Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Brandon Lutz, PhD

Brandon Lutz is a structural geologist working within the Framework Geology program.

Brandon uses a combination of 3D geological modeling, numerical simulations of faulting and heat flow, and field-based studies of fault rocks to understand Earth’s natural resources (e.g., water, geothermal, critical minerals, hydrocarbons) and hazards (e.g., earthquakes, landslides). He specializes in regional-scale kinematic reconstructions of crustal deformation along diffuse plate boundary zones, and has worked on projects in the Basin and Range Province, the Cordilleran Thrust Belt, and the Ouachita-Arkoma-Ozark orogenic system. 

Professional Experience

  • 2021-2022: Contract Geologist, Rangefront Mining Services, Lode Metals Corp., Baker City, Oregon

  • 2020-2021: Visiting Assistant Professor, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 

Education and Certifications

  • PhD, 2021, Earth and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico

  • MS, 2013, Geological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 

  • BS, 2010, Geological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

Science and Products

link
Measuring paleoflow directions in the overturned beds of the Pennsylvanian Atoka Formation at the Paris Spillway, Paris, AR

Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect

The Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect (ODABOuT) project examines the three-dimensional geology of a transect of the southern orogenic margin of North America in its best surface exposure in western Arkansas. The Ozark Dome and Arkoma Basin represent a foreland uplift and foreland basin that formed as a result of the impinging Ouachita orogenic belt. Understanding the geometry and evolution...
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
link

Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect

The Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect (ODABOuT) project examines the three-dimensional geology of a transect of the southern orogenic margin of North America in its best surface exposure in western Arkansas. The Ozark Dome and Arkoma Basin represent a foreland uplift and foreland basin that formed as a result of the impinging Ouachita orogenic belt. Understanding the geometry and evolution...
Learn More

Digital database of the previously published geomorphic-structural map of the Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains record the late Paleozoic Laurentia-Gondwana orogenic event along southern Paleo-North America during Pangea supercontinent formation. This data release contains a digital compilation of geomorphic-structural information from the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas as previously published by Arbenz (2008). The geodatabase, presented herein,
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Peri-Gondwanan sediment in the Arkoma Basin derived from the north: The detrital zircon record of a uniquely concentrated non-Laurentian source signal in the late Paleozoic

During the assembly of Pangea, peri-Gondwanan terranes collided with the eastern and southern margins of Laurentia and brought with them unique detrital zircon U-Pb signatures. Discriminating between individual peri-Gondwanan terranes in the detrital record is difficult due to their similar geologic histories. However, characterization of this provenance is critical for understanding late Paleozoi
Authors
Tyson Michael Smith, Marieke Dechesne, Jaime Ann Megumi Hirtz, Glenn R. Sharman, Mark R. Hudson, Brandon Michael Lutz, Neil Patrick Griffis
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Influence of inherited structure on flexural extension in foreland basin systems: Evidence from the northern Arkoma basin and southern Ozark dome, USA

Extensional faults are key components of foreland basin systems. They form within the upper crust in response to flexure of the lithosphere and accommodate subsidence within the foredeep and forebulge depozones. Such faults are excellent proxies for orogenic system evolution and control the distribution of natural resources and hazards. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of flexural extension h
Authors
Brandon Michael Lutz, Mark R. Hudson, Tyson Michael Smith, Marieke Dechesne, Leland Robson Spangler, Anne E. McCafferty, Chelsea Morgan Amaral, Neil Patrick Griffis, Jaime Ann Megumi Hirtz
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Lutz, B.M., Axen, G., van Wijk, J., Phillips, F. , 2022, Whole-lithosphere shear during oblique rifting: Geology, v. 50, p. 412–416, https://doi.org/10.1130/G49603.1
Lutz, B., Ketcham., R., Axen, G., Beyenne, M., Wells, M., van Wijk, J., Stockli, D., Ross, J., 2021, Thermo-kinematic modeling of detachment-dominated extension, northeastern Death Valley Area, SW USA: Implications for mid-crustal thermo-rheological evolution. Tectonophysics v. 808 228755

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Science and Products

link
Measuring paleoflow directions in the overturned beds of the Pennsylvanian Atoka Formation at the Paris Spillway, Paris, AR

Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect

The Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect (ODABOuT) project examines the three-dimensional geology of a transect of the southern orogenic margin of North America in its best surface exposure in western Arkansas. The Ozark Dome and Arkoma Basin represent a foreland uplift and foreland basin that formed as a result of the impinging Ouachita orogenic belt. Understanding the geometry and evolution...
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
link

Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect

The Ozark Dome-Arkoma Basin-Ouachita Transect (ODABOuT) project examines the three-dimensional geology of a transect of the southern orogenic margin of North America in its best surface exposure in western Arkansas. The Ozark Dome and Arkoma Basin represent a foreland uplift and foreland basin that formed as a result of the impinging Ouachita orogenic belt. Understanding the geometry and evolution...
Learn More

Digital database of the previously published geomorphic-structural map of the Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains record the late Paleozoic Laurentia-Gondwana orogenic event along southern Paleo-North America during Pangea supercontinent formation. This data release contains a digital compilation of geomorphic-structural information from the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas as previously published by Arbenz (2008). The geodatabase, presented herein,
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Peri-Gondwanan sediment in the Arkoma Basin derived from the north: The detrital zircon record of a uniquely concentrated non-Laurentian source signal in the late Paleozoic

During the assembly of Pangea, peri-Gondwanan terranes collided with the eastern and southern margins of Laurentia and brought with them unique detrital zircon U-Pb signatures. Discriminating between individual peri-Gondwanan terranes in the detrital record is difficult due to their similar geologic histories. However, characterization of this provenance is critical for understanding late Paleozoi
Authors
Tyson Michael Smith, Marieke Dechesne, Jaime Ann Megumi Hirtz, Glenn R. Sharman, Mark R. Hudson, Brandon Michael Lutz, Neil Patrick Griffis
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Influence of inherited structure on flexural extension in foreland basin systems: Evidence from the northern Arkoma basin and southern Ozark dome, USA

Extensional faults are key components of foreland basin systems. They form within the upper crust in response to flexure of the lithosphere and accommodate subsidence within the foredeep and forebulge depozones. Such faults are excellent proxies for orogenic system evolution and control the distribution of natural resources and hazards. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of flexural extension h
Authors
Brandon Michael Lutz, Mark R. Hudson, Tyson Michael Smith, Marieke Dechesne, Leland Robson Spangler, Anne E. McCafferty, Chelsea Morgan Amaral, Neil Patrick Griffis, Jaime Ann Megumi Hirtz
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Lutz, B.M., Axen, G., van Wijk, J., Phillips, F. , 2022, Whole-lithosphere shear during oblique rifting: Geology, v. 50, p. 412–416, https://doi.org/10.1130/G49603.1
Lutz, B., Ketcham., R., Axen, G., Beyenne, M., Wells, M., van Wijk, J., Stockli, D., Ross, J., 2021, Thermo-kinematic modeling of detachment-dominated extension, northeastern Death Valley Area, SW USA: Implications for mid-crustal thermo-rheological evolution. Tectonophysics v. 808 228755

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Was this page helpful?