Resource Projects

Geochemical landscapes (Mineral Resources)

• This project is beginning a pilot study to determine methodology. The long-term objective of the project is to design and carry out a new national-scale soil geochemical survey in collaboration with NRCS and other Federal and State agencies as well as the academic community. This survey will include: a complete suite of inorganic analyses by total extraction of the sample, determination of "geoavailable" and "bioavailable" fractions of the soil by partial extraction methods, measurement of selected organic contaminants, characterization of the soil microbial communities, and determination of specific pathogens in the soil. The national effort will require working closely with others, including USFWS, to complete the survey.
  
  David Smith, dsmith@usgs.gov, Denver, CO

Mancos Shale landscapes: science and management of black shale terrains (a regional partnership project)
(Priority Ecosystem Science; Mineral Resources, Water Resources Research Act, Geographic Analysis and Monitoring, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping, Energy Resources, Invasive Species)

• Mancos Shale landscapes of the western United States, especially in the upper Colorado River basin, have become a focal point for the need for scientific information to support sound land-use policies. The broad objectives of this project are to:
  1. Use science to help define some of the issues requiring the attention of science, resource, and land-use managers who deal with black shale terrains
  2. Provide applicable, scientifically valid, information that can be used to formulate resource and land-use management policies for Mancos Shale landscapes
  3. Assure that the information provided is transportable/applicable to black-shale landscapes that are not specifically studied. In the long-term, the project will contribute to the development of predictive models that can be used to evaluate black-shale landscapes in terms of their economic resource potential and their environmental sensitivity.
  USFWS benefits directly without payment.
  
  Richard Grauch, rgrauch@usgs.gov, Denver, CO

Pathways of metal transfer from mineralized sources to bioreceptors (Mineral Resources)

• Project scientists are synthesizing vast amounts of information into dynamic models to assist the USFWS and EPA in further defining links between physical and biogeochemical processes and health impacts in the Coeur d'Alene River basin. The models will result in a deeper understanding of the processes that affect how zinc and lead move and are transformed between dissolved and particulate phases. The models will identify dominant processes and, thereby, assist in targeting remediation and management activities in this complex system.
  
  Laurie Balistrieri, balistri@usgs.gov, Seattle, WA

National Gas & Oil Assessment (Energy Resources)

Alaska petroleum studies (Energy Resources)

• Project provides up-to-date assessments of Alaska's energy resource potential. In 1998, the USGS updated its oil and gas assessment of the ANWR 1002 area. This year, it will begin to examine the region between ANWR and NPRA.
  
  Kenneth Bird, kbird@usgs.gov, Menlo Park, CA

Subsidence and fault activation related to fluid energy production, Gulf Coast Basin (Energy Resources, Coastal and Marine Geology;Status and Trends)

• The Gulf Coast basin is a region where subsidence and fault activation are common around large, mature oil and gas fields even though moderately deep hydrocarbon production has generally been disregarded as the primary cause. Project scientists are investigating the magnitudes of environmental impacts, estimating rates of deformation, identifying reservoir parameters that are indicators of subsidence potential, and evaluating geophysical methods for regional subsidence detection and monitoring. Federal and State agencies in Louisiana and Texas are particularly interested in this research because the results will provide a basis for designing marsh and barrier-island restoration projects, planning hurricane levees, and managing oil and gas production. Measurements from sedimentation-erosion tables (SET) will be made at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge. Geodetic-quality GPS surveys of benchmarks and historical releveling surveys will be used to analyze short-term changes in surface elevation near producing fields and faults. USFWS benefits directly without payment.
  
  Robert Morton, rmorton@usgs.gov, St. Petersburg, FL

Geophysical processing & NERSL (Energy Resources)

• The primary objectives of this project are to maintain state-of-the-art seismic reflection data processing, interpretation, visualization, and data management facilities and to provide expert personnel to science projects knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of seismic reflection data technology. The project has completed cataloging and archiving data and creating a database of all of the 2-D seismic reflection and support data from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). These are the only seismic reflection data currently available from the ANWR. The digital archive is stored at the BLM in Alaska and the USGS in Denver.
  
  David Taylor, taylor@usgs.gov, Denver, CO