Building on its basin-scale hydrogeologic studies of the Española Basin (2003-2010), the Aquifer Mapping Program continues to monitor water levels in the area for a better understanding of the groundwater contribution to the wetlands around La Cienega. This work was completed with collaboration and support from NMED, NMOSE, Santa Fe County, and USF&WS and the Healy Foundation.
The Magdalena radial dike swarm (MRDS) is a large diameter (200- 250 km) radial array of basaltic-andesite dikes of Oligocene age broadly focused on the large volume (7000 km3) Socorro-Magdalena caldera cluster (SMCC) of the central Rio Grande rift. Five large overlapping calderas of the SMCC range in age from 32.5 to 24.7 Ma and show a pattern of migrating to the southwest over a distance of about 80 km during a period of about 8 million years.
The depositional age of the Gatuña Formation in the Pecos Valley of southeastern New Mexico is poorly constrained, with estimates that vary from as old ca. 13 Ma at its base to as young as ca. 100 ka at its highest levels. As part of geologic mapping program efforts, we are applying detrital sanidine Ar-Ar geochronology and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology to more tighlty bound the depositional age and duration of these alluvial deposits and their context within the late Cenozoic paleo-landscape of the ancestral Pecos River.
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.
There are tens of thousands of inactive mine features in 274 mining districts in New Mexico (including coal, uranium, metals, and industrial minerals districts). However, many of these mines have not been inventoried or prioritized for reclamation or reprocessing. Many of these mines have existing mine wastes, generated during mineral production, which could have potential for critical minerals, especially since the actual mineral production was generally for precious and base metals and not critical minerals. The purpose of this project is to inventory, characterize and estimate the critical mineral endowment of mine wastes using USGS sampling procedures. This project is important to the state of New Mexico because critical mineral resources must be identified before land exchanges, withdrawals or other land use decisions are made by government officials. Future mining of mine wastes that potentially contain critical minerals will directly benefit the economy of New Mexico. Possible re-mining and/or reprocessing of mine wastes could clean up these sites and pay for reclamation. Furthermore, this project will include training of younger, professional geologists and students in economic and reclamation geology by the PIs.
The Aquifer Mapping Program at New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR), with funding from Healy Foundation and the USGS, has created the statewide Healy Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring Network for New Mexico. This voluntary network began in 2016 and gathers new and existing data on groundwater levels to help us understand how our state's groundwater resources are changing through time, promote increased awareness of water issues around New Mexico, and provide an important foundation for making informed water-management decisions.
The MINES Thermodynamic Database is an initiative to generate a revised internally consistent thermodynamic dataset for minerals, aqueous species and gases for simulating geochemical processes at hydrothermal conditions in the upper crust (≤5 kbar and ≤600 °C) with focus on ore forming processes.
Despite recognition as one the most iconic volcanoes on the planet, there is still much to learn about Valles caldera in north-central NM. A new collaboration between researchers at the Bureau and from UT Austin is seeking to understand the events leading up to supereruptions. In particular, the team is studying the Cerro Toledo Formation, a group of volcanic domes and related ashes that erupted between the large caldera forming events at 1.61 and 1.23 million-years-ago.
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.
A variety of geological studies involving Upper Paleozoic strata, conducted during the mid-twentieth century, produced a preliminary stratigraphic nomenclature for Carboniferous and Permian sedimentary rocks in New Mexico, and a general understanding of the lithostratigraphy, age and distribution of these rock units. Ongoing investigations by geologists from the NMBGMR, universities, museums, and industry are aimed at refining this understanding. For example, strata pertaining to the Pennsylvanian System are often poorly delineated and/or subdivided on geologic maps, due in large part to their lithostratigraphic complexity and a loosely defined stratigraphic nomenclature. Progress has been made during the past 15 years toward improving the stratigraphic nomenclature for Upper Paleozoic strata in New Mexico, and documenting stratigraphic patterns, both of which should provide a better foundation for ongoing and future studies of these rocks.
