Jessica C. Stanton, M.D. Corum, Scott R. Loss, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Douglas H. Johnson, Richard A. Erickson, Kevin W. HeistGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Williston Basin, Central Montana Basins, and Montana Thrust Belt study areas
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. This methodology is non-economic and is intended to be used at regional to sub-basinal scales. The Williston BasAuthorsMarc L. Buursink, Matthew D. Merrill, William H. Craddock, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. LohrGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Alaska North Slope and Kandik Basin, Alaska
This report presents fourteen storage assessment units (SAUs) from the Alaska North Slope and two SAUs from the Kandik Basin of Alaska. The Alaska North Slope is a broad, north-dipping coastal plain that is underlain by a thick succession of sedimentary rocks that accumulated steadily throughout much of the Phanerozoic during three major tectonic sequences: the Mississippian through Triassic EllesAuthorsWilliam H. Craddock, Marc L. Buursink, Jacob A. Covault, Sean T. Brennan, Colin A. Doolan, Ronald M. Drake, Matthew D. Merrill, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Ernie R. Slucher, Peter D. Warwick, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr - Web Tools
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