Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Welcome to the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center (GGGSC) located in Lakewood, Colorado on the Denver Federal Center. At GGGSC, we apply expertise in geology, geophysics, and geochemistry to interdisciplinary efforts in support of the USGS mission to address the Nation’s important earth science issues, with an emphasis on rare earth mineral resources.
Laboratories
Laboratories
Our center has several laboratories, ranging from geophysics to geochemistry to spectroscopy to scanning electron microscopes.
Science Branches
Science Branches
Our strong science portfolio integrates regional and economic geology with a broad range of geophysical, geochemical, analytical expertise. Our center has four scientific branches:
News
Department of the Interior launches effort to recover critical minerals from mine waste
Department of the Interior launches effort to recover critical minerals from mine waste
Low-Level Flights to Image Geology Over Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois
Low-Level Flights to Image Geology Over Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois
Recently completed geophysical survey will help protect critical infrastructure from geomagnetic storms and space weather
Recently completed geophysical survey will help protect critical infrastructure from geomagnetic storms and space weather
Publications
Effect of mineral deposit data on predictions from the three-part approach to quantitative mineral resource assessment—A study of 16 previous U.S. Geological Survey assessments Effect of mineral deposit data on predictions from the three-part approach to quantitative mineral resource assessment—A study of 16 previous U.S. Geological Survey assessments
The three-part approach to quantitative mineral resource assessment requires information about the properties of undiscovered mineral deposits in an assessment area. These properties are unknown, so the properties of discovered mineral deposits of the same mineral deposit type are used instead. In the three-part approach, these discovered mineral deposits come from around the world, and...
Exhumation history of the Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, from mid- to low-temperature thermochronology: New insights into Laramide contraction and Oligocene–Miocene extension in the northern Rio Grande rift, USA Exhumation history of the Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, from mid- to low-temperature thermochronology: New insights into Laramide contraction and Oligocene–Miocene extension in the northern Rio Grande rift, USA
The Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado records a complex tectonic history that includes Late Cretaceous–Eocene Laramide contraction and Oligocene–Quaternary Rio Grande rift extension. We present new thermochronologic data (40Ar/39Ar, fission-track, (U-Th)/He) and thermal history models that provide insight into this polyphase history and spatiotemporal patterns of extensional...
Subsurface vertical connectivity shapes solute transport to montane streams: Insights from watershed-scale geophysics-informed modeling Subsurface vertical connectivity shapes solute transport to montane streams: Insights from watershed-scale geophysics-informed modeling
Headwater catchments provide essential water and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. The timing and evolution of their transport is shaped in part by the “invisible” subsurface structure but have been largely unexplored at the watershed scale. This raises a fundamental question: how and to what extent does subsurface structure influence streamflow and solute transport in montane...
Science
Geophysical and Geological Characterization of Mineral Deposit Localization in the Colorado Mineral Belt and Surrounding Lithosphere: Isotope Geochemistry & Geochronology
Isotope geochemistry and geochronology are critical tools in Earth sciences. Sophisticated analytical measurements allow us to understand when and how rocks and minerals formed, helping build models of how tectonic forces built the Earth’s crust through magmatism, when critical mineral deposits formed and how geological processes concentrated metals in the Earth at concentrations economically...
Geophysical and Geological Characterization of Mineral Deposit Localization in the Colorado Mineral Belt and Surrounding Lithosphere: Data Integration, Synthesis, and Visualization
The Colorado Mineral Belt and surrounding region are exceptionally rich in new and legacy data, presenting new opportunities to address the relationship between lithospheric evolution and mineral deposit formation through novel data synthesis, visualization, and mineral resources.
Geophysical and Geological Characterization of Mineral Deposit Localization in the Colorado Mineral Belt and Surrounding Lithosphere: Geophysical Data Analyses and Interpretations
Many of the questions about the origin of the Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB) extend underground. What path did ore-bearing fluids take to their final locations? How did they interact with preexisting structures like faults and fractures? Geophysical methods that allow us to "see" beneath the surface are powerful tools for answering these questions. We plan to use existing seismic data as well as the...