In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 35 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and... more
In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 35 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.) (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021.pdf). Acquiring information on possible domestic sources of these critical minerals is the rationale for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). The program, which partners the USGS with State Geological Surveys, federal agencies, and the private sector, aims to collect new geological, geophysical, and topographic (lidar) data in key areas of the U.S. to stimulate mineral exploration and production of critical minerals. The first phase of Earth MRI focused on the study of rare-earth elements (REE) (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20191023A). Phase 2 (this report) focuses on the following minerals: aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithiu...
This geodatabase reflects the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced... more
This geodatabase reflects the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced locations of mineral commodity production and processing facilities, mineral exploration and development sites, and mineral commodity exporting ports in Africa. The geodatabase and geospatial data layers serve to create a new geographic information product in the form of a geospatial portable document format (PDF) map. The geodatabase contains data layers from USGS, foreign governmental, and open-source sources as follows: (1) mineral production and processing facilities, (2) mineral exploration and development sites, (3) mineral occurrence sites and deposits, (4) undiscovered mineral resource tracts for Gabon and Mauritania, (5) undiscovered mineral resource tracts for potash, platinum-group elements, and copper, (6) coal occurrence areas, (7) electric p...
In 2015, approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands across six western states were proposed for withdrawal from mineral entry by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in order to conserve habitat critical for the greater sage-grouse.... more
In 2015, approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands across six western states were proposed for withdrawal from mineral entry by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in order to conserve habitat critical for the greater sage-grouse. As a result, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Sagebrush Mineral Resource Assessment (SaMiRA) project in late-2015 to provide BLM with an assessment of the locatable minerals and an evaluation of the leaseable and saleable minerals within the proposed withdrawal areas. BLM provided Legacy Rehost 2000 System (LR2000) spatial data to the USGS on March 6, 2016 to help identify areas containing mineral leases and claims. The LR2000 system reports BLM land and mineral-use authorizations for oil, gas, and geothermal leasing, rights-of-ways, coal and other mineral development, land and mineral title, mining claims, withdrawals, classifications, and more on federal lands or on federal mineral estate. The spatial data provided here generalize the...
Research Interests:
This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Geology()
()
Research Interests: Geology()
()
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
For more than 30 yr, geologists and geophysicists have used balancing techniques to constrain their cross-sectional interpretations in detached contractional settings. The quality of the resulting interpretations commonly directly... more
For more than 30 yr, geologists and geophysicists have used balancing techniques to constrain their cross-sectional interpretations in detached contractional settings. The quality of the resulting interpretations commonly directly correlates to the quality of the data, the balancing and interpretational experience of the interpreter , and the time allotted for the interpretation. We demystify the balancing process and present quick-look techniques for quickly and effectively detecting and preventing common cross section balancing errors in detached contractional settings. Common balancing problems are highlighted through close scrutiny of hanging-wall and footwall ramps and flats; such analysis helps identify inconsistencies in the numbers of ramps and flats, in the strata and stratal thicknesses in corresponding ramps, and in displacement along the fault. These techniques possess the additional advantages of being useful at any stage of the interpretational process for time or depth sections and being easily comprehensible by students, geologists, geophysicists, and managers alike. The quick-look techniques, however, are not an all-encompassing panacea. They do not guarantee a unique and/or correct cross-sectional interpretation ; instead, they serve to focus the interpreter's attention on potentially problematic areas in the cross section that might require explanation and/or reinterpretation.
Research Interests:
... as part of the corresponding footwall ramp (similar to the problem shown in Figure 3d-s). Armstrong ... GeoRef. ↵ Marshak, S., and NB Woodward, 1988, Introduction to cross section balancing, in S. Marshak and G. Mitra, eds., Basic... more
... as part of the corresponding footwall ramp (similar to the problem shown in Figure 3d-s). Armstrong ... GeoRef. ↵ Marshak, S., and NB Woodward, 1988, Introduction to cross section balancing, in S. Marshak and G. Mitra, eds., Basic methods of structural geology: Englewood Cliffs ...