House Committee asks, "Where is the geology in the USGS?"

“How can the Geological Survey in its budget continue to support cuts in the energy and minerals programs while at the same time increasing significantly the budgets for ecosystem restoration and climate change?” That was the opening question of USGS Director Marcia McNutt by Doug Lamborn (R-CO), chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources,at a hearing on the USGS budget on March 9 as described in a report issued by the American Institute of Physics today.

AIP said "Ranking Member Rush Holt (D-NJ) expressed concern about potential cuts to the national streamgage network and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program and the proposed elimination of the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program, citing the import of these programs to state geologists and local communities who rely on the data provided."

Both of these programs are cooperative efforts with AASG and are priority issues for State Geological Surveys.

"The Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing...had a very different tenor. Both Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Ranking Member Jim Moran (D-VA) expressed great appreciation for the important work carried out by USGS."

The AIP report adds a lot more detail on the hearings.

Delaware's "First State Geology" newsletter now digital only

First State Geology (FSG) offers news on Delaware geology and water resources, on recent Delaware Geological Survey publications, and on DGS staff activities as an online newsletter publication. Interested parties may be placed on the First State Geology mailing list by completing the online signup form, sending an email request to delgeosurvey@udel.edu, or simply giving us a phone call.

Each issue of FSG is made available as a PDF on this DGS website, going back to our inaugural issue during the Summer of 1983.

Starting with the online-only publication of First State Geology in 2011, new issues will no longer be named using the volume and number format; rather, issues will be named using season and year.

Utah's 'GeoSites' apps available for the Android

The Utah Geological Survey's "GeoSites" app for the Android phone offers interactive maps, facts, and histories of more than 30 famous geologic sites around the state. An article in the BYU Universe magazine says app locations range "from the Spiral Jetty at Rozel Point in the Great Salt Lake to the Fisher Towers in Moab down to Arches near Zion National Park." [right, Lower Cathedral Valley GeoSight. Credit, UGS]

Utah Geological Survey seeking proposals for geologic research

The Utah Geological Survey is issuing a solicitation for geologic research proposals in the area of "Characterization of Utah's Hydrocarbon Reservoirs, Metals, and Industrial Minerals." They expect to award up to 8 grants, at a maximum of $25,000 per grant, for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Proposals are due May 27.

A list of previous and current projects is posted on the UGS web site. [right, coalbed methane well, Castlegate field, Utah. Credit, UGS]

This is cross-posted with Arizona Geology blog

NY State Geologist calls frac'ing fears exaggerated

New York State Geologist Langhorne "Taury" Smith told the Albany Times Union that fears of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale for natural gas are exaggerated. Taury went on to call for strong state regulation of drilling and a possible severance tax on production. [right, Marcellus Shale producing areas, 2009. Credit NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation]

Open Letter to Supporters of Nevada Bureau of Mines & Geology

March 13, 2011

13 March 2011

OPEN LETTER TO NBMG SUPPORTERS

We request that you express your support for the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG) by writing to members of the Nevada Senate and Assembly, Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, and Governor Brian Sandoval.

In an effort to meet proposed budget targets, the University of Nevada, Reno announced on March 7^th that it plans to cut NBMG’s State funding from $2.1 million per year to $1.0 million, if the funds are available from the State. We believe this is a tragic mistake, because it will mean that Nevada will lose money, miss economic opportunities, and not protect and serve our citizens and visitors as well as we should. NBMG stimulates economic diversification and development in the State, saves lives, and protects property from natural disasters.

NBMG is the statewide research and public service unit that serves as the State geological survey. NBMG's mission, to provide the State's needs for geological and energy- and mineral-resource information and research, is defined in its enabling legislation. Established by the Nevada Legislature as a department within the public service division of the Nevada System of Higher Education, NBMG is one of the Statewide Programs at UNR. Although NBMG contributes to the educational mission of UNR through support of numerous graduate and undergraduate students on externally funded research and occasional teaching, NBMG’s main contributions are accomplished through research and dissemination of results. We are supplementing our State funding with approximately $4 million per year in external grants. Nevada stands to annually lose $2 million or more in additional federal grant funding, if NBMG’s State funding is cut by $1.1 million.

NBMG scientists conduct research and publish reports that foster economic development, promote public safety, and improve quality of life in urban and rural areas of Nevada. Some areas of economic development and risk reduction from natural hazards are listed below. The NBMG website, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/, has links to NBMG publications and services. The latest NBMG biennial report, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/of1014.pdf, provides details on what we have accomplished recently, and Appendix B of the report lists the statutory mandates for NBMG.

We ask that you contact Legislators, Regents, and the Governor to express, from your perspective on the benefits of NBMG to the State, your support for NBMG. One option that should be considered is dedicating some of the Net Proceeds of Minerals tax to support NBMG. With the revenue from this tax likely to rise with increasing mineral and energy production, the State could benefit tremendously from dedicating a portion of this revenue to support NBMG.

We would appreciate receiving a copy of your letter or e-mail of support by March 23, because it may help us in our internal response to UNR’s proposed cut.

Sincerely,

Jon Price

State Geologist and Director, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

E-mail: jprice@unr.edu Telephone: 775-784-6691 extension 5

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Economic Development

Geologic maps and related reports on applied research are excellent incentives for economic development. As an example, geologic mapping and related interpretation of regional geological structures played a critical role in the discovery of the Carlin gold deposit in 1961 (NBMG Special Publication 13, Carlin Trend Exploration History: Discovery of the Carlin Deposit, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/sales/pbsdtls.php?sku=SP13). In the last 35 years, mining companies in Nevada have produced over $230 billion in gold and silver (at today’s prices) and have directly and indirectly provided high-paying jobs for tens of thousands of Nevadans. As documented in NBMG’s annual special publication, The Nevada Mineral Industry (http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/mi/09.pdf), we are in the midst of the biggest gold-mining boom in Nevada’s, America’s, or the world’s history. There are still many deposits to be found in Nevada, particularly buried under volcanic rocks and alluvium. Estimates of the value of undiscovered deposits range up to $1.2 trillion. The geologic maps and reports that are produced annually by NBMG are critical to the continued discovery of additional mineral and energy resources.

Geothermal energy development in Nevada is booming, thanks in part to research and maps produced by NBMG scientists. Our work on how faults control the location of geothermal systems, shallow temperature surveys, and water chemistry from springs stimulated companies to acquire leases, discover previously unknown geothermal resources, and build several new power plants. NBMG Map 161, Nevada Geothermal Resources (2010), http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/sales/pbsdtls.php?sku=M161, demonstrates the fact that Nevada has considerable potential for geothermal development. Production capacity is currently approximately 425 megawatts, but NBMG and other geothermal experts estimate that by 2025 Nevada could add as much as 3,000 megawatts of geothermal power-generating capacity. If this potential were realized, and if energy prices continue to rise, geothermal power could become a billion-dollar per year business in Nevada and account for 35% or more of the State’s electricity needs.

The Value of Geologic Maps

Cost-benefit studies show that modern geologic maps save developers and engineers about $50,000 for every project occurring within a standard mapping area of 56 square miles. Typically, many projects utilize a single map, multiplying these cost savings many times over. The maps, and data collected to make them, are of great value because society can use them in perpetuity. A rigorous analysis calculated the value of the geologic maps to be 25 to 39 times the cost of the mapping (http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/maps-data-pub/publications/ky-flyer/ky-flyer.shtml). We estimate that about 80% of Nevada lacks adequate, modern geologic maps.

Geologic mapping at the scale and overall coverage done by NBMG is clearly a role for government, because the public benefits in many ways. The private sector limits their work to small areas of immediate interest to their businesses but relies on the knowledge of geologists at government geological surveys, like NBMG, to build the geological history and three-dimensional framework of an area and to publish the results for everyone to use.

Saving Lives and Protecting Property from Natural Disasters

The magnitude 6.0 earthquake near Wells in northeastern Nevada in February, 2008, and the swarm of earthquakes that included a magnitude 4.7 at Mogul (western part of Reno) in April of 2008 highlighted our need to be prepared for earthquakes. NBMG joined the Nevada Division of Emergency Management’s team that responded to the Wells earthquake and prepared a comprehensive report on the earthquake, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/Pubs/sp/sp36/index.html. We were also successful in putting NBMG Special Publication 27, Living with Earthquakes in Nevada, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/sp27.pdf, in the hands of residents in the Mogul area before the largest of the earthquakes. Because residents followed the publication’s instructions for securing items to avoid damage during an earthquake, perhaps millions of dollars in potential damage was avoided. With the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), we were also able to distribute this publication as a Sunday supplement in the Reno Gazette-Journal. The public’s heightened awareness about earthquakes will help to save lives.

We have used FEMA’s loss-estimation model, HAZUS, a computer simulation of earthquakes of a given size, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/of098/Scenarios/OpenFileReport09-8.pdf, to evaluate earthquake risks for each county and 38 communities throughout Nevada. This work indicates that a major earthquake either in the Las Vegas or Reno-Carson City areas, like ones that have occurred in the geological past and will occur in the future, could cause hundreds of fatalities and billions of dollars in economic loss, if we are not prepared. One of the major lessons learned in the NBMG report on the Wells earthquake is that an earthquake can occur anywhere in Nevada. The probability of a damaging earthquake hitting Las Vegas is approximately the same as for Wells, and the probability for the Reno-Carson City urban corridor is six times higher than for Wells. NBMG’s continued work on locating active faults, mapping areas of potential liquefaction and landslides, measuring stresses with geodetic instruments, informing decision makers about options to reduce risks from vulnerable buildings, and informing the public about earthquake hazards is essential to saving the lives of our citizens and visitors.

Floods along major streams and flash floods along normally dry washes are all too common phenomena in Nevada. NBMG research is helping to understand the frequency and severity of past floods in southern, northwestern, and north-central Nevada. NBMG Report 53, Geologic Assessment of Piedmont and Playa Flood Hazards in the Ivanpah Valley Area, Clark County, Nevada, http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/Pubs/r/r53/index.html, has assisted the Clark County Regional Flood Control District in its disaster-prevention efforts.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Nevada Legislature’s website, http://www.leg.state.nv.us/, has a link to “Who’s My Legislator?” at http://mapserve.leg.state.nv.us/website/lcb/viewer.htm, where you can enter a street address and zip code. Lists of members of the Nevada Assembly, http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Assembly/Current/Assembly/alist.cfm, and Senate,

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Senate/Current/Senators/slist.cfm, are also available on the web.

The website of the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, http://system.nevada.edu/Board-of-R/Bios/index.htm, lists names, mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses for each Regent.

The Governor can be reached at the following address and telephone number:

The Honorable Governor Brian Sandoval 775-684-5670

Capitol Building

Carson City, NV 89701

[For more info on the proposed cuts at UNR, go to http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2011/03/07/unr-plans-to-cut-french-major-school-of-social-work-and-more/]

Kansas Geological Survey receives additional $5 million to study CO2 storage

The Kansas Geological Survey based at the University of Kansas has received a second $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for an ongoing study on the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide underground in Kansas and using CO2 to recover more oil from nearly depleted fields.

DOE also awarded the Survey nearly $5 million for this collaborative effort between government and industry in 2009.

Survey researchers Lynn Watney and Saibal Bhattacharya are lead investigators for both projects, which will span more than three years and include scientists from the Survey, the KU and Kansas State University Departments of Geology, and a number of private companies.

Four additional petroleum companies and three industrial partners who could potentially supply CO2 have joined the new study, which now encompasses all or part of 31 counties from a line east of Wellington and El Dorado to the Colorado border and from the Oklahoma border to a line just north of Larned.

Participation by local industry, which provides access to oil and gas leases and technical knowhow, is essential, Bhattacharya said.

"Having the local oil and gas industry as stakeholders will encourage them to participate in infrastructure development related to sequestration and enhanced oil recovery by CO2 injection," he said.

Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the DOE awards are being used to determine if largely depleted Kansas oil and gas fields in south-central and southwestern Kansas and the Arbuckle saline aquifer that underlies much of the state can be used to safely store CO2 emitted by stationary sources such as electric, cement, ethanol, and fertilizer plants. The researchers also will build models to predict how that CO2 could be used to produce trapped oil in nearly spent fields that is unreachable by traditional methods.

"The new DOE funding provides the resources to expand our evaluation of the benefits of using CO2 to boost oil recovery," Watney said. "We're now able to extend our analysis beyond the geologic formations such as the Mississippian reservoirs in the Wellington field and south-central Kansas to include the Chester-Morrow reservoir in southwestern Kansas."

The investigators are currently drilling a 5,200-foot deep borehole in the Wellington oil and gas field in Sumner County south of Wichita. A second well in the field, which has produced 20 million barrels of oil since 1927, will be completed in late February.

Samples and data collected from the two holes will provide insight into the subsurface rock units and their capacity to securely contain CO2. The project is aimed at characterizing the subsurface and modeling the movement of underground fluids, and will not include any injection of CO2.

Geophysical methods such as seismic reflection, a technique commonly used in oil exploration to create images of underground rocks from the surface, have been used to provide more data on the Wellington field and underlying Arbuckle saline aquifer. The Arbuckle, about 4,000 feet beneath the surface in south-central Kansas, is part of the expansive Ozark Plateau Aquifer System. The highly saline water in the Arbuckle aquifer is not usable and is isolated from shallower freshwater aquifers by impermeable rock units.

Another seismic survey, covering approximately 10 square miles, will be shot in southwestern Kansas in late summer. Data from the surveys will be examined in conjunction with more than 200 additional square miles of seismic data donated by the oil and gas industry.

"Issues such as injection capacity, safety, and risks related to CO2 injection will be studied by subjecting geologic models of the subsurface to computer simulations to assess capacities and risk," Watney said. "The models are created by integrating data collected from three wells drilled as part of this project and numerous existing wells, along with new and existing data from remote sensing, seismic, and gravity-magnetic studies."

Besides investigating the safety of storing industry-emitted CO2, the researchers will build models to predict how that CO2 could be used to produce additional oil.

"This study will help quantify the tonnage of CO2 that can be sequestered in the process of enhanced oil recovery in depleted fields," said Bhattacharya.

Results from these studies, such as successful characterization of subsurface rocks and modeling activities, could help justify a new industry to capture, transport, and store CO2. That could, in turn, enhance state and local economies and reduce the discharge of CO2 into the atmosphere, he said.

"Individually, none of these depleted fields have enough oil-recovery potential to make a CO2 pipeline viable," said Bhattacharya. "But together, they might justify the investments necessary to make sequestration and enhanced oil recovery from CO2 injection a reality."

The Survey also is conducting a separate DOE-funded study on the Arbuckle's capacity to store CO2 in Ellis County, where researchers are drilling a lateral borehole with Wichita-based industry partners Murfin Drilling Company and Vess Oil Corporation. Total DOE funding of the Survey's CO2 sequestration research is $11.5 million.

Arkansas quakes may be related to injection wells

The Arkansas Geological Survey continues to monitor small to moderate earthquake swarms in the area of Guy, where more than 400 natural gas wells have been drilled into the Fayetteville Shale. AGS geologist Scott Ausbrooks told reporters that waste injection wells may be the cause













http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110218/tr_ac/7883826_arkansas_earthquake_swarm_could_be_related_to_natural_gas_injection_wells

Hazards Mapping Geologist position in Utah

The Utah Geological Survey has released a position announcement for a Hazards Mapping Geologist open to applicants at https://statejobs.utah.gov/JobAnnouncement.jsp?rid=22973. The position will close 3/6/2011. The position will focus on Quaternary mapping to support our Geologic Hazard Mapping Initiative, but will also support other types of geologic-hazard mapping projects and other GHP tasks. The selected person will be part of the UGS Geologic Hazards Program, but will work closely with the Mapping Program.
[right, Thistle landslide, most expensive landslide in U.S. history]

Rep. Hal Rogers (KY) to receive 2011 Pick and Gavel Award from AASG

AASG President Jim Cobb announced today that Congressman Hal Rogers of the Fifth Kentucky District is the AASG's 2011 "Pick and Gavel" honoree.

The Pick and Gavel Award honors those who have made significant contributions to advancing the role of geoscience in public policy and those who have supported AASG’s goals in national policy.

Rep. Rogers is in his 16^th term and was recently appointed Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He was formerly chair and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee. His district is the Appalachian Basin part of Kentucky incorporating the East Kentucky Coal Field and the Big Sandy Gas Field, and is a large coal, natural gas, and oil producer. It is also a large part of Appalachia. Recently there has been a large increase in horizontal drilling for gas. Pike County which is in his district is one of the nation’s largest coal producing counties. He has been instrumental in cleaning up the environment of his district with grass roots movements like Kentucky PRIDE. He has also pushed for nontraditional development through the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development organization (SKED).

The 5th district includes great mineral industries, an abundance of Pennsylvanian bedrock, a multitude of natural arches, Pine Mountain, Cumberland Gap, Daniel Boone National Forest, great natural and environmental resources, and wild and scenic rivers.

Colorado Geological Survey seeks rare earths

The Colorado Geological Survey is playing a prominent role in that state's "new gold rush" for rare-earth metals. An extensive article in today's Denver Post examines the growing demands for rare earth minerals, China's dominance of the market, and exploration activities across the Western U.S. with an emphasis on Colorado. [right, CGS geologist Jim Burnell with x-ray fluorescence analyzer. Credit, Cyrus McCrimmon, Denver Post]

Kansas Geological Survey experimenting with new technique for sequestering CO2

The Kansas Geological Survey, based at the University of Kansas, will use a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to test a technique that could cast light on the potential for sequestering carbon dioxide in the deep subsurface of south-central and southwestern Kansas.

The researchers will use a new tool, called volumetric curvature, to analyze data from seismic reflection, a technique commonly used in oil exploration to create images of underground rocks without the necessity of drilling.

If successful, the seismic data analysis tool would provide a cost-effective way to assess geologic CO₂ storage capacity and lead to a better understanding of the underground movement of CO₂ in the Arbuckle and other deep saline aquifers.

California's Earthquake Fault Zone Maps Online

The index map at right identifies all Official Maps of Earthquake Fault Zones delineated by the California Geological Survey through December 2010 under the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act . Individual Earthquake Fault Zone Maps can be viewed on screen. Digital image files (pdf) and Geographic Information System files (GIS) of individual maps can be downloaded by selecting a specific quadrangle map.

Oregon's “LiDAR Landscapes” Posters and 2011 Calendar

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) has released “LiDAR Landscapes”, a 2011 Calendar and series of wall posters of LiDAR images of the Oregon coast, which are attracting a lot of favorable attention.

To view and order posters, visit www.oregongeology.org/pubs/ll/p-posters.htm

To view and order the 2011 calendar, visit
www.oregongeology.org/pubs/ll/p-calendar2011.htm

Washington's geologic information portal

The Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources hosts the Washington State Geologic Information Portal where you can access interactive earth science mapping, data, and related information. [right, the prototype site for geothermal data]

More types of geologic information will be added to the information portal in the future, so please visit regularly to see what's new. You may also subscribe to our mailing list to receive announcements of new additions to the portal, as well as notification of our publications releases.

Using the interactive maps, you can create, save, and print custom maps, find out more information about map features, and download map data for use in a geographic information system (GIS). In addition to a variety of geoscience layers that can be turned on and off, each interactive map has many base layers to choose from, so you can customize your map in any number of ways. Please note that because of the volume of data available through these interactive maps, data loading and identification operations may not be instantaneous.

The site use ArcGIS Server v9.3.1 with a flex application. State Geologist Dave Norman reports they will be moving to v10 sometime next year which will likely give them more speed and a few more tools. He says the software has finally reached a stage where it is useful and fast enough for someone to consider using an interactive geology site.

The Geology mapping theme is the most advanced of the group but the others are adding data and functions continually.

Was new Utah dinosaur a brainiac?

Utah's State Paleontologist Jim Kirkland is co-author of a recent paper in the online journal PLos ONE describing the eighth new dinosaur species discovered in the state this year. Geminiraptor suarezarum's skull is six times larger than other dinosaurs, suggesting it might have evolved into a highly intelligent creature if it had not gone extinct. The dino also had other unique features, including an inflatable upper jaw bone and feathers on its arms and legs according to a post on the Utah Geological Survey blog. [right, Maxilla of Geminiraptor suarezarum. Credit, PLos ONE]


Ref: Senter P, Kirkland JI, Bird J, Bartlett JA (2010) A New Troodontid Theropod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Utah. PLoS ONE 5(12): e14329. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014329

ND State Geologist leads effort on cancer risk from erionite dust

An investigation launched by North Dakota State Geologist Ed Murphy has found "levels of exposure to erionite [a zeolite mineral with characteristics similar to asbestos] in North Dakota are the same as in some of the Turkish villages ravaged by mesothelioma" according to a report in Nature.

"The North Dakota study eventually grew into a global collaboration including cancer biologists, geologists, epidemiologists, environmental scientists and physicians." Results were presented earlier this month at the Chicago Multi­disciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology. [right, photomicrograph of an erionite fibre in road gravel from North Dakota. Credit, K. Eylands/UND EERC in Nature News]

"North Dakota doesn't seem to have a higher incidence of the disease than is normal nationwide," but it may take 30 years or more for effects to appear, so studies are underway on construction and quarry workers who may have had extended exposure to erionite dust used in road construction.

Geological Surveys are tweeting

A number of geological surveys in the U.S. and Canada are tweeting about geology and geoscience activities

Check out the tweets from:

Kansas @ksgeology

Utah @utahgeological

Arizona @AZGeology

Alberta @geology4u

Ontario @OGSgeology

USGS http://twitter.com/usgs

Arkansas Survey responds to earthquake swarm

The Arkansas Geological Survey is trying to determine the source of nearly 500 earthquakes that have shaken the small town of Guy since September.

CNN reports that the State issued a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the area while the Survey and others investigates a possibility the quakes are generated by deep underground disposal of oil and gas production waste water

Citation for Vicki Cowart's Ian Campbell Medal

In November, former Colorado State Geologist Vicki Cowart received the Ian Campbell Medal the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Denver. The full citation and response are posted here: http://www.geosociety.org/awards/10speeches/IanCampbell.htm.

[photo by Vince Matthews, CGS]