U.S. Geological Survey

Important ore deposits are found in Zaire, Morocco, and Ganada. The U.S. Geological Survey has announced that the bottom of the north central Pacific Ocean may have cobalt-rich deposits at relatively shallow depths in water close to the the Hawaiian Islands and other U.S. Pacific territories. 

E. A. Imhoff, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report No. 76-648, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1976. 

Detailed information concerning the location and analysis of limestone deposits in the United States can be obtained from the various state geological surveys, the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Descriptive summaries of the limestone deposits in the various states have beenpubhshed (5,6). 

Analytical standards imply the existence of a reference material and a recommended test method. Analytical standards other than for fine chemicals and for the NIST series of SRMs have been reviewed (6). Another sphere of activity ia analytical standards is the geochemical reference standards maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and by analogous groups ia France, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and Germany (7). 

V. E. McKelvey and co-workers. Subsea Mineral Resources, Bulletin 1689-A, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Mass., 1986. 

GrossHng and G. E. Ericksen, Computer Studies of the Composition of Chilean Nitrates Ores, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., Dec. 1970. 

According to statistics collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (3), U.S. production of cmde talc in 1995 was 1,050,000 metric tons. Montana, Texas, Vermont, and New York were the principal producing U.S. states. Worldwide production was estimated to be 5,845,000 t. China, having 2,400,000 t, was the largest producer in the world after China and the United States, Finland, India, Brazil, France, Italy, and Canada are the next principal producers. World production of talc in 1994 is Hsted in Table 1. 

The market for talc in the United States based on the 1995 U.S. Geological Survey Annual Review (3) is summarized in Table 2. Ceramics was the biggest market, having almost 35% of the total, followed by paint, paper, and plastics. Outside of the United States, especially in Asia, paper is the principal apphcation. In that region talc is available locally at lower cost than competitive minerals such as kaolin. 

R. Towner,. Gray, and L. Porter, International Strategic Minerals Inventory Summary Report—Titanium., U.S. Geological Survey Circular 930-G, 1989. 

Ref. 2. Derived in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey. Data may not add to totals shown because of independent rounding. ... 

Fig. 2. Annual sulfate yields of the St. Lawrence River at Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, 1906—1990. (Calculated from data in U.S. Geological Survey...

R. A. Smith, R. B. Alexander, and M. G. SdJo m.2ia,yinaljsis and Interpretation of Water-Quality Trends in MajorU.S. Rivers, 1974—81, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2307, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va., 1987. 

U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Data for New York, vol. 1 Eastern New York Excluding Eong Island—WaterYear 1988, E.S. Geological Survey Water Data Report NY 551, Springfield, Va., National Technical Information Service 1989. 

Even rain is not pure water. Reports from the U.S. Geological Survey show that it contains 2.3—4.6 ppm of soflds, or a yearly precipitation of 2.5—5 t/km. Recently (ca 1997), work conducted ia the United States and Europe has underscored the rather dangerous results of iacreased use of fossil fuels, where the SO and NO emissions that end up ia the rain lower its pH from 5.6 (slightly acidic) for uncontaminated rain, to acid rains. Such acid rain has serious effects on surface waters (1). About 40 x 10 t of SO and 25 x 10 t of NO were emitted ia the United States ia 1980. There are, however, encouragiag trends the 1970 Clean Air Act has led to a gradual reduction ia these emissions, bringing the SO emissions down from the previous levels cited by 10% by 1990, and the NO emissions down by 6%, with a consequent slight decrease ia rain acidity. A part of the Clean Air Act is also iatended to cap SO emissions from major poiat sources at 13.5 x 10 t (2). Between 1994 and 1995, total SO emissions ia the U.S. decreased remarkably by 13% and total NO emissions by 8%. 

California Department of Water Resources, California Water Plan Update Bulletin 160-93, Oct. 1994 W. S. Swain, USGS, personal communication, U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, 1996. 

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