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Organization

Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/emersc
Location
John W Powell
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston , VA 20192-0002
USA
Parent Organization: Office of the Midcontinent Regional Director
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To test if reflectance increases to sedimentary organic matter (vitrinite) caused by broad ion beam (BIB) milling were related to molecular aromatization and condensation, we used Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies to evaluate potential compositional changes in the same vitrinite locations pre- and post-BIB milling. The same locations also were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to determine topographic changes caused by BIB milling (as expressed by the areal root-mean-square roughness parameter Rq). Samples consisted of four medium volatile bituminous coals. We used a non-aggressive BIB milling approach with conditions of [(5 min, 4 keV, 15°incline, 360° rotation at 25 rpm and 100%...
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Several canals in southern Florida run from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) and feed water to the northern Everglades. Agricultural and water-management practices affect the water quality of these canals. Fertilizers added in the EAA flow into the canals and are transported to treatment areas which remove much of the phosphorous in the water, but are not as effective in removing dissolved sulfate. Elevated sulfate concentrations, found downstream in the Water Conservation Areas in the northern Everglades, can stimulate sulfur-reducing bacteria which can also convert inorganic mercury to methyl mercury, a bioaccumulative neurotoxin. Chemistry data at 25 canal sites in southern Florida...
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This data release contains apatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track data for six samples collected along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States, from Virginia to the Georgia-South Carolina border. The data resolve phases of rapid exhumational cooling in the Permo-Triassic, additional cooling in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and slower cooling since the middle of the Cretaceous. The data are also compatible with an episode of burial/magmatic heating in the Triassic-Jurassic. Overall, these data may explain the lack of preserved Upper Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous strata beneath onshore areas of the southeastern United States.
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Petroleum within unconventional source-rock reservoirs is hosted in organic matter and mineral pore space as well as in voids and microfractures. Recent work has shown that for source-rock reservoirs in the dry gas window, significant portions of methane (CH4), the main component of petroleum at elevated maturities, can be stored within fine organic matter porosity. However, within reservoirs at lower thermal maturities (e.g., peak oil or wet-gas conditions), the distribution and behavior of CH4 and the higher alkanes that comprise gas condensates across pore sizes is unclear, especially for fine pores with diameters <50 nm. Understanding CH4 within these settings provides insight for petroleum generation, movement,...
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At recent technical conferences, many coal geoscientists in academia and government institutions as well as in industry organizations have expressed concern about the dwindling number of students and young staff members interested in careers in coal geoscience. To better understand what is driving these trends and to identify potential ways that the community can increase interest and participation in coal geoscience, two different surveys were sent to 94 coal geoscientists who were current or past members of The Society of Organic Petrology (TSOP) in February 2020. As the trends and perceptions in industry and government organizations may be different than in universities, one distinct survey was sent to members...
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