Research

WebDART is an online ecological assessment tool available to a wide audience that incorporates Landsat satellite remote sensing imagery, topography, geology, soil conditions, and rangeland geospatial and vegetation mapping to compare altered terrain with an unspoiled area that has similar characteristics in the same region. The tool gives resource managers, landowners, companies, and other...

The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is uniquely positioned in the Colorado River Basin to provide sound information, specialized expertise, and innovative tools to support the management and sustained use of natural resources on public and Tribal lands in the Southwest U.S.

Although the traditional use of solid fuels such as coal has been electric power generation, the increasing demand for stable energy and the development of other uses for solid fuels and their byproducts are rapidly evolving. The Evolving Utilization of Solid Energy Fuels (EUSEF) project balances energy and non-energy resource aspects of coal and other solid fuels together with consideration of...

The Oil and Gas Waters (OGW) project, funded by the Energy Resources Program, aims to provide information on the volume, quality, impacts, and potentially commodity recovery from water co-produced during the generation and development of domestic petroleum resources. The primary goals of this project are to meet the needs of Congress and other stakeholders in the quantification of lithium and...

The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project assesses and characterizes undiscovered, technically recoverable domestic petroleum resources. It focuses on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast basin. The primary goal of this project is to meet the needs of Congress and other stakeholders for timely and robust assessments of petroleum resources in the Gulf...

A petrographic thermal index is typically an organic matter indicator in sedimentary rocks that allows for estimations of burial temperature. Petrographic thermal indices include the commonly used proxy vitrinite reflectance as well as other approaches such as solid bitumen reflectance, fluorescence, micro-Raman, and micro-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. Measurements from these...

The AGGER project’s purpose is to advance the understanding of geologic energy sources, generation, composition, movement, and production potential, including resource recovery from energy wastes.

Geothermal energy is a significant source of renewable electric power in the western United States and, with advances in exploration and development technologies, a potential source of a large fraction of baseload electric power for the entire country. This project focuses on advancing geothermal research through a better understanding of geothermal resources and the impacts of geothermal...

Since its establishment in 1879, USGS geoscientists have investigated the geochemistry of energy resources. Research conducted in the Geochemistry of Energy Fuels project continues this tradition. Goals include 1) understanding the geologic, geochemical, microbiological, and other factors that control production, quality, and composition of coal, petroleum, and nuclear fuels, and 2) predicting the...

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is utilized by industry to enhance oil recovery. Subsurface CO2 storage could significantly impact reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, but the economics and potential risks associated with the practice must be understood before implementing extensive programs or regulations. Utilization of other energy-related gases such as helium (He), if separated and concentrated...

This task conducts research to characterize or evaluate the economics of developing technologies or markets in geologic resources. Such research can analyze the relative risks, costs, and benefits from the utilization and not just the extraction of underground resource. Economic analysis builds upon the geologic resource assessment work by other tasks in the Utilization of Carbon and other Energy...

The United States (U.S.) domestic energy supply increasingly relies on natural gas and renewable sources; however, their efficient use is limited by supply and demand constraints. For example, a) in summer, natural gas production may outpace home heating fuel demand and b) in daytime, wind and solar electricity production may outpace industrial power requirements. Storing rather than dumping...