Geology
JAK's Geology
Photo: View from Bell Mountain, Lemhi Range, Idaho. Diamond Peak on the horizon. Ordovician white Kinnikinik Quartzite in corner.
My main intrest in geology is the Neoproterozoic, an era in Earth's history between 1000 million years ago (Ma) and 542 Ma. Neoproterozoic strata worldwide preserve evidence of global glaciations with ice-choked equitorial waters (Snowball Earth), followed by hothouse deglaciations, in a time when the supercontinentRodinia was rifting apart. During all of this, a radiation of complex metazoans, preserved as trace body fossils known as Ediacaran fauna, emerges out of a single-cell-dominated primordial sea.
My focuses are structural geology and very old sedimentary rocks in Idaho. Beginning in 2008 I've been a part of a USGS EDMAP mapping project testing the Bannock detachment in the southern Portneuf Range. The study tests contrasting structural models for the region: Domino vs Detachment. Results have been published in the journal Rocky Mountain Geology.
In 2011, I completed my M.S. degree at Idaho State University and began working in gold exploration in Alaska and Nevada. In 2015, as a hydrologic technician for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, I helped monitor rivers and streams as well as the Otto Glacier, the last active glacier in Idaho. Other experience includes seismic hazard mapping of Pocatello, Idaho.I am currently engaged in international geothermal exploration and water resource consulting throughout the southwest US with Blackrock Geoscience.
Save