Publications Catalog

If you’re thinking about donating land as a conservation easement but don’t own the subsurface (known as “severed mineral rights”), then you’ll need an assessment of the land’s mineral potential to determine whether the easement will qualify as a charitable tax deduction. Geologists at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey perform this...

The portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) instrument provides fast, real-time, non-destructive, multi-element geochemical data (i.e. elemental concentrations) on rocks and minerals at a relatively low cost and with minimal sample preparation. This study quantifies the precision and accuracy of measurements collected by the WGNHS pXRF on reference materials...

Depth-to-bedrock maps show the thickness of unconsolidated materials overlying bedrock. These maps provide a key link between the underlying geology, groundwater flow, and land use and are important in guiding activities such as permitting, bridge construction, and the land application of waste products in sensitive areas. Given their role in guiding...

Details the current WGNHS approach to pXRF analysis, including usage guidelines, sample preparation, calibration, and plotting techniques.