Earth Sciences Commons^™

Assessment Of Undiscovered Oil And Gas Resources In Tertiary Strata Of The Gulf Coast, 2007

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 113.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, a mean of 690 million barrels of undiscovered oil, and a mean of 3.7 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in onshore lands and State waters of the Gulf Coast.

Hydrogeologic Setting And Ground-Water Flow Simulations Of The Eastern High Plains Regional Study Area, Nebraska, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Turco

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants to public-supply wells was evaluated in a part of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The aquifer in the Eastern High Plains regional study area is composed of Quaternary alluvial deposits typical of the High Plains aquifer in eastern Nebraska and Kansas, is an important water source for agricultural irrigation and public water supply, and is susceptible and vulnerable to contamination. A six-layer, steady-state ground-water flow model of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, was constructed and calibrated to average …

Temporal Differences In The Hydrologic Regime Of The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, 1895–2006, Daniel Ginting, Ronald B. Zelt, Joshua I. Linard

Publications of the US Geological Survey

In cooperation with the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District for a collaborative study of the cumulative effects of water and channel management practices on stream and riparian ecology, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compiled, analyzed, and summarized hydrologic information from long-term gaging stations on the lower Platte River to determine any significant temporal differences among six discrete periods during 1895-2006 and to interpret any significant changes in relation to changes in climatic conditions or other factors. A subset of 171 examined hydrologic indices (HIs) were selected for use as indices that (1) included most of the variance in the …

Ground-Water Age And Quality In The High Plains Aquifer Near Seward, Nebraska, 2003-2004, Jennifer S. Stanton, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Turco

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey, In cooperation with the City of Seward, Nebraska, conducted a study of ground-water age and quality to improve understanding of: (1) travel-times from recharge areas to public-supply wells, (2) the effects of geochemical reactions in the aquifer on water quality, and (3) how water quality has changed historically in response to land-use practices. Samples were collected from four supply wells in the Seward west well field and from nine monitoring wells along two approximate ground-water flow paths leading the well field.

Simulations Of Ground-Water Flow, Transport, Age, And Particle Tracking Near York, Nebraska, For A Study Of Transport Of Anthropogenic And Natural Contaminants (Tanc) To Public-Supply Wells, Brian R. Clark, Matthew K. Landon, Leon J. Kauffman, George Hornberger

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is committed to providing the Nation with credible scientific information that helps to enhance and protect the overall quality of life and that facilitates effective management of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources (http://www.usgs.gov/). Information on the Nation’s water resources is critical to ensuring long-term availability of water that is safe for drinking and recreation and is suitable for industry, irrigation, and fish and wildlife. Population growth and increasing demands for water make the availability of that water, now measured in terms of quantity and quality, even more essential to the long-term sustainability of our …

The Influence Of Sublacustrine Hydrothermal Vent Fluids On The Geochemistry Of Yellowstone Lake, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Russell L. Cuhel, Carmen Aguilar, J. Val Klump

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The geochemical composition of Yellowstone Lake water is strongly influenced by sublacustrine hydrothermal vent activity. The evidence for this conclusion is twofold. First, mass-balance calculations indicate that the outflow from Yellowstone Lake is enriched in dissolved As, B, Cl, Cs, Ge, Li, Mo, Sb, and W relative to inflowing waters. Calculations involving stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δD and δ18O, respectively) and mass-balances indicate about 13 percent evapoconcentration in the lake, which is inadequate to account for the enrichment of these elements in the water column. Second, linear relationships between the concentration of Cl and many other elements in …

Land Capability Potential Index (Lcpi) For The Lower Missouri River Valley, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Joanna M. Reuter

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) was developed to serve as a relatively coarse-scale index to delineate broad land capability classes in the valley of the Lower Missouri River. The index integrates fundamental factors that determine suitability of land for various uses, and may provide a useful mechanism to guide land-management decisions. The LCPI was constructed from integration of hydrology, hydraulics, land-surface elevations, and soil permeability (or saturated hydraulic conductivity) datasets for an area of the Lower Missouri River, river miles 423-670. The LCPI estimates relative wetness based on intersecting water-surface elevations, interpolated from measurements or calculated from hydraulic models, …

Hydrothermally Altered Rock And Hot-Spring Deposits At Yellowstone National Park—Characterized Using Airborne Visible- And Infrared-Spectroscopy Data, K. Eric Livo, Fred A. Kruse, Roger N. Clark, Raymond F. Kokaly, W. C. Shanks Iii

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The hydrothermal system in Yellowstone National Park has created altered rock and hot-spring deposits that were mapped using AVIRIS (airborne visible and infrared imaging spectrometer) data. The mapped minerals are indicative of the geologic processes and environments that controlled their formation. Ongoing volcanic activity is expressed at the surface by geothermal features, earthquakes, and geologically recent caldera formation. Precipitated minerals such as siliceous sinter and travertine on the surface are derived from chloride-rich alkaline solutions that are leaching silica and calcite from the underlying country rock. Siliceous sinter and montmorillonite are associated with hydrothermal systems abundant in hot water, whereas …

Spectral Analysis Of Absorption Features For Mapping Vegetation Cover And Microbial Communities In Yellowstone National Park Using Aviris Data, Raymond F. Kokaly, Don G. Despain, Roger N. Clark, K. Eric Livo

Publications of the US Geological Survey

This report summarizes the application of imaging spectroscopy to the study of biotic components of Yellowstone National Park ecosystems. Maps of vegetation cover and hot-spring microorganisms were generated using spectral-feature analysis of data from the airborne visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS). AVIRIS data were calibrated to surface reflectance using a radiative-transfer model and a ground-calibration target. A spectral library of canopy-reflectance signatures was created by averaging pixels of reflectance data over known occurrences of 27 vegetation cover types in Yellowstone. Distributions of these vegetation types were determined by comparing absorption features of the vegetation in the spectral library with …

Reconnaissance Study Of Pleistocene Lake And Fluvial Deposits In And Near Ancestral Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, J. D. Love, John M. Good, D. G. Browne

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Seven sequences of Pleistocene strata, five of them predominantly lacustrine, are described from outcrops north of Yellowstone Lake. These are (1) Turbid Lake sequence, 30–50 feet of white pumiceous claystone and tuff with carbonaceous partings and a distinctive compositional pattern of excesses and deficiencies of many elements; (2) Yellowstone Falls sequence, 75 feet or more of varved white claystone and tuff containing pollen and diatoms, overlain by gray conglomerate and sandstone; (3) Hayden Valley sequence, 200 feet or more of gray and white silt and claystone containing sparse diatoms; (4) Alum Creek sequence, 30 feet or more of bedded sand …

Geochemical Data For Selected Rivers, Lake Waters, Hydrothermal Vents, And Subaerial Geysers In Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming And Vicinity, 1996–2004, Pamela A. Gemery-Hill, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Gregory K. Lee

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Analyses of more than 400 water samples collected from creeks and rivers draining into Yellowstone Lake, hydrothermal vents and water-column profiles within Yellowstone Lake, and subaerial hot springs and geysers throughout Yellowstone National Park (the Park) are reported. The samples were collected from 1996 to 2004. All of the water samples were collected and analyzed as part of the USGS Mineral Resources Program Project, Integrated Geoscience Studies of the Greater Yellowstone Area. Goals of this study are to provide state-of-the-art chemical determinations of more than 45 elements and species to help understand the influences of hydrothermal processes within Yellowstone National …

Environmental Geochemistry In Yellowstone National Park—Natural And Anthropogenic Anomalies And Their Potential Impact On The Environment, Maurice A. Chaffee, Robert R. Carlson, Harley D. King

Publications of the US Geological Survey

In cooperation with the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a stream-sediment-based environmental geochemical study in and near Yellowstone National Park (the Park). The main goals of the study were to (1) determine background concentrations for as many as 49 elements in samples of rock and stream sediment, (2) establish a geochemical baseline during the 1990s for future reference, (3) identify the source(s) of anomalies for selected elements, and (4) identify potential chemical impacts on the Park environment, especially on wildlife.

Two areas of the Park containing identified environmental geochemical problems were selected for detailed study: (1) an …

Movement Of A Large Landslide Block Dated By Tree-Ring Analysis, Tower Falls Area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Paul E. Carrara

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Tree-ring analysis can be a valuable tool to date geomorphic events in regions lacking long historical records. In this study, the latest detectable movement of a section of a large landslide block in the Tower Falls area of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, is dated by tree-ring analysis of Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) damaged by the event. The movement tilted many of the trees and damaged their root systems. Thirteen old, tilted Douglas fir trees, at three sites, were sampled within the section of the landslide block that moved during the life of these trees. In …

Investigations Of The Effects Of Synthetic Chemicals On The Endocrine System Of Common Carp In Lake Mead, Nevada And Arizona, Michael R. Rosen, Steven L. Goodbred, Reynaldo Patiño, Thomas J. Leiker, Erik Orsak

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir by volume in the United States and was created by the construction of the 221-meter high Hoover Dam in 1935 at Black Canyon on the lower Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona (fig. 1). Inflows of water into the lake include three rivers, Colorado, Virgin, and Muddy; as well as Las Vegas Wash, which is now perennial because of discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants (Covay and Leiker, 1998) and urban stormwater runoff. As the population within the Las Vegas Valley began to increase in the 1940s, the treated effluent volume also has increased …

Postglacial Inflation-Deflation Cycles, Tilting, And Faulting In The Yellowstone Caldera Based On Yellowstone Lake Shorelines, Kenneth L. Pierce, Kenneth P. Cannon, Grant A. Meyer, Matthew J. Trebesch, Raymond D. Watts

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The Yellowstone caldera, like many other late Quaternary calderas of the world, exhibits dramatic unrest. Between 1923 and 1985, the center of the Yellowstone caldera rose nearly 1 m along an axis between its two resurgent domes (Pelton and Smith, 1979; Dzurisin and Yamashita, 1987). From 1985 until 1995–1996, the caldera subsided at about 2 cm/yr (Dzurisin and others, 1990). More recent radar-interferometry studies show renewed inflation of the northeastern resurgent dome between 1995 and 1996; this inflation migrated to the southwestern resurgent dome from 1996 to 1997 (Wicks and others, 1998).

We extend this record back in time using …

Is Yellowstone Losing Its Steam?— Chloride Flux Out Of Yellowstone National Park, Irving Friedman, Daniel R. Norton

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Chloride flux, a surrogate for heat flow, was determined for the four rivers draining Yellowstone National Park (the Park) for the water years (October 1 through September 30) 1983 through 2003, with the exception of 1995 and 1996. The chloride emitted by the geothermal system underlying Yellowstone Park is designated “thermal chloride,” and it constitutes 94 percent of the total chloride exiting the Park. The remainder of the chloride is contributed by rainfall, rock weathering, and a minor amount due to human impact.

Of this 94 percent, the Fall, Madison, Snake, and Yellowstone Rivers have been determined to discharge 93 …

The Question Of Recharge To The Deep Thermal Reservoir Underlying The Geysers And Hot Springs Of Yellowstone National Park, Robert O. Rye, Alfred H. Truesdell

Publications of the US Geological Survey

The extraordinary number, size, and unspoiled beauty of the geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park (the Park) make them a national treasure. The hydrology of these special features and their relation to cold waters of the Yellowstone area are poorly known. In the absence of deep drill holes, such information is available only indirectly from isotope studies. The δD-δ¹⁸O values of precipitation and cold surface-water and ground-water samples are close to the global meteoric water line (Craig, 1961). δD values of monthly samples of rain and snow collected from 1978 to 1981 at two stations in …

Applications Of Trace-Element And Stable-Isotope Geochemistry To Wildlife Issues, Yellowstone National Park And Vicinity, Maurice A. Chaffee, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Robert O. Rye, Charles C. Shwartz, Monique G. Adams, Robert R. Carlson, James G. Crock, Pamela A. Gemery-Hill, Kerry A. Gunther, Cynthia L. Kester, Harley D. King, Shannon R. Podruzny

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Reconnaissance investigations have been conducted to identify how geochemical techniques can be applied to biological studies to assist wildlife management in and near Yellowstone National Park (the Park). Many elements (for example, As, B, Be, Ce, Cl, Cs, F, Hg, K, Li, Mo, Rb, S, Sb, Si, and W) are commonly enriched in (1) thermal waters in the Yellowstone area, (2) rocks altered by these waters, (3) sinter and travertine deposits, and (4) soils and stream sediments derived from these rocks. Some of these elements, such as As, F, Hg, and Mo, may be toxic to wildlife and could be …

Monitoring Changes In Geothermal Activity At Norris Geyser Basin By Satellite Telemetry, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Irving Friedman

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Instrumentation on a weir on Tantalus Creek, which captures 98 percent of the surface discharge of Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park (the Park), records discharge and water temperature every 10 minutes and telemeters recorded data every hour via GOES satellite. Plots of discharge from June 1998 through mid-November 2003 record frequent—and often large—changes in
discharge.

Data recorded during five eruptions of Steamboat Geyser (May 2000, April 2002, September 2002, April 2003, and October 2003) allow calculation of the time and duration of the eruptions, as well as amounts of water released by each eruption.

Water discharge at the weir …

The Life Cycle Of Gold Deposits Near The Northeast Corner Of Yellowstone National Park—Geology, Mining History, And Fate, Bradley S. Van Gosen

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Henderson Mountain, near Cooke City, Mont., about 4.5 mi northeast of the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park (the Park), hosts identified resources of at least 2.3 million ounces of gold, 8.9 million ounces of silver, and 130 million pounds of copper. The mineral deposits formed by selective replacement of calcareous blocks and clasts in a complex breccia pipe (the Homestake deposit), and concurrent skarn development replaced limestone adjacent to the breccia pipe (the Miller Creek deposit). The breccia pipe and mineral deposits formed in the middle Eocene during intrusion of the dacitic Homestake stock.

The geologic history of the …

Geochemistry Of Sublacustrine Hydrothermal Deposits In Yellowstone Lake—Hydrothermal Reactions, Stable-Isotope Systematics, Sinter Deposition, And Spire Formation, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Jeffrey C. Alt, Lisa A. Morgan

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Geochemical and mineralogical studies of hydrothermal deposits and altered vent muds from the floor of Yellowstone Lake indicate that these features form due to hydrothermal fluid quenching in shallow flow conduits or upon egress into bottom waters. Siliceous precipitates occur as conduits within the uppermost sediments, as tabular deposits that form along sedimentary layers, and as spires as much as 8 m tall that grow upward from crater-like depressions on the lake bottom. These deposits are enriched in As, Cs, Hg, Mo, Sb, Tl, and W.

Variations in major-element geochemistry indicate that subaerial sinters from West Thumb and spire interiors …

The Yellowstone Hotspot, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, And Human Geography, Kenneth L. Pierce, Don G. Despain, Lisa A. Morgan, John M. Good

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Active geologic processes associated with the Yellowstone hotspot are fundamental in shaping the landscapes of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE), a high volcanic plateau flanked by a crescent of still higher mountainous terrain. The processes associated with the Yellowstone hotspot are volcanism, faulting, and uplift and are observed in the geology at the surface. We attribute the driving forces responsible for the northeastward progression of these processes to a thermal plume rising through the Earth’s mantle into the base of the southwest-moving North American plate. This progression began 16 million years ago (Ma) near the Nevada-Oregon border and arrived at …

The Floor Of Yellowstone Lake Is Anything But Quiet—New Discoveries From High-Resolution Sonar Imaging, Seismic- Reflection Profiling, And Submersible Studies, Lisa A. Morgan, Wayne C. Shanks Iii, Kenneth L. Pierce, David A. Lovalvo, Gregory K. Lee, Michael W. Webring, William J. Stephenson, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stephen S. Harlan, Boris Schulze, Carol A. Finn

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Discoveries from multibeam sonar mapping and seis-mic-reflection surveys of Yellowstone Lake provide new insight into the recent geologic forces that have shaped a large lake at the active front of the Yellowstone hot spot, a region strongly affected by young (<2 >m.y.), large-volume (>100–1,000s km3) silicic volcanism, active tectonism, and accompanying uplift.

Specifically, our mapping has identified the extent of postcaldera-collapse volcanism and active hydrothermal processes occurring above a large magma chamber beneath the lake floor. Multiple advances and recessions of thick glacial ice have overlapped volcanic and hydrothermal activity leaving a lake basin that has been shaped predominantly …

Concentrations Of Metals In Aquatic Invertebrates From The Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, Christopher J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh, John M. Besser, Thomas W. May

Publications of the US Geological Survey

This report summarizes the findings of a study conducted as a pilot for part of a park-wide monitoring program being developed for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) of southeastern Missouri. The objective was to evaluate using crayfish (Orconectes spp.) and Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) for monitoring concentrations of metals associated with lead-zinc mining. Lead-zinc mining presently (2007) occurs near the ONSR and additional mining has been proposed. Three composite samples of each type (crayfish and Asian clam), each comprising ten animals of approximately the same size, were collected during late summer and early fall of 2005 …