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Sample records for materials usgs devonian

  1. Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources: Devonian gas shales of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System: Chapter G.9 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

    2014-01-01

    This report presents the results of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of the technically recoverable undiscovered natural gas resources in Devonian shale in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province of the eastern United States. These results are part of the USGS assessment in 2002 of the technically recoverable undiscovered oil and gas resources of the province. This report does not use the results of a 2011 USGS assessment of the Devonian Marcellus Shale because the area considered in the 2011 assessment is much greater than the area of the Marcellus Shale described in this report. The USGS assessment in 2002 was based on the identification of six total petroleum systems, which include strata that range in age from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. The Devonian gas shales described in this report are within the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System, which extends generally from New York to Tennessee. This total petroleum system is divided into ten assessment units (plays), four of which are classified as conventional and six as continuous. The Devonian shales described in this report make up four of these continuous assessment units. The assessment results are reported as fully risked fractiles (F95, F50, F5, and the mean); the fractiles indicate the probability of recovery of the assessment amount. The products reported are oil, gas, and natural gas liquids. The mean estimates for technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbons in the four gas shale assessment units are 12,195.53 billion cubic feet (12.20 trillion cubic feet) of gas and 158.91 million barrels of natural gas liquids

  2. A new organic reference material, l-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ(13) C and δ(15) N measurements - a replacement for USGS41.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B; Mroczkowski, Stanley J; Brand, Willi A; Brandes, Lauren; Geilmann, Heike; Schimmelmann, Arndt

    2016-04-15

    The widely used l-glutamic acid isotopic reference material USGS41, enriched in both (13) C and (15) N, is nearly exhausted. A new material, USGS41a, has been prepared as a replacement for USGS41. USGS41a was prepared by dissolving analytical grade l-glutamic acid enriched in (13) C and (15) N together with l-glutamic acid of normal isotopic composition. The δ(13) C and δ(15) N values of USGS41a were directly or indirectly normalized with the international reference materials NBS 19 calcium carbonate (δ(13) CVPDB = +1.95 mUr, where milliurey = 0.001 = 1 ‰), LSVEC lithium carbonate (δ(13) CVPDB = -46.6 mUr), and IAEA-N-1 ammonium sulfate (δ(15) NAir = +0.43 mUr) and USGS32 potassium nitrate (δ(15) N = +180 mUr exactly) by on-line combustion, continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, and off-line dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. USGS41a is isotopically homogeneous; the reproducibility of δ(13) C and δ(15) N is better than 0.07 mUr and 0.09 mUr, respectively, in 200-μg amounts. It has a δ(13) C value of +36.55 mUr relative to VPDB and a δ(15) N value of +47.55 mUr relative to N2 in air. USGS41 was found to be hydroscopic, probably due to the presence of pyroglutamic acid. Experimental results indicate that the chemical purity of USGS41a is substantially better than that of USGS41. The new isotopic reference material USGS41a can be used with USGS40 (having a δ(13) CVPDB value of -26.39 mUr and a δ(15) NAir value of -4.52 mUr) for (i) analyzing local laboratory isotopic reference materials, and (ii) quantifying drift with time, mass-dependent isotopic fractionation, and isotope-ratio-scale contraction for isotopic analysis of biological and organic materials. Published in 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published in 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  3. A new organic reference material, L-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ13C and δ15N measurements − a replacement for USGS41

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Mroczkowski, Stanley J.; Brand, Willi A.; Brandes, Lauren; Geilmann, Heike; Schimmelmann, Arndt

    2016-01-01

    RationaleThe widely used l-glutamic acid isotopic reference material USGS41, enriched in both 13C and 15N, is nearly exhausted. A new material, USGS41a, has been prepared as a replacement for USGS41.MethodsUSGS41a was prepared by dissolving analytical grade l-glutamic acid enriched in 13C and 15N together with l-glutamic acid of normal isotopic composition. The δ13C and δ15N values of USGS41a were directly or indirectly normalized with the international reference materials NBS 19 calcium carbonate (δ13CVPDB = +1.95 mUr, where milliurey = 0.001 = 1 ‰), LSVEC lithium carbonate (δ13CVPDB = −46.6 mUr), and IAEA-N-1 ammonium sulfate (δ15NAir = +0.43 mUr) and USGS32 potassium nitrate (δ15N = +180 mUr exactly) by on-line combustion, continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, and off-line dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometry.ResultsUSGS41a is isotopically homogeneous; the reproducibility of δ13C and δ15N is better than 0.07 mUr and 0.09 mUr, respectively, in 200-μg amounts. It has a δ13C value of +36.55 mUr relative to VPDB and a δ15N value of +47.55 mUr relative to N2 in air. USGS41 was found to be hydroscopic, probably due to the presence of pyroglutamic acid. Experimental results indicate that the chemical purity of USGS41a is substantially better than that of USGS41.ConclusionsThe new isotopic reference material USGS41a can be used with USGS40 (having a δ13CVPDB value of −26.39 mUr and a δ15NAir value of −4.52 mUr) for (i) analyzing local laboratory isotopic reference materials, and (ii) quantifying drift with time, mass-dependent isotopic fractionation, and isotope-ratio-scale contraction for isotopic analysis of biological and organic materials. Published in 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  4. USGS42 and USGS43: Human-hair stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic reference materials and analytical methods for forensic science and implications for published measurement results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coplen, T.B.; Qi, H.

    2012-01-01

    Because there are no internationally distributed stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic reference materials of human hair, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has prepared two such materials, USGS42 and USGS43. These reference materials span values commonly encountered in human hair stable isotope analysis and are isotopically homogeneous at sample sizes larger than 0.2 mg. USGS42 and USGS43 human-hair isotopic reference materials are intended for calibration of δ(2)H and δ(18)O measurements of unknown human hair by quantifying (1) drift with time, (2) mass-dependent isotopic fractionation, and (3) isotope-ratio-scale contraction. While they are intended for measurements of the stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, they also are suitable for measurements of the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in human and mammalian hair. Preliminary isotopic compositions of the non-exchangeable fractions of these materials are USGS42(Tibetan hair)δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) = -78.5 ± 2.3‰ (n = 62) and δ(18)O(VSMOW-SLAP) = +8.56 ± 0.10‰ (n = 18) USGS42(Indian hair)δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) = -50.3 ± 2.8‰ (n = 64) and δ(18)O(VSMOW-SLAP) = +14.11 ± 0.10‰ (n = 18). Using recommended analytical protocols presented herein for δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) and δ(18)O(VSMOW-SLAP) measurements, the least squares fit regression of 11 human hair reference materials is δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) = 6.085δ(2)O(VSMOW-SLAP) - 136.0‰ with an R-square value of 0.95. The δ(2)H difference between the calibrated results of human hair in this investigation and a commonly accepted human-hair relationship is a remarkable 34‰. It is critical that readers pay attention to the δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) and δ(18)O(VSMOW-SLAP) of isotopic reference materials in publications, and they need to adjust the δ(2)H(VSMOW-SLAP) and δ(18)O(VSMOW-SLAP) measurement results of human hair in previous publications, as needed, to ensure all results on are on the same scales.

  5. A revision in hydrogen isotopic composition of USGS42 and USGS43 human-hair stable isotopic reference materials for forensic science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coplen, Tyler B.; Qi, Haiping

    2016-01-01

    The hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2HVSMOW-SLAP) of USGS42 and USGS43 human hair stable isotopic reference materials, normalized to the VSMOW (Vienna-Standard Mean Ocean Water)–SLAP (Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation) scale, was originally determined with a high temperature conversion technique using an elemental analyzer (TC/EA) with a glassy carbon tube and glassy carbon filling and analysis by isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). However, the TC/EA IRMS method can produce inaccurate δ2HVSMOW-SLAPresults when analyzing nitrogen-bearing organic substances owing to the formation of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), leading to non-quantitative conversion of a sample into molecular hydrogen (H2) for IRMS analysis. A single-oven, chromium-filled, elemental analyzer (Cr-EA) coupled to an IRMS substantially improves the measurement quality and reliability of hydrogen isotopic analysis of hydrogen- and nitrogen-bearing organic material because hot chromium scavenges all reactive elements except hydrogen. USGS42 and USGS43 human hair isotopic reference materials have been analyzed with the Cr-EA IRMS method, and the δ2HVSMOW-SLAP values of their non-exchangeable hydrogen fractions have been revised:where mUr = 0.001 = ‰. On average, these revised δ2HVSMOW-SLAP values are 5.7 mUr more positive than those previously measured. It is critical that readers pay attention to the δ2HVSMOW-SLAP of isotopic reference materials in publications as they may need to adjust the δ2HVSMOW–SLAP measurement results of human hair in previous publications to ensure all results are on the same isotope-delta scale.

  6. High-precision isotopic characterization of USGS reference materials by TIMS and MC-ICP-MS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weis, Dominique; Kieffer, Bruno; Maerschalk, Claude; Barling, Jane; de Jong, Jeroen; Williams, Gwen A.; Hanano, Diane; Pretorius, Wilma; Mattielli, Nadine; Scoates, James S.; Goolaerts, Arnaud; Friedman, Richard M.; Mahoney, J. Brian

    2006-08-01

    The Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR) at the University of British Columbia has undertaken a systematic analysis of the isotopic (Sr, Nd, and Pb) compositions and concentrations of a broad compositional range of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reference materials, including basalt (BCR-1, 2; BHVO-1, 2), andesite (AGV-1, 2), rhyolite (RGM-1, 2), syenite (STM-1, 2), granodiorite (GSP-2), and granite (G-2, 3). USGS rock reference materials are geochemically well characterized, but there is neither a systematic methodology nor a database for radiogenic isotopic compositions, even for the widely used BCR-1. This investigation represents the first comprehensive, systematic analysis of the isotopic composition and concentration of USGS reference materials and provides an important database for the isotopic community. In addition, the range of equipment at the PCIGR, including a Nu Instruments Plasma MC-ICP-MS, a Thermo Finnigan Triton TIMS, and a Thermo Finnigan Element2 HR-ICP-MS, permits an assessment and comparison of the precision and accuracy of isotopic analyses determined by both the TIMS and MC-ICP-MS methods (e.g., Nd isotopic compositions). For each of the reference materials, 5 to 10 complete replicate analyses provide coherent isotopic results, all with external precision below 30 ppm (2 SD) for Sr and Nd isotopic compositions (27 and 24 ppm for TIMS and MC-ICP-MS, respectively). Our results also show that the first- and second-generation USGS reference materials have homogeneous Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. Nd isotopic compositions by MC-ICP-MS and TIMS agree to within 15 ppm for all reference materials. Interlaboratory MC-ICP-MS comparisons show excellent agreement for Pb isotopic compositions; however, the reproducibility is not as good as for Sr and Nd. A careful, sequential leaching experiment of three first- and second-generation reference materials (BCR, BHVO, AGV) indicates that the heterogeneity in Pb isotopic compositions

  7. Biostratigraphic analysis of core samples from wells drilled in the Devonian shale interval of the Appalachian and Illinois Basins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, S.J.; Zielinski, R.E.

    1978-07-14

    A palynological investigation was performed on 55 samples of core material from four wells drilled in the Devonian Shale interval of the Appalachian and Illinois Basins. Using a combination of spores and acritarchs, it was possible to divide the Middle Devonian from the Upper Devonian and to make subdivisions within the Middle and Upper Devonian. The age of the palynomorphs encountered in this study is Upper Devonian.

  8. The axial skeleton of the Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlberg, Per Erik; Clack, Jennifer A; Blom, Henning

    2005-09-01

    Ichthyostega was the first Devonian tetrapod to be subject to a whole-body reconstruction. It remains, together with Acanthostega, one of only two Devonian tetrapods for which near-complete postcranial material is available. It is thus crucially important for our understanding of the earliest stages of tetrapod evolution and terrestrialization. Here we show a new reconstruction of Ichthyostega based on extensive re-examination of original material and augmented by recently collected specimens. Our reconstruction differs substantially from those previously published and reveals hitherto unrecognized regionalization in the vertebral column. Ichthyostega is the earliest vertebrate to show obvious adaptations for non-swimming locomotion. Uniquely among early tetrapods, the presacral vertebral column shows pronounced regionalization of neural arch morphology, suggesting that it was adapted for dorsoventral rather than lateral flexion.

  9. Biogeography of late Silurian and devonian rugose corals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, W.A.

    1977-01-01

    Three marine benthic faunal realms can be recognized in the Early and Middle Devonian. The Eastern Americas Realm consisted of most of the eastern half of North America and South America north of the Amazon. This realm extended in a southwest direction from the Devonian equator to approximately 35??S and was an isolated epicontinental sea during much of its history. The Eastern Americas Realm was bounded on the west by the Transcontinental Arch, on the north by the Canadian Shield and on the east and southeast by a peninsular extension of the Old Red Continent. These barriers were emergent during much, but not all, of Devonian time. Seaways beyond these barriers belonged to the Old World Realm. The Malvinokaffric Realm that was farther south was apparently temperate to arctic in climate and latitudinal position and contained few corals. Rugose corals in the Eastern Americas Realm show increasing generic-level endemism from the Late Silurian through the Early Devonian; during the late Early Devonian, 92% of the rugosan genera are not known anywhere else in the world. Endemism decreased through the Middle Devonian to zero in the early Late Devonian. The Early Devonian increase in endemism paralleled, and was probably related to, the development of the Old Red Continent as a barrier between America and Africa-Europe. The waning of endemism in the Middle Devonian reflects the breaching of the land barriers. This permitted some migration in and out of the realm in early Middle Devonian time but greatest movements were in late Middle Devonian time. Principal migration directions were from western or Arctic North America into the Michigan-Hudson Bay area and from the southern Appalachian area into Africa. ?? 1977.

  10. Stratigraphic architecture of Devonian lacustrine basins of northern Scotland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Thorben; Moreau, Julien; Andrews, Steven D.

    of this important surface has received relatively little attention. We have utilized vintage onshore seismic to gain a better understanding of the pre-Devonian basement physiography. Onshore exposures of the top Moine, base Devonian unconformity surface is exposed have been visited to ground truth our subsurface...... interpretations. The studied deposits have been deeply buried then exhumed so that they are exposed widely onshore. Post Caledonian tectonism has faulted and folded the Devonian succession making it challenging to reconstruct the stratigraphy and the basin architecture from geological data only. The Devonian...

  11. Devonian climate and reef evolution: Insights from oxygen isotopes in apatite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joachimski, M. M.; Breisig, S.; Buggisch, W.; Talent, J. A.; Mawson, R.; Gereke, M.; Morrow, J. R.; Day, J.; Weddige, K.

    2009-07-01

    Conodonts, microfossils composed of carbonate-fluor apatite, are abundant in Palaeozoic-Triassic sediments and have a high potential to preserve primary oxygen isotope signals. In order to reconstruct the palaeotemperature history of the Devonian, the oxygen isotope composition of apatite phosphate was measured on 639 conodont samples from sequences in Europe, North America and Australia. The Early Devonian (Lochkovian; 416-411 Myr) was characterized by warm tropical temperatures of around 30 °C. A cooling trend started in the Pragian (410 Myr) with intermediate temperatures around 23 to 25 °C reconstructed for the Middle Devonian (397-385 Myr). During the Frasnian (383-375 Myr), temperatures increased again with temperatures to 30 °C calculated for the Frasnian-Famennian transition (375 Myr). During the Famennian (375-359 Myr), surface water temperatures slightly decreased. Reconstructed Devonian palaeotemperatures do not support earlier views suggesting the Middle Devonian was a supergreenhouse interval, an interpretation based partly on the development of extensive tropical coral-stromatoporoid communities during the Middle Devonian. Instead, the Devonian palaeotemperature record suggests that Middle Devonian coral-stromatoporoid reefs flourished during cooler time intervals whereas microbial reefs dominated during the warm to very warm Early and Late Devonian.

  12. Three whole-wood isotopic reference materials, USGS54, USGS55, and USGS56, for δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Jordan, James A.

    2016-01-01

    Comparative measurements of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in wood are hampered by the lack of proper reference materials (RMs). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has prepared three powdered, whole-wood RMs, USGS54 (Pinus contorta, Canadian lodgepole pine), USGS55 (Cordia cf. dodecandra, Mexican ziricote), and USGS56 (Berchemia cf. zeyheri, South African red ivorywood). The stable isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen in these RMs span ranges as δ2HVSMOW from –150.4 to –28.2 mUr or ‰, as δ18OVSMOW from + 17.79 to + 27.23 mUr, as δ13CVPDB from –27.13 to –24.34 mUr, and as δ15N AIR-N2 from –2.42 to + 1.8 mUr. These RMs will enable users to normalize measurements of wood samples to isotope–delta scales, and they are intended primarily for the normalization of δ2H and δ18O measurements of unknown wood samples. However, they also are suitable for normalization of stable isotope measurements of carbon and nitrogen in wood samples. In addition, these RMs are suitable for inter-laboratory calibration for the dual-water suilibration procedure for the measurements of δ2HVSMOW values of non-exchangeable hydrogen. The isotopic compositions with 1-σ uncertainties, mass fractions of each element, and fractions of exchangeable hydrogen of these materials are:USGS54 (Pinus contorta, Canadian Lodgepole pine)δ2HVSMOW = –150.4 ± 1.1 mUr (n = 29), hydrogen mass fraction = 6.00 ± 0.04 % (n = 10)Fraction of exchangeable hydrogen = 5.4 ± 0.6 % (n = 29)δ18OVSMOW = + 17.79 ± 0.15 mUr (n = 18), oxygen mass fraction = 40.4 ± 0.2 % (n = 6)δ13CVPDB = –24.43 ± 0.02 mUr (n = 18), carbon mass fraction = 48.3 ± 0.4 % (n = 12)δ15NAIR-N2 = –2.42 ± 0.32 mUr (n = 17), nitrogen mass fraction = 0.05 % (n = 4)USGS55 (Cordia cf. dodecandra, Mexican ziricote)δ2HVSMOW = –28.2 ± 1.7 mUr (n = 30), hydrogen mass fraction = 5.65 ± 0.06 % (n = 10)Fraction of exchangeable

  13. Drilling, construction, geophysical log data, and lithologic log for boreholes USGS 142 and USGS 142A, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twining, Brian V.; Hodges, Mary K.V.; Schusler, Kyle; Mudge, Christopher

    2017-07-27

    Starting in 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, drilled and constructed boreholes USGS 142 and USGS 142A for stratigraphic framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory in southeast Idaho. Borehole USGS 142 initially was cored to collect rock and sediment core, then re-drilled to complete construction as a screened water-level monitoring well. Borehole USGS 142A was drilled and constructed as a monitoring well after construction problems with borehole USGS 142 prevented access to upper 100 feet (ft) of the aquifer. Boreholes USGS 142 and USGS 142A are separated by about 30 ft and have similar geology and hydrologic characteristics. Groundwater was first measured near 530 feet below land surface (ft BLS) at both borehole locations. Water levels measured through piezometers, separated by almost 1,200 ft, in borehole USGS 142 indicate upward hydraulic gradients at this location. Following construction and data collection, screened water-level access lines were placed in boreholes USGS 142 and USGS 142A to allow for recurring water level measurements.Borehole USGS 142 was cored continuously, starting at the first basalt contact (about 4.9 ft BLS) to a depth of 1,880 ft BLS. Excluding surface sediment, recovery of basalt, rhyolite, and sediment core at borehole USGS 142 was approximately 89 percent or 1,666 ft of total core recovered. Based on visual inspection of core and geophysical data, material examined from 4.9 to 1,880 ft BLS in borehole USGS 142 consists of approximately 45 basalt flows, 16 significant sediment and (or) sedimentary rock layers, and rhyolite welded tuff. Rhyolite was encountered at approximately 1,396 ft BLS. Sediment layers comprise a large percentage of the borehole between 739 and 1,396 ft BLS with grain sizes ranging from clay and silt to cobble size. Sedimentary rock layers had calcite cement. Basalt flows

  14. Completion summary for boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twining, Brian V.; Bartholomay, Roy C.; Hodges, Mary K.V.

    2014-01-01

    In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, drilled and constructed boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 for stratigraphic framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory in southeast Idaho. Borehole USGS 140 initially was cored to collect continuous geologic data, and then re-drilled to complete construction as a monitor well. Borehole USGS 141 was drilled and constructed as a monitor well without coring. Boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 are separated by about 375 feet (ft) and have similar geologic layers and hydrologic characteristics based on geophysical and aquifer test data collected. The final construction for boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 required 6-inch (in.) diameter carbon-steel well casing and 5-in. diameter stainless-steel well screen; the screened monitoring interval was completed about 50 ft into the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer, between 496 and 546 ft below land surface (BLS) at both sites. Following construction and data collection, dedicated pumps and water-level access lines were placed to allow for aquifer testing, for collecting periodic water samples, and for measuring water levels. Borehole USGS 140 was cored continuously, starting from land surface to a depth of 543 ft BLS. Excluding surface sediment, recovery of basalt and sediment core at borehole USGS 140 was about 98 and 65 percent, respectively. Based on visual inspection of core and geophysical data, about 32 basalt flows and 4 sediment layers were collected from borehole USGS 140 between 34 and 543 ft BLS. Basalt texture for borehole USGS 140 generally was described as aphanitic, phaneritic, and porphyritic; rubble zones and flow mold structure also were described in recovered core material. Sediment layers, starting near 163 ft BLS, generally were composed of fine-grained sand and silt with a lesser amount of clay; however, between 223 and 228 ft BLS, silt

  15. GRI's Devonian Shales Research Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guidry, F.K.

    1991-01-01

    This paper presents a summary of the key observations and conclusions from the Gas Research Institute's (GRI's) Comprehensive Study Well (CSW) research program conducted in the Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin. Initiated in 1987, the CSW program was a series of highly instrumented study wells drilled in cooperation with industry partners. Seven wells were drilled as part of the program. Extensive data sets were collected and special experiments were run on the CSW's in addition to the operator's normal operations, with the objectives of identifying geologic production controls, refining formation evaluation tools, and improving reservoir description and stimulation practices in the Devonian Shales. This paper highlights the key results from the research conducted in the CSW program in the areas of geologic production controls, formation evaluation, stimulation and reservoir engineering, and field operations. The development of geologic, log analysis, and reservoir models for the Shales from the data gathered and analysis, and reservoir models for the Shales from the data gathered and analyzed during the research is discussed. In addition, on the basis of what was learned in the CSW program, GRI's plans for new research in the Devonian Shales are described

  16. Placoderms (Armored Fish): Dominant Vertebrates of the Devonian Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Gavin C.

    2010-05-01

    Placoderms, the most diverse group of Devonian fishes, were globally distributed in all habitable freshwater and marine environments, like teleost fishes in the modern fauna. Their known evolutionary history (Early Silurian-Late Devonian) spanned at least 70 million years. Known diversity (335 genera) will increase when diverse assemblages from new areas are described. Placoderms first occur in the Early Silurian of China, but their diversity remained low until their main evolutionary radiation in the Early Devonian, after which they became the dominant vertebrates of Devonian seas. Most current placoderm data are derived from the second half of the group's evolutionary history, and recent claims that they form a paraphyletic group are based on highly derived Late Devonian forms; 16 shared derived characters are proposed here to support placoderm monophyly. Interrelationships of seven placoderm orders are unresolved because Silurian forms from China are still poorly known. The relationship of placoderms to the two major extant groups of jawed fishes—osteichthyans (bony fishes) and chondrichthyans (cartilaginous sharks, rays, and chimaeras)—remains uncertain, but the detailed preservation of placoderm internal braincase structures provides insights into the ancestral gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) condition. Placoderms provide the most complex morphological and biogeographic data set for the Middle Paleozoic; marked discrepancies in stratigraphic occurrence between different continental regions indicate strongly endemic faunas that were probably constrained by marine barriers until changes in paleogeography permitted range enlargement into new areas. Placoderm distributions in time and space indicate major faunal interchange between Gondwana and Laurussia near the Frasnian-Famennian boundary; closure of the Devonian equatorial ocean is a possible explanation.

  17. East Greenland tetrapods are Devonian in age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, J. E. A.; Astin, T. R.; Clack, J. A.

    1999-07-01

    Palynological dates unambiguously resolve the stratigraphic age of the East Greenland sedimentary rocks containing the earliest well-preserved tetrapod remains. This is the first time that spore samples have been discovered in the sedimentary succession that has yielded Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, two tetrapods that are regarded as critically important taxa for our understanding of the origin and early evolution of the tetrapods. These palynological assemblages conclusively show that the rocks are Devonian in age. The evidence resolves a 60-year-old dispute regarding the age of these rocks and contradicts a recent controversial study suggesting a much younger (Carboniferous, Viséan) age for these tetrapods. Spore samples bracketing the in situ occurrences of both tetrapod genera place them securely within the Famennian Age of the Devonian Period and at least as old as Famennian 2b. The ages of all known Devonian tetrapods are reviewed and related to a common palynological standard. This review places Ichthyostega and Acanthostega as the earliest of the Famennian tetrapods.

  18. New biotite and muscovite isotopic reference materials, USGS57 and USGS58, for δ2H measurements–A replacement for NBS 30

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Gehre, Matthias; Vennemann, Torsten W.; Brand, Willi A.; Geilmann, Heike; Olack, Gerard; Bindeman, Ilya N.; Palandri, Jim; Huang, Li; Longstaffe, Fred J.

    2017-01-01

    The advent of continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS) coupled with a high temperature conversion (HTC) system enabled faster, more cost effective, and more precise δ2H analysis of hydrogen-bearing solids. Accurate hydrogen isotopic analysis by on-line or off-line techniques requires appropriate isotopic reference materials (RMs). A strategy of two-point calibrations spanning δ2H range of the unknowns using two RMs is recommended. Unfortunately, the supply of the previously widely used isotopic RM, NBS 30 biotite, is exhausted. In addition, recent measurements have shown that the determination of δ2H values of NBS 30 biotite on the VSMOW-SLAP isotope-delta scale by on-line HTC systems with CF-IRMS may be unreliable because hydrogen in this biotite may not be converted quantitatively to molecular hydrogen. The δ2HVSMOW-SLAP values of NBS 30 biotite analyzed by on-line HTC systems can be as much as 21 mUr (or ‰) too positive compared to the accepted value of − 65.7 mUr, determined by only a few conventional off-line measurements. To ensure accurate and traceable on-line hydrogen isotope-ratio determinations in mineral samples, we here propose two isotopically homogeneous, hydrous mineral RMs with well-characterized isotope-ratio values, which are urgently needed. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has prepared two such RMs, USGS57 biotite and USGS58 muscovite. The δ2H values were determined by both glassy carbon-based on-line conversion and chromium-based on-line conversion, and results were confirmed by off-line conversion. The quantitative conversion of hydrogen from the two RMs using the on-line HTC method was carefully evaluated in this study. The isotopic compositions of these new RMs with 1-σ uncertainties and mass fractions of hydrogen are:USGS57 (biotite)δ2HVSMOW-SLAP = − 91.5 ± 2.4 mUr (n = 24)Mass fraction hydrogen = 0.416 ± 0.002% (n = 4)Mass fraction water = 3.74 ± 0.02% (n = 4)USGS58 (muscovite

  19. 18 CFR 270.303 - Natural gas produced from Devonian shale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Natural gas produced... DETERMINATION PROCEDURES Requirements for Filings With Jurisdictional Agencies § 270.303 Natural gas produced from Devonian shale. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is produced from Devonian shale...

  20. The Devonian Marcellus Shale and Millboro Shale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soeder, Daniel J.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Chermak, John A.

    2014-01-01

    The recent development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States builds upon many decades of research, which included resource assessment and the development of well completion and extraction technology. The Eastern Gas Shales Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in the 1980s, investigated the gas potential of organic-rich, Devonian black shales in the Appalachian, Michigan, and Illinois basins. One of these eastern shales is the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, which has been extensively developed for natural gas and natural gas liquids since 2007. The Marcellus is one of the basal units in a thick Devonian shale sedimentary sequence in the Appalachian basin. The Marcellus rests on the Onondaga Limestone throughout most of the basin, or on the time-equivalent Needmore Shale in the southeastern parts of the basin. Another basal unit, the Huntersville Chert, underlies the Marcellus in the southern part of the basin. The Devonian section is compressed to the south, and the Marcellus Shale, along with several overlying units, grades into the age-equivalent Millboro Shale in Virginia. The Marcellus-Millboro interval is far from a uniform slab of black rock. This field trip will examine a number of natural and engineered exposures in the vicinity of the West Virginia–Virginia state line, where participants will have the opportunity to view a variety of sedimentary facies within the shale itself, sedimentary structures, tectonic structures, fossils, overlying and underlying formations, volcaniclastic ash beds, and to view a basaltic intrusion.

  1. Devonian (Emsian-Eifelian) fish from the Lower Bokkeveld Group (Ceres Subgroup), South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, M. E.; Almond, J. E.; Evans, F. J.; Long, J. A.

    1999-07-01

    Four major groups of fish are represented by fragmentary remains from South Africa's Lower Bokkeveld Group of Early to Middle Devonian age: the Acanthodii, Chondrichthyes, Placodermi and Osteichthyes. These represent the oldest known occurrences of these groups in southern Africa, as well as an important addition to the very meagre record of earlier Devonian fish from the Malvinokaffric Province of southwestern Gondwana. Bokkeveld fish material comes from the Gydo (Late Emsian) and Tra Tra (Middle Eifelian) Formations of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces. The cosmopolitan marine acanthodian Machæracanthus is represented only by isolated fin spines which may belong to two different species on the basis of their external ornamentation, cross-sectional outline and internal histology. The elasmobranchs are represented by four elements: (1) a flattened chondrocranium which bears affinity to the Late Devonian-Carboniferous symmoriid (protacrodont) 'cladodont' sharks. It is probably the earliest known (Emsian) shark chondrocranium; (2) an isolated, primitive scapulocoracoid with a very short coracoidal ridge; (3) ankylosed and isolated radials, interpreted as parts of pterygial plates of a paired fin of an unknown chondrichthyan bearing affinity to the Middle Devonian Zamponiopteron from Bolivia; and (4) isolated barlike structures, perhaps gill arch or a jaw elements, thought to be from the same taxon as (3). The placoderms are represented by an incomplete trunk armour and fragmentary, finely ornamented plates of a primitive antiarch. The Osteichthyes are represented by a single large scale of an unidentified dipnoan from the Eifelian of the Cedarberg range, as well as a probable sarcopterygian dermal plate from the Emsian of the Prince Albert area. These are among the earliest sarcopterygian remains recorded from the Malvinokaffric Province.

  2. Lower Devonian Brachiopods and Stratigraphy of North Palencia (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Binnekamp, J.G.

    1965-01-01

    A continuous sequence of Devonian sediments is exposed in the northern part of the province of Palencia (NW-Spain), on the southern slope of the Cantabrian Mountains. This study concerns the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Lower Devonian formations. At the base of the sequence a clastic

  3. Invasive species and biodiversity crises: testing the link in the late devonian.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alycia L Stigall

    Full Text Available During the Late Devonian Biodiversity Crisis, the primary driver of biodiversity decline was the dramatic reduction in speciation rates, not elevated extinction rates; however, the causes of speciation decline have been previously unstudied. Speciation, the formation of new species from ancestral populations, occurs by two primary allopatric mechanisms: vicariance, where the ancestral population is passively divided into two large subpopulations that later diverge and form two daughter species, and dispersal, in which a small subset of the ancestral population actively migrates then diverges to form a new species. Studies of modern and fossil clades typically document speciation by vicariance in much higher frequencies than speciation by dispersal. To assess the mechanism behind Late Devonian speciation reduction, speciation rates were calculated within stratigraphically constrained species-level phylogenetic hypotheses for three representative clades and mode of speciation at cladogenetic events was assessed across four clades in three phyla: Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, and Mollusca. In all cases, Devonian taxa exhibited a congruent reduction in speciation rate between the Middle Devonian pre-crisis interval and the Late Devonian crisis interval. Furthermore, speciation via vicariance is almost entirely absent during the crisis interval; most episodes of speciation during this time were due to dispersal. The shutdown of speciation by vicariance during this interval was related to widespread interbasinal species invasions. The lack of Late Devonian vicariance is diametrically opposed to the pattern observed in other geologic intervals, which suggests the loss of vicariant speciation attributable to species invasions during the Late Devonian was a causal factor in the biodiversity crisis. Similarly, modern ecosystems, in which invasive species are rampant, may be expected to exhibit similar shutdown of speciation by vicariance as an outcome of the

  4. Invasive species and biodiversity crises: testing the link in the late devonian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stigall, Alycia L

    2010-12-29

    During the Late Devonian Biodiversity Crisis, the primary driver of biodiversity decline was the dramatic reduction in speciation rates, not elevated extinction rates; however, the causes of speciation decline have been previously unstudied. Speciation, the formation of new species from ancestral populations, occurs by two primary allopatric mechanisms: vicariance, where the ancestral population is passively divided into two large subpopulations that later diverge and form two daughter species, and dispersal, in which a small subset of the ancestral population actively migrates then diverges to form a new species. Studies of modern and fossil clades typically document speciation by vicariance in much higher frequencies than speciation by dispersal. To assess the mechanism behind Late Devonian speciation reduction, speciation rates were calculated within stratigraphically constrained species-level phylogenetic hypotheses for three representative clades and mode of speciation at cladogenetic events was assessed across four clades in three phyla: Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, and Mollusca. In all cases, Devonian taxa exhibited a congruent reduction in speciation rate between the Middle Devonian pre-crisis interval and the Late Devonian crisis interval. Furthermore, speciation via vicariance is almost entirely absent during the crisis interval; most episodes of speciation during this time were due to dispersal. The shutdown of speciation by vicariance during this interval was related to widespread interbasinal species invasions. The lack of Late Devonian vicariance is diametrically opposed to the pattern observed in other geologic intervals, which suggests the loss of vicariant speciation attributable to species invasions during the Late Devonian was a causal factor in the biodiversity crisis. Similarly, modern ecosystems, in which invasive species are rampant, may be expected to exhibit similar shutdown of speciation by vicariance as an outcome of the modern biodiversity

  5. Revisions to the original extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Rouse, William A.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.

    2016-04-11

    Technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in continuous accumulations are present in Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province. The province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata are part of the previously defined Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) that extends from New York to Tennessee. This publication presents a revision to the extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS. The most significant modification to the maximum extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS is to the south and southwest, adding areas in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where Devonian strata, including potential petroleum source rocks, are present in the subsurface up to the outcrop. The Middle to Upper Devonian Chattanooga Shale extends from southeastern Kentucky to Alabama and eastern Mississippi. Production from Devonian shale has been established in the Appalachian fold and thrust belt of northeastern Alabama. Exploratory drilling has encountered Middle to Upper Devonian strata containing organic-rich shale in west-central Alabama. The areas added to the TPS are located in the Valley and Ridge, Interior Low Plateaus, and Appalachian Plateaus physiographic provinces, including the portion of the Appalachian fold and thrust belt buried beneath Cretaceous and younger sediments that were deposited on the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain.

  6. New Organic Stable Isotope Reference Materials for Distribution through the USGS and the IAEA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimmelmann, Arndt; Qi, Haiping

    2014-05-01

    The widespread adoption of relative stable isotope-ratio measurements in organic matter by diverse scientific disciplines is at odds with the dearth of international organic stable isotopic reference materials (RMs). Only two of the few carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) organic RMs, namely L-glutamic acids USGS40 and USGS41 [1], both available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provide an isotopically contrasting pair of organic RMs to enable essential 2-point calibrations for δ-scale normalization [2, 3]. The supply of hydrogen (H) organic RMs is even more limited. Numerous stable isotope laboratories have resorted to questionable practices, for example by using 'CO2, N2, and H2 reference gas pulses' for isotopic calibrations, which violates the principle of identical treatment of sample and standard (i.e., organic unknowns should be calibrated directly against chemically similar organic RMs) [4], or by using only 1 anchor instead of 2 for scale calibration. The absence of international organic RMs frequently serves as an excuse for indefensible calibrations. In 2011, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded an initiative of 10 laboratories from 7 countries to jointly develop much needed new organic RMs for future distribution by the USGS and the IAEA. The selection of targeted RMs attempts to cover various common compound classes of broad technical and scientific interest. We had to accept compromises to approach the ideal of high chemical stability, lack of toxicity, and low price of raw materials. Hazardous gases and flammable liquids were avoided in order to facilitate international shipping of future RMs. With the exception of polyethylene and vacuum pump oil, all organic RMs are individual, chemically-pure substances, which can be used for compound-specific isotopic measurements in conjunction with liquid and gas chromatographic interfaces. The compounds listed below are under isotopic calibration by

  7. Hydrogeologic characterization of devonian aquifers in Uruguay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massa, E.

    1988-01-01

    This article carried out the assistance research project implementation in devonian sedimentary units as a potentials aquifers and their best use to school supplying and rural population in central area of Uruguay.

  8. Aligning USGS senior leadership structure with the USGS science strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2010-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is realigning its management and budget structure to further enhance the work of its science programs and their interdisciplinary focus areas related to the USGS Science Strategy as outlined in 'Facing Tomorrow's Challenges-U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017' (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). In 2007, the USGS developed this science strategy outlining major natural-science issues facing the Nation and focusing on areas where natural science can make a substantial contribution to the well being of the Nation and the world. These areas include global climate change, water resources, natural hazards, energy and minerals, ecosystems, and data integration.

  9. Subsurface geology of the upper Devonian-lower Mississippian black-shale sequence in eastern Kentucky

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dillman, S.B.

    1980-01-01

    The Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippi black-shale sequence is an important source of natural gas in eastern Kentucky and with technological advances may be an important source of synthetic oil and uranium on the flanks of the Cincinnati arch. To enhance the understanding and development of these resources in the black-shale sequence, eight isopach maps, eight structure-contour maps and nine isopach maps of highly radioactive black shale were constructed. Structural features including the Rome trough, Rockcastle River uplift, Pine Mountain thrust fault, Kentucky River and Paint Creek fault zones and unnamed basinal areas in Greenup, Pike, and Knott counties were identified on the maps. Faults bounding the Rome trough and other structures were active intermittently throughout Late Devonian time. Other structures show only post-Devonian activity, whereas some show both Devonian and post-Devonian activity. Comparison of structure-contour and isopach maps allow the differentiation of syn- and post-sedimentray structural activity relative to the black-shale sequence. A north-south trending hinge line separates a broad platform area from an area of rapid eastward thickening into the Appalachian basin. Units 7 through 1 progressively onlap the Cincinnati arch; units 4 through 1 cover the arch

  10. USGS integrated drought science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostroff, Andrea C.; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Booth, Nathaniel L.; Carter, Shawn L.; Stoker, Jason M.; Focazio, Michael J.

    2017-06-05

    Project Need and OverviewDrought poses a serious threat to the resilience of human communities and ecosystems in the United States (Easterling and others, 2000). Over the past several years, many regions have experienced extreme drought conditions, fueled by prolonged periods of reduced precipitation and exceptionally warm temperatures. Extreme drought has far-reaching impacts on water supplies, ecosystems, agricultural production, critical infrastructure, energy costs, human health, and local economies (Milly and others, 2005; Wihlite, 2005; Vörösmarty and others, 2010; Choat and others, 2012; Ledger and others, 2013). As global temperatures continue to increase, the frequency, severity, extent, and duration of droughts are expected to increase across North America, affecting both humans and natural ecosystems (Parry and others, 2007).The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long, proven history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. That said, there is substantial capacity for improved integration and coordination in the ways that the USGS provides drought science. A USGS Drought Team was formed in August 2016 to work across USGS Mission Areas to identify current USGS drought-related research and core capabilities. This information has been used to initiate the development of an integrated science effort that will bring the full USGS capacity to bear on this national crisis.

  11. Scanning and georeferencing historical USGS quadrangles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishburn, Kristin A.; Davis, Larry R.; Allord, Gregory J.

    2017-06-23

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program is scanning published USGS 1:250,000-scale and larger topographic maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006. The goal of this project, which began publishing the Historical Topographic Map Collection in 2011, is to provide access to a digital repository of USGS topographic maps that is available to the public at no cost. For more than 125 years, USGS topographic maps have accurately portrayed the complex geography of the Nation. The USGS is the Nation’s largest producer of traditional topographic maps, and, prior to 2006, USGS topographic maps were created using traditional cartographic methods and printed using a lithographic process. The next generation of topographic maps, US Topo, is being released by the USGS in digital form, and newer technologies make it possible to also deliver historical maps in the same electronic format that is more publicly accessible.

  12. Sedimentology and facies analysis of Devonian Rocks, southern district of Mackenzie, North West Territories, Canada

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer Drees, N.C.

    1989-01-01

    The Devonian rock succession in the southern part of the District of Mackenzie consists of interbedded evaporites and carbonates, fossiliferous carbonates and shales. Inthe study areathe Devonian succession unconformably overlies LowerPaleozoic orPrecambrian strata and thins in a northeastward

  13. Devonian alkaline magmatic belt along the northern margin of the North China Block: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi-Qi; Zhang, Shuan-Hong; Zhao, Yue; Liu, Jian-Min

    2018-03-01

    Some Devonian magmatic rocks have been identified from the northern margin of the North China Block (NCB) in recent years. However, their petrogenesis and tectonic setting are still highly controversial. Here we present new geochronological, Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic and whole-rock chemical data on several newly identified and previously reported Devonian alkaline complexes, including mafic-ultramafic rocks (pyroxenites and gabbros), alkaline rocks (syenites, monzonites) and alkaline granites in the northern NCB. We firstly identified some mafic-ultramafic rocks coeval with monzonite and quartz monzonite in the Sandaogou and Wulanhada alkaline intrusions. New zircon U-Pb dating of 16 samples from the Baicaigou, Gaojiacun, Sandaogou, Wulanhada and Chifeng alkaline intrusions combined with previous geochronological results indicate that the Devonian alkaline rocks emplaced during the early-middle Devonian at around 400-380 Ma and constitute an E-W-trending alkaline magmatic belt that extend ca. 900 km long along the northern margin of the NCB. Whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data reveal that the Devonian alkaline rocks were mainly originated from partial melting of a variably enriched lithospheric mantle with different involvement of ancient lower crustal component and fractional crystallization. The Devonian alkaline magmatic belt rocks in the northern NCB are characterized by very weak or no deformations and were most likely related to post-collision extension after arc-continent collision between the Bainaimiao island arc and the northern margin of North China Craton during the latest Silurian. Partial melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle to produce the Devonian alkaline magmatic rocks suggests that the northern North China Craton has an inhomogeneous, variably enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle and was characterized by significant vertical crustal growth during the Devonian period.

  14. Seawater strontium isotope curve at the Silurian/Devonian boundary: a study of the global Silurian/Devonian boundary stratotype

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Frýda, J.; Hladil, Jindřich; Vokurka, K.

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 35, č. 1 (2002), s. 21-28 ISSN 0016-6995 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/98/0454; GA ČR GA205/01/0143 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : strontium chemostratigraphy * Silurian/Devonian * Barrandian area Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.410, year: 2002

  15. Intergrated study of the Devonian-age black shales in eastern Ohio. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gray, J.D.; Struble, R.A.; Carlton, R.W.; Hodges, D.A.; Honeycutt, F.M.; Kingsbury, R.H.; Knapp, N.F.; Majchszak, F.L.; Stith, D.A.

    1982-09-01

    This integrated study of the Devonian-age shales in eastern Ohio by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey is part of the Eastern Gas Shales Project sponsored by the US Department of Energy. The six areas of research included in the study are: (1) detailed stratigraphic mapping, (2) detailed structure mapping, (3) mineralogic and petrographic characterization, (4) geochemical characterization, (5) fracture trace and lineament analysis, and (6) a gas-show monitoring program. The data generated by the study provide a basis for assessing the most promising stratigraphic horizons for occurrences of natural gas within the Devonian shale sequence and the most favorable geographic areas of the state for natural gas exploration and should be useful in the planning and design of production-stimulation techniques. Four major radioactive units in the Devonian shale sequence are believed to be important source rocks and reservoir beds for natural gas. In order of potential for development as an unconventional gas resource, they are (1) lower and upper radioactive facies of the Huron Shale Member of the Ohio Shale, (2) upper Olentangy Shale (Rhinestreet facies equivalent), (3) Cleveland Shale Member of the Ohio Shale, and (4) lower Olentangy Shale (Marcellus facies equivalent). These primary exploration targets are recommended on the basis of areal distribution, net thickness of radioactive shale, shows of natural gas, and drilling depth to the radioactive unit. Fracture trends indicate prospective areas for Devonian shale reservoirs. Good geological prospects in the Devonian shales should be located where the fracture trends coincide with thick sequences of organic-rich highly radioactive shale.

  16. Climate effects caused by land plant invasion in the Devonian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hir guillaume, Le; yannick, Donnadieu; yves, Goddéris; brigitte, Meyer-Berthaud; gilles, Ramstein

    2017-04-01

    Land plants invaded continents during the Mid-Paleozoic. Their spreading and diversification have been compared to the Cambrian explosion in terms of intensity and impact on the diversification of life on Earth. Whereas prior studies were focused on the evolution of the root system and its weathering contribution, here we investigated the biophysical impacts of plant colonization on the surface climate through changes in continental albedo, roughness, thermal properties, and potential evaporation using a 3D-climate model coupled to a global biogeochemical cycles associated to a simple model for vegetation dynamics adapted to Devonian conditions. From the Early to the Late Devonian, we show that continental surface changes induced by land plants and tectonic drift have produced a large CO2 drawdown without being associated to a global cooling, because the cooling trend is counteracted by a warming trend resulting from the surface albedo reduction. If CO2 is consensually assumed as the main driver of the Phanerozoic climate, during land-plant invasion, the modifications of soil properties could have played in the opposite direction of the carbon dioxide fall, hence maintaining warm temperatures during part of the Devonian.

  17. Radiometric evidence of Middle Devonian inversion of the Hill End Trough, northeast Lachlan Fold Belt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pakham, G.H.

    1999-01-01

    The publication of a new geological time-scale by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and radiometric dates from the Hill End goldfield have prompted the re-examination of the timing of deformation of the Hill End Trough to determine whether it occurred in Middle Devonian or Early Carboniferous time. Palaeontological evidence from the western trough margin and the Capertee High dates the end of deposition in the trough as late Emsian or early Eifelian (385-382 Ma). After a mid-Devonian hiatus of at least 15 million years, paralic sedimentation commenced on the Molong and Capertee Highs in late Frasnian or early Famennian time (367-363 Ma). No Upper Devonian sedimentary formations occur in the Hill End Trough. Structural relationships indicate that the oldest mineral veins at Hill End preceded cleavage formation in the deformed trough sedimentary rocks. Early vein muscovites have Middle Devonian 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates of 380-370 Ma. Regional metamorphic biotites from Hill End have well constrained 40 Ar/ 39 Ar closing ages of 360-358 Ma (mid-Famennian). The metamorphic (thermal) maximum which outlasted penetrative deformation. is estimated here by modelling to have been about 370 Ma (latest Givetian). This clearly places the earlier main deformation in the Middle Devonian. Deformation probably began by terminating trough deposition in latest Emsian to early Eifelian time and ended in early Givetian time at about 375 Ma ago. Published pressure and temperature data from the Hill End goldfield suggest that deformation thickened the 6 km sediment column to around 11 km. The thermal model suggests there was post-deformation erosion of about 4km and little if any further erosion occurred during Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous time. The shortening accompanying the inversion of the northern Hill End Trough may have been taken up in the region to the south, both east and west of the Copperhannia Thrust, and east of the southern termination of the Capertee High

  18. Petroleum data for the pre-mid-Devonian basal clastics play, southern Mackenzie Valley

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lemieux, Y. [Natural Resources Canada, Yellowknife, NT (Canada). Geological Survey of Canada; Gal, L.P. [Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, Yellowknife, NT (Canada)

    2008-07-01

    This document presented petroleum data from the Mackenzie Corridor exploration area in the Northwest Territories. Both quantitative and qualitative geoscience data was compiled as part of a project under the Secure Canadian Energy Supply program of the Geological Survey of Canada. Three separate reservoir facies have been identified within the study area for their attributes relevant to petroleum exploration. This document defined and described the pre-mid-Devonian basal clastics play in the southern Great Slave Plains region where potential Lower Paleozoic source rocks include organic-rich beds of the Mirage Point and Chinchaga Formations, and regionally widespread, Middle to lower Upper Devonian shale. The play is analogous to the oil producing Middle Devonian clastic plays onlapping the Peace River Arch in northwestern Alberta. The seals, migration and trap styles for the reservoirs were discussed. Exploration risks include a thin and discontinuous reservoir with poor porosity; isolation from potential source beds; inadequate reservoir seals; and timing of hydrocarbon migration with respect to trap development. The petroleum play information was based on very few well penetrations. As such, the pre-mid-Devonian basal clastics play is considered to be a conceptual play that has not yet been adequately explored. 40 refs., 3 tabs., 12 figs.

  19. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Historical Quadrangle in GeoPDF. The USGS Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (HQSP) is scanning all scales and all editions of topographic maps published by...

  20. Late Devonian spermatophyte diversity and paleoecology at Red Hill, north-central Pennsylvania, USA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cressler, Walter L. III. [Francis Harvey Green Library, 29 West Rosedale Avenue, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, 19383 (United States); Prestianni, Cyrille [Universite de Liege, Boulevard du Rectorat B18, Liege 4000 (Belgium); LePage, Ben A. [The Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 and PECO Energy Company, 2301 Market Avenue, S9-1, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (United States)

    2010-08-01

    Early spermatophytes have been discovered at Red Hill, a Late Devonian (Famennian) fossil locality in north-central Pennsylvania, USA. The Red Hill locality contains an Archaeopteris-dominated flora within an outcrop of the Duncannon Member of the Catskill Formation. Palynological analyses of the plant fossil-bearing horizons within the Red Hill outcrop indicate deposition within the VCo palynozone. This is the earliest time horizon known to contain evidence for spermatophytes, and is contemporaneous with well-known spermatophyte-bearing deposits in West Virginia and Belgium. Some of the spermatophyte material from Red Hill compares well with Aglosperma sp., previously known as isolated ovules from the latest Devonian of South Wales and England, thus extending its geographic and stratigraphic range. Red Hill specimens of Aglosperma sp. occur both as isolated ovules and attached to dichotomously forking axes. Additional spermatophyte cupules discovered at Red Hill are morphologically similar to those of the previously described Late Devonian spermatophytes Elkinsia Rothwell, Scheckler, et Gillespie, Moresnetia Stockmans, and Xenotheca Arber et Goode. Some of the Red Hill cupule complexes are distinct from the aforementioned taxa in consisting of slender dichotomously forking axes terminating in paired cupules with highly fused and symmetric cupule quadrant lobes. The distinctive nature of these Red Hill specimens warrants the creation of Duodimidia pfefferkornii Cressler, Prestianni, et LePage gen. et sp. nov. Plant fossil remains with sphenopteroid foliage are also present at Red Hill, possibly attributable to the spermatophytes. Previous systematic sampling of the rich plant-fossil bearing layer at Red Hill and analysis of its floristic diversity and abundance as well as the presence and absence of charcoal suggests a pattern of floral turnover from a local-scale Rhacophyton-dominated community to spermatophyte colonization following disturbance by wildfires

  1. Devonian magmatism in the Timan Range, Arctic Russia - subduction, post-orogenic extension, or rifting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pease, V.; Scarrow, J. H.; Silva, I. G. Nobre; Cambeses, A.

    2016-11-01

    Devonian mafic magmatism of the northern East European Craton (EEC) has been variously linked to Uralian subduction, post-orogenic extension associated with Caledonian collision, and rifting. New elemental and isotopic analyses of Devonian basalts from the Timan Range and Kanin Peninsula, Russia, in the northern EEC constrain magma genesis, mantle source(s) and the tectonic process(es) associated with this Devonian volcanism to a rift-related context. Two compositional groups of low-K2O tholeiitic basalts are recognized. On the basis of Th concentrations, LREE concentrations, and (LREE/HREE)N, the data suggest two distinct magma batches. Incompatible trace elements ratios (e.g., Th/Yb, Nb/Th, Nb/La) together with Nd and Pb isotopes indicate involvement of an NMORB to EMORB 'transitional' mantle component mixed with variable amounts of a continental component. The magmas were derived from a source that developed high (U,Th)/Pb, U/Th and Sm/Nd over time. The geochemistry of Timan-Kanin basalts supports the hypothesis that the genesis of Devonian basaltic magmatism in the region resulted from local melting of transitional mantle and lower crust during rifting of a mainly non-volcanic continental rifted margin.

  2. EARLY ORDOVICIAN AND DEVONIAN CONODONTS FROM THE WESTERN KARAKORAM AND HINDU KUSH, NORTHERNMOST PAKISTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JOHN A. TALENT

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available Extensive tracts of Devonian and older sedimentary and igneous units occur within the axial region of the western Karakoram Block of northernmost Pakistan over a distance in excess of 200 km between the the headwaters of the Karambar valley in northwestern Gilgit Agency to southwestern Chitral. Conodont data indicate that the oldest sedimentary unit so far discriminated within this belt, the Yarkhun Formation, includes horizons of Ordovician (Arenig age, consistent with an earlier-presented acritarch-based Arenig age for part of the same unit. Conodont data from the "Lun Shales", a stratigraphic potpourri with little-known Silurian and Devonian tracts, demonstrate the presence of Early Devonian (early Emsian horizons. The Shogrâm Formation, widely distributed through the region, spans an appreciable interval of the Middle and Late Devonian mid-Givetian through until at least early Famennian. A major lacuna in sedimentation may be present, represented by all or most of the earlier half of Frasnian time. A biostratigraphically and possibly biogeographically important new species, Icriodus homeomorphus, is described; it is encountered in horizons of early Famennian age (Late triangularis Zone to ?Early crepida Zone. 

  3. Hydrogeology and simulation of ground-water flow in the Silurian-Devonian aquifer system, Johnson County, Iowa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucci, Patrick; McKay, Robert M.

    2006-01-01

    Bedrock of Silurian and Devonian age (termed the “Silurian-Devonian aquifer system”) is the primary source of ground water for Johnson County in east-central Iowa. Population growth within municipal and suburban areas of the county has resulted in increased amounts of water withdrawn from this aquifer and water-level declines in some areas. A 3-year study of the hydrogeology of the Silurian-Devonian aquifer system in Johnson County was undertaken to provide a quantitative assessment of ground water resources and to construct a ground-water flow model that can be used by local governmental agencies as a management tool.

  4. CORRELATION OF ULTRASOUND (USG FINDINGS WITH SEROLOGICAL TESTS IN DENGUE FEVER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dayanand

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Dengue is an endemic and epidemic disease of the tropical and subtropical regions. Between September & October 2012, there was an established outbreak of dengue in Hoskote, near Bangalore. Dengue results in serositis, which can be imaged by ultrasonography. OBJECTIVE To correlate the USG findings with the serological tests in paediatric and adult patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS 110 patients with clinical suspicion of dengue fever during the above period underwent serological tests-NS1, IgM and IgG and were evaluated with USG of the abdomen and thorax. The USG findings were correlated with serological tests. RESULTS 67 Patients were seropositive, 43 were seronegative. The USG findings in seropositive paediatric patients (n=32 and adult patients (n=35 respectively were gall bladder (GB wall edema-27 & 31, hepatomegaly-12 &14, ascites-16 & 12, splenomegaly- 15 & 9, right pleural effusion-14 & 13, left and bilateral pleural effusion-7 & 5. CONCLUSION In our study GB wall edema significantly correlated with seropositivity (p value=0.032. Thus ultrasound is an efficient screening tool in a case of dengue outbreak.

  5. Cyclostratigraphic calibration of the Famennian stage (Late Devonian, Illinois Basin, USA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pas, Damien; Hinnov, Linda; Day, James E. (Jed); Kodama, Kenneth; Sinnesael, Matthias; Liu, Wei

    2018-04-01

    The Late Devonian biosphere was affected by two of the most severe biodiversity crises in Earth's history, the Kellwasser and Hangenberg events near the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) and the Devonian-Carboniferous (D-C) boundaries, respectively. Current hypotheses for the causes of the Late Devonian extinctions are focused on climate changes and associated ocean anoxia. Testing these hypotheses has been impeded by a lack of sufficient temporal resolution in paleobiological, tectonic and climate proxy records. While there have been recent advances in astronomical calibration that have improved the accuracy of the Frasnian time scale and part of the Famennian, the time duration of the entire Famennian Stage remains poorly constrained. During the Late Devonian, a complete Late Frasnian-Early Carboniferous succession of deep-shelf deposits accumulated in the epieric sea in Illinois Basin of the central North-American mid-continent. A record of this sequence is captured in three overlapping cores (H-30, Sullivan and H-32). The H-30 core section spans the F-F boundary; the Sullivan section spans almost all of the Famennian and the H-32 section sampled spans the interval of the Upper Famennian and the D-C boundary. To have the best chance of capturing Milankovitch cycles, 2000 rock samples were collected at minimum 5-cm-interval across the entire sequence. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) was measured on each sample and the preservation of climatic information into the MS signal was verified through geochemical analyses and low-temperature magnetic susceptibility acquisition. To estimate the duration of the Famennian Stage, we applied multiple spectral techniques and tuned the MS signal using the highly stable 405 kyr cycle for Sullivan and the obliquity cycle for the H-30 and H-32 cores. Based on the correlation between the cores we constructed a Famennian floating astronomical time scale, which indicates a duration of 13.5 ± 0.5 myr. An uncertainty of 0.5 myr was estimated for

  6. The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals

    OpenAIRE

    Zaton, M.; Broda, K.; Qvarnström, M.; Niedzwiedzki, G.; Ahlberg, P.E.

    2017-01-01

    We describe the first known occurrence of a Devonian coelacanth specimen from the lower Famennian of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with a conodont element preserved in its digestive tract. A small spiral and phosphatic coprolite (fossil excrement) containing numerous conodont elements and other unrecognized remains was also found in the same deposits. The coprolite is tentatively attributed to the coelacanth. Although it is unclear whether the Late Devonian coelacanth from Poland was an a...

  7. USGS Tracks Acid Rain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, John D.; Nilles, Mark A.; Schroder, LeRoy J.

    1995-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been actively studying acid rain for the past 15 years. When scientists learned that acid rain could harm fish, fear of damage to our natural environment from acid rain concerned the American public. Research by USGS scientists and other groups began to show that the processes resulting in acid rain are very complex. Scientists were puzzled by the fact that in some cases it was difficult to demonstrate that the pollution from automobiles and factories was causing streams or lakes to become more acidic. Further experiments showed how the natural ability of many soils to neutralize acids would reduce the effects of acid rain in some locations--at least as long as the neutralizing ability lasted (Young, 1991). The USGS has played a key role in establishing and maintaining the only nationwide network of acid rain monitoring stations. This program is called the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN). Each week, at approximately 220 NADP/NTN sites across the country, rain and snow samples are collected for analysis. NADP/NTN site in Montana. The USGS supports about 72 of these sites. The information gained from monitoring the chemistry of our nation's rain and snow is important for testing the results of pollution control laws on acid rain.

  8. Determination of organic-matter content of Appalachian Devonian shales from gamma-ray logs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmoker, J.W.

    1981-01-01

    The organic-matter content of the Devonian shale of the Appalachian basin is important for assessing the natural-gas resources of these rocks, and patterns of organic-matter distribution convey information on sedimentary processes and depositional environment. In most of the western part of the Appalachian basin the organic-matter content of the Devonian shale can be estimated from gamma-ray wire-line logs using the equation: phi 0 = (γ/sub B/ - γ)/1.378A, where phi 0 is the organic-matter content of the shale (fractional volume), γ the gamma-ray intensity (API units), γ/sub B/ the gamma-ray intensity if no organic matter is present (API units), and A the slope of the crossplot of gamma-ray intensity and formation density (API units/(g/cm 3 )). Organic-matter contents estimated using this equation are compared with organic-matter contents determined from direct laboratory analyses of organic carbon for 74 intervals of varying thickness from 12 widely separated wells. The organic-matter content of these intervals ranges from near zero to about 20% by volume. The gamma-ray intensity of the Cleveland Member of the Ohio Shale and the lower part of the Olentangy Shale is anomalously low compared to other Devonian shales of similar richness, so that organic-matter content computed for each of these units from gamma-ray logs is likely to be too low. Wire-line methods for estimating organic-matter content have the advantages of economy, readily available sources of data, and continuous sampling of the vertically heterogenous shale section. The gamma-ray log, in particular, is commonly run in the Devonian shale, its response characteristics are well known, and the cumulative pool of gamma-ray logs forms a large and geographically broad data base. The quantitative computation of organic-matter content from gamma-ray logs should be of practical value in studies of the Appalachian Devonian shale. 16 figures

  9. USGS National Structures Dataset - USGS National Map Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Structures from The National Map (TNM) consists of data to include the name, function, location, and other core information and characteristics of selected...

  10. Soil development on loess overlying Cretaceous sediments and Devonian limestones

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Žigová, Anna; Šťastný, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 12, č. 3 (2015), s. 267-278 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : loess * Cretaceous and Devonian rocks * mineral composition * soil development * Luvic Chernozem * Albic Luvisol Subject RIV: DF - Soil Science Impact factor: 0.561, year: 2015

  11. USGS Science Data Catalog - Open Data Advances or Declines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frame, M. T.; Hutchison, V.; Zolly, L.; Wheeler, B.; Latysh, N.; Devarakonda, R.; Palanisamy, G.; Shrestha, B.

    2014-12-01

    The recent Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) White House Open Data Policies (2013) have required Federal agencies to establish formal catalogues of their science data holdings and make these data easily available on Web sites, portals, and applications. As an organization, the USGS has historically excelled at making its data holdings freely available on its various Web sites (i.e., National, Scientific Programs, or local Science Center). In response to these requirements, the USGS Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Libraries program, in collaboration with DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Mercury Consortium (funded by NASA, USGS, and DOE), and a number of other USGS organizations, established the Science Data Catalog (http://data.usgs.gov) cyberinfrastructure, content management processes/tools, and supporting policies. The USGS Science Data Catalog led the charge at USGS to improve the robustness of existing/future metadata collections; streamline and develop sustainable publishing to external aggregators (i.e., data.gov); and provide leadership to the U.S. Department of Interior in emerging Open Data policies, techniques, and systems. The session will discuss the current successes, challenges, and movement toward meeting these Open Data policies for USGS scientific data holdings. A retrospective look at the last year of implementation of these efforts within USGS will occur to determine whether these Open Data Policies are improving data access or limiting data availability. To learn more about the USGS Science Data Catalog, visit us at http://data.usgs.gov/info/about.html

  12. Devonian and Lower Carboniferous conodont biostratigraphy, Spanish Central Pyrenees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boersma, Kerst Th.

    1973-01-01

    Conodont faunas were collected from the Devonian and Lower Carboniferous in an area ranging from the Rio Fsera (prov. of Huesca) in the west to the Rio Llobregat (prov. of Barcelona) in the east. Most conodont zones and -Faunas recognized in Germany and Spain could be distinguished. The ages of the

  13. 2014 USGS/NRCS Lidar: Central MS

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: USGS-NRCS Laurel MS 0.7m NPS LIDAR Lidar Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No. G13PD01086 Woolpert...

  14. Terrestrial P and Reactive N and Marine Productivity in the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuite, M. L.; Macko, S. A.

    2009-12-01

    A causal link between the Late Devonian emergence of forest ecosystems and episodic black shale deposition has been proposed by several authors. Most attribute increases in epicontinental basin productivity to elevated rates of terrestrial phosphorus weathering facilitated by the co-evolution of root systems and soils. Two reasons to suspect that an increase in the P weathering flux was not the primary cause of organic-rich shale deposition are as follows. First, most Late Devonian black shales were deposited during sea level transgressions, periods when riverine fluxes of sediment and mineral nutrients such as P to marine basins were diminished. Second, Late Devonian forests were restricted to warm, moist lowlands where P was sequestered in soils as inorganic, occluded forms. However, the export flux of reactive N from these forests to adjacent epeiric seas by riverine and atmospheric deposition was enhanced by the warm, wet climate and expanding areal extent of forests. Abundant terrestrial reactive N primed the marine eutrophication pump by extending the residence time of P in the photic zone, permitting extensive growth of primary biomass. The consequent flux of organic matter to the sea floor created anoxic bottom waters that, in turn, allowed for the remobilization of P into the water column. Based on abundance and isotopic analyses of organic and inorganic C, N, P, and S from terrestrial and marine environments within and adjacent to the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin, this latter scenario is supported.

  15. End-Devonian extinction and a bottleneck in the early evolution of modern jawed vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sallan, Lauren Cole; Coates, Michael I

    2010-06-01

    The Devonian marks a critical stage in the early evolution of vertebrates: It opens with an unprecedented diversity of fishes and closes with the earliest evidence of limbed tetrapods. However, the latter part of the Devonian has also been characterized as a period of global biotic crisis marked by two large extinction pulses: a "Big Five" mass extinction event at the Frasnian-Famennian stage boundary (374 Ma) and the less well-documented Hangenberg event some 15 million years later at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary (359 Ma). Here, we report the results of a wide-ranging analysis of the impact of these events on early vertebrate evolution, which was obtained from a database of vertebrate occurrences sampling over 1,250 taxa from 66 localities spanning Givetian to Serpukhovian stages (391 to 318 Ma). We show that major vertebrate clades suffered acute and systematic effects centered on the Hangenberg extinction involving long-term losses of over 50% of diversity and the restructuring of vertebrate ecosystems worldwide. Marine and nonmarine faunas were equally affected, precluding the existence of environmental refugia. The subsequent recovery of previously diverse groups (including placoderms, sarcopterygian fish, and acanthodians) was minimal. Tetrapods, actinopterygians, and chondrichthyans, all scarce within the Devonian, undergo large diversification events in the aftermath of the extinction, dominating all subsequent faunas. The Hangenberg event represents a previously unrecognized bottleneck in the evolutionary history of vertebrates as a whole and a historical contingency that shaped the roots of modern biodiversity.

  16. Stratigraphy and petroleum possibilities of lower Upper Devonian (Frasnian and lower Framennian) strata, Southwestern Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biller, Edward J.

    1976-01-01

    The lower Upper Devonian rocks in southwestern Utah--the Guilmette Formation and equivalents--represent a final regressive pulse of the major Late Devonian marine inundation of the Western Interior of the United States and record marine carbonate deposition on a wide continental shelf. They consist primarily of limestone, dolomite, and quartz arenite deposited in a shallow north-trending miogeosyncline, which constituted a single major basin of accumulation on this shelf. The Guilmette Formation and equivalents were deposited in shallow normal to hypersaline marine waters. The environments of deposition include: a moderate- to high-energy intertidal environment, a moderate-energy subtidal environment, a lower energy, deeper subtidal environment below effective wave base, and a high-energy environment in local shallow areas of mud mounds and bioherms. The carbonate deposition of the Guilmette Formation and equivalents was interrupted periodically by the deposition of quartz arenites. These may represent the breaking up of the miogeosynclinal-cratonic pattern of deposition. In most areas, the Guilmette and equivalents are overlain by a thin transgressive marine quartz arenite deposit--the Cove Fort Quartzite and basal Leatham equivalent. Previous paleontologic evidence indicated a general Middle to Late Devonian age for the Guilmette Formation. The present study narrows this range and suggests that the age of the Guilmette Formation and its equivalents is late Middle Devonian (Stringocephalus brachiopod zone) to early Late Devonian (Uppermost Palmatolepis gigas conodont zone). Available subsurface data suggest that the petroleum possibilities of the Guilmette Formation and equivalents in southwestern Utah are poor. Several tests have penetrated .the interval with only minor shows of oil in rocks with low porosity and permeability. Nevertheless, many outcrop samples of the same interval, appear to have excellent porosity and permeability and a strongly fetid odor,

  17. Geology of the Devonian black shales of the Appalachian Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roen, J.B.

    1984-01-01

    Black shales of Devonian age in the Appalachian Basin are a unique rock sequence. The high content of organic matter, which imparts the characteristic lithology, has for years attracted considerable interest in the shales as a possible source of energy. The recent energy shortage prompted the U.S. Department of Energy through the Eastern Gas Shales Project of the Morgantown Energy Technology Center to underwrite a research program to determine the geologic, geochemical, and structural characteristics of the Devonian black shales in order to enhance the recovery of gas from the shales. Geologic studies by Federal and State agencies and academic institutions produced a regional stratigraphic network that correlates the 15 ft black shale sequence in Tennessee with 3000 ft of interbedded black and gray shales in central New York. These studies correlate the classic Devonian black shale sequence in New York with the Ohio Shale of Ohio and Kentucky and the Chattanooga Shale of Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic markers in conjunction with gamma-ray logs facilitated long-range correlations within the Appalachian Basin. Basinwide correlations, including the subsurface rocks, provided a basis for determining the areal distribution and thickness of the important black shale units. The organic carbon content of the dark shales generally increases from east to west across the basin and is sufficient to qualify as a hydrocarbon source rock. Significant structural features that involve the black shale and their hydrocarbon potential are the Rome trough, Kentucky River and Irvine-Paint Creek fault zone, and regional decollements and ramp zones. ?? 1984.

  18. The global stratotype section and point of the Silurian-Devonian boundary

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chlupáč, I.; Hladil, Jindřich

    2000-01-01

    Roč. 225, - (2000), s. 1-6+1 Pl. ISSN 0341-4116 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : Silurian-Devonian * global stratotype section and point (GSSP) * stratigraphy Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy

  19. U-Pb zircon geochronology of Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous extension-related silicic volcanism in the northern New England Fold Belt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryan, S.E.; Holcombe, R.J.; Fielding, C.R.; Allen, C.M.

    2004-01-01

    Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of zircons confirm a Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous age (ca 360-350 Ma) for silicic volcanic rocks of the Campwyn Volcanics and Yarrol terrane of the northern New England Fold Belt (Queensland). These rocks are coeval with silicic volcanism recorded elsewhere in the fold belt at this time (Connors Arch, Drummond Basin). The new U-Pb zircon ages, in combination with those from previous studies, show that silicic magmatism was both widespread across the northern New England Fold Belt (>250 000 km 2 and >500 km inboard of plate margin) and protracted, occurring over a period of -15 million years. Zircon inheritance is commonplace in the Late Devonian - Early Carboniferous volcanics, reflecting anatectic melting and considerable reworking of continental crust. Inherited zircon components range from ca 370 to ca 2050 Ma, with Middle Devonian (385-370 Ma) zircons being common to almost all dated units. Precambrian zircon components record either Precambrian crystalline crust or sedimentary accumulations that were present above or within the zone of magma formation This contrasts with a lack of significant zircon inheritance in younger Permo-Carboniferous igneous rocks intruded through,and emplaced on top of, the Devonian-Carboniferous successions. The inheritance data and location of these volcanic rocks at the eastern margins of the northern New England Fold Belt, coupled with Sr-Nd, Pb isotopic data and depleted mantle model ages for Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic magmatism, imply that Precambrian mafic and felsic crustal materials (potentially as old as 2050 Ma), or at the very least Lower Palaeozoic rocks derived from the reworking of Precambrian rocks, comprise basement to the eastern parts of the fold belt. This crustal basement architecture may be a relict from the Late Proterozoic breakup of the Rodinian supercontinent. Copyright (2004) Geological Society of Australia

  20. Refining the Early Devonian time scale using Milankovitch cyclicity in Lochkovian–Pragian sediments (Prague Synform, Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    da Silva, A.C.; Hladil, Jindřich; Chadimová, Leona; Slavík, Ladislav; Hilgen, F. J.; Bábek, O.; Dekkers, M. J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 455, 1 December (2016), s. 125-139 ISSN 0012-821X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-18183S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : orbital time scale * spectral analysis * Devonian * magnetic susceptibility * gamma ray spectrometry * limestone * Early Devonian * Lochkovian * Pragian * Emsian * Barrandian * peri-Gondwanan basins Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 4.409, year: 2016

  1. Thermal maturity of northern Appalachian Basin Devonian shales: Insights from sterane and terpane biomarkers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackley, Paul C.; Ryder, Robert T.; Trippi, Michael H.; Alimi, Hossein

    2013-01-01

    To better estimate thermal maturity of Devonian shales in the northern Appalachian Basin, eleven samples of Marcellus and Huron Shale were characterized via multiple analytical techniques. Vitrinite reflectance, Rock–Eval pyrolysis, gas chromatography (GC) of whole rock extracts, and GC–mass spectrometry (GCMS) of extract saturate fractions were evaluated on three transects that lie across previously documented regional thermal maturity isolines. Results from vitrinite reflectance suggest that most samples are immature with respect to hydrocarbon generation. However, bulk geochemical data and sterane and terpane biomarker ratios from GCMS suggest that almost all samples are in the oil window. This observation is consistent with the presence of thermogenic gas in the study area and higher vitrinite reflectance values recorded from overlying Pennsylvanian coals. These results suggest that vitrinite reflectance is a poor predictor of thermal maturity in early mature areas of Devonian shale, perhaps because reported measurements often include determinations of solid bitumen reflectance. Vitrinite reflectance interpretations in areas of early mature Devonian shale should be supplanted by evaluation of thermal maturity information from biomarker ratios and bulk geochemical data.

  2. The silurian and devonian vertebrates of Bolivia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    1986-01-01

    formas de amplia repartición (Rhenanidos, algunos Acanthodios, Actinopterygios de tipo Moythomasia, formas con afinidades transpacíficas (Acanthodios próximos de Sinacanthus y formas tal vez endémicas (Pucapampella, Zamponiopteron. Silurian and Devonian vertebrate remains are described from various localities in Bolivia. Most of the material occurs in concretions in the marine Devonian of the Altiplano and Subandean area, and some isolated specimens have been found in sandstones and lutites. The jawless vertebrates are known only from isolated thelodont scales which occur in the Uppermost Silurian or Lower Devonian of Seripona, Chuquisaca. All the other vertebrate remains belong to gnathosthomes, in particular to the acanthodians, placoderms, chondrichthyans and actinopterygians. The acanthodians are represented by some ischnacanthid dentigerous jaw bones and climatiid spines and shoulder girdles. They are fairly abundant and show no marked differences from acanthodian remains known elsewhere in the Siluro-Devonian of Europe and North America. However, some isolated spines are suggestive of the genus Sinacanthus, known from the Lower Devonian of China The placoderms are represented only by the rhenanid Bolivosteus chacomensis Goujet et al, known from two well preserved braincases. This genus closely resembles Gemuendina (Lower Devonian of Germany with respect to the overall shape of the braincase, but its shoulder girdle differs substantially. The chondrichthyans are the most abundant vertebrates in the Devonian of Bolivia They are represented by isolated spines and endoskeletal elements lined with prismatic calcified cartilage Among them, some peculiar occipital regions of braincases are referred here to Pucapampella rodrigae n.g , n sp. These brain-cases differ from all other known Devonian chondrichthyan braincases in showing a ventrally continuous occipital fissure which completely separates the occiput from the rest of the brain-case. The strongly vaulted

  3. 2013-2014 USGS Lidar: Olympic Peninsula (WA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: USGS Olympic Peninsula Washington LIDAR LiDAR Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No. G13PD00849...

  4. Facies-succession and architecture of the third-order sequences and their stratigraphic framework of the Devonian in Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi area, South China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mei Mingxiang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The Caledonian orogeny at the end of the Silurian resulted in great changes in the palaeogeography in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi area of South China; the continental area of the Early Paleozoic evolved into the extensive Dian-Qian-Gui Sea in the Late Paleozoic. Early in the Devonian, as a result of a major transgression, seawater encroached gradually from the south to the north and clastic facies were deposited. Carbonate deposition was then established in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi area, with a palaeogeography marked by attached platforms, isolated platforms and narrow basins. As a result of the Ziyun movement towards the end of the Devonian, the Upper Devonian strata are regressive and thin out from the open-sea to the land areas. A study of the nature and distribution of sedimentary facies in space and time recognises 13 third-order sequences in the Devonian strata in Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi area, and these form two second-order sequences. The strata of the Lower Devonian comprise 5 third-order sequences (SQ1 to SQ5, which are dominated by transgressive clastics. 4 third-order sequences (SQ6 to SQ9 in the Middle Devonian are characterized by alternations of transgressive clastics and highstand carbonates. In the Upper Devonian, carbonates constitute 4 third-order sequences (SQ10 to SQ13, which are generally marked by the transgressive limestones and highstand dolomites. On the basis of earlier biostratigraphic studies, sea-level changes represented by the third-order sequences with their different facies successions are explored, and the sequence stratigraphic framework is established. Therefore, the Devonian strata in the study area provide an example for further understanding of depositional trends within the sequence-stratigraphic framework.

  5. Vascular plants from the Devonian to Lower Cretaceous in southern Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Anderson

    1983-11-01

    Full Text Available The succession of pre-angiospermous megafloras in southern Africa from the Devonian to Lower Cretaceous is outlined. Interrelationships between continental drift, global climatic trends, and floral and faunal evolution are emphasized. Data are given on numbers of assemblages sampled; on species diversity; and on relative abundance of each genus per productive ‘formation’. A total of 79 genera and about 250 species are recognized in the 150 assemblages from the 11 horizons considered. Floras are unknown from the Carboniferous and are as yet undescribed from the Jurassic. Aside from these gaps, a good idea of the floral development is obtained. Diversity lows of around 5 to 10 species per ‘formation’ are witnessed in the Devonian, whereas a peak of 112 species is encountered in the Upper Triassic Molteno Formation. Diversity remains around 20 to 30 species for all other ‘formations’.

  6. UZIG USGS research: Advances through interdisciplinary interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimmo, J.R.; Andraski, Brian J.; Rafael, M.-C.

    2009-01-01

    BBecause vadose zone research relates to diverse disciplines, applications, and modes of research, collaboration across traditional operational and topical divisions is especially likely to yield major advances in understanding. The Unsaturated Zone Interest Group (UZIG) is an informal organization sponsored by the USGS to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration in vadose or unsaturated zone hydrologic research across organizational boundaries. It includes both USGS and non-USGS scientists. Formed in 1987, the UZIG operates to promote communication, especially through periodic meetings with presentations, discussions, and field trips. The 10th meeting of the UZIG at Los Alamos, NM, in August 2007 was jointly sponsored by the USGS and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Presentations at this meeting served as the initial basis for selecting papers for this special section of Vadose Zone Journal, the purpose of which is to present noteworthy cutting-edge unsaturated zone research promoted by, facilitated by, or presented in connection with the UZIG.

  7. A new Late Devonian genus with seed plant affinities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Deming; Liu, Le

    2015-02-26

    Many ovules of Late Devonian (Famennian) seed plants have been well studied. However, because few taxa occur with anatomically preserved stems and/or petioles, the vascular system of these earliest spermatophytes is little understood and available data come mostly from Euramerica. There remains great controversy over the anatomical differentiation of Late Devonian and Carboniferous seed plant groups of Buteoxylonales, Calamopityales and Lyginopteridales. Protostele evolution of these early spermatophytes needs more research. A new taxon Yiduxylon trilobum gen. et sp. nov. with seed plant affinities has been discovered in the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Tizikou Formation of Hubei Province, China. It is represented by stems, helically arranged and bifurcate fronds with two orders of pinnae and planate pinnules. Both secondary pinnae and pinnules are borne alternately. Stems contain a small protostele with three primary xylem ribs possessing a single peripheral protoxylem strand. Thick secondary xylem displays multiseriate bordered pitting on the tangential and radial walls of the tracheids, and has biseriate to multiseriate and high rays. A narrow cortex consists of inner cortex without sclerotic nests and sparganum-type outer cortex with peripheral bands of vertically aligned sclerenchyma cells. Two leaf traces successively arise tangentially from each primary xylem rib and they divide once to produce four circular-oval traces in the stem cortex. Four vascular bundles occur in two C-shaped groups at each petiole base with ground tissue and peripheral bands of sclerenchyma cells. Yiduxylon justifies the assignment to a new genus mainly because of the protostele with protoxylem strands only near the periphery of primary xylem ribs, leaf trace origination and petiolar vascular supply structure. It shares many definitive characters with Calamopityales and Lyginopteridales, further underscoring the anatomical similarities among early seed plants. The primary vascular

  8. Remotely Sensed Land Imagery and Access Systems: USGS Updates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamb, R.; Pieschke, R.; Lemig, K.

    2017-12-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has implemented a number of updates to its suite of remotely sensed products and distribution systems. These changes will greatly expand the availability, accessibility, and usability of the image products from USGS. As of late 2017, several new datasets are available for public download at no charge from USGS/EROS Center. These products include Multispectral Instrument (MSI) Level-1C data from the Sentinel-2B satellite, which was launched in March 2017. Along with Sentinel-2A, the Sentinel-2B images are now being distributed through USGS systems as part of a collaborative effort with the European Space Agency (ESA). The Sentinel-2 imagery is highly complementary to multispectral data collected by the USGS Landsat 7 and 8 satellites. With these two missions operating together, the potential local revisit rate can be reduced to 2-4 days. Another product addition is Resourcesat-2 data acquired over the United States by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The Resourcesat-2 products from USGS consist of Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) and Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor Three (LISS-3) images acquired August 2016 to present. In an effort to maximize future Landsat data interoperability, including time series analysis of the 45+ year archive, the reprocessing of Collection 1 for all historical Landsat Level 1 products is nearly complete. The USGS is now working on operational release of higher-level science products to support analysis of the Landsat archive at the pixel level. Major upgrades were also completed in 2017 for several USGS data discovery and access systems, including the LandsatLook Viewer (https://landsatlook.usgs.gov/) and GloVis Tool (https://glovis.usgs.gov/). Other options are now being developed to further enhance data access and overall user experience. These future options will be discussed and community feedback will be encouraged.

  9. Ichnology applied to sequence stratigraphic analysis of Siluro-Devonian mud-dominated shelf deposits, Paraná Basin, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedorko, Daniel; Netto, Renata G.; Savrda, Charles E.

    2018-04-01

    Previous studies of the Paraná Supersequence (Furnas and Ponta Grossa formations) of the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil have yielded disparate sequence stratigraphic interpretations. An integrated sedimentological, paleontological, and ichnological model was created to establish a refined sequence stratigraphic framework for this succession, focusing on the Ponta Grossa Formation. Twenty-nine ichnotaxa are recognized in the Ponta Grossa Formation, recurring assemblages of which define five trace fossil suites that represent various expressions of the Skolithos, Glossifungites and Cruziana ichnofacies. Physical sedimentologic characteristics and associated softground ichnofacies provide the basis for recognizing seven facies that reflect a passive relationship to bathymetric gradients from shallow marine (shoreface) to offshore deposition. The vertical distribution of facies provides the basis for dividing the Ponta Grossa Formation into three major (3rd-order) depositional sequences- Siluro-Devonian and Devonian I and II-each containing a record of three to seven higher-order relative sea-level cycles. Major sequence boundaries, commonly coinciding with hiatuses recognized from previously published biostratigraphic data, are locally marked by firmground Glossifungites Ichnofacies associated with submarine erosion. Maximum transgressive horizons are prominently marked by unbioturbated or weakly bioturbated black shales. By integrating observations of the Ponta Grossa Formation with those recently made on the underlying marginal- to shallow-marine Furnas Formation, the entire Paraná Supersequence can be divided into four disconformity-bound sequences: a Lower Silurian (Llandovery-Wenlock) sequence, corresponding to lower and middle units of the Furnas; a Siluro-Devonian sequence (?Pridoli-Early Emsian), and Devonian sequences I (Late Emsian-Late Eifelian) and II (Late Eifelian-Early Givetian). Stratigraphic positions of sequence boundaries generally coincide with

  10. Distribution and Thermal Maturity of Devonian Carbonate Reservoir Solid Bitumen in Desheng Area of Guizhong Depression, South China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuguang Hou

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The distribution of solid bitumen in the Devonian carbonate reservoir from well Desheng 1, Guizhong Depression, was investigated by optical microscope and hydrocarbon inclusions analysis. Vb and chemical structure indexes measured by bitumen reflectance, laser Raman microprobe (LRM, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR were carried out to determine the thermal maturity of solid bitumen. Based on the solid bitumen thermal maturity, the burial and thermal maturity history of Devonian carbonate reservoir were reconstructed by basin modeling. The results indicate that the fractures and fracture-related dissolution pores are the main storage space for the solid bitumen. The equivalent vitrinite reflectance of solid bitumen ranges from 3.42% to 4.43% converted by Vb (% and LRM. The infrared spectroscopy analysis suggests that there are no aliphatic chains detected in the solid bitumen which is rich in aromatics C=C chains (1431–1440 cm−1. The results of Vb (%, LRM, and FTIR analysis demonstrate that the solid bitumen has experienced high temperature and evolved to the residual carbonaceous stage. The thermal evolution of Devonian reservoirs had experienced four stages. The Devonian reservoirs reached the highest reservoir temperature 210–260°C during the second rapid burial-warming stage, which is the main period for the solid bitumen formation.

  11. Unusual central Nevada geologic terranes produced by Late Devonian Antler orogeny and Alamo impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poole, Forrest G.; Sandberg, Charles

    2015-01-01

    This Special Paper is the product of nearly 25 years of geologic investigations. It is an exposition of two small areas, both less than 25 km east of the Mississippian Roberts Mountains allochthon, but each displaying a different, unique geologic terrane, previously undocumented in Nevada and perhaps in North America. One area, the Bisoni-McKay, at the south end of the Fish Creek Range, displays an olistostrome, shed eastward during the late Late Devonian (early Famennian) from a migrating Antler orogenic forebulge. The other, the Warm Springs–Milk Spring, at the south end of the Hot Creek Range, displays a deeper marine terrane affected by the early Late Devonian (middle Frasnian) Alamo impact.

  12. The rise of fire: Fossil charcoal in late Devonian marine shales as an indicator of expanding terrestrial ecosystems, fire, and atmospheric change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimmer, Susan M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Scott, Andrew C.; Cressler, Walter L.

    2015-01-01

    Fossil charcoal provides direct evidence for fire events that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of both terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Most of the ancient charcoal record is known from terrestrial or nearshore environments and indicates the earliest occurrences of fire in the Late Silurian. However, despite the rise in available fuel through the Devonian as vascular land plants became larger and trees and forests evolved, charcoal occurrences are very sparse until the Early Mississippian where extensive charcoal suggests well-established fire systems. We present data from the latest Devonian and Early Mississippian of North America from terrestrial and marine rocks indicating that fire became more widespread and significant at this time. This increase may be a function of rising O2 levels and the occurrence of fire itself may have contributed to this rise through positive feedback. Recent atmospheric modeling suggests an O2 low during the Middle Devonian (around 17.5%), with O2 rising steadily through the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (to 21–22%) that allowed for widespread burning for the first time. In Devonian-Mississippian marine black shales, fossil charcoal (inertinite) steadily increases up-section suggesting the rise of widespread fire systems. There is a concomitant increase in the amount of vitrinite (preserved woody and other plant tissues) that also suggests increased sources of terrestrial organic matter. Even as end Devonian glaciation was experienced, fossil charcoal continued to be a source of organic matter being introduced into the Devonian oceans. Scanning electron and reflectance microscopy of charcoal from Late Devonian terrestrial sites indicate that the fires were moderately hot (typically 500–600 °C) and burnt mainly surface vegetation dominated by herbaceous zygopterid ferns and lycopsids, rather than being produced by forest crown fires. The occurrence and relative abundance of fossil charcoal in

  13. The late Middle Devonian fauna of Red Hill I, Nevada, and its paleobiogeographic implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.-P. Schultze

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The fauna of the Middle Devonian Red Hill I locality, Nevada, is unusual in the co-occurrence of a rich fish assemblage with a rich invertebrate one. Sponges are second in abundance of specimens and number of species only to the fishes and occur together with other invertebrates (conodonts, conulariids, dacryoconarid tentaculites, gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, arthropods, and unidentifiable ammonoids and echinoderms. The invertebrates indicate a marine depositional paleoenvironment. The conodonts indicate a placement within the lower disparalis Zone, late Givetian. The fish assemblage is dominated by the antiarch Asterolepis. All the other fishes, acanthodians, actinopterygians and sarcopterygians, are less common. The closest biogeographic relationship of the fish fauna is with the Middle/Late Devonian fish fauna of the Baltic Region, followed by that of eastern Canada (Miguasha, Scotland and Iran. This distribution corresponds to the Devonian Euramerica faunal province with connection to eastern Gondwana (Iran and Australia. Localities with the same genera as Red Hill I are interpreted as marine with the exception of the Scottish localities. Asterolepis is the most widely distributed vertebrate genus, mostly marine, but it may be able to enter freshwater like Eusthenopteron if one accepts a freshwater depositional paleoenvironment for the Scottish localities. doi:10.1002/mmng.201000001

  14. Devonian sand injections and volcanism in the Murzuq Basin (south-west Libya)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moreau, Julien; Ghienne, Jean-Francois

    system is original by its interaction with volcanism and its situation in an epicontinental intracratonic basin. The sand injections form a seal-bypass system between the Ordovician-Cambrian reservoirs and the Lower Devonian sandstones, breaching through the Silurian shale seal (and source rock...

  15. USGS Spectral Library Version 7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokaly, Raymond F.; Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.; Livo, K. Eric; Hoefen, Todd M.; Pearson, Neil C.; Wise, Richard A.; Benzel, William M.; Lowers, Heather A.; Driscoll, Rhonda L.; Klein, Anna J.

    2017-04-10

    We have assembled a library of spectra measured with laboratory, field, and airborne spectrometers. The instruments used cover wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the far infrared (0.2 to 200 microns [μm]). Laboratory samples of specific minerals, plants, chemical compounds, and manmade materials were measured. In many cases, samples were purified, so that unique spectral features of a material can be related to its chemical structure. These spectro-chemical links are important for interpreting remotely sensed data collected in the field or from an aircraft or spacecraft. This library also contains physically constructed as well as mathematically computed mixtures. Four different spectrometer types were used to measure spectra in the library: (1) Beckman™ 5270 covering the spectral range 0.2 to 3 µm, (2) standard, high resolution (hi-res), and high-resolution Next Generation (hi-resNG) models of Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) field portable spectrometers covering the range from 0.35 to 2.5 µm, (3) Nicolet™ Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) interferometer spectrometers covering the range from about 1.12 to 216 µm, and (4) the NASA Airborne Visible/Infra-Red Imaging Spectrometer AVIRIS, covering the range 0.37 to 2.5 µm. Measurements of rocks, soils, and natural mixtures of minerals were made in laboratory and field settings. Spectra of plant components and vegetation plots, comprising many plant types and species with varying backgrounds, are also in this library. Measurements by airborne spectrometers are included for forested vegetation plots, in which the trees are too tall for measurement by a field spectrometer. This report describes the instruments used, the organization of materials into chapters, metadata descriptions of spectra and samples, and possible artifacts in the spectral measurements. To facilitate greater application of the spectra, the library has also been convolved to selected spectrometer and imaging spectrometers sampling and

  16. 2012 USGS Lidar: Central Virginia Seismic (Louisa County)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — USGS Contract: G10PC00013 Task Order Number: G12PD00264 Prepared for USGS, Prepared by: Dewberry, 1000 Ashley Blvd., Suite 801, Tampa, Florida 33602-3718 The LiDAR...

  17. 2011 USGS Topographic LiDAR: Suwannee River Expansion

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — USGS Task Order No. G10PD00236 USGS Contract No. G10PC00093 The Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) dataset is a survey of the Suwannee River Expansion in...

  18. Givetian (Middle Devonian) cladoxylopsid 'ferns' from Orkney, Northern Scotland

    OpenAIRE

    Berry, Christopher Mark; Hilton, Jason

    2006-01-01

    Two large fossil plants are described from the Givetian (Middle Devonian) Eday\\ud Flags, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Isles, northern Scotland. Fossils with branches joined to stems of\\ud this age are rare. Each specimen comprises a robust and tapering main trunk from which numerous\\ud closely spaced branches arise distally. Although poorly preserved such that generic identifications are\\ud not possible, both specimens display the characteristic architecture of the plant order Pseudosporochnales\\u...

  19. DIAGNOSTIC UTILITY OF USG-GUIDED FNAC IN HEPATIC LESIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudha P. Meena

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC is an easy, rapid, minimally invasive and a cost effective diagnostic method for detecting benign and malignant lesions of liver. AIM The main aim of the present study was to establish the incidence of various hepatic lesions and to find out adequacy and utility of the procedure. MATERIAL AND METHOD A total of 174 cases were included in the study from Government Medical College, Kota and associated hospitals. All cases diagnosed to have single or multiple hepatic mass lesions on USG were included in the study. RESULTS Most common age group affected by hepatic lesion was 51-60 years (34.0%. 91.4% cases were having adequate aspirates. 95.6% of the total diagnosed cases were malignant and among malignant cases majority were metastatic. CONCLUSION USG-guided FNAC is a very useful procedure in the diagnosis of hepatic lesions as the procedure is simple and safe. Thus, FNAC is a simple and effective diagnostic tool in our hand.

  20. Grand challenges for integrated USGS science—A workshop report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenni, Karen E.; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Baron, Jill S.; Bristol, R. Sky; Cantrill, Mary; Exter, Paul E.; Focazio, Michael J.; Haines, John W.; Hay, Lauren E.; Hsu, Leslie; Labson, Victor F.; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Ludwig, Kristin A.; Milly, Paul C. D.; Morelli, Toni L.; Morman, Suzette A.; Nassar, Nedal T.; Newman, Timothy R.; Ostroff, Andrea C.; Read, Jordan S.; Reed, Sasha C.; Shapiro, Carl D.; Smith, Richard A.; Sanford, Ward E.; Sohl, Terry L.; Stets, Edward G.; Terando, Adam J.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Tischler, Michael A.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Wald, David J.; Waldrop, Mark P.; Wein, Anne; Weltzin, Jake F.; Zimmerman, Christian E.

    2017-06-30

    Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus on a number of crosscutting science directions. Ten years on, to further the goal of integrated science and at the request of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), a workshop with three dozen invited scientists spanning different disciplines and career stages in the Bureau convened on February 7–10, 2017, at the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis in Fort Collins, Colorado.The workshop focused on identifying “grand challenges” for integrated USGS science. Individual participants identified nearly 70 potential grand challenges before the workshop and through workshop discussions. After discussion, four overarching grand challenges emerged:Natural resource security,Societal risk from existing and emerging threats,Smart infrastructure development, andAnticipatory science for changing landscapes.Participants also identified a “comprehensive science challenge” that highlights the development of integrative science, data, models, and tools—all interacting in a modular framework—that can be used to address these and other future grand challenges:Earth Monitoring, Analyses, and Projections (EarthMAP)EarthMAP is our long-term vision for an integrated scientific framework that spans traditional scientific boundaries and disciplines, and integrates the full portfolio of USGS science: research, monitoring, assessment, analysis, and information delivery.The Department of Interior, and the Nation in general, have a vast array of information needs. The USGS meets these needs by having a broadly trained and agile scientific workforce. Encouraging and supporting

  1. Volunteer map data collection at the USGS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric, B. Wolf; Poore, Barbara S.; Caro, Holly K.; Matthews, Greg D.

    2011-01-01

    Since 1994, citizen volunteers have helped the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) improve its topographic maps. Through the Earth Science Corps program, citizens were able to "adopt a quad" and collect new information and update existing map features. Until its conclusion in 2001, as many as 300 volunteers annotated paper maps which were incorporated into the USGS topographic-map revision process.

  2. Regressive transgressive cycle of Devonian sea in Uruguay verified by Palynology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Da Silva, J.

    1990-01-01

    This work is about the results and conclusions of the populations palinomorphs study, carried out in Devonian formations in the center of Uruguay. The existence of a regressive transgressive cycle is verified by analyzing the vertical distribution of palinomorphs as well as is mentioned the presence of chintziest for the section studied - hoesphaeridium Cyathochitina kinds

  3. Defining a data management strategy for USGS Chesapeake Bay studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladino, Cassandra

    2013-01-01

    The mission of U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Chesapeake Bay studies is to provide integrated science for improved understanding and management of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Collective USGS efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed began in the 1980s, and by the mid-1990s the USGS adopted the watershed as one of its national place-based study areas. Great focus and effort by the USGS have been directed toward Chesapeake Bay studies for almost three decades. The USGS plays a key role in using “ecosystem-based adaptive management, which will provide science to improve the efficiency and accountability of Chesapeake Bay Program activities” (Phillips, 2011). Each year USGS Chesapeake Bay studies produce published research, monitoring data, and models addressing aspects of bay restoration such as, but not limited to, fish health, water quality, land-cover change, and habitat loss. The USGS is responsible for collaborating and sharing this information with other Federal agencies and partners as described under the President’s Executive Order 13508—Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed signed by President Obama in 2009. Historically, the USGS Chesapeake Bay studies have relied on national USGS databases to store only major nationally available sources of data such as streamflow and water-quality data collected through local monitoring programs and projects, leaving a multitude of other important project data out of the data management process. This practice has led to inefficient methods of finding Chesapeake Bay studies data and underutilization of data resources. Data management by definition is “the business functions that develop and execute plans, policies, practices and projects that acquire, control, protect, deliver and enhance the value of data and information.” (Mosley, 2008a). In other words, data management is a way to preserve, integrate, and share data to address the needs of the Chesapeake Bay studies to better

  4. Remotely Sensed Imagery from USGS: Update on Products and Portals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamb, R.; Lemig, K.

    2016-12-01

    The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has recently implemented a number of additions and changes to its existing suite of products and user access systems. Together, these changes will enhance the accessibility, breadth, and usability of the remotely sensed image products and delivery mechanisms available from USGS. As of late 2016, several new image products are now available for public download at no charge from USGS/EROS Center. These new products include: (1) global Level 1T (precision terrain-corrected) products from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), provided via NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC); and (2) Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) products, available through a collaborative effort with the European Space Agency (ESA). Other new products are also planned to become available soon. In an effort to enable future scientific analysis of the full 40+ year Landsat archive, the USGS also introduced a new "Collection Management" strategy for all Landsat Level 1 products. This new archive and access schema involves quality-based tier designations that will support future time series analysis of the historic Landsat archive at the pixel level. Along with the quality tier designations, the USGS has also implemented a number of other Level 1 product improvements to support Landsat science applications, including: enhanced metadata, improved geometric processing, refined quality assessment information, and angle coefficient files. The full USGS Landsat archive is now being reprocessed in accordance with the new `Collection 1' specifications. Several USGS data access and visualization systems have also seen major upgrades. These user interfaces include a new version of the USGS LandsatLook Viewer which was released in Fall 2017 to provide enhanced functionality and Sentinel-2 visualization and access support. A beta release of the USGS Global Visualization Tool ("Glo

  5. Wangshangkia, a new Devonian ostracod genus from Dushan of Guizhou, South China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Junjun; Gong, Yiming

    2018-02-01

    Wangshangkia, a new genus of Ostracoda, from the Late Devonian in Dushan of Guizhou, South China, is described. This genus belongs to the family Bairdiocyprididae Shaver, 1961 and includes two new species, i.e. Wangshangkia dushaniensis and W. bailouiensis. The new genus is characterized by a wide ventral carina with radial striae. It is reported from the Famennian of South China and disappeared just below the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. Wangshangkia is essentially a benthic crawler and is restricted to the shallow-marine depositional environment with a low hydrodynamic condition. Wangshangkia: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:34BF01D4-D202-492D-8E27-BC508EF7EFFB W. dushaniensis: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D267C362-7510-4D19-996B-EA1848D7D025 W. bailouiensis: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FE988AA0-7363-4D9E-A5AB-1526C8DBCDD9

  6. Towards a High-resolution Time Scale for the Early Devonian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekkers, M. J.; da Silva, A. C.

    2017-12-01

    High-resolution time scales are crucial to understand Earth's history in detail. The construction of a robust geological time scale, however, inevitably becomes increasingly harder further back in time. Uncertainties associated with anchor radiometric ages increase in size, not speaking of the mere presence of suitable datable strata. However, durations of stages can be tightly constrained by making use of cyclic expressions in sediments, an approach that revolutionized the Cenozoic time scale. When precisely determined durations are stitched together, ultimately, a very precise time scale is the result. For the Mesozoic and Paleozoic an astronomical solution as a tuning target is not available but the dominant periods of eccentricity, obliquity and precession are reasonably well constrained for the entire Phanerozoic which enables their detection by means of spectral analysis. Eccentricity is time-invariant and is used as the prime building block. Here we focus on the Early Devonian, on its lowermost three stages: the Lochkovian, Pragian and Emsian. The uncertainties on the Devonian stage boundaries are currently in the order of several millions of years. The preservation of climatic cycles in diagenetically or even anchimetamorphically affected successions, however, is essential. The fit of spectral peak ratios with those calculated for orbital cycles, is classically used as a strong argument for a preserved climatic signal. Here we use primarily the low field magnetic susceptibility (MS) as proxy parameter, supported by gamma-ray spectrometry to test for consistency. Continuous Wavelet Transform, Evolutive Harmonic Analysis, Multitaper Method, and Average Spectral Misfit are used to reach an optimal astronomical interpretation. We report on classic Early Devonian sections from the Czech Republic: the Pozar-CS (Lochkovian and Pragian), Pod Barrandovem (Pragian and Lower Emsian), and Zlichov (Middle-Upper Emsian). Also a Middle-Upper Emsian section from the US

  7. From success to persistence: Identifying an evolutionary regime shift in the diverse Paleozoic aquatic arthropod group Eurypterida, driven by the Devonian biotic crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamsdell, James C; Selden, Paul A

    2017-01-01

    Mass extinctions have altered the trajectory of evolution a number of times over the Phanerozoic. During these periods of biotic upheaval a different selective regime appears to operate, although it is still unclear whether consistent survivorship rules apply across different extinction events. We compare variations in diversity and disparity across the evolutionary history of a major Paleozoic arthropod group, the Eurypterida. Using these data, we explore the group's transition from a successful, dynamic clade to a stagnant persistent lineage, pinpointing the Devonian as the period during which this evolutionary regime shift occurred. The late Devonian biotic crisis is potentially unique among the "Big Five" mass extinctions in exhibiting a drop in speciation rates rather than an increase in extinction. Our study reveals eurypterids show depressed speciation rates throughout the Devonian but no abnormal peaks in extinction. Loss of morphospace occupation is random across all Paleozoic extinction events; however, differential origination during the Devonian results in a migration and subsequent stagnation of occupied morphospace. This shift appears linked to an ecological transition from euryhaline taxa to freshwater species with low morphological diversity alongside a decrease in endemism. These results demonstrate the importance of the Devonian biotic crisis in reshaping Paleozoic ecosystems. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  8. A new assessment of the Late Devonian antiarchan fish Bothriolepis leptocheira from South Timan (Russia) and the biotic crisis near the Frasnian–Famennian boundary

    OpenAIRE

    Ervīns Lukševičs; Pavel Beznosov; Valdemārs Stūris

    2017-01-01

    The species of the Late Devonian, earliest Famennian placoderm fish Bothriolepis jeremejevi has been downranked to subspecies Bothriolepis leptocheira jeremejevi comb. nov. in a result of detailed morphological studies of the type specimens and abundant new material from the type locality of the Sosnogorsk Formation, South Timan, Komi Republic, Russia. This taxon closely resembles Bothriolepis leptocheira leptocheira from Scotland, B. leptocheira curonica from Latvia, and B. leptocheira ssp. ...

  9. USGS research on energy resources, 1986; program and abstracts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Lorna M.H.

    1986-01-01

    The extended abstracts in this volume are summaries of the papers presented orally and as posters in the second V. E. McKelvey Forum on Mineral and Energy Resources, entitled "USGS Research on Energy Resources-1986." The Forum has been established to improve communication between the USGS and the earth science community by presenting the results of current USGS research on nonrenewable resources in a timely fashion and by providing an opportunity for individuals from other organizations to meet informally with USGS scientists and managers. It is our hope that the McKelvey Forum will help to make USGS programs more responsive to the needs of the earth science community, particularly the mining and petroleum industries, and Win foster closer cooperation between organizations and individuals. The Forum was named after former Director Vincent E. McKelvey in recognition of his lifelong contributions to research, development, and administration in mineral and energy resources, as a scientist, as Chief Geologist, and as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Forum will be an annual event, and its subject matter will alternate between mineral and energy resources. We expect that the format will change somewhat from year to year as various approaches are tried, but its primary purpose will remain the same: to encourage direct communication between USGS scientists and the representatives of other earth-science related organizations. Energy programs of the USGS include oil and gas, coal, geothermal, uranium-thorium, and oil shale; work in these programs spans the national domain, including surveys of the offshore Exclusive Economic Zone. The topics selected for presentation at this McKelvey Forum represent an overview of the scientific breadth of USGS research on energy resources. They include aspects of petroleum occurrence in Eastern United States rift basins, the origin of magnetic anomalies over oil fields, accreted terranes and energy-resource implications, coal

  10. USGS Earthquake Program GPS Use Case : Earthquake Early Warning

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-12

    USGS GPS receiver use case. Item 1 - High Precision User (federal agency with Stafford Act hazard alert responsibilities for earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides nationwide). Item 2 - Description of Associated GPS Application(s): The USGS Eart...

  11. An exceptionally preserved Late Devonian actinopterygian provides a new model for primitive cranial anatomy in ray-finned fishes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, Sam; Darras, Laurent; Clément, Gaël; Blieck, Alain; Friedman, Matt

    2015-01-01

    Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diverse living osteichthyan (bony vertebrate) group, with a rich fossil record. However, details of their earliest history during the middle Palaeozoic (Devonian) ‘Age of Fishes' remains sketchy. This stems from an uneven understanding of anatomy in early actinopterygians, with a few well-known species dominating perceptions of primitive conditions. Here we present an exceptionally preserved ray-finned fish from the Late Devonian (Middle Frasnian, ca 373 Ma) of Pas-de-Calais, northern France. This new genus is represented by a single, three-dimensionally preserved skull. CT scanning reveals the presence of an almost complete braincase along with near-fully articulated mandibular, hyoid and gill arches. The neurocranium differs from the coeval Mimipiscis in displaying a short aortic canal with a distinct posterior notch, long grooves for the lateral dorsal aortae, large vestibular fontanelles and a broad postorbital process. Identification of similar but previously unrecognized features in other Devonian actinopterygians suggests that aspects of braincase anatomy in Mimipiscis are apomorphic, questioning its ubiquity as stand-in for generalized actinopterygian conditions. However, the gill skeleton of the new form broadly corresponds to that of Mimipiscis, and adds to an emerging picture of primitive branchial architecture in crown gnathostomes. The new genus is recovered in a polytomy with Mimiidae and a subset of Devonian and stratigraphically younger actinopterygians, with no support found for a monophyletic grouping of Moythomasia with Mimiidae. PMID:26423841

  12. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region: Coastal and Ocean Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinsinger, Anne E.

    2009-01-01

    USGS Western Region Coastal and Ocean Science is interdisciplinary, collaborative, and integrates expertise from all USGS Disciplines, and ten of its major Science Centers, in Alaska, Hawai'i, California, Washington, and Oregon. The scientific talent, laboratories, and research vessels in the Western Region and across the Nation, strategically position the USGS to address broad geographic and oceanographic research topics. USGS information products inform resource managers and policy makers who must balance conservation mandates with increasing demands for resources that sustain the Nation's economy. This fact sheet describes but a few examples of the breadth of USGS science conducted in coastal, nearshore, and ocean environments along our Nation's West Coast and Pacific Islands.

  13. New U-Pb zircon ages and the duration and division of Devonian time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, R.D.; Bradley, D.C.; Ver Straeten, C.A.; Harris, A.G.; Ebert, J.R.; McCutcheon, S.R.

    1998-01-01

    Newly determined U-Pb zircon ages of volcanic ashes closely tied to biostratigraphic zones are used to revise the Devonian time-scale. They are: 1) 417.6 ?? 1.0 Ma for an ash within the conodont zone of Icriodus woschmidti/I. w. hesperius Lochkovian); 2) 408.3 ?? 1.9 Ma for an ash of early Emsian age correlated with the conodont zones of Po. dehiscens--Lower Po. inversus; 3) 391.4 ?? 1.8 Ma for an ash within the Po. c. costatus Zone and probably within the upper half of the zone (Eifelian); and 4) 381.1 ?? 1.3 Ma for an ash within the range of the Frasnian conodont Palmatolepis punctata (Pa. punctata Zone to Upper Pa. hassi Zone). U-Pb zircon ages for two rhyolites bracketing a palyniferous bed of the pusillites-lepidophyta spore zone, are dated at 363.8 ?? 2.2 Ma and 363 ?? 2.2 Ma and 363.4 ?? 1.8 Ma, respectively, suggesting an age of ~363 Ma for a level within the late Famennian Pa. g. expansa Zone. These data, together with other published zircon ages, suggest that the base and top of the Devonian lie close to 418 Ma and 362 Ma, respectively, thus lengthening the period of ~20% over current estimates. We suggest that the duration of the Middle Devonian (Eifelian and Givitian) is rather brief, perhaps no longer than 11.5 Myr (394 Ma-382.5 Ma), and that the Emsian and Famennian are the longest stages in the period with estimated durations of ~15.5 Myr and 14.5 Myr, respectively.

  14. The Cannery Formation--Devonian to Early Permian arc-marginal deposits within the Alexander Terrane, Southeastern Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karl, Susan M.; Layer, Paul W.; Harris, Anita G.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Murchey, Benita L.

    2011-01-01

    The Cannery Formation consists of green, red, and gray ribbon chert, siliceous siltstone, graywacke-chert turbidites, and volcaniclastic sandstone. Because it contains early Permian fossils at and near its type area in Cannery Cove, on Admiralty Island in southeastern Alaska, the formation was originally defined as a Permian stratigraphic unit. Similar rocks exposed in Windfall Harbor on Admiralty Island contain early Permian bryozoans and brachiopods, as well as Mississippian through Permian radiolarians. Black and green bedded chert with subordinate lenses of limestone, basalt, and graywacke near Kake on Kupreanof Island was initially correlated with the Cannery Formation on the basis of similar lithology but was later determined to contain Late Devonian conodonts. Permian conglomerate in Keku Strait contains chert cobbles inferred to be derived from the Cannery Formation that yielded Devonian and Mississippian radiolarians. On the basis of fossils recovered from a limestone lens near Kake and chert cobbles in the Keku Strait area, the age of the Cannery Formation was revised to Devonian and Mississippian, but this revision excludes rocks in the type locality, in addition to excluding bedded chert on Kupreanof Island east of Kake that contains radiolarians of Late Pennsylvanian and early Permian age. The black chert near Kake that yielded Late Devonian conodonts is nearly contemporaneous with black chert interbedded with limestone that also contains Late Devonian conodonts in the Saginaw Bay Formation on Kuiu Island. The chert cobbles in the conglomerate in Keku Strait may be derived from either the Cannery Formation or the Saginaw Bay Formation and need not restrict the age of the Cannery Formation, regardless of their source. The minimum age of the Cannery Formation on both Admiralty Island and Kupreanof Island is constrained by the stratigraphically overlying fossiliferous Pybus Formation, of late early and early late Permian age. Because bedded radiolarian

  15. Lower and Middle Devonian Malvinokaffric ostracods from the Precordillera Basin of San Juan, Argentina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salas, María J.; Rustán, Juan J.; Sterren, Andrea F.

    2013-08-01

    Ostracod from the upper Lower to Middle Devonian rocks of the Argentine Precordillera Basin (Talacasto and Punta Negra formations) are studied. One new genus Pircawayra nov. gen., and five species (including three new: Pircawayra gigantea nov. gen. and sp., Lapazites trinodis nov. sp. and Keslingiella? teresae nov. sp.) are defined. The recorded ostracod fauna closely resembles that coeval from Bolivia and South Africa, exhibiting a remarkable endemism, not only at the genus level, but also at the species level. In addition to its low-diversity, the Malvinokaffric ostracod association is also characterized by having large, thick, coarsely ornamented and swollen valves. The similar ostracod composition from the Andean and South African basins suggests faunal exchange between these two areas. Based on the ostracod faunas, the Malvinokaffric Realm is clearly recognizable at least up to the Middle Devonian.

  16. Lower Devonian lithofacies and palaeoenvironments in the southwestern margin of the East European Platform (Ukraine, Moldova and Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Radkovets

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Lower Devonian palaeoshelf deposits extend along the western margin of the East European Platform from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. These deposits have been studied on the territory of Ukraine (Volyn-Podillyan Plate, Dobrogean Foredeep and correlated with coeval deposits in Moldova and Romania (Moldovian Platform. The investigation of the Lower Devonian deposits, their thickness, petrographic and lithological characteristics allowed reconstruction of two types of lithofacies and distinguishing two different depositional environments. The first lithofacies belonging to the Lochkovian stage, consists of clayey-carbonate rocks and represents a continuation of the Upper Silurian marine strata. The other lithofacies encompassing the Pragian–Emsian comprises terrigenous reddish-brown rocks, which are roughly equivalent to the Old Red Sandstone, completes the Lower Devonian section. Establishing the occurrence and thickness distribution of the terrigenous lithofacies across the study area is important, because it forms potential reservoir rocks for both conventional and unconventional (tight gas hydrocarbons. Gas accumulation in these reservoir rocks has been discovered at the Lokachi field.

  17. USGS Tampa Bay Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, K.K.; Cronin, T. M.; Crane, M.; Hansen, M.; Nayeghandi, A.; Swarzenski, P.; Edgar, T.; Brooks, G.R.; Suthard, B.; Hine, A.; Locker, S.; Willard, D.A.; Hastings, D.; Flower, B.; Hollander, D.; Larson, R.A.; Smith, K.

    2007-01-01

    Many of the nation's estuaries have been environmentally stressed since the turn of the 20th century and will continue to be impacted in the future. Tampa Bay, one the Gulf of Mexico's largest estuaries, exemplifies the threats that our estuaries face (EPA Report 2001, Tampa Bay Estuary Program-Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (TBEP-CCMP)). More than 2 million people live in the Tampa Bay watershed, and the population constitutes to grow. Demand for freshwater resources, conversion of undeveloped areas to resident and industrial uses, increases in storm-water runoff, and increased air pollution from urban and industrial sources are some of the known human activities that impact Tampa Bay. Beginning on 2001, additional anthropogenic modifications began in Tampa Bat including construction of an underwater gas pipeline and a desalinization plant, expansion of existing ports, and increased freshwater withdrawal from three major tributaries to the bay. In January of 2001, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) and its partners identifies a critical need for participation from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in providing multidisciplinary expertise and a regional-scale, integrated science approach to address complex scientific research issue and critical scientific information gaps that are necessary for continued restoration and preservation of Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay stakeholders identified several critical science gaps for which USGS expertise was needed (Yates et al. 2001). These critical science gaps fall under four topical categories (or system components): 1) water and sediment quality, 2) hydrodynamics, 3) geology and geomorphology, and 4) ecosystem structure and function. Scientists and resource managers participating in Tampa Bay studies recognize that it is no longer sufficient to simply examine each of these estuarine system components individually, Rather, the interrelation among system components must be understood to develop conceptual and

  18. Operating a global seismic network - perspectives from the USGS GSN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, L. S.; Derr, J. S.; Hutt, C. R.; Bolton, H.; Ford, D.; Gyure, G. S.; Storm, T.; Leith, W.

    2007-05-01

    The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) is a permanent digital network of state-of-the-art seismological and geophysical sensors connected by a global telecommunications network, serving as a multi-use scientific facility used for seismic monitoring for response applications, basic and applied research in solid earthquake geophysics, and earth science education. A joint program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Science Foundation, and Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS), the GSN provides near- uniform, worldwide monitoring of the Earth through 144 modern, globally distributed seismic stations. The USGS currently operates 90 GSN or GSN-affiliate stations. As a US government program, the USGS GSN is evaluated on several performance measures including data availability, data latency, and cost effectiveness. The USGS-component of the GSN, like the GSN as a whole, is in transition from a period of rapid growth to steady- state operations. The program faces challenges of aging equipment and increased operating costs at the same time that national and international earthquake and tsunami monitoring agencies place an increased reliance on GSN data. Data acquisition of the USGS GSN is based on the Quanterra Q680 datalogger, a workhorse system that is approaching twenty years in the field, often in harsh environments. An IRIS instrumentation committee recently selected the Quanterra Q330 HR as the "next generation" GSN data acquisition system, and the USGS will begin deploying the new equipment in the middle of 2007. These new systems will address many of the issues associated with the ageing Q680 while providing a platform for interoperability across the GSN.. In order to address the challenge of increasing operational costs, the USGS employs several tools. First, the USGS benefits from the contributions of local host institutions. The station operators are the first line of defense when a station experiences problems, changing boards

  19. Discovery of the fossiliferous Cu Brei Formation (Lower Devonian) in the Kon Tum Block (South Viet Nam)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanh, Tong-Dzuy; Duyen, Than Duc; Hung, Nguyen Huu; My, Bui Phu

    2007-01-01

    Lower Devonian corals and stromatoporoids have recently been discovered in limestones among low grade metamorphic rocks on the western margin of the Kon Tum Block (South Viet Nam). This unit has been identified as the Cu Brei Formation. Coral and stromatoporoid species have been described including Squameofavosites aff. spongiosus, Parallelostroma cf. multicolumnum, Amphipora cf. rasilis, A. cf. raritalis, Simplexodictyon cf. artyschtense, Stromatopora cf. boriarchinovi and Stromatopora sp. indet. The Cu Brei Formation is exposed in a small area 6 km in length and 3 km wide at the foot of Cu Brei Mountain (Sa Thay District, Kon Tum Province). As this formation is in marine shelf facies it is probable that further exposures of Lower Devonian sediments may be discovered in the Kon Tum Block. This discovery raises the question of the tectonic history of the metamorphic Kon Tum Block. It is possible that the block was not an area of positive uplift from the beginning of Paleozoic as has been supposed, but was submerged in a marine environment, at least on its outer margins, in the Devonian, and possibly even earlier, in Early Paleozoic.

  20. Root evolution at the base of the lycophyte clade: insights from an Early Devonian lycophyte

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsunaga, Kelly K. S.; Tomescu, Alexandru M. F.

    2016-01-01

    Background and Aims The evolution of complex rooting systems during the Devonian had significant impacts on global terrestrial ecosystems and the evolution of plant body plans. However, detailed understanding of the pathways of root evolution and the architecture of early rooting systems is currently lacking. We describe the architecture and resolve the structural homology of the rooting system of an Early Devonian basal lycophyte. Insights gained from these fossils are used to address lycophyte root evolution and homology. Methods Plant fossils are preserved as carbonaceous compressions at Cottonwood Canyon (Wyoming), in the Lochkovian–Pragian (∼411 Ma; Early Devonian) Beartooth Butte Formation. We analysed 177 rock specimens and documented morphology, cuticular anatomy and structural relationships, as well as stratigraphic position and taphonomic conditions. Key Results The rooting system of the Cottonwood Canyon lycophyte is composed of modified stems that bear fine, dichotomously branching lateral roots. These modified stems, referred to as root-bearing axes, are produced at branching points of the above-ground shoot system. Root-bearing axes preserved in growth position exhibit evidence of positive gravitropism, whereas the lateral roots extend horizontally. Consistent recurrence of these features in successive populations of the plant preserved in situ demonstrates that they represent constitutive structural traits and not opportunistic responses of a flexible developmental programme. Conclusions This is the oldest direct evidence for a rooting system preserved in growth position. These rooting systems, which can be traced to a parent plant, include some of the earliest roots known to date and demonstrate that substantial plant–substrate interactions were under way by Early Devonian time. The morphological relationships between stems, root-bearing axes and roots corroborate evidence that positive gravitropism and root identity were evolutionarily

  1. Southern California Seismic Network: Caltech/USGS Element of TriNet 1997-2001

    OpenAIRE

    Hauksson, Egill; Small, Patrick; Hafner, Katrin; Busby, Robert; Clayton, Robert; Goltz, James; Heaton, Tom; Hutton, Kate; Kanamori, Hiroo; Polet, Jascha

    2001-01-01

    The California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG) are completing the implementation of TriNet, a modern seismic information system for southern California. TriNet consists of two elements, the Caltech-USGS element and the CDMG element (Mori et al., 1998). The Caltech-USGS element (Caltech-USGS TriNet) concentrates on rapid notification and archiving...

  2. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2003-02-10

    Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales of Devonian age. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are generally thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to the way methane is stored in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane at a ratio of two to one. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. If black shales similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}, the shales may be an excellent sink for CO{sub 2} with the added benefit of serving to enhance natural gas production. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject this research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores will be selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. CO{sub 2} adsorption analyses will be performed in order to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, new drill cuttings and sidewall core samples will be acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their uptake of CO{sub 2}, and the resultant displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) will be used to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements.

  3. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2003-04-28

    Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales of Devonian age. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are generally thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to the way methane is stored in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane at a ratio of two to one. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. If black shales similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}, the shales may be an excellent sink for CO{sub 2} with the added benefit of serving to enhance natural gas production. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject this research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores will be selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. CO{sub 2} adsorption analyses will be performed in order to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, new drill cuttings and sidewall core samples will be acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their uptake of CO{sub 2}, and the resultant displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) will be used to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements.

  4. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2003-02-11

    Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales of Devonian age. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are generally thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to the way methane is stored in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane at a ratio of two to one. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. If black shales similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}, the shales may be an excellent sink for CO{sub 2} with the added benefit of serving to enhance natural gas production. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject this research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores will be selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. CO{sub 2} adsorption analyses will be performed in order to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, new drill cuttings and sidewall core samples will be acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their uptake of CO{sub 2}, and the resultant displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) will be used to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements.

  5. U-Pb dating of silicic lavas, sills and syneruptive resedimented volcaniclastic deposits of the Lower Devonian Crudine Group, Hill End Trough, New South Wales

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jagodzinski, E.A.; Black, L.P.

    1999-01-01

    The Hill End Trough of central-western New South Wales was an elongate deep marine basin that existed in the Lachlan Fold Belt from the early Late Silurian to late Early Devonian. It is represented by a regionally extensive. unfossiliferous sequence of interbedded turbidites and hemipelagites of substantially silicic Volcanic derivation, which passes laterally into contemporaneous shallow-water sedimentary rocks. The Turondale and Merrions Formations of the Lower Devonian Crudine Group are two prominent volcanogenic formations in the predominantly sedimentary trough sequence. They contain a range of primary and resedimented volcanic facies suitable for U-Pb dating. These include widespread subaqueous silicic lavas and/or lava cryptodomes. and thick sequences of crystal-rich volcaniclastic sandstone emplaced by a succession of muss-flows that were generated by interaction between contemporaneous subaerial pyroclastic flows and the sea. Ion microprobe dating of the two volcanogenic formations by means of the commonly used SL 13 zircon standard yields ages ranging between 411.3 ± 5.1 and 404.8 ± 4.8 Ma. Normalising the data against a different zircon standard (QGNG) yields preferred slightly older mean ages that range between 413.4 ± 6.6 and 407.1 ± 6.9 Ma. These ages broadly approximate the Early Devonian age that has been historically associated with the Crudine Group. However, the biostratigraphically inferred late Lochkovian - early Emsian (mid-Early Devonian) age for the Merrions Formation is inconsistent with the current Australian Phunerozoic Timescale, which assigns an age of 410 Ma to the Silurian-Devonian boundary, and ages of 404.5 Ma and 395.5 Ma to the base and top of the Pragian, respectively. There is, however, good agreement if the new ages are compared with the most recently published revision of the Devonian time-scale. This suggests that the Early Devonian stage boundaries of the Australian Phanerozoic Timescale need to be revised downward. The

  6. Sr and Pb isotopic composition of five USGS glasses (BHVO-2G, BIR-1G, BCR-2G, TB-1G, NKT-1G)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elburg, M.A.; Vroon, P.Z.; van der Wagt, R.A.C.A.; Tchalikian, A.

    2005-01-01

    Sr isotopic compositions and Rb/Sr ratios of three USGS glasses (BHVO-2G, BIR-1G, BCR-2G) are identical to those of the original USGS reference materials. NKT-1G and TB-1G give values of 0.70351 and 0.70558, respectively. Pb isotopic ratios were measured by the standard-sample bracketing technique

  7. Evolution of the Southern Margin of the Donbas (Ukraine) from Devonian to early Carboniferous Times.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McCann, T.; Saintot, A.N.

    2003-01-01

    A Devonian-Early Carboniferous succession comprising thick clastic and carbonate sediments with interbedded volcanics was examined along the southern margin of the Donbas fold belt. Ukraine. Following initial rifting and subsidence, a continental (fluvial, lacustrine) succession was established.

  8. Late Devonian glacial deposits from the eastern United States signal an end of the mid-Paleozoic warm period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brezinski, D.K.; Cecil, C.B.; Skema, V.W.; Stamm, R.

    2008-01-01

    A Late Devonian polymictic diamictite extends for more than 400??km from northeastern Pennsylvania across western Maryland and into east-central West Virginia. The matrix-supported, unbedded, locally sheared diamictite contains subangular to rounded clasts up to 2??m in diameter. The mostly rounded clasts are both locally derived and exotic; some exhibit striations, faceting, and polish. The diamictite commonly is overlain by laminated siltstone/mudstone facies associations (laminites). The laminites contain isolated clasts ranging in size from sand and pebbles to boulders, some of which are striated. The diamictite/laminite sequence is capped by massive, coarse-grained, pebbly sandstone that is trough cross-bedded. A stratigraphic change from red, calcic paleo-Vertisols in strata below the diamictite to non-calcic paleo-Spodosols and coal beds at and above the diamictite interval suggests that the climate became much wetter during deposition of the diamictite. The diamictite deposit is contemporaneous with regressive facies that reflect fluvial incision during the Late Devonian of the Appalachian basin. These deposits record a Late Devonian episode of climatic cooling so extreme that it produced glaciation in the Appalachian basin. Evidence for this episode of climatic cooling is preserved as the interpreted glacial deposits of diamictite, overlain by glaciolacustrine varves containing dropstones, and capped by sandstone interpreted as braided stream outwash. The Appalachian glacigenic deposits are contemporaneous with glacial deposits in South America, and suggest that Late Devonian climatic cooling was global. This period of dramatic global cooling may represent the end of the mid-Paleozoic warm interval that began in the Middle Silurian. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. The Upper Devonian deposits in the northern part of Leon (Cantabrian Mountains, Northwestern Spain)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loevezijn, van G.B.S.; Raven, J.G.M.

    1983-01-01

    During the Late Devonian, deposition in the Cantabrian Mountains was largely controlled by movements along faults. By way of intermitting subsidence of the area south of the Sabero-Gordón line and the connected progradation of the coast during the Frasnian and early Famennian, three regressive

  10. An Introspective Critique of Past, Present, and Future USGS Decision Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neff, B. P.; Pavlick, M.

    2017-12-01

    In response to increasing scrutiny of publicly funded science, the Water Mission Area of USGS is shifting its approach for informing decisions that affect the country. Historically, USGS has focused on providing sound science on cutting edge, societally relevant issues with the expectation that decision makers will take action on this information. In practice, scientists often do not understand or focus on the needs of decision makers and decision makers often cannot or do not utilize information produced by scientists. The Water Mission Area of USGS has recognized that it can better serve the taxpayer by delivering information more relevant to decision making in a form more conducive to its use. To this end, the Water Mission Area of USGS is seeking greater integration with the decision making process to better inform what information it produces. In addition, recognizing that the transfer of scientific knowledge to decision making is fundamentally a social process, USGS is embracing the use of social science to better inform how it delivers scientific information and facilitates its use. This study utilizes qualitative methods to document the evolution of decision support at USGS and provide a rationale for a shift in direction. Challenges to implementation are identified and collaborative opportunities to improve decision making are discussed.

  11. Streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality monitoring by USGS Nevada Water Science Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gipson, Marsha L.; Schmidt, Kurtiss

    2013-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored and assessed the quantity and quality of our Nation's streams and aquifers since its inception in 1879. Today, the USGS provides hydrologic information to aid in the evaluation of the availability and suitability of water for public and domestic supply, agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, mining, and energy development. Although the USGS has no responsibility for the regulation of water resources, the USGS hydrologic data complement much of the data collected by state, county, and municipal agencies, tribal nations, U.S. District Court Water Masters, and other federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, which focuses on monitoring for regulatory compliance. The USGS continues its mission to provide timely and relevant water-resources data and information that are available to water-resource managers, non-profit organizations, industry, academia, and the public. Data collected by the USGS provide the science needed for informed decision-making related to resource management and restoration, assessment of flood and drought hazards, ecosystem health, and effects on water resources from land-use changes.

  12. Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources in Upper Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.; Rouse, William A.; Dulong, Frank T.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Schenk, Christopher J.

    2018-04-19

    Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 10.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Upper Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin Province.

  13. USGS Digital Orthophoto Quad (DOQ) Metadata

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Metadata for the USGS DOQ Orthophoto Layer. Each orthophoto is represented by a Quarter 24k Quad tile polygon. The polygon attributes contain the quarter-quad tile...

  14. Devonian and Lower Carboniferous Conodonts of the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain) and their stratigraphic application

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adrichem Boogaert, van H.A.

    1967-01-01

    A short review of the literature on the stratigraphy of the Devonian and the Lower Carboniferous of the Cantabrian Mountains precedes the report of the author's stratigraphic and palaeontologic observations in León: the Río Esla area (Gedinnian to Viséan), the central Cantabrian area (Famennian to

  15. 2012 USGS Lidar: Brooks Camp (AK)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) had a requirement for high resolution Lidar needed for mapping the Brooks Camp region of Katmai National Park in Alaska....

  16. 2010 USGS Lidar: Salton Sea (CA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The USGS Salton Sea project encompasses a 5-kilometer buffer around the Salton Sea, California. Dewberry classified LiDAR for a project boundary that touches 623...

  17. Making USGS Science Data more Open, Accessible, and Usable: Leveraging ScienceBase for Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, M.; Ignizio, D.; Langseth, M. L.; Norkin, T.

    2016-12-01

    In 2013, the White House released initiatives requiring federally funded research to be made publicly available and machine readable. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been developing a unified approach to make USGS data available and open. This effort has involved the establishment of internal policies and the release of a Public Access Plan, which outlines a strategy for the USGS to move forward into the modern era in scientific data management. Originally designed as a catalog and collaborative data management platform, ScienceBase (www.sciencebase.gov) is being leveraged to serve as a robust data hosting solution for USGS researchers to make scientific data accessible. With the goal of maintaining persistent access to formal data products and developing a management approach to facilitate stable data citation, the ScienceBase Data Release Team was established to ensure the quality, consistency, and meaningful organization of USGS data through standardized workflows and best practices. These practices include the creation and maintenance of persistent identifiers for data, improving the use of open data formats, establishing permissions for read/write access, validating the quality of standards compliant metadata, verifying that data have been reviewed and approved prior to release, and connecting to external search catalogs such as the USGS Science Data Catalog (data.usgs.gov) and data.gov. The ScienceBase team is actively building features to support this effort by automating steps to streamline the process, building metrics to track site visits and downloads, and connecting published digital resources in line with USGS and Federal policy. By utilizing ScienceBase to achieve stewardship quality and employing a dedicated team to help USGS scientists improve the quality of their data, the USGS is helping to meet today's data quality management challenges and ensure that reliable USGS data are available to and reusable for the public.

  18. Improving open access to the results of USGS research (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bristol, S.

    2013-12-01

    Since its establishment under the Organic Act of March 3, 1879, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been committed to classifying and characterizing 'the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain.' Over time, the pursuit of this mission and understanding the products of the national domain has involved a broad scientific pursuit to understand complex Earth system processes and includes topographic, geologic, biogeographic, and other types of mapping; chemical, physical, hydrological, and biological research; and the application of computer and data science. As science and technology have evolved, classification and characterization of the Nation's natural resources has come to be embodied in digital data of various structure and form. Fundamentally, scientific publications and data produced through research and monitoring form the core of the USGS mission. They are an organizational and national treasure held and provided in trust for the American people and for the global scientific community. The recent memo from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on 'Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research' is part of an overall initiative toward open digital government that dovetails well with the USGS mission. The objectives outlined in the memo correspond directly to goals and objectives of the 2007 USGS Science Strategy ('Facing Tomorrow's Challenges--U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017') and the recently released Science Strategy Plans across all USGS Mission Areas. The USGS response to the OSTP memo involves reinforcing aspects of the USGS commitment to open and free access to scholarly publications and data along with improvements to some of the underlying technological systems that facilitate search and discovery. These actions also align with the USGS response to the Executive Order on May 9, 2013, entitled 'Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for

  19. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2003-10-29

    CO{sub 2} emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have been linked to global climate change. Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, sequestration strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky than in central Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to methane storage in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject of current research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores were selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption analyses are being performed to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, sidewall core samples are being acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their potential CO{sub 2} uptake, and the resulting displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) are being investigated for possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements. For the Devonian shale, average total organic carbon is 3.71 (as received) and mean random vitrinite reflectance is 1.16. Measured adsorption isotherm data range from 37.5 to 2,077.6 standard cubic feet of CO{sub 2} per ton (scf/ton) of

  20. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2004-04-01

    CO{sub 2} emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have been linked to global climate change. Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, sequestration strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky than in central Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to methane storage in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject of current research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores were selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption analyses are being performed to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, sidewall core samples are being acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their potential CO{sub 2} uptake, and the resulting displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) are being investigated for possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements. For the Devonian shale, average total organic carbon is 3.71 percent (as received) and mean random vitrinite reflectance is 1.16. Measured adsorption isotherm data range from 37.5 to 2,077.6 standard cubic feet of CO{sub 2} per ton (scf

  1. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2004-01-01

    CO{sub 2} emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have been linked to global climate change. Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, sequestration strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky than in central Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to methane storage in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject of current research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores were selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption analyses are being performed to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, sidewall core samples are being acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their potential CO{sub 2} uptake, and the resulting displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) are being investigated for possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements. For the Devonian shale, average total organic carbon is 3.71 (as received) and mean random vitrinite reflectance is 1.16. Measured adsorption isotherm data range from 37.5 to 2,077.6 standard cubic feet of CO{sub 2} per ton (scf/ton) of

  2. Dolomitization and sedimentary cyclicity of the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian rocks in South Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kallaste, Toivo

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available The distribution and composition of dolomitized rocks and stoichiometry of dolomite in southern Estonia in the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian were studied on the background of the facies, sedimentary cyclicity (nine shallowing-up cycles, and evolution of the palaeobasins. The composition of rocks and lattice parameters of dolomite were investigated using the X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, titration and gravimetric analyses, and porosity measurements. The formation of dolostones is directly determined by the cyclic evolution of palaeobasins. Dolomitized rocks belong to the shallow-water inner shelf or tidal/lagoonal facies belt of regressive phases of sedimentary cycles. Sediments of the deep shelf/transitional environment and transgressive phases are not dolomitized. The most stoichiometric is secondary replacive dolomite of Silurian and upper Ordovician dolostones, formed during the early diagenesis of normal-marine (saline shallow-shelf calcitic sediments. The content of insoluble residue does not affect the stoichiometry. The changes in lattice parameters are induced by the Ca/Mg ratio in the dolomite lattice. The dolomite of the dolostones contacting limestone or containing calcite has an expanded lattice. The primary (syngenetic dolostone of the lagoonal or tidal flat belt has also an expanded lattice. No dolomitizing effect of the waters of the Devonian palaeobasin on the underlying rocks was revealed. The whole data set of the studied dolostones is consistent with the marine water environment in the palaeobasin at the corresponding time and shows no sign of the inflow of external fluids. It suggests that the microbial model of dolomite formation may characterize the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian in southern Estonia. The occurrence of dolostones between undolomitized rocks limits the time of dolomitization to the early diagenetic stage.

  3. Ichnologic Note. Evidence of Predation on the Rugose Coral Calceola Sandalina (Devonian, Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Galle, Arnošt; Mikuláš, Radek

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 10, - (2003), s. 37-41 ISSN 1042-0940 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA3013207 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : corals * Calceola * Devonian Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://rzblx1.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/detail.phtml?bibid=CASCR&colors=7&lang=en&jour_id=41560

  4. VT 24K USGS Topographic Maps

    Data.gov (United States)

    Vermont Center for Geographic Information — (Link to Metadata) TOPO24K includes a set of GeoTIFFs created from USGS's US Topo GeoPDF product. US Topo maps are a graphic synthesis of The National Map data files...

  5. USGS Methodology for Assessing Continuous Petroleum Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a new quantitative methodology for assessing resources in continuous (unconventional) petroleum deposits. Continuous petroleum resources include shale gas, coalbed gas, and other oil and gas deposits in low-permeability ("tight") reservoirs. The methodology is based on an approach combining geologic understanding with well productivities. The methodology is probabilistic, with both input and output variables as probability distributions, and uses Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the estimates. The new methodology is an improvement of previous USGS methodologies in that it better accommodates the uncertainties in undrilled or minimally drilled deposits that must be assessed using analogs. The publication is a collection of PowerPoint slides with accompanying comments.

  6. 2012 USGS Lidar: Elwha River (WA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: Elwha River, WA LiDAR LiDAR Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No. G11PD01088 Woolpert Order No....

  7. DEVONIAN RUGOSE CORALS FROM THE KARAKORUM MOUNTAINS (NORTHERN PAKISTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    STEFAN SCHRÖDER

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available The Karakorum Block is regarded as a microplate of "Gondwanan" origin and was part of the Cimmerian continent ("Mega Lhasa" which rifted away from the northern margin of Gondwana during the Late Palaeozoic/Early Mesozoic. From the Northern Karakorum Range (Yarkhun and Karambar River Valleys: structurally belonging to the Northern Sedimentary Belt an Upper Givetian to Lower Frasnian rugose coral fauna of the Shogram Formation is described. The fauna is dominated by cosmopolitan genera such as Hexagonaria, Disphyllum, Macgeea and the Temnophyllum/Spinophyllum group, generally showing a geographically wide distribution, although being absent from the Eastern Americas Realm in the Upper Givetian/Lower Frasnian. Therefore its components are of little use for biogeographical deductions at sub-realm level, and in explaining the relation between the Karakorum Range and other Cimmerian crustal blocks. A remarkable exception is the first record of the genus Pseudopexiphyllum outside of Turkey, indicating a connection to the western part of the Cimmerides. On species level, the coral fauna of the Shogram Formation is characterized by the development of a diverse and rather unique fauna including about 35 taxa, that differs from the faunas known from neighbouring crustal blocks. So far, faunistic links to the Central Iranian Microcontinent (Yazd-, and Tabas-Block, the northwest Iranian Plate (Elburz, Central Pamir, the Lhasa Block and Western Qiangtang are not clear, and although each of these fragments are believed to be closely connected they were apparently not in direct contact during the Devonian. However, the Karakorum fauna is remarkably close to one known from the Helmand Block in Afghanistan, showing a very similar generic composition that includes numerous morphologically closely related, although not identical species. Accordingly, the restricted faunal exchange led to the development of new taxa. Distribution of the new species of Spinophyllum

  8. A Coordinated USGS Science Response to Hurricane Sandy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, S.; Buxton, H. T.; Andersen, M.; Dean, T.; Focazio, M. J.; Haines, J.; Hainly, R. A.

    2013-12-01

    In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy came ashore during a spring high tide on the New Jersey coastline, delivering hurricane-force winds, storm tides exceeding 19 feet, driving rain, and plummeting temperatures. Hurricane Sandy resulted in 72 direct fatalities in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States, and widespread and substantial physical, environmental, ecological, social, and economic impacts estimated at near $50 billion. Before the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, the USGS provided forecasts of potential coastal change; collected oblique aerial photography of pre-storm coastal morphology; deployed storm-surge sensors, rapid-deployment streamgages, wave sensors, and barometric pressure sensors; conducted Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) aerial topographic surveys of coastal areas; and issued a landslide alert for landslide prone areas. During the storm, Tidal Telemetry Networks provided real-time water-level information along the coast. Long-term networks and rapid-deployment real-time streamgages and water-quality monitors tracked river levels and changes in water quality. Immediately after the storm, the USGS serviced real-time instrumentation, retrieved data from over 140 storm-surge sensors, and collected other essential environmental data, including more than 830 high-water marks mapping the extent and elevation of the storm surge. Post-storm lidar surveys documented storm impacts to coastal barriers informing response and recovery and providing a new baseline to assess vulnerability of the reconfigured coast. The USGS Hazard Data Distribution System served storm-related information from many agencies on the Internet on a daily basis. Immediately following Hurricane Sandy the USGS developed a science plan, 'Meeting the Science Needs of the Nation in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy-A U.S. Geological Survey Science Plan for Support of Restoration and Recovery'. The plan will ensure continuing coordination of internal USGS activities as well as

  9. USGS Structures Overlay Map Service from The National Map - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) USGS National Structures Dataset

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Structures from The National Map (TNM) consists of data to include the name, function, location, and other core information and characteristics of selected...

  10. 2013 NRCS-USGS Lidar: Lauderdale (MS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME:NRCS LAUDERDALE MS 0.7M NPS LIDAR. LiDAR Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task. USGS Contract No. G10PC00057. Task Order No. G12PD000125 Woolpert...

  11. Conodont-bearing formations of Devonian and Lower Carboniferous age in northern León and Palencia (Spain)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adrichem Boogaert, van H.A.

    1965-01-01

    Conodonts have been extracted from calcareous units of the Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sequence from 3 areas in the S. part of the Cantabrian Mountains. There can be distinguished Emsian, Givetian, Frasnian, Famennian and Viséan faunas.

  12. A Large Trace Fossil in Nodular Limestones (Lower Devonian, Czech Republic): Sedimentological Consequences, Ethology and Taphonomy

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mikuláš, Radek; Hladil, Jindřich

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 22, č. 2 (2015), s. 69-76 ISSN 1042-0940 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-18183S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : bioturbation * Fodinichnia * carbonate * nodules * Devonian * Czech Republic Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.935, year: 2015

  13. Systematics of some Lower and Middle Devonian spiriferid brachiopods from Gaspe with a revision of the superfamily Delthyridoidea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bizzarro, Martin; Lespérance, P.J.

    1999-01-01

    new species aye described: Howellella (Howellella) forillonensis, Brachyspirifer (Brachyspirifer) briseboisi, Paraspirifer desbiensi, Brevispirifer florentinus, and B. quebecensis, The occurrence of Brevispirifer species with Middle Devonian chonetaceans confirms the presence of marine Eifelian strata...

  14. USGS VDP Infrasound Sensor Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slad, George William [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Merchant, Bion J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-10-01

    Sandia National Laboratories has tested and evaluated two infrasound sensors, the model VDP100 and VDP250, built in-house at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory. The purpose of the infrasound sensor evaluation was to determine a measured sensitivity, self-noise, dynamic range and nominal transfer function. Notable features of the VDP sensors include novel and durable construction and compact size.

  15. Early Devonian polygnathids of Northeast Asia and correlation of Pragian/Emsian strata of the marginal seas of Angarida

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Baranov, V.; Slavík, Ladislav; Blodgett, R. B.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 89, č. 3 (2014), s. 645-678 ISSN 1214-1119 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Early Devonian * Pragian/Emsian strata * Angarida Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.515, year: 2014

  16. Correlation of Early Devonian (Lochkovian-early Pragian) conodont faunas of the South Urals (Russia)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mavrinskaya, T.; Slavík, Ladislav

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 88, č. 3 (2013), s. 283-296 ISSN 1214-1119 Grant - others:Rada Programu interní podpory projektů mezinárodní spolupráce AV ČR(CZ) M100131201 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : South Urals, West Zilair Zone, Lower Devonian, global conodont correlation, Lochkovian, Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.495, year: 2013

  17. A rich ichnofossil assemblage from the Frasnian (Upper Devonian) deposits at Andoma Hill, Onega Lake, Russia

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mikuláš, Radek; Meškis, S.; Ivanov, A.; Lukševičs, E.; Zupinš, I.; Stinkulis, G.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 88, č. 2 (2013), s. 389-400 ISSN 1214-1119 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : ichnology * East European Platform * Main Devonian field * Old Red Sandstone facies Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.495, year: 2013

  18. Devonian trilobites of the southern Cantabrian Mountains (northern Spain) with a systematic description of the Asteropyginae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smeenk, Z.

    1983-01-01

    This paper shows the results of a research into the Devonian trilobites of the southern Cantabrian Mountains. The systematics of the most common group, the subfamily of the Asteropyginae, forms the major part of this work. More than 50 species, belonging to sixteen (sub)genera are distinguished;

  19. Concentration mechanisms of uranium in the mineralized fractures of the Lower Devonian of the Belgian Ardennes - The case of the Oizy area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charlet, J.M.; Doremus, P.; Quinif, Y.

    1987-01-01

    During a reconnaissance survey for uranium in the Belgian Paleozoic several anomalies or U occurrences have been discovered in the Lower Devonian by a car-borne radiometric survey. These anomalies appear in relation with mobilization and reconcentration processes at the boundary of redox fronts or following alteration fronts in the detrital series of the Lower Devonian. This paper describes the Oizy anomaly which occurs in a fracturated zone of the Gedinnian formations of the Ardenne Anticline and puts it back in the general context of the U concentrations of the Lower Devonian of the Belgian Ardennes. After a lithostratigraphic, structural and radiometric study of the quarry where the U concentrations occur, a laboratory study of the surrounding rocks has been performed by various techniques (γ- and α-spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, autoradiography and low-level counting technique, analytical chemistry). One can conclude that the mineralized fractures of Oizy are due to a downward remobilization of U by subsurface processes during post-Hercynian periods. 26 refs.; 11 figs.; 1 plate; 2 tabs

  20. USGS: Science at the intersection of land and ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, M.D.

    2009-01-01

    The US Geological Survey (USGS) conducts an ongoing national assessment of coastal change hazards in order to help protect lives and support management of coastal infrastructure and resources. The research group rapidly gathers to investigate coastal changes along the Gulf Coast's sandy beaches after each hurricane to examine the magnitude and variability of impacts. This investigation helps to protect the environment and the American people by preparing maps that show the extreme coastal change. It also posts online video and still photography and LIDAR (light detection and ranging) survey data after each storm, to provide a clear picture of the devastated area. The USGS provides data to understand changing coastal vulnerabilities so that informed decisions can be made to protect disaster affected areas and its resources. Earth scientists in the USGS are learning more about coastal dynamics, determining changes, and improving the ability to forecast how coastal environments will respond to the next storm.

  1. PALEOMAGNETISM OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN VOLCANICS FROM THE CHINGIZ ISLAND ARC, KAZAKHSTAN, AND ITS BEARING ON TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE URAL-MONGOL BELT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia M. Levashova

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the Ural-Mongol belt between the cratons of Baltica, Siberia, and Tarim is the key to the formation of the Eurasian supercontinent during Paleozoic time, but the views on this complicated process remain very disparate and sometimes controversial. Three volcanic formations of the Middle Silurian, LowertoMiddle Devonian and Middle Devonian age from the southwestern boundary of the Chingiz Range (NE Kazakhstan yields what are interpreted as primary paleomagnetic directions that help clarify the evolution of the belt. A singlepolarity characteristic component in midSilurian andesites yields a positive intraformational conglomerate test, whereas dualpolarity prefolding components are isolated from the two Devonian collections. These new data were evaluated together with previously published paleomagnetic results from Paleozoic rocks in the Chingiz Range, and allow us to establish with confidence the hemisphere in which the area was located at a given time. We conclude that NE Kazakhstan was steadily moving northward crossing the equator in Silurian time. These new paleomagnetic data from the Chingiz range also agree with and reinforce the hypothesis that the strongly curved volcanic belts of Kazakhstan underwent oroclinal bending between Middle Devonian and Late Carboniferous time. A comparison of the Chingiz paleolatitudes with those of Siberia shows similarities between the northward motion and rotational history of the Chingiz unit and those of Siberia, which imposes important constraints on the evolving paleogeography of the Ural-Mongol belt.

  2. App-lifying USGS Earth Science Data: Engaging the public through Challenge.gov

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frame, M. T.

    2013-12-01

    With the goal of promoting innovative use and applications of USGS data, USGS Core Science Analytics and Synthesis (CSAS) launched the first USGS Challenge: App-lifying USGS Earth Science Data. While initiated before the recent Office of Science and Technology Policy's memorandum 'Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research', our challenge focused on one of the core tenets of the memorandum- expanding discoverability, accessibility and usability of CSAS data. From January 9 to April 1, 2013, we invited developers, information scientists, biologists/ecologists, and scientific data visualization specialists to create applications for selected USGS datasets. Identifying new, innovative ways to represent, apply, and make these data available is a high priority for our leadership. To help boost innovation, our only constraint on the challengers stated they must incorporate at least one of the identified datasets in their application. Winners were selected based on the relevance to the USGS and CSAS missions, innovation in design, and overall ease of use of the application. The winner for Best Overall App was TaxaViewer by the rOpenSci group. TaxaViewer is a Web interface to a mashup of data from the USGS-sponsored interagency Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and other data from the Phylotastic taxonomic Name service, the Global Invasive Species Database, Phylomatic, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The Popular Choice App award, selected through a public vote on the submissions, went to the Species Comparison Tool by Kimberly Sparks of Raleigh, N.C., which allows users to explore the USGS Gap Analysis Program habitat distribution and/or range of two species concurrently. The application also incorporates ITIS data and provides external links to NatureServe species information. Our results indicated that running a challenge was an effective method for promoting our data products and therefore improving

  3. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2003-07-28

    CO{sub 2} emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have been linked to global climate change. Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, sequestration strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky than in central Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to methane storage in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject of current research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores were selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption analyses are being performed to determine the gas-storage potential of the shale and to identify shale facies with the most sequestration potential. In addition, sidewall core samples are being acquired to investigate specific black-shale facies, their potential CO{sub 2} uptake, and the resulting displacement of methane. Advanced logging techniques (elemental capture spectroscopy) are being investigated for possible correlations between adsorption capacity and geophysical log measurements. Initial estimates indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio shale in parts of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker portions of the

  4. VT 100K DRG USGS Topographic Maps

    Data.gov (United States)

    Vermont Center for Geographic Information — (Link to Metadata) The Vermont Topographic Maps dataset (TOPOVT100K) is a raster image of a scanned USGS 1:100,000 scale topographic map excluding the collar...

  5. Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Seth; Varela, Brian A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Thamke, Joanna N.; Engle, Mark A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Kinney, Scott A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Martinez, Cericia D.

    2017-06-23

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of water and proppant requirements and water production associated with the possible future production of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Three Forks and Bakken Formations (Late Devonian to Early Mississippian) of the Williston Basin Province in Montana and North Dakota. This water and proppant assessment is directly linked to the geology-based assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources that is described in USGS Fact Sheet 2013–3013.

  6. USGS48 Puerto Rico precipitation - A new isotopic reference material for δ2H and δ18O measurements of water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Tarbox, Lauren V.; Lorenz, Jennifer M.; Scholl, Martha A.

    2014-01-01

    A new secondary isotopic reference material has been prepared from Puerto Rico precipitation, which was filtered, homogenised, loaded into glass ampoules, sealed with a torch, autoclaved to eliminate biological activity, and calibrated by dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. This isotopic reference material, designated as USGS48, is intended to be one of two isotopic reference waters for daily normalisation of stable hydrogen (δ2H) and stable oxygen (δ18O) isotopic analysis of water with a mass spectrometer or a laser absorption spectrometer. The δ2H and δ18O values of this reference water are−2.0±0.4 and−2.224±0.012 ‰, respectively, relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water on scales normalised such that the δ2H and δ18O values of Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation reference water are−428 and−55.5 ‰, respectively. Each uncertainty is an estimated expanded uncertainty (U=2uc) about the reference value that provides an interval that has about a 95 % probability of encompassing the true value. This isotopic reference water is available by the case of 144 glass ampoules containing 5 mL of water in each ampoule.

  7. 1:100,000 Papermap Quadrangle Index of Louisiana, Geographic NAD83, USGS (1999) [quad100K_papermaps_USGS_1999

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This is a double precision polygon dataset delineating the geographic footprint of the 100k series map sheets published by the USGS. Because most of these map sheets...

  8. USGS Digital Orthophoto Quad (DOQ) - 3 meter

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — These data files are a collection of the USGS standard DOQs that have been resampled to a 3-meter cell resolution and mosaiced into quad format vs quarter quad...

  9. Devonian post-orogenic extension-related volcano-sedimentary rocks in the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, NW China: Implications for the Paleozoic tectonic transition in the North Qaidam Orogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Yu; Feng, Qiao; Chen, Gang; Chen, Yan; Zou, Kaizhen; Liu, Qian; Jiao, Qianqian; Zhou, Dingwu; Pan, Lihui; Gao, Jindong

    2018-05-01

    The Maoniushan Formation in the northern part of the North Qaidam Orogen (NQO), NW China, contains key information on a Paleozoic change in tectonic setting of the NQO from compression to extension. Here, new zircon U-Pb, petrological, and sedimentological data for the lower molasse sequence of the Maoniushan Formation are used to constrain the timing of this tectonic transition. Detrital zircons yield U-Pb ages of 3.3-0.4 Ga with major populations at 0.53-0.4, 1.0-0.56, 2.5-1.0, and 3.3-2.5 Ga. The maximum depositional age of the Maoniushan Formation is well constrained by a youngest detrital zircon age of ∼409 Ma. Comparing these dates with geochronological data for the region indicates that Proterozoic-Paleozoic zircons were derived mainly from the NQO as well as the Oulongbuluk and Qaidam blocks, whereas Archean zircons were probably derived from the Oulongbuluk Block and the Tarim Craton. The ∼924, ∼463, and ∼439 Ma tectonothermal events recorded in this region indicate that the NQO was involved in the early Neoproterozoic assembly of Rodinia and early Paleozoic microcontinental convergence. A regional angular unconformity between Devonian and pre-Devonian strata within the NQO suggests a period of strong mountain building between the Oulongbuluk and Qaidam blocks during the Silurian, whereas an Early Devonian post-orogenic molasse, evidence of extensional collapse, and Middle to Late Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks and Carboniferous marine carbonate rocks clearly reflect long-lived tectonic extension. Based on these results and the regional geology, we suggest that the Devonian volcano-sedimentary rocks within the NQO were formed in a post-orogenic extensional setting similar to that of the East Kunlun Orogen, indicating that a major tectonic transition from compression to extension in these two orogens probably commenced in the Early Devonian.

  10. Petrological, geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological constraints for the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous magmatism in SW Gondwana (27-32°LS): an example of geodynamic switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlquist, Juan A.; Alasino, Pablo H.; Basei, Miguel A. S.; Morales Cámera, Matías M.; Macchioli Grande, Marcos; da Costa Campos Neto, Mario

    2018-04-01

    We report a study integrating 13 new U-Pb LA-MC-ICP-MS zircon ages and Hf-isotope data from dated magmatic zircons together with complete petrological and whole-rock geochemistry data for the dated granitic rocks. Sample selection was strongly based on knowledge reported in previous investigations. Latest Devonian-Early Carboniferous granite samples were collected along a transect of 900 km, from the inner continental region (present-day Eastern Sierras Pampeanas) to the magmatic arc (now Western Sierras Pampeanas and Frontal Cordillera). Based on these data together with ca. 100 published whole-rock geochemical analyses we conclude that Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous magmatism at this latitude represents continuous activity (ranging from 322 to 379 Ma) on the pre-Andean margin of SW Gondwana, although important whole-rock and isotopic compositional variations occurred through time and space. Combined whole-rock chemistry and isotope data reveal that peraluminous A-type magmatism started in the intracontinental region during the Late Devonian, with subsequent development of synchronous Carboniferous peraluminous and metaluminous A-type magmatism in the retro-arc region and calc-alkaline magmatism in the western paleomargin. We envisage that magmatic evolution was mainly controlled by episodic fluctuations in the angle of subduction of the oceanic plate (between flat-slab and normal subduction), supporting a geodynamic switching model. Subduction fluctuations were relatively fast (ca. 7 Ma) during the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous, and the complete magmatic switch-off and switch-on process lasted for 57 Ma. Hf T DM values of zircon (igneous and inherited) from some Carboniferous peraluminous A-type granites in the retro-arc suggest that Gondwana continental lithosphere formed during previous orogenies was partly the source of the Devonian-Carboniferous granitic magmas, thus precluding the generation of the parental magmas from exotic terranes.

  11. 2008 USGS New Jersey Lidar: Somerset County

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data support the general geospatial needs of the USGS and other federal agencies. LiDAR data is remotely sensed high-resolution elevation data collected by an...

  12. 1:24,000 Papermap Quadrangle Index of Louisiana, Geographic NAD83, USGS (1999) [quad24K_papermaps_USGS_1999

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This is a polygon dataset delineating the geographic footprint of the 24k (7.5') series map sheets published by the USGS. Because most of these map sheets have also...

  13. Formation evaluation in Devonian shale through application of new core and log analysis methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luffel, D.L.; Guidry, F.K.

    1990-01-01

    In the Devonian shale of the Appalachian Basin all porosity in excess of about 2.5 percent is generally occupied by free hydrocarbons, which is mostly gas, based on results of new core and log analysis methods. In this study, sponsored by the Gas Research Institute, reservoir porosities averaged about 5 percent and free gas content averaged about 2 percent by bulk volume, based on analyses on 519 feet of conventional core in four wells. In this source-rich Devonian shale, which also provides the reservoir storage, the rock everywhere appears to be at connate, or irreducible, water saturation corresponding to two or three percent of bulk volume. This became evident when applying the new core and log analysis methods, along with a new plotting method relating bulk volume of pore fluids to porosity. This plotting method has proved to be a valuable tool: it provides useful insight on the fluid distribution present in the reservoir, it provides a clear idea of porosity required to store free hydrocarbons, it leads to a method of linking formation factor to porosity, and it provides a good quality control method to monitor core and log analysis results. In the Devonian shale an important part of the formation evaluation is to determine the amount of kerogen, since this appears as hydrocarbon-filled porosity to conventional logs. In this study Total Organic Carbon and pyrolysis analyses were made on 93 core samples from four wells. Based on these data a new method was used to drive volumetric kerogen and free oil content, and kerogen was found to range up to 26 percent by volume. A good correlation was subsequently developed to derive kerogen from the uranium response of the spectral gamma ray log. Another important result of this study is the measurement of formation water salinity directly on core samples. Results on 50 measurements in the four study wells ranged from 19,000 to 220,000 ppm NaCl

  14. Partnering for science: proceedings of the USGS Workshop on Citizen Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Megan; Benson, Abigail; Govoni, David; Masaki, Derek; Poore, Barbara; Simpson, Annie; Tessler, Steven

    2013-01-01

    What U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) programs use citizen science? How can projects be best designed while meeting policy requirements? What are the most effective volunteer recruitment methods? What data should be collected to ensure validation and how should data be stored? What standard protocols are most easily used by volunteers? Can data from multiple projects be integrated to support new research or existing science questions? To help answer these and other questions, the USGS Community of Data Integration (CDI) supported the development of the Citizen Science Working Group (CSWG) in August 2011 and funded the working group’s proposal to hold a USGS Citizen Science Workshop in fiscal year 2012. The stated goals for our workshop were: raise awareness of programs and projects in the USGS that incorporate citizen science, create a community of practice for the sharing of knowledge and experiences, provide a forum to discuss the challenges of—and opportunities for—incorporating citizen science into USGS projects, and educate and support scientists and managers whose projects may benefit from public participation in science.To meet these goals, the workshop brought together 50 attendees (see appendix A for participant details) representing the USGS, partners, and external citizen science practitioners from diverse backgrounds (including scientists, managers, project coordinators, and technical developers, for example) to discuss these topics at the Denver Federal Center in Colorado on September 11–12, 2012. Over two and a half days, attendees participated in four major plenary sessions (Citizen Science Policy and Challenges, Engaging the Public in Scientific Research, Data Collection and Management, and Technology and Tools) comprised of 25 invited presentations and followed by structured discussions for each session designed to address both prepared and ad hoc "big questions." A number of important community support and infrastructure needs were identified

  15. 2009 PSLC-USGS Topographic LiDAR: Wenatchee

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WS) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data of the Wenatchee USGS area of interest (AOI) east of Wenatchee, WA on May 1nd - May...

  16. Identification of spectrally similar materials using the USGS Tetracorder algorithm: The calcite-epidote-chlorite problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalton, J.B.; Bove, D.J.; Mladinich, C.S.; Rockwell, B.W.

    2004-01-01

    A scheme to discriminate and identify materials having overlapping spectral absorption features has been developed and tested based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Tetracorder system. The scheme has been applied to remotely sensed imaging spectroscopy data acquired by the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument. This approach was used to identify the minerals calcite, epidote, and chlorite in the upper Animas River watershed, Colorado. The study was motivated by the need to characterize the distribution of calcite in the watershed and assess its acid-neutralizing potential with regard to acidic mine drainage. Identification of these three minerals is difficult because their diagnostic spectral features are all centered at 2.3 ??m, and have similar shapes and widths. Previous studies overestimated calcite abundance as a result of these spectral overlaps. The use of a reference library containing synthetic mixtures of the three minerals in varying proportions was found to simplify the task of identifying these minerals when used in conjunction with a rule-based expert system. Some inaccuracies in the mineral distribution maps remain, however, due to the influence of a fourth spectral component, sericite, which exhibits spectral absorption features at 2.2 and 2.4 ??m that overlap the 2.3-??m absorption features of the other three minerals. Whereas the endmember minerals calcite, epidote, chlorite, and sericite can be identified by the method presented here, discrepancies occur in areas where all four occur together as intimate mixtures. It is expected that future work will be able to reduce these discrepancies by including reference mixtures containing sericite. ?? 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Updike, Randall G.; Ellis, Eugene G.; Page, William R.; Parker, Melanie J.; Hestbeck, Jay B.; Horak, William F.

    2013-01-01

    Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, in an area known as the Borderlands, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. This circular identifies several challenge themes and issues associated with life and the environment in the Borderlands, listed below. The challenges are not one-sided; they do not originate in one country only to become problems for the other. The issues and concerns of each challenge theme flow in both directions across the border, and both nations feel their effects throughout the Borderlands and beyond. The clear message is that our two nations, the United States and Mexico, face the issues in these challenge themes together, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) understands it must work with its counterparts, partners, and customers in both countries.Though the mission of the USGS is not to serve as land manager, law enforcer, or code regulator, its innovation and creativity and the scientific and technical depth of its capabilities can be directly applied to monitoring the conditions of the landscape. The ability of USGS scientists to critically analyze the monitored data in search of signals and trends, whether they lead to negative or positive results, allows us to reach significant conclusions—from providing factual conclusions to decisionmakers, to estimating how much of a natural resource exists in a particular locale, to predicting how a natural hazard phenomenon will unfold, to forecasting on a scale from hours to millennia how ecosystems will behave.None of these challenge themes can be addressed strictly by one or two science disciplines; all require well-integrated, cross-discipline thinking, data collection, and analyses. The multidisciplinary science themes that have become the focus of the USGS mission parallel the major challenges in the border region between Mexico and the United States. Because of this multidisciplinary approach, the USGS

  18. 2009 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Topographic LiDAR: Androscoggin County, Maine

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — USGS Contract Number: G10PC00026 USGS Task Order: G10PD01737 LiDAR was collected at a 1.0 points per square meter (1.0m GSD) for the county of Androscoggin, Maine...

  19. USGS Digital Orthophoto Quad (DOQ) - 1 meter

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — These data files are a collection of the USGS standard DOQs. Those images which fall in UTM zone 14 and 16 have been re-projected to UTM Zone 15, NAD83 using EPPL7.

  20. USGS US topo maps for Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Becci; Fuller, Tracy

    2014-01-01

    In July 2013, the USGS National Geospatial Program began producing new topographic maps for Alaska, providing a new map series for the state known as US Topo. Prior to the start of US Topo map production in Alaska, the most detailed statewide USGS topographic maps were 15-minute 1:63,360-scale maps, with their original production often dating back nearly fifty years. The new 7.5-minute digital maps are created at 1:25,000 map scale, and show greatly increased topographic detail when compared to the older maps. The map scale and data specifications were selected based on significant outreach to various map user groups in Alaska. This multi-year mapping initiative will vastly enhance the base topographic maps for Alaska and is possible because of improvements to key digital map datasets in the state. The new maps and data are beneficial in high priority applications such as safety, planning, research and resource management. New mapping will support science applications throughout the state and provide updated maps for parks, recreation lands and villages.

  1. Partial preservation of the Tentaculites Crotalinus shell from Ponta Grossa Formation (Devonian)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciguel, J.H.G.; Roesler, O.

    1988-01-01

    This paper deals with an analysis of a single specimen of Tentaculites crotalinus SALTER emend. CIGUEL et al. (1984) that present a possible partial preservation of the shell. It comes from an outcrop of the Grossa Formation (Devonian) near Jaguariaiva, State of Parana. The skeletal microstructure of the Tentaculitoidea shell rather poorly Known. Thus, the phylogenetic relationships of these invertebrates still uncertain. Tentaculitids are very common fossils in Devonian Ponta Grossa Formation (Parana Basin) but so far Known only from external and internal moulds. The objective of this study is to demonstrate wheter the layer found in between the internal and external mould is or not a case shell preservation. The chemical composition of this layer and of the external mould was analysed by X rays. X rays difratometry was applied only to the matrix (at the external mould). The structure of the supposed shell remain was studied by binocular stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope. It revealed a foliate structure due to several paralel to subparalel oriented lamelae, with a chemical composition distinct from the matrix, and some elements possibly mantained from the original shell composition. Thus, a partial preservation of the original shell seems to be the better explanation for this case. This shell would be composed by calcium carbonate disposed in laminar layers, the outer ones being impregnated by Fe and Mn molecules during the diagenetic processes. The skeletal composition and microstructure would suggest a molluscan affinity for the tentaculitida Order. (auThor) [pt

  2. The USGS Salton Sea Science Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Harvey Lee; Barnum, Douglas A.

    2007-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Salton Sea Science Office (SSSO) provides scientific information and evaluations to decisionmakers who are engaged in restoration planning and actions associated with the Salton Sea. The primary focus is the natural resources of the Salton Sea, including the sea?s ability to sustain biological resources and associated social and economic values.

  3. Investigation of mineral composition of differently treated devonian, quaternary and triassic clays of Latvia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosorukovs, A.; Viss, R.

    1999-01-01

    Clayey fractions (particle size less than 5 μm )of the Latvian Devonian (Kuprava and Liepa deposits), Quaternary (Laza and Ugale deposits) and Triassic (Akmene deposit, Republic of Lithuania) clays have been obtained. The clayey fractions were converted in the form in which all the cations were exchanged for magnesium ions. After the ion exchange the fractions were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide or glycerol in the course for two days, one sample being subjected to thermal treatment at 550±110 C for two hours. Diffractograms for the treated samples have been obtained using a DRON-2,0 diffractometer (Co-radiation). Analysis of the obtained diffractograms show that: 1) the main clayey minerals of the Devonian clays occur to be hydromicas (mainly hydromuscovite) containing admixtures of kaolinite and quartz; 2) the main clayey minerals of the Quarternary clays also occur to be hydromicas - mixtures of hydrobiotite and hydromuscovite containing admixtures of kaolinite and iron-containing chlorite; 3) smectite occurs to be the main mineral of the Triassic clay; it contains admixtures of hydromica and chlorite; 4) the Triassic and Quaternary clays contain fine- and coarse-grained carbonates, mainly calcite, in quantities of 10-16%; 5) iron and titanium are included in fine grained minerals. (author)

  4. The First USGS Global Geologic Map of Europa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, E. J.; Patthoff, D. A.; Senske, D.; Collins, G. C.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding the global scale geology of Europa is paramount to gaining insight into the potential habitability of this icy world. To this end, work is ongoing to complete a global geological map at the scale of 1:15 million that incorporates data at all resolutions collected by the Voyager and Galileo missions. The results of this work will aid the Europa Clipper mission, now in formulation, by providing a framework for collaborative and synergistic science investigations. To understand global geologic and tectonic relations, a total of 10 geologic units have been defined. These include: Low Albedo Ridge Material (lam)—low albedo material that irregularly surrounds large (>20 km) ridge structures; Ridged plains (pr)—distributed over all latitudes and characterized by subparallel to cross-cutting ridges and troughs visible at high resolution (material (b)—linear to curvilinear zones with a distinct, abrupt albedo change from the surrounding region; Crater material (c), Continuous Crater Ejecta (ce) and Discontinuous Crater Ejecta (dce)—features associated with impact craters including the site of the impact, crater material, and the fall-out debris respectively; Low Albedo Chaos (chl), Mottled Albedo Chaos (chm) and High Albedo Chaos (chh)—disrupted terrain with a relatively uniform low albedo, patchy/variegated albedo, and uniform high albedo appearance respectively; Knobby Chaos (chk) - disrupted terrain with rough and blocky texture occurring in the high latitudes. In addition to the geologic units, our mapping also includes structural features—Ridges, Cycloids, Undifferentiated Linea, Crater Rims, Depression Margins, Dome Margins and Troughs. We also introduce a point feature (at the global scale), Microchaos, to denote small (material. The completed map will constrain the distribution of different Europa terrains and provide a general stratigraphic framework to assess the geologic history of Europa from the regional to the global scale. Here, we

  5. Ciencia, Sociedad, Soluciones: Una Introduccion al USGS

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2001-01-01

    El USGS sirve a la nacion de los Estados Unidos proveyendo informacion fidedigna para ? Describir y comprender la Tierra; ? Minimizar la perdida de vidas y propiedades por desastres naturales; ? Manejar los recursos hidrologicos, biologicos, energeticos y minerales; y ? Mejorar y proteger nuestra calidad de vida.

  6. USGS National Hydrography Dataset from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS The National Map - National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about naturally occurring and...

  7. Middle Devonian palynomorphs from southern Moravia: an evidence of rapid change from terrestrial deltaic plain to carbonate platform conditions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vavrdová, Milada; Dašková, Jiřina

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 62, č. 2 (2011), s. 109-119 ISSN 1335-0552 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Devonian marine transgression * basal elastics * miospores * acritarchs Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.787, year: 2011

  8. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Web Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fee, J.; Martinez, E.

    2015-12-01

    USGS Earthquake web applications provide access to earthquake information from USGS and other Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) contributors. One of the primary goals of these applications is to provide a consistent experience for accessing both near-real time information as soon as it is available and historic information after it is thoroughly reviewed. Millions of people use these applications every month including people who feel an earthquake, emergency responders looking for the latest information about a recent event, and scientists researching historic earthquakes and their effects. Information from multiple catalogs and contributors is combined by the ANSS Comprehensive Catalog into one composite catalog, identifying the most preferred information from any source for each event. A web service and near-real time feeds provide access to all contributed data, and are used by a number of users and software packages. The Latest Earthquakes application displays summaries of many events, either near-real time feeds or custom searches, and the Event Page application shows detailed information for each event. Because all data is accessed through the web service, it can also be downloaded by users. The applications are maintained as open source projects on github, and use mobile-first and responsive-web-design approaches to work well on both mobile devices and desktop computers. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

  9. Topographic Digital Raster Graphics - USGS DIGITAL RASTER GRAPHICS

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — USGS Topographic Digital Raster Graphics downloaded from LABINS (http://data.labins.org/2003/MappingData/drg/drg_stpl83.cfm). A digital raster graphic (DRG) is a...

  10. USGS Topo Base Map from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Topographic Base Map from The National Map. This tile cached web map service combines the most current data services (Boundaries, Names, Transportation,...

  11. USGS National Boundary Dataset (NBD) Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Governmental Unit Boundaries dataset from The National Map (TNM) represents major civil areas for the Nation, including States or Territories, counties (or...

  12. Sequence stratigraphy and a revised sea-level curve for the Middle Devonian of eastern North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brett, Carlton E.; Baird, G.C.; Bartholomew, A.J.; DeSantis, M.K.; Ver Straeten, C.A.

    2011-01-01

    The well-exposed Middle Devonian rocks of the Appalachian foreland basin (Onondaga Formation; Hamilton Group, Tully Formation, and the Genesee Group of New York State) preserve one of the most detailed records of high-order sea-level oscillation cycles for this time period in the world. Detailed examination of coeval units in distal areas of the Appalachian Basin, as well as portions of the Michigan and Illinois basins, has revealed that the pattern of high-order sea-level oscillations documented in the New York-Pennsylvania section can be positively identified in all areas of eastern North America where coeval units are preserved. The persistence of the pattern of high-order sea-level cycles across such a wide geographic area suggests that these cycles are allocyclic in nature with primary control on deposition being eustatic sea-level oscillation, as opposed to autocylic controls, such as sediment supply, which would be more local in their manifestation. There is strong evidence from studies of cyclicity and spectral analysis that these cycles are also related to Milankovitch orbital variations, with the short and long-term eccentricity cycles (100. kyr and 405. kyr) being the dominant oscillations in many settings. Relative sea-level oscillations of tens of meters are likely and raise considerable issues about the driving mechanism, given that the Middle Devonian appears to record a greenhouse phase of Phanerozoic history. These new correlations lend strong support to a revised high-resolution sea-level oscillation curve for the Middle Devonian for the eastern portion of North America. Recognized third-order sequences are: Eif-1 lower Onondaga Formation, Eif-2: upper Onondaga and Union Springs formations; Eif-Giv: Oatka Creek Formation; Giv-1: Skaneateles, Giv-2: Ludlowville, Giv-3: lower Moscow, Giv-4: upper Moscow-lower Tully, and Giv-5: middle Tully-Geneseo formations. Thus, in contrast with the widely cited eustatic curve of Johnson et al. (1985), which

  13. USGS Geospatial Fabric and Geo Data Portal for Continental Scale Hydrology Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, K. M.; Newman, A. J.; Blodgett, D. L.; Viger, R.; Hay, L.; Clark, M. P.

    2013-12-01

    This presentation describes use of United States Geological Survey (USGS) data products and server-based resources for continental-scale hydrologic simulations. The USGS Modeling of Watershed Systems (MoWS) group provides a consistent national geospatial fabric built on NHDPlus. They have defined more than 100,000 hydrologic response units (HRUs) over the continental United States based on points of interest (POIs) and split into left and right bank based on the corresponding stream segment. Geophysical attributes are calculated for each HRU that can be used to define parameters in hydrologic and land-surface models. The Geo Data Portal (GDP) project at the USGS Center for Integrated Data Analytics (CIDA) provides access to downscaled climate datasets and processing services via web-interface and python modules for creating forcing datasets for any polygon (such as an HRU). These resources greatly reduce the labor required for creating model-ready data in-house, contributing to efficient and effective modeling applications. We will present an application of this USGS cyber-infrastructure for assessments of impacts of climate change on hydrology over the continental United States.

  14. Conodont biostratigraphy and depositional history of the Middle Devonian to Lower Carboniferous in the Cantabrian zone (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raven, J.G.M.

    1983-01-01

    Within the Cantabrian zone during the Devonian and Early Carboniferous three large palaeogeographical units were of importance: the Asturian geanticline, the Palencian basin and the Asturo-Leonesian basin. These units have a different history of sedimentation, particularly the Palencian basin.

  15. Segmentasi Citra USG (Ultrasonography Kanker Payudara Menggunakan Fuzzy C-Means Clustering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ri Munarto

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Health is a valuable treasure in survival and can be used as a parameter of quality assurance of human life. Some people even tend to ignore of health, so don’t care about the disease that will them attack and finally to death. Noted the main disease that causes death in the world is cancer. Cancer has many types, but the greatest death in each year is caused by breast cancer. Indonesia found more than 80% of cases in advanced stage, it is estimated that the incidence get 12 people from 10000 women. These numbers will to grow when there is no such treatment as prevention or early diagnosis. Growing of breast cancer patients inversely proportional to the percentage of complaints patients to doctors diagnosis in USG (Ultrasonography breast cancer 20%. The problem is ultrasound imaging which is distorted by speckle noise. The solution is to help easier for doctors to diagnose the presence and form of breast cancer using USG. Speckle noise on USG is able to good reduce using SRAD (Speckle Reducing Anisotropic Diffusion. The filtering results are then well segmented using Fuzzy C-Means Clustering with an accuracy 91.43% of 35 samples USG image breast cancer.

  16. Devonian/Carboniferous boundary glacioeustatic fluctuations in a platform-to-basin direction: A geochemical approach of sequence stratigraphy in pelagic settings

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bábek, O.; Kumpan, T.; Kalvoda, J.; Matys Grygar, Tomáš

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 337, MAY (2016), s. 81-99 ISSN 0037-0738 Institutional support: RVO:61388980 Keywords : Element geochemistry * Hangenberg event * Glacioeustasy * Devonian/Carboniferous boundary * Sedimentation rate Subject RIV: DD - Geochemistry Impact factor: 2.373, year: 2016

  17. How Investment in #GovTech Tools Helped with USGS Disaster Response During Hurricane Harvey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, S.; Pearson, D. K.

    2017-12-01

    Hurricane Harvey was an unprecedented storm event that not only included a challenge to decision-makers, but also the scientific community to provide clear and rapid dissemination of changing streamflow conditions and potential flooding concerns. Of primary importance to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Texas Water Science Center was to focus on the availability of accessible data and scientific communication of rapidly changing water conditions across Texas with regards to heavy rainfall rates, rising rivers, streams, and lake elevations where USGS has monitoring stations. Infrastructure modernization leading to advanced GovTech practices and data visualization was key to the USGS role in providing data during Hurricane Harvey. In the last two years, USGS has released two web applications, "Texas Water Dashboard" and "Water-On-The-Go", which were heavily utilized by partners, local media, and municipal government officials. These tools provided the backbone for data distribution through both desktop and mobile applications as decision support during flood events. The combination of Texas Water Science Center web tools and the USGS National Water Information System handled more than 5-million data requests over the course of the storm. On the ground local information near Buffalo Bayou and Addicks/Barker Dams, as well as statewide support of USGS real-time scientific data, were delivered to the National Weather Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, Harris County Flood Control District, the general public, and others. This presentation will provide an overview of GovTech solutions used during Hurricane Harvey, including the history of USGS tool development, discussion on the public response, and future applications for helping provide scientific communications to the public.

  18. SAFRR Tsunami Scenarios and USGS-NTHMP Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, S.; Wood, N. J.; Cox, D. A.; Jones, L.; Cheung, K. F.; Chock, G.; Gately, K.; Jones, J. L.; Lynett, P. J.; Miller, K.; Nicolsky, D.; Richards, K.; Wein, A. M.; Wilson, R. I.

    2015-12-01

    Hazard scenarios provide emergency managers and others with information to help them prepare for future disasters. The SAFRR Tsunami Scenario, published in 2013, modeled a hypothetical but plausible tsunami, created by an Mw9.1 earthquake occurring offshore from the Alaskan peninsula, and its impacts on the California coast. It presented the modeled inundation areas, current velocities in key ports and harbors, physical damage and repair costs, economic consequences, environmental impacts, social vulnerability, emergency management, and policy implications for California associated with the scenario tsunami. The intended users were those responsible for making mitigation decisions before and those who need to make rapid decisions during future tsunamis. It provided the basis for many exercises involving, among others, NOAA, the State of Washington, several counties in California, and the National Institutes of Health. The scenario led to improvements in the warning protocol for southern California and highlighted issues that led to ongoing work on harbor and marina safety. Building on the lessons learned in the SAFRR Tsunami Scenario, another tsunami scenario is being developed with impacts to Hawaii and to the source region in Alaska, focusing on the evacuation issues of remote communities with primarily shore parallel roads, and also on the effects of port closures. Community exposure studies in Hawaii (Ratliff et al., USGS-SIR, 2015) provided background for selecting these foci. One complicated and important aspect of any hazard scenario is defining the source event. The USGS is building collaborations with the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to consider issues involved in developing a standardized set of tsunami sources to support hazard mitigation work. Other key USGS-NTHMP collaborations involve population vulnerability and evacuation modeling.

  19. Outlook of searching for oil and gas formations in the lower Frasnian-middle Devonian oil and gas complex in northern regions of the Timano-Pechora Province

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aleksin, G.A.; Rapoport, B.I.; Rassomakhin, V.Y.; Rossikhin, Y.A.

    1981-01-01

    In the northern part of the Timano-Pechora Province, highly promising middle Devonian and lower Frasnian terrigenous deposits are broadly developed. Seismic exploration has established a reduction in thicknesses of the subdomanic deposits in the near-anticline zones of structures of the ancient formation which are associated with zones of oil and gas accumulation are confined to traps of nonanticlinal and mixed types. In order to realize the program for studying terrigenous deposits of the Devonian it is necessary to accelerate drilling of search and parametric wells 8 of Kumzha, 1 of Vydshor, and 1 of Nosovaya. It is necessary to begin drilling well 5 at the Laydozhskiy field in the anticline of the new elevation revealed from results of detailed seismic work. It is necessary to drill wells on the lower Paleozoic deposits at the Diyatynskiy, Myadloveyyakhskiy, Nyamyurkhitskiy, Sadayeginskiy, East Khoreyverskiy elevations of the North Khoreyverskiy Basin, on structures of the Sorokin swell, on the Malozemel'sko-Kolguyevskiy monocline. It is necessary to accelerate searches at the khyl'chuyuskiy, Yareyyuskiy, North Khar'yaginskiy, Inzyreyskiy and other areas of the Kolvinskiy megaswell. The most important primary task of investigating the lower Frasnian-middle Devonian complex is to trace the zones of development of terrigenous deposits of the middle Devonian and zones of their thinning, as well as to prepare all structures in these deposits for seismic exploration by MOGT.

  20. Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Late Devonian arc volcanic rocks in southern Beishan orogen, NW China: Geochemical and Nd-Sr-Hf isotopic constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Qian-Qian; Chung, Sun-Lin; Xiao, Wen-Jiao; Hou, Quan-Lin; Li, Shan

    2017-05-01

    Late Devonian (ca. 370 Ma) volcanic rocks provide important information about the nature of magmatism during the tectonic transition between the Early and Late Paleozoic in the Beishan orogen, southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. They are predominantly an andesitic-dacitic-rhyolitic assemblage, characterized by alkali contents ranging from slightly calcic to slightly alkaline. The rhyolitic rocks are generally ferroan, whereas the andesitic rocks are magnesian. These volcanic rocks exhibit similar trace element characteristics to those of continental arcs. Strongly negative εNd(t) values (- 2.8 to - 3.6) and high Sr isotopic compositions (initial 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7036-0.7108) suggest that they are mainly derived from an ancient crust. However, the positive zircon εHf(t) values (+ 1.4 to + 16.4) support the role of juvenile components in their genesis, indicating the significant input of new mantle-derived magmas. These characteristics imply a hybrid derivation, from an ancient crustal source with the addition of juvenile materials during magma genesis, or perhaps heterogeneous contamination or hybridization during magma emplacement. Combined with the regional geology, our results indicate that the Late Devonian magmatism resulted from a southward retreat of the subduction zone, which records significant continental crustal growth in a transitional arc or an accretionary arc setting. The distinct geochemical compositions, especially the Nd-Hf isotope decoupling of the Dundunshan volcanic rocks, imply a significant change in the geodynamic setting in the Late Paleozoic.

  1. USGS National Transportation Dataset (NTD) Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Transportation downloadable data from The National Map (TNM) is based on TIGER/Line data provided through U.S. Census Bureau and supplemented with HERE road...

  2. USGS River Ecosystem Modeling: Where Are We, How Did We Get Here, and Where Are We Going?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Leanne; Schrock, Robin; Waddle, Terry; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Lellis, Bill

    2009-01-01

    This report developed as an outcome of the USGS River Ecosystem Modeling Work Group, convened on February 11, 2008 as a preconference session to the second USGS Modeling Conference in Orange Beach, Ala. Work Group participants gained an understanding of the types of models currently being applied to river ecosystem studies within the USGS, learned how model outputs are being used by a Federal land management agency, and developed recommendations for advancing the state of the art in river ecosystem modeling within the USGS. During a break-out session, participants restated many of the recommendations developed at the first USGS Modeling Conference in 2006 and in previous USGS needs assessments. All Work Group recommendations require organization and coordination across USGS disciplines and regions, and include (1) enhancing communications, (2) increasing efficiency through better use of current human and technologic resources, and (3) providing a national infrastructure for river ecosystem modeling resources, making it easier to integrate modeling efforts. By implementing these recommendations, the USGS will benefit from enhanced multi-disciplinary, integrated models for river ecosystems that provide valuable risk assessment and decision support tools for adaptive management of natural and managed riverine ecosystems. These tools generate key information that resource managers need and can use in making decisions about river ecosystem resources.

  3. Status report on the USGS component of the Global Seismographic Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, L. S.; Bolton, H. F.; Derr, J.; Ford, D.; Gyure, G.; Hutt, C. R.; Ringler, A.; Storm, T.; Wilson, D.

    2010-12-01

    As recently as four years ago, the average age of a datalogger in the portion of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) operated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was 16 years - an eternity in the lifetime of computers. The selection of the Q330HR in 2006 as the “next generation” datalogger by an Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) selection committee opened the door for upgrading the GSN. As part of the “next generation” upgrades, the USGS is replacing a single Q680 system with two Q330HRs and a field processor to provide the same capability. The functionality includes digitizing, timing, event detection, conversion into miniSEED records, archival of miniSEED data on the ASP and telemetry of the miniSEED data using International Deployment of Accelerometers (IDA) Authenticated Disk Protocol (IACP). At many sites, Quanterra Balers are also being deployed. The Q330HRs feature very low power consumption (which will increase reliability) and higher resolution than the Q680 systems. Furthermore, this network-wide upgrade provides the opportunity to correct known station problems, standardize the installation of secondary sensors and accelerometers, replace the feedback electronics of STS-1 sensors, and perform checks of absolute system sensitivity and sensor orientation. The USGS upgrades began with ANMO in May, 2008. Although we deployed Q330s at KNTN and WAKE in the fall of 2007 (and in the installation of the Caribbean network), these deployments did not include the final software configuration for the GSN upgrades. Following this start, the USGS installed six additional sites in FY08. With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the USGS GSN program, 14 stations were upgraded in FY09. Twenty-one stations are expected to be upgraded in FY10. These systematic network-wide upgrades will improve the reliability and data quality of the GSN, with the end goal of providing the Earth science community high

  4. USGS 24k Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) Metadata

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Metadata for the scanned USGS 24k Topograpic Map Series (also known as 24k Digital Raster Graphic). Each scanned map is represented by a polygon in the layer and the...

  5. Horizontal Devonian shale well, Columbia Natural Resources, Inc. 's, Pocohontas Development Corp. Well 21747, Martin County, Kentucky

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koziar, G.; Ahmad, M.M.; Friend, L.L.; Friend, M.L.; Rothman, E.M.; Stollar, R.L. (Columbia Gas System Service Corp., Columbus, OH (United States))

    1991-05-01

    Columbia Gas and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have successfully completed field work on a horizontally drilled Devonian shale well located in Martin County, Kentucky. The objective of this cofunded project is to assess the effectiveness and economic feasibility of applying horizontal drilling and hydraulically fracturing stimulation techniques to enhance the extraction of natural gas from the Devonian shale. The well is comprised of three segments: a conventional vertical section, an angle build section and a horizontal section. The well reached a measured depth (MD) of 6263 feet, 3810 feet true vertical depth (TVD), with a horizontal displacement of 2812 feet achieved in the desired direction of N10{degrees}W. Both air and foam were used as drilling fluids. The vertical, lateral and tangent sections were drilled using conventional rotary drilling methods. Downhole motors were used to build angle. A total combined final open flow of 3.1 MMcfd was measured from all zones. Total well expenditures are approximately $1,460,000. Of this amount, $700,000 is directly related to the research and learning curve experience aspects. It is projected that the same horizontal well could be drilled with existing technology for $700,000. If advanced can be made in MWD systems for air drilling environments, wells of this type could be drilled routinely for $500,000. It appears that application of horizontal drilling will result in at least acceleration of gas production and possibly the addition of recoverable reserves from the Devonian shale. Production data, necessary to validate this statement, are also required to determine the economics. As we gain experience and technology advances, cost reductions will occur; this will result in economic improvement.

  6. Mechanical properties of unidirectional laminates with carbon fiber and epoxy resin DA4518U USG0540; Propiedades mecanicas de los laminados unidireccionales de fibra de carbono con resina epoxica DA4518U Y USG0540

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Melo, Monica I.; Rubio Gonzalez, Carlos; Del Llano Vizcaya, Luis [CIDESI. Centro de Ingenieria y Desarrollo Industrial Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico)]. E-mail: monica.sanchez.melo@gmail.com; crubio@cidesi.mx; lvizcaya@cidesi.mx

    2010-11-15

    In this paper, a study of the mechanical properties of composite materials with carbon fiber and epoxy resin DA4518U USG0540 is described, due to no such properties have been published to date, this study is performed. This work is developed at the Center for Engineering and Industrial Development (CIDESI). As a part of this research, the elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio and shear modulus are obtained both analytical and experimentally. Tests are performed to high cycle fatigue in both materials, and then these specimens are examined by ultrasound with the immersion technique in order to detect variations in material delamination, changes in obtain the attenuation and wave propagation. Finally, the tensional test to the specimen fatigue is repeated for changes in their mechanical properties. Also, a comparison is made between the results to determine which of those materials is more reliable for future applications in the aerospace industry. [Spanish] En este articulo se describe el estudio de las propiedades mecanicas de los materiales compuestos de fibra de carbono con resina epoxica DA4518U y USG0540, dicho estudio se lleva a cabo debido a que, a la fecha, no se han publicado tales propiedades, este trabajo se desarrollo en el Centro de Ingenieria y desarrollo Industrial (CIDESI). Como parte de esta investigacion, se obtienen analitica y experimentalmente el modulo de elasticidad, modulo de Poisson y modulo de corte. Tambien se realizan pruebas de fatiga a altos ciclos en ambos materiales, posteriormente estos especimenes se examinan por ultrasonido con la tecnica de inmersion para detectar variaciones en el material como delaminaciones, cambios de atenuacion y en la velocidad de propagacion de onda. Por ultimo se repite la prueba de tension a la probeta fatiga para conocer los cambios en sus propiedades mecanicas. Asi mismo se hace una comparacion entre los resultados obtenidos, para determinar cual material es mas confiable para futuras aplicaciones en la

  7. Peeking out of the basins: looking for the Late Devonian Kellwasser Event in the open ocean in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, southwestern Mongolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, R. M., Jr.; Carmichael, S. K.; Waters, J. A.; Batchelor, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Two of the top five most devastating mass extinctions in Earth's history occurred during the Late Devonian (419.2 Ma - 358.9 Ma), and are commonly associated with the black shale deposits of the Kellwasser and Hangenberg ocean anoxia events. Our understanding of these extinction events is incomplete partly due to sample bias, as 95% of the field sites studying the Late Devonian are limited to continental shelves and continental marine basins, and 77% of these sites are derived from the Euramerican paleocontinent. The Samnuuruul Formation at the Hoshoot Shiveetiin Gol locality (HSG), located in southwestern Mongolia, offers a unique opportunity to better understand global oceanic conditions during the Late Devonian. The HSG locality shows a continuous sequence of terrestrial to marine sediments on the East Junggar arc; an isolated, open-ocean island arc within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Samples from this near shore locality consist of volcanogenic silts, sands and immature conglomerates as well as calc-alkalic basalt lava flows. Offshore sections contain numerous limestones with Late Devonian fossil assemblages. Preliminary biostratigraphy of the associated marine and terrestrial sequences can only constrain the section to a general Late Devonian age, but TIMS analysis of detrital zircons from volcanogenic sediments from the Samnuuruul Formation in localities 8-50 km from the site suggests a late Frasnian age (375, 376 Ma). To provide a more precise radiometric age of the HSG locality, zircon geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) will be performed at UNC-Chapel Hill. If the HSG section crosses the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, geochemical, mineralogical, and ichnological signatures of the Kellwasser Event are expected to be preserved, if the Kellwasser Event was indeed global in scope (as suggested by Carmichael et al. (2014) for analogous sites on the West Junggar arc in the CAOB). Black shale

  8. Bibliography of the paleontology and paleoecology of the Devonian-Mississippian black-shale sequence in North America

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barron, L.S.; Ettensohn, F.R.

    1980-06-01

    The Devonian-Mississippian black-shale sequence is one of the most prominent and well-known stratigraphic horizons in the Paleozoic of the United States, yet the paleontology and its paleoecologic and paleoenvironmental implications are poorly known. This is in larger part related to the scarcity of fossils preserved in the shale - in terms of both diversity and abundance. Nonetheless, that biota which is preserved is well-known and much described, but there is little synthesis of this data. The first step in such a synthesis is the compilation of an inclusive bibliography such as this one. This bibliography contains 1193 entries covering all the major works dealing with Devonian-Mississippian black-shale paleontology and paleoecology in North America. Articles dealing with areas of peripheral interest, such as paleogeography, paleoclimatology, ocean circulation and chemistry, and modern analogues, are also cited. In the index, the various genera, taxonomic groups, and other general topics are cross-referenced to the cited articles. It is hoped that this compilation will aid in the synthesis of paleontologic and paleoecologic data toward a better understanding of these unique rocks and their role as a source of energy.

  9. SCROTAL SWELLING- EVALUATION BY HIGH FREQUENCY USG AND COLOUR DOPPLER STUDIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krishna Kumar Borah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND The aim of the study is to- 1. Study ultrasonographic and colour Doppler patterns of different causes of scrotal swelling (masses. 2. Asses the role of high frequency real time USG in differentiating testicular and extra testicular masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS A hospital-based cross-sectional study of 100 cases of scrotal pathology were studied over a period of 1 year from 1 st August, 2008, to 31 st July, 2009, in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, Assam Medical College Hospital at Dibrugarh. All the patients were subjected to grey scale high resolutions USG of scrotum and then scrotal colour Doppler study. Sonographic imaging was performed with Phillips HD-11 real time scanner by using 2.5-5 MHz curvilinear probe and 10 MHz linear transducer. RESULTS Out of 100 cases of scrotal swelling- 97% were benign, 3% were malignant. Among the benign lesions, 82% cases were extra testicular, 7% intratesticular, 8% are both intra and extra testicular in origin. 100% of all malignant lesions were intratesticular. Of the benign lesion- 40% hydrocele, 26% inflammatory lesions, 5% hernia, 6% varicocele, 4% traumatic, 5% cases epididymal cyst, 2% cases torsion. CONCLUSION High resolution, high frequency US and colour Doppler study of scrotum had the advantages of being noninvasiveness, lack of ionising radiation, wide availability, cost effectiveness and repeatability. It is accurate in differentiating testicular ischaemia and torsion, solid and cystic, benign and malignant mass. It is highly sensitive in demonstrating varicocele.

  10. Evolution of an intra-oceanic island arc during the late Silurian to late Devonian, New England fold belt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Offler, R.; Gamble, J.

    2002-01-01

    Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks in the Gamilaroi terrane and Calliope Volcanic Assemblage, New England Fold Belt, eastern Australia, indicate that the setting in which these rocks formed changed in both space and time. The Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian basalts of the Gamilaroi terrane show flat to slightly light rare-earth element (LREE) depleted chondrite normalised patterns, depletion of high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to N-MORB, low Ti/V and high Ti/Zr ratios, high Ni, Cr and large-ion lithophile element (LILE) contents, features characteristic of intra-oceanic island arc basaltic magmas. They are associated with low-K, less mafic volcanics, showing moderate LREE enrichment, low Nb and Y contents and Rb/Zr ratios. The depletion of HFSE in the basalts indicates that the magmas were derived from a refractory source in a supra-subduction zone setting. The presence of such a zone implies that the arc was associated with a backarc basin, the location of which was to the west where a wide backarc region existed from the Middle Silurian. This polarity of arc and backarc basin suggests that the subduction zone dipped to the west. In contrast to their older counterparts, Middle to Upper Devonian basalts of the Gamilaroi terrane have MORB-like chondrite normalised patterns and higher Ti and lower LILE contents. Moreover, they have low Ti/Zr ratios and MORB-like Ti/V ratios and HFSE contents, features typical of backarc basins. Dolerites of the Gamilaroi terrane also have predominantly backarc basin signatures. These features suggest that both the basalts and dolerites have been emplaced in an extensional environment produced during the rifting of the intra-oceanic island arc lithosphere. A progressive increase in Ti/V ratios, and TiO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 contents at constant MgO, of stratigraphically equivalent basalts, towards the north-northwest part of the belt, is consistent with either greater extension to the north or melting of a more fertile magma

  11. 2015 USGS-MDEQ Lidar: Coastal Mississippi QL2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This task is issued under USGS Contract No. G10PC00057, Task Order No. G15PD00091. This task order requires lidar data to be acquired over approximately 5981 square...

  12. USGS 1:24000 (7 1/2 Minute) Quadrangle Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Mathematically generated grid representing USGS 7 1/2 Minute Quadrangle Map outlines. Quadrangle names and standard identifiers are included with the data set.

  13. Continuous Groundwater Monitoring Collocated at USGS Streamgages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantz, J. E.; Eddy-Miller, C.; Caldwell, R.; Wheeer, J.; Barlow, J.

    2012-12-01

    USGS Office of Groundwater funded a 2-year pilot study collocating groundwater wells for monitoring water level and temperature at several existing continuous streamgages in Montana and Wyoming, while U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funded enhancement to streamgages in Mississippi. To increase spatial relevance with in a given watershed, study sites were selected where near-stream groundwater was in connection with an appreciable aquifer, and where logistics and cost of well installations were considered representative. After each well installation and surveying, groundwater level and temperature were easily either radio-transmitted or hardwired to existing data acquisition system located in streamgaging shelter. Since USGS field personnel regularly visit streamgages during routine streamflow measurements and streamgage maintenance, the close proximity of observation wells resulted in minimum extra time to verify electronically transmitted measurements. After field protocol was tuned, stream and nearby groundwater information were concurrently acquired at streamgages and transmitted to satellite from seven pilot-study sites extending over nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the central US from October 2009 until October 2011, for evaluating the scientific and engineering add-on value of the enhanced streamgage design. Examination of the four-parameter transmission from the seven pilot study groundwater gaging stations reveals an internally consistent, dynamic data suite of continuous groundwater elevation and temperature in tandem with ongoing stream stage and temperature data. Qualitatively, the graphical information provides appreciation of seasonal trends in stream exchanges with shallow groundwater, as well as thermal issues of concern for topics ranging from ice hazards to suitability of fish refusia, while quantitatively this information provides a means for estimating flux exchanges through the streambed via heat-based inverse-type groundwater modeling. In June

  14. STRONTIUM DISTRIBUTION IN UPPER DEVONIAN CONODONT ELEMENTS: A PALAEOBIOLOGICAL PROXY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANDREY V. ZHURAVLEV

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Conodonts are an extinct group of marine animals possessing debated affinities. The conodont elements are composed of calcium phosphate [apatite (CaF] and collagen-like proteins. Distribution of Sr in the bioapatite of albid, lamellar and paralamellar tissues of some Upper Devonian conodont element crowns from NW Russia was studied by microprobe. The calcium phosphate of the lamellar and paralamellar tissues demonstrates periodical oscillation of Sr contents across the lamellae (0.4-0.5 wt% in the outer part of lamella, and 0.2 wt% in the inner part. The albid tissue contains Sr of less than 0.4 wt%. It is suggested that oscillations of Sr concentrations reflect the periodic growth of the lamellae, and the average Ca/Sr ratio can be a proxy of the growth rate.

  15. Horizontal Devonian shale well, Columbia Natural Resources, Inc.`s, Pocohontas Development Corp. Well 21747, Martin County, Kentucky. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koziar, G.; Ahmad, M.M.; Friend, L.L.; Friend, M.L.; Rothman, E.M.; Stollar, R.L. [Columbia Gas System Service Corp., Columbus, OH (United States)

    1991-05-01

    Columbia Gas and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have successfully completed field work on a horizontally drilled Devonian shale well located in Martin County, Kentucky. The objective of this cofunded project is to assess the effectiveness and economic feasibility of applying horizontal drilling and hydraulically fracturing stimulation techniques to enhance the extraction of natural gas from the Devonian shale. The well is comprised of three segments: a conventional vertical section, an angle build section and a horizontal section. The well reached a measured depth (MD) of 6263 feet, 3810 feet true vertical depth (TVD), with a horizontal displacement of 2812 feet achieved in the desired direction of N10{degrees}W. Both air and foam were used as drilling fluids. The vertical, lateral and tangent sections were drilled using conventional rotary drilling methods. Downhole motors were used to build angle. A total combined final open flow of 3.1 MMcfd was measured from all zones. Total well expenditures are approximately $1,460,000. Of this amount, $700,000 is directly related to the research and learning curve experience aspects. It is projected that the same horizontal well could be drilled with existing technology for $700,000. If advanced can be made in MWD systems for air drilling environments, wells of this type could be drilled routinely for $500,000. It appears that application of horizontal drilling will result in at least acceleration of gas production and possibly the addition of recoverable reserves from the Devonian shale. Production data, necessary to validate this statement, are also required to determine the economics. As we gain experience and technology advances, cost reductions will occur; this will result in economic improvement.

  16. The USGS role in mapping the nation's submerged lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwab, Bill; Haines, John

    2004-01-01

    The seabed provides habitat for a diverse marine life having commercial, recreational, and intrinsic value. The habitat value of the seabed is largely a function of the geological structure and related geological, biological, oceanologic, and geochemical processes. Of equal importance, the nation's submerged lands contain energy and mineral resources and are utilized for the siting of offshore infrastructure and waste disposal. Seabed character and processes influence the safety and viability of offshore operations. Seabed and subseabed characterization is a prerequisite for the assessment, protection, and utilization of both living and non-living marine resources. A comprehensive program to characterize and understand the nation's submerged lands requires scientific expertise in the fields of geology, biology, hydrography, and oceanography. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has long experience as the Federal agency charged with conducting geologic research and mapping in both coastal and offshore regions. The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) leads the nation in expertise related to characterization of seabed and subseabed geology, geological processes, seabed dynamics, and (in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and international partners) habitat geoscience. Numerous USGS studies show that sea-floor geology and processes determine the character and distribution of biological habitats, control coastal evolution, influence the coastal response to storm events and human alterations, and determine the occurrence and concentration of natural resources.

  17. Strontium chemostratigraphy of carbonate sediments - Pilot study of Silurian and Devonian brachiopods from the Prague Basin

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Janoušek, V.; Hladil, Jindřich; Frýda, J.; Slavík, Ladislav; Šmíd, J.

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 13, - (2001), s. 68-69 ISSN 1210-9606. [Meeting of the Czech Tectonics Studies Group /6./. Donovaly - Nízké Tatry, 03.05.2001-06.05.2001] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK3012103 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : strontium chemostratigraphy * aquafacies * Devonian Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://geolines.gli.cas.cz/fileadmin/volumes/volume13/G13-068b.pdf

  18. USGS Topo Base Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Topo is a topographic tile cache base map that combines the most current data (Boundaries, Names, Transportation, Elevation, Hydrography, Land Cover, and other...

  19. USGS NAIPPlus Overlay Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS NAIP Plus service from The National Map consists of National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) and high resolution orthoimagery (HRO) that combine the...

  20. USGS Information Technology Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2007-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2006-01-01

    Introduction: The acquisition, management, communication, and long-term stewardship of natural science data, information, and knowledge are fundamental mission responsibilities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). USGS scientists collect, maintain, and exchange raw scientific data and interpret and analyze it to produce a wide variety of science-based products. Managers throughout the Bureau access, summarize, and analyze administrative or business-related information to budget, plan, evaluate, and report on programs and projects. Information professionals manage the extensive and growing stores of irreplaceable scientific information and knowledge in numerous databases, archives, libraries, and other digital and nondigital holdings. Information is the primary currency of the USGS, and it flows to scientists, managers, partners, and a wide base of customers, including local, State, and Federal agencies, private sector organizations, and individual citizens. Supporting these information flows is an infrastructure of computer systems, telecommunications equipment, software applications, digital and nondigital data stores and archives, technical expertise, and information policies and procedures. This infrastructure has evolved over many years and consists of tools and technologies acquired or built to address the specific requirements of particular projects or programs. Developed independently, the elements of this infrastructure were typically not designed to facilitate the exchange of data and information across programs or disciplines, to allow for sharing of information resources or expertise, or to be combined into a Bureauwide and broader information infrastructure. The challenge to the Bureau is to wisely and effectively use its information resources to create a more Integrated Information Environment that can reduce costs, enhance the discovery and delivery of scientific products, and improve support for science. This Information Technology Strategic Plan

  1. USGS global change science strategy: A framework for understanding and responding to climate and land-use change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkett, Virginia R.; Taylor, Ione L.; Belnap, Jayne; Cronin, Thomas M.; Dettinger, Michael D.; Frazier, Eldrich L.; Haines, John W.; Kirtland, David A.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Milly, Paul C.D.; O'Malley, Robin; Thompson, Robert S.

    2011-01-01

    This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Science Strategy expands on the Climate Variability and Change science component of the USGS 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: USGS Science in the Coming Decade” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Here we embrace the broad definition of global change provided in the U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–606,104 Stat. 3096–3104)—“Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life”—with a focus on climate and land-use change.There are three major characteristics of this science strategy. First, it addresses the science required to broadly inform global change policy, while emphasizing the needs of natural-resource managers and reflecting the role of the USGS as the science provider for the Department of the Interior and other resource-management agencies. Second, the strategy identifies core competencies, noting 10 critical capabilities and strengths the USGS uses to overcome key problem areas. We highlight those areas in which the USGS is a science leader, recognizing the strong partnerships and effective collaboration that are essential to address complex global environmental challenges. Third, it uses a query-based approach listing key research questions that need to be addressed to create an agenda for hypothesis-driven global change science organized under six strategic goals. Overall, the strategy starts from where we are, provides a vision for where we want to go, and then describes high-priority strategic actions, including outcomes, products, and partnerships that can get us there. Global change science is a well-defined research field with strong linkages to the ecosystems, water, energy and minerals, natural hazards, and environmental health components of the USGS Science Strategy

  2. 2010 USGS Lidar: Southeastern Michigan (Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee Counties)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: Lake Erie LiDAR Priority Area 1 LiDAR Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task- Jackson, Hillsdale, and Lenawee Counties USGS Contract No....

  3. Characterizing contaminant concentrations with depth by using the USGS well profiler in Oklahoma, 2003-9

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, S. Jerrod; Becker, Carol J.

    2011-01-01

    Since 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Oklahoma Water Science Center has been using the USGS well profiler to characterize changes in water contribution and contaminant concentrations with depth in pumping public-supply wells in selected aquifers. The tools and methods associated with the well profiler, which were first developed by the USGS California Water Science Center, have been used to investigate common problems such as saline water intrusion in high-yield irrigation wells and metals contamination in high-yield public-supply wells.

  4. Science and the storms: The USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farris, G. S.; Smith, G.J.; Crane, M.P.; Demas, C.R.; Robbins, L.L.; Lavoie, D.L.

    2007-01-01

    This report is designed to give a view of the immediate response of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to four major hurricanes of 2005: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Some of this response took place days after the hurricanes; other responses included fieldwork and analysis through the spring. While hurricane science continues within the USGS, this overview of work following these hurricanes reveals how a Department of the Interior bureau quickly brought together a diverse array of its scientists and technologies to assess and analyze many hurricane effects. Topics vary from flooding and water quality to landscape and ecosystem impacts, from geotechnical reconnaissance to analyzing the collapse of bridges and estimating the volume of debris. Thus, the purpose of this report is to inform the American people of the USGS science that is available and ongoing in regard to hurricanes. It is the hope that such science will help inform the decisions of those citizens and officials tasked with coastal restoration and planning for future hurricanes. Chapter 1 is an essay establishing the need for science in building a resilient coast. The second chapter includes some hurricane facts that provide hurricane terminology, history, and maps of the four hurricanes’ paths. Chapters that follow give the scientific response of USGS to the storms. Both English and metric measurements are used in the articles in anticipation of both general and scientific audiences in the United States and elsewhere. Chapter 8 is a compilation of relevant ongoing and future hurricane work. The epilogue marks the 2-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. An index of authors follows the report to aid in finding articles that are cross-referenced within the report. In addition to performing the science needed to understand the effects of hurricanes, USGS employees helped in the rescue of citizens by boat and through technology by “geoaddressing” 911 calls after Katrina and Rita so that other

  5. Environmental conditions as the cause of the great mass extinction of marine organisms in the Late Devonian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barash, M. S.

    2017-08-01

    During the Late Devonian extinction, 70-82% of all marine species disappeared. The main causes of this mass extinction include tectonic activity, climate and sea-level fluctuations, volcanism, and the collision of the Earth with cosmic bodies (impact events). The major causes are considered to be volcanism accompanying formation of the Viluy traps and, probably, basaltic magmatism in the Southern Urals, alkaline magmatism within the East European platform, and volcanism in northern Iran and northern and southern China. Several large impact craters of Late Devonian age have been documented in different parts of the world. The available data indicate that this time period on the Earth was marked by two major sequences of events: terrestrial events that resulted in extensive volcanism and cosmic (or impact) events. They produced similar effects such as emissions of harmful chemical compounds and aerosols to cause greenhouse warming and the darkening of the atmosphere, which prevented photosynthesis and cause ocean stagnation and anoxia. This disrupted the food chain and reduced ecosystem productivity. As a result, all vital processes were disturbed and a large part of the marine biota became extinct.

  6. Toward an exact age of Middle Devonian Čelechovice corals - past problems in biostratigraphy and present solutions complemented by new magnetosusceptibility measurements

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hladil, Jindřich; Pruner, Petr; Venhodová, Daniela; Hladilová, T.; Man, Otakar

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 7, - (2002), s. 65-71 ISSN 0945-7275 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA3013802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : magnetosusceptibility stratigraphy * Devonian * Moravia Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy

  7. Geological investigation of shaft mine in Devonian limestone in Kansas City, Missouri and other potentially dry excavated subsurface space in part of the Forest City Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goebel, E.D.

    1977-10-01

    A high quality limestone is currently being mined from a deep shaft mine (1072 feet) in Middle Devonian rocks (Callaway) within the city limits of Kansas City, Missouri. About 15 acres of essentially dry space (room and pillar) with up to 14-foot ceilings have been developed. There are few natural joints observable in the rock within the mine. Some of these are periodically damp. More than 80% of the mine is dry. Saltwater from aquifers (Pennsylvanian) cut by the shaft accumulates behind the shaft at the pump station at 850 feet and at the bottom of the shaft (Devonian-Ordovician rocks). As long as the pumps lift the water to the surface, the mine can be kept relatively dry. Grouting of the aquifer's rocks in the shaft may seal off that source of water. The Burlington limestone of the Mississippian System is potentially mineable on the property now developed. The Burlington limestone, the Middle Devonian limestone, and the Kimmswick (Middle Ordovician) limestone are all potentially mineable by shaft mining in the northern part of Greater Kansas City and northward into the Forest City Basin.

  8. Questioning hagfish affinities of the enigmatic Devonian vertebrate Palaeospondylus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johanson, Zerina; Smith, Moya; Sanchez, Sophie; Senden, Tim; Trinajstic, Kate; Pfaff, Cathrin

    2017-07-01

    Palaeospondylus gunni Traquair, 1890 is an enigmatic Devonian vertebrate whose taxonomic affinities have been debated since it was first described. Most recently, Palaeospondylus has been identified as a stem-group hagfish (Myxinoidea). However, one character questioning this assignment is the presence of three semicircular canals in the otic region of the cartilaginous skull, a feature of jawed vertebrates. Additionally, new tomographic data reveal that the following characters of crown-group gnathostomes (chondrichthyans + osteichthyans) are present in Palaeospondylus: a longer telencephalic region of the braincase, separation of otic and occipital regions by the otico-occipital fissure, and vertebral centra. As well, a precerebral fontanelle and postorbital articulation of the palatoquadrate are characteristic of certain chondrichthyans. Similarities in the structure of the postorbital process to taxa such as Pucapampella, and possible presence of the ventral cranial fissure, both support a resolution of Pa. gunni as a stem chondrichthyan. The internally mineralized cartilaginous skeleton in Palaeospondylus may represent a stage in the loss of bone characteristic of the Chondrichthyes.

  9. USGS Transportation Overlay Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Transportation service from The National Map (TNM) is based on TIGER/Line data provided through U.S. Census Bureau and road data from U.S. Forest Service....

  10. 2014 USGS CMGP Lidar: Post Sandy (Long Island, NY)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: Long Island New York Sandy LIDAR lidar Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No. G14PD00296 Woolpert...

  11. Professional Development for Graduate Students through Internships at Federal Labs: an NSF/USGS Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snow, E.; Jones, E.; Patino, L. C.; Wasserman, E.; Isern, A. R.; Davies, T.

    2016-12-01

    In 2013 the White House initiated an effort to coordinate STEM education initiatives across federal agencies. This idea spawned several important collaborations, one of which is a set of National Science Foundation programs designed to place graduate students in federal labs for 2-12 months of their Ph.D. training. The Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP) and the Graduate Student Preparedness program (GSP) each have the goal of exposing PhD students to the federal work environment while expanding their research tools and mentoring networks. Students apply for supplementary support to their Graduate Research Fellowship (GRIP) or their advisor's NSF award (GSP). These programs are available at several federal agencies; the USGS is one partner. At the U.S. Geological Survey, scientists propose projects, which students can find online by searching USGS GRIP, or students and USGS scientists can work together to develop a research project. At NSF, projects are evaluated on both the scientific merit and the professional development opportunities they afford the student. The career development extends beyond the science (new techniques, data, mentors) into the professional activity of writing the proposal, managing the budget, and working in a new and different environment. The USGS currently has 18 GRIP scholars, including Madeline Foster-Martinez, a UC Berkeley student who spent her summer as a GRIP fellow at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center working with USGS scientist Jessica Lacy. Madeline's Ph.D. work is on salt marshes and she has studied geomorphology, accretion, and gas transport using a variety of research methods. Her GRIP fellowship allowed her to apply new data-gathering tools to the question of sediment delivery to the marsh, and build and test a model for sediment delivery along marsh edges. In addition, she gained professional skills by collaborating with a new team of scientists, running a large-scale field deployment, and

  12. 50 CFR Table 1 to Subpart H of... - Pacific Salmon EFH Identified by USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pacific Salmon EFH Identified by USGS... 660—Pacific Salmon EFH Identified by USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) USGS HUC State(s) Hydrologic Unit... 18010206 CA/OR Upper Klamath River Chinook and coho salmon Iron Gate Dam 18010207 CA Shasta River Chinook...

  13. USGS considers moving Menlo Park programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has instructed the U.S. Geological Survey to examine options to relocate staff and programs at the agency's 16-acre Menlo Park Facilities within 5 years. The agency was directed on August 21 to submit a preliminary action plan by September 25.A memo from USGS Director Gordon Eaton states that Babbitt is concerned about high real estate costs in the Menlo Park area and the need for the agency to locate near other Interior and federal offices.

  14. Zircon dating of Devonian-Carboniferous rocks from the Bombala area, New South Wales

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sircombe, K.N.; McQueen, K.G.

    2000-01-01

    Zircons from two igneous and two sedimentary units in the Bombala area of southeastern New South Wales have been examined by the sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) to establish a time frame in which to interpret these rocks. Previous studies have correlated these rocks with Late Devonian units of the south coast, solely upon the basis of stratigraphy and lithology as palaeontological evidence was absent. The two igneous units are the Hospital Porphyry and Paradise Porphyry occurring beneath the sedimentary units. Both give a Frasnian age that can be correlated with the Boyd Volcanic Complex. The sedimentary samples are from the basal and upper sections of the Rosemeath Formation, a fluvial 'redbed' consisting of conglomerate, coarse sandstone, and associated red siltstone and mudstone. Detrital zircons from the basal conglomeratic section at Kilbrechin indicate a dominant provenance from local Silurian granites and volcanics and a maximum depositional age that can be correlated with the Frasnian-Famennian Merrimbula Group. However, detrital zircons from the upper coarse sandstone section of the Rosemeath Formation at Endeavour Lookout challenge the positive correlation trend with a lack of Silurian-age grains and a presence of grains ranging from Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous in age. These results imply either that the south coast correlation is not valid for the upper sequences, or that the Merrimbula Group sequences also extend upward into the Carboniferous. The general coarseness of the Rosemeath Formation also suggests a relatively local provenance. No Early Carboniferous source is known in the immediate vicinity suggesting that Early Carboniferous igneous activity in this region of the Lachlan Orogen may have been more extensive than is currently realised. Copyright (1999) Geological Society of Australia

  15. The morphogroups of small agglutinated foraminifera from the Devonian carbonate complex of the Prague Synform, (Barrandian area, Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Holcová, K.; Slavík, Ladislav

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 386, č. 5 (2013), s. 210-214 ISSN 0031-0182 Grant - others:Rada Programu interní podpory projektů mezinárodní spolupráce AV ČR(CZ) M100131201 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Barrandian area * Early Devonian * foraminifera * morphogroups Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.752, year: 2013

  16. The sedimentary record and petrophysical logs from the Spanish Central Pyrenees: Implications for paleoclimate change in the Early Devonian

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Slavík, Ladislav; Valenzuela-Ríos, J. I.; Hladil, Jindřich; Chadimová, Leona; Liao, J-Ch.; Hušková, Aneta; Calvo, H.; Hrstka, Tomáš

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 21, - (2015), s. 350-350 ISSN 1608-8166. [International Congress on Stratigraphy /2./. STRATI 2015. 19.07.2015-23.07.2015, Graz] Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : stratigraphy * Early Devonian * sedimentary record * paleoclimate change * Spanish Central Pyrenees Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Ber-Inst-Erdwiss-Univ-Graz_21_0001-0437.pdf

  17. A Porolepiform Rhipidistian from the Lower Devonian of the Canadian Arctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.-P. Schultze

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available A holoptychiid fish is described from the Lower Devonian of Arctic Canada. The new form is distinct from other holoptychiids by the presence of a large supraorbital bone and a boomerang-shaped tabular. Nasogaluakus n. gen. is the oldest and most primitive holoptychiid based on a phylogenetic analysis of porolepiforms and their closest relatives. The sequence of the genera corresponds to their stratigraphic appearance. Ein Holoptychiide aus dem Unterdevon der kanadischen Arktis wird beschrieben. Er unterscheidet sich durch ein großes Supraorbitale und die Bumerang-Form des Tabulare von allen übrigen Holoptychiiden. Nasogaluakus n. gen. ist der älteste und primitivste Holoptychiide, was durch eine phylogenetische Analyse der Porolepiformes belegt wird. Die Abfolge der Gattungen in diesem Verwandtschaftsschema stimmt mit ihrem zeitlichen Auftreten überein. doi:10.1002/mmng.20000030106

  18. 2013 USGS-NRCS Lidar: Maine (Cumberland, Kennebec and York)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — TASK NAME: NRCS Maine 0.7M NPS LIDAR LiDAR Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No. G13PD00954 Woolpert Order No....

  19. Impact Ejecta Layer from the Mid-Devonian: Possible Connection to Global Mass Extinctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellwood, Brooks B.; Benoist, Stephen L.; Hassani, Ahmed El; Wheeler, Christopher; Crick, Rex E.

    2003-06-01

    We have found evidence for a bolide impacting Earth in the mid-Devonian (~380 million years ago), including high concentrations of shocked quartz, Ni, Cr, As, V, and Co anomalies; a large negative carbon isotope shift (-9 per mil); and microspherules and microcrysts at Jebel Mech Irdane in the Anti Atlas desert near Rissani, Morocco. This impact is important because it is coincident with a major global extinction event (Kacák/otomari event), suggesting a possible cause-and-effect relation between the impact and the extinction. The result may represent the extinction of as many as 40% of all living marine animal genera.

  20. USGS Hydro-Climatic Data Network 2009 (HCDN-2009)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lins, Harry F.

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) is a subset of all USGS streamgages for which the streamflow primarily reflects prevailing meteorological conditions for specified years. These stations were screened to exclude sites where human activities, such as artificial diversions, storage, and other activities in the drainage basin or the stream channel, affect the natural flow of the watercourse. In addition, sites were included in the network because their record length was sufficiently long for analysis of patterns in streamflow over time. The purpose of the network is to provide a streamflow dataset suitable for analyzing hydrologic variations and trends in a climatic context. When originally published, the network was composed of 1,659 stations (Slack and Landwehr, 1992) for which the years of primarily "natural" flow were identified. Since then data from the HCDN have been widely used and cited in climate-related hydrologic investigations of the United States. The network has also served as a model for establishing climate-sensitive streamgage networks in other countries around the world.

  1. Silurian and Devonian source rocks and crude oils from the western part of Libya: Organic geochemistry, palynology and carbon stratigraphy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elkelani, Mohamed M.A.

    2015-01-01

    The Early Silurian “hot” shales and Late Devonian black shales are major regional oil and gas source rocks in North Africa. Their deposition probably played a major role in global carbon cycling in general because of the large areas of the ocean affected. Comparing the Libyan δ13C record with

  2. A microanatomical and histological study of the postcranial dermal skeleton of the Devonian actinopterygian Cheirolepis canadensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise Zylberberg

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The Devonian stem-actinoterygian Cheirolepis canadensis is potentially important to understand the evolution of the dermal skeleton of osteichthyans, but the last detailed histological study on this taxon was published more than forty years ago. Here, we present new data about the morphology and the histological structure of scales, fulcra, and fin-rays in the Devonian actinopterygian Cheirolepis canadensis through SEM and photomicroscopy. The scales have a typical palaeoniscoid organisation, with ganoine layers overlaying dentine and a bony basal plate, but the ganoine surface lacks the characteristic microtubercles that have been described on the ganoine surface of the scales of polypterids and many other actinopterygians. Fin-rays are composed of segmented and ramified lepidotrichia that show a structure reminiscent of scales, with ganoine and dentine components lying on a thick bony base. We describe articular processes between lepidotrichia that are reminiscent of, and plausibly homologous with, the peg-and-socket articulations between the scales. The analysis of the postcranial dermal skeleton of Cheirolepis canadensis shows that structural similarities between scales and lepidotrichia of this basal actinopterygian are greater than in more recent actinopterygians. The new data on histological and microanatomical structure of the dermal skeleton lend additional support to the hypothesis that lepidotichia are derivatives of scales, though they are also compatible with the more general hypothesis that scales, lepidotrichia and fulcra belong to the same morphogenetic system.

  3. Stratigraphy and facies development of the marine Late Devonian near the Boulongour Reservoir, northwest Xinjiang, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttner, Thomas J.; Kido, Erika; Chen, Xiuqin; Mawson, Ruth; Waters, Johnny A.; Frýda, Jiří; Mathieson, David; Molloy, Peter D.; Pickett, John; Webster, Gary D.; Frýdová, Barbora

    2014-02-01

    Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous stratigraphic units within the 'Zhulumute' Formation, Hongguleleng Formation (stratotype), 'Hebukehe' Formation and the Heishantou Formation near the Boulongour Reservoir in northwestern Xinjiang are fossil-rich. The Hongguleleng and 'Hebukehe' formations are biostratigraphically well constrained by microfossils from the latest Frasnian linguiformis to mid-Famennian trachytera conodont biozones. The Hongguleleng Formation (96.8 m) is characterized by bioclastic argillaceous limestones and marls (the dominant facies) intercalated with green spiculitic calcareous shales. It yields abundant and highly diverse faunas of bryozoans, brachiopods and crinoids with subordinate solitary rugose corals, ostracods, trilobites, conodonts and other fish teeth. The succeeding 'Hebukehe' Formation (95.7 m) consists of siltstones, mudstones, arenites and intervals of bioclastic limestone (e.g. 'Blastoid Hill') and cherts with radiolarians. A diverse ichnofauna, phacopid trilobites, echinoderms (crinoids and blastoids) together with brachiopods, ostracods, bryozoans and rare cephalopods have been collected from this interval. Analysis of geochemical data, microfacies and especially the distribution of marine organisms, which are not described in detail here, but used for facies analysis, indicate a deepening of the depositional environment at the Boulongour Reservoir section. Results presented here concern mainly the sedimentological and stratigraphical context of the investigated section. Additionally, one Late Devonian palaeo-oceanic and biotic event, the Upper Kellwasser Event is recognized near the section base.

  4. National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) - USGS National Map Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map (TNM) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes...

  5. USGS Imagery Topo Base Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Imagery Topo is a topographic tile cache base map with orthoimagery as a backdrop, and combines the most current data (Boundaries, Names, Transportation,...

  6. How Reducing was the Late Devonian Ocean? The Role of Extensive Expansion of Anoxia in Marine Biogeochemical Cycles of Redox Sensitive Metals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahoo, S. K.; Jin, H.

    2017-12-01

    The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical cycles is intimately linked to the oxygenation of the oceans and atmosphere. The Late Devonian is no exception as its characterized with mass extinction and severe euxinia. Here we use concentrations of Molybdenum (Mo), Vanadium (V), Uranium (U) and Chromium (Cr) in organic rich black shales from the Lower Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, to explore the relationship between extensive anoxia vs. euxinia and it's relation with massive release of oxygen in the ocean atmosphere system. XRF data from 4 core across the basin shows that modern ocean style Mo, U and Cr enrichments are observed throughout the Lower Bakken Formation, yet V is not enriched until later part of the formation. Given the coupling between redox-sensitive-trace element cycles and ocean redox, various models for Late Devonian ocean chemistry imply different effects on the biogeochemical cycling of major and trace nutrients. Here, we examine the differing redox behavior of molybdenum and vanadium under an extreme anoxia and relatively low extent of euxinia. The model suggests that Late Devonian was perhaps extensively anoxic- 40-50% compared to modern seafloor area, and a very little euxinia. Mo enrichments extend up to 500 p.p.m. throughout the section, representative of a modern reducing ocean. However, coeval low V enrichments only support towards anoxia, where anoxia is a source of V, and a sink for Mo. Our model suggests that the oceanic V reservoir is extremely sensitive to perturbations in the extent of anoxic condition, particularly during post glacial times.

  7. Stratigraphy and facies of the Nocedo, Fueyo and Ermita formations (Upper Devonian to lowermost Carboniferous) in León, N Spain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loevezijn, van G.B.S.

    1986-01-01

    The Asturo-Leonese Basin is one of the three large palaeogeographical units of the Cantabrian Zone. In the north the basin is bounded by the Asturian Geanticline and the Palencian Basin. In the south the Palaeozoic succession is covered by Mesozoic and Tertiairy deposits. The Upper Devonian to

  8. A global cyclostratigraphic framework constrains the timing and pacing of environmental changes over the Late Devonian (Frasnian - Famennian) mass extinction

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Vleeschouwer, David; Da Silva, Anne-Christine; Day, James E.; Whalen, Michael; Claeys, Philippe

    2016-04-01

    Milankovitch cycles (obliquity, eccentricity and precession) result in changes in the distribution of solar energy over seasons, as well as over latitudes, on time scales of ten thousands of years to millions of years. These changing patterns in insolation have induced significant variations in Earth's past climate over the last 4.5 billion years. Cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology utilize the geologic imprint of such quasi-cyclic climatic variations to measure geologic time. In recent years, major improvements of the Geologic Time Scale have been proposed through the application of cyclostratigraphy, mostly for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic (Gradstein et al., 2012). However, the field of Paleozoic cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology is still in its infancy and the application of cyclostratigraphic techniques in the Paleozoic allows for a whole new range of research questions. For example, unraveling the timing and pacing of environmental changes over the Late Devonian mass extinction on a 105-year time-scale concerns such a novel research question. Here, we present a global cyclostratigraphic framework for late Frasnian to early Famennian climatic and environmental change, through the integration of globally distributed sections. The backbone of this relative time scale consists of previously published cyclostratigraphies for western Canada and Poland (De Vleeschouwer et al., 2012; De Vleeschouwer et al., 2013). We elaborate this Euramerican base by integrating new proxy data -interpreted in terms of astronomical climate forcing- from the Iowa basin (USA, magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope data) and Belgium (XRF and carbon isotope data). Next, we expand this well-established cyclostratigraphic framework towards the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, using magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope records from the Fuhe section in South China (Whalen et al., 2015). The resulting global cyclostratigraphic framework implies an important refinement of the late Frasnian to

  9. Devonian micritic limestones used in the historic production of Prague hydraulic lime (‘pasta di Praga’: characterization of the raw material and experimental laboratory burning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kozlovcev, P.

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The Devonian micritic limestones from the Prague Basin (Barrandian area, Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic, which were the primary raw material used for natural hydraulic lime burned in Prague, exhibit a feebly to eminently hydraulic character. Based on a laboratory experimental study, the burned product is composed of dominant free-lime (CaO and/or portlandite (Ca(OH2, larnite-belite (bicalcium silicate 2CaO.SiO2, and quartz (SiO2 - i.e. phases formed due to the decomposition of carbonate and quartz, present in the original limestones. Proportions of the newly formed phases depend on: the composition of the raw material, maximum burning temperature (the highest amount of larnite-belite appearing at a burning temperature of 1200 °C, and the granulometry of the experimental batches (a coarsely-ground batch exhibited a higher amount of larnite-belite compared to the finely-ground one. The presence of minor phyllosilicates in the raw material contributed to the formation of gehlenite, brownmillerite, wollastonite, calcium aluminate, and/or spurrite.Las calizas micríticas devonianas provenientes de la Cuenca de Praga (área de Barrand, macizo de Bohemia, República checa que fueron la principal materia prima utilizada para la producción de la cal hidráulica natural calcinada en Praga, presentan un carácter hidráulico desde débil hasta alto. El estudio experimental de laboratorio, ha determinado que el producto calcinado está compuesto de cal viva (CaO como componente predominante y/o cal hidratada (Ca(OH2, larnita-belita (silicato bicálcico 2CaO.SiO2 y cuarzo (SiO2 – es decir, fases formadas como resultado de la descomposición de carbonato y cuarzo presentes en las calizas originales. Las proporciones de las nuevas fases formadas dependen de: la composición de la materia prima, temperatura máxima de calcinación (la mayor cantidad de larnita-belita se produce a la temperatura de calcinación de 1200 °C, y la granulometría de las

  10. Environmental changes close to the Lower-Middle Devonian boundary; the Basal Choteč Event in the Prague Basin (Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vodrážková, S.; Frýda, J.; Suttner, T. J.; Koptíková, Leona; Tonarová, P.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 59, č. 2 (2013), s. 425-449 ISSN 0172-9179 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP210/10/2351 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Basal Choteč Event * carbon isotope geochemistry * environmental changes * Lower-Middle Devonian * microfacies analysis * Prague Basin Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.338, year: 2013

  11. USGS Elevation Contours Overlay Map Service from The National Map

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    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Elevation Contours service from The National Map (TNM) consists of contours generated for the conterminous United States from 1- and 1/3 arc-second...

  12. USGS NAIP Imagery Overlay Map Service from The National Map

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    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS NAIP Imagery service from The National Map (TNM) consists of high resolution images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the...

  13. New morphological information on, and species of placoderm fish Africanaspis (Arthrodira, Placodermi from the Late Devonian of South Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert W Gess

    Full Text Available Here we present a new species of placoderm fish, Africanaspis edmountaini sp. nov., and redescribe Africanaspis doryssa on the basis of new material collected from the type locality of Africanaspis. The new material includes the first head shields of Africanaspis doryssa in addition to soft anatomy for both taxa. Hitherto Africanaspis was entirely described from trunk armour and no record of body and fin outlines had been recorded. In addition the first record of embryonic and juvenile specimens of Africanaspis doryssa is presented and provides a growth series from presumed hatchlings to presumed adults. The presence of a greater number of juveniles compared to adults indicates that the Waterloo Farm fossil site in South Africa represents the first nursery site of arthrodire placoderms known from a cold water environment. The preservation of an ontogenetic series demonstrates that variation within the earlier known sample, initially considered to have resulted from ontogenetic change, instead indicates the presence of a second, less common species Africanaspis edmountaini sp. nov. There is some faunal overlap between the Waterloo Farm fossil site and faunas described from Strud in Belgium and Red Hill, Pennsylvania, in north America, supporting the concept of a more cosmopolitan vertebrate fauna in the Famennian than earlier in the Devonian.

  14. New morphological information on, and species of placoderm fish Africanaspis (Arthrodira, Placodermi) from the Late Devonian of South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Here we present a new species of placoderm fish, Africanaspis edmountaini sp. nov., and redescribe Africanaspis doryssa on the basis of new material collected from the type locality of Africanaspis. The new material includes the first head shields of Africanaspis doryssa in addition to soft anatomy for both taxa. Hitherto Africanaspis was entirely described from trunk armour and no record of body and fin outlines had been recorded. In addition the first record of embryonic and juvenile specimens of Africanaspis doryssa is presented and provides a growth series from presumed hatchlings to presumed adults. The presence of a greater number of juveniles compared to adults indicates that the Waterloo Farm fossil site in South Africa represents the first nursery site of arthrodire placoderms known from a cold water environment. The preservation of an ontogenetic series demonstrates that variation within the earlier known sample, initially considered to have resulted from ontogenetic change, instead indicates the presence of a second, less common species Africanaspis edmountaini sp. nov. There is some faunal overlap between the Waterloo Farm fossil site and faunas described from Strud in Belgium and Red Hill, Pennsylvania, in north America, supporting the concept of a more cosmopolitan vertebrate fauna in the Famennian than earlier in the Devonian. PMID:28379973

  15. USGS Hill Shade Base Map Service from The National Map

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    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Hill Shade (or Shaded Relief) is a tile cache base map created from the National Elevation Dataset (NED), a seamless dataset of best available raster elevation...

  16. USGS 1:12000 (Quarter 7 1/2 Minute) Quadrangle Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This is a mathematically generated grid in which each polygon represents one quarter of a standard USGS 7 1/2 minute quadrangle. The result is a 3 3/4 minute...

  17. UPPER FRASNIAN (UPPER DEVONIAN POLYGNATHUS AND ICRIODUS CONODONTS FROM THE BAHRAM FORMATION, HUR SECTION, KERMAN PROVINCE, SOUTHEASTERN IRAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TAYEBEH AHMADI

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Conodont fauna from the Upper Devonian (Frasnian Bahram Formation at the Hur section, north of Kerman, southeast Iran, is dominated by species of Icriodus and Polygnathus. This fauna allowed discrimination of two biointervals from the Lower rhenana Zone to an Upper rhenana-linguiformis interval. The age of the lower part of the studied section is tentatively considered to be older than the Lower rhenana Zone. 

  18. Studi Penentuan Kecepatan Aliran Darah dan Frekuensi Terimaan Pasien Atherosclerosis Menggunakan USG Color Doppler

    OpenAIRE

    Mulyani, Emba

    2014-01-01

    Jurnal Fisika Medik Studi Penentuan Kecepatan Aliran Darah dan Frekuensi Terimaan Pasien Atherosclerosis Menggunakan USG Color Doppler Mulyani H211 08 507 Pembimbing Utama Sri Dewi Astuty Ilyas,Ssi, Msi Nip.19750513 199903 2 001 Pembimbing Pertama Dahlang Tahir, Msi, Ph.D Nip.19750907 200003 1 001 ABSTRACT Research about Study of determination blood speed of current and freq uency give patient atherosclero sis uses plane USG Color Doppler had be...

  19. Association between catastrophic paleovegetation changes during Devonian-Carboniferous boundary and the formation of giant massive sulfide deposits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menor-Salván, Cesar; Tornos, Fernando; Fernández-Remolar, David; Amils, Ricardo

    2010-11-01

    The Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Iberia) is one of the largest sulfur anomalies in the Earth's crust. In the southern Iberian Pyrite Belt, more than 820 Mt of exhalative massive sulfides were deposited in less than one million years at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. The shale of the ore-bearing horizon contains biomarkers indicating major biogenic activity in a methanogenic setting, including a five-fold increase in typical vascular plant biomarkers and a significant anomaly in those probably indicating the presence of thermophilic Archaea. This contrasts with signatures in the average sedimentary rocks of the basin that indicate the sediments settled in oxic to sub-oxic environments, and that they have only minor biomarkers derived from continental paleoflora. These data show that the formation of the mineralization was not only related to major hydrothermal activity synchronous with volcanism but may also have been controlled by the input of large amounts of organic matter, mostly derived from the degradation of woodland detritus sourced in the nearby continent. This massive influx of organic matter could have accelerated extremophilic microbial activity that used short-chain hydrocarbons as electron donors for seawater sulfate reduction, resulting in concomitant massive sulfide precipitation. We propose that the giant massive sulfide deposits resulted from overlapping of geological and biological processes that occurred at the Devonian to Carboniferous transition, including: (1) continent collision during the onset of the Variscan orogeny leading to major paleogeographic changes and volcanism; (2) dramatic stress of continental ecosystems due to the combination of climatic change, volcanism, variations in the sea level and erosion on a regional scale; (3) major biomass destruction and increase of organic supply to marine environments; and, (4) generation of anoxic conditions and the thriving of sulfate reducing microorganisms. Under these conditions, massive

  20. Petrogenesis of the postcollisional Middle Devonian monzonitic to granitic magmatism of the Sierra de San Luis, Argentina

    Science.gov (United States)

    López de Luchi, Mónica G.; Siegesmund, Siegfried; Wemmer, Klaus; Nolte, Nicole

    2017-09-01

    Middle Devonian granitoids intruded the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas basement ca. 600 km east of the inferred proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana along which a ca. 390 Ma collisional event developed. In the Sierra de San Luis, voluminous Middle Devonian (393-382 Ma) batholiths are composed of I- to A-type hybrid Monzonite and Granite suites. Shoshonite and subordinated high-K series, stocks, synplutonic dikes and enclaves make up the Monzonite Suite; rocks are metaluminous alkali-calcic magnesian porphyritic or equigranular monzonite, quartz monzonite, monzodiorite and scarce monzogabbro. High-K and subordinated shoshonite series metaluminous to mildly peraluminous magnesian alkali-calcic to calc-alkalic porphyritic or equigranular quartz monzonite, granodiorite, monzogranite and equigranular leucomonzogranites make up the Granite Suite plutons and batholiths. Only a small group of highly evolved granites are ferroan. SiO2 (46-62%), Cr, Ni, V, Sc, LILE, LREE, Th, Zr and variable, Sr/Y, (La/Yb)N and (Tb/Yb)N, smooth Eu/Eu*, moderate Na2O (ca 3.5), and troughs at Nb and Ta for Monzonite Suite rocks suggest an subduction-related enriched lithospheric mantle source. Sm-Nd data (TDM 0.98-1.08 Ga, εNd(380 Ma) 0.66-1.47) and 87Sr/86Sri (0.703520-0.704203) are compatible with an enriched mantle source. The metaluminous porphyritic quartz monzonite-monzogranite and the mildly peraluminous equigranular biotite monzogranites of the Granite Suite are characterized by relatively moderate Al2O3, CaO, and 87Sr/86Sri, high LILE, Cr, variable Sr/Y, (La/Yb)N and Eu/Eu* and low Rb/Sr ( 1.5, ASI 1.05-1.18, and Ga/Al 2.6-3.9, εNd(380 Ma) - 3.74 to - 3.95 and (87Sr/86Sr)i 0.710743-0.712955 which would point to metasedimentary or felsic igneous crustal sources. Nevertheless their TDM 1.36-1.38 Ga is considerably younger than the mean 1.8-1.6 Ga Eastern Sierras Pampeanas crustal residence age and less radiogenic. Middle Devonian magmatism would record an episode of crustal growth by enriched

  1. Sequence stratigraphy from ``spot'' outcrops—example from a carbonate-dominated setting: Devonian-Carboniferous transition, Dinant synclinorium (Belgium)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Steenwinkel, M.

    1990-12-01

    The application of sequence stratigraphy appears to be perfectly valid in isolated "spot" outcrops, which usually are badly exposed and located in areas of strong tectonic overprint. The case study presented here is in a carbonate-dominated setting at the northern edge of the Cornwall-Rhenish basin, during latest Devonian and earliest Carboniferous times. The approach taken involved the analysis of facies and vertical facies evolutions, in combination with detailed biostratigraphy. The subsequent deduction of deepening and shallowing events, and the understanding of the sedimentary response to these events in different palaeogeographical positions, are the basis for lateral correlation of facies sequences. A similar trend in the changes of deepenings and shallowings throughout the area, regardless of lateral facies differentiation, indicates a relationship between bathymetric changes and relative sea-level changes, that is independent of local differences in the sedimentation or subsidence rates. The studied stratigraphic interval, with its apparently "abrupt" changes in facies or lithology, is the sedimentary response to six, gradually changing trends in the rate of relative sea-level fall and rise. End-Devonian, offshore highstand deposits (1) are capped by an unconformity surface or by a surface of submarine erosion and nondeposition, representing a sequence boundary (2). The overlying lowstand unit consists of a basal (3) and an upper (4) part. The basal part contains an oolitic and crinoidal sand shoals, associated with a transgressive lag deposit in offshore position; the upper, main part is a prograding wedge of shallow-marine crinoidal sands, intercalated with increasingly deeper-water shaly facies (higher-order fluctuation). This lowstand unit was deposited during the initial, slow phase of relative sea-level rise. It levelled the topographic relief before the final drowning during the subsequent rapid (near the rise inflection point) relative sea

  2. Stable isotope analysis of Dacryoconarid carbonate microfossils: a new tool for Devonian oxygen and carbon isotope stratigraphy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frappier, Amy Benoit; Lindemann, Richard H; Frappier, Brian R

    2015-04-30

    Dacryoconarids are extinct marine zooplankton known from abundant, globally distributed calcite microfossils in the Devonian, but their shell stable isotope composition has not been previously explored. Devonian stable isotope stratigraphy is currently limited to less common invertebrates or bulk rock analyses of uncertain provenance. As with Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera, isotopic analysis of dacryoconarid shells could facilitate higher-resolution, geographically widespread stable isotope records of paleoenvironmental change, including marine hypoxia events, climate changes, and biocrises. We explored the use of Dacryoconarid isotope stratigraphy as a viable method in interpreting paleoenvironments. We applied an established method for determining stable isotope ratios (δ(13) C, δ(18) O values) of small carbonate microfossils to very well-preserved dacryoconarid shells. We analyzed individual calcite shells representing five common genera using a Kiel carbonate device coupled to a MAT 253 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Calcite shell δ(13) C and δ(18) O values were compared by taxonomic group, rock unit, and locality. Single dacryoconarid calcite shells are suitable for stable isotope analysis using a Kiel-IRMS setup. The dacryoconarid shell δ(13) C values (-4.7 to 2.3‰) and δ(18) O values (-10.3 to -4.8‰) were consistent across taxa, independent of shell size or part, but varied systematically through time. Lower fossil δ(18) O values were associated with warmer water temperature and more variable δ(13) C values were associated with major bioevents. Dacryoconarid δ(13) C and δ(18) O values differed from bulk rock carbonate values. Dacryoconarid individual microfossil δ(13) C and δ(18) O values are highly sensitive to paleoenvironmental changes, thus providing a promising avenue for stable isotope chemostratigraphy to better resolve regional to global paleoceanographic changes throughout the upper Silurian to the upper Devonian. Our results

  3. LATE DEVONIAN-CARBONIFEROUS CONODONTS FROM EASTERN IRAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MEHDI YAZDI

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available Conodont data from acid-leaching 110 samples from two Late Devonian-Carboniferous areas in the Shotori Range (Tabas region of eastern Iran are presented. At Howz-e-Dorah, a section (88 samples commencing high in the Bahram Formation (Givetian-early Frasnian extended through the Shishtu Formation (Frasnian, Early hassi Zone or older, to latest Tournaisian, anchoralis-latus Zone and the Sardar Formation (earliest Visean, texanus Zone, to late Namurian, sinuatus-corrugatus-sulcatus Zone and into the Jamal Formation (Permian. Four less exhaustively sampled sections (22 samples show the Kale Sardar area to be tectonically more complicated than the Howz-e-Dorah area. Useful marker horizons in the Howz-e-Dorah section, well constrained by conodont data, are: the early Frasnian (no older than Early hassi Zone biostromal beds of the Shishtu Formation, an early Famennian (Late triangularis to Early crepida interval of oolitic limestone, a cyclothem sequence straddling the Early Carboniferous-Late Carboniferous boundary, and an Early Permian interval of siliceous sand ("the white quartzite" of previous authors. Additionally, several iron-rich horizons, readily traceable from locality to locality, are well constrained by conodont ages. Eighty-five conodont species/subspecies are documented representing 24 genera.. Two new species, Polygnathus capollocki and Polygnathus ratebi and one new subspecies, Icriodus alternatus mawsonae are described. 

  4. USGS Imagery Only Base Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS Imagery Only is a tile cache base map of orthoimagery in The National Map visible to the 1:18,000 scale. Orthoimagery data are typically high resolution images...

  5. Ontogenetic and intraspecific variation in the late Emsian - Eifelian (Devonian) conodonts Polygnathus serotinus and P. bultyncki in the Prague Basin (Czech Republic) and Nevada (western U.S.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klapper, Gilbert; Vodrážková, Stanislava

    2013-06-01

    Klapper, G. and Vodražkova, S. 2013. Ontogenetic and intraspecific variation in the late Emsian - Eifelian (Devonian) conodonts Polygnathus serotinus and P. bultyncki in the Prague Basin (Czech Republic) and Nevada (western U.S.). Acta Geologica Polonica, 63 (2), 153-174, Warszawa. Samples from populations of Polygnathus serotinus Telford 1975 and P. bultyncki Weddige 1977 from the Prague Basin and Nevada display normal variation for Devonian conodont species. A considerable number of previous authors, however, have proposed unnecessary synonyms of these two species, primarily because they have not recognized ontogenetic variation. In contrast, we interpret the variation as ontogenetic as well as intraspecific and present detailed synonymies as a result. A third species, P. praetrigonicus Bardashev 1992, which has been carried in open nomenclature for many years, is an important indicator of the basal costatus Zone in the Prague Basin, New York, and Nevada. We review the stratigraphic distribution of these three species and the conodont zonation across the Emsian-Eifelian (Lower-Middle Devonian) boundary. Polygnathus pseudocostatus sp. nov. (partitus-costatus zones, central Nevada) is described herein. We have observed a decrease in the pit size during ontogeny in P. bultyncki although we have not measured enough specimens to rule out intraspecific versus ontogenetic variation.

  6. USGS Environmental health science strategy: providing environmental health science for a changing world: public review release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bright, Patricia R.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Barber, Larry B.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Cross, Paul C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Winton, James R.

    2012-01-01

    America has an abundance of natural resources. We have bountiful clean water, fertile soil, and unrivaled national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands. These resources enrich our lives and preserve our health and wellbeing. These resources have been maintained because of our history of respect for their value and an enduring commitment to their vigilant protection. Awareness of the social, economic, and personal value of the health of our environment is increasing. The emergence of environmentally driven diseases caused by environmental exposure to contaminants and pathogens is a growing concern worldwide. New health threats and patterns of established threats are affected by both natural and anthropogenic changes to the environment. Human activities are key drivers of emerging (new and re-emerging) health threats. Societal demands for land and natural resources, a better quality of life, improved economic prosperity, and the environmental impacts associated with these demands will continue to increase. Natural earth processes, climate trends, and related climatic events will add to the environmental impact of human activities. These environmental drivers will influence exposure to disease agents, including viral, bacterial, prion, and fungal pathogens, parasites, natural earth materials, toxins and other biogenic compounds, and synthetic chemicals and substances. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines environmental health science broadly as the interdisciplinary study of relations among the quality of the physical environment, the health of the living environment, and human health. The interactions among these three spheres are driven by human activities, ecological processes, and natural earth processes; the interactions affect exposure to contaminants and pathogens and the severity of environmentally driven diseases in animals and people. This definition provides USGS with a framework for synthesizing natural science information from across the Bureau

  7. 2015 USGS Lidar: 3DEP Co-Op South Central MS

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Mississippi Coastal QL2 Lidar with 3DEP Extension Lidar 0.7m NPS Lidar Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No....

  8. First shark from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Gogo Formation, Western Australia sheds new light on the development of tessellated calcified cartilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, John A; Burrow, Carole J; Ginter, Michal; Maisey, John G; Trinajstic, Kate M; Coates, Michael I; Young, Gavin C; Senden, Tim J

    2015-01-01

    Living gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) comprise two divisions, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes, including euchondrichthyans with prismatic calcified cartilage, and extinct stem chondrichthyans) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes including tetrapods). Most of the early chondrichthyan ('shark') record is based upon isolated teeth, spines, and scales, with the oldest articulated sharks that exhibit major diagnostic characters of the group--prismatic calcified cartilage and pelvic claspers in males--being from the latest Devonian, c. 360 Mya. This paucity of information about early chondrichthyan anatomy is mainly due to their lack of endoskeletal bone and consequent low preservation potential. Here we present new data from the first well-preserved chondrichthyan fossil from the early Late Devonian (ca. 380-384 Mya) Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia. The specimen is the first Devonian shark body fossil to be acid-prepared, revealing the endoskeletal elements as three-dimensional undistorted units: Meckel's cartilages, nasal, ceratohyal, basibranchial and possible epibranchial cartilages, plus left and right scapulocoracoids, as well as teeth and scales. This unique specimen is assigned to Gogoselachus lynnbeazleyae n. gen. n. sp. The Meckel's cartilages show a jaw articulation surface dominated by an expansive cotylus, and a small mandibular knob, an unusual condition for chondrichthyans. The scapulocoracoid of the new specimen shows evidence of two pectoral fin basal articulation facets, differing from the standard condition for early gnathostomes which have either one or three articulations. The tooth structure is intermediate between the 'primitive' ctenacanthiform and symmoriiform condition, and more derived forms with a euselachian-type base. Of special interest is the highly distinctive type of calcified cartilage forming the endoskeleton, comprising multiple layers of nonprismatic subpolygonal tesserae separated by a cellular matrix, interpreted

  9. First shark from the Late Devonian (Frasnian Gogo Formation, Western Australia sheds new light on the development of tessellated calcified cartilage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John A Long

    Full Text Available Living gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates comprise two divisions, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes, including euchondrichthyans with prismatic calcified cartilage, and extinct stem chondrichthyans and Osteichthyes (bony fishes including tetrapods. Most of the early chondrichthyan ('shark' record is based upon isolated teeth, spines, and scales, with the oldest articulated sharks that exhibit major diagnostic characters of the group--prismatic calcified cartilage and pelvic claspers in males--being from the latest Devonian, c. 360 Mya. This paucity of information about early chondrichthyan anatomy is mainly due to their lack of endoskeletal bone and consequent low preservation potential.Here we present new data from the first well-preserved chondrichthyan fossil from the early Late Devonian (ca. 380-384 Mya Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia. The specimen is the first Devonian shark body fossil to be acid-prepared, revealing the endoskeletal elements as three-dimensional undistorted units: Meckel's cartilages, nasal, ceratohyal, basibranchial and possible epibranchial cartilages, plus left and right scapulocoracoids, as well as teeth and scales. This unique specimen is assigned to Gogoselachus lynnbeazleyae n. gen. n. sp.The Meckel's cartilages show a jaw articulation surface dominated by an expansive cotylus, and a small mandibular knob, an unusual condition for chondrichthyans. The scapulocoracoid of the new specimen shows evidence of two pectoral fin basal articulation facets, differing from the standard condition for early gnathostomes which have either one or three articulations. The tooth structure is intermediate between the 'primitive' ctenacanthiform and symmoriiform condition, and more derived forms with a euselachian-type base. Of special interest is the highly distinctive type of calcified cartilage forming the endoskeleton, comprising multiple layers of nonprismatic subpolygonal tesserae separated by a cellular matrix

  10. Iron in the Middle Devonian aquifer system and its removal at Võru County water treatment plants, Estonia

    OpenAIRE

    Mariina Hiiob; Enn Karro

    2012-01-01

    Groundwater abstracted from the Middle Devonian aquifer system is the main source of drinking water in South Estonia. High iron and manganese concentrations in groundwater are the greatest problems in this region. The total iron concentrations up to 16 mg L–1 are mainly caused by a high Fe2+ content in water, pointing to the dominance of reducing conditions in the aquifer system. A pilot study was carried out to estimate the effectiveness of 20 groundwater purification plants with eight diffe...

  11. USGS Governmental Unit Boundaries Overlay Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Governmental Unit Boundaries service from The National Map (TNM) represents major civil areas for the Nation, including States or Territories, counties (or...

  12. USGS Map Indices Overlay Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Map Indices service from The National Map (TNM) consists of 1x1 Degree, 30x60 Minute (100K), 15 Minute (63K), 7.5 Minute (24K), and 3.75 Minute grid...

  13. USGS budget request up for 1994

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, M. Catherine

    The president's U.S. Geological Survey budget request for fiscal year 1994 totals $598 million—up $20 million from the current budget. This would restore about half of the $42.46 million cut from its budget in fiscal 1993.In releasing the budget, Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, said, “The USGS reflects the new administration's understanding that investing in America requires investing in a strong Earth science capability,” and that “we need high-quality scientific information on natural hazards and on our water, mineral, energy, and land resources to serve as the building blocks for making intelligent decisions and planning future growth.”

  14. Overview of the stratigraphy and initial quantitative biogeographical results from the Devonian of the Albergaria-a-Velha Unit (Ossa-Morena Zone, W. Portugal)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Machado, G.; Vavrdová, Milada; Fonseca, P. E.; Chaminé, H.; Tavares Rocha, F.

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 64, 2-4 (2008), s. 109-113 ISSN 0036-5343 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Gondwana * Laurussia * Devonian * Ossa Morena Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://www.nm.cz/publikace/archiv-en.php?id=4&rok=64&kcislu=2-4&f_=Show

  15. Lidar Point Cloud - USGS National Map 3DEP Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — This data collection consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected,...

  16. USGS US Topo Availability Overlay Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS US Topo Availability service from The National Map consists of footprints where US Topo products are currently available. Various green tints are used to...

  17. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of coral-associated nitrogen in rugose corals of the Middle Devonian, implications for paleoecology and paleoceanography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, A. N.; Junium, C. K.; Uveges, B. T.; Ivany, L. C.; Martindale, R. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Middle Devonian Appalachian Basin of Central New York hosts an extraordinary diversity of well-studied fossil invertebrates within the shallow marine sequences of the Givetian Age, Hamilton Group. Of particular interest are a series of aerially expansive coral beds with diverse assemblages of rugose corals. These well-preserved specimens provide an excellent opportunity to test the feasibility of δ15N and δ13C analyses in rugose corals in an effort to resolve outstanding issues regarding their paleoecology and ontogeny as well environmental dynamics within the Devonian Appalachian Basin. Here we present carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of the rugose corals Heliophyllum and Siphonophrentis from the Joshua Coral Bed. Corals were cleaned of the host calcareous shale and sonicated sequentially in deionized water and methanol, and then oxidatively cleaned. Cleaned corals were sectioned into 0.5cm billets to obtain enough residual organic material for analysis. The organic content of the corals is low, but nanoEA allows for serial sampling of 5-10 samples per coral. Coral sections were decarbonated and the residual organic material is filtered and dried prior to analysis. Coral organic matter is analyzed in triplicate using nanoEA, which is a cryo-trapping, capillary focusing technique for δ15N and δ13C. The δ15N of organic matter extracted from rugose corals is, on average, enriched by 2-4‰ relative to the bulk nitrogen in the host rock. As well, the δ13C of organic carbon from the corals is 13C-enriched relative to the bulk rock, but to a lesser degree (no more than 1.5‰). Assuming that the bulk rock carbon and nitrogen are largely representative of the long-term primary production background, the modest enrichment is consistent with a trophic effect, and that rugose corals are likely planktivores. In an individual coral, δ15N ranges by 3-4‰ over its length, and when adjusted for trophic enrichment varies around the average δ15N of bulk

  18. Carbon isotopic record from Upper Devonian carbonates at Dongcun in Guilin, southern China, supporting the world-wide pattern of carbon isotope excursions during Frasnian-Famennian transition

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2003-01-01

    Two positive δ13C excursions are presented in records from the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) marine carbonate sediments in Europe, America, Africa, and Australia, having been considered as a worldwide pattern, and attributed to enhanced organic carbon burial during the F-F biological mass extinction. However, this worldwide pattern has not been revealed from the well-deposited Late Devonian sequences in southern China. In this paper, a detailed investigation has been made on the Late Devonian section at Dongcun, Guilin, southern China to constrain perturbations in δ13C of carbonates in the F-F deposited sequence. The result from this section also indicates two positive δ13C excursions during the F-F transition. The first excursion with an amplitude of 1.5‰ occurred at the bottom of linguiformis Zone, later than the early excursion existing in the Late rhenana Zone of the Late Devonian profiles in other continents, especially, in central Europe. This difference has been expected to be a result as conodont Palmatolepis linguiformis occurred earlier in southern China than other sites. The second excursion with an amplitude of 2.1‰ is located at the F-F boundary, same as the records from other continents. This result strongly supports the view that two carbon isotope positive excursions during the F-F transition are common in carbonate sediments, resulting from worldwide increases of organic carbon burial intensity.

  19. Upper Devonian (Frasnian) non-calcified, algae, Alberta: Geological relevance to Leduc platforms and petroleum source rocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dix, G.R. (Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada))

    1990-12-01

    Several types of non-calcified fossil algae comparable to extant brown and green benithic macrophytes occur abundantly on two bedding planes in drill core from argillaceous slope carbonates of the Ireton Formation in northern Alberta. Fossiliferous strata abruptly overlie part of a stepped-back margin of the Sturgeon Lake carbonate platform (Leduc Formation), southeast of the Peace River Arch. Fossils are flattened organic fragments, some representing nearly complete specimens. Tentative comparisons are made with some Paleozoic algae; some of the Sturgeon Lake flora may be new species or genera. Preliminary examination of selected cores from the Ireton Formation and organic-rich Duvernay Formation in central Alberta indicates a widespread distribution of algal-derived organic matter within Upper Devonian basinal strata. The geological relevance of non-calcified algae to Devonian carbonate platforms and basins is postulated in three cases. Their presence in slope sediments may indicate that algal lawns flourished in muddy, upper slope environments. Fossils accumulated either in situ, or were ripped up and quickly buried within downshope resedimented deposits. All or some algal fragments may have been swept from the adjacent carbonate platform during storms. Prolific shallow water algal growth may have occurred simultaneously with oceanic crises when shallow water carbonate production either decreased or was shut down. The present position of fossil algae, therefore, would mark a bedding surface that is stratigraphically equivalent to an intraplatform disconformity. Regardless of the original environment, a sufficient accumulation of non-calcified algae in slope strata represents a viable petroleum source proximal to carbonate platforms. 46 refs., 9 figs.

  20. The ammonoids from the Three Forks Shale (Late Devonian of Montana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Korn

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available The ammonoid fauna from the Late Devonian Three Forks Shale of Montana is revised. Six taxa were recognised, which belong to the genera Tornoceras, Pernoceras, Raymondiceras, Platyclymenia, Pleuroclymenia, and Carinoclymenia. The ammonoid assemblage suggests a stratigraphic position within the middle Famennian, most probably the Platyclymenia annulata Zone. The ammonoids display extreme septal crowding in intermediate as well as adult growth stages, which can be regarded as evidence for instable palaeoecological conditions during lifetime of the animals. Die Ammonoideenfauna aus dem oberdevonischen Three Forks Shale von Montana wird revidiert. Sechs Taxa werden unterschieden; sie gehören zu den Gattungen Tornoceras, Pernoceras, Raymondiceras, Platyclymenia, Pleuroclymenia und Carinoclymenia. Die Ammonoideen-Vergesellschaftung spricht für eine stratigraphische Position im mittleren Famennium, wahrscheinlich in der Platyclymenia annulata Zone. Die Ammonoideen zeigen auffällige Drängung der Septen in intermediären und adulten Wachstumsstadien, die als Hinweis auf instabile Lebensbedingungen für die Tiere gewertet werden kann. doi:10.1002/mmng.200600008

  1. Building a Data Science capability for USGS water research and communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appling, A.; Read, E. K.

    2015-12-01

    Interpreting and communicating water issues in an era of exponentially increasing information requires a blend of domain expertise, computational proficiency, and communication skills. The USGS Office of Water Information has established a Data Science team to meet these needs, providing challenging careers for diverse domain scientists and innovators in the fields of information technology and data visualization. Here, we detail the experience of building a Data Science capability as a bridging element between traditional water resources analyses and modern computing tools and data management techniques. This approach includes four major components: 1) building reusable research tools, 2) documenting data-intensive research approaches in peer reviewed journals, 3) communicating complex water resources issues with interactive web visualizations, and 4) offering training programs for our peers in scientific computing. These components collectively improve the efficiency, transparency, and reproducibility of USGS data analyses and scientific workflows.

  2. Archive of Boomer Subbottom Data Collected During USGS Cruise SEAX 96004, New York Bight, 1 May - 9 June 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Jenna C.; Schwab, William C.; Foster, David S.

    2000-01-01

    Beginning in 1995, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District, began a program to generate reconnaissance maps of the sea floor offshore of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, one of the most populated coastal regions of the United States. The goal of this mapping program is to provide a regional synthesis of the sea-floor environment, including a description of sedimentary environments, sediment texture, seafloor morphology, and geologic history to aid in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activities, such as ocean dumping. This mapping effort differs from previous studies of this area by obtaining digital, sidescan sonar images that cover 100 percent of the sea floor.This investigation was motivated by the need to develop an environmentally acceptable solution for the disposal of dredged material from the New York - New Jersey Port, by the need to identify potential sources of sand for renourishment of the southern shore of Long island, and by the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the transport and long-term fate of contaminants by investigations of the present distribution of materials discharged into the New York Bight over the last 100+ years (Schwab and others, 1997). Data collected in 1996, USGS cruise SEAX 96004, augments data collected in 1995 with sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data collected within the New York Bight Apex region. This report is an archive of the boomer seismic reflection data collected in 1996.

  3. USGS research on geohazards of the North Pacific: past, present, and future

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNutt, M. K.; Eichelberger, J. C.

    2012-12-01

    The disastrous earthquakes and tsunamis of Sumatra in 2004 and Tohoku in 2011 have driven re-examination of where and how such events occur. Particular focus is on the North Pacific. Of the top 30 earthquakes recorded instrumentally worldwide, 50% occurred along the line of subduction from the Kuril Islands to the southern Alaska mainland. This region has seen monstrous volcanic eruptions (Katmai-Novarupta, 1912), destructive tsunamis (Severo-Kurilsk, 1952), and one of Earth's largest instrumentally-recorded earthquakes (M9.2 Alaska, 1964). Only the modest populations in these frontier towns half a century ago kept losses to a minimum. Impact of any natural disaster to population, vital infrastructure, and sea and air transportation would be magnified today. While USGS had a presence in Alaska for more than a century, the great Alaska earthquake of 1964 ushered in the first understanding of the area's risks. This was the first mega-thrust earthquake properly interpreted as such, and led to re-examination of the 1960 Chilean event. All modern conceptions of mega-thrust earthquakes and tsunamis derive some heritage from USGS research following the 1964 event. The discovery of oil in the Alaska Arctic prompted building a pipeline from the north slope of Alaska to the ice-free port of Valdez. The USGS identified risks from crossing permafrost and active faults. Accurate characterization of these hazards informed innovative designs that kept the pipeline from rupturing due to ground instability or during the M7.9 Denali earthquake of 2002. As a large state with few roads, air travel is common in Alaska. The frequent ash eruptions of volcanoes in the populous Cook Inlet basin became a serious issue, highlighted by the near-crash of a large passenger jet in 1989. In response, the USGS and its partners developed and deployed efficient seismic networks on remote volcanoes and initiated regular satellite surveillance for early warning of ash eruptions. Close collaboration

  4. A new elasmobranch Karksiodus mirus gen. et sp. nov. from the Burtnieki Regional Stage, Middle Devonian of Estonia

    OpenAIRE

    Alexander Ivanov; Tiiu Märss; Anne Kleesment

    2011-01-01

    Teeth of a new elasmobranch Karksiodus mirus gen. et sp. nov. were discovered on two levels in the sandstones of the Karksi outcrop (South Estonia), corresponding to the Härma Beds, lower part of the Burtnieki Regional Stage (Givetian, Middle Devonian). These teeth differ from all known Palaeozoic elasmobranch teeth in the presence of a unique wide transversal tube-shaped basal canal, in very fine and dense striation of cusps and in an arched base without well-developed extensions. The order ...

  5. Provenance and paleogeography of the Devonian Durazno Group, southern Parana Basin in Uruguay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uriz, N. J.; Cingolani, C. A.; Basei, M. A. S.; Blanco, G.; Abre, P.; Portillo, N. S.; Siccardi, A.

    2016-03-01

    A succession of Devonian cover rocks occurs in outcrop and in the subsurface of central-northern Uruguay where they were deposited in an intracratonic basin. This Durazno Group comprises three distinct stratigraphic units, namely the Cerrezuelo, Cordobés and La Paloma formations. The Durazno Group does not exceed 300 m of average thickness and preserves a transgressive-regressive cycle within a shallow-marine siliciclastic shelf platform, and is characterized by an assemblage of invertebrate fossils of Malvinokaffric affinity especially within the Lower Devonian Cordobés shales. The sedimentary provenance of the Durazno Group was determined using petrography, geochemistry, and morphological studies of detrital zircons as well as their U-Pb ages. Sandstone petrography of Cerrezuelo and La Paloma sequences shows that they have a dominantly quartz-feldspathic composition with a minor contribution of other minerals. Whole-rock geochemical data indicate that alteration was strong in each of the three formations studied; chondritic-normalized REE patterns essentially parallel to PAAS, the presence of a negative Eu-anomaly, and Th/Sc and La/Hf ratios point to an average source composition similar to UCC or slightly more felsic. Within the Cerrezuelo Formation, recycling of older volcano-metasedimentary sources is interpreted from Zr/Sc ratios and high Hf, Zr, and REE concentrations. U-Pb detrital zircon age populations of the Cerrezuelo and La Paloma formations indicate that the principal source terranes are of Neoproterozoic age, but include also minor populations derived from Mesoproterozoic and Archean-Paleoproterozoic rocks. A provenance from the Cuchilla Dionisio-Dom Feliciano, Nico Pérez and Piedra Alta terranes of Uruguay and southern Brazil is likely. This study establishes an intracratonic extensional tectonic setting during Durazno time. Considering provenance age sources, regional paleocurrent distributions and the established orogenic history recorded in SW

  6. 2015 USGS Lidar DEM: 3DEP Co-Op South Central MS

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Mississippi Coastal QL2 Lidar with 3DEP Extension Lidar 0.7m NPS Lidar Data Acquisition and Processing Production Task USGS Contract No. G10PC00057 Task Order No....

  7. COAWST Forecast System : USGS : US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico (Experimental)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Experimental forecast model product from the USGS Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment-Transport (COAWST) modeling system. Data required to drive the modeling...

  8. Climate instability and tipping points in the Late Devonian: Detection of the Hangenberg Event in an open oceanic island arc in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Carmichael, A.; Waters, J. A.; Batchelor, C. J.; Coleman, D. M.; Suttner, T. J.; Kido, E.; Moore, L. M.; Chadimová, Leona

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 32, 1 April (2016), s. 213-231 ISSN 1342-937X Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Central Asian Orogenic Belt * chemostratigraphy * Devonian-Carboniferous * Hangenberg Event * West Junggar Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 6.959, year: 2016

  9. Earth Science and Public Health: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxton, Herbert T.; Griffin, Dale W.; Pierce, Brenda S.

    2007-01-01

    The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. As the Nation?s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS can play a significant role in providing scientific knowledge and information that will improve our understanding of the relations of environment and wildlife to human health and disease. USGS human health-related research is unique in the Federal government because it brings together a broad spectrum of natural science expertise and information, including extensive data collection and monitoring on varied landscapes and ecosystems across the Nation. USGS can provide a great service to the public health community by synthesizing the scientific information and knowledge on our natural and living resources that influence human health, and by bringing this science to the public health community in a manner that is most useful. Partnerships with health scientists and managers are essential to the success of these efforts. USGS scientists already are working closely with the public health community to pursue rigorous inquiries into the connections between natural science and public health. Partnering agencies include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Collaborations between public

  10. Paleomagnetism of Devonian dykes in the northern Kola Peninsula and its bearing on the apparent polar wander path of Baltica in the Precambrian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veselovskiy, Roman V.; Bazhenov, Mikhail L.; Arzamastsev, Andrey A.

    2016-04-01

    Mafic dykes and large alkaline and carbonatite intrusions of Middle-Late Devonian age are widespread on the Kola Peninsula in NE Fennoscandia. These magmatic rocks are well characterized with petrographic, geochemical and geochronological data but no paleomagnetic results have been reported yet. We studied dolerite dykes from the northern part of the Peninsula and isolated three paleomagnetic components in these rocks. A low-temperature component is aligned along the present-day field, while a major constituent of natural remanent magnetization is an intermediate-temperature component (Decl. = 79.6°, Inc. = 78.5°, α95 = 5,9°, N = 17 sites) that is present in most Devonian dykes but is found in some baked metamorphic rocks and Proterozoic dykes too. Finally, a primary Devonian component could be reliably isolated from two dykes only. Rock-magnetic studies point to presumably primary low-Ti titanomagnetite and/or pure magnetite as the main remanence carriers but also reveal alteration of the primary minerals and the formation of new magnetic phases. The directions of a major component differ from the Middle Paleozoic reference data for Baltica but closely match those for the 190 ± 10 Ma interval recalculated from the apparent polar wander path of the craton. We assume that this Early Jurassic component is a low-temperature overprint of chemical origin. The main impact of the new results is not to mid-Paleozoic or Early Mesozoic times but to much older epochs. Analysis of paleomagnetic data shows that the directionally similar remanences are present in objects with the ages ranging from 500 Ma to 2 Ga over entire Fennoscandia. Hence we argue that an Early Jurassic remagnetization is of regional extent but cannot link it to a certain process and a certain tectonic event. If true, this hypothesis necessitates a major revision of the APWP for Baltica over a wide time interval.

  11. USGS Imagery Topo Large-scale Base Map Service from The National Map

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Imagery Topo Large service from The National Map (TNM) is a dynamic topographic base map service that combines the best available data (Boundaries,...

  12. Archive of water gun subbottom data collected during USGS cruise SEAX 96004, New York Bight, 1 May - 9 June 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Jenna C.; Schwab, William C.; Foster, David S.

    2000-01-01

    Beginning in 1995, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District, began a program to generate reconnaissance maps of the sea floor offshore of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, one of the most populated coastal regions of the United States. The goal of this mapping program is to provide a regional synthesis of the sea-floor environment, including a description of sedimentary environments, sediment texture, seafloor morphology, and geologic history to aid in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activities, such as ocean dumping. This mapping effort differs from previous studies of this area by obtaining digital, sidescan sonar images that cover 100 percent of the sea floor.This investigation was motivated by the need to develop an environmentally acceptable solution for the disposal of dredged material from the New York - New Jersey Port, by the need to identify potential sources of sand for renourishment of the southern shore of Long island, and by the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the transport and long-term fate of contaminants by investigations of the present distribution of materials discharged into the New York Bight over the last 100+ years (Schwab and others, 1997). Data collected in 1996, USGS cruise SEAX 96004, augments data collected in 1995 with sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data collected within the New York Bight Apex region. This report is an archive of the water gun seismic reflection data collected in 1996.

  13. Detection of lymph node metastases in head and neck cancer: A meta-analysis comparing US, USgFNAC, CT and MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondt, R.B.J. de; Nelemans, P.J.; Hofman, P.A.M.; Casselman, J.W.; Kremer, B.; Engelshoven, J.M.A. van; Beets-Tan, R.G.H.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: To perform a meta-analysis comparing ultrasonography (US), US guided fine needle aspiration cytology (USgFNAC), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the detection of lymph node metastases in head and neck cancer. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched (January 1990-January 2006) for studies reporting diagnostic performances of US, USgFNAC, CT, and MRI to detect cervical lymph node metastases. Two reviewers screened text and reference lists of potentially eligible articles. Criteria for study inclusion: (1) histopathology was the reference standard, (2) primary tumors and metastases were squamous cell carcinoma and (3) data were available to construct 2 x 2 contingency tables. Meta-analysis of pairs of sensitivity and specificity was performed using bivariate analysis. Summary estimates for diagnostic performance used were sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) (95% confidence intervals) and summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curves. Results: From seventeen articles, 25 data sets could be retrieved. Eleven articles studied one modality: US (n = 4); USgFNAC (n = 1); CT (n = 3); MRI (n = 3). Six articles studied two or more modalities: US and CT (n = 2); USgFNAC and CT (n = 1); CT and MRI (n = 1); MRI and MRI-USPIO (Sinerem) (n = 2); US, USgFNAC, CT and MRI (n = 1). USgFNAC (AUC = 0.98) and US (AUC = 0.95) showed the highest areas under the curve (AUC). MRI-USPIO (AUC = 0.89) and CT (AUC = 0.88) had similar results. MRI showed an AUC = 0.79. USgFNAC showed the highest DOR (DOR = 260) compared to US (DOR = 40), MRI-USPIO (DOR = 21), CT (DOR = 14) and MRI (DOR = 7). Conclusion USgFNAC showed to be the most accurate imaging modality to detect cervical lymph node metastases

  14. 77 FR 27763 - Quantum Choctaw Power, LLC, USG Nevada LLC, et al.; Notice of Effectiveness of Exempt Wholesale...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket Nos. EG12-31-000; EG12-32-000; et al.] Quantum Choctaw Power, LLC, USG Nevada LLC, et al.; Notice of Effectiveness of Exempt Wholesale Generator Status Docket Nos. Quantum Choctaw Power, LLC EG12-31-000 USG Nevada LLC EG12-32-000...

  15. Brownfield, TX 1:250,000 Quad USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  16. Dalhart, TX 1:250,000 Quad USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  17. Hobbs, NM 1:250,000 Quad USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  18. Clovis, NM 1:250,000 Quad USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  19. Tucumcari, NM 1:250,000 Quad USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  20. A new elasmobranch Karksiodus mirus gen. et sp. nov. from the Burtnieki Regional Stage, Middle Devonian of Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Ivanov

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Teeth of a new elasmobranch Karksiodus mirus gen. et sp. nov. were discovered on two levels in the sandstones of the Karksi outcrop (South Estonia, corresponding to the Härma Beds, lower part of the Burtnieki Regional Stage (Givetian, Middle Devonian. These teeth differ from all known Palaeozoic elasmobranch teeth in the presence of a unique wide transversal tube-shaped basal canal, in very fine and dense striation of cusps and in an arched base without well-developed extensions. The order and family of this taxon are notspecified.

  1. Devonian conodonts from the Foča–Prača Paleozoic complex (Durmitor Nappe, southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogdan Jurkovšek

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Conodont study of the Crna Rijeka borehole CR-17, positioned in the frontal part of the Durmitor Nappe (Foča – Prača Paleozoic complex, SE Bosnia and Herzegovina is presented. The obtained fauna indicates an Early-Middle Devonian age and due to poor preservation an identification at a generic level is possible only. The recovered conodont elements have a high Color Alteration Index (CAI = 6,5–7 indicating a degree of metamorphism corresponding to a temperature interval from 440 °C to 720 °C.

  2. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center-fiscal year 2010 annual report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Janice S.

    2011-01-01

    The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility focused on providing science and imagery to better understand our Earth. The work of the Center is shaped by the earth sciences, the missions of our stakeholders, and implemented through strong program and project management, and application of state-of-the-art information technologies. Fundamentally, EROS contributes to the understanding of a changing Earth through 'research to operations' activities that include developing, implementing, and operating remote-sensing-based terrestrial monitoring capabilities needed to address interdisciplinary science and applications objectives at all levels-both nationally and internationally. The Center's programs and projects continually strive to meet, and where possible exceed, the changing needs of the USGS, the Department of the Interior, our Nation, and international constituents. The Center's multidisciplinary staff uses their unique expertise in remote sensing science and technologies to conduct basic and applied research, data acquisition, systems engineering, information access and management, and archive preservation to address the Nation's most critical needs. Of particular note is the role of EROS as the primary provider of Landsat data, the longest comprehensive global land Earth observation record ever collected. This report is intended to provide an overview of the scientific and engineering achievements and illustrate the range and scope of the activities and accomplishments at EROS throughout fiscal year (FY) 2010. Additional information concerning the scientific, engineering, and operational achievements can be obtained from the scientific papers and other documents published by EROS staff or by visiting our web site at http://eros.usgs.gov. We welcome comments and follow-up questions on any aspect of this Annual Report and invite any of our customers or partners to contact us at their convenience. To

  3. USGS Integration of New Science and Technology, Appendix A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brey, Marybeth; Knights, Brent C.; Cupp, Aaron R.; Amberg, Jon J.; Chapman, Duane C.; Calfee, Robin D.; Duncker, James J.

    2017-01-01

    This product summarizes the USGS plans for integration of new science and technology into Asian Carp control efforts for 2017. This includes the 1) implementation and evaluation of new tactics and behavioral information for monitoring, surveillance, control and containment; 2) understanding behavior and reproduction of Asian carp in established and emerging populations to inform deterrent deployment, rapid response, and removal efforts; and 3) development and evaluation of databases, decision support tools and performance measures.

  4. USGS QA Plan: Certification of digital airborne mapping products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopherson, J.

    2007-01-01

    To facilitate acceptance of new digital technologies in aerial imaging and mapping, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners have launched a Quality Assurance (QA) Plan for Digital Aerial Imagery. This should provide a foundation for the quality of digital aerial imagery and products. It introduces broader considerations regarding processes employed by aerial flyers in collecting, processing and delivering data, and provides training and information for US producers and users alike.

  5. Devonian alkaline magmatism in the northern North China Craton: Geochemistry, SHRIMP zircon U-Pb geochronology and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dingling Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Wulanhada pluton is among the rare suite of Devonian alkaline plutons occurring along the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC. The intrusion is mainly composed of quartz-monzonite. Here we report zircon SHRIMP U-Pb data from this intrusion which shows emplacement age of ca. 381.5 Ma. The rock is metaluminous with high (Na2O + K2O values ranging from 8.46 to 9.66 wt.%. The REE patterns of the rocks do not show any Eu anomaly whereas the primitive-mantle-normalized spider diagram shows strong positive Sr and Ba anomalies. The Wulanhada rocks exhibit high initial values of (87Sr/86Srt = 0.70762–0.70809, low ɛNd(t = −12.76 to −12.15 values and negative values of ɛHf(t = −23.49 to −17.02 with small variations in (176Hf/177Hft (0.281873–0.282049. These geochemical features and quantitative isotopic modeling results suggest that the rocks might have been formed through the partial melting of Neoarchean basic rocks in the lower crust of the NCC. The Wulanhada rocks, together with the Devonian alkaline rocks and mafic-ultramafic complex from neighboring regions, constitute a post-collisional magmatic belt along the northern NCC.

  6. Stratigraphy, palynology and organic geochemistry of the Devonian-Mississippian metasedimentary Albergaria-a-Velha Unit (Porto-Tomar shear zone, W Portugal)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Machado, G.; Franců, E.; Vavrdová, Milada; Flores, D.; Fonseca, P. E.; Rocha, F.; Gama Pereira, L. C.; Gomes, A.; Fonseca, M.; Chaminé, H. I.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 55, č. 2 (2011), s. 139-164 ISSN 1641-7291. [International Palynological Conference of the International Commission of the Paleozoic Microflora ( CIMP ). Warsaw-Kielce, 13.09.2010-19.09.2010] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Mississippian * Late Devonian * Ossa-Morena Zone * Porto-Tomar shear zone * palynology * organic geochemistry * turbidite systems * provenance * phytoplankton Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.844, year: 2011 http://gq.pgi.gov.pl/gq/article/viewFile/7606/pdf_4

  7. Digital Raster Graphics (DRG) 24k Polygons, US EPA Region 9, 2006, USGS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This document describes the contents of the file 'drg.list'. The drg.list contains metadata information relative to the DRG data set held at the USGS EROS Data...

  8. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2004-08-01

    Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library are being sampled to collect CO{sub 2} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples have been acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log has been acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 4.62 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 19 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 86 scf/ton in the Lower Huron Member of the shale. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker parts of the Devonian shales in Kentucky. Should the black shales of Kentucky prove to be a viable geologic sink for CO{sub 2}, their extensive occurrence in Paleozoic basins across North America would make them an attractive regional target for economic CO{sub 2} storage and enhanced natural gas production.

  9. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2005-01-01

    Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library were sampled to determine CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples were acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log was acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 14 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 14 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 136 scf/ton. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker parts of the Devonian shales in Kentucky. Should the black shales of Kentucky prove to be a viable geologic sink for CO{sub 2}, their extensive occurrence in Paleozoic basins across North America would make them an attractive regional target for economic CO{sub 2} storage and enhanced natural gas production.

  10. USGS Southwest Repeat Photography Collection: Kanab Creek, southern Utah and northern Arizona, 1872-2010

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — The USGS Southwest Repeat Photography Collection (‘Collection’), formerly named the Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection, is now housed by the Southwest...

  11. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center-Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Janice S.

    2010-01-01

    The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility focused on providing science and imagery to better understand our Earth. As part of the USGS Geography Discipline, EROS contributes to the Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program, the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM) Program, and the National Geospatial Program (NGP), as well as our Federal partners and cooperators. The work of the Center is shaped by the Earth sciences, the missions of our stakeholders, and implemented through strong program and project management and application of state-of-the-art information technologies. Fundamentally, EROS contributes to the understanding of a changing Earth through 'research to operations' activities that include developing, implementing, and operating remote sensing based terrestrial monitoring capabilities needed to address interdisciplinary science and applications objectives at all levels-both nationally and internationally. The Center's programs and projects continually strive to meet and/or exceed the changing needs of the USGS, the Department of the Interior, our Nation, and international constituents. The Center's multidisciplinary staff uses their unique expertise in remote sensing science and technologies to conduct basic and applied research, data acquisition, systems engineering, information access and management, and archive preservation to address the Nation's most critical needs. Of particular note is the role of EROS as the primary provider of Landsat data, the longest comprehensive global land Earth observation record ever collected. This report is intended to provide an overview of the scientific and engineering achievements and illustrate the range and scope of the activities and accomplishments at EROS throughout fiscal year (FY) 2009. Additional information concerning the scientific, engineering, and operational achievements can be obtained from the scientific papers and other documents published by

  12. 2010 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Topographic LiDAR: Mobile Bay, AL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — USGS Contract: G10PC00026 Task Order Number: G10PD00578 LiDAR was collected at a nominal pulse spacing of 2.0 meters for a 700 square mile area to the east of Mobile...

  13. Geology of redbed Cu-U occurrences in the Upper Devonian Catskill Fm., Pennsylvania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, A.T.

    1983-01-01

    A regional and detailed geologic, petrographic and geochemical study of 40 redbed Cu-U occurrences and the host Upper Devonian Catskill Fm. in Pennsylvania shows that depositional environment and diagenetic processes were the most important controls on the formation of the occurrences. The Catskill Fm. in Pa. has been divided into 4 magnafacies (Mf). In ascending order, Mf-A contains interbedded marine and non-marine shale and fine sandstones; Mf-B contains mainly thick red shales and thin sandstones interpreted to be low-energy fluvial deposits on an inactive coastal plain interrupted by occasional thin transgressive marine sandstones. Mf-C is composed of thick sandstones deposited by braided rivers; and Mf-D is composed of thick fining-up cycles deposited by meandering rivers. The Cu-U occurrences are located in areas of thick Mf-B; they occur in Mf-A, -B and -D. Cu-sulfides formed during diagenesis with chlorite in pockets of plant trash within or below a marine or fluvial sandstones, which contain a greater percentage of ductile grains than similar sandstones are inferred to have been more permeable than non-mineralized sandstones. The Cu-sulfides formed after early hematite, clay coatings and calcite cement. Based on isotopic, textural and compositional evidence, the calcite is considered to have formed near the surface at temperatures of less than 100 0 C from oxidizing waters reduced by plant material. The Cu and U in a typical occurrence could easily have been derived by leaching of 1-3% of the total Cu and U from a volume of sediment equivalent to a cube of 40 m or less on a side. Cu appears to have been mobilized during compaction and was derived from the fine fraction of the sediments by Cl-bearing solutions introduced during marine transgressions

  14. USGS "Did You Feel It?" internet-based macroseismic intensity maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wald, D.J.; Quitoriano, V.; Worden, B.; Hopper, M.; Dewey, J.W.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) system is an automated approach for rapidly collecting macroseismic intensity data from Internet users' shaking and damage reports and generating intensity maps immediately following earthquakes; it has been operating for over a decade (1999-2011). DYFI-based intensity maps made rapidly available through the DYFI system fundamentally depart from more traditional maps made available in the past. The maps are made more quickly, provide more complete coverage and higher resolution, provide for citizen input and interaction, and allow data collection at rates and quantities never before considered. These aspects of Internet data collection, in turn, allow for data analyses, graphics, and ways to communicate with the public, opportunities not possible with traditional data-collection approaches. Yet web-based contributions also pose considerable challenges, as discussed herein. After a decade of operational experience with the DYFI system and users, we document refinements to the processing and algorithmic procedures since DYFI was first conceived. We also describe a number of automatic post-processing tools, operations, applications, and research directions, all of which utilize the extensive DYFI intensity datasets now gathered in near-real time. DYFI can be found online at the website http://earthquake.usgs.gov/dyfi/. ?? 2011 by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.

  15. Lithosphere evolution during the pre devonian of Uruguay: Prevalence of strike slip faults

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bossi, J.

    2010-01-01

    The available data about mega shear zones were analyzed. Also the geo chronological trusty data about pre devonian rocks from Uruguay were overlapped. Emphasizing in the basic rocks, four tecto no-stratigraphy c terranes might be recognized. The approximate age of those rocks is known as well as the displacement trend. It can be concluded that the transmazonian age Piedra Alta Terrane (transmazonian age 2000 ± 100 My) is the most ancient block followed by the Tandilla Terrane (ages 2200 ± 100 My) which was joined through 1700 Ma. The Nico Perez Terrane displaced itself towards South generating the continental N10W mega shear fault Sarandi del Yi- Piriapolis towards 1250 My. Finally, the Arachania called continent made tangential collision from SE towards 525 Ma generating the ultramylonites band of the Sierra Ballena share zone. Each one of these terranes have totally different stratigraphy and lithological associations, and the chronological ages did not agree with the arrival of each one of the identified terranes

  16. A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR QUANTIFICATION OF PLEURAL EFFUSION BY USG

    OpenAIRE

    Swish Kumar; Dinesh Kumar; Suganita; Singh; Vijay Shankar; Rajeev; Ajay; Anjali

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to find a correlation between pleural separation and amount of aspirated effusion. METHODS Total 20 adult patients with 25 effusions were taken into the study with chest x-ray showing homogeneous opacity in either one or both of the lung field, which was confirmed on USG. Only uncomplicated pleural effusion were taken into study. Effusion with septations or encysted effusion or pyothorax were excluded from the study. RESULTS...

  17. First Record of Soft Tissue Preservation in the Upper Devonian of Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zatoń, Michał; Broda, Krzysztof

    2015-01-01

    Soft tissue preservation is reported from Upper Devonian deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains, central Poland, for the first time. The preserved soft tissues are muscles associated with arthropod cuticle fragments. The muscles are phosphatized with variable states of preservation. Well-preserved specimens display the typical banding of striated muscles. Other muscle fragments are highly degraded and/or recrystallized such that their microstructure is barely visible. The phosphatized muscles and associated cuticle are fragmented, occur in patches and some are scattered on the bedding plane. Due to the state of preservation and the lack of diagnostic features, the cuticle identification is problematic; however, it may have belonged to a phyllocarid crustacean. Taphonomic features of the remains indicate that they do not represent fossilized fecal matter (coprolite) but may represent a regurgitate, but the hypothesis is difficult to test. Most probably they represent the leftover remains after arthropod or fish scavenging. The present study shows that soft tissues, which even earlier were manipulated by scavenger, may be preserved if only special microenvironmental conditions within and around the animal remains are established. PMID:26559060

  18. USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (@USGSted): Using Twitter for Earthquake Detection and Characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, S. B.; Bouchard, B.; Bowden, D. C.; Guy, M.; Earle, P.

    2012-12-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is investigating how online social networking services like Twitter—a microblogging service for sending and reading public text-based messages of up to 140 characters—can augment USGS earthquake response products and the delivery of hazard information. The USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (TED) system is using Twitter not only to broadcast seismically-verified earthquake alerts via the @USGSted and @USGSbigquakes Twitter accounts, but also to rapidly detect widely felt seismic events through a real-time detection system. The detector algorithm scans for significant increases in tweets containing the word "earthquake" or its equivalent in other languages and sends internal alerts with the detection time, tweet text, and the location of the city where most of the tweets originated. It has been running in real-time for 7 months and finds, on average, two or three felt events per day with a false detection rate of less than 10%. The detections have reasonable coverage of populated areas globally. The number of detections is small compared to the number of earthquakes detected seismically, and only a rough location and qualitative assessment of shaking can be determined based on Tweet data alone. However, the Twitter detections are generally caused by widely felt events that are of more immediate interest than those with no human impact. The main benefit of the tweet-based detections is speed, with most detections occurring between 19 seconds and 2 minutes from the origin time. This is considerably faster than seismic detections in poorly instrumented regions of the world. Going beyond the initial detection, the USGS is developing data mining techniques to continuously archive and analyze relevant tweets for additional details about the detected events. The information generated about an event is displayed on a web-based map designed using HTML5 for the mobile environment, which can be valuable when the user is not able to access a

  19. Science for Managing Riverine Ecosystems: Actions for the USGS Identified in the Workshop "Analysis of Flow and Habitat for Instream Aquatic Communities"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bencala, Kenneth E.; Hamilton, David B.; Petersen, James H.

    2006-01-01

    Federal and state agencies need improved scientific analysis to support riverine ecosystem management. The ability of the USGS to integrate geologic, hydrologic, chemical, geographic, and biological data into new tools and models provides unparalleled opportunities to translate the best riverine science into useful approaches and usable information to address issues faced by river managers. In addition to this capability to provide integrated science, the USGS has a long history of providing long-term and nationwide information about natural resources. The USGS is now in a position to advance its ability to provide the scientific support for the management of riverine ecosystems. To address this need, the USGS held a listening session in Fort Collins, Colorado in April 2006. Goals of the workshop were to: 1) learn about the key resource issues facing DOI, other Federal, and state resource management agencies; 2) discuss new approaches and information needs for addressing these issues; and 3) outline a strategy for the USGS role in supporting riverine ecosystem management. Workshop discussions focused on key components of a USGS strategy: Communications, Synthesis, and Research. The workshop identified 3 priority actions the USGS can initiate now to advance its capabilities to support integrated science for resource managers in partner government agencies and non-governmental organizations: 1) Synthesize the existing science of riverine ecosystem processes to produce broadly applicable conceptual models, 2) Enhance selected ongoing instream flow projects with complementary interdisciplinary studies, and 3) Design a long-term, watershed-scale research program that will substantively reinvent riverine ecosystem science. In addition, topical discussion groups on hydrology, geomorphology, aquatic habitat and populations, and socio-economic analysis and negotiation identified eleven important complementary actions required to advance the state of the science and to

  20. Sea-level changes vs. organic productivity as controls on Early and Middle Devonian bioevents: Facies- and gamma-ray based sequence-stratigraphic correlation of the Prague Basin, Czech Republic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bábek, O.; Faměra, M.; Šimíček, D.; Weinerová, H.; Hladil, Jindřich; Kalvoda, J.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 160, January (2018), s. 75-95 ISSN 0921-8181 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-18183S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Devonian * carbonates * sequence stratigraphy * bioevents * eustatic cyclicity * palaeoclimatology Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy OBOR OECD: Paleontology Impact factor: 3.915, year: 2016

  1. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2005-04-26

    Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library were sampled to determine CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples were acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log was acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 14 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 14 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 136 scf/ton. There is a direct correlation between measured total organic carbon content and the adsorptive capacity of the shale; CO{sub 2} adsorption capacity increases with increasing organic carbon content. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker parts of the Devonian shales in Kentucky. Should the black shales of Kentucky prove to be a viable geologic sink for CO{sub 2}, their extensive occurrence in Paleozoic basins across North America would make them an attractive regional target for economic CO{sub 2} storage and enhanced natural gas production.

  2. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2005-01-28

    Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library were sampled to determine CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples were acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log was acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 14 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 14 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 136 scf/ton. There is a direct correlation between measured total organic carbon content and the adsorptive capacity of the shale; CO{sub 2} adsorption capacity increases with increasing organic carbon content. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker parts of the Devonian shales in Kentucky. Should the black shales of Kentucky prove to be a viable geologic sink for CO{sub 2}, their extensive occurrence in Paleozoic basins across North America would make them an attractive regional target for economic CO{sub 2} storage and enhanced natural gas production.

  3. ANALYSIS OF DEVONIAN BLACK SHALES IN KENTUCKY FOR POTENTIAL CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION AND ENHANCED NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon C. Nuttall

    2005-07-29

    Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library were sampled to determine CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples were acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log was acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 14 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 14 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 136 scf/ton. There is a direct correlation between measured total organic carbon content and the adsorptive capacity of the shale; CO{sub 2} adsorption capacity increases with increasing organic carbon content. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub 2} in the Lower Huron Member of the Ohio Shale of eastern Kentucky and as much as 28 billion tons total in the deeper and thicker parts of the Devonian shales in Kentucky. Should the black shales of Kentucky prove to be a viable geologic sink for CO{sub 2}, their extensive occurrence in Paleozoic basins across North America would make them an attractive regional target for economic CO{sub 2} storage and enhanced natural gas production.

  4. Two hundred years of palaeontological discovery: Review of research on the Early to Middle Devonian Bokkeveld Group (Cape Supergroup) of South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penn-Clarke, C. R.; Rubidge, B. S.; Jinnah, Z. A.

    2018-01-01

    Documentation of the palaeontological heritage of the Early to Middle Devonian Bokkeveld Group of South Africa has been recorded as far back as the early nineteenth century with the arrival of the first European settlers, merchants and explorers to the Cape region. Anecdotal evidence suggests that indigenous peoples had knowledge of fossils in the Bokkeveld Group from as early as the Middle-to-Late Stone Age. Within the first hundred years of the expansion of the Cape Colony the first geological maps of the Bokkeveld Group were produced alongside the first description of fossils as well as their Devonian age and marine origin. These early investigations provided a foundation for establishing faunal endemism common to South Africa, South America and the Falkland Islands. During the early twentieth century considerable progress was made in the description of fossil fauna of the Bokkeveld Group, most notably of invertebrates and plants. This research demonstrated that invertebrate fossils from the Bokkeveld Group, as well as those from time equivalents in South America and the Falkland Islands, were distinct from the Devonian Period elsewhere (e.g. Europe and North America). The role of fossils from the Bokkeveld Group proved critical in the formal designation and delineation of a broad region of endemism, the Malvinokaffric Realm that persisted at high subpolar-to-polar palaeolatitudes in southwestern Gondwana and extended from South Africa, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Antarctica and the Falkland Islands with possible elements in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Ghana during the Emsian-Eifelian Stages. In the latter half of the twentieth century developments in understanding the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Bokkeveld Group lead to the premise that the succession accumulated in a storm-and-wave dominated deltaic palaeoenvironment, and enabled inferences on the palaeoecology of the fossil taxa. During this period detailed revisions of numerous invertebrate and plant

  5. The Late Devonian Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia: Exceptional Early Vertebrate Preservation and Diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, John A.; Trinajstic, Kate

    2010-05-01

    The Gogo Formation of Western Australia preserves a unique Late Devonian (Frasnian) reef fauna. The exceptional three-dimensional preservation of macrofossils combined with unprecedented soft-tissue preservation (including muscle bundles, nerve cells, and umbilical structures) has yielded a particularly rich assemblage with almost 50 species of fishes described. The most significant discoveries have contributed to resolving placoderm phylogeny and elucidating their reproductive physiology. Specifically, these discoveries have produced data on the oldest known vertebrate embryos; the anatomy of the primitive actinopterygian neurocranium and phylogeny of the earliest actinopterygians; the histology, radiation, and plasticity of dipnoan (lungfish) dental and cranial structures; the anatomy and functional morphology of the extinct onychodonts; and the anatomy of the primitive tetrapodomorph head and pectoral fin.

  6. USGS High Resolution Orthoimagery Collection - Historical - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) High Resolution Orthoimagery

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS high resolution orthorectified images from The National Map combine the image characteristics of an aerial photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. An...

  7. A new assessment of the Late Devonian antiarchan fish Bothriolepis leptocheira from South Timan (Russia and the biotic crisis near the Frasnian–Famennian boundary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ervīns Lukševičs

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The species of the Late Devonian, earliest Famennian placoderm fish Bothriolepis jeremejevi has been downranked to subspecies Bothriolepis leptocheira jeremejevi comb. nov. in a result of detailed morphological studies of the type specimens and abundant new material from the type locality of the Sosnogorsk Formation, South Timan, Komi Republic, Russia. This taxon closely resembles Bothriolepis leptocheira leptocheira from Scotland, B. leptocheira curonica from Latvia, and B. leptocheira ssp. from Severnaya Zemlya differing only in small deviations of the size, proportions and shape of some plates of the armour. The composition of vertebrate assemblages from Scotland, Latvia, and Severnaya Zemlya containing B. leptocheira demonstrates a reduced diversity of antiarch placoderm, acanthodian, and sarcopterygian fishes; however, the Sosnogorsk assemblage differs in a larger diversity containing very primitive tetrapod and diversified sarcopterygian fishes including dipnoans and porolepiforms but lacking acanthodians. Wide distribution of a single species of Bothriolepis and usually diminished diversity of vertebrates suggest that the earliest Famennian vertebrate assemblages conform the survival faunas of the latest Frasnian–earliest Famennian biotic crisis.

  8. New Data on Conodonts of the Upper Devonian of the Polar Urals (Ostantsovy Section, Malaya Usa River

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A. Soboleva

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The main features of the Upper Devonian sediments on the right side of the Ostantsovy Creek (the left tributary of the Malaya Usa River in the eastern part of the Bielsko-Eletskaya structural formational belt on the western slope of the Polar Urals have been considered. The late Frasnian age of these sediments has been determined on the basis of conodonts (the linguiformis zone of the standard conodont scale. The transition from clastic and organic limestones with massive stromatoporoid forms to limestones with fused (reservoir stromatoporoid forms and Palmatolepis biofacies is indicative of the transgressive shift of the linguiformis phase. This transgressive level is an indirect expression of the Upper Kellwasser global event.

  9. New Insights in the Ontogeny and Taphonomy of the Devonian Acanthodian Triazeugacanthus affinis From the Miguasha Fossil-Lagerstätte, Eastern Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marion Chevrinais

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Progressive biomineralization of a skeleton occurs during ontogeny in most animals. In fishes, larvae are poorly mineralized, whereas juveniles and adults display a progressively more biomineralized skeleton. Fossil remains primarily consist of adult specimens because the fossilization of poorly-mineralized larvae and juveniles necessitates exceptional conditions. The Miguasha Fossil-Lagerstätte is renowned for its Late Devonian vertebrate fauna, revealing the exceptional preservation of fossilized ontogenies for 14 of the 20 fish species from this locality. The mineralization of anatomical structures of the acanthodian Triazeugacanthus affinis from Miguasha are compared among larval, juvenile and adult specimens using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry. Chemical composition of anatomical structures of Triazeugacanthus reveals differences between cartilage and bone. Although the histology and anatomy is well-preserved, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry shows that the original chemical composition of bone is altered by diagenesis; the mineral phase of the bone (i.e., hydroxyapatite is modified chemically to form more stable carbonate-fluorapatite. Fluorination occurring in mineralized skeletal structures of adult Triazeugacanthus is indicative of exchanges between groundwater and skeleton at burial, whereas the preservation of larval soft tissues is likely owing to a rapid burial under anoxic conditions. The exceptional state of preservation of a fossilized ontogeny allowed us to characterize chemically the progressive mineralization of the skeleton in a Devonian early vertebrate.

  10. Patterns of Seismicity Associated with USGS Identified Areas of Potentially Induced Seismicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Caitlin; Halihan, Todd

    2018-03-13

    A systematic review across U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified potentially induced seismic locations was conducted to discover seismic distance patterns and trends over time away from injection disposal wells. Previous research indicates a 10 km (6 miles) average where the majority of induced seismicity is expected to occur within individual locations, with some areas reporting a larger radius of 35 km (22 miles) to over 70 km (43 miles). This research analyzed earthquake occurrences within nine USGS locations where specified wells were identified as contributors to induced seismicity to determine distance patterns from disposal wells or outward seismic migration over time using established principles of hydrogeology. Results indicate a radius of 31.6 km (20 miles) where 90% of felt earthquakes occur among locations, with the closest proximal felt seismic events, on average, occurring 3 km (1.9 miles) away from injection disposal wells. The results of this research found distance trends across multiple locations of potentially induced seismicity. © 2018, National Ground Water Association.

  11. Clifton, AZ 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  12. Tularosa, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  13. Gallup, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  14. USGS Southwest Repeat Photography Collection: Kanab Creek, southern Utah and northern Arizona, 1872-2010

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — The USGS Southwest Repeat Photography Collection (‘Collection’), formerly named the Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection, is now housed by the...

  15. Clifton, AZ 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  16. Albuquerque, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  17. Douglas, AZ 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  18. Gallup, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  19. Roswell, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  20. Socorro, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  1. Douglas, AZ 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  2. Roswell, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  3. Shiprock, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  4. Aztec, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  5. Aztec, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  6. Socorro, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  7. Carlsbad, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  8. Raton, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  9. Shiprock, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  10. Albuquerque, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  11. Raton, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  12. Carlsbad, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  13. Tularosa, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  14. NASA and USGS invest in invasive species modeling to evaluate habitat for Africanized Honey Bees

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    Invasive non-native species, such as plants, animals, and pathogens, have long been an interest to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA. Invasive species cause harm to our economy (around $120 B/year), the environment (e.g., replacing native biodiversity, forest pathogens negatively affecting carbon storage), and human health (e.g., plague, West Nile virus). Five years ago, the USGS and NASA formed a partnership to improve ecological forecasting capabilities for the early detection and containment of the highest priority invasive species. Scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Fort Collins Science Center developed a longterm strategy to integrate remote sensing capabilities, high-performance computing capabilities and new spatial modeling techniques to advance the science of ecological invasions [Schnase et al., 2002].

  15. 2007 USGS/NPS/NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL): Naval Live Oaks Area, FL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — ASCII xyz point cloud data were produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),...

  16. Two new organic reference materials for δ13C and δ15N measurements and a new value for the δ13C of NBS 22 oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Geilmann, Heike; Brand, Willi A.; Böhlke, J.K.

    2003-01-01

    Analytical grade L-glutamic acid is chemically stable and has a C/N mole ratio of 5, which is close to that of many of natural biological materials, such as blood and animal tissue. Two L-glutamic acid reference materials with substantially different 13C and 15N abundances have been prepared for use as organic reference materials for C and N isotopic measurements. USGS40 is analytical grade L-glutamic acid and has a δ13C value of −26.24‰ relative to VPDB and a δ15N value of −4.52‰ relative to N2 in air. USGS41 was prepared by dissolving analytical grade L-glutamic acid with L-glutamic acid enriched in 13C and 15N. USGS41 has a δ13C value of +37.76‰ and a δ15N value of +47.57‰. The δ13C and δ15N values of both materials were measured against the international reference materials NBS 19 calcium carbonate (δ13C = +1.95‰), L-SVEC lithium carbonate (δ13C = −46.48‰), IAEA-N-1 ammonium sulfate (δ15N = 0.43‰), and USGS32 potassium nitrate (δ15N = 180‰) by on-line combustion continuous-flow and off-line dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. Both USGS40 and USGS41 are isotopically homogeneous; reproducibility of δ13C is better than 0.13‰, and that of δ15N is better than 0.13‰ in 100-μg amounts. These two isotopic reference materials can be used for (i) calibrating local laboratory reference materials, and (ii) quantifying drift with time, mass-dependent fractionations, and isotope-ratio-scale contraction in the isotopic analysis of various biological materials. Isotopic results presented in this paper yield a δ13C value for NBS 22 oil of −29.91‰, in contrast to the commonly accepted value of −29.78‰ for which off-line blank corrections probably have not been quantified satisfactorily.

  17. USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting: Proceedings with abstracts, October 20-23, 2008, Orlando, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavoie, Dawn L.; Rosen, Barry H.; Sumner, Dave; Haag, Kim H.; Tihansky, Ann B.; Boynton, Betsy; Koenig, Renee; Lavoie, Dawn L.; Rosen, Barry H.; Sumner, Dave; Haag, Kim H.; Tihansky, Ann B.; Boynton, Betsy; Koenig, Renee

    2008-01-01

    Welcome! The USGS is the Nation's premier source of information in support of science-based decision making for resource management. We are excited to have the opportunity to bring together a diverse array of USGS scientists, managers, specialists, and others from science centers around the Gulf working on biologic, geologic, and hydrologic issues related to the Gulf of Mexico and the State of Florida. We've organized the meeting around the major themes outlined in the USGS Circular 1309, Facing Tomorrow's Challenges - U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017. USGS senior leadership will provide a panel discussion about the Gulf of Mexico and Integrated Science. Capstone talks will summarize major topics and key issues. Interactive poster sessions each evening will provide the opportunity for you to present your results and talk with your peers. We hope that discussions and interactions at this meeting will help USGS scientists working in Florida and the Gulf Coast region find common interests, forge scientific collaborations and chart a direction for the future. We hope that the meeting environment will encourage interaction, innovation and stimulate ideas among the many scientists working throughout the region. We'd like to create a community of practice across disciplines and specialties that will help us address complex scientific and societal issues. Please take advantage of this opportunity to visit with colleagues, get to know new ones, share ideas and brainstorm about future possibilities. It is our pleasure to provide this opportunity. We are glad you're here.

  18. USGS HYDRoacoustic dataset in support of the Surface Water Oceanographic Topography satellite mission (HYDRoSWOT)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — HYDRoSWOT – HYDRoacoustic dataset in support of Surface Water Oceanographic Topography – is a data set that aggregates channel and flow data collected from the USGS...

  19. Geochemical and palaeontological evidence for the definition of the Silurian/Devonian boundary in the Changwantang Section, Guangxi Province, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-jin Zhao

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Southern Guangxi Province is one of the important areas for the study of the Silurian/Devonian boundary (SDB in South China. Despite attempts to define the exact level of the SDB in the Yulin (Guangxi Province area using biostratigraphy, no consensus has been reached as the indicator fossils (e.g. graptolite Monograptus uniformis uniformis, conodont Icriodus woschmidti woschmidti and trilobite Warburgella rugulosa rugosa are not coexistent in South China. Since Mann et al. (2001: Dynamics of the Silurian/Devonian boundary sequence: sedimentary cycles vs. organic matter variation. Terra Nostra, 2001, 44–48 reported the first isotope curve based on organic carbon for the SDB at Klonk in the Czech Republic (GSSP, some comparable variation curves of δ13Corg across the SDB have been obtained at several locations including sections in Turkey and China. This distinct variation curve of the isotopic composition of organic carbon across the SDB provides a chemostratigraphic reference for a worldwide correlation of the SDB. In this study, organic geochemistry together with graptolite biostratigraphy is applied as a tool for identifying the SDB at the Changwantang Section in Yulin (Guangxi Province. The results suggest that the variations in some indexes of organic geochemistry can be correlated to the representative curve of the SDB in the Klonk and Esenyali sections. The exact level of the SDB in the Changwantang Section is positioned within the upper part of the Fangcheng Formation, which is consistent with the available palaeontological data from graptolites (e.g. Colonograptus colonus, Plectograptus sp., Monograptus uniformis, M. cf. M. praehercynicus and M. aequabilis.

  20. Devonian to Early Carboniferous magmatic alkaline activity in the Tafilalt Province, Eastearn Morocco: An Eovariscan episode in the Gondwana margin, north of the West African Craton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouclet, André; El Hadi, Hassan; Bardintzeff, Jacques-Marie; Benharref, Mohammed; Fekkak, Abdelilah

    2017-05-01

    To the eastern edge of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas, the Tafilalt Province is the repository of a Lower Palaeozoic platform and basin sedimentation constrained by a W-E and NW-SE fault network. During the mid-late Devonian, an extensional tectonic activity, demonstrated by sharp changes in sediment thickness and development of syn-sedimentary faults, was contemporaneous with a significant magmatic activity. A great number of doleritic dykes, sills, and laccoliths intruded sedimentary Silurian to Lower Visean strata. The intrusions were linked to sub-water volcanic activities with spilitic lava flows and pyroclastites during two main pulses in the Famennian-Tournaisian and in the Early Visean. The rocks consist of basaltic dolerites, lamprophyric dolerites and analcite-bearing camptonites, sharing a sodic alkaline magma composition. The magma derived from low partial melting degree of the metasome layer of the lithospheric subcontinental mantle, below the spinel-garnet transition zone. This Tafilalt tectono-magmatic activity was coeval with the Eovariscan phase in the Moroccan Meseta, which was responsible for the opening of Western Meseta basins and their transitional to alkaline volcanic activities in the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous time.

  1. Index Grids - QUADRANGLES_24K_USGS_IN: Boundaries of 7.5-Minute Quadrangles in Indiana, (United States Geological Survey, 1:24,000 Polygon Shapefile)

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — QUADRANGLES_24K_USGS_IN is a polygon shapefile defining the boundaries of the USGS 7.5-minute (1:24,000-scale) quadrangles which cover the state of Indiana. Dates of...

  2. Stratigraphic significance and resolution of spectral reflectance logs in Lower Devonian carbonates of the Barrandian area, Czech Republic; a correlation with magnetic susceptibility and gamma-ray logs

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Koptíková, Leona; Bábek, O.; Hladil, Jindřich; Kalvoda, J.; Slavík, Ladislav

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 225, 3/4 (2010), s. 83-98 ISSN 0037-0738 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAAX00130702; GA ČR GA205/08/0767 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : VIS spectral reflectance * cyclostratigraphy * sea -level changes * Lower Devonian * red pelagic carbonates * diagenesis Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.685, year: 2010

  3. Graphic correlation of the Frasnian Upper Devonian Composite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klapper, G. (Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States). Dept. of Geology); Kirchgasser, W.T. (Potsdam Coll., NY (United States). Geology Dept.); Baesemann, J.F. (Amoco Production Co., Houston, TX (United States))

    1993-03-01

    Although statistical solution to the line of correlation (LOC) was advocated by Shaw (1964) when the technique of graphic correlation was introduced, most practioners, including Shaw himself shortly after publication of Time in Stratigraphy, agree that statistical methods for locating the LOC are inappropriate. As a consequence, calculation of the standard error of estimate and other statistical measures of error in order to quantify the resolution of graphic correlation is also inappropriate. Methods for locating the LOC are diverse involving geologic as well as biostratigraphic knowledge, and include positioning it with respect to magnetic reversals, volcanic ash beds, oxygen isotope data, and splitting bases and tops of species so as to cause minimum disruption in known ranges. The LOC for each section with the Composite Standard is a testable hypothesis of stratigraphic correlation. The Frasnian Composite consists of 27 sections in the Montagne Noire (southern France), Alberta Rockies, Hay River - Trout River areas of the Northwest Territories, Canada, the Midcontinent and New York sequences in the US, the Canning Basin, Western Australia, and the Central Devonian Field and Timan-Pechora Basin of the Russian Platform. Through graphic correlation, the Frasnian Stage is divided into 34 composite standard units, using ranges of conodonts and to a lesser extent goniatites. The resulting subdivision is considerably more precise than that achieved by the conventional thirteen-fold zonation based on the Montagne Noire conodont sequence, many zones of which have been replicated in the cited areas outside the Montagne Noire. The Frasnian Composite successfully provides a precise intrazonal method of correlation that uses the ranges of all species from the studies sections in a single biostratigraphic framework, rather than emphasizing a few zonal indices.

  4. Archive of digital Chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 08CCT01, Mississippi Gulf Islands, July 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Flocks, James G.; Worley, Charles R.

    2011-01-01

    In July of 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the geologic controls on island framework from Ship Island to Horn Island, Mississippi, for the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project. Funding was provided through the Geologic Framework and Holocene Coastal Evolution of the Mississippi-Alabama Region Subtask (http://ngom.er.usgs.gov/task2_2/index.php); this project is also part of a broader USGS study on Coastal Change and Transport (CCT). This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital Chirp seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, observer's logbook, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

  5. Las Cruces, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  6. Santa Fe, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  7. Silver City, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  8. El Paso, TX 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  9. Silver City, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  10. Saint Johns, AZ 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  11. Fort Sumner, NM 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  12. Las Cruces, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  13. El Paso, TX 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  14. Santa Fe, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  15. Saint Johns, AZ 1:250,000 Quad West Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  16. Fort Sumner, NM 1:250,000 Quad East Half USGS Land Use/Land Cover, 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This land cover data set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

  17. ASTER and USGS EROS emergency imaging for hurricane disasters: Chapter 4D in Science and the storms-the USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Kenneth A.; Abrams, Michael

    2007-01-01

    Satellite images have been extremely useful in a variety of emergency response activities, including hurricane disasters. This article discusses the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Joint United States-Japan Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Science Team, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in responding to crisis situations by tasking the ASTER instrument and rapidly providing information to initial responders. Insight is provided on the characteristics of the ASTER systems, and specific details are presented regarding Hurricane Katrina support.

  18. USGS science in Menlo Park -- a science strategy for the U.S. Geological Survey Menlo Park Science Center, 2005-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brocher, Thomas M.; Carr, Michael D.; Halsing, David L.; John, David A.; Langenheim, V.E.; Mangan, Margaret T.; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.; Takekawa, John Y.; Tiedeman, Claire

    2006-01-01

    In the spring of 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Menlo Park Center Council commissioned an interdisciplinary working group to develop a forward-looking science strategy for the USGS Menlo Park Science Center in California (hereafter also referred to as "the Center"). The Center has been the flagship research center for the USGS in the western United States for more than 50 years, and the Council recognizes that science priorities must be the primary consideration guiding critical decisions made about the future evolution of the Center. In developing this strategy, the working group consulted widely within the USGS and with external clients and collaborators, so that most stakeholders had an opportunity to influence the science goals and operational objectives.The Science Goals are to: Natural Hazards: Conduct natural-hazard research and assessments critical to effective mitigation planning, short-term forecasting, and event response. Ecosystem Change: Develop a predictive understanding of ecosystem change that advances ecosystem restoration and adaptive management. Natural Resources: Advance the understanding of natural resources in a geologic, hydrologic, economic, environmental, and global context. Modeling Earth System Processes: Increase and improve capabilities for quantitative simulation, prediction, and assessment of Earth system processes.The strategy presents seven key Operational Objectives with specific actions to achieve the scientific goals. These Operational Objectives are to:Provide a hub for technology, laboratories, and library services to support science in the Western Region. Increase advanced computing capabilities and promote sharing of these resources. Enhance the intellectual diversity, vibrancy, and capacity of the work force through improved recruitment and retention. Strengthen client and collaborative relationships in the community at an institutional level.Expand monitoring capability by increasing density, sensitivity, and

  19. 2004 USGS/NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL): Northern Gulf of Mexico, Post-Hurricane Ivan

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — ASCII xyz point cloud data were produced from remotely-sensed, geographically-referenced elevation measurements in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...

  20. U.S. Geological Survey 2013 assessment of undiscovered resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the U.S. Williston Basin Province

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.

    2014-01-01

    The Upper Devonian Three Forks and Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formations comprise a major United States continuous oil resource. Current exploitation of oil is from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Member of the Bakken and upper Three Forks, with ongoing exploration of the lower Three Forks, and the Upper, Lower, and Pronghorn Members of the Bakken Formation. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a mean of 3.65 billion bbl of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resource within the Bakken Formation. The USGS recently reassessed the Bakken Formation, which included an assessment of the underlying Three Forks Formation. The Pronghorn Member of the Bakken Formation, where present, was included as part of the Three Forks assessment due to probable fluid communication between reservoirs. For the Bakken Formation, five continuous and one conventional assessment units (AUs) were defined. These AUs are modified from the 2008 AU boundaries to incorporate expanded geologic and production information. The Three Forks Formation was defined with one continuous and one conventional AU. Within the continuous AUs, optimal regions of hydrocarbon recovery, or “sweet spots,” were delineated and estimated ultimate recoveries were calculated for each continuous AU. Resulting undiscovered, technically recoverable resource estimates were 3.65 billion bbl for the five Bakken continuous oil AUs and 3.73 billion bbl for the Three Forks Continuous Oil AU, generating a total mean resource estimate of 7.38 billion bbl. The two conventional AUs are hypothetical and represent a negligible component of the total estimated resource (8 million barrels of oil).

  1. USGS earthquake hazards program (EHP) GPS use case : earthquake early warning (EEW) and shake alert

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-30

    GPS Adjacent Band Workshop VI RTCA Inc., Washington D.C., 30 March 2017. USGS GPS receiver use case - Real-Time GPS for EEW -Continued: CRITICAL EFFECT - The GNSS component of the Shake Alert system augments the inertial sensors and is especial...

  2. USGS science for the Nation's changing coasts; shoreline change assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thieler, E. Robert; Hapke, Cheryl J.

    2011-01-01

    The coastline of the United States features some of the most popular tourist and recreational destinations in the world and is the site of intense residential, commercial, and industrial development. The coastal zone also has extensive and pristine natural areas, with diverse ecosystems providing essential habitat and resources that support wildlife, fish, and human use. Coastal erosion is a widespread process along most open-ocean shores of the United States that affects both developed and natural coastlines. As the coast changes, there are a wide range of ways that change can affect coastal communities, habitats, and the physical characteristics of the coast?including beach erosion, shoreline retreat, land loss, and damage to infrastructure. Global climate change will likely increase the rate of coastal change. A recent study of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, for example, found that it is virtually certain that sandy beaches will erode faster in the future as sea level rises because of climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for conducting research on coastal change hazards, understanding the processes that cause coastal change, and developing models to predict future change. To understand and adapt to shoreline change, accurate information regarding the past and present configurations of the shoreline is essential. A comprehensive, nationally consistent analysis of shoreline movement is needed. To meet this national need, the USGS is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean coasts of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii, as well as the coasts of the Great Lakes.

  3. Global iridium anomaly, mass extinction, and redox change at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, K. (Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Alberta (Canada) Univ. of Calgary, Alberta (Canada)); Attrep, M. Jr.; Orth, C.J. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States))

    1993-12-01

    Iridium abundance anomalies have been found on a global scale in the Devonian-Carboniferous (D-C) boundary interval, which records one of the largest Phanerozoic mass-extinction events, an event that devastated many groups of living organisms, such as plants, ammonoids, trilobites, conodonts, fish, foraminiferans, brachiopods, and ostracodes. At or very close to the D-C boundary, there exists a geographically widespread black-shale interval, and Ir abundances reach anomalous maxima of 0.148 ppb (Montagne Noire, France), 0.138 ppb (Alberta, Canada) 0.140 ppb (Carnic Alps, Austria), 0.156 ppb (Guangxi, China), 0.258 ppb (Guizhou, China), and 0.250 ppb (Oklahoma). The discovery of global D-C Ir anomalies argues for an impact-extinction model. However, nonchondritic ratios of Ir to other important elements and a lack of physical evidence (shocked quartz, microtektites) do not support such a scenario. The fact that all Ir abundance maxima are at sharp redox boundaries in these sections leads us to conclude that the Ir anomalies likely resulted from a sudden change in paleo-redox conditions during deposition and/or early diagenesis. 36 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

  4. 2011 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Alabama Topographic LiDAR: Baldwin County East and West

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — USGS Contract: G10PC00026 Task Order Number: G10PD02126 LiDAR was collected at a 2.0 meter nominal post spacing (2.0m GSD) for approximately 329 square miles of...

  5. Follicle Detection on the USG Images to Support Determination of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adiwijaya; Purnama, B.; Hasyim, A.; Septiani, M. D.; Wisesty, U. N.; Astuti, W.

    2015-06-01

    Polycystic Ovary Syndrome(PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorders affected to female in their reproductive cycle. This has gained the attention from married couple which affected by infertility. One of the diagnostic criteria considereded by the doctor is analysing manually the ovary USG image to detect the number and size of ovary's follicle. This analysis may affect low varibilites, reproducibility, and efficiency. To overcome this problems. automatic scheme is suggested to detect the follicle on USG image in supporting PCOS diagnosis. The first scheme is determining the initial homogeneous region which will be segmented into real follicle form The next scheme is selecting the appropriate regions to follicle criteria. then measuring the segmented region attribute as the follicle. The measurement remains the number and size that aimed at categorizing the image into the PCOS or non-PCOS. The method used is region growing which includes region-based and seed-based. To measure the follicle diameter. there will be the different method including stereology and euclidean distance. The most optimum system plan to detect PCO is by using region growing and by using euclidean distance on quantification of follicle.

  6. USGS compilation of geographic information system (GIS) data of coal mines and coal-bearing areas in Mongolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trippi, Michael H.; Belkin, Harvey E.

    2015-09-10

    Geographic information system (GIS) information may facilitate energy studies, which in turn provide input for energy policy decisions. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled GIS data representing coal mines, deposits (including those with and without coal mines), occurrences, areas, basins, and provinces of Mongolia as of 2009. These data are now available for download, and may be used in a GIS for a variety of energy resource and environmental studies of Mongolia. Chemical data for 37 coal samples from a previous USGS study of Mongolia (Tewalt and others, 2010) are included in a downloadable GIS point shapefile and shown on the map of Mongolia. A brief report summarizes the methodology used for creation of the shapefiles and the chemical analyses run on the samples.

  7. ASTER and USGS EROS disaster response: emergency imaging after Hurricane Katrina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Kenneth A.; Abrams, Michael

    2005-01-01

    The value of remotely sensed imagery during times of crisis is well established, and the increasing spatial and spectral resolution in newer systems provides ever greater utility and ability to discriminate features of interest (International Charter, Space and Major Disasters, 2005). The existing suite of sensors provides an abundance of data, and enables warning alerts to be broadcast for many situations in advance. In addition, imagery acquired soon after an event occurs can be used to assist response and remediation teams in identifying the extent of the affected area and the degree of damage. The data characteristics of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Refl ection Radiometer (ASTER) are well-suited for monitoring natural hazards and providing local and regional views after disaster strikes. For this reason, and because of the system fl exibility in scheduling high-priority observations, ASTER is often tasked to support emergency situations. The Emergency Response coordinators at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) work closely with staff at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) at EROS and the ASTER Science Team as they fulfi ll their mission to acquire and distribute data during critical situations. This article summarizes the role of the USGS/EROS Emergency Response coordinators, and provides further discussion of ASTER data and the images portrayed on the cover of this issue

  8. USGS environmental characterization of flood sediments left in the New Orleans area after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005--Progress Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Meeker, Gregory P.; Lovelace, John K.; Rosenbauer, Robert J.; Lamothe, Paul J.; Furlong, Edward T.; Demas, Charles R.

    2006-01-01

    Introduction: The flooding in the greater New Orleans area that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September, 2005, left behind accumulations of sediments up to many centimeters thick on streets, lawns, parking lots, and other flat surfaces. These flood sediment deposits have been the focus of extensive study by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) due to concerns that the sediments may contain elevated levels of heavy metals, organic contaminants, and microbes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is characterizing a limited number of flood sediment samples that were collected on September 15-16 and October 6-7, 2005, from the greater New Orleans area by personnel from the USGS Louisiana Water Science Center in Baton Rouge. Small samples (< 3 pints each) of wet to dry flood sediment were collected from 11 localities around downtown New Orleans on September 15, 2005, and two large samples (40 pints each) of wet flood sediment were collected from the Chalmette area on September 16. Twelve additional samples (8-10 pints each) were collected from New Orleans, Slidell, Rigolets, and Violet on October 6 and 7. The USGS characterization studies of these flood sediments are designed to produce data and interpretations regarding how the sediments and any contained contaminants may respond to environmental processes. This information will be of use to cleanup managers and DoI/USGS scientists assessing environmental impacts of the hurricanes and subsequent cleanup activities.

  9. Continental crust melting induced by subduction initiation of the South Tianshan Ocean: Insight from the Latest Devonian granitic magmatism in the southern Yili Block, NW China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Zihe; Cai, Keda; Sun, Min; Xiao, Wenjiao; Wan, Bo; Wang, Yannan; Wang, Xiangsong; Xia, Xiaoping

    2018-03-01

    The Tianshan belt of the southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt was generated by Paleozoic multi-stage subduction and final closure of several extinct oceans, including the South Tianshan Ocean between the Kazakhstan-Yili and Tarim blocks. However, the subduction initiation and polarity of the South Tianshan Ocean remain issues of highly debated. This study presents new zircon U-Pb ages, geochemical compositions and Sr-Nd isotopes, as well as zircon Hf isotopic data of the Latest Devonian to Early Carboniferous granitic rocks in the Wusun Mountain of the Yili Paleozoic convergent margin, which, together with the spatial-temporal distributions of regional magmatic rocks, are applied to elucidate their petrogenesis and tectonic linkage to the northward subduction initiation of the South Tianshan Ocean. Our zircon U-Pb dating results reveal that these granites were emplaced at the time interval of 362.0 ± 1.2-360.3 ± 1.9 Ma, suggesting a marked partial melting event of the continental crust in the Latest Devonian to Early Carboniferous. These granites, based on their mineral compositions and textures, can be categorized as monzogranites and K-feldspar granites. Geochemically, both monzogranites and K-feldspar granites have characters of I-type granites with high K2O contents (4.64-4.83 wt.%), and the K-feldspar granites are highly fractionated I-type granites, while the monzogranites have features of unfractionated I-type granites. Whole-rock Sr-Nd isotopic modeling results suggest that ca. 20-40% mantle-derived magmas may be involved in magma mixing with continental crust partial melts to generate the parental magmas of the granites. The mantle-derived basaltic magmas was inferred not only to be a major component of magma mixture but also as an important heat source to fuse the continental crust in an extensional setting, which is evidenced by the high zircon saturation temperatures (713-727 °C and 760-782 °C) of the studied granites. The Latest Devonian to

  10. Development of Microanaytical Reference Materials for In-situ Anaysis at the U.S. Geological Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, S.

    2006-05-01

    With the increased use of microanalysis in geochemical investigations comes the need for a reliable and diversified supply of reference materials homogenous at the micrometer scale to assist analysts in element quantification. To meet these requirements, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has undertaken a program to develop a series of reference materials which cover a range of sample types currently being investigated in our microanalytical laboratories. Initial efforts have focused on the development of natural basalt glasses (BCR- 2G, BHVO-2G, BIR-1G, TB-1G, NKT-1G) from a variety of geologic settings. In addition to these natural basalt materials a series of synthetic basalt glasses GSA-1G, GSC-1G, GSD-1G, GSE-1G have also been developed with 65 trace elements at 0, 3, 30, and 300, ppm respectively. The homogeneity of these materials and their use in international microanalytical proficiency studies will be presented. Application of this technology to the development of glass reference materials as part of a USGS/NASA collaborative studies on the development of Lunar Soil Simulant material will also be discussed.

  11. Sedimentology, conodonts and ostracods of the Devonian - Carboniferous strata of the Anseremme railway bridge section, Dinant Basin, Belgium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casier, J.-G.; Mamet, B.; Preat, A.; Sandberg, C.A.

    2004-01-01

    Seven major carbonate microfacies are defined in the Devonian - Carboniferous (D/C) strata (50 m) of the Anseremme railway bridge section, south of Dinant. They permit recognition of several levels encompassing the Etroeungt and Hastie??re formations. "Bathymetric" sequences range from open marine, below the storm wave base, to semi-restricted lagoon. This sequence records a shallowing-upward trend of the relative sea level, from environments below the storm wave base to strongly eroded supraticial pre-evaporitic environments. Faunal components (echinoderms, brachiopods...) indicate open-marine domain for the first six microfacies located within the dysphoticeuphotic zone in relatively shallow waters. The textures of the rocks (mudstones to rudstones) associated with lamination characteristics indicate the position of the storm (SWB) and the fair-weather (FWWB) wave bases. Microfacies seven suggests a semi-restricted platform with salinity fluctuations from hypersaline brines to brackish waters. Thus, the boundary of the Etroeungt/Hastie??re formations is marked by an abrupt drop in sea level. Carbonate micro-conglomerates recording an important erosive phase and a sedimentary hiatus. The environment is again open marine in the upper part of the Hastie??re Formation. Our conclusion is that the Anseremme section is not a reliable continuous succession for the study of the D/C boundary. This confirms the VAN STEENWINKEL (1988, 1993 hypothesis based on other arguments. Conodont faunas demonstrate that the Devonian sequence spans the five youngest conodont zones, but that two of these zones are not represented. The Epinette Formation is dated as the youngest part of the Middle expansa Zone. Thus, the boundary with the Late praesulcata Zone probably coincides with the sharp sedimentological change at the base of the Etroeungt Formation, which is interpreted to belong entirely to this zone. The disconformably overlying basal bed 159 of the Hastie??re Formation is dated

  12. Characterization and analysis of Devonian shales as related to release of gaseous hydrocarbons. Well V-7 Wetzel County, West Virginia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalyoncu, R.S.; Boyer, J.P.; Snyder, M.J.

    1979-08-15

    This program was initiated in September 1976, with the objective and scope of determining the relationships between the shale characteristics, hydrocarbon gas contents, and well location, and thereby provide a sound basis for (1) assessing the productive capacity of the Eastern Devonian Gas Shale deposits, and (2) guiding research, development and demonstration projects to enhance the recovery of natural gas from the shale deposits. Included in the scope of the program are a number of elemental tasks as a part of the Resource Inventory and Shale Characterization subprojects of DOE's Eastern Gas Shales Project designed to provide large quantities of support data for current and possibly future needs of the Project.

  13. USGS library for S-PLUS for Windows -- Release 4.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenz, David L.; Ahearn, Elizabeth A.; Carter, Janet M.; Cohn, Timothy A.; Danchuk, Wendy J.; Frey, Jeffrey W.; Helsel, Dennis R.; Lee, Kathy E.; Leeth, David C.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; McGuire, Virginia L.; Neitzert, Kathleen M.; Robertson, Dale M.; Slack, James R.; Starn, J. Jeffrey; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Wilkison, Donald H.; Williamson, Joyce E.

    2011-01-01

    Release 4.0 of the U.S. Geological Survey S-PLUS library supercedes release 2.1. It comprises functions, dialogs, and datasets used in the U.S. Geological Survey for the analysis of water-resources data. This version does not contain ESTREND, which was in version 2.1. See Release 2.1 for information and access to that version. This library requires Release 8.1 or later of S-PLUS for Windows. S-PLUS is a commercial statistical and graphical analysis software package produced by TIBCO corporation(http://www.tibco.com/). The USGS library is not supported by TIBCO or its technical support staff.

  14. America's Changing Energy Landscape - USGS National Coal Resources Data System Changes to National Energy Resources Data System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    East, J. A., II

    2016-12-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center (EERSC) has an ongoing project which has mapped coal chemistry and stratigraphy since 1977. Over the years, the USGS has collected various forms of coal data and archived that data into the National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS) database. NCRDS is a repository that houses data from the major coal basins in the United States and includes information on location, seam thickness, coal rank, geologic age, geographic region, geologic province, coalfield, and characteristics of the coal or lithology for that data point. These data points can be linked to the US Coal Quality Database (COALQUAL) to include ultimate, proximate, major, minor and trace-element data. Although coal is an inexpensive energy provider, the United States has shifted away from coal usage recently and branched out into other forms of non-renewable and renewable energy because of environmental concerns. NCRDS's primary method of data capture has been USGS field work coupled with cooperative agreements with state geological agencies and universities doing coal-related research. These agreements are on competitive five-year cycles that have evolved into larger scope research efforts including solid fuel resources such as coal-bed methane, shale gas and oil. Recently these efforts have expanded to include environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels, which has allowed the USGS to enter into agreements with states for the Geologic CO2 Storage Resources Assessment as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act. In 2016 they expanded into research areas to include geothermal, conventional and unconventional oil and gas. The NCRDS and COALQUAL databases are now online for the public to use, and are in the process of being updated to include new data for other energy resources. Along with this expansion of scope, the database name will change to the National Energy Resources Data System (NERDS) in FY 2017.

  15. Original Product Resolution (OPR) Source Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) - USGS National Map 3DEP Downloadable Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — This data collection is the Original Product Resolution (OPR) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) as provided to the USGS. This DEM is delivered in the original...

  16. U-Pb SHRIMP ages of volcanic zircons from the Merrions and Turondale Formations, New South Wales, and the early devonian time-scale: a biostratigraphic and sedimentological assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Packham, G.H.

    2003-01-01

    U-Pb ages for volcanic zircons from the Lower Devonian Turondale and Merrions Formations initially dated by Jagodzinski and Black (1999) have been recalculated by Compston (2000, 2001). The Turondale, Waterbeach and Merrions Formations are, in ascending stratigraphic order, three of the Lower Devonian deep-water formations of the Hill End Trough. The recent discovery of a Lochkovian conodont fauna of the delta zone in derived limestone blocks from the uppermost beds of the Turondale Formation has established a maximum age for that horizon. The principal lithological assemblages of the formations are volcanic (megaturbidite and lavas), epiclastic turbidites and essentially hemipelagic lithologies. The mean zircon ages, determined by Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP), suggest a long duration for the Merrions Formation, 615 m thick and 91% volcanic, and a very much shorter interval for the upper two-thirds of the Turondale Formation, 360 m thick and 34% volcanic, plus the intervening non-volcanic Waterbeach Formation, 512 m thick. A sedimentological model based on scaled depositional rates for the facies has been used to estimate the relative accumulation rates and durations of the succession from the base of the Turondale Formation to the top of the Merrions Formation The model indicates that the Merrions Formation accumulated in a much shorter time than the interval from the top of the lower Turondale Formation to the base of the Merrions Formation. The analytical uncertainties of the Jagodzinski and Black (1999) zircon ages are large enough to be compatible with the sedimentological model, but the smaller analytical uncertainties calculated by Compston (2000, 2001) fall far from the scaled sedimentological model. Grouping together of the lower Merrions Formation and lower Turondale Formation zircon dates in Compston (2000) for a single mid-Lochkovian age is in conflict with the biostratigraphic and sedimentological evidence available and the derived

  17. Proceedings of the Second All-USGS Modeling Conference, February 11-14, 2008: Painting the Big Picture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Shailaja R.

    2009-01-01

    The Second USGS Modeling Conference was held February 11-14, 2008, in Orange Beach, Ala. Participants at the conference came from all U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) regions and represented all four science discipline - Biology, Geography, Geology, and Water. Representatives from other Department of the Interior (DOI) agencies and partners from the academic community also participated. The conference, which was focused on 'painting the big picture', emphasized the following themes: Integrated Landscape Monitoring, Global Climate Change, Ecosystem Modeling, and Hazards and Risks. The conference centered on providing a forum for modelers to meet, exchange information on current approaches, identify specific opportunities to share existing models and develop more linked and integrated models to address complex science questions, and increase collaboration across disciplines and with other organizations. Abstracts for the 31 oral presentations and more than 60 posters presented at the conference are included here. The conference also featured a field trip to review scientific modeling issues along the Gulf of Mexico. The field trip included visits to Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, and Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. On behalf of all the participants of the Second All-USGS Modeling Conference, the conference organizing committee expresses our sincere appreciation for the support of field trip oganizers and leaders, including the managers from the various Reserves and Refuges. The organizing committee for the conference included Jenifer Bracewell, Sally Brady, Jacoby Carter, Thomas Casadevall, Linda Gundersen, Tom Gunther, Heather Henkel, Lauren Hay, Pat Jellison, K. Bruce Jones, Kenneth Odom, and Mark Wildhaber.

  18. Position of the Upper Devonian Frasnian--Famennian boundary in the central Appalachians

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rossbach, T.J. (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States). Dept. of Geology)

    1992-01-01

    Biostratigraphic analysis of eight Upper Devonian sections in VA and WV reveals that the section at Huttonsville, Randolph County, WV, is a key locality for determining the Frasnian-Famennian boundary. The Foreknobs Formation at Huttonsville indicates a higher stratigraphic placement of the Frasnian-Famennian boundary than has been generally assumed. Conodonts are not known within that section, so placement of the boundary uses the last occurrence of tentaculitids and the last and first occurrences of several species of brachiopods. It is believed that the Frasnian-Famennian boundary can be identified independently of the atrypoid brachiopods. Stratigraphic ranges of the cricoconarid Tentaculites discusses and the brachiopod Tropidoleptus carinatus, both considered Frasnian marker fossils, indicate that the Frasnian extends well into the Red Lick Member of the Foreknobs Formation at Huttonsville, with T. carinatus occurring up to 70% of the stratigraphic thickness of the Red Lick. The Famennian marker fossils A. angelica and C. sulcifer are both found at Huttonsville above the last recorded occurrence of all the Frasnian marker fossils. To the northeast of Huttonsville the Frasnian-Famennian series boundary has been placed by other workers within or at the top of the Pound Member of the Foreknobs Formation. This discrepancy implies that either the Pound Member is diachronous or that to the northeast paleoecologic factors caused local disappearances of critical fossils before their extinction at Huttonsville.

  19. Dissolved methane in New York groundwater, 1999-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kappel, William M.; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.

    2012-01-01

    New York State is underlain by numerous bedrock formations of Cambrian to Devonian age that produce natural gas and to a lesser extent oil. The first commercial gas well in the United States was dug in the early 1820s in Fredonia, south of Buffalo, New York, and produced methane from Devonian-age black shale. Methane naturally discharges to the land surface at some locations in New York. At Chestnut Ridge County Park in Erie County, just south of Buffalo, N.Y., several surface seeps of natural gas occur from Devonian black shale, including one behind a waterfall. Methane occurs locally in the groundwater of New York; as a result, it may be present in drinking-water wells, in the water produced from those wells, and in the associated water-supply systems (Eltschlager and others, 2001). The natural gas in low-permeability bedrock formations has not been accessible by traditional extraction techniques, which have been used to tap more permeable sandstone and carbonate bedrock reservoirs. However, newly developed techniques involving horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing have made it possible to extract previously inaccessible natural gas from low-permeability bedrock such as the Marcellus and Utica Shales. The use of hydraulic fracturing to release natural gas from these shale formations has raised concerns with water-well owners and water-resource managers across the Marcellus and Utica Shale region (West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and parts of several other adjoining States). Molofsky and others (2011) documented the widespread natural occurrence of methane in drinking-water wells in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. In the same county, Osborn and others (2011) identified elevated methane concentrations in selected drinking-water wells in the vicinity of Marcellus gas-development activities, although pre-development samples were not available for comparison. In order to manage water resources in areas of gas-well drilling and hydraulic

  20. Rugose corals across the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in NW Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julien Denayer

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available An uppermost Famennian (Strunian coral assemblage has been recovered in the middle part of the Yılanlı Formation of the Istanbul Zone (Zonguldak and Bartın areas, NW Turkey. In the Bartın area, the studied fossiliferous interval corresponds to a c. 30 m-thick unit of bioclastic to peloidal wackestone to packstone grading to grainstone and including two stromatoporoid biostromes. In the Zonguldak area, 60 km westward, the bioclastic facies is dominant. The rugose corals are mainly solitary taxa belonging to the genera Campophyllum, Bounophyllum, Amplexocarinia, and ?Metriophyllum, and only one colonial genus occurs: Pseudoendophyllum. This fauna is similar to that documented in Europe. The campophyllids and dibunophyllids are the main component of the uppermost Famennian assemblages in S Belgium, N France, W Germany, NW and S Poland. The endophyllids occur in S Poland, Novaya Zemlya, and in the Ural Mountains. The Istanbul Zone is supposed to be situated in the central part of the Palaeotethys Ocean, along the southern margin of Laurussia during the uppermost Devonian and Carboniferous. The rugose corals indicate some relationship with the eastern part of Laurussia, or that both areas were under a common marine influence at this time. The global Hangenberg event was not recognized in the Turkish localities, except for the disappearance of the corals, occurring less than 19 m below the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary based on the foraminifers. There is no major facies change through the boundary and the first Carboniferous corals (small Uralinia and Caninophyllum appear 6 m above the D–C boundary. The new species Caninophyllum charli sp. nov. is described from the upper part of the lower Tournaisian.

  1. Petroleum Systems and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the Raton Basin - Sierra Grande Uplift Province, Colorado and New Mexico - USGS Province 41

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higley, Debra K.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico (USGS Province 41). The Cretaceous Vermejo Formation and Cretaceous-Tertiary Raton Formation have production and undiscovered resources of coalbed methane. Other formations in the province exhibit potential for gas resources and limited production. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define two total petroleum systems and five assessment units. All five assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered gas resources. Oil resources were not assessed because of the limited potential due to levels of thermal maturity of petroleum source rocks.

  2. Earth’s oldest ‘Bobbit worm’ – gigantism in a Devonian eunicidan polychaete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Mats E.; Parry, Luke A.; Rudkin, David M.

    2017-01-01

    Whilst the fossil record of polychaete worms extends to the early Cambrian, much data on this group derive from microfossils known as scolecodonts. These are sclerotized jaw elements, which generally range from 0.1–2 mm in size, and which, in contrast to the soft-body anatomy, have good preservation potential and a continuous fossil record. Here we describe a new eunicidan polychaete, Websteroprion armstrongi gen. et sp. nov., based primarily on monospecific bedding plane assemblages from the Lower-Middle Devonian Kwataboahegan Formation of Ontario, Canada. The specimens are preserved mainly as three-dimensional moulds in the calcareous host rock, with only parts of the original sclerotized jaw walls occasionally present. This new taxon has a unique morphology and is characterized by an unexpected combination of features seen in several different Palaeozoic polychaete families. Websteroprion armstrongi was a raptorial feeder and possessed the largest jaws recorded in polychaetes from the fossil record, with maxillae reaching over one centimetre in length. Total body length of the species is estimated to have reached over one metre, which is comparable to that of extant ‘giant eunicid’ species colloquially referred to as ‘Bobbit worms’. This demonstrates that polychaete gigantism was already a phenomenon in the Palaeozoic, some 400 million years ago. PMID:28220886

  3. 2007 USGS/NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL): Fire Island National Seashore, NY and Sandy Hook, NJ

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — ASCII xyz point cloud data were produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...

  4. Challenge theme 6: Natural hazard risks in the Borderlands: Chapter 8 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, William R.; Parcher, Jean W.; Stefanov, Jim

    2013-01-01

    Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides and debris flows, wildfires, hurricanes, and intense storm-induced flash floods threaten communities to varying degrees all along the United States–Mexican border. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborates with Federal, State, and local agencies to minimize the effects of natural hazards by providing timely, unbiased science information to emergency response officials, resource managers, and the public to help reduce property damage, injury, and loss of life. The USGS often mobilizes response efforts during and after a natural hazard event to provide technical and scientific counsel on recovery and response, and it has a long history of deploying emergency response teams to major disasters in both domestic and international locations. This chapter describes the challenges of natural hazards in the United States–Mexican border region and the capabilities of the USGS in the fields of hazard research, monitoring, and assessment, as well as preventative mitigation and post-disaster response.

  5. How the USGS collects national water-use data, and why it needs to be improved to aid hydrologic research (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worland, S. C.

    2017-12-01

    The volume of water used by humans is an often-overlooked component of water budgets and represents the greatest amount of uncertainty in many hydrologic models. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled national water-use data at the state level since 1950 and at the county level since 1985. The data are published every five years and are available for several categorical end-uses; the major ones being thermoelectric power, irrigation, public supply, and self-supplied industrial. Although the USGS is mandated by Congress to generate these water-use reports, the effort is largely underfunded. For most years between 1979 to 2010, the annual funding allotted to the USGS National Water-Use Information Program was less than 400,000 which has not been sufficient to support the direct collection of water-use data by the USGS. The result has been historical water-use data that are temporally sparse, spatially granular, and lack the high standards of quality control typical of USGS data products. For example, in 2010 there were over 55,000 public-water suppliers in the United States that represented water withdrawals from 130,000 groundwater wells and 8,000 surface-water intakes. The 2010 water-use compilation provided only a single-year snapshot of public-supply withdrawals and reduces the 55,000 data points to 3,000 by aggregating the data into the hydrologically irrelevant spatial unit of county boundaries. Furthermore, important information such as interbasin-water transfers, aquifer source, and water price are entirely absent from the dataset. Since 2011, however, the allocation has increased to 1.6 million/year and in 2015 there was an additional $1.5 million/year allocated to the Water-Use Data and Research Program which grants federal money to state agencies for water-use data collection efforts. This increase in funding has primarily been used to improve the water-use estimates of the thermoelectric power, public supply, and irrigation sectors

  6. Regional geological assessment of the Devonian-Mississippian shale sequence of the Appalachian, Illinois, and Michigan basins relative to potential storage/disposal of radioactive wastes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lomenick, T.F.; Gonzales, S.; Johnson, K.S.; Byerly, D.

    1983-01-01

    The thick and regionally extensive sequence of shales and associated clastic sedimentary rocks of Late Devonian and Early Mississippian age has been considered among the nonsalt geologies for deep subsurface containment of high-level radioactive wastes. This report examines some of the regional and basin-specific characteristics of the black and associated nonblack shales of this sequence within the Appalachian, Illinois, and Michigan basins of the north-central and eastern United States. Principal areas where the thickness and depth of this shale sequence are sufficient to warrant further evaluation are identified, but no attempt is made to identify specific storage/disposal sites. Also identified are other areas with less promise for further study because of known potential conflicts such as geologic-hydrologic factors, competing subsurface priorities involving mineral resources and groundwater, or other parameters. Data have been compiled for each basin in an effort to indicate thickness, distribution, and depth relationships for the entire shale sequence as well as individual shale units in the sequence. Included as parts of this geologic assessment are isopach, depth information, structure contour, tectonic elements, and energy-resource maps covering the three basins. Summary evaluations are given for each basin as well as an overall general evaluation of the waste storage/disposal potential of the Devonian-Mississippian shale sequence,including recommendations for future studies to more fully characterize the shale sequence for that purpose. Based on data compiled in this cursory investigation, certain rock units have reasonable promise for radioactive waste storage/disposal and do warrant additional study.

  7. Regional geological assessment of the Devonian-Mississippian shale sequence of the Appalachian, Illinois, and Michigan basins relative to potential storage/disposal of radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lomenick, T.F.; Gonzales, S.; Johnson, K.S.; Byerly, D.

    1983-01-01

    The thick and regionally extensive sequence of shales and associated clastic sedimentary rocks of Late Devonian and Early Mississippian age has been considered among the nonsalt geologies for deep subsurface containment of high-level radioactive wastes. This report examines some of the regional and basin-specific characteristics of the black and associated nonblack shales of this sequence within the Appalachian, Illinois, and Michigan basins of the north-central and eastern United States. Principal areas where the thickness and depth of this shale sequence are sufficient to warrant further evaluation are identified, but no attempt is made to identify specific storage/disposal sites. Also identified are other areas with less promise for further study because of known potential conflicts such as geologic-hydrologic factors, competing subsurface priorities involving mineral resources and groundwater, or other parameters. Data have been compiled for each basin in an effort to indicate thickness, distribution, and depth relationships for the entire shale sequence as well as individual shale units in the sequence. Included as parts of this geologic assessment are isopach, depth information, structure contour, tectonic elements, and energy-resource maps covering the three basins. Summary evaluations are given for each basin as well as an overall general evaluation of the waste storage/disposal potential of the Devonian-Mississippian shale sequence,including recommendations for future studies to more fully characterize the shale sequence for that purpose. Based on data compiled in this cursory investigation, certain rock units have reasonable promise for radioactive waste storage/disposal and do warrant additional study

  8. Smartphone interface to USGS 'Did You Feel It?' - Getting More Citizens Involved in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savran, W. H.; Petersen, R. I.; Wukusick, M.

    2013-12-01

    Over the last hundred years, we have put forth a concerted effort to install a dense array of seismometers - used to monitor and measure seismic waves propagating through the earth. In addition to expensive instrumentation, citizens provide useful data to the earthquake science community as demonstrated by the USGS 'Did you feel it?' project. Currently, the 'Did You Feel It?' data is acquired, through an internet browser, from a long questionnaire. With the increasing number of smartphone owners, an application interfacing the population with the 'Did you feel it?' project introduces the next logical step in progressing this technology. We are developing an application, which utilizes many features of modern smartphones to provide a better interface from citizen to scientist. Our application will notify users of any earthquake within a predefined distance above a predefined size. At this point, the user has the option to answer the questionnaire and send their experience of the earthquake to the USGS 'Did you feel it?' database or simply decline. Instead of a cumbersome web-form, the user will be prompted for questions in line with the paradigm of current smartphone application development. An easy, interactive interface allows the user to answer the questions rapidly in a fun manner, resulting in more participation. In addition to putting earthquake science into the hands of many more citizens, the application will also allow the user to place an emergency call in case of casualty during the next big one. Future versions of the application will allow users to take, view, and submit photographs of damage caused by the earthquake. Also, users will be able to view intensity maps generated for the event they evaluated. The USGS has already done an incredible job setting up the 'Did you feel it?' framework; having a more accessible user interface to acquire data will greatly expand the possibilities of the 'Did you feel it?' project.

  9. USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Paleogene strata of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and state waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warwick, Peter D.; Coleman, James; Hackley, Paul C.; Hayba, Daniel O.; Karlsen, Alexander W.; Rowan, Elisabeth L.; Swanson, Sharon M.; Kennan, Lorcan; Pindell, James; Rosen, Norman C.

    2007-01-01

    This report presents a review of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2007 assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources in Paleogene strata underlying the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and state waters. Geochemical, geologic, geophysical, thermal maturation, burial history, and paleontologic studies have been combined with regional cross sections and data from previous USGS petroleum assessments have helped to define the major petroleum systems and assessment units. Accumulations of both conventional oil and gas and continuous coal-bed gas within these petroleum systems have been digitally mapped and evaluated, and undiscovered resources have been assessed following USGS methodology.The primary source intervals for oil and gas in Paleogene (and Cenozoic) reservoirs are coal and shale rich in organic matter within the Wilcox Group (Paleocene-Eocene) and Sparta Formation of the Claiborne Group (Eocene); in addition, Cretaceous and Jurassic source rocks probably have contributed substantial petroleum to Paleogene (and Cenozoic) reservoirs.For the purposes of the assessment, Paleogene strata have divided into the following four stratigraphic study intervals: (1) Wilcox Group (including the Midway Group and the basal Carrizo Sand of the Claiborne Group; Paleocene-Eocene); (2) Claiborne Group (Eocene); (3) Jackson and Vicksburg Groups (Eocene-Oligocene); and (4) the Frio-Anahuac Formations (Oligocene). Recent discoveries of coal-bed gas in Paleocene strata confirm a new petroleum system that was not recognized in previous USGS assessments. In total, 26 conventional Paleogene assessment units are defined. In addition, four Cretaceous-Paleogene continuous (coal-bed gas) assessment units are included in this report. Initial results of the assessment will be released as USGS Fact Sheets (not available at the time of this writing).Comprehensive reports for each assessment unit are planned to be released via the internet and distributed on CD-ROMs within the next year.

  10. Analysis of the structural parameters that influence gas production from the Devonian shale. Annual progress report, 1979-1980. Volume II. Data repository and reports published during fiscal year 1979-1980: regional structure, surface structure, surface fractures, hydrology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negus-De Wys, J.; Dixon, J. M.; Evans, M. A.; Lee, K. D.; Ruotsala, J. E.; Wilson, T. H.; Williams, R. T.

    1980-10-01

    This volume comprises appendices giving regional structure data, surface structure data, surface fracture data, and hydrology data. The fracture data covers oriented Devonian shale cores from West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The subsurface structure of the Eastern Kentucky gas field is also covered. (DLC)

  11. Particular cases of materials balance equation generalized for gas deposits associated to the coal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penuela, G; Ordonez, A; Bejarano, A

    1997-01-01

    One of the fundamental principles used in the work, developed in engineering is the law of the matter conservation. The application of this principle to the hydrocarbons fields, with the purpose of to quantify and to be predicted expresses by means of materials balance method. While the equation construction of conventional materials balance and the calculations that come with their application are not a difficult task, the approach of selection of the solution that better it represents the deposit it is one of the problems that the petroleum engineer should face. The materials balance is a useful analysis method of the deposit operation, reserves estimate of raw and gas, and prediction of the future behavior of the deposit. The coal, beds, devonian shales and geo pressurized-aquifer are some examples of natural gas sources and to possess production mechanisms and behaviors significantly different to the traditional than have been considered as non conventional deposits

  12. USGS Online Short-term Hazard Maps: Experiences in the First Year of Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerstenberger, M. C.; Jones, L. M.

    2005-12-01

    In May of 2005, following review by the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council, the USGS launched a website that displays the probability of experiencing Modified Mercalli Intensity VI in the next 24 hours. With a forecast based on a relatively simple application of the Gutenberg-Richter relationship and the modified Omori law, the maps are primarily aimed at providing information related to aftershock hazard. Initial response to the system has been mostly positive but has required an effort toward public education. Particularly, it has been difficult to communicate the important difference between a probabilistic forecast and a binary earthquake "prediction". Even with the familiar use of probabilities in weather maps and recent use of terms such as Modified Mercalli Intensity, these, and other terms, are often misunderstood by the media and public. Additionally, the fact that our methodology is not targeted at large independent events has sometimes been difficult to convey to scientists as well as the public. Initial interest in the webpages has been high with greater than 700,000 individual visits between going live in late May, 2005 and the end of June, 2005. This accounts for more than 1/3 of the visits to the USGS-Pasadena webpages in that period. Visits have declined through July and August, but individual daily visits average around 3,000/day.

  13. Effects of ancient porosity and permeability on formation of sedimentary dolomites: Devonian Jefferson Formation (Frasnian), south-central Montana

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, T.M.; Dorobek, S.L.

    1987-08-01

    Petrographic and geochemical evidence indicates that multiple dolomitization and dolomite stabilization events affected the Devonian Jefferson Formation (Frasnian) in south-central Montana. Several types of dolomite occur, defined by cathodoluminescence: nonzoned, dully luminescent subhedral-anhedral mosaics (most common), euhedral nonzoned and zoned dolomites, zoned dolomite cements, and irregularly luminescent dolomites (dully luminescent with irregularly luminescent regions). The irregularly luminescent fabrics probably represent partial replacement of early dolomite phases with later dolomite phases. Nonzoned, Ca-enriched, euhedral dolomites occur in calcite-cemented, coarse-grained limestone layers. These permeable layers probably were conduits for early meteoric waters, that occluded porosity in the limestones and prevented later dolomite stabilization. Irregularly luminescent dolomites are interpreted as intermediate fabrics in the dolomite stabilization process. Later calcite cements which occlude intercrystalline porosity prevented further dolomite replacement. Total recrystallization of remaining dolomites and formation of final dully luminescent mosaics occurred prior to brecciation and stylolitization.

  14. USGS Hydrography (NHD) Overlay Map Service from The National Map - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) service from The National Map (TNM) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about...

  15. EPA and USGS scientists conduct study to determine prevalence of newly-emerging contaminants in treated and untreated drinking water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scientists from the EPA and USGS are collaborating on a research study to determine the presence of contaminants of emerging concern in treated and untreated drinking water collected from drinking water treatment plants.

  16. Precise position of the Basal Choteč event and evolution of sedimentary environments near the Lower–Middle Devonian boundary: The magnetic susceptibility, gamma-ray spectrometric, lithological, and geochemical record of the Prague Synform (Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Koptíková, Leona

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 304, 1/2 (2011), s. 96-112 ISSN 0031-0182 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB307020602; GA AV ČR IAAX00130702 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : magnetic susceptibility * Gamma-ray spectrometry * Prague Synform * Lower–Middle Devonian Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.392, year: 2011

  17. USGS Field Activities 11CEV01 and 11CEV02 on the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, in January and February 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Lisa L.; Knorr, Paul O.; Daly, Kendra L.; Taylor, Carl A.

    2014-01-01

    During January and February 2011 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of South Florida (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf. Data collected will allow USGS and USF scientists to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of Mexico, specifically, the effect of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. This work is part of a larger USGS study on Climate and Environmental Variability (CEV). The first cruise was conducted from January 3 – 7 (11CEV01) and the second from February 17 - 27 (11CEV02). To view each cruise's survey lines, please see the Trackline page. Both cruises took place aboard the R/V Weatherbird II, a ship of opportunity led by Dr. Kendra Daly (USF), which departed and returned from Saint Petersburg, Florida. Data collection included sampling of the surface and water column (referred to as station samples) with lab analysis of pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and total alkalinity. Augmenting the lab analysis was a continuous flow-through system with a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensor, which also recorded salinity, and pH. Corroborating the USGS data are the vertical CTD profiles collected by USF. The CTD casts measured continuous vertical profiles of oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, optical backscatter, and transmissometer. Discrete samples for nutrients, chlorophyll, and particulate organic carbon/nitrogen were also collected during the CTD casts.

  18. Connecting the dots: a collaborative USGS-NPS effort to expand the utility of monitoring data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, James B.; Schoolmaster, Donald R.; Schweiger, E. William; Mitchell, Brian R.; Miller, Kathryn; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

    2014-01-01

    The Natural Resource Challenge (National Park Service 1999) was a call to action. It constituted a mandate for monitoring based on the twin premises that (1) natural resources in national parks require active management and stewardship if we are to protect them from gradual degradation, and (2) we cannot protect what we do not understand. The intent of the challenge was embodied in its original description: We must expand existing inventory programs and develop efficient ways to monitor the vital signs of natural systems. We must enlist others in the scientific community to help, and also facilitate their inquiry. Managers must have and apply this information to preserve our natural resources. In this article, we report on ongoing collaborative work between the National Park Service (NPS) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) that seeks to add to our scientific understanding of the ecological processes operating behind vital signs monitoring data. The ultimate goal of this work is to provide insights that can facilitate an understanding of the systems and identify potential opportunities for active stewardship by NPS managers (Bennetts et al. 2007; Mitchell et al. 2014). The bulk of the work thus far has involved Acadia and Rocky Mountain national parks, but there are plans for extending the work to additional parks. Our story stats with work designed to consider ways of assessing the status and condition of natural resources and the potential for historical or ongoing influences of human activities. In the 1990s, the concept of "biotic integrity" began to take hold as an aspiration for developing quantitative indices describing how closely the conditions at a site resemble those found at pristine, unimpacted sites. Quantitative methods for developing indices of biotic integrity (IBIs) and elaborations of that idea (e.g., ecological integrity) have received considerable attention and application of these methods to natural resources has become widespread (Karr 1991

  19. A new basaltic glass microanalytical reference material for multiple techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Steve; Koenig, Alan; Lowers, Heather

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been producing reference materials since the 1950s. Over 50 materials have been developed to cover bulk rock, sediment, and soils for the geological community. These materials are used globally in geochemistry, environmental, and analytical laboratories that perform bulk chemistry and/or microanalysis for instrument calibration and quality assurance testing. To answer the growing demand for higher spatial resolution and sensitivity, there is a need to create a new generation of microanalytical reference materials suitable for a variety of techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy/X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). As such, the microanalytical reference material (MRM) needs to be stable under the beam, be homogeneous at scales of better than 10–25 micrometers for the major to ultra-trace element level, and contain all of the analytes (elements or isotopes) of interest. Previous development of basaltic glasses intended for LA-ICP-MS has resulted in a synthetic basaltic matrix series of glasses (USGS GS-series) and a natural basalt series of glasses (BCR-1G, BHVO-2G, and NKT-1G). These materials have been useful for the LA-ICP-MS community but were not originally intended for use by the electron or ion beam community. A material developed from start to finish with intended use in multiple microanalytical instruments would be useful for inter-laboratory and inter-instrument platform comparisons. This article summarizes the experiments undertaken to produce a basalt glass reference material suitable for distribution as a multiple-technique round robin material. The goal of the analytical work presented here is to demonstrate that the elemental homogeneity of the new glass is acceptable for its use as a reference material. Because the round robin exercise is still underway, only

  20. Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 12BIM03 offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, July 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2014-01-01

    From July 23 - 31, 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework and long-term sediment transport along the oil spill mitigation sand berm constructed at the north end and just offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, La. (figure 1). This effort is part of a broader USGS study, which seeks to better understand barrier island evolution over medium time scales (months to years). This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital chirp subbottom data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained (showing a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Abbreviations page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 12BIM03 tells us the data were collected in 2012 during the third field activity for that project in that calendar year and BIM is a generic code, which represents efforts related to Barrier Island Mapping. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. All chirp systems use a signal of continuously varying frequency; the EdgeTech SB-424 system used during this survey produces high-resolution, shallow-penetration (typically less than 50 milliseconds (ms)) profile images of sub-seafloor stratigraphy. The towfish contains a transducer that transmits and receives acoustic energy and is typically towed 1 - 2 m below the sea surface. As transmitted acoustic energy intersects density boundaries, such as the seafloor or sub-surface sediment layers, energy is reflected back toward the transducer, received

  1. SICS: the Southern Inland and Coastal System interdisciplinary project of the USGS South Florida Ecosystem Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2011-01-01

    State and Federal agencies are working jointly on structural modifications and improved water-delivery strategies to reestablish more natural surface-water flows through the Everglades wetlands and into Florida Bay. Changes in the magnitude, duration, timing, and distribution of inflows from the headwaters of the Taylor Slough and canal C-111 drainage basins have shifted the seasonal distribution and extent of wetland inundation, and also contributed to the development of hypersaline conditions in nearshore embayments of Florida Bay. Such changes are altering biological and vegetative communities in the wetlands and creating stresses on aquatic habitat. Affected biotic resources include federally listed species such as the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, American crocodile, wood stork, and roseate spoonbill. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is synthesizing scientific findings from hydrologic process studies, collecting data to characterize the ecosystem properties and functions, and integrating the results of these efforts into a research tool and management model for this Southern Inland and Coastal System(SICS). Scientists from all four disciplinary divisions of the USGS, Biological Resources, Geology, National Mapping, and Water Resources are contributing to this interdisciplinary project.

  2. Recognition of depositional sequences and stacking patterns, Late Devonian (Frasnian) carbonate platforms, Alberta basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, J.H.; Reeckmann, S.A.; Sarg, J.F.; Greenlee, S.M.

    1987-05-01

    Six depositional sequences bounded by regional unconformities or their correlative equivalents (sequence boundaries) have been recognized in Late Devonian (Frasnian) carbonate platforms in the Alberta basin. These sequences consist of a predictable vertical succession of smaller scale shoaling-upward cycles (parasequences). Parasequences are arranged in retrogradational, aggradational, and progradational stacking patterns that can be modeled as a sediment response to relative changes in sea level. Sequence boundaries are recognized by onlap onto underlying shelf or shelf margin strata. This onlap includes shelf margin wedges and deep marine onlap. In outcrop sections shelf margin wedges exhibit an abrupt juxtaposition of shallow water facies over deeper water deposits with no gradational facies changes at the boundaries. High on the platform, subaerial exposure fabrics may be present. The shelf margin wedges are interpreted to have formed during lowstands in sea level and typically exhibit an aggradational stacking pattern. On the platform, two types of sequences are recognized. A type 1 cycle occurs where the sequence boundary is overlain by a flooding surface and subsequent parasequences exhibit retrogradational stacking. In a type 2 cycle the sequence boundary is overlain by an aggradational package of shallow water parasequences, followed by a retrogradational package. These two types of sequences can be modeled using a sinusoidal eustatic sea level curve superimposed on thermo-tectonic subsidence.

  3. The Hunsrück biota: A unique window into the ecology of Lower Devonian arthropods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rust, Jes; Bergmann, Alexandra; Bartels, Christoph; Schoenemann, Brigitte; Sedlmeier, Stephanie; Kühl, Gabriele

    2016-03-01

    The approximately 400-million-year old Hunsrück biota provides a unique window into Devonian marine life. Fossil evidence suggests that this biota was dominated by echinoderms and various classes of arthropods, including Trilobita, stem lineage representatives of Euarthropoda, Chelicerata and Eucrustacea, as well as several crown group Chelicerata and Eucrustacea. The Hunsrück biota's exceptional preservation allows detailed reconstructions and description of key-aspects of its fauna's functional morphologies thereby revealing modes of locomotion, sensory perception, and feeding strategies. Morphological and stratigraphic data are used for a critical interpretation of the likely habitats, mode of life and nutritional characteristics of this diverse fauna. Potential predators include pycnogonids and other chelicerates, as well as the now extinct stem arthropods Schinderhannes bartelsi, Cambronatus brasseli and Wingertshellicus backesi. Mainly the deposit feeding Trilobita, Marrellomorpha and Megacheira, such as Bundenbachiellus giganteus, represents scavengers. Possibly, opportunistic scavenging was also performed by the afore-mentioned predators. Most of the studied arthropods appear to have been adapted to living in relatively well-illuminated conditions within the photic zone. Fossil evidence for associations amongst arthropods and other classes of metazoans is reported. These associations provide evidence of likely community structures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. The hyper-enrichment of V and Zn in black shales of the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Bakken Formation (USA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Clinton T.; Slack, John F.; Kelley, Karen Duttweiler

    2017-01-01

    Black shales of the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Bakken Formation are characterized by high concentrations of organic carbon and the hyper-enrichment (> 500 to 1000s of mg/kg) of V and Zn. Deposition of black shales resulted from shallow seafloor depths that promoted rapid development of euxinic conditions. Vanadium hyper-enrichments, which are unknown in modern environments, are likely the result of very high levels of dissolved H2S (~ 10 mM) in bottom waters or sediments. Because modern hyper-enrichments of Zn are documented only in Framvaren Fjord (Norway), it is likely that the biogeochemical trigger responsible for Zn hyper-enrichment in Framvaren Fjord was also present in the Bakken basin. With Framvaren Fjord as an analogue, we propose a causal link between the activity of phototrophic sulfide oxidizing bacteria, related to the development of photic-zone euxinia, and the hyper-enrichment of Zn in black shales of the Bakken Formation.

  5. New porcellioidean gastropods from early Devonian of Royal Creek area, Yukon Territory, Canada, with notes on their early phylogeny

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fryda, J.; Blodgett, R.B.; Lenz, A.C.; Manda, S.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a description of new gastropods belonging to the superfamily Porcellioidea (Vetigastropoda) from the richly diverse Lower Devonian gastropod fauna of the Road River Formation in the Royal Creek area, Yukon Territory. This fauna belongs to Western Canada Province of the Old World Realm. The Pragian species Porcellia (Porcellia) yukonensis n. sp. and Porcellia (Paraporcellia) sp. represent the oldest presently known members of subgenera Porcellia (Porcellia) and Porcellia (Paraporcellia). Their simple shell ornamentation fits well with an earlier described evolutionary trend in shell morphology of the Porcellinae. Late Pragian to early Emsian Perryconcha pulchra n. gen. and n. sp. is the first member of the Porcellioidea bearing a row of tremata on adult teleoconch whorls. The occurrence of this shell feature in the Porcellioidea is additional evidence that the evolution of the apertural slit was much more complicated than has been proposed in classical models of Paleozoic gastropod evolution. Copyright ?? 2008, The Paleontological Society.

  6. Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seefelt, Ellen L.; Gonzalez, Wilma Aleman B.; Self-Trail, Jean M.; Weems, Robert E.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Pierce, Herbert A.; Durand, Colleen T.

    2009-01-01

    In October through November 2006, scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Region Earth Surface Processes Team (EESPT) and the Raleigh (N.C.) Water Science Center (WSC), in cooperation with the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) and the Onslow County Water and Sewer Authority (ONWASA), drilled a stratigraphic test hole and well in Onslow County, N.C. The Dixon corehole was cored on ONWASA water utility property north of the town of Dixon, N.C., in the Sneads Ferry 7.5-minute quadrangle at latitude 34deg33'35' N, longitude 77deg26'54' W (decimal degrees 34.559722 and -77.448333). The site elevation is 66.0 feet (ft) above mean sea level as determined using a Paulin precision altimeter. The corehole attained a total depth of 1,010 ft and was continuously cored by the USGS EESPT drilling crew. A groundwater monitoring well was installed in the screened interval between 234 and 254 ft below land surface. The section cored at this site includes Upper Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene sediments. The Dixon core is stored at the NCGS Coastal Plain core storage facility in Raleigh. The Dixon corehole is the fourth and last in a series of planned North Carolina benchmark coreholes drilled by the USGS Coastal Carolina Project. These coreholes explore the physical stratigraphy, facies, and thickness of Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene Coastal Plain sediments in North Carolina. Correlations of lithologies, facies, and sequence stratigraphy can be made with the Hope Plantation corehole, N.C., near Windsor in Bertie County (Weems and others, 2007); the Elizabethtown corehole, near Elizabethtown, N.C., in Bladen County (Self-Trail and others, 2004b); the Smith Elementary School corehole, near Cove City, N.C., in Craven County (Harris and Self-Trail, 2006; Crocetti, 2007); the Kure Beach corehole, near Wilmington, N.C., in New Hanover County (Self-Trail and others, 2004a); the Esso#1, Esso #2, Mobil #1, and Mobil #2 cores in Albermarle and Pamlico Sounds

  7. USGS Elevation Availability (NED) Overlay Map Service from The National Map - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) National Elevation Data Set (NED)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Elevation Availability service from The National Map (TNM) shows the best available resolution of downloadable elevation data, and is updated approximately...

  8. Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan: Implications for the middle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levashova, Natalia M.; Mikolaichuk, Alexander V.; McCausland, Philip J. A.; Bazhenov, Mikhail L.; Van der Voo, Rob

    2007-05-01

    The Ural-Mongol belt (UMB), between Siberia, Baltica and Tarim, is widely recognized as the locus of Asia's main growth during the Paleozoic, but its evolution remains highly controversial, as illustrated by the disparate paleogeographic models published in the last decade. One of the largest tectonic units of the UMB is the Kokchetav-North Tien Shan Domain (KNTD) that stretches from Tarim in the south nearly to the West Siberian Basin. The KNTD comprises several Precambrian microcontinents and numerous remnants of Early Paleozoic island arcs, marginal basins and accretionary complexes. In Late Ordovician time, all these structures had amalgamated into a single contiguous domain. Its paleogeographic position is of crucial importance for elucidating the Paleozoic evolution of the UMB in general and of the Urals in particular. The Aral Formation, located in Kyrgyzstan in the southern part of the KNTD, consists of a thick Upper Devonian (Frasnian) basalt-andesite sequence. Paleomagnetic data show a dual-polarity characteristic component (Dec/Inc = 286° / + 56°, α95 = 9°, k = 21, N = 15 sites). The primary origin of this magnetization is confirmed by a positive test on intraformational conglomerates. We combine this result with other Paleozoic data from the KNTD and show its latitudinal motion from the Late Ordovician to the end of the Paleozoic. The observed paleolatitudes are found to agree well with the values extrapolated from Baltica to a common reference point (42.5°N, 73°E) in our sampling area for the entire interval; hence coherent motion of the KNTD and Baltica is strongly indicated for most of the Paleozoic. This finding contradicts most published models of the UMB evolution, where the KNTD is separated from Baltica by a rather wide Ural Ocean containing one or more major plate boundaries. An exception is the model of Şengör and Natal'in [A.M.C. Şengör, B.A. Natal'in, Paleotectonics of Asia: fragments of a synthesis, in: A. Yin and M. Harrison (eds

  9. Inverse modeling as a step in the calibration of the LBL-USGS site-scale model of Yucca Mountain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finsterle, S.; Bodvarsson, G.S.; Chen, G.

    1995-05-01

    Calibration of the LBL-USGS site-scale model of Yucca Mountain is initiated. Inverse modeling techniques are used to match the results of simplified submodels to the observed pressure, saturation, and temperature data. Hydrologic and thermal parameters are determined and compared to the values obtained from laboratory measurements and conventional field test analysis

  10. Archive of digital Chirp sub-bottom profile data collected during USGS Cruise 07SCC01 offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, June 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2010-01-01

    In June of 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a geophysical survey offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) as part of the USGS Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) project. This project is part of a broader study focused on Subsidence and Coastal Change (SCC). The purpose of the study was to investigate the shallow geologic framework and monitor the enviromental impacts of Hurricane Katrina (Louisiana landfall was on August 29, 2005) on the Gulf Coast's barrier island chains. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital 512i and 424 Chirp sub-bottom profile data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, observer's logbook, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 07SCC01 tells us the data were collected in 2007 for the Subsidence and Coastal Change (SCC) study and the data were collected during the first field activity for that study in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity identification (ID). All Chirp systems use a signal of continuously varying frequency; the Chirp systems used during this survey produce high resolution, shallow penetration profile images beneath the seafloor. The towfish is a sound source and receiver, which is typically towed 1 - 2 m below the sea surface. The acoustic energy is reflected at density boundaries (such as the seafloor or sediment layers

  11. USGS Geographic Names (GNIS) Overlay Map Service from The National Map - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS developed The National Map (TNM) Gazetteer as the Federal and national standard (ANSI INCITS 446-2008) for geographic nomenclature based on the Geographic Names...

  12. USGS approach to real-time estimation of earthquake-triggered ground failure - Results of 2015 workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allstadt, Kate E.; Thompson, Eric M.; Wald, David J.; Hamburger, Michael W.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Knudsen, Keith L.; Jibson, Randall W.; Jessee, M. Anna; Zhu, Jing; Hearne, Michael; Baise, Laurie G.; Tanyas, Hakan; Marano, Kristin D.

    2016-03-30

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards and Landslide Hazards Programs are developing plans to add quantitative hazard assessments of earthquake-triggered landsliding and liquefaction to existing real-time earthquake products (ShakeMap, ShakeCast, PAGER) using open and readily available methodologies and products. To date, prototype global statistical models have been developed and are being refined, improved, and tested. These models are a good foundation, but much work remains to achieve robust and defensible models that meet the needs of end users. In order to establish an implementation plan and identify research priorities, the USGS convened a workshop in Golden, Colorado, in October 2015. This document summarizes current (as of early 2016) capabilities, research and operational priorities, and plans for further studies that were established at this workshop. Specific priorities established during the meeting include (1) developing a suite of alternative models; (2) making use of higher resolution and higher quality data where possible; (3) incorporating newer global and regional datasets and inventories; (4) reducing barriers to accessing inventory datasets; (5) developing methods for using inconsistent or incomplete datasets in aggregate; (6) developing standardized model testing and evaluation methods; (7) improving ShakeMap shaking estimates, particularly as relevant to ground failure, such as including topographic amplification and accounting for spatial variability; and (8) developing vulnerability functions for loss estimates.

  13. Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 10BIM04 offshore Cat Island, Mississippi, September 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Kindinger, Jack G.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Wiese, Dana S.; Buster, Noreen A.

    2012-01-01

    In September of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted a geophysical survey to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework of Cat Island, Miss., as part of a broader USGS study on Barrier Island Mapping (BIM). These surveys were funded through the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project as part of the Holocene Coastal Evolution of the Mississippi-Alabama Region Subtask. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital chirp subbottom data, trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Gained (showing a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. The USGS Saint Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 10BIM04 tells us the data were collected in 2010 during the fourth field activity for that project in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity identification (ID). All chirp systems use a signal of continuously varying frequency; the EdgeTech SB-512i system used during this survey produces high-resolution, shallow-penetration (typically less than 50 milliseconds (ms)) profile images of sub-seafloor stratigraphy. The towfish contains a transducer that transmits and receives acoustic energy; it was housed within a float system (built at the SPCMSC), which allows the towfish to be towed at a constant depth of 1.07 meters (m) below the sea surface. As transmitted acoustic energy intersects density boundaries, such as the seafloor or sub

  14. MODIFIED N.R.C. VERSION OF THE U.S.G.S. SOLUTE TRANSPORT MODEL. VOLUME 2. INTERACTIVE PREPROCESSOR PROGRAM

    Science.gov (United States)

    The methods described in the report can be used with the modified N.R.C. version of the U.S.G.S. Solute Transport Model to predict the concentration of chemical parameters in a contaminant plume. The two volume report contains program documentation and user's manual. The program ...

  15. The USGS national geothermal resource assessment: An update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C.F.; Reed, M.J.; Galanis, S.P.; DeAngelo, J.

    2007-01-01

    The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with the Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Program and other geothermal organizations on a three-year effort to produce an updated assessment of available geothermal resources. The new assessment will introduce significant changes in the models for geothermal energy recovery factors, estimates of reservoir volumes, and limits to temperatures and depths for electric power production. It will also include the potential impact of evolving Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology. An important focus in the assessment project is on the development of geothermal resource models consistent with the production histories and observed characteristics of exploited geothermal fields. New models for the recovery of heat from heterogeneous, fractured reservoirs provide a physically realistic basis for evaluating the production potential of both natural geothermal reservoirs and reservoirs that may be created through the application of EGS technology. Project investigators have also made substantial progress studying geothermal systems and the factors responsible for their formation through studies in the Great Basin-Modoc Plateau region, Coso, Long Valley, the Imperial Valley and central Alaska, Project personnel are also entering the supporting data and resulting analyses into geospatial databases that will be produced as part of the resource assessment.

  16. Iron in the Middle Devonian aquifer system and its removal at Võru County water treatment plants, Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariina Hiiob

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Groundwater abstracted from the Middle Devonian aquifer system is the main source of drinking water in South Estonia. High iron and manganese concentrations in groundwater are the greatest problems in this region. The total iron concentrations up to 16 mg L–1 are mainly caused by a high Fe2+ content in water, pointing to the dominance of reducing conditions in the aquifer system. A pilot study was carried out to estimate the effectiveness of 20 groundwater purification plants with eight different water treatment systems (aeration combined with Manganese Greensand, Birm, Nevtraco, Hydrolit-Mn, Magno-Dol and quartz sand filters in Võru County. The results demonstrate that in most cases the systems with pre-aeration effectively purify groundwater from iron, but only 13 out of 20 water treatment plants achieved a reduction of iron concentration to the level fixed in drinking water requirements (0.2 mg L–1. Manganese content decreased below the maximum allowed concentration in only 25% of systems and in cases where the filter media was Birm or quartz sand and pre-oxidation was applied. The study showed that the high level of iron purification does not guarantee effective removal of manganese.

  17. Infiltration-driven metamorphism, New England, USA: Regional CO2 fluxes and implications for Devonian climate and extinctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, E. M.; Ague, Jay J.

    2018-05-01

    We undertake thermodynamic pseudosection modeling of metacarbonate rocks in the Wepawaug Schist, Connecticut, USA, and examine the implications for CO2 outgassing from collisional orogenic belts. Two broad types of pseudosections are calculated: (1) a fully closed-system model with no fluid infiltration and (2) a fluid-buffered model including an H2O-CO2 fluid of a fixed composition. This fluid-buffered model is used to approximate a system open to infiltration by a water-bearing fluid. In all cases the fully closed-system model fails to reproduce the observed major mineral zones, mineral compositions, reaction temperatures, and fluid compositions. The fluid-infiltrated models, on the other hand, successfully reproduce these observations when the XCO2 of the fluid is in the range ∼0.05 to ∼0.15. Fluid-infiltrated models predict significant progressive CO2 loss, peaking at ∼50% decarbonation at amphibolite facies. The closed-system models dramatically underestimate the degree of decarbonation, predicting only ∼15% CO2 loss at peak conditions, and, remarkably, global warming, sea level rise, and, perhaps, extinction in the mid- to late-Devonian.

  18. Proceedings of a USGS Workshop on Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Along the U.S.-Mexico Border - Monitoring, Modeling, and Forecasting Change Within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Laura M.; Hirsch, Derrick D.; Ward, A. Wesley

    2008-01-01

    INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Competition for water resources, habitats, and urban areas in the Borderlands has become an international concern. In the United States, Department of Interior Bureaus, Native American Tribes, and other State and Federal partners rely on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide unbiased science and leadership in the Borderlands region. Consequently, the USGS hosted a workshop, ?Facing Tomorrow?s Challenges along the U.S.-Mexico Border,? on March 20?22, 2007, in Tucson, Ariz., focused specifically on monitoring, modeling, and forecasting change within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

  19. The USGS "Did You Feel It?" Macroseismic Intensity Maps: Lessons Learned from a Decade of Citizen-Empowered Seismology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wald, D. J.; Worden, C. B.; Quitoriano, V. R.; Dewey, J. W.

    2012-12-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) system is an automated approach for rapidly collecting macroseismic intensity (MI) data from Internet users' shaking and damage reports and generating intensity maps immediately following earthquakes; it has been operating for over a decade (1999-2012). The internet-based interface allows for a two-way path of communication between seismic data providers (scientists) and earthquake information recipients (citizens) by swapping roles: users looking for information from the USGS become data providers to the USGS. This role-reversal presents opportunities for data collection, generation of good will, and further communication and education. In addition, online MI collecting systems like DYFI have greatly expanded the range of quantitative analyses possible with MI data and taken the field of MI in important new directions. The maps are made more quickly, usually provide more complete coverage at higher resolution, and allow data collection at rates and quantities never before considered. Scrutiny of the USGS DYFI data indicates that one-decimal precision is warranted, and web-based geocoding services now permit precise locations. The high-quality, high-resolution, densely sampled MI assignments allow for peak ground motion (PGM) versus MI analyses well beyond earlier studies. For instance, Worden et al. (2011) used large volumes of data to confirm low standard deviations for multiple, proximal DYFI reports near a site, and they used the DYFI observations with PGM data to develop bidirectional, ground motion-intensity conversion equations. Likewise, Atkinson and Wald (2007) and Allen et al. (2012) utilized DYFI data to derive intensity prediction equations directly without intermediate conversion of ground-motion prediction equation metrics to intensity. Both types of relations are important for robust historic and real-time ShakeMaps, among other uses. In turn, ShakeMap and DYFI afford ample opportunities to

  20. Characteristics of the Late Devonian Tsagaan Suvarga Cu-Mo deposit, Southern Mongolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tungalag, Naidansuren; Jargalan, Sereenen; Khashgerel, Bat-Erdene; Mijiddorj, Chuluunbaatar; Kavalieris, Imants

    2018-05-01

    The Late Devonian Tsagaan Suvarga deposit (255 Mt at 0.55% Cu, 0.02% Mo) is located on the NW margin of the Tsagaan Suvarga Complex (TSC), which extends ENE over 15 × 10 km and comprises mainly medium-grained equigranular hornblende-biotite quartz monzonite and monzodiorite. Distinct mineralized intrusions are inferred from distribution of Cu-Mo mineralization but are not clearly discernible. The Tsagaan Suvarga Complex is a window within Carboniferous volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and wall rocks to the TSC are not known or exposed in the nearby district. Whole-rock analyses and Sr-Nd isotopes, 87Sr/86Sr0 = 0.7027 to 0.7038 (n = 12) and ɛNd0 = + 4.26 to + 2.77 (n = 12), show that the granitoids are subduction-related I-type, high K-calc-alkaline to shoshonitic series and derived from a mantle source. They exhibit fractionated light rare earth elements, without depleted Eu and depleted middle heavy rare earth elements and Y, typical of oxidized, fertile porphyry magmatic suites. Early porphyry-style quartz veins include A- and B-type. Molybdenite occurs in monomineralic veins (1-5 mm) or A veins. Copper mineralization occurs mainly as chalcopyrite and subordinate bornite, disseminated and associated with quartz-muscovite veins. Pyrite (vol%) content is less than chalcopyrite and bornite combined. Deep oxidation to about 50 m depth has formed zones of malachite and covellite in late fractures. The most important alteration is actinolite-biotite-chlorite-magnetite replacing hornblende and primary biotite. Quartz-K-feldspar alteration is minor. Late albite replaces primary K-feldspar and enhances sodic rims on plagioclase crystals. Quartz-muscovite (or sericitic alteration) overprints actinolite-biotite and porphyry-type quartz veins. Field observations and petrographic studies suggest that the bulk of the chalcopyrite-bornite mineralization at the Tsagaan Suvarga formed together with coarse muscovite alteration.

  1. Comprehensive inter-laboratory calibration of reference materials for δ18O versus VSMOW using various on-line high-temperature conversion techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, Willi A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Aerts-Bijma, Anita T.; Bohlke, John Karl; Gehre, Matthias; Geilmann, Heike; Groning, Manfred; Jansen, Henk G.; Meijer, Harro A. J.; Mroczkowski, Stanley J.; Qi, Haiping; Soergel, Karin; Stuart-Williams, Hilary; Weise, Stephan M.; Werner, Roland A.

    2009-01-01

    Internationally distributed organic and inorganic oxygen isotopic reference materials have been calibrated by six laboratories carrying out more than 5300 measurements using a variety of high-temperature conversion techniques (HTC) in an evaluation sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). To aid in the calibration of these reference materials, which span more than 125‰, an artificially enriched reference water (δ18O of +78.91‰) and two barium sulfates (one depleted and one enriched in 18O) were prepared and calibrated relative to VSMOW2 and SLAP reference waters. These materials were used to calibrate the other isotopic reference materials in this study, which yielded:Reference materialδ18O and estimated combined uncertainty IAEA-602 benzoic acid+71.28 ± 0.36‰USGS35 sodium nitrate+56.81 ± 0.31‰IAEA-NO-3 potassium nitrate+25.32 ± 0.29‰IAEA-601 benzoic acid+23.14 ± 0.19‰IAEA-SO-5 barium sulfate+12.13 ± 0.33‰NBS 127 barium sulfate+8.59 ± 0.26‰VSMOW2 water0‰IAEA-600 caffeine−3.48 ± 0.53‰IAEA-SO-6 barium sulfate−11.35 ± 0.31‰USGS34 potassium nitrate−27.78 ± 0.37‰SLAP water−55.5‰The seemingly large estimated combined uncertainties arise from differences in instrumentation and methodology and difficulty in accounting for all measurement bias. They are composed of the 3-fold standard errors directly calculated from the measurements and provision for systematic errors discussed in this paper. A primary conclusion of this study is that nitrate samples analyzed for δ18O should be analyzed with internationally distributed isotopic nitrates, and likewise for sulfates and organics. Authors reporting relative differences of oxygen-isotope ratios (δ18O) of nitrates, sulfates, or organic material should explicitly state in their reports the δ18O values of two or more internationally distributed nitrates (USGS34, IAEA-NO-3, and USGS35), sulfates (IAEA-SO-5, IAEA

  2. Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and precise dating of middle Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) Alamo Breccia, Nevada, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrow, J.R.; Sandberg, C.A.; Malkowski, K.; Joachimski, M.M.

    2009-01-01

    At Hancock Summit West, Nevada, western USA, uppermost Givetian (upper Middle Devonian) and lower and middle Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) rocks of the lower Guilmette Formation include, in stratigraphic sequence, carbonate-platform facies of the conodont falsiovalis, transitans, and punctata Zones; the type Alamo Breccia Member of the middle punctata Zone; and slope facies of the punctata and hassi Zones. The catastrophically deposited Alamo Breccia and related phenomena record the ~ 382??Ma Alamo event, produced by a km-scale bolide impact into a marine setting seaward of an extensive carbonate platform fringing western North America. Re-evaluation of conodonts from the lower Guilmette Formation and Alamo Breccia Member, together with regional sedimentologic and conodont biofacies comparisons, now firmly locates the onset of the Johnson et al. (1985) transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycle IIc, which occurred after the start of the punctata Zone, within a parautochthonous megablock low in the Alamo Breccia. Whole-rock carbon isotope analyses through the lower Guilmette Formation and Alamo Breccia Member reveal two positive ??13Ccarb excursions: (1) a small, 3??? excursion, which is possibly correlative with the falsiovalis Event previously identified from sections in Western Europe and Australia, occurs below the breccia in the Upper falsiovalis Zone to early part of the transitans Zone; and (2) a large, multi-part excursion, dominated by a 6??? positive shift, begins above the start of the punctata Zone and onset of T-R cycle IIc and continues above the Alamo Breccia, ending near the punctata- hassi zonal boundary. This large excursion correlates with the punctata Event, a major positive ??13C excursion previously recognized in eastern Laurussia and northern Gondwana. Consistent with previous studies, at Hancock Summit West the punctata Event is apparently not associated with any regional extinctions or ecosystem reorganizations. In the study area, onset of the

  3. The Early Devonian eurypterid Grossopterus overathi (Gross, 1933 from Overath, Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. A. Dunlop

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The holotype and only known specimen of the eurypterid (Chelicerata: Eurypterida Grossopterus overathi (Gross, 1933 from the Early Devonian (Siegennian of Overath, north-west Germany is redescribed. Based on comparisons with other eurypterid taxa we interpret G. overathi as having a well-preserved type B genital appendage, which exhibits two apomorphic character states: (1 a furca fused into a single, spatulate plate and (2 marginal serrations near the distal end of the appendage. Grossopterus is assigned to the family Hughmilleriidae, but its carapace resembles that of the larger Slimonia acuminata (Salter, 1856 (Slimoniidae. A provisional phylogenetic analysis resolves Grossopterus as the sister group of (Slimonia + Pterygotoidea. The large pterygotids, in particular, have been suggested as significant predators on early vertebrates and hypotheses about eurypterid-fish co-evolution are reviewed, in particular Romer's proposal that dermal armour in fish evolved in response to eurypterid predation. Der Holotyp – das einzig bekannte Exemplar – des Eurypteriden (Chelicerata: Eurypterida Grossopterus overathi (Gross, 1933 aus dem frühen Devon (Siegennian von Overath im nordwestlichen Deutschland wird wieder beschrieben. Basierend auf Vergleichen mit anderen Eurypteriden-Taxa interpretieren wir G. overathi als Träger eines Typ B-Anhanges, wobei zwei apomorphe Merkmalszustände vorliegen: (1 die Furca ist zu einer einzigen, spatelförmigen Platte verschmolzen, und (2 der Seitenrand nahe des distalen Endes des Genitalanhanges ist gezähnt. Grossopterus wird zur Familie der Hughmilleriidae gestellt, aber der prosomale Dorsalschild ähnelt der größeren Slimonia acuminata (Salter, 1856 (Slimoniidae. Eine vorläufige phylogenetische Analyse zeigt Grossopterus als Schwesteruppe von (Slimonia + Pterygotoidea auf. Besonders die großen Pterygotiden wurden als signifikante Prädatoren von frühen Vertebraten gehandelt, und Hypothesen zur Eurypteriden

  4. Standardisation of the USGS Volcano Alert Level System (VALS): analysis and ramifications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fearnley, C. J.; McGuire, W. J.; Davies, G.; Twigg, J.

    2012-11-01

    The standardisation of volcano early warning systems (VEWS) and volcano alert level systems (VALS) is becoming increasingly common at both the national and international level, most notably following UN endorsement of the development of globally comprehensive early warning systems. Yet, the impact on its effectiveness, of standardising an early warning system (EWS), in particular for volcanic hazards, remains largely unknown and little studied. This paper examines this and related issues through evaluation of the emergence and implementation, in 2006, of a standardised United States Geological Survey (USGS) VALS. Under this upper-management directive, all locally developed alert level systems or practices at individual volcano observatories were replaced with a common standard. Research conducted at five USGS-managed volcano observatories in Alaska, Cascades, Hawaii, Long Valley and Yellowstone explores the benefits and limitations this standardisation has brought to each observatory. The study concludes (1) that the process of standardisation was predominantly triggered and shaped by social, political, and economic factors, rather than in response to scientific needs specific to each volcanic region; and (2) that standardisation is difficult to implement for three main reasons: first, the diversity and uncertain nature of volcanic hazards at different temporal and spatial scales require specific VEWS to be developed to address this and to accommodate associated stakeholder needs. Second, the plural social contexts within which each VALS is embedded present challenges in relation to its applicability and responsiveness to local knowledge and context. Third, the contingencies of local institutional dynamics may hamper the ability of a standardised VALS to effectively communicate a warning. Notwithstanding these caveats, the concept of VALS standardisation clearly has continuing support. As a consequence, rather than advocating further commonality of a standardised

  5. The USGS plan for short-term prediction of the anticipated Parkfield earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakun, W.H.

    1988-01-01

    Aside from the goal of better understanding the Parkfield earthquake cycle, it is the intention of the U.S Geological Survey to attempt to issue a warning shortly before the anticipated earthquake. Although short-term earthquake warnings are not yet generally feasible, the wealth of information available for the previous significant Parkfield earthquakes suggests that if the next earthquake follows the pattern of "characteristic" Parkfield shocks, such a warning might be possible. Focusing on earthquake precursors reported for the previous  "characteristic" shocks, particulary the 1934 and 1966 events, the USGS developed a plan* in late 1985 on which to base earthquake warnings for Parkfield and has assisted State, county, and local officials in the Parkfield area to prepare a coordinated, reasonable response to a warning, should one be issued. 

  6. Critical Defense Materials: Government Collected Data Are Sufficiently Reliable to Assess Tantalum Availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-01

    conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country. Pub. L. No. 111- 203 §1502( e )(4). Columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, and...departments—the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce —to take certain actions to implement the...USGS and Department of Commerce , and performing analyses to determine if shortfalls for materials will occur during potential conflict scenarios

  7. Modernization of the Caltech/USGS Southern California Seismic Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhadha, R.; Devora, A.; Hauksson, E.; Johnson, D.; Thomas, V.; Watkins, M.; Yip, R.; Yu, E.; Given, D.; Cone, G.; Koesterer, C.

    2009-12-01

    The USGS/ANSS/ARRA program is providing Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), and two year funding for upgrading the Caltech/USGS Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN). The SCSN is the modern digital ground motion seismic network in southern California that monitors seismicity and provides real-time earthquake information products such as rapid notifications, moment tensors, and ShakeMap. The SCSN has evolved through the years and now consists of several well-integrated components such as Short-Period analog, TERRAscope, digital stations, and real-time strong motion stations, or about 300 stations. In addition, the SCSN records data from about 100 stations provided by partner networks. To strengthen the ability of SCSN to meet the ANSS performance standards, we will install GFE and carry out the following upgrades and improvements of the various components of the SCSN: 1) Upgrade of dataloggers at seven TERRAscope stations; 2) Upgrade of dataloggers at 131 digital stations and upgrade broadband sensors at 25 stations; 3) Upgrade of SCSN metadata capabilities; 4) Upgrade of telemetry capabilities for both seismic and GPS data; and 5) Upgrade balers at stations with existing Q330 dataloggers. These upgrades will enable the SCSN to meet the ANSS Performance Standards more consistently than before. The new equipment will improve station uptimes and reduce maintenance costs. The new equipment will also provide improved waveform data quality and consequently superior data products. The data gaps due to various outages will be minimized, and ‘late’ data will be readily available through retrieval from on-site storage. Compared to the outdated equipment, the new equipment will speed up data delivery by about 10 sec, which is fast enough for earthquake early warning applications. The new equipment also has about a factor of ten lower consumption of power. We will also upgrade the SCSN data acquisition and data center facilities, which will improve the SCSN

  8. Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS Cruise 13CCT04 offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, August 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Flocks, James G.; Kindinger, Jack G.; Bernier, Julie C.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2015-01-01

    From August 13-23, 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework and long-term sediment transport offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi. This investigation is part of a broader USGS study on Coastal Change and Transport (CCT). These surveys were funded through the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) with partial funding provided by the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital chirp subbottom data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained-showing a relative increase in signal amplitude-digital images of the seismic profiles are provided.

  9. Archive of digital Chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruises 09CCT03 and 09CCT04, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Islands, June and July 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2011-01-01

    In June and July of 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the geologic controls on island framework from Cat Island, Mississippi, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, as part of a broader USGS study on Coastal Change and Transport (CCT). The surveys were funded through the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project as part of the Holocene Evolution of the Mississippi-Alabama Region Subtask (http://ngom.er.usgs.gov/task2_2/index.php). This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital Chirp seismic profile data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Single-beam and Swath bathymetry data were also collected during these cruises and will be published as a separate archive. Gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

  10. Modelling and analysis of the stress distribution in a multi-thin film system Pt/USG/Si

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, W. Z.; Roqueta, F.; Craveur, J. C.; Belhenini, S.; Gardes, P.; Tougui, A.

    2018-04-01

    Residual stress analysis is commonly achieved through curvature measurement with the help of Stoney’s formula. However, this conventional approach is inadequate for multi-layer thin film systems, which are widely used in today’s microelectronics. Also, for the thin film case, the residual stress is composed of thermal stress and intrinsic stress. Measuring the wafer curvature at room temperature provides a value for the average stresses in the layer, the two components cannot be distinguished by the existing methodologies of curvature measurement. To alleviate these problems, a modified curvature method combining finite element (FE) modelling is proposed to study the stress distribution in a Pt/USG/Si structure. A 2D FE model is firstly built in order to calculate the thermal stress in the multilayer structure, the obtained thermal stresses in respective films are verified by an analytical model. Then, we calculate the warpage of the multilayer structure by considering the intrinsic stress in the respective films. The residual stresses in the films are determined by minimizing the difference between the simulated warpage and that of experimental measurement. The proposed approach can be used to calculate not only the average residual stress but also thermal and intrinsic stress components in the USG and Platinum films. The obtained residual and intrinsic stresses from a numerical model are compared with the values of other studies. There is no limitation for the application of our methodologies regarding the number of the layers in the stack.

  11. Skarn-mineralized porphyry adakites in the Harlik arc at Kalatage, E. Tianshan (NW China): Slab melting in the Devonian-early Carboniferous in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Qigui; Yu, Mingjie; Xiao, Wenjiao; Windley, Brian F.; Li, Yuechen; Wei, Xiaofeng; Zhu, Jiangjian; Lü, Xiaoqiang

    2018-03-01

    The geodynamic control of mineralization in the accretionary evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) has long been controversial. Here we report new field, geochemical and geochronological data on recently defined porphyry and skarn-type ore deposits (Devonian-Early Carboniferous) in the Kalatage area in the middle of the Harlik-Dananhu arc, Eastern Tianshan, NW China in the southern CAOB, with the aim of better understanding the accretionary tectonics and genesis of porphyry and skarn-type mineralization. The Yudai porphyry Cu-(Au) deposits and the Xierqu skarn Cu-Fe-(Au) deposits are closely associated with Middle Devonian adakitic diorite porphyries (382-390 Ma), which are calc-alkaline and characterized by high Na2O/K2O ratios and Sr contents (310-1020 ppm), strong depletion of HREE (e.g., Yb = 0.80-1.44 ppm) and Y (7.68-14.50 ppm), and all enriched in Rb, Sr, Ba, K and depleted in Nb and Ti. They are characterized by distinctive Eu positive anomalies, high Na2O contents and MORB-like Sr and Nd isotope signatures (high εNd(t) = +6.1 to +7.0 and low (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.70412-0.70462). These adakites most likely formed by melting of a young/hot subducted oceanic slab, and adakites in general are important carriers of porphyry Cu ± (Au) deposits. Early Carboniferous adakites in the Tuwu area south of Kalatage are known to have similar features. Therefore, skarn-mineralized porphyry adakites get younger from north to south, suggesting southward migration of the Harlik-Dananhu arc from 390 Ma to 322 Ma. These data indicate that partial melting of hot (and/or young) oceanic crustal slabs were an important mechanism of accretionary crustal growth and mineralization in the southern CAOB.

  12. Hydrography - HYDROGRAPHY_HIGHRES_WATERBODYDISCRETE_NHD_USGS: Lakes, Ponds, Reservoirs, Swamps, and Marshes in Watersheds of Indiana (U. S. Geological Survey, 1:24,000, Polygon Shapefile)

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — HYDROGRAPHY_HIGHRES_WATERBODYDISCRETE_NHD_USGS.SHP is a polygon shapefile that contains features of lakes, ponds, reservoirs, swamps and marshes in watersheds in and...

  13. Introduction to selected references on fossil fuels of the central and southern Appalachian basin: Chapter H.1 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruppert, Leslie F.; Lentz, Erika E.; Tewalt, Susan J.; Román Colón, Yomayra A.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

    2014-01-01

    The Appalachian basin contains abundant coal and petroleum resources that have been studied and extracted for at least 150 years. In this volume, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists describe the geologic framework and geochemical character of the fossil-fuel resources of the central and southern Appalachian basin. Separate subchapters (some previously published) contain geologic cross sections; seismic profiles; burial history models; assessments of Carboniferous coalbed methane and Devonian shale gas; distribution information for oil, gas, and coal fields; data on the geochemistry of natural gas and oil; and the fossil-fuel production history of the basin. Although each chapter and subchapter includes references cited, many historical or other important references on Appalachian basin and global fossil-fuel science were omitted because they were not directly applicable to the chapters.

  14. Depositional environments and sequence stratigraphy of the Bahram Formation (middle–late Devonian in north of Kerman, south-central Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Afshin Hashmie

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study is focused on sedimentary environments, facies distribution, and sequence stratigraphy. The facies and sequence stratigraphic analyses of the Bahram Formation (middle–late Devonian in south-central Iran are based on two measured stratigraphic sections in the southern Tabas block. The Bahram Formation overlies red sandstones Padeha Formation in sections Hutk and Sardar and is overlain by Carboniferous carbonate deposits of Hutk Formation paraconformably, with a thickness of 354 and 386 m respectively. Mixed siliciclastic and carbonate sediments are present in this succession. The field observations and laboratory studies were used to identify 14 micro/petrofacies, which can be grouped into 5 depositional environments: shore, tidal flat, lagoon, shoal and shallow open marine. A mixed carbonate-detrital shallow shelf is suggested for the depositional environment of the Bahram Formation which deepens to the east (Sardar section and thins in southern locations (Hutk section. Three 3rd-order cyclic siliciclastic and carbonate sequences in the Bahram Formation and one sequence shared with the overlying joint with Hutk Formation are identified, on the basis of shallowing upward patterns in the micro/pertofacies.

  15. U.S. Geological Survey scientific activities in the exploration of Antarctica: 1946-2006 record of personnel in Antarctica and their postal cachets: U.S. Navy (1946-48, 1954-60), International Geophysical Year (1957-58), and USGS (1960-2006)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meunier, Tony K.; Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.

    2007-01-01

    Antarctica, a vast region encompassing 13.2 million km2 (5.1 million mi2), is considered to be one of the most important scientific laboratories on Earth. During the past 60 years, the USGS, in collaboration and with logistical support from the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs, has sent 325 USGS scientists to Antarctica to work on a wide range of projects: 169 personnel from the NMD (mostly aerial photography, surveying, and geodesy, primarily used for the modern mapping of Antarctica), 138 personnel from the GD (mostly geophysical and geological studies onshore and offshore), 15 personnel from the WRD (mostly hydrological/glaciological studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys), 2 personnel from the BRD (microbiological studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys), and 1 person from the Director's Office (P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director, 2005–06 austral field season). Three GD scientists and three NMD scientists have carried out field work in Antarctica 9 or more times: John C. Behrendt (15), who started in 1956–57 and published two memoirs (Behrendt, 1998, 2005), Arthur B. Ford (10), who started in 1960–61, and Gary D. Clow (9), who started in 1985–86; Larry D. Hothem (12), who began as a winter-over geodesist at Mawson Station in 1968–69, and Jerry L. Mullins (12), who started in 1982–83 and followed in the legendary footsteps of his NMD predecessor, William R. MacDonald (9), who started in 1960–61 and supervised the acquisition of more than 1,000,000 square miles of aerial photography of Antarctica. This report provides a record as complete as possible, of USGS and non-USGS collaborating personnel in Antarctica from 1946–2006, the geographic locations of their work, and their scientific/engineering disciplines represented. Postal cachets for each year follow the table of personnel and scientific activities in the exploration of Antarctica during those 60 years. To commemorate special events and projects in Antarctica, it became an

  16. Geochronology, stratigraphy and geochemistry of Cambro-Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian volcanic rocks of the Saxothuringian Zone in NE Bavaria (Germany)—new constraints for Gondwana break up and ocean-island magmatism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Höhn, Stefan; Koglin, Nikola; Klopf, Lisa; Schüssler, Ulrich; Tragelehn, Harald; Frimmel, Hartwig E.; Zeh, Armin; Brätz, Helene

    2018-01-01

    Stratigraphically well-defined volcanic rocks in Palaeozoic volcano-sedimentary units of the Frankenwald area (Saxothuringian Zone, Variscan Orogen) were sampled for geochemical characterisation and U-Pb zircon dating. The oldest rock suite comprises quartz keratophyre, brecciated keratophyre, quartz keratophyre tuff and basalt, formed in Upper Cambrian to Tremadocian time (c. 497-478 Ma). Basaltic volcanism continued until the Silurian. Quartz keratophyre shows post-collisional calc-alkaline signature, the Ordovician-Silurian basalt has alkaline signature typical of continental rift environments. The combined datasets provide evidence of Cambro-Ordovician bimodal volcanism and successive rifting until the Silurian. This evolution very likely resulted from break-up of the northern Gondwana margin, as recorded in many terranes throughout Europe. The position at the northern Gondwana margin is supported by detrital zircon grains in some tuffs, with typical Gondwana-derived age spectra mostly recording ages of 550-750 Ma and minor age populations of 950-1100 and 1700-2700 Ma. The absence of N-MORB basalt in the Frankenwald area points to a retarded break-off of the Saxothuringian terrane along a continental rift system from Uppermost Cambrian to Middle Silurian time. Geochemical data for a second suite of Upper Devonian basalt provide evidence of emplacement in a hot spot-related ocean-island setting south of the Rheic Ocean. Our results also require partial revision of the lithostratigraphy of the Frankenwald area. The basal volcanic unit of the Randschiefer Formation yielded a Tremadocian age and, therefore, should be attributed to the Vogtendorf Formation. Keratophyre of the Vogtendorf Formation, previously assigned to the Tremadoc, is most likely of Upper Devonian age.

  17. Watershed Boundaries - WATERSHEDS_HUC06_USGS_IN: 6-Digit Accounting Units, Hydrologic Units, in Indiana, (Derived from US Geological Survey, 1:24,000 Polygon Shapefile)

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — WATERSHEDS_HUC06_USGS_IN is a polygon shapefile showing the boundaries of accounting units (HUA) in Indiana. Accounting units are noted by a 6-digit hydrologic unit....

  18. Archive of Digital Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected During USGS Cruise 14BIM05 Offshore of Breton Island, Louisiana, August 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forde, Arnell S.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.; Fredericks, Jake J.

    2016-03-29

    From August 11 to 31, 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), conducted a geophysical survey to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework and long-term sediment transport offshore of Breton Island, Louisiana as part of a broader USGS study on Barrier Island Mapping (BIM). Additional details related to this activity can be found by searching the USGS's Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS), for field activity 2014-317-FA (also known as 14BIM05). These surveys were funded through the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) and the Louisiana Outer Coast Early Restoration Project. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital chirp subbottom data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Abbreviations page for explanations of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

  19. Parental Sources of High-Alumina Alkaline Melts: Nd, Sr, Pb, and O Isotopic Evidence from the Devonian Kiya-Shaltyr Gabbro-Urtite Intrusion, South Siberia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrublevskii, V. V.; Gertner, I. F.; Chugaev, A. V.

    2018-04-01

    The isotope geochemistry (ɛNd( t) 4.8-5.4, 206Pb/204Pb in 18.05-18.36, 207Pb/204Pbin 15.53-15.57, 208Pb/204Pb in 37.59-37.83, 87Sr/86Sr( t) 0.7048-0.7057, δ18OSMOW 8-10.5‰) and trace element composition of the Kiya-Shaltyr gabbro-urtite pluton allow us to suggest a heterogeneous source and complex geodynamic settings of the Devonian alkali magmatism in the Kuznetsk Alatau. It is assumed that its evolution took place under conditions of partial mingling of matter of the depleted (PREMA) and enriched (EM) mantle with crustal contamination of the evolving melt. Such an interaction could have been a result of superposition of a mantle plume and an active margin (OIB and IAB components). In fold belts this led to the formation of hybrid high-alumina foidoite magmas.

  20. Proceedings of the third USGS modeling conference, June 7-11, 2010, Broomfield, Colorado-Understanding and predicting for a changing world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Shailaja R.

    2011-01-01

    The Third USGS Modeling Conference was held June 7th-11, 2010, in Broomfield, Colorado. The conference focused on the development and application of analytical and theoretical models and data availability that support managing the Nation's resources and help protect lives and property. Participants at the conference included scientists and managers from Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureaus; national and international Federal, State, and local agencies; academic institutions; and nongovernmental organizations. The conference was organized according to DOI priorities and the strategic directions of the USGS Science Strategy; the following themes were emphasized: (1) Understanding Ecosystems and Restoring America's Treasured Landscapes; (2) Climate Change and Impact; (3) New Energy Frontier and Minerals for America; (4) A National Hazards, Risk, and Resilience Assessment Program; (5) Role of Environment and Wildlife in Human Health; (6) A Water Census of the United States; and (7) New Methods of Investigation and Discovery. The conference theme-"Understanding and Predicting for a Changing World"-focused on the following goals: advance development and application of models; provide tools that address management issues; present state-of-the-art models ranging from individual phenomena to integrated systems; and foster a working community among scientists and managers.

  1. USGS science in the gulf oil spill: Novel science applications in a crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNutt, M.

    2011-01-01

    Marcia McNutt reflects on the role of the US Geological Survey (USGS) team following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Secretary Salazar asked Marcia McNutt to lead the Flow Rate Technical Group, a team charged by National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen with improving estimates of the oil discharge rate from the Macondo well as quickly as possible. Given the unprecedented nature of this spill, the team moved rapidly to deploy every reasonable approach. The team estimated the plume velocity from deep-sea video and from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's acoustic Doppler current profiler. The team calculated the total volume of the spill using aircraft remote sensing. After the unsuccessful top kill attempt in late May, during which large volumes of mud were pumped down the flowing well, an important part of understanding the failure of the procedure was answering the question.

  2. Geographic Information System (GIS) representation of historical seagrass coverage in Perdido Bay from United States Geological Survey/National Wetlands Research Center (USGS/NWRC), 1979 (NODC Accession 0000605)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Historical seagrass coverage in Perdido Bay 1979 from United States Geological Survey/National Wetlands Research Center (USGS/NWRC).

  3. The USGS/EPA ''radon potential of the U.S.'' project: A case study in the application of geoscience information to public policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schumann, R.R.; Gundersen, L.C.S.

    1993-01-01

    As part of an interagency agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Geological Survey (USGS) has prepared a series of maps and reports, by state, describing and assessing the geologic radon potential of the United States. The documents were prepared with multiple uses in mind, including guidance for targeted radon sampling or information programs, to aid in the application of radon-resistant building codes, and as a starting point for more detailed investigations. The USGS and EPA were assisted in the planning and review stages by the Association of American State Geologists, and the draft reports were also reviewed by the state radon contact agencies (typically health departments or departments of environmental protection) and other state and federal agencies. A relative radon potential ranking scheme was developed by USGS to provide consistency and accountability. The scheme consists of a Radon Index, the sum of 5 individually-scored factors (geology, soil permeability, aerial radioactivity, architecture, and screening indoor radon data), and an associated Confidence Index, an expression of the quality and quantity of the data used to evaluate each factor. The assessments are presented on a scale that is useful for state- or regional-scale planning, but inapplicable to areas smaller than counties. The most common problems cited by the reviewers are: (1) the conflict of natural geologic boundaries and political boundaries; (2) the use of the NURE aerial radiometric data; (3) the use of short-term charcoal canister data as opposed to long-term annual average data; (4) the definition of ''high'' radon and the cost of dealing with the radon problem if ''high'' is 4 pCi/L; and (5) the potential misuse of geologic assessments by the public, the radon industry, and governments. The use of geological common sense in concert with policy decisions can alleviate many of the above problems

  4. Shear-wave velocity characterization of the USGS Hawaiian strong-motion network on the Island of Hawaii and development of an NEHRP site-class map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Ivan G.; Stokoe, Kenneth; Cox, Brady R.; Yuan, Jiabei; Knudsen, Keith L.; Terra, Fabia; Okubo, Paul G.; Lin, Yin-Cheng

    2011-01-01

    To assess the level and nature of ground shaking in Hawaii for the purposes of earthquake hazard mitigation and seismic design, empirical ground-motion prediction models are desired. To develop such empirical relationships, knowledge of the subsurface site conditions beneath strong-motion stations is critical. Thus, as a first step to develop ground-motion prediction models for Hawaii, spectral-analysis-of-surface-waves (SASW) profiling was performed at the 22 free-field U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) strong-motion sites on the Big Island to obtain shear-wave velocity (VS) data. Nineteen of these stations recorded the 2006 Kiholo Bay moment magnitude (M) 6.7 earthquake, and 17 stations recorded the triggered M 6.0 Mahukona earthquake. VS profiling was performed to reach depths of more than 100 ft. Most of the USGS stations are situated on sites underlain by basalt, based on surficial geologic maps. However, the sites have varying degrees of weathering and soil development. The remaining strong-motion stations are located on alluvium or volcanic ash. VS30 (average VS in the top 30 m) values for the stations on basalt ranged from 906 to 1908 ft/s [National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) site classes C and D], because most sites were covered with soil of variable thickness. Based on these data, an NEHRP site-class map was developed for the Big Island. These new VS data will be a significant input into an update of the USGS statewide hazard maps and to the operation of ShakeMap on the island of Hawaii.

  5. Isotopic Analysis of Fingernails as a USGS Open House Demonstration of the Use of Stable Isotopes in Foodweb Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, S. R.; Kendall, C.; Young, M. B.; Choy, D.

    2011-12-01

    The USGS Isotope Tracers Project uses stable isotopes and tritium to add a unique dimension of chemical information to a wide range of environmental investigations. The use and application of isotopes is usually an unfamiliar and even esoteric topic to the general public. Therefore during three USGS open house events, as a public outreach effort, we demonstrated the use of stable isotopes by analyzing nitrogen and carbon isotopes from very small fragments of fingernail from willing participants. We titled the exhibit "You Are What You Eat". The results from all participants were plotted on a graph indicating the general influence of different food groups on the composition of body tissues as represented by fingernails. All participants were assigned a number and no personal-identification information was collected. A subset of participants provided us with an estimate of the number of days a week various foods were eaten and if they were vegetarians, vegans or non-vegetarians. Volunteers from our research group were on hand to explain and discuss fundamental concepts such as how foods attain their isotopic composition, the difference between C3 and C4 plants, the effects of assimilation, trophic enrichment, and the various uses of stable isotopes in environmental studies. The results of the fingernail analyses showed the variation of the range of isotopic compositions among about 400 people at each event, the distinct influence of C4 plants (mainly corn and cane sugar) on our carbon isotopic composition, and the isotopic differences between vegetarians and non vegetarians among other details (http://wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov/isoig/projects/fingernails/). A poll of visitors attending the open house event in 2006 indicated that "You Are What You Eat" was among the most popular exhibits. Following the first two open house events we were contacted by a group of researchers from Brazil who had completed a very similar study. Our collaboration resulted in a publication in

  6. Geographic Information System (GIS) characterization of historical seagrass coverage in Perdido Bay from United States Geological Survey/National Wetlands Research Center (USGS/NWRC), 1987 (NODC Accession 0000606)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Graphical representation of historical seagrass coverage in Perdido Bay in 1987 from United States Geological Survey/National Wetlands Research Center (USGS/NWRC).

  7. USG-guided injection of corticosteroid for lateral epicondylitis does not improve clinical outcomes: a prospective randomised study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulabi, Deniz; Uysal, Mehmet Ali; Akça, Ahmet; Colak, Ilker; Çeçen, Gultekin Sıtkı; Gumustas, Seyitali

    2017-05-01

    Corticosteroid injection used to be the treatment of choice for lateral epicondylitis. Most injections are performed blindly. In the blinded technique, it could be difficult to determine the exact pathological localisation. The purpose of this single-blinded, randomised controlled clinical study was to compare the clinical therapeutic effects of blinded and USG-guided corticosteroid injection therapy in lateral epicondylitis. Forty patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis were included in this clinical trial. The patients were randomly allocated to blinded group or USG-guided injection group according to a computer-generated randomisation list. All blinded injections were administered by an orthopaedic surgeon and all ultrasound-guided injections were made by a radiologist experienced in this technique. All patients were injected under aseptic conditions using 40 mg/2 mL methylprednisolone acetate. The outcomes of both treatments were assessed by an independent assessor at pre-injection, then at 6-week and 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. The assessor evaluated the q-DASH, VAS, and grip strength scores. No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the Q-DASH and grip strength scores preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 3 and 6 months post-injection. No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the VAS scores preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 6 months. No systemic or local complications were reported during the treatment. There was no statistically significant difference compared to the blinded injection technique, and the mean score differences between the groups are of no clinical relevance.

  8. Shallow water mud-mounds of the Early Devonian Buchan Group, East Gippsland, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosolini, A.-M. P.; Wallace, M. W.; Gallagher, S. J.

    2012-12-01

    The Lower Devonian Rocky Camp Member of the Murrindal Limestone, Buchan Group of southeastern Australia consists of a series of carbonate mud-mounds and smaller lagoonal bioherms. The Rocky Camp mound is the best exposed of the mud-mounds and has many characteristics in common with Waulsortian (Carboniferous) mounds. Detailed paleoecological and sedimentological studies indicate that the mound initially accumulated in the photic zone, in contrast to most of the previously recorded mud-mounds. Five facies are present in the mud-mound: a Dasycladacean Wackestone Facies at the base of the mound represents a moderate energy, shallow water bank environment within the photic zone. A Crinioidal Wackestone Facies was deposited in a laterally equivalent foreslope setting. A Poriferan-Crinoidal Mudstone Facies developed in a quiet, deeper water, lee-side mound setting associated with a minor relative sea-level rise. A Stromatoporoid-Coralline Packstone Facies in the upper part of the mound deposited in a high-energy, fair-weather wave base, mound-front environment. The crest of the mound is represented by a Crinoidal-Receptaculitid Packstone Facies indicative of a moderate-energy mound-top environment in the photic zone, sheltered by the mound-front stromatoporoid-coral communities. A mound flank facies is present on the southern side of the mound and this consists of high-energy crinoidal grainstones. Mud-mound deposition was terminated by a transgression that deposited dark gray, fossil-poor marl of the overlying Taravale Formation. The Rocky Camp mound appears to have originated in shallow water photic zone conditions and grew into a high-energy environment, with the mound being eventually colonized by corals and stromatoporoids. The indications of a high-energy environment during later mound growth (growth form of colonial metazoans and grainstones of the flanking facies) suggest that the micrite in the mound was autochthonous and implies the presence of an energy

  9. Origin of uranium and other metal concentrations in the Helmsdate granite and the Devonian sediments of the north-east of Scotland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tweedie, J R

    1981-01-01

    An examination of the radiometrically anomalous Caledonian Helmsdale granite and certain radiometric localities in the Devonian sediments of Caithness has been undertaken in order to discover the processes of U concentration in the different rock types. The study is based mainly on geochemical examination, with analyses for U, Th, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mo, Zr, Rb, Sr, Bi, Se, P/sub 2/O/sub 5/, and K/sub 2/O being carried out. The granite was found to have a high mean U content (9 ppm), approximately twice that expected from comparison with the world granite average (4 ppm), whilst zones of intense alteration gave U enrichments of up to 71 ppm. These latter have a mineralogy and geochemistry distinct from the normal granite. A limited Cu-Mo stockwork mineralisation was discovered almost coincident with a highly radioactive hydrocarbon vein. The main U concentrations in the Caithness sediments occur in thin phosphatic horizons. In these, U ranges from 100 to 1000 ppm and is paralleled by the phosphate in an approximately linear relationship of 100 ppm U/1% P/sub 2/O/sub 5/. Black shales contain low level U concentrations with anomalously high Zn and/or Mo. (author).

  10. USEPA/USGS Study of CECs in Source Water and Treated Drinking Water: Assessment of Estrogenic Activity Using an In Vitro Bioassay, T47D-KBluc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are collaborating on a research study to determine the presence of contaminants of emerging concern in treated and untreated drinking water collected from up to 50 drinking water trea...

  11. LA-ICP-MS of magnetite: Methods and reference materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadoll, P.; Koenig, A.E.

    2011-01-01

    Magnetite (Fe3O4) is a common accessory mineral in many geologic settings. Its variable geochemistry makes it a powerful petrogenetic indicator. Electron microprobe (EMPA) analyses are commonly used to examine major and minor element contents in magnetite. Laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) is applicable to trace element analyses of magnetite but has not been widely employed to examine compositional variations. We tested the applicability of the NIST SRM 610, the USGS GSE-1G, and the NIST SRM 2782 reference materials (RMs) as external standards and developed a reliable method for LA-ICP-MS analysis of magnetite. LA-ICP-MS analyses were carried out on well characterized magnetite samples with a 193 nm, Excimer, ArF LA system. Although matrix-matched RMs are sometimes important for calibration and normalization of LA-ICP-MS data, we demonstrate that glass RMs can produce accurate results for LA-ICP-MS analyses of magnetite. Cross-comparison between the NIST SRM 610 and USGS GSE-1G indicates good agreement for magnetite minor and trace element data calibrated with either of these RMs. Many elements show a sufficiently good match between the LA-ICP-MS and the EMPA data; for example, Ti and V show a close to linear relationship with correlation coefficients, R2 of 0.79 and 0.85 respectively. ?? 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  12. USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources for the Oligocene Frio and Anahuac formations, U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and state waters: Review of assessment units

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, Sharon M.; Karlsen, Alexander W.; Warwick, Peter D.; Kennan, Lorcan; Pindell, James; Rosen, Norman C.

    2007-01-01

    The Oligocene Frio and Anahuac formations were examined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of an assessment of technically recoverable undiscovered conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources in Paleogene and Neogene strata underlying the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and state waters. Work included the identification of structural, stratigraphic, and tectonic relations between petroleum source rocks and migration pathways to Frio and Anahuac reservoirs; preliminary evaluation of the potential for shallow (less than 3,000 ft) biogenic gas accumulations; and evaluation of the potential for deep, undiscovered gas and oil accumulations in slope and basin floor areas. All assessments were conducted using USGS methodology (http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/methodology.html). Final products from the USGS assessment of the Paleogene and Neogene were reported in USGS fact sheets (Dubiel et al., 2007; Warwick et al., 2007).Five assessment units for the Frio Formation were defined, and three of these were based on the character of the reservoirs in relation to growth faults and other related factors: (1) the Frio stable shelf oil and gas assessment unit, which contains thin (average thickness of 34 ft) and shallow reservoirs (average depth of 4,834 ft); (2) the Frio expanded fault zone oil and gas assessment unit, which contains thick (average thickness of 56 ft) and deep reservoirs (average depth of 9,050 ft) in over-pressured intervals; and (3) the Frio slope and basin floor gas assessment unit, which has potential for deep gas (greater than 15,000 ft) and extends from the downdip boundary of the expanded fault zone to the offshore State/Federal water boundary. The fourth Frio assessment unit is the Hackberry oil and gas assessment unit. The Hackberry embayment of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana consists of a slope facies in the middle part of the Frio Formation. The fifth unit, the Frio basin margin assessment unit, extends from the

  13. Nonlinear inversion of borehole-radar tomography data to reconstruct velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, C.; Liu, L.; Lane, J.W.

    2001-01-01

    A nonlinear tomographic inversion method that uses first-arrival travel-time and amplitude-spectra information from cross-hole radar measurements was developed to simultaneously reconstruct electromagnetic velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials. Inversion methods were developed to analyze single cross-hole tomography surveys and differential tomography surveys. Assuming the earth behaves as a linear system, the inversion methods do not require estimation of source radiation pattern, receiver coupling, or geometrical spreading. The data analysis and tomographic inversion algorithm were applied to synthetic test data and to cross-hole radar field data provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The cross-hole radar field data were acquired at the USGS fractured-rock field research site at Mirror Lake near Thornton, New Hampshire, before and after injection of a saline tracer, to monitor the transport of electrically conductive fluids in the image plane. Results from the synthetic data test demonstrate the algorithm computational efficiency and indicate that the method robustly can reconstruct electromagnetic (EM) wave velocity and attenuation distribution in earth materials. The field test results outline zones of velocity and attenuation anomalies consistent with the finding of previous investigators; however, the tomograms appear to be quite smooth. Further work is needed to effectively find the optimal smoothness criterion in applying the Tikhonov regularization in the nonlinear inversion algorithms for cross-hole radar tomography. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Digital bedrock geologic map of the Arlington quadrangle and a Vermont portion of the Shushan quadrangle, Vermont: USGS Open-File Report 95-483, 2 plates, scale 1:24000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Vermont Center for Geographic Information — Digital Data from VG95-483A Lyttle, PT,�Digital bedrock geologic map of the Arlington quadrangle and a Vermont portion of the Shushan quadrangle, Vermont: USGS...

  15. Separation of interfering elements in the neutron activation analysis of lanthanides in geological materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saiki, M.

    1988-01-01

    A chemical procedure has been developed for the separation of U, Th, Fe, Sc, Na,Ta, and Mo which interfere in the neutron activation analysis of the lanthanide elements in geological materials. This procedure is based on the solvent extraction of interferents using a solution of tetracycline in benzyl alcohol. The lanthanide elements remaining in the aqueous phase are coprecipitated on calcium oxalate or ferric hydroxide for irradiation and subsequent determination by gamma ray spectrometry. The chemical separation procedure was applied in the analysis of lanthanides in two international geological reference materials GSP-1 (USGS), GS-N (CRPG) and in the analysis of a volcanic rock from Pocos de Caldas, MG, Brazil. The sensitivities for all the lanthanides were determined. (author) [pt

  16. Map Database for Surficial Materials in the Conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soller, David R.; Reheis, Marith C.; Garrity, Christopher P.; Van Sistine, D. R.

    2009-01-01

    The Earth's bedrock is overlain in many places by a loosely compacted and mostly unconsolidated blanket of sediments in which soils commonly are developed. These sediments generally were eroded from underlying rock, and then were transported and deposited. In places, they exceed 1000 ft (330 m) in thickness. Where the sediment blanket is absent, bedrock is either exposed or has been weathered to produce a residual soil. For the conterminous United States, a map by Soller and Reheis (2004, scale 1:5,000,000; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-275/) shows these sediments and the weathered, residual material; for ease of discussion, these are referred to as 'surficial materials'. That map was produced as a PDF file, from an Adobe Illustrator-formatted version of the provisional GIS database. The provisional GIS files were further processed without modifying the content of the published map, and are here published.

  17. Archive of side scan sonar and swath bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 10CCT01 offshore of Cat Island, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitt, Nancy T.; Flocks, James G.; Pfeiffer, William R.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2010-01-01

    In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys east of Cat Island, Mississippi (fig. 1). The efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geological stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorpholocial changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration, particularly in Camille Cut, and provide protection for the historical Fort Massachusetts. For more information refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/index.html. This report serves as an archive of the processed swath bathymetry and side scan sonar data (SSS). Data products herein include gridded and interpolated surfaces, surface images, and x,y,z data products for both swath bathymetry and side scan sonar imagery. Additional files include trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Scanned images of the handwritten FACS logs and digital FACS logs are also provided as PDF files. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report or hold the cursor over an acronym for a pop-up explanation. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 10CCT01 tells us the data were collected in 2010 for the Coastal Change and Transport (CCT) study and the data were collected during the first field

  18. The Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian (F/F) biotic crisis: Insights from δ13C carb, δ13C org and 87Sr / 86Sr isotopic systematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Daizhao; Qing, Hairuo; Li, Renwei

    2005-06-01

    A severe biotic crisis occurred during the Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian (F/F) transition (± 367 Myr). Here we present δ13C carb, δ13C org and 87Sr / 86Sr isotopic systematics, from identical samples of two sections across F/F boundary in South China, which directly demonstrate large and frequent climatic fluctuations (˜200 kyr) from warming to cooling during the F/F transition. These climate fluctuations are interpreted to have been induced initially by increased volcanic outgassing, and subsequent enhanced chemical weathering linked to the rapid expansion of vascular plants on land, which would have increased riverine delivery to oceans and primary bioproductivity, and subsequent burial of organic matter, thereby resulting in climate cooling. Such large and frequent climatic fluctuations, together with volcanic-induced increases in nutrient (e.g., biolimiting Fe), toxin (sulfide) and anoxic water supply, and subsequent enhanced riverine fluxes and microbial bloom, were likely responsible for the stepwise faunal demise of F/F biotic crisis.

  19. Modernization of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Processing Infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antolik, L.; Shiro, B.; Friberg, P. A.

    2016-12-01

    The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) operates a Tier 1 Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) seismic network to monitor, characterize, and report on volcanic and earthquake activity in the State of Hawaii. Upgrades at the observatory since 2009 have improved the digital telemetry network, computing resources, and seismic data processing with the adoption of the ANSS Quake Management System (AQMS) system. HVO aims to build on these efforts by further modernizing its seismic processing infrastructure and strengthen its ability to meet ANSS performance standards. Most notably, this will also allow HVO to support redundant systems, both onsite and offsite, in order to provide better continuity of operation during intermittent power and network outages. We are in the process of implementing a number of upgrades and improvements on HVO's seismic processing infrastructure, including: 1) Virtualization of AQMS physical servers; 2) Migration of server operating systems from Solaris to Linux; 3) Consolidation of AQMS real-time and post-processing services to a single server; 4) Upgrading database from Oracle 10 to Oracle 12; and 5) Upgrading to the latest Earthworm and AQMS software. These improvements will make server administration more efficient, minimize hardware resources required by AQMS, simplify the Oracle replication setup, and provide better integration with HVO's existing state of health monitoring tools and backup system. Ultimately, it will provide HVO with the latest and most secure software available while making the software easier to deploy and support.

  20. Determination of iridium at low levels (sub ng g-1) in geological materials by neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morcelli, Claudia Petronilho Ribeiro

    1999-01-01

    The analysis of the platinum group elements (PGE: Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir and Pt) in geological materials is difficult, due to the low concentrations of these elements (ng g -1 or sub ng g -1 ) and their heterogeneous distribution in many geological matrices. The determination of PGE has attracted great interest due not only to the increasing utilization of these elements in modern industry, but also to the information that these elements can provide on mantle processes. The determination of very low amounts of iridium is particularly important on account of some anomalous concentrations of iridium in sedimentary rock samples, related to the impact of an extraterrestrial object responsible for extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary. In the present paper, a radiochemical neutron activation method for the determination of iridium in geological materials is presented. The procedure consisted of thermal neutron irradiation of about 500 mg of the sample, followed by sintering with sodium peroxide, precipitation with tellurium and high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry with a hyper-pure Ge detector. The accuracy and precision of the procedure were evaluated by analysis of the certified reference material SARM-7 (South Africa Bureau of Standards) and W-1 (USGS). The detection limit for the analytical conditions employed was 0.004 ng g -1 . The procedure was applied to the reference materials TDB-1 and WGB-1 (CANMET), which present provisional values for Ir, and to the reference materials GXR-3, GXR-5 and GXR- 6 (USGS), which do not present information values for Ir. This work is a contribution to Ir values in these reference materials. As an example of application of the method to real samples, the developed procedure was employed in the determination of iridium in basalts from Parana basin, collected in Bom Guara do Sul, Santa Catarina, provided by the Geosciences Institute of the University of Campinas. (author)

  1. Sample descriptions and geophysical logs for cored well BP-3-USGS, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Alamosa County, Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grauch, V.J.S.; Skipp, Gary L.; Thomas, Jonathan V.; Davis, Joshua K.; Benson, Mary Ellen

    2015-01-01

    The BP-3-USGS well was drilled at the southwestern corner of Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado, 68 feet (ft, 20.7 meters [m]) southwest of the National Park Service’s boundary-piezometer (BP) well 3. BP-3-USGS is located at latitude 37°43ʹ18.06ʺN. and longitude 105°43ʹ39.30ʺW., at an elevation of 7,549 ft (2,301 m). The well was drilled through poorly consolidated sediments to a depth of 326 ft (99.4 m) in September 2009. Water began flowing from the well after penetrating a clay-rich layer that was first intercepted at a depth of 119 ft (36.3 m). The base of this layer, at an elevation of 7,415 ft (2,260 m) above sea level, likely marks the top of a regional confined aquifer recognized throughout much of the San Luis Valley. Approximately 69 ft (21 m) of core was recovered (about 21 percent), almost exclusively from clay-rich zones. Coarser grained fractions were collected from mud extruded from the core barrel or captured from upwelling drilling fluids. Natural gamma-ray, full waveform sonic, density, neutron, resistivity, spontaneous potential, and induction logs were acquired. The well is now plugged and abandoned.

  2. Geology and undiscovered resource assessment of the potash-bearing Pripyat and Dnieper-Donets Basins, Belarus and Ukraine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocker, Mark D.; Orris, Greta J.; Dunlap, Pamela; Lipin, Bruce R.; Ludington, Steve; Ryan, Robert J.; Słowakiewicz, Mirosław; Spanski, Gregory T.; Wynn, Jeff; Yang, Chao

    2017-08-03

    Undiscovered potash resources in the Pripyat Basin, Belarus, and Dnieper-Donets Basin, Ukraine, were assessed as part of a global mineral resource assessment led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Pripyat Basin (in Belarus) and the Dnieper-Donets Basin (in Ukraine and southern Belarus) host stratabound and halokinetic Upper Devonian (Frasnian and Famennian) and Permian (Cisuralian) potash-bearing salt. The evaporite basins formed in the Donbass-Pripyat Rift, a Neoproterozoic continental rift structure that was reactivated during the Late Devonian and was flooded by seawater. Though the rift was divided, in part by volcanic deposits, into the separate Pripyat and Dnieper-Donets Basins, both basins contain similar potash‑bearing evaporite sequences. An Early Permian (Cisuralian) sag basin formed over the rift structure and was also inundated by seawater resulting in another sequence of evaporite deposition. Halokinetic activity initiated by basement faulting during the Devonian continued at least into the Permian and influenced potash salt deposition and structural evolution of potash-bearing salt in both basins.Within these basins, four areas (permissive tracts) that permit the presence of undiscovered potash deposits were defined by using geological criteria. Three tracts are permissive for stratabound potash-bearing deposits and include Famennian (Upper Devonian) salt in the Pripyat Basin, and Famennian and Cisuralian (lower Permian) salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin. In addition, a tract was delineated for halokinetic potash-bearing Famennian salt in the Dnieper-Donets Basin.The Pripyat Basin is the third largest source of potash in the world, producing 6.4 million metric tons of potassium chloride (KCl) (the equivalent of about 4.0 million metric tons of potassium oxide or K2O) in 2012. Potash production began in 1963 in the Starobin #1 mine, near the town of Starobin, Belarus, in the northwestern corner of the basin. Potash is currently produced from

  3. Archive of Digital Boomer Seismic Reflection Data Collected During USGS Field Activity 96LCA04 in Lakes Mabel and Starr, Central Florida, August 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Swancar, Amy; Tihansky, Ann B.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2008-01-01

    In August of 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted geophysical surveys of Lakes Mabel and Starr, central Florida, as part of the Central Highlands Lakes project, which is part of a larger USGS Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, observer's logbook; and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Filtered and gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. For detailed information about the hydrologic setting of Lake Starr and the interpretation of some of these seismic reflection data, see Swancar and others (2000) at http://fl.water.usgs.gov/publications/Abstracts/wri00_4030_swancar.html. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975) and may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU). Example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992) are also provided. The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 96LCA04 tells us the data were collected in 1996 for the Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study and the data were collected during the fourth field activity for that project in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. The boomer plate is an acoustic energy source that consists of capacitors charged to a high voltage and discharged through a transducer in the water. The transducer is towed on a sled floating on the water surface and when

  4. Comparison of stress-induced voiding phenomena in copper line–via structures with different dielectric materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou, Yuejin; Tan, Cher Ming

    2009-01-01

    The package level stress-induced voiding (SIV) test of Cu dual-damascene line–via structures is performed. Two different dielectrics, undoped silica glass (USG) and carbon doped oxide (CDO), are used in this work. After 1344 h of high temperature storage test, the resistance drift of USG interconnects is found to be much smaller than that of CDO interconnects and voids are located at the bottom of the via for both USG and CDO interconnects. However, horizontal voids grown along the via bottom is observed for USG interconnects, whilst voids are found to grow vertically along the via sidewall for CDO interconnects. The phenomena are explained using finite element analysis in this work, and the observed poor SIV performance for CDO interconnects is also explained. With this finite element analysis, the implications of different low-k dielectrics on SIV reliability are discussed

  5. USGS-WHOI-DPRI Coulomb Stress-Transfer Model for the January 12, 2010, MW=7.0 Haiti Earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jian; Stein, Ross S.; Sevilgen, Volkan; Toda, Shinji

    2010-01-01

    Using calculated stress changes to faults surrounding the January 12, 2010, rupture on the Enriquillo Fault, and the current (January 12 to 26, 2010) aftershock productivity, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University (DPRI) have made rough estimates of the chance of a magnitude (Mw)=7 earthquake occurring during January 27 to February 22, 2010, in Haiti. The probability of such a quake on the Port-au-Prince section of the Enriquillo Fault is about 2 percent, and the probability for the section to the west of the January 12, 2010, rupture is about 1 percent. The stress changes on the Septentrional Fault in northern Haiti are much smaller, although positive.

  6. The use of TOUGH2 for the LBL/USGS 3-dimensional site-scale model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bodvarsson, G.; Chen, G.; Haukwa, C.; Kwicklis, E.

    1995-01-01

    The three-dimensional site-scale numerical model o the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain is under continuous development and calibration through a collaborative effort between Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The site-scale model covers an area of about 30 km 2 and is bounded by major fault zones to the west (Solitario Canyon Fault), east (Bow Ridge Fault) and perhaps to the north by an unconfirmed fault (Yucca Wash Fault). The model consists of about 5,000 grid blocks (elements) with nearly 20,000 connections between them; the grid was designed to represent the most prevalent geological and hydro-geological features of the site including major faults, and layering and bedding of the hydro-geological units. Submodels are used to investigate specific hypotheses and their importance before incorporation into the three-dimensional site-scale model. The primary objectives of the three-dimensional site-scale model are to: (1) quantify moisture, gas and heat flows in the ambient conditions at Yucca Mountain, (2) help in guiding the site-characterization effort (primarily by USGS) in terms of additional data needs and to identify regions of the mountain where sufficient data have been collected, and (3) provide a reliable model of Yucca Mountain that is validated by repeated predictions of conditions in new boreboles and the ESF and has therefore the confidence of the public and scientific community. The computer code TOUGH2 developed by K. Pruess at LBL was used along with the three-dimensional site-scale model to generate these results. In this paper, we also describe the three-dimensional site-scale model emphasizing the numerical grid development, and then show some results in terms of moisture, gas and heat flow

  7. NEW PALEOMAGNETIC DATA ON THE SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS FROM PODOLIA, SW UKRAINE, AND KINEMATICS OF THE EAST EUROPEAN PLATFORM IN THE MIDDLE PALEOZOIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. G. Bakhmutov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Paleomagnetic data are the priority source of information for global paleotectonic reconstructions representing horizontal movements of the crustal blocks. Upon receipt of new paleomagnetic data, kinematic models of the East European platform in the Paleozoic are regularly revised and improved. The article presents results of the paleomagnetic study of sedimentary gray-colored and red beds of the Silurian and Lower Devonian sequences located in the Dniester river basin, Podolia region, SW Ukraine. The study covered 17 outcrops that are stratigraphically correlated with the Wenlock, Ludlow, Pridoli states of the Sillurian and the Lochkovian stage of the Devon. Over 400 samples of grey limestone, argillite, dolomite, red limestone and sandstone were analyzed, and two components of natural remnant magnetization (NRM were revealed. The first component with SSW declination and negative inclination is revealed in the majority of the samples during AF- and T-magnetic cleaning. Its pole positions, that are calculated separately for each series, are trending to the Permian segment of the apparent polar wander path (APWP published by Torsvik et al. [2012] for Baltica / Stable Europe. Considering its chemical origin, this NRM component is related to formation of authigenic minerals due to rock remagnetization. The second component is revealed only in some samples taken from the red beds (during thermal demagnetization in the range of unblocking temperatures from 590 to 690 °С and in few samples of grey limestone (in AF fields from 30 to 70 mT or in the range of unblocking temperatures from 300 to 460 °С. This component has SW declination and positive inclination, goes to the origin of coordinates of the diagrams, and has all the indicators of primary magnetization of sediments. Calculated positions of the poles (0 ºS and 329 ºE for grey limestone of the Tiverskaya series, 2.3 °S and 338.4 °E for red beds of the Dniestrovskaya series, etc. are well

  8. Archive of Digital Boomer and CHIRP Seismic Reflection Data Collected During USGS Field Activity 08LCA03 in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, May 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; McBride, W. Scott; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2009-01-01

    In May of 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys in Lake Panasoffkee, located in central Florida, as part of the USGS Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer and Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP)* seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Filtered and gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles and geospatially corrected interactive profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. *Due to poor data acquisition conditions associated with the lake bottom sediments, only two CHIRP tracklines were collected during this field activity. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975) and may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU). Example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992) are provided. The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 08LCA03 tells us the data were collected in 2008 for the Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study and the data were collected during the third field activity for that study in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. The naming convention used for each seismic line is as follows: yye##a, where 'yy' are the last two digits of the year in which the data were collected, 'e' is a 1-letter abbreviation for the equipment type (for example, b for boomer and c

  9. Stable isotope analyses of oxygen (18O:17O:16O) and chlorine (37Cl:35Cl) in perchlorate: reference materials, calibrations, methods, and interferences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhlke, John Karl; Mroczkowski, Stanley J.; Sturchio, Neil C.; Heraty, Linnea J.; Richman, Kent W.; Sullivan, Donald B.; Griffith, Kris N.; Gu, Baohua; Hatzinger, Paul B.

    2017-01-01

    RationalePerchlorate (ClO4−) is a common trace constituent of water, soils, and plants; it has both natural and synthetic sources and is subject to biodegradation. The stable isotope ratios of Cl and O provide three independent quantities for ClO4− source attribution and natural attenuation studies: δ37Cl, δ18O, and δ17O (or Δ17O or 17Δ) values. Documented reference materials, calibration schemes, methods, and interferences will improve the reliability of such studies.MethodsThree large batches of KClO4 with contrasting isotopic compositions were synthesized and analyzed against VSMOW-SLAP, atmospheric O2, and international nitrate and chloride reference materials. Three analytical methods were tested for O isotopes: conversion of ClO4− to CO for continuous-flow IRMS (CO-CFIRMS), decomposition to O2 for dual-inlet IRMS (O2-DIIRMS), and decomposition to O2 with molecular-sieve trap (O2-DIIRMS+T). For Cl isotopes, KCl produced by thermal decomposition of KClO4 was reprecipitated as AgCl and converted into CH3Cl for DIIRMS.ResultsKClO4 isotopic reference materials (USGS37, USGS38, USGS39) represent a wide range of Cl and O isotopic compositions, including non-mass-dependent O isotopic variation. Isotopic fractionation and exchange can affect O isotope analyses of ClO4− depending on the decomposition method. Routine analyses can be adjusted for such effects by normalization, using reference materials prepared and analyzed as samples. Analytical errors caused by SO42−, NO3−, ReO42−, and C-bearing contaminants include isotope mixing and fractionation effects on CO and O2, plus direct interference from CO2 in the mass spectrometer. The results highlight the importance of effective purification of ClO4− from environmental samples.ConclusionsKClO4 reference materials are available for testing methods and calibrating isotopic data for ClO4− and other substances with widely varying Cl or O isotopic compositions. Current ClO4−extraction, purification

  10. Comparative morphology, histology and growth of the dental plates of the Devonian dipnoan Chirodipterus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, M M; Campbell, K S

    1987-10-14

    The dental plates of the Devonian lungfish Chirodipterus australis Miles (Osteichthyes; Dipnoi) are shown to have achieved their characteristic morphology by a growth process different from that assumed for the plates of genera such as Dipterus. Each plate was thickened by the addition of layers of bone that also extended the plate labially, thus providing the base on which and into which dentine grew. Distinctive features of the dentition are: (a) labial increase of the dentine mass by the addition of blister-like denticles of simple enamel-covered dentine, which is initially ingrown by pleromic dentine and subsequently resorbed and replaced by petrodentine; (b) increase in the midline by a similar process that results in the addition of one (or possibly two) new ridges; (c) resorption of the posterior edge of the pterygoid plates and the posterior and posteromedial edges of the prearticular plates, with subsequent development over the resorbed surfaces of several generations of simple regenerative dentine; (d) resorption and redeposition of pleromic dentine and bone in a triangular region posteromedially on the pterygoid plates; (e) the formation of tuberosities that simulate teeth at a short distance in from the labial edge, by four processes: formation of an undulating plate margin, differential growth of petrodentine (hard compact dentine) within the pulp cavity, differential wear of the petrodentine and the adjacent bone plus pleromic dentine, and slightly greater growth of the petrodentine towards the occlusal surface relative to the adjacent bone and dentine; (f) expansion of the large flat surfaces of the plates by gradual replacement of the bone and dentine at the proximal ends of the furrows and also by the development of linkages of petrodentine across the furrows; (g) development of isolated tuberosities on the flat posterolateral parts of the plates. The petrodentine of the ridges, tuberosities and plateaus of the plates is indistinguishable

  11. The Frasnian-Famennian boundary (Upper Devonian) in black shale sequences: US Southern Midcontinent, Illinois Basin, and northern Appalachian Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Over, D.J. (State Univ. of New York, Geneseo, NY (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences)

    1994-04-01

    The Frasnian-Famennian (F/F) boundary in the Woodford Shale of the US southern Midcontinent, Sweetland Creek Shale of the Illinois Basin, and the Hanover Shale of the northern Appalachian Basin is recognized to a discrete horizon. In each locality the boundary is marked by evidence of a disconformity: phosphate nodules, concentration of conodonts, or coated and corroded grains. The Woodford Shale consists of finely laminated pyritic organic-rich shale containing interbeds of greenish shale and chert. The F/F boundary horizon is marked by a concentration of conodonts and phosphatic nodules. The boundary lag horizon contains Pa. linguliformis, Pa. subperlobtata, Pa. delicatula delicatula, and Pa. triangularis. Underlying laminations contain Ancyrognathus ubiquitus and Pa. triangularis indicating that the disconformity is within the uppermost MN Zone 13 or Lower triangularis Zone. The upper portion of the Type Sweetland Creek Shale consists of dark organic-rich shales. The F/F boundary is located within an interval containing three green shale interbeds. Palmatolepis triangularis in the absence of Frasnian species first occurs in the middle green shale. In the thick Upper Devonian clastic sequence of the northern Appalachian Basin the F/F boundary is within an interval of interbedded pyritic green and organic-rich silty shales of the Hanover Shale. At Irish Gulf strata containing Pa. triangularis overlie finely laminated dark shales containing Pa. bogartensis, Pa. triangularis, Pa. winchell, Ancyrodella curvata, and Icriodus alternatus. The conodont fauna transition is below a conodont-rich laminae containing a Famennian fauna that marks the boundary horizon.

  12. Geochemical constraints on the origin and volume of gas in the New Albany Shale (Devonian-Mississippian), eastern Illinois Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strapoc, D.; Mastalerz, Maria; Schimmelmann, A.; Drobniak, A.; Hasenmueller, N.R.

    2010-01-01

    This study involved analyses of kerogen petrography, gas desorption, geochemistry, microporosity, and mesoporosity of the New Albany Shale (Devonian-Mississippian) in the eastern part of the Illinois Basin. Specifically, detailed core analysis from two locations, one in Owen County, Indiana, and one in Pike County, Indiana, has been conducted. The gas content in the locations studied was primarily dependent on total organic carbon content and the micropore volume of the shales. Gas origin was assessed using stable isotope geochemistry. Measured and modeled vitrinite reflectance values were compared. Depth of burial and formation water salinity dictated different dominant origins of the gas in place in the two locations studied in detail. The shallower Owen County location (415-433 m [1362-1421 ft] deep) contained significant additions of microbial methane, whereas the Pike County location (832-860 m [2730-2822 ft] deep) was characterized exclusively by thermogenic gas. Despite differences in the gas origin, the total gas in both locations was similar, reaching up to 2.1 cm3/g (66 scf/ton). Lower thermogenic gas content in the shallower location (lower maturity and higher loss of gas related to uplift and leakage via relaxed fractures) was compensated for by the additional generation of microbial methane, which was stimulated by an influx of glacial melt water, inducing brine dilution and microbial inoculation. The characteristics of the shale of the Maquoketa Group (Ordovician) in the Pike County location are briefly discussed to provide a comparison to the New Albany Shale. Copyright ??2010. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

  13. USGS analysis of the Australian UNCLOS submission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchinson, Deborah R.; Rowland, Robert W.

    2006-01-01

    In November 2004, the Government of Australia made a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) for 10 extended continental shelf (ECS) regions, utilizing Article-76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With information provided in the Australian Executive Summary, the USGS examined the 10 regions of the submission from geological, morphological, and resource perspectives. By their own request, the Australians asked that CLCS take no action on the Australian-Antarctic Territory. The major limitation in this analysis is that no bathymetric soundings or detailed hydrographic profiles were provided in the Australian Executive Summary that might show why the Foot of the Slope (FOS) was chosen or where the 2,500-m contour is located. This represents a major limitation because more than half of the 4,205 boundary points utilize the bathymetric formula line and more than one-third of them utilize the bathymetric constraint line. CLCS decisions on the components of this submission may set a precedent for how ECSs are treated in future submissions. Some of the key decisions will cover (a) how a 'natural prolongation' of a continental margin is determined, particularly if a bathymetric saddle that appears to determine the prolongation is in deep water and is well outside of the 200-nm limit (Exmouth Plateau), (b) defining to what extent that plateaus, rises, caps, banks and spurs that are formed of oceanic crust and from oceanic processes can be considered to be 'natural prolongations' (Kerguelen Plateau), (c) to what degree UNCLOS recognizes reefs and uninhabited micro-islands (specifically, rocks and/or sand shoals) as islands that can have an EEZ (Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs north of Lord Howe Island), and (d) how the Foot of the Slope (FOS) is chosen (Great Australian Bight). The submission contains situations that are relevant to potential future U.S. submissions and are potentially analogous to certain

  14. Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of the Eagle Ford Shale: Results from the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birdwell, Justin E.; Boehlke, Adam; Paxton, Stanley T.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Pearson, Ofori N.

    2017-01-01

    The Eagle Ford shale is a major continuous oil and gas resource play in southcentral Texas and a source for other oil accumulations in the East Texas Basin. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) petroleum system assessment and research efforts, a coring program to obtain several immature, shallow cores from near the outcrop belt in central Texas has been undertaken. The first of these cores, USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway, was collected near Waco, Texas, in September 2015 and has undergone extensive geochemical and mineralogical characterization using routine methods to ascertain variations in the lithologies and chemofacies present in the Eagle Ford at this locale. Approximately 270 ft of core was examined for this study, focusing on the Eagle Ford Group interval between the overlying Austin Chalk and underlying Buda Limestone (~20 ft of each). Based on previous work to identify the stratigraphy of the Eagle Ford Group in the Waco area and elsewhere (Liro et al., 1994; Robison, 1997; Ratcliffe et al., 2012; Boling and Dworkin, 2015; Fairbanks et al., 2016, and references therein), several lithological units were expected to be present, including the Pepper Shale (or Woodbine), the Lake Waco Formation (or Lower Eagle Ford, including the Bluebonnet, Cloice, and Bouldin or Flaggy Cloice members), and the South Bosque Member (Upper Eagle Ford). The results presented here indicate that there are three major chemofacies present in the cored interval, which are generally consistent with previous descriptions of the Eagle Ford Group in this area. The relatively high-resolution sampling (every two ft above the Buda, 432.8 ft depth, and below the Austin Chalk, 163.5 ft depth) provides great detail in terms of geochemical and mineralogical properties supplementing previous work on immature Eagle Ford Shale near the outcrop belt.

  15. USGS field activities 11BHM03 and 11BHM04 on the west Florida shelf, Gulf of Mexico, September and November 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Lisa L.; Knorr, Paul O.; Daly, Kendra L.; Barrera, Kira E.

    2014-01-01

    During September and November 2011 the (USGS), in cooperation with (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of Mexico, specifically, the effect of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. The first cruise was conducted from September 20 to 28 (11BHM03) and the second was from November 2 to 4 (11BHM04). To view each cruise's survey lines, please see the Trackline page. Each cruise took place aboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Weatherbird II, a ship of opportunity led by Dr. Kendra Daly (USF), which departed from and returned to Saint Petersburg, Florida. Data collection included sampling of the surface and water column with lab analysis of pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) or total carbon dioxide (TCO2), and total alkalinity (TA). lLb analysis was augmented with a continuous flow-through system (referred to as sonde data) with a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor, which also recorded salinity and pH. Corroborating the USGS data are the vertical CTD profiles (referred to as station samples) collected by USF. The CTD casts measured continuous vertical profiles of oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence and optical backscatter. Discrete samples for nutrients, chlorophyll, and particulate organic carbon/nitrogen were also collected during the CTD casts. Two autonomous flow-through (AFT) instruments recorded pH and CO2 every 3-5 minutes on each cruise (referred to as AFT data).

  16. USGS field activities 11BHM01 and 11BHM02 on the west Florida shelf, Gulf of Mexico, May and June 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Lisa L.; Knorr, Paul O.; Daly, Kendra L.; Taylor, Carl A.; Barrera, Kira E.

    2014-01-01

    During May and June 2011 the (USGS), in cooperation with (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of Mexico, specifically, the effect of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. The first cruise was conducted from May 3 to 9 (11BHM01) and the second was from June 25 to 30 (11BHM02). To view each cruise's survey lines, please see the Trackline page. Each cruise took place aboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Weatherbird II, a ship of opportunity led by Dr. Kendra Daly (USF), which departed from and returned to Saint Petersburg, Florida. Data collection included sampling of the surface and water column with lab analysis of pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) or total carbon dioxide (TCO2), and total alkalinity (TA). lLb analysis was augmented with a continuous flow-through system (referred to as sonde data) with a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor, which also recorded salinity and pH. Corroborating the USGS data are the vertical CTD profiles (referred to as station samples) collected by USF. The CTD casts measured continuous vertical profiles of oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence and optical backscatter. Discrete samples for nutrients, chlorophyll, and particulate organic carbon/nitrogen were also collected during the CTD casts. Two autonomous flow-through (AFT) instruments recorded pH and CO2 every 3-5 minutes on each cruise (referred to as AFT data).

  17. Morphology, Taxonomy and Interrelationships of Tristichopterid Fishes (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha)

    OpenAIRE

    Snitting, Daniel

    2008-01-01

    Tristichopterids (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha) form a monophyletic group of exclusively Devonian fishes. This thesis consists of descriptions of new material of tristichopterids and closely related taxa, as well as new interpretations and descriptions of previously figured material. Redescribed specimens were originally figured as far back as 1861, and publications as old as this are almost always of limited use as anatomical and systematical references, in addition to being difficult to a...

  18. Devonian through early Carboniferous (Mississippian) metallogenesis and tectonics of northeast Asia, Chapter 6 in Metallogenesis and tectonics of northeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badarch, Gombosuren; Dejidmaa, Gunchin; Gerel, Ochir; Obolenskiy, Alexander A.; Prokopiev, Andrei V.; Timofeev, Vladimir F.; Nokleberg, Warren J.

    2010-01-01

    tectonics of Northeast Asia that have been led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These studies have produced two broad types of publications (1) a series of regional geologic, mineral-deposit, and metallogenic-belt maps, with companion descriptions of the region, and (2) a suite of metallogenic and tectonic analyses of the same region. The study area consists of eastern Russia (most of eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East), Mongolia, northern China, South Korea, Japan, and adjacent offshore areas. The major cooperative agencies are the Russian Academy of Sciences; the Academy of Sciences of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia); VNIIOkeangeologia and Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation; the Mongolian Academy of Sciences; the Mongolian University of Science and Technology; the Mongolian National University; Jilin University, Changchun, People?s Republic of China, the China Geological Survey; the Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources; the Geological Survey of Japan/AIST; the University of Texas, Arlington, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This study builds on and extends the data and interpretations from a previous project on the Major Mineral Deposits, Metallogenesis, and Tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera conducted by the USGS, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, and the Geological Survey of Canada. The major products of this project were summarized by Naumova and others (2006) and are described in appendix A.

  19. Nicotine, acetanilide and urea multi-level2H-,13C- and15N-abundance reference materials for continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimmelmann, A.; Albertino, A.; Sauer, P.E.; Qi, H.; Molinie, R.; Mesnard, F.

    2009-01-01

    Accurate determinations of stable isotope ratios require a calibration using at least two reference materials with different isotopic compositions to anchor the isotopic scale and compensate for differences in machine slope. Ideally, the S values of these reference materials should bracket the isotopic range of samples with unknown S values. While the practice of analyzing two isotopically distinct reference materials is common for water (VSMOW-SLAP) and carbonates (NBS 19 and L-SVEC), the lack of widely available organic reference materials with distinct isotopic composition has hindered the practice when analyzing organic materials by elemental analysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS). At present only L-glutamic acids USGS40 and USGS41 satisfy these requirements for ??13C and ??13N, with the limitation that L-glutamic acid is not suitable for analysis by gas chromatography (GC). We describe the development and quality testing of (i) four nicotine laboratory reference materials for on-line (i.e. continuous flow) hydrogen reductive gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass-spectrometry (GC-IRMS), (ii) five nicotines for oxidative C, N gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass-spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS, or GC-IRMS), and (iii) also three acetanilide and three urea reference materials for on-line oxidative EA-IRMS for C and N. Isotopic off-line calibration against international stable isotope measurement standards at Indiana University adhered to the 'principle of identical treatment'. The new reference materials cover the following isotopic ranges: ??2Hnicotine -162 to -45%o, ??13Cnicotine -30.05 to +7.72%, ?? 15Nnicotine -6.03 to +33.62%; ??15N acetanilide +1-18 to +40.57%; ??13Curea -34.13 to +11.71%, ??15Nurea +0.26 to +40.61% (recommended ?? values refer to calibration with NBS 19, L-SVEC, IAEA-N-1, and IAEA-N-2). Nicotines fill a gap as the first organic nitrogen stable isotope reference materials for GC-IRMS that are available with different ??13N

  20. Assessing the Utility of and Improving USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomberg, J. S.; Scott, M.; Weaver, C. S.; Sherrod, B. L.; Bailey, D.; Gibbons, D.

    2010-12-01

    A major focus of the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) has been the development and implementation of products and information meant to improve earthquake hazard assessment, mitigation and response for a myriad of users. Many of these products rely on the data and efforts of the EHP and its partner scientists who are building the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). We report on a project meant to assess the utility of many of these products and information, conducted collaboratively by EHP scientists and Pierce County Department of Emergency Management staff. We have conducted focus group listening sessions with members of the engineering, business, medical, media, risk management, and emergency response communities as well as participated in the planning and implementation of earthquake exercises in the Pacific Northwest. Thus far we have learned that EHP and ANSS products satisfy many of the needs of engineers and some planners, and information is widely used by media and the general public. However, some important communities do not use these products despite their intended application for their purposes, particularly county and local emergency management and business communities. We have learned that products need to convey more clearly the impact of earthquakes, in everyday terms. Users also want products (e.g. maps, forecasts, etc.) that can be incorporated into tools and systems they use regularly. Rather than simply building products and posting them on websites, products need to be actively marketed and training provided. We suggest that engaging users prior to and during product development will enhance their usage and effectiveness.

  1. On the origin of a phosphate enriched interval in the Chattanooga Shale (Upper Devonian) of Tennessee-A combined sedimentologic, petrographic, and geochemical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yifan; Schieber, Juergen

    2015-11-01

    The Devonian Chattanooga Shale contains an uppermost black shale interval with dispersed phosphate nodules. This interval extends from Tennessee to correlative strata in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio and represents a significant period of marine phosphate fixation during the Late Devonian of North America. It overlies black shales that lack phosphate nodules but otherwise look very similar in outcrop. The purpose of this study is to examine what sets these two shales apart and what this difference tells us about the sedimentary history of the uppermost Chattanooga Shale. In thin section, the lower black shales (PBS) show pyrite enriched laminae and compositional banding. The overlying phosphatic black shales (PhBS) are characterized by phosbioclasts, have a general banded to homogenized texture with reworked layers, and show well defined horizons of phosphate nodules that are reworked and transported. In the PhBS, up to 8000 particles of P-debris per cm2 occur in reworked beds, whereas the background black shale shows between 37-88 particles per cm2. In the PBS, the shale matrix contains between 8-16 phosphatic particles per cm2. The shale matrix in the PhBS contains 5.6% inertinite, whereas just 1% inertinite occurs in the PBS. The shale matrix in both units is characterized by flat REE patterns (shale-normalized), whereas Phosbioclast-rich layers in the PhBS show high concentrations of REEs and enrichment of MREEs. Negative Ce-anomalies are common to all samples, but are best developed in association with Phosbioclasts. Redox-sensitive elements (Co, U, Mo) are more strongly enriched in the PBS when compared to the PhBS. Trace elements associated with organic matter (Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni) show an inverse trend of enrichment. Deposited atop a sequence boundary that separates the two shale units, the PhBS unit represents a transgressive systems tract and probably was deposited in shallower water than the underlying PBS interval. The higher phosphate content in the PhBS is

  2. A Silurian-early Devonian slab window in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Evidence from high-Mg diorites, adakites and granitoids in the western Central Beishan region, NW China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Rongguo; Xiao, Wenjiao; Li, Jinyi; Wu, Tairan; Zhang, Wen

    2018-03-01

    The Beishan orogenic belt is a key region for deciphering the accretionary processes of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Here in this paper we present new zircon U-Pb ages, bulk-rock major and trace element, and zircon Hf isotopic data for the Baitoushan, and Bagelengtai plutons in the western Central Beishan region to address the accretionary processes. The Baitoushan pluton consists of quartz diorites, monzonites and K-feldspar granites, with zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages of 435 Ma, 421 Ma and 401 Ma, respectively. The Baitoushan quartz diorites and quartz monzonites exhibit relatively high MgO contents and Mg# values (63-72), display enrichments in LILEs and LREEs, and exhibit high Ba (585-1415 ppm), Sr (416-570 ppm) and compatible element (such as Cr and Ni) abundances, which make them akin to typical high-Mg andesites. The Baitoushan quartz diorites and quartz monzonites were probably generated by the interaction of subducted oceanic sediment-derived melts and mantle peridotites. The Baitoushan K-feldspar granites are ascribed to fractionated I-type granites with peraluminous and high-K calc-alkaline characteristics. They exhibit positive εHf(t) values (2.43-7.63) and Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic zircon Hf model ages (0.92-1.60 Ga). Those early Devonian granites, including Baitoushan K-feldspar granite and Gongpoquan leucogranites (402 Ma), are derived from melting of the mafic lower crust and/or sediments by upwelling of hot asthenospheric mantle. The Bagelengtai granodiorites exhibit similar geochemical signatures with that of typical adakites, with a zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age of 435 Ma. They exhibit relatively high Sr (502-628 ppm) and Al2O3 (16.40-17.40 wt.%) contents, and low MgO (1.02-1.29 wt.%), Y (3.37-6.94 ppm) and HREEs contents, with relatively high Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios. The Bagelengtai granodiorites were derived from partial melting of subducted young oceanic crust, with significant contributions of subducted sediments, subsequently

  3. USGS Digital Spectral Library splib06a

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.; Wise, Richard A.; Livo, K. Eric; Hoefen, Todd M.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Sutley, Stephen J.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction We have assembled a digital reflectance spectral library that covers the wavelength range from the ultraviolet to far infrared along with sample documentation. The library includes samples of minerals, rocks, soils, physically constructed as well as mathematically computed mixtures, plants, vegetation communities, microorganisms, and man-made materials. The samples and spectra collected were assembled for the purpose of using spectral features for the remote detection of these and similar materials. Analysis of spectroscopic data from laboratory, aircraft, and spacecraft instrumentation requires a knowledge base. The spectral library discussed here forms a knowledge base for the spectroscopy of minerals and related materials of importance to a variety of research programs being conducted at the U.S. Geological Survey. Much of this library grew out of the need for spectra to support imaging spectroscopy studies of the Earth and planets. Imaging spectrometers, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Airborne Visible/Infra Red Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) or the NASA Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) which is currently orbiting Saturn, have narrow bandwidths in many contiguous spectral channels that permit accurate definition of absorption features in spectra from a variety of materials. Identification of materials from such data requires a comprehensive spectral library of minerals, vegetation, man-made materials, and other subjects in the scene. Our research involves the use of the spectral library to identify the components in a spectrum of an unknown. Therefore, the quality of the library must be very good. However, the quality required in a spectral library to successfully perform an investigation depends on the scientific questions to be answered and the type of algorithms to be used. For example, to map a mineral using imaging spectroscopy and the mapping algorithm of Clark and others (1990a, 2003b

  4. The development and certification of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) to assess and ensure accurate measurement of Pb in the environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fassett, J D; MacDonald, B S

    2001-08-01

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has had a major quality-assurance role in the federal effort to reduce lead poisoning of children in the United States through its mission of ensuring the accuracy of chemical measurements. NIST certifies reference materials (standard reference materials--SRMs) that are used to benchmark measurements by secondary and field methods of analysis--to ensure that decisions of great health and economic impact are soundly based on good measurement science. Over the past 10 years, in cooperation with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), NIST has prepared and certified SRMs for lead content in soil, indoor dust, and paint. The role of these materials in meeting regulatory and abatement needs is described and their certified values are summarized.

  5. The Svalbard Caledonides - a collage of Laurentian, Timanian and exotic terranes assembled by Silurian - Late (?) Devonian transcurrent faulting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andresen, Arild; Gasser, Deta

    2014-05-01

    New field and geochronological data from NE Greenland and Svalbard indicate that most of the sub-terranes making up the Svalbard Caledonides (Eastern, Northwestern and Southwestern Terranes) are derived from Laurentias eastern margin. The Neoproterozoic deposits of the Eastern Terrane (Nordaustlandet) show an almost one to one correlation with the Late Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup in NE Greenland. Great similarities also exist between the substratum to the Neoproterozoic deposits in the two areas. The "Barentsian plate/continent" is interpreted to be derived from Laurentias eastern margin Lithologic similarities also exist between parts of the Northwestern Terrane and NE Greenland. The geologic evolution of Svalbard`s Southwestern Terrane, with subduction complexes and Late Neoproterozoic intrusives (Timanian ?) is poorly understood. It will, however, be argued that there is no need to invoke considerable right lateral strike-slip movement of the Motalefjellet subduction complex and related rocks from a position in Arctic Canada to their present position within the Southwestern Terrane, as proposed by some authors. The structural grain of the Svalbard Caledonides, oblique to East Greenland and Scandinavian Caledonides, as well as the Ellesmerian Orogen, is interpreted to be due to counter-clockwise rotation (c. 45o) of the Caledonian trend. A counter-clockwise rotation is to be expected when the northward moving terranes reached the E-W trending Franklinian Basin north of Greenland/Laurentia, which in Early Devonian time had not yet started to close. The model predicts that there should be a dramatic change in the Caledonian structural grain somewhere south of Bjørnøya. It is furthermore speculated that the fan-shaped orientation of Late Paleozoic rift basins in the Western Barents Sea is controlled by reactivation of the rotated structural trend (e.g. Billefjorden Fault Zone and Billefjorden Trough).

  6. Stratigraphy, structure, and lithofacies relationships of Devonian through Permian sedimentary rocks: Paradox Basin and adjacent areas - southeastern Utah. Technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCleary, J.; Rogers, T.; Ely, R.

    1983-08-01

    Geophysical well log analysis, literature review, and field work were conducted to develop isopach, structure contour, outcrop, and facies maps and cross sections for the Devonian through Permian strata of a 14,586-km 2 (5632-square-mile) area in southeastern Utah. The study area includes part of the Paradox Basin, the salt deposits of which are of interest in siting studies for a nuclear waste repository. For this reason hydrologic models of this area are needed. This study, part of which included the development of a three-dimensional stratigraphic computer model utilizing Geographic Information System software, can serve as a base for hydrologic or other models for this area. Within and adjacent to the study area, 730 wells were screened to select the 191 wells analyzed for the study. It was found that the Elbert through Molas formations did not exhibit noticeable facies changes within the study area. The Pinkerton Trail Formation exhibits moderate changes: anhydrite and shale become somewhat more abundant toward the northeast. Facies changes in the Paradox Formation are more dramatic. Thick saline facies deposits are present in the northeast, grading to thinner anhydrite and then to carbonate facies in the south and west. The lithology of the Honaker Trail Formation appears to be fairly uniform throughout the area. Facies changes in the Cutler Group are numerous and sometimes dramatic, and generally correspond to the named formations of the group. Other factors that could affect groundwater flow, such as stratigraphic cover of fine-grained rocks, area of formation outcrops, and fracturing and faulting are discussed and delineated on maps

  7. The Value of Long-Term Research at the Five USGS WEBB Catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanley, J. B.; Murphy, S. F.; Scholl, M. A.; Wickland, K.; Aulenbach, B. T.; Hunt, R.; Clow, D. W.

    2017-12-01

    Long-term catchment studies are sentinel sites for detecting, documenting, and understanding ecosystem processes and environmental change. The small catchment approach fosters in-depth site-based hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological process understanding, while a collective network of catchment observatories offers a broader context to synthesize understanding across a range of climates and geologies. The USGS Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program is a network of five sites established in 1991 to assess the impact of climate and environmental change on hydrology and biogeochemistry. Like other networks, such as the USDA - Forest Service Experimental Forests and the Czech Geomon network, WEBB exploits gradients of climate, geology, and topography to understand controls on biogeochemical processes. We present examples from each site and some cross-site syntheses to demonstrate how WEBB has advanced catchment science and informed resource management and policy. WEBB has relied on strong academic partnerships, providing long-term continuity for shorter-term academic grants, which have offered rich graduate educational opportunities. Like other sites and networks, the long-term datasets and process understanding of WEBB provide context to detect and interpret change. Without this backdrop, we have no baseline to quantify effects of droughts, floods, and extreme events, and no test sites to validate process-based models. In an era of lean budgets for science funding, the long-term continuity of WEBB and other catchment networks is in jeopardy, as is the critical scientific value and societal benefits they embody.

  8. Role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of children with acute abdomen in the emergency set-up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aviral

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Acute abdomen in children has been aptly described as Pandora′s box. Unlike computerized tomography (CT scan, ultrasonography (USG has no radiation hazard and the present study analyses the diagnostic yield of the USG in acute abdomen in children. Materials and Methods: Between September 2001 to October 2003, 75 patients with acute abdomen underwent clinical examination, routine biochemical tests, erect X-ray abdomen, USG and CT scan. Laparotomy and histological examination established final diagnosis. Results: The accuracy of correct diagnosis was 60%, 66.6%, 64%, 98.7% with clinical examination alone, USG alone, clinical examination combined with conventional radiography, and clinical evaluation combined with conventional radiography and USG respectively. USG helped to prevent unnecessary laparotomy in 16.3% of patients. Conclusions: USG is good investigative modality in the management of acute abdomen in children.

  9. Archive of side scan sonar and swath bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 10CCT03 offshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, from East Ship Island, Mississippi, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, April 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitt, Nancy T.; Flocks, James G.; Pfeiffer, William R.; Gibson, James N.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2012-01-01

    In April of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a geophysical survey from the east end of East Ship Island, Miss., extending to the middle of Dauphin Island, Ala. (fig. 1). This survey had a dual purpose: (1) to interlink previously conducted nearshore geophysical surveys (shoreline to ~2 km) with those of offshore surveys (~2 to ~9 km) in the area, and (2) to extend the geophysical survey to include a portion of the Dauphin Island nearshore zone. The efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geological stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorpholocial changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration feasibility, particularly in Camille Cut, and efforts for the preservation of historical Fort Massachusetts. For more information refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/.

  10. Estimating pole/zero errors in GSN-IRIS/USGS network calibration metadata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringler, A.T.; Hutt, C.R.; Aster, R.; Bolton, H.; Gee, L.S.; Storm, T.

    2012-01-01

    Mapping the digital record of a seismograph into true ground motion requires the correction of the data by some description of the instrument's response. For the Global Seismographic Network (Butler et al., 2004), as well as many other networks, this instrument response is represented as a Laplace domain pole–zero model and published in the Standard for the Exchange of Earthquake Data (SEED) format. This Laplace representation assumes that the seismometer behaves as a linear system, with any abrupt changes described adequately via multiple time-invariant epochs. The SEED format allows for published instrument response errors as well, but these typically have not been estimated or provided to users. We present an iterative three-step method to estimate the instrument response parameters (poles and zeros) and their associated errors using random calibration signals. First, we solve a coarse nonlinear inverse problem using a least-squares grid search to yield a first approximation to the solution. This approach reduces the likelihood of poorly estimated parameters (a local-minimum solution) caused by noise in the calibration records and enhances algorithm convergence. Second, we iteratively solve a nonlinear parameter estimation problem to obtain the least-squares best-fit Laplace pole–zero–gain model. Third, by applying the central limit theorem, we estimate the errors in this pole–zero model by solving the inverse problem at each frequency in a two-thirds octave band centered at each best-fit pole–zero frequency. This procedure yields error estimates of the 99% confidence interval. We demonstrate the method by applying it to a number of recent Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology/United States Geological Survey (IRIS/USGS) network calibrations (network code IU).

  11. Seismic risk analysis for the Atomics International Nuclear Materials Development Facility, Santa Susana California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    This report presents the results of a detailed seismic risk analysis of the Nuclear Materials Development Facility (NMDF) operated by Atomics International at Santa Susana, California. The historical seismic record was established after a review of available literature, consultation with operators of local seismic arrays and examination of appropriate seismic data bases including the USGS, California Institute of Technology and NEIS data bases. The resulting seismic record, covering the period 1969 to 1977, was used to identify all possible sources of seismicity that could affect the site. The best estimate curve indicates that the facility will experience 30% g with a return period of 55 years and 60% g with a return period of 750 years

  12. Seismic risk analysis for the Atomics International Nuclear Materials Development Facility, Santa Susana California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1978-12-29

    This report presents the results of a detailed seismic risk analysis of the Nuclear Materials Development Facility (NMDF) operated by Atomics International at Santa Susana, California. The historical seismic record was established after a review of available literature, consultation with operators of local seismic arrays and examination of appropriate seismic data bases including the USGS, California Institute of Technology and NEIS data bases. The resulting seismic record, covering the period 1969 to 1977, was used to identify all possible sources of seismicity that could affect the site. The best estimate curve indicates that the facility will experience 30% g with a return period of 55 years and 60% g with a return period of 750 years.

  13. Physical ECOHAB-1 data from moorings and other instruments in the Gulf of Maine by the the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Woods Hole, from 1993-03-19 to 1995-06-17 (NODC Accession 0042026)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains part of the USGS inventory of moored time series data, including the complete datasets and supporting metadata / associated files for field...

  14. Archive of Side Scan Sonar and Swath Bathymetry Data collected during USGS Cruise 10CCT02 Offshore of Petit Bois Island Including Petit Bois Pass, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeiffer, William R.; Flocks, James G.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; Forde, Arnell S.; Kelso, Kyle; Thompson, Phillip R.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2011-01-01

    In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, and Dauphin Island, Alabama (fig. 1). These efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geologic stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorphological changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration, particularly in Camille Cut, and protection for the historical Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, Mississippi. For more information please refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/index.html. This report serves as an archive of the processed swath bathymetry and side scan sonar data (SSS). Data products herein include gridded and interpolated surfaces, seabed backscatter images, and ASCII x,y,z data products for both swath bathymetry and side scan sonar imagery. Additional files include trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Scanned images of the handwritten and digital FACS logs are also provided as PDF files. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

  15. USGS Imagery Applications During Disaster Response After Recent Earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudnut, K. W.; Brooks, B. A.; Glennie, C. L.; Finnegan, D. C.

    2015-12-01

    It is not only important to rapidly characterize surface fault rupture and related ground deformation after an earthquake, but also to repeatedly make observations following an event to forecast fault afterslip. These data may also be used by other agencies to monitor progress on damage repairs and restoration efforts by emergency responders and the public. Related requirements include repeatedly obtaining reference or baseline imagery before a major disaster occurs, as well as maintaining careful geodetic control on all imagery in a time series so that absolute georeferencing may be applied to the image stack through time. In addition, repeated post-event imagery acquisition is required, generally at a higher repetition rate soon after the event, then scaled back to less frequent acquisitions with time, to capture phenomena (such as fault afterslip) that are known to have rates that decrease rapidly with time. For example, lidar observations acquired before and after the South Napa earthquake of 2014, used in our extensive post-processing work that was funded primarily by FEMA, aided in the accurate forecasting of fault afterslip. Lidar was used to independently validate and verify the official USGS afterslip forecast. In order to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology, a development pipeline must be established and maintained to continually test and incorporate new sensors, while adapting these new components to the existing platform and linking them to the existing base software system, and then sequentially testing the system as it evolves. Improvements in system performance by incremental upgrades of system components and software are essential. Improving calibration parameters and thereby progressively eliminating artifacts requires ongoing testing, research and development. To improve the system, we have formed an interdisciplinary team with common interests and diverse sources of support. We share expertise and leverage funding while effectively and

  16. The use of TOUGH2 for the LBL/USGS 3-dimensional site-scale model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bodvarsson, G.; Chen, G.; Haukwa, C. [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, CA (United States)] [and others

    1995-03-01

    The three-dimensional site-scale numerical model of the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain is under continuous development and calibration through a collaborative effort between Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The site-scale model covers an area of about 30 km{sup 2} and is bounded by major fault zones to the west (Solitario Canyon Fault), east (Bow Ridge Fault) and perhaps to the north by an unconfirmed fault (Yucca Wash Fault). The model consists of about 5,000 grid blocks (elements) with nearly 20,000 connections between them the grid was designed to represent the most prevalent geological and hydro-geological features of the site including major faults, and layering and bedding of the hydro-geological units. Further information about the three-dimensional site-scale model is given by Wittwer et al. and Bodvarsson et al.

  17. Contours, This Layer was derived from the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) based on 7.5 minute Digital Elevation Model (DEM) image files., Published in 1999, 1:24000 (1in=2000ft) scale, Atlanta Regional Commission.

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Regional | GIS Inventory — Contours dataset current as of 1999. This Layer was derived from the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) based on 7.5 minute Digital Elevation Model (DEM) image...

  18. A new psammosteid (Agnatha, Heterostraci from the Amata Regional Stage of the Main Devonian Field and morpho-histological types of discrete micromeric elements in the family Psammosteidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vadim N. Glinskiy

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In memory of an outstanding palaeoichthyologist Elga Mark-Kurik The range of diversity of psammosteids from the family Psammosteidae is still poorly known. Here a new species, Psammosteus ramosus sp. nov. Glinskiy, from the Amata Regional Stage of the Main Devonian Field is described. Its morphology, ornamentation, histology of exoskeletal plates, and micromeric elements are compared with those of other representatives of the family Psammosteidae. The comparison shows a close relationship of the new species with Psammosteus falcatus Obruchev, P. kiaeri Halstead Tarlo and P. pectinatus Obruchev, a group of species that is significantly different from other representatives of the genus Psammosteus and constitutes a separate evolutionary lineage. On the basis of morphological and histological features we here differentiate in the fields of tesserae of Psammosteidae the discrete micromeric elements of the ‘basic type’, known in Psammosteus bergi (Obruchev, P. levis Obruchev, P. livonicus Obruchev, P. maeandrinus Agassiz, P. megalopteryx (Trautschold, P. praecursor Obruchev and Karelosteus weberi Obruchev, and micromeric elements of the ‘progressive type’, known in Psammosteus falcatus, P. cf. kiaeri and P. ramosus sp. nov. Glinskiy.

  19. USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for north Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churchill, Christopher J.; Baldys, Stanley

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for north Texas provides early detection and monitoring of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) by using a holistic suite of detection methods. The program is designed to assess zebra mussel occurrence, distribution, and densities in north Texas waters by using four approaches: (1) SCUBA diving, (2) water-sample collection with plankton tow nets (followed by laboratory analyses), (3) artificial substrates, and (4) water-quality sampling. Data collected during this type of monitoring can assist rapid response efforts and can be used to quantify the economic and ecological effects of zebra mussels in the north Texas area. Monitoring under this program began in April 2010. The presence of large zebra mussel populations often causes undesirable economic and ecological effects, including damage to water-processing infrastructure and hydroelectric powerplants (with an estimated 10-year cost of $3.1 billion), displacement of native mussels, increases in concentrations of certain species of cyanobacteria, and increases in concentrations of geosmin (an organic compound that results in taste and odor issues in water). Since no large-scale, environmentally safe eradication method has been developed for zebra mussels, it is difficult to remove established populations. Broad physicochemical adaptability, prolific reproductive capacity, and rapid dispersal methods have enabled zebra mussels, within a period of about 20 years, to establish populations under differing environmental conditions across much of the eastern part of the United States. In Texas, the presence of zebra mussels was first confirmed in April 2009 in Lake Texoma in the Red River Basin along the Texas-Oklahoma border. They were most likely introduced into Lake Texoma through overland transport from an infested water body. Since then, the presence of zebra mussels has been reported in both the Red River and Washita River arms of Lake Texoma, in

  20. NASA and USGS ASTER Expedited Satellite Data Services for Disaster Situations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, K. A.

    2012-12-01

    Significant international disasters related to storms, floods, volcanoes, wildfires and numerous other themes reoccur annually, often inflicting widespread human suffering and fatalities with substantial economic consequences. During and immediately after such events it can be difficult to access the affected areas and become aware of the overall impacts, but insight on the spatial extent and effects can be gleaned from above through satellite images. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra spacecraft has offered such views for over a decade. On short notice, ASTER continues to deliver analysts multispectral imagery at 15 m spatial resolution in near real-time to assist participating responders, emergency managers, and government officials in planning for such situations and in developing appropriate responses after they occur. The joint U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team has developed policies and procedures to ensure such ongoing support is accessible when needed. Processing and distribution of data products occurs at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) located at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center in South Dakota. In addition to current imagery, the long-term ASTER mission has generated an extensive collection of nearly 2.5 million global 3,600 km2 scenes since the launch of Terra in late 1999. These are archived and distributed by LP DAAC and affiliates at Japan Space Systems in Tokyo. Advanced processing is performed to create higher level products of use to researchers. These include a global digital elevation model. Such pre-event imagery provides a comparative basis for use in detecting changes associated with disasters and to monitor land use trends to portray areas of increased risk. ASTER imagery acquired via the expedited collection and distribution process illustrates the utility and relevancy of such data in crisis situations.