OMB project summaryproject title: ground truthing the appalachian geophysical transect: geochemical reconnaissance andgeologic mappingproject period: 12 1 2024 to 11 30 2027 award purpose (avoid…

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) of Pennsylvania has been awarded a $380,310.20 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (CFDA 15.073) program. This 3-year award, effective December 1, 2024, will fund a geochemical survey and geologic mapping project in south-central Pennsylvania to ground-truth and calibrate the results of an aerial geophysics transect in the region. Key deliverables include a geochemical database of major, minor, and trace elemental concentrations, mineralogy identification, isotopic ratios, and microstructural analyses. The project will also produce a USGS-compliant GIS map of the geologic mapping region. This work is intended to benefit the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USGS, geological researchers, mineral analysis experts, extraction companies, and the general public by providing critical data to support mineral resource identification and management efforts in the state.

OMB project summaryproject title: ground truthing the appalachian geophysical transect: geochemical reconnaissance andgeologic mappingproject period: 12 1 2024 to 11 30 2027 award purpose (avoid acronyms or federal or agency-specific terminology) a geochemical survey of and geologic mapping project in south-central pennsylvania overlapping with anearth MRI-funded aerial geophysics transect. Detailed ground work is needed to confirm and calibrateresults from the aerial study. Activities to be performed (do not include links) geological mapping geochemical sampling and analysis of rocks deliverables and expected outcomes geochemical database of major, minor, and trace elemental concentrations, semi-quantitativemineralogy identification of samples by x-RAY diffraction methods and point counting performed byebsd-EDS, geochemistry derived from EDS-SEM techniques at a micro-scale, isotopic ratios of wholerocksamples, and data from microstructural analysis via ebsd. A summary report of critical mineralpotential and of scientific interpretations of the data collected, which will include supporting GIS maps, shapefiles, and geodatabases. In the geologic mapping region, a USGS-compliant GIS-produced map ofthe region of interest will be produced. Intended beneficiary(IES) andcommonwealth of pennsylvania, USGS, geological researchers, mineral analysis researchers, extractioncompanies, general public subrecipient activities, if knownno subrecipients.