Carol A Finn, Ph.D.
Biography
Carol Finn is a research geophysicist with the Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver, CO specializing in the application of magnetic, gravity and electromagnetic data, to develop framework geological models in support of resource and volcano hazards assessments and fundamental Earth Processes. She has worked all over the world. Her current research is on imagining Yellowstone's iconic thermal features, 3D modeling of layered mafic intrusions and their platinum group element potential and Cascades and Alaska landslide hazards.
Education
- Ph.D. Geophysics, University of Colorado, 1988
- M.S. Geophysics, University of Colorado, 1984
- B.S. Geology, Wellesley College, 1978
Professional Experience
- 1978-present, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO
Research Interests
Carol is an expert on the application of magnetic, gravity and electromagnetic data, along with other geophysical techniques, to identify the subsurface distribution of
- hydrothermal alteration and causative sub-volcanic intrusions as well as ground water as they relate to both landslide hazard assessment and systematics of hydrothermal systems
- layered mafic intrusions, including the Bushveld, Stillwater and Duluth complexes, in support of assessments of platinum group element potential
- crystalline basement related to global mineral resource assessments (Algeria, Mauritania, Afghanistan, South Africa, Uzbekistan, United States)
Affiliations
- 2000-2005 Adjunct faculty member, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Professional Societies
- American Geophysical Union
- Geological Society of America
Academic and Professional Service
- AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Board Member (2016-present)
- Past President, American Geophysical Union (2015-2016)
- President, American Geophysical Union (2013-2014)
- President-Elect, American Geophysical Union (2011-2012)
- General Secretary, American Geophysical Union (2006-2010)
Honors, Awards, Recognition, Elected Memberships
- 2011 - DOI Meritorious Service Award
- 2007 - DOI Superior Service Award
- 2004 - Elected Geological Society of America Fellow
- 2003 - US Board of Geographic Names named Finn Spur in Antarctica (79° 17' S, 156° 37' E) after me in recognition of my management of Antarctic aerogeophysical field projects.
- 2001-2002 - Awarded senior Gledden Research Fellowship, Centre for Global Metallogeny, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- 1990-1992 - Awarded Science and Technology Fellowship, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukuba, Japan
Science and Products
Geophysical Studies on the Architecture of Large Igneous Systems Hosting Magmatic Ore Deposits
Platinum group elements, also known as PGEs, are a group of elements that have specific properties which make them useful for various applications in industry. One geologic setting that contains large concentrations of platinum group elements is layered mafic intrusions. This project will use new and preexisting geophysical datasets to characterize the internal structure of layered intrusions...
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data, Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, June 2012
Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data were collected during June 2012 along 556 line-kilometers over Iliamna Volcano, Alaska. These data were collected in support of alteration and volcano flank instability mapping as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program. Data were acquired by SkyTEM Survey ApS SkyTEM304 system with the Soloy Helicopters Eu
Bouguer gravity and magnetic susceptibility measurements at Iliamna Volcano, Alaska 2019
Gravity data were collected in August of 2019 at 21 sites on and around Iliamna Volcano and Anchorage, Alaska. Measurements were taken with a Lacoste & Romberg G-161 meter and reduced to obtain the complete Bouguer anomaly. A total of 39 magnetic susceptibility measurements were taken at 13 locations using a ZH Instruments SM30 susceptibility meter. This data release includes...
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data, Stillwater Complex, Montana, May 2000 (ver. 2.0, June 2020)
A helicopter-borne electromagnetic/magnetic survey was flown over the Stillwater area, southwest Montana from May 5 to May 16, 2000. The survey was conducted over the Stillwater Igneous Complex, a Precambrian layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion which is characterized by igneous layering. Electromagnetic data were acquired using DIGHEM helicopter-borne electromagnetic system. Magnetic data
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data, Stillwater Complex, Montana, May 2000
A helicopter-borne electromagnetic/magnetic survey was flown over the Stillwater area, southwest Montana from May 5 to May 16, 2000. The survey was conducted over the Stillwater Igneous Complex, a Precambrian layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion which is characterized by igneous layering. Electromagnetic data were acquired using DIGHEM helicopter-borne electromagnetic system. Magnetic data
Mount Baker and Mount Adams Airborne Magnetic and Electromagnetic Survey Data, August 2002, Washington, USA
Hydrothermally altered rocks, particularly if water saturated, can weaken stratovolcanoes, thereby increasing the potential for catastrophic sector collapses that can lead to far-traveled, destructive debris flows, which are the largest volcanic hazards for Mount Adams and Mount Baker. Evaluating the hazards associated with such alteration is difficult because much of the alteration is
3-D Modeling of the Duluth Complex from geophysical data
The Mesoproterozoic Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota is one of the major plutonic components of the Midcontinent Rift System and hosts a variety of copper-nickel sulfide and platinum-group element deposits. The Duluth Complex is composed of a series of individual mafic and felsic intrusions emplaced 1110-1098 Ma within Paleoproterozoic...
Peterson, Dana Elise; Bedrosian, Paul A.; Finn, Carol A. Geometry of the Bushveld Complex from 3D potential field modelling
A full three-dimensional (3D) potential field model of the central and southern Bushveld Complex reveals information about the Complex in areas obscured by younger geological cover. Previously, two-dimensional gravity models and a few magnetic models limited to certain sections of the Bushveld Complex have been used to propose geometries for the...
Cole, Janine; Finn, Carol A.; Webb, Susan J. Airborne geophysical imaging of weak zones on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska: Implications for slope stability
Water‐saturated, hydrothermally altered rocks reduce the strength of volcanic edifices and increase the potential for sector collapses and far‐traveled mass flows of unconsolidated debris. Iliamna Volcano is an andesitic stratovolcano located on the western side of the Cook Inlet, ∼225 km southwest of Anchorage and is a source of repeated...
Peterson, Dana Elise; Finn, Carol A.; Bedrosian, Paul A. Geological and thermal control of the hydrothermal system in northern Yellowstone Lake: Inferences from high resolution magnetic surveys
A multiscale magnetic survey of the northern basin of Yellowstone Lake was undertaken in 2016 as part of the Hydrothermal Dynamics of Yellowstone Lake Project (HD‐YLAKE)—a broad research effort to characterize the cause‐and‐effect relationships between geologic and environmental processes and hydrothermal activity on the lake floor. The magnetic...
Bouligand, Claire; Tivey, Maurice A.; Finn, Carol A.; Morgan, Lisa A; Shanks, W. C. Pat; Sohn, Robert A. Mapping the 3-D extent of the Stillwater Complex, Montana—Implications for potential platinum group element exploration and development
Geophysical models characterize the exposed and interpreted buried extent of the Stillwater Complex, critical for understanding the origin of the layered mafic intrusion and its associated high-grade platinum group element resources. The 3D models, constrained by gravity, magnetic, xenolith, seismic, borehole, and rock property data indicate that...
Finn, Carol A.; Zientek, Michael L.; Parks, Heather L.; Peterson, Dana Elise Three-dimensional geophysical mapping of shallow water saturated altered rocks at Mount Baker, Washington: Implications for slope stability
Water-saturated hydrothermal alteration reduces the strength of volcanic edifices, increasing the potential for catastrophic sector collapses that can lead to far traveled and destructive debris flows. Intense hydrothermal alteration significantly lowers the resistivity and magnetization of volcanic rock and therefore hydrothermally...
Finn, Carol A.; Deszcz-Pan, Maria; Ball, Jessica L.; Bloss, Benjamin J.; Minsley, Burke J. Combining multiphase groundwater flow and slope stability models to assess stratovolcano flank collapse in the Cascade Range
Hydrothermal alteration can create low‐permeability zones, potentially resulting in elevated pore‐fluid pressures, within a volcanic edifice. Strength reduction by rock alteration and high pore‐fluid pressures have been suggested as a mechanism for edifice flank instability. Here we combine numerical models of multiphase heat transport and...
Ball, Jessica L.; Taron, Joshua M.; Reid, Mark E.; Hurwitz, Shaul; Finn, Carol A.; Bedrosian, Paul A. The F'derik-Zouerate iron district: Mesoarchean and Paleoproterozoic iron formation of the Tiris Complex, Islamic Republic of Mauritania
High-grade hematitic iron ores (of HIF, containing 60-65 wt%Fe) have been mined in Mauritania since 1952 from Superior-type iron deposits of the F'derik-Zouerate district. Depletion of the high-grade ores in recent years has resulted in new exploration projects focused on lower-grade magnetite ores occurring in Algoma-type banded iron...
Bouabdellah, Mohammed; Slack, John F.; Taylor, Cliff D.; Finn, Carol A.; Anderson, Eric D.; Bradley, Dwight C.; Joud, Mohamed; Taleb Mohamed, Ahmed; Horton, John D.; Johnson, Craig A. Regional tectonic setting for the Trinidad earthquake swarms (2000-2012) from gravity and magnetic data
Earthquakes in the Raton basin near Trinidad, Colorado, (Figure 1) are located (Rubenstein et. al., 2014) near a major gravity and magnetic boundary. These earthquakes also occur in an area of hydrocarbon production that includes several high-capacity produced water injection wells. This presentation gives a very basic outline of the relation...
Finn, Carol A.; Kass, Mason A.; Smith, Bruce D. Mapping the 3-D extent of the Northern Lobe of the Bushveld layered mafic intrusion from geophysical data
Geophysical models image the 3D geometry of the mafic portion of the Bushveld Complex north of the Thabazimbi-Murchison Lineament (TML), critical for understanding the origin of the world's largest layered mafic intrusion and platinum group element deposits. The combination of the gravity and magnetic data with recent seismic, MT, borehole and...
Finn, Carol A.; Bedrosian, Paul A.; Cole, Janine; Khoza, Tshepo David; Webb, Susan J.
Algoma-, Superior-, and oolitic-type iron deposits of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (phase V, deliverable 83): Chapter O in Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II)
High-grade hematitic iron ores (or HIF, containing 60–65 percent Fe) have been mined in Mauritania from Superior-type iron deposits since 1952. Depletion of the high grade ores in recent years has resulted in a number of new projects focused on lower grade magnetite ores in Algoma-type banded iron formation (or BIF, containing approximately...
Taylor, Cliff D.; Finn, Carol A.; Anderson, Eric D.; Joud, M. Y.; Taleb, M. A.; Horton, John D.
Synthesis of geophysical data (phase V, deliverable 55): Chapter B in Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II)
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data were used to map shallow Precambrian basement lithology and structure and determine the depth to magnetic basement, which in most cases, corresponds to the depth to crystalline basement of interest for mineral exploration. These depths, along with those determined from gravity data, help identify basins with...
Finn, Carol A.; Anderson, Eric D.