Charles R Bacon, PhD
Current Research Interests Petrology, geochemistry, physical volcanology, and eruptive histories of calderas, emphasizing detailed study of Crater Lake, Oregon, and Veniaminof and Aniakchak caldera volcanoes, Alaska Peninsula. General interest in volcanic and magmatic processes. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry applied to geologic and biologic materials. Landscape evolution in interior Alaska.
Professional Experience
Senior Research Geologist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey, October 2014–present.
Research Geologist with USGS in Menlo Park 1975–2014, Senior Scientist 2004–2014
Research Associate, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1975
Co-Director, USGS–Stanford Ion Microprobe Laboratory (SUMAC), October 2008-September 2014
Geologic mapping of Quaternary volcanic fields and caldera volcanoes in California, Oregon, and Alaska
Isotope geochemistry of magmatic systems
Microbeam chemical analysis by electron and ion microprobe applied to igneous rocks and biological materials
Physical volcanology of products of explosive eruptions
Petrologic and geochemical research on volcanic rocks and magmatic processes
Mentorship/Outreach
Research and Teaching Assistantships, University of California, Berkeley, 1970-74
Visiting Professor, California Institute of Technology, winter term 1988
Education and Certifications
University of California, Berkeley, PhD, Geology, 1975
Stanford University, BS, Geology, 1970
Affiliations and Memberships*
Member, Geochemical Society, International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)
NAS/NRC Continental Scientific Drilling Committee, 1983-86
USGS Geologic Division Science Advisory Committee, 1988-89, Chair 1990-91
NSF Petrology and Geochemistry Panel, 1994-97
AGU VGP Section Nominating Committee, 1996, Chair 1998
MSA Fellows Committee, 1997-99; MSA Nominating Committee, 2007-2009
Associate Editor, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 1985-90
Associate Editor, American Mineralogist, 1989-92
Editorial Board, Geology, 1993-95
Editorial Board, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 1998-2007
Board of Directors, Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2009-present.
Honors and Awards
Fellow, American Geophysical Union, Mineralogical Society of America, Geological Society of America
President-elect, Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Section of the American Geophyscial Union, 7/02-6/04; President, 7/04-6/06
IAVCEI quadrennial L.R. Wager Medal, 1987
AGU VGP Section N.L. Bowen Award, 1999
USGS Shoemaker Awards for Communication Product Excellence, 2002, 2004
US Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award, 2004
U.S. Department of the Interior Superior Service Award, 2009 (from National Park Service)
Science and Products
Bacon receives 1999 Bowen Award
Rhyolite themobarometry and the shallowing of the magma reservoir, Coso volcanic field, California
Rhyolite thermobarometry and the shallowing of the magma reservoir, Coso volcanic field, California
Late Pleistocene granodiorite beneath Crater Lake caldera, Oregon, dated by ion microprobe
Late Quaternary slip rate and seismic hazards of the West Klamath Lake fault zone near Crater Lake, Oregon Cascades
Proceedings of the Workshop on Present and Future Directions in Volcano-Hazard Assessment; Menlo Park, California, September 23-24, 1998
Gas-driven filter pressing in magmas
Primitive magmas at five Cascade volcanic fields: Melts from hot, heterogeneous sub-arc mantle
Volcano and earthquake hazards in the Crater Lake region, Oregon
Geothermal resources in the Crater Lake area, Oregon
Crater Lake National Park: Presently tranquil
The volcanic, sedimentologic, and paleolimnologic history of the Crater Lake caldera floor, Oregon:Evidence for small caldera evolution
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 94
Bacon receives 1999 Bowen Award
Charles R. Bacon received the 1999 Bowen Award, presented by the Volcanology Geochemistry, and Petrology Section during the 1999 AGU Fall Meeting.AuthorsWes Hildreth, Charles R. BaconRhyolite themobarometry and the shallowing of the magma reservoir, Coso volcanic field, California
The compositionally bimodal Pleistocene Coso volcanic field is located at the western margin of the Basin and Range province ∼60 km north of the Garlock fault. Thirty-nine nearly aphyric high-silica rhyolite domes were emplaced in the past million years: one at 1 Ma from a transient magma reservoir, one at ∼0·6 Ma, and the rest since ∼0·3 Ma. Over the past 0·6 My, the depth from which the rhyoliteAuthorsC.R. Manley, Charles R. BaconRhyolite thermobarometry and the shallowing of the magma reservoir, Coso volcanic field, California
The compositionally bimodal Pleistocene Coso volcanic field is located at the western margin of the Basin and Range province ∼60 km north of the Garlock fault. Thirty-nine nearly aphyric high-silica rhyolite domes were emplaced in the past million years: one at 1 Ma from a transient magma reservoir, one at ∼0·6 Ma, and the rest since ∼0·3 Ma. Over the past 0·6 My, the depth from which the rhyoliteAuthorsC.R. Manley, C. R. BaconLate Pleistocene granodiorite beneath Crater Lake caldera, Oregon, dated by ion microprobe
Variably melted granodiorite blocks ejected during the Holocene caldera-forming eruption of Mount Mazama were plucked from the walls of the climactic magma chamber at ∼5 km depth. Ion-microprobe U-Pb dating of zircons from two unmelted granodiorite blocks with SHRIMP RG (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) gives a nominal 238U/206Pb age of100+78−80100−80+78ka, or174+89−11517AuthorsC. R. Bacon, H.M. Persing, J. L. Wooden, T. R. IrelandLate Quaternary slip rate and seismic hazards of the West Klamath Lake fault zone near Crater Lake, Oregon Cascades
Crater Lake caldera is at the north end of the Klamath graben, where this N10°W-trending major Basin and Range structure impinges upon the north-south–trending High Cascades volcanic arc. East-facing normal faults, typically 10–15 km long, form the West Klamath Lake fault zone, which bounds the graben on its west side. The fault zone terminates on the south near the epicentral area of the SeptembeAuthorsC. R. Bacon, M. A. Lanphere, D. E. ChampionProceedings of the Workshop on Present and Future Directions in Volcano-Hazard Assessment; Menlo Park, California, September 23-24, 1998
No abstract available.AuthorsC. R. Bacon, T. C. Hanks, W. E. ScottGas-driven filter pressing in magmas
Most silicic and some mafic magmas expand via second boiling if they crystallize at depths of about 10 km or less. The buildup of gas pressure due to second boiling can be relieved by expulsion of melt out of the region of crystallization, and this process of gas-driven filter pressing assists the crystallization differentiation of magmas. For gas-driven filter pressing to be effective, the regionAuthorsThomas W. Sisson, Charles R. BaconPrimitive magmas at five Cascade volcanic fields: Melts from hot, heterogeneous sub-arc mantle
Major and trace element concentrations, including REE by isotope dilution, and Sr, Nd, Pb, and O isotope ratios have been determined for 38 mafic lavas from the Mount Adams, Crater Lake, Mount Shasta, Medicine Lake, and Lassen volcanic fields, in the Cascade arc, northwestern part of the United States. Many of the samples have a high Mg# [100Mg/(Mg + FeT) > 60] and Ni content (>140 ppm) such thatAuthorsC. R. Bacon, P. E. Bruggman, R. L. Christiansen, M.A. Clynne, J. M. Donnelly-Nolan, W. HildrethVolcano and earthquake hazards in the Crater Lake region, Oregon
Crater Lake lies in a basin, or caldera, formed by collapse of the Cascade volcano known as Mount Mazama during a violent, climactic eruption about 7,700 years ago. This event dramatically changed the character of the volcano so that many potential types of future events have no precedent there. This potentially active volcanic center is contained within Crater Lake National Park, visited bAuthorsCharles R. Bacon, Larry G. Mastin, Kevin M. Scott, Manuel NathensonGeothermal resources in the Crater Lake area, Oregon
No abstract available.AuthorsCharles R. Bacon, Manuel NathensonCrater Lake National Park: Presently tranquil
No abstract available.AuthorsHans Nelson, Charles R. BaconThe volcanic, sedimentologic, and paleolimnologic history of the Crater Lake caldera floor, Oregon:Evidence for small caldera evolution
Apparent phreatic explosion craters, caldera-floor volcanic cones, and geothermal features outline a ring fracture zone along which Mount Mazama collapsed to form the Crater Lake caldera during its climactic eruption about 6,850 yr B.P. Within a few years, subaerial deposits infilled the phreatic craters and then formed a thick wedge (10-20 m) of mass flow deposits shed from caldera walls. IntenseAuthorsC. Hans Nelson, Charles R. Bacon, Stephen W. Robinson, David P. Adam, J. Platt Bradbury, John H. Barber, Deborah Schwartz, Ginger Vagenas - Maps
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government