Starting Out
Our "Top Picks" for geology databases are a good place to start. Use the Tabs (top of this page) for additional resources. Tips:
1) Combine your subject (fluvial systems, isotope 
geochemistry, mineralization, etc.) with the names of: rock units (Fountain Formation, Pierre Shale); structures (Paradox Basin, Beartooth Uplift); locations (Jefferson County, Golden quadrangle); time periods (Upper Cretaceous, Precambrian).
2) Are some of your findings "old"? Publications focused on field studies, mapping, observation, and lab analyses can still be valuable after decades.
3) Does your subject cross disciplines? Consider searching the literature of chemistry, engineering, environmental science and others.
4) Having trouble finding a specific publication? Check with a librarian--Some works (conference proceedings, field guidebooks, etc.) are quirky and can be difficult to discover.
(Big Thompson Mesa, UT. NASA Earth Observatory, 2009.)
Top Picks
-
GeoRef
GeoRef provides access to millions of references in the geosciences, including journal articles, reports, books, maps, and dissertations. North American coverage: 1669-present. International coverage: 1933-present. -
GeoScienceWorld
Publications from the major professional societies in the earth sciences, including peer-reviewed journals linked to full text. Uses a version of GeoRef. -
Petroleum Abstracts Discovery Database
Over a million citations from the scholarly and industrial literature, from 1917-present. -
USGS Publications Warehouse
Access to over 130,000 publications of USGS authors, including journal articles; USGS Bulletins, Professional Papers, etc.; book chapters, and other materials.
-
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
Graduate research, including the geosciences, earth resource exploration, planetary sciences.
-
EarthArXiv Preprints
Preprint in the geosciences not yet peer reviewed/published -- Useful for new developments, geohazard updates, etc.
