Report presents an abridged guide for laboratory technicians and students using X-ray powder diffraction methodology to study crystalline structure and to determine the mineralogy of finer grained sediments, especially clays.
The U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) is a facility in the Denver Federal Center, Colorado, for long-term storage, curating, and studying ice cores recovered from the polar regions of the world with information on public tours.
Site for the Optical Science Laboratory specializing in expert calibration of aerial mapping cameras with links to fees, scheduling cameras for calibration, historical camera database files, USGS aerial camera specifications, and how to visit.
Description of the Denver Organic Geochemistry Laboratory where chemical and geological data is used to research the physical and chemical processes of hydrocarbon generation, migration and accumulation, with links to programs, personnel, and products.
Site on the Chlorofluorocarbon Laboratory and its analytical services for CFCs, sulfur hexafluoride, dissolved gases including nitrogen, argon, methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and helium, and tritium/helium-3 dating.
The Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory conducts research on the use of isotope ratio measurements in studies of water resources and environmental quality.
The USGS Argon-40/Argon-39 Geochronology Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, is a facility for determining the age of rocks and minerals by measuring the proportions of naturally occuring radioactive isotopes to their decay products.
The USGS Luminescence Dating Laboratory in the Denver Federal Center, Colorado, is a facility for determining the age of sedimentary and volcanic ash deposits using luminescence dating with information on sample collection and laboratory methods.
Plain-language questions and answers about the stable-isotopic record obtained from Devils Hole, a cave in south-central Nevada. The data do not agree with the Milankovitch hypothesis concerning the causes of glacial cycles in climate change.
Overview of the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program role in investigating the occurrence and fate of agricultural chemicals with links to investigations, headlines, on-line fact sheets, new publications, bibliographies and photo gallery.
Maps and text (Word or PDF format) and database (Excel or HTML format) for bedrock, forest floor, and mineral soil sampling in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota to establish the background and baseline geochemistry and terrestrial mercury sources.
Information concerning status and trends of biological resources, focusing on protocols, systematic methods for collecting and analyzing scientific information
Report of research on the Carolina slate belt and gold deposits in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia with geologic mapping, mineralogic, geochemical, and fluid evolution studies, radiogenic dating, and stable isotope studies.
Information on National Wildlife Center research on Chronic Wasting Disease, a disease affecting the nervous system of elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer.
Overview of the Core Research Center (CRC) in Denver for preserving valuable rock cores for permanent storage and making the cores available for examination and testing. Includes links to services, well reports, and resources.
Report describing the results of an interdisciplinary environmental study of the World Trade Center (WTC) area after the attack on September 11, 2001. The investigations included imaging spectroscopy mapping and laboratory analysis.
Constructed farm ponds represent significant breeding, rearing, and overwintering habitat for amphibians in the Driftless Area Ecoregion of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Links to fact sheet, brochure, annual reports, field manual, and final report.
Brief review of some of the fundamentals of stable isotope geochemistry including definitions, basic principles, standards, and guidelines on reporting data.
Describes the value of molecular biology genetic tools in enhancing the delineation of the genetic diversity and the effects of environmental degradation on living species. Links to research, which differentiated two species of sage-grouse.
Site to obtain currently available geochemical reference materials, certificates for reference materials no longer available, reference materials in production, and order and processing information. Some documents in PDF format.
Manual of chemical sediment analysis using Coulometer and CHN Analyzers to measure carbon content, spectrometric analysis for biogenic silica, and radiochemistry to measure isotopes. Includes techniques,sample preparation, and safety procedures.
Overview of chemical analyses, tracer studies, gas geochemistry, stable isotopes analyses, organic chemistry, and thermometry capabilities at major USGS laboratories with links to technique, equipment, and contacts for each procedure.
Description of the methods of geochronology used to estimate the dating of rocks and sediments with links to technique, equipment and contacts for a variety of methods.
Booklet giving general explanations of geologic time, major divisions of geologic time, relative and radiometric time scales, index fossils, and the age of the earth.
Services available at the Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR) site in Denver with information on irradiation, neutron activation analysis, fission track radiography, and geochronology and tours of the facility.
Site to provide USGS scientists with web-based resoures to transfer new geophysical knowledge and experience; includes methods, tools, publications and training.
Describes project to identify sources of fecal coliform bacteria by ribotyping to develop the use of Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) values for contaminated stream segments in Virginia.
Summary of research on salmon fish resources in the Lake Clark area in Alaska with links to scientific projects, Native Alaskan intern program, lake core analysis, radio telemetry, genetics, subsistence fishing, and research staff.
Brief overview of luminescence dating is presented, including a description of the method, its uses, and proper sample collection techniques. Links to other U.S. laboratories for luminescence dating are also provided.
Homepage for the Missouri District Water-Quality Data & Analysis Section with links to data networks, projects, data availability, mobile laboratories, sampling boat, quality assurance practices, and real-time water-quality data.
Description of project monitoring the status of Greater Glacier National Park Area's grizzly bear and black bear populations using genetic techniques on DNA from bear hair or scats without handling bears, with photos and discussion of methods.
This report presents geochemical data generated during mineral and environmental assessments for the Bureau of Land Management in northern Nevada, northeastern California, southeastern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho, along with metadata and maps.
Database providing concentration of heavy metals, nutrients, and trace elements in 75 species of lichens sampled in 43 national park units in 24 states.
Access is provided to seismic data, image files of seismic data, well logs, and cores of petroleum reserves in Alaska from the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska, and (NPRA) Legacy Data Archive.
Homepage for description of the National Stream Quality Network (NASQAN), a long-term program monitoring the concentrations and flux of sediment and chemicals in the Nation's largest rivers (Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, Rio Grande, and Yukon).
Summary of protocols describing procedures for laboratory analysis of algae samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Includes full document to be downloaded in PDF format.
Program to compile data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Program study units to study national trends with links to sediment coring sites, video on Salt Lake City, study units identification, and publications.
The National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is a biomedical laboratory assessing the impact of disease on wildlife and identifying the role of various pathogens in wildlife losses. Site has links to news, programs, publications and metadata.
Field manual (also available in PDF and paper formats) with instructions on techniques to collect and process water samples and to perform measurements of temperature, oxygen content, conductance, pH, turbidity, and fecal contaminants.
Project to assess the grizzly bear population size, trend, and survival in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) in Montana to improve the long-term survival for this threatened species. With description, DNA identification means and photos.
Results (*.pdf) of a 1998 targeted reconnaissance survey on the sources of radium, polonium, and lead radionuclides, data collection and laboratory methods, existing occurrences in drinking water, risk assessments, and compliance monitoring.
Branch of Quality Systems monitors the consistent collection and reporting of water-quality data with documentation of field and laboratory methods and proficiency testing. Links to standard reference samples and quality assurance standards.
The Organic Geochemistry Research Group of the Kansas District focuses on the fate and transport of organic contaminants in the environment with links to objectives, analytical methods, laboratory methods, publications, events, photos, and personnel.
Links to laboratory capabilities within the USGS for paleomagnetism and paleomagnetic and rock magnetic procedures for dating and determination of magnetic direction and polarity in samples with links to techniques, equipment, and contacts.
Explanation of chemical contaminants released into aquatic environments by popular sealcoating compounds used in parking lots, with frequently-asked questions, links, and contact information.
An "image map" periodic table and short notes about many isotopes and their applications to illustrate the uses of assorted isotopes in hydrology, geology, and biology.
Homepage for the Pesticide National Synthesis Project, an assessment of pesticides in national water resources, with links to national reports, national statistics, national data, pesticide use, analytical strategy, and standards for the U.S.
Report of completed reservoir sediment studies in Kansas using a combination of bathymetric surveying, sediment coring, chemical analysis, and statistical analysis to understand the quantity and quality of deposited sediment.
Links to information on laboratory and field scientific techniques and equipment used and maintained for geologic research in the USGS. Site is incomplete and information is not available for some of the links.
Report on a community of microscopic organisms, Archaea, found deep in an Idaho hot spring living on hydrogen and carbon dioxide that could possibly exist on other planets. Includes links to related studies, investigators, and microbiology.
Links to Spectroscopy Lab projects to identify and map materials through spectroscopic remote sensing (imaging spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, imaging spectrometry, ultraspectral imaging, etc) on the Earth and in space.
Presentation that the location of Chesapeake Bay may have been predetermined by a Eocene bolide, an extraterrestrial body, impacting the Earth in the vicinity of the Delmarva Peninsula at high velocity and exploding to create a large crater.
Use of tree ring dating to study distinct episodes of hydrologic change in the Tully Valley wetland, New York recording history of solution-brine injection mining for salt.
Grain-size analysis of marine sediments of the U.S. eastern coast with sampling and lab methods, surficial sediment database in three formats (Excel, Dbase IV, ASCII), and use of geographic mapping tools for visualizing sediment data layers.
Site with a series of articles showing how chemists and geologists use analytical chemistry to determine the age of the Earth, determine Earth's history, predict volcanic eruptions, observe long-term atmospheric change and study pollution.
Brief description of the Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle devoted to research on fish populations and aquatic ecosystems of the West. Links to research programs, laboratory locations, publications, and map services.
Homepage for project on Bear Lake, Idaho-Utah, to study past climate change and effect on lake catchment basins. Includes link to summary, personnel, geology, methods used including coring and seismic surveying, and publications.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey