My research interests involved structural geology, study of faulted and fractured rocks, deformation of earth materials, regional geology, and the relationship between rock deformation and fluid flow. Current work includes use of scientific drilling to examine deep parts of faults, field work to study fractured rocks, interaction of CO2 with rocks, and fractured and karstified rock and its impact on groundwater flow. Geologic studies in the Rocky Mountain west and California involve ancient to recent deformation. We are also interested in making field based observations of faulted and fractured rocks, and linking these observations with the physical processes of earthquake nucleation and rupture propagation, especially in the regions where earthquake energy is radiated. Teaching includes field geology, structural geology, geomechanics, integrated earth sciences, and petroleum systems. Advised 24 graduate students and 16 undergraduate projects at USU, and sponsored research from NSF, USGS, DOE, state, industry, and foundation sources. Published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, numerous unrefereed papers, and several geologic maps. I was the chief editor of the Journal of Structural Geology from 1997-2002, and an associate editor 1992-1997. In addition to regular editing duties, I was the main editor for three special volumes.
Articles
Sedimentologic Controls on the Fracture Distribution and Network Development in Mesaverde Group Sandstone Lithofacies, Uinta Basin, Utah (with R. Sonntag, P. La Pointe, M. DeRaps, H. Sisley, and D. Richey), Advances in the Study of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (2012)
Multiple Deformation Mechanisms Operating at Seismogenic Depths: Tectonic Pseudotachylyte and Associated Deformation From the Central Sierra Nevada, California (with Mitchell R. Prante), The Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA (2012)
Predicting Rock Strength Variability at Stratigraphic Interfaces in Caprock Lithologies at Depth: Correlation Between Outcrop and Subsurface (with E. S. Petrie and T. N. Jeppson), Environmental Geosciences (2012)
Preservation of the Seismic Cycle in a Continental Low-Angle Normal Fault: West Salton Detachment Fault, USA (with Mitchell R. Prante and Susanne U. Janecke), The Annual Meeting of the Southern California Earthquake Center, Palm Springs, CA (2012)
Discrete brittle to distributed shearing; Results from analysis of the deep portions of the Cajon Pass Drill Hole (with D Forand), American Geophysical Union (2011)
We performed systematic structural and geochemical analyses on a suite of cored rocks from the...
Books
Field Guide to Exhumed Major Faults in Southern California (with Joseph R. Jacobs, Samuel B. Howard, David Forand, and Ory Dor), Geology Faculty Publications (2005)
This field guide provides an overview of exposures and provides a field trip guide to...
Contributions to Books
Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Leaking, Carbon Dioxide—Charged Fault Zones in East-Central Utah, With Implications for Geological Carbon Storage (with Jason E. Heath, Thomas E. Lachmar, Peter T. Kolesar, and Anthony P. Williams), Carbon Sequestration and Its Role in the Global Carbon Cycle (2009)
We examined a natural, CO2-charged subsurface system located near two fault zones in East-Central Utah...
Chemical Alteration in Fault Zones as Sinks for “Missing” Earthquake Energy (with J. R. Jacobs and P. T. Kolesar), AGU Monograph on Earthquake Energy (2006)
Slip Localization in Faults, Fault Thickness, and Seismic Energy Budgets (with Z. K. Shipton, R. Abercrombie, and E. E. Brodsky), AGU Monograph on Earthquake Energy (2006)
Natural Leaking CO2-Charged Systems as Analogs for Failed Geologic Storage Reservoirs (with Zoe K. Shipton, Ben Dockrill, Jason Heath, Anthony Williams, David Kirchner, and Peter T. Kolesar), Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations - Results from the CO2 Capture Project (2005)
Analysis of leaky CO2 reservoirs in the northern Paradox Basin, Utah has allowed us to...
The Geometry and Thickness of Deformation Band Fault Core, and its Influence on Deformation Band Fault Zone Sealing Characteristics (with Z. K. Shipton and L. B. Thompson), Reservoir-Scale Deformation and Impacts on Flow (2005)
Presentations
Thermal Fluid and Fault Interactions at the Intersection of Two Faults, Agua Caliente, California (with Rebekah Wood), SCEC Fall Meeting 2011 (2011)
Agua Caliente Springs lies at a unique intersection between the NNW-trending Elsinore fault and the...
San Andreas Structural Interpretation: Merging Geophysical and Geological Data at SAFOD and Vicinity (with Rebekah E. Wood and Peter E. Malin), American Geophysical Union (2010)
Other
Mineralogical characterization of protolith and fault rocks from the SAFOD Main Hole (with John G. Solum, Stephen H. Hickman, David A. Lockner, Diane E. Moore, and Ben A. van der Pluijm), USGS Staff -- Published Research (2006)
Washed cuttings provide a continuous record of the rocks encountered during drilling of the main...