Recent & Active Research
Jump To Project:
- Geologic Map Compilation of the East Mountains Area
- Lemitar Carbonatite: Exploring the Hidden World of Minerals: A Spectroscopic Adventure!
- Geologic Mapping
- Detrital zircon provenance of the Paleozoic Morrison Block
- Hydrologic Assessment of the Salt Basin Region in New Mexico and Texas
- Water Data Act
- Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!
- Development of 3D Aquifer Maps
- 3D Hydrogeology of the Delaware basin, southeast New Mexico
- Capillary Raman Cell Experiments: The rare earth elements are in hot water (and feeling salty)!
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The current and recent research projects shown below are listed in random order.
Geologic Map Compilation of the East Mountains Area
The East Mountains area, east of Albuquerque NM, is geologically complex. Nine STATEMAP quadrangles are being compiled together to create a geologic map of this important area.
Lemitar Carbonatite: Exploring the Hidden World of Minerals: A Spectroscopic Adventure!
At the forefront of cutting-edge research at New Mexico Tech, we have been utilizing Raman spectroscopy to unravel the mysteries locked within minerals. By harnessing the power of visible and ultraviolet lasers, we can unlock a plethora of information. So, you may be asking, what is Raman spectroscopy? In simple terms, it's a technique that uses laser light to interact with the atomic vibrations of a material, producing a unique "fingerprint" of its molecular composition. By analyzing the scattered light, we are able to identify and characterize minerals such as apatite, fluorite, and calcite.
Geologic Mapping
Geological Mapping provides the underpinning of most research carried out by our organization. Our goal is to provide state-of-the-art geological maps of sufficient detail to be of benefit for practical applications for the state of New Mexico. These maps can address a wide range specific topics, such as location of geological resources, including mineral and petroleum resources and groundwater, geological hazards, which are all relevant to natural resource use, city planning, and education.
Detrital zircon provenance of the Paleozoic Morrison Block
Pre-Cordilleran rocks of western North America are predominantly composed of inboard, more stratigraphically coherent assemblages and more outboard assemblages with tectonostratigraphic histories obscured by extensive deformation, magmatism, and metamorphism. Inboard assemblages generally represent autochthonous deposits of the western Laurentian continental margin that formed in response to the breakup of the Rodinian supercontinent whereas outboard packages define a tectonic collage representing westward continental growth since mid-Paleozoic time . Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of metasedimentary strata across western North America has revealed varied sedimentary sources from both within and without the Laurentian craton that shift through time and space.
Hydrologic Assessment of the Salt Basin Region in New Mexico and Texas
In 2022, the NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources completed a multiyear study with faculty and students at New Mexico Tech, as well as researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, on a hydrogeologic assessment of the Salt Basin region. This research project evaluated the water availability of the region by 1) filling data gaps, where there is currently little or no information about the groundwater system; 2) estimating the overall balance of water in the region including groundwater recharge, storage, evaporation and pumping; 3) updating the current hydrologic model and hydrogeologic framework; and 4) running simulations in the revised model. These efforts will help assess the ability of the region to sustain current groundwater withdrawals in the Salt Basin with implications for future development in New Mexico.
Water Data Act
The Water Data Act (NMSA 1978, § 72-4B) marks the first time in New Mexico’s history that a law has been enacted to identify and integrate key water data. In response to this 2019 legislation, the directing agencies including NM ISC, NM OSE, NMED, and EMNRD, as convened by the NMBGMR, are working toward developing an integrated Water Data Service for New Mexico. Multiple working groups have been convened, working to ensure that the data and useful information about the data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and usable for those seeking water information for decision making related to water management and planning – the primary goal of the legislation. The initial data platform can be found at newmexicowaterdata.org as a first data inventory step for this multi-year project.
Project lead: Stacy Timmons
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!
Actually, its bacteria and elephants and monkeys and humans, oh my! Geochronology (the determination of a rock's age) has a wide variety of applications; one of which is placing absolute age constraints on evolution. The New Mexico Geochronology Research Laboratory mainly focuses on projects in New Mexico and the Southwestern USA. However, in a role that fulfills its broader commitment to the scientific community, projects are undertaken from throughout the world. Recent collaborations with geologists, archeologists, and biologists have lead to exciting advances in our understanding of
- Mammal evolution in South America, including a refinement of when North American and South American critters began walking the present land bridge between the continents,
- When humans arrived in Java, Indonesia, and
- Confirmation that bacteria have lived in salt crystals found near the WIPP site in New Mexico for more than 200 million years
Publication and/or submission of these findings are being recognized in internationally acclaimed journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature, Science, and Geology.
Development of 3D Aquifer Maps
It is surprising that New Mexico does not have a detailed map of all of the productive and accessible aquifers across the state. In a state with as little as 0.24% of our land surface covered with water (the least in the country!), having detailed maps of our groundwater resources and aquifers, is essential. Some of our neighboring states, like Texas and Colorado, have these maps already available, and are successfully being used to administer and conserve water. We have started a new multi-year project to develop 3D maps of aquifers.
3D Hydrogeology of the Delaware basin, southeast New Mexico
Three-dimensional, geographic information system (GIS)-based, subsurface geologic models are becoming increasingly common tools for visualizing, evaluating, and managing subsurface resources. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Aquifer Mapping Program is developing 3D hydrogeologic-framework models of groundwater basins in New Mexico, including the Delaware Basin in southeastern NM. These models include a suite of geologic raster surfaces, geologic control points, aquifer boundaries, groundwater-level, water-depth, and water-quality data compiled in a readily available GIS map package. The result is a repository of pertinent shallow subsurface data for a given groundwater basin.
Capillary Raman Cell Experiments: The rare earth elements are in hot water (and feeling salty)!
Somewhere in the Earth’s crust a hot fluid is seeping through tiny cracks and fissures in the rock. The fluid is water and it carries with it a cargo of dissolved ions like chloride, sulfate, or carbonate. It might also carry dissolved metal ions useful to humans such copper, gold, or, in the case that we are considering, rare earth elements (REE). Fluids like this play important roles in forming ore deposits where the REE are present in high enough amounts to be mined. We want to understand how the REE interact with other dissolved ions and the water itself in order to better understand the conditions that allow water to mobilize, transport, or deposit REE.