Bureau of Geology News

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) has been awarded $70,000 from USGS’s National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) for data preservation with a particular focus on rare earth elements (REE). More than $20,000 will go towards providing funding for New Mexico Tech students. This project will begin in August 2019.

Dr. Virginia McLemore has been named a Fellow of the Geological Society of America for her sustained record of distinguished contributions to the field of geoscience research. She has also been notably productive in applied geoscience, and training of geologists. She will be recognized at the Presidential Address and Awards Ceremony held at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, held in Phoenix, Arizona in September 2019. Congratulations, Ginger!

Dr. Matthew Heizler has been named a Fellow of the Geological Society of America for his sustained record of distinguished contributions to the field of geoscience research, particularly in the field of argon geochronology. Matt’s 200 published papers underscore his remarkable productivity, but the salient characteristics of his career are his scientific originality and perseverance. He will be recognized at the Presidential Address and Awards Ceremony held at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, held in Phoenix, Arizona in September 2019. Congratulations, Matt!

The recent discovery of manganese oxides on Mars suggests more oxygen was present in the Martian atmosphere the originally thought. A pilot project was recently funded by NASA to test the feasibility of discovering biosignatures in manganese deposits on Mars with payload instruments. There are two primary goals for this project; the first is to identify key chemical signatures and second to identify key mineralogical signatures in natural biologic and abiologic manganese materials. The pilot project will focus on three field sites in New Mexico that display features of formation that range from at or near the surface then extend to the deeper subsurface; essentially examining manganese deposits from surface, cave, geothermal springs, finally fossil hydrothermal environments. Should sufficient variation be noted during the pilot project, additional funding to the project will further characterize terrestrial occurrences for comparison to Mars by utilizing rover payload instruments.

The Frank E. Kottlowski / Bureau Fellowship is awarded to an incoming graduate student in the earth sciences at New Mexico Tech and offers a 12-month Research Assistantship plus actual tuition costs. The award may be extended for up to 3 years. This year's fellowship receipient also received the NMGS Kottlowski award for the best Grant-in-Aid proposal.

The award was presented during the New Mexico Geological Society Spring Meeting.

The NM Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources joined representatives from NMT for Earth Science Day/New Mexico Tech Day at the Round House on February 19. An Earth Science Achievement Award for Public Service and Public Policy was presented to Steve Harris, Executive Director of Rio Grande Restoration and an avid conservationist.

Estimates include 46.3 billion barrels of oil, 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 20 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico’s Wolfcamp Shale and Bone Spring Formation.

The Tiffany Fire Watershed Restoration and Management project is a collaborative effort to restore the area affected by the Tiffany Fire, which burned 9,200 acres south of the Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande riparian corridor in June 2017.