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The Utah Geological Survey is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It also has an office in Cedar City, Utah. [1]
It is a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources [2] and is an applied scientific agency, which creates, interprets, and provides information about Utah's geological environment, resources and hazards, in order to promote safe, beneficial, and wise land usage.
Its departments and programs are: Editorial Services, Geologic Hazards Program, Energy & Minerals Program, Geologic Information and Outreach Program, Geologic Mapping Program, Ground Water and Paleontology Program, and the State Energy Program.
The UGS has worked on countless projects in the state, including statewide geologic hazards maps, oil shale assessment, Great Salt Lake studies, fault trenching, and the Snake Valley/West Desert Groundwater Monitoring Well Project. In addition, recent research and general geologic information is given in teacher-friendly formats for anyone to use.
The "University Geological and Resource Survey of Utah" was founded in 1919, but without funding. In 1931 the "Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey" was created by the Utah State Legislature. The state governor appointed an advisory board, but no funding was appropriated for salaries or operations and no personnel were assigned to the Survey.
In 1941 the UGMS was placed in the newly created "Utah State Department of Publicity and Industrial Development" (UPID). The UPID hired geologist A.M. Buranek. Over the next few years, Buranek and other contract personnel publish 36 geologic publications sponsored by the UPID. During 1946 the governor appointed Arthur L. Crawford as commissioner of the UPID and urged Crawford to activate the UGMS. Crawford re-hired Buranek and added other geologists, but work continued under the auspices of the UPID.
UPID was disbanded by the state in 1949 and the UGMS was transferred to the State School of Mines and Mineral Industries at the University of Utah. Crawford was appointed first Director of the UGMS and the Legislature appropriated $25,000 for the 1949–1951 biennial budget. From 1961 to 1965 the UGMS and University of Utah College of Mines and Mineral Industries jointly published the four-part, 1:250,000-scale geologic map of Utah. The first issue of the quarterly publication Quarterly Review (renamed Survey Notes in 1976), containing information pertaining to Utah's geology and mineral industry, was published in 1964.
In 1973 the Legislature transferred the UGMS from the University of Utah to the Utah Department of Natural Resources and officially named the Survey Director as the State Geologist. The Survey's name was also shortened to "Utah Geological and Mineral Survey" (previously "Mineralogical"). In 1977, when it created the Utah Seismic Safety Advisory Council, [3] the Legislature charged the Survey with responsibility for assessing earthquake risks [4] throughout the state.
The UGMS name was shortened again to "Utah Geological Survey" in 1991. In 1996 the UGS moved to the new Utah Department of Natural Resources complex and opened its regional office in Cedar City. [5]
Induced seismicity is typically earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that alters the stresses and strains on Earth's crust. Most induced seismicity is of a low magnitude. A few sites regularly have larger quakes, such as The Geysers geothermal plant in California which averaged two M4 events and 15 M3 events every year from 2004 to 2009. The Human-Induced Earthquake Database (HiQuake) documents all reported cases of induced seismicity proposed on scientific grounds and is the most complete compilation of its kind.
The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) is a research and service division of the University of Kansas, charged by statute with studying and providing information on the geologic resources of Kansas. The KGS has no regulatory authority and does not take positions on natural resource issues.
The California Geological Survey, previously known as the California Division of Mines and Geology, is the California state geologic agency.
The China Geological Survey (CGS) (Chinese: 中国地质调查局) is a government-owned, not-for-profit, Chinese organization researching China's mineral resources. It is a public institution managed by the State Council's ministries and commissions responsible for geological and mineral exploration under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. According to the national land and resources survey plan, it is now managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is the largest Geoscience agency in China since being reinstated in 1999, and the headquarter is in Beijing, the capital of China.
The Seismic Hazard Mapping Act was enacted by the California legislature in 1990 following the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. The Act requires the California State Geologist to create maps delineating zones where data suggest amplified ground shaking, liquefaction, or earthquake-induced landsliding may occur.
Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) is an independent executive scientific agency to explore the natural resources of Pakistan. Main tasks GSP perform are Geological, Geophysical and Geo-chemical Mapping of Pakistan. Target of these mapping are resources exploration, Geo-Engineering assessment, Geo-hazard prediction/prevention and addressing environmental issue.
The Wasatch Fault is an active fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho. The fault is about 240 miles long, stretching from southern Idaho, through northern Utah, before terminating in central Utah near the town of Fayette. The fault is made up of ten segments, five of which are considered active. On average the segments are approximately 25 miles long, each of which can independently produce earthquakes as powerful as local magnitude 7.5. The five active segments from north to south are called the Brigham City Fault Segment, the Weber Fault Segment, the Salt Lake City Fault Segment, the Provo Fault Segment and the Nephi Fault Segment.
The California Department of Conservation is a department within the government of California, belonging to the California Natural Resources Agency. With a team of scientists, engineers, environmental experts, and other specialists, the Department of Conservation administers a variety of programs vital to California's public safety, environment and economy. The department's mission is to manage California's working lands. It regulates oil, natural gas and geothermal wells; studies and maps earthquakes and other geologic phenomena; maps and classifies areas containing mineral deposits; ensures reclamation of land used for mining; and administers agricultural and open-space land conservation programs. A division within the department dedicated to encouraging beverage container recycling has been moved into the newly created Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling (CalRecycle). Despite the similar name, the Department of Conservation should not be confused with the California Conservation Corps, another department within the Natural Resources Agency, which provides work experience for young adults. The Department of Conservation often collaborates with its federal equivalents, such as the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin unites the Department of Geological Sciences with two research units, the Institute for Geophysics and the Bureau of Economic Geology.
The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) is the agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for collecting, maintaining and disseminating geologic information, and regulation of industries which commercially develop the state's geological resources, including Natural gas, Crude oil, and other Mineral exploration and Mining.
The geology of Alabama is marked by abundant geologic resources and a variety of geologic structures from folded mountains in the north to sandy beaches along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Alabama spans three continental geologic provinces as defined by the United States Geological Survey, the Atlantic Plain, Appalachian Highlands, and Interior Plains. The Geological Survey of Alabama breaks these provinces down into more specific physiographic provinces.
Thomas Brennan Nolan was an American geologist who was director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1956 to 1965. The mineral nolanite is named in his honor and he was an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the United States National Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He was generally known as Tom Nolan.
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, although backgrounds in physics, chemistry, biology, and other sciences are also useful. Field research is an important component of geology, although many subdisciplines incorporate laboratory and digitalized work. Geologists can be classified in a larger group of scientists, called geoscientists.
The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) is a scientific agency for the State of Delaware, located at the University of Delaware (UD) which conducts geologic and hydrologic research, service, and exploration. The mission of the DGS is to provide objective earth science information, advice, and service to citizens, policymakers, industries, and educational institutions of Delaware. The DGS became formally affiliated with the university's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) in July 2008. Most DGS scientists have secondary faculty appointments in the College's Department of Geological Sciences.
The Michigan Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the U.S. state of Michigan. The survey is headed by the State Geologist of Michigan.
BRGM is France's public reference institution in Earth Science applications for the management of surface and subsurface resources and risks. It is the French Geological Survey.
The Oklahoma earthquake swarms are an ongoing series of human activity-induced earthquakes affecting central Oklahoma, southern Kansas, northern Texas since 2009. Beginning in 2009, the frequency of earthquakes in the U.S. state of Oklahoma rapidly increased from an average of fewer than two 3.0+ magnitude earthquakes per year since 1978 to hundreds each year in the 2014–17 period. Thousands of earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma and surrounding areas in southern Kansas and North Texas since 2009. Scientific studies attribute the rise in earthquakes to the disposal of wastewater produced during oil extraction that has been injected more deeply into the ground.
The Utah Seismic Safety Commission (USSC) is a legislatively created independent advisory board that tends to seismic-hazard issues in Utah, United States. The Utah legislature created the 15-member commission in 1994 to supersede the Utah Earthquake Advisory Board and to act as a medium "for state and local governments, the private sector, and the public to advance earthquake-related issues by developing, researching, and recommending seismic policies and approaches aimed at reducing Utah's earthquake hazards and managing Utah's earthquake risk."
Geological engineering is a discipline of engineering concerned with the application of geological science and engineering principles to fields, such as civil engineering, mining, environmental engineering, and forestry, among others. The work of geological engineers often directs or supports the work of other engineering disciplines such as assessing the suitability of locations for civil engineering, environmental engineering, mining operations, and oil and gas projects by conducting geological, geoenvironmental, geophysical, and geotechnical studies. They are involved with impact studies for facilities and operations that affect surface and subsurface environments. The engineering design input and other recommendations made by geological engineers on these projects will often have a large impact on construction and operations. Geological engineers plan, design, and implement geotechnical, geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, and environmental data acquisition. This ranges from manual ground-based methods to deep drilling, to geochemical sampling, to advanced geophysical techniques and satellite surveying. Geological engineers are also concerned with the analysis of past and future ground behaviour, mapping at all scales, and ground characterization programs for specific engineering requirements. These analyses lead geological engineers to make recommendations and prepare reports which could have major effects on the foundations of construction, mining, and civil engineering projects. Some examples of projects include rock excavation, building foundation consolidation, pressure grouting, hydraulic channel erosion control, slope and fill stabilization, landslide risk assessment, groundwater monitoring, and assessment and remediation of contamination. In addition, geological engineers are included on design teams that develop solutions to surface hazards, groundwater remediation, underground and surface excavation projects, and resource management. Like mining engineers, geological engineers also conduct resource exploration campaigns, mine evaluation and feasibility assessments, and contribute to the ongoing efficiency, sustainability, and safety of active mining projects
Earthquake risk is the probable building damage, and number of people that are expected to be hurt or killed if a likely earthquake on a particular fault occurs. Earthquake risk and earthquake hazard are occasionally incorrectly used interchangeably.