U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey 1

Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center ~ Quarterly Science Newsletter

Center Director Note...With this current issue, I am excited to distribute our first USGS Geology,

als(GEMSC) quarterly newsletter. We hope to use this newsletter to strengthen outreach and communication with our partners,

collaborators, and stakeholders, and to high-light the science that we are conducting within our Center. We would also like to use this as a mechanism to advertise open career and volunteer positions within the GEMSC, and to announce potential research funding or collaborations. We are looking forward to building upon current science initiatives and paving the way for new partnerships, recruitment, and research opportunities.~ Tina Roberts-Ashby PhD, Center Director of GEMSC

About the Center...The Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center (GEMSC) is a research center within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that conducts comprehensive, interdisciplin-ary research, assessments, and surveys of the origin, occur-rence, distribution, quantity, composition, and environmental effects of geologic energy materials, minerals, associated deposits, and waste materials. Additionally, GEMSC scien-tists are working on a broad range of current and emerging geology, energy, and minerals issues including evaluating waters produced during oil and gas extraction; identifying wastes that can be recovered or repurposed and used in new processes; conducting studies and assessments of critical minerals and rare earth elements; providing up-to-date, modern scientific data in the form of publicly-available data-bases; performing remote sensing of mineral deposits; under-

standing the formation and generation of fossil fuels; investi-gating low to no-carbon energy sources; and assessing effects on the environment due to anthropogenic activities associated with energy and mineral resource exploration, development, and production.

The GEMSC was established in 2020 through the merger of the USGS Eastern Energy Resources Science Center and the USGS Eastern Miner-al and Environmental Resources Science

Center. GEMSC Scientists conduct a wide range of research supported by multiple USGS

programs including Energy Resources, Mineral Resources, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping,

Environmental Health and Toxic Substances Hydrology Programs. The GEMSC has a large team of nearly 100

employees consisting of scientists, administrative and tech-nical staff, and students. Additionally, the Center supports postdoctoral and international scholars, emeritus scientists, contractors, and volunteers. GEMSC scientists have strong collaborations with researchers in different USGS Mission Areas, other Federal agencies (such as sister bureaus in the Department of Interior, Department of Energy, and Environ-mental Protection Agency), State geological surveys, and international and domestic academic and research institu-tions.

Our interdisciplinary staff is a diverse workforce ranging from early career to distinguished senior scientists, and repre-senting multiple backgrounds. We have 21 research laborato-ries and offer a wide range of skillsets in the fields of geochemistry, geology, mineralogy, geophysics, hydrology, remote sensing, cartography, data science, economics, reser-voir engineering, statistics, and microbiology. We invite you to explore some of the GEMSC research projects and science products throughout this newsletter as well as on our Center website.

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Frontline Geoscience within the Geology, Energy, & Minerals (GEM) Science Center

January 31st, 2021 Issue #1

Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center ~ Quarterly Science Newsletter

2U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Science Spotlight...Utica Shale Play Oil and Gas Brines: Geochemistry and Factors Influencing Wastewater Management GEMSC scientists Madalyn Blondes, J. Shelton, C. Doolan, A. Jubb, and J. Chenault recently published an article in Environmental Science & Technology investigating produced waters from the Utica Shale to understand the origin of the brines, fingerprint the formation water, and consid-er issues related to treatment and re-use. Utica Shale produced water chemistry falls within the ranges of those from the Marcellus Shale, but are somewhat distinct in certain isotopic systems (e.g. 228Ra/226Ra). The chemistry is also similar to that of deep conventional wells below the Mar-cellus Shale. Given the combination of high salinity (~252,000 mg/L), radium activity (580 times the EPA MCL), and barite supersaturation in the Utica Shale Play samples, the dilution of these wastewaters with high SO4 surface water for treatment measures may lower salinity, but it also increases the likelihood of hazardous radiobarite precipitation. Full article HERE

Geochemical and Geophysical Indicators of Oil and Gas Wastewater Can Trace Potential Exposure Pathways Following Releases to Surface Waters GEMSC scientists Isabelle Cozzarelli, D. Akob, and co-authors recently published an article in Science of the Total Environment investigating the persistence of constituents from an oil and gas (OG) wastewater spill in North Dakota. In January 2015, ~11 million liters of OG wastewater spilled from a pipeline into Blacktail Creek, ND, and signatures of the spill were detectable 2.5 years later. Geochemical tracers and geophysical surveys identified groundwater seeps and contaminants in sediments, and geochemical modeling was used to estimate OG wastewater inputs to the stream. Results showed that groundwater seeps and sediments can be persistent point sources of OG wastewater contamination. The interdisciplinary study indicated that OG wastewater-pipeline spills can have long-term effects on stream sediment and water quality which can extend several kilometers beyond the initial spill zone. Full article HERE

GEMSC Unveils New U.S. Gulf Coast Source Rock Database GEMSC scientists John Counts, W. Craddock, A. Park, S. Cahan, and C. Lohr recently published and released the U.S. Gulf Coast Source Rock Database, which consists of source rock properties (e.g., vitrinite reflectance (VRO), total organic carbon (TOC), and rock pyrolysis), specifically for Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks, from both published literature and other sources. Data include an interactive Tableau map viewer and an Excel file with the data.

Launch Map Viewer | View Supporting Data

Photo: Eastern Energy & Environmental Lab, Matthew Varonka, Research Chemist, USGS.Photo: Eastern Energy & Environmental Lab, Matthew Varonka, Research Chemist, USGS.

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center ~ Quarterly Science Newsletter

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I’ve had the privilege of working at the USGS for more than 50 years. It’s been a great way to pursue my interests in geology and natural phenomena. The chance to collab-orate with a wide range of talented and dedi-cated scientists in multidisciplinary research has been highly gratifying and the advances that I have had the good luck to play a part in would not have been possible without those colleagues.

It all started on the morning of September 11, 1967, as I managed to find a small USGS field office on a back street in Marquette, Michi-gan, reporting for my first assignment with the USGS. Our task was to do detailed map-ping of the Precambrian rocks of the Marquette Iron Range. It was 12 months of field work a year including magnetic surveys on snowshoes in the winter months. Over that time I had the privilege of being part of a cadre of earth scientists who dedicated their careers to gradually unravelling the geologic history of this incredibly complex region with multiple superim-posed orogenies and other extraordinary events.

One of the highlights of my work in the Lake Superior region was leading the GLIMPCE project in the late 1980s, in which we chartered a seismic surveying vessel to do deep seismic reflec-tion surveys on major structures such as the Grenville Front and Midcontinent Rift. The new seismic data for the rift, coupled with ongoing precise radiometric dating and geochemical studies of volcanic rocks within it, documented its origin by extension over a new mantle plume during which enormous volumes of basalts were erupted in just a few million years. Another nearly inadvertent highlight was brought about by two colleagues in Canada who proved that an unusual breccia bed north of Lake Superior was actually a layer of meteor ejecta from the giant Sudbury impact at 1850 Ma. After seeing these

rocks for ourselves, we realized that similar-appearing beds had been mapped and described in the US, but had been interpreted

differently. Over a couple of years, we showed that these previously mapped depos-its were indeed Sudbury ejecta and found additional locations as much as 1000 km from the impact site.

Although the Lake Superior region has been the focus of my career, I have had the oppor-tunity to branch out widely into many areas. The first of these was a study of global sedimentary manganese deposits. A colleague and I developed a new theory of the origin for these critically important deposits in which euxinic marine conditions provided the mechanism to fractionate manganese from iron on a large scale, thus forming unusual seawater which was the dilute ore-forming fluid for these sedimentary man-ganese accumulations. This euxinic basin model solved a long-standing enigma of how

manganese and iron were geochemically separated under sedimentary conditions. More recently, I have gotten involved in environmental studies, mostly related to soil geochemistry. I was a project member of the North American Soil Geochemistry Landscape Project, where, in addition to standard chemistry, we determined quantitative mineralogy for about 10,000 samples.

I retired at the end of 2012 and have continued in an emeritus position since. The early part of that time was devoted mostly to completion of the national soil geochemistry project. Since then I have focused on continuing research in the Lake Superior Precambrian and have tried to pass on to a new generation of researchers some of the insights from my many years of work there. We continue to make important findings, mostly as a result of new geophysical and radiometric data. I’ll keep at it as long as I am able to make a contribution.

Scientist Profile ~ Bill Cannon...

Photo: Professional Paper 1814-E, ‘’Soil Mineralogy and Geochemistry in Alaska”, Courtesy, William Cannon, USGS.Photo: Professional Paper 1814-E, ‘’Soil Mineralogy and Geochemistry in Alaska”, Courtesy, William Cannon, USGS.

Photo: Bill Cannon, Scientist Emeritus, GEMSC.

“Mapping the Sudbury ejecta layer in Wildcat Canyon, Michigan”

to: Bill Cannon, Scientist Emeritus, GEMSC.

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“Mapping the Sudbury ejecta layer in Wildcat Canyon, Michigan”

Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center ~ Quarterly Science Newsletter

4U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Afnan is from New Jersey and in October of 2020, she relocated to Herndon, VA for her new position as an Administrative Operations Assistant (Procurement) with GEMSC. She has a BA in Environ-mental Studies from Ramapo College of New Jersey and she is currently pursuing a MS in Sustain-ability Science at Montclair State

University. She loves gardening, bouldering, and all sorts of outdoors adventures, especially hiking. She has an affinity for our National Parks and wants to travel and see most of them.

Photo: Afnan Khairullah, GEMSC Administrative Assistant.

Employee Corner ~ Afnan Khairullah...Photo: Beryllium Deposit, Nora Foley, Research Geologist, USGS.Photo: Beryllium Deposit, Nora Foley, Research Geologist, USGS.

Q: Why did you choose to work for the U.S. Geological Survey? A: I learned about the DOI and USGS as an undergraduate student and since then I felt drawn to the USGS’s mission. I have a passion for nature and science so I knew that I wanted to be at the USGS where I would have the ability to support science and research in the natural world.

Q: What drew you to your current position? A: A lot of the appeal was the flexibility as a student and location, but what sealed the deal for me was the fact that growth was encouraged, and knowing that I can flourish here.

Q: What do you like most about the Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center? A: I can say with confidence that I have a really great team and enjoy being a part of the admin staff; I love all of the endless support, encouragement, and kindness that I’ve been receiving. I knew from my initial conversation with -GEMSC staff that there is a great culture at GEMSC and that I would fit in well.

Center Achievements & Recognition...Research Microbiologist Elliott Barnhart (GEMSC AGGER Project) received a patent for his Subsurface Environmental Sampler (SES). The SES allows water, gas, and microbial samples to be collected at depth in a producing well.Read More HERE

The U.S. Wind Turbine Database, generated in part by GEMSC Cartographer Chris Garrity, was recently featured as one of 2020’s top wind energy R&D achievements. The data-set was first developed in 2018 and includes wind turbines from 43 states plus Puerto Rico and Guam.Read More HERE

Research Geologist Nadine Piatak received the International Association of Geochemistry’s Hitchon Award for being senior author on a paper in Applied Geochemistry that has had the most citations since its publication 5 years ago. GEMSC colleague Research Geologist Robert Seal was a co-author on the paper. View paper HERE

Join Our Team! ~ Job Opportunities...GEMSC anticipates advertising for several employment opportunities in the near future. We encourage you to look for these vacancy announcements on USA Jobs.Research Mathematical Statistician GS 12 – Conduct advanced and complex research in statistics and geostatistics. Provide expertise for the rigorous statistical review of the geological discipline products of GEMSC. Chemist GS 11/12 – Prepare geological, geochemical, and microbiological samples for geochemical analysis. Apply analytical methods in the radiogenic isotope and trace element laboratories. Interdisciplinary Data Scientist GS 7/9 – Coordinateprotocols and procedures necessary for data management, data integration, publication of data and metadata, and preserve and provide public access to scientific data.

5U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Geology, Energy, & Minerals Science Center ~ Quarterly Science Newsletter

Photo By: Figure 7, “Porphyry Copper Potential” Article, Federico Solano, Research Geologist, USGS.Photo By: Figure 7, “Porphyry Copper Potential” Article, Federico Solano, Research Geologist, USGS.

Quarter 1 Publications and Data by GEMSC Authors...Publications (USGS and Outside)Arsenic release to the environment from hydrocarbon production, storage, tansportation, use and waste management:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.125013

Assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska, 2021: https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20213003

Coking coal of the United States—Modern and historical coking coal mining locations and chemical, rheological, petrographic, and other data from modern samples:https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201113

Comparison of machine learning approaches used to identify the drivers of Bakken oil well productivity: https://doi.org/10.1002/sam.11487

Estimating the net costs of brine production and disposal to expand pressure-limited dynamic capacity for basin-scale CO storage in a saline formation: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103161

Examination of inertinite within immature Eagle Ford Shale at the nanometer-scale using atomic force microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2020.103608

Geochemical and geophysical indicators of oil and gas wastewater can trace potential exposure pathways following

releases to surface waters:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142909

Photoluminescence imaging of whole zircon grains on a petrographic microscope-An underused aide for geochronologic studies: https://doi.org/10.3390/min10100876

Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106712

Utica Shale play oil and gas brines: Geochemistry and factors influencing wastewater management:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02461

USGS Data ReleasesAtomic force microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy data within immature Eagle Ford Shale at the nanometer-scale: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9A03D91

Coking coal of the United States: Modern and historical locations of coking coal mining locations and chemical, rheological, petrographic, and other data from modern samples:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KFQOKM

Computer programs for the assessment of coal resources:https://doi.org/10.5066/P971RL9L

Data on produced water quality and quantities from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9GH084X

Geochemical data for Illinois Basin

coal samples, 2015–2018:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9GUURCK

Geochemistry of Utica Shale Play and other Appalachian produced waters:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AN5GJ0

Petroleum geology data from hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis residues for coals and shales from the Cambrian through the Miocene: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9P60VDX

Photoluminescence imaging of whole zircon grains on a petrographic microscope—An underused aide for geochronologic studies: https://doi.org/10.5066/P90HZLMS

Results of leaching experiments on 12 energy-related shales from the United States:https://doi.org/10.5066/P98GUULU

Results from surveys to academic and industry and government geoscientists on the future of coal geoscientists: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TUAFGG

Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California—Geodatabase:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9D1KQGR

Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California—Simulation results:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9RD6SEF

USGS Gulf Coast source rock database:https://doi.org/10.5066/P9NV8HDU