I am a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Central Energy Resources Science Center (CERSC) in Lakewood, Colorado.
I am field geologist integrating tectonics and sedimentation in developing predictive geological rules that govern sedimentary systems. Since 1990, I have directed integrated outcrop and subsurface studies, first as a researcher at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), at the University of Texas at Austin (1990-1994), and later as tenured faculty at the Colorado School of Mines (1995-2005), and Montana State University, Bozeman (2005-2015). I founded and was the Principal Investigator of joint industry-academic research conducted by the Slope and Basin Consortium and Geological Analogs and Information Archive (GAIA) project. I was a principal in establishing and directing the initial research conducted by the Chevron Center of Research Excellence at the Colorado School of Mines. I have advised nineteen graduate students conducting field-based studies across the western U.S. and in Mexico, New Zealand, France, Italy, and Spain. I have delivered ten invited keynote presentations, received four best paper awards, and was the 2008-2009 AAPG Distinguished Lecturer. I have conducted presentations and short courses in eleven countries and published hundreds of papers, abstracts, reports and field guidebooks.
Honors and Awards
Fast-Track Tenure Appointment, Montana State University, September, 2006
Early Tenure Appointment, Colorado School of Mines, April, 2004
Best of AAPG Presentations, Denver Annual Meeting, 2001
PBS-SEPM Noon Luncheon Program, Best Paper Award, 1999-2000
AAPG Annual Meeting, SEPM Excellence of Oral Presentation, 1998
PBS-SEPM Noon Luncheon Program, Best Paper Award, 1996-1997
PBS-SEPM Noon Luncheon Program, Best Paper Award, 1995-1996
AAPG Annual Meeting, SEPM Best Paper Award Honorable Mention, 1996
West Texas Geological Society, Best Poster Award, 1992
AAPG, Grant in Aid of Research
SEPM, Donald L. Smith Research Grant
Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey, Student Research Grant
Sigma XI Grant in Aid of Research
Petroleum Research Fund Fellow
NAGT/USGS, Geology Field Camp Award
NROTC Scholarship
Science and Products
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the offshore Salt Basin area of Morocco, 2021
Assessment of coalbed gas resources in the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province, Colorado and New Mexico, 2022
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana, 2022
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Senegal Basin Province of northwest Africa, 2021
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Montana Thrust Belt Province, 2021
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota and Montana, 2021
Science and Products
- Publications
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the offshore Salt Basin area of Morocco, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 3.8 billion barrels of oil and 20.7 trillion cubic feet of gas offshore of Morocco.AuthorsChristopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. YoungAssessment of coalbed gas resources in the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province, Colorado and New Mexico, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 5.2 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas in the Vermejo Formation and Raton Formation of the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province.AuthorsChristopher J. Schenk, Thomas M. Finn, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. YoungAssessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 220 million barrels of continuous oil and 1 trillion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana.AuthorsChristopher J. Schenk, Michael H. Gardner, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. YoungAssessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Senegal Basin Province of northwest Africa, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 13,929 million (13.9 billion) barrels of oil and 193,721 billion (193.7 trillion) cubic feet of gas within the Senegal Basin Province of northwest Africa.AuthorsChristopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. YoungAssessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Montana Thrust Belt Province, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 783 million barrels of conventional oil and 17,606 billion (17.6 trillion) cubic feet of conventional gas in the Montana Thrust Belt Province.AuthorsChristopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. YoungAssessment of undiscovered continuous oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota and Montana, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 4.3 billion barrels of oil and 4.9 trillion cubic feet of gas (associated) in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota and Montana.AuthorsKristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Sarah E. Gelman, Christopher J. Schenk, Cheryl A. Woodall, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. Young