Craig A Johnson, Ph.D.
Craig Johnson is a Research Geologist with the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center.
Craig attended Dartmouth (AB), Michigan (MS), and Yale (PhD). He held a NASA postdoc and a staff position at the American Museum of Natural History in New York prior to joining the USGS in 1992. Craig is responsible for a stable isotope laboratory in which isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur are measured in rocks, waters, gases, and biological materials. Craig studies ore genesis, environmental impacts of mining, the source and fate of solutes in natural waters and crustal fluids, the isotopic record of marine sulfate, and isotopic records of paleoenvironments.
Science and Products
Guatemala jadeitites and albitites were formed by deuterium-rich serpentinizing fluids deep within a subduction zone
Predicting mountain lion activity using radiocollars equipped with mercury tip-sensors
Accounting for cyanide and its degradation products at three Nevada gold mines; constraints from stable C- and N-isotopes
The use of stable carbon- and nitrogen-isotope data in quantifying cyanide loss from nine wastewaters
Movement and diffusion of pore fluids in Owens Lake sediments from core OL-92 as shown by salinity and deuterium-hydrogen ratios
Sulfur isotope analyses using the laser microprobe
Natural or fertilizer-derived uranium in irrigation drainage: A case study in southeastern Colorado, U.S.A.
Proterozoic low-Ti iron-oxide deposits in New York and New Jersey: Relation to Fe-oxide (Cu–U–Au–rare earth element) deposits and tectonic implications: Comment and Reply
Determination of 15N/14N and 13C/12C in solid and aqueous cyanides
Cierco Pb-Zn-Ag vein deposits: Isotopic and fluid inclusion evidence for formation during the mesozoic extension in the pyrenees of Spain
Nitrogen isotopes in nitrate from surface water and shallow groundwater at Sixmile Creek, southeastern Colorado
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.
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Guatemala jadeitites and albitites were formed by deuterium-rich serpentinizing fluids deep within a subduction zone
Jadeitites and albitites from the Motagua Valley, Guatemala, are high-pressure–low-temperature metasomatic rocks that occur as tectonic inclusions in serpentinite-matrix melange. Metasomatism was driven by a fluid with a δ18OH2O value of 6‰, and a δDH2O value that is high in comparison with metamorphic fluids at other high-pressure–low-temperature localities of similar grade. We infer that the fluAuthorsC.A. Johnson, G.E. HarlowPredicting mountain lion activity using radiocollars equipped with mercury tip-sensors
Radiotelemetry collars with tip-sensors have long been used to monitor wildlife activity. However, comparatively few researchers have tested the reliability of the technique on the species being studied. To evaluate the efficacy of using tip-sensors to assess mountain lion (Puma concolor) activity, we radiocollared 2 hand-reared mountain lions and simultaneously recorded their behavior and the assAuthorsMichael W. Janis, Joseph D. Clark, Craig JohnsonAccounting for cyanide and its degradation products at three Nevada gold mines; constraints from stable C- and N-isotopes
An understanding of the fate of cyanide (CN-) in mine process waters is important for addressing environmental concerns and for taking steps to minimize reagent costs. The utility of stable isotope methods in identifying cyanide loss pathways has been investigated in case studies at three Nevada gold mines. Freshly prepared barren solutions at the mines have cyanide d15N and d13C values averaAuthorsC.A. Johnson, D. J. Grimes, R. O. RyeThe use of stable carbon- and nitrogen-isotope data in quantifying cyanide loss from nine wastewaters
No abstract available.AuthorsR. O. Rye, C.A. JohnsonMovement and diffusion of pore fluids in Owens Lake sediments from core OL-92 as shown by salinity and deuterium-hydrogen ratios
No abstract available.AuthorsIrving Friedman, James L. Bischoff, Craig A. Johnson, Scott W. Tyler, Jeffrey P. FittsSulfur isotope analyses using the laser microprobe
Since the first studies of sulfur isotope variations in natural materials (Thode, 1949), it has been apparent that there are large and dramatic variations of 34S/32S ratios and that sulfur isotope studies are a powerful tool for interpreting the origins of sulfur-bearing minerals. However, sulfur is such a common element in the Earth's crust (sixteenth most abundant, averaging 0.03 wt %; Mason, 19AuthorsW.C. Pat Shanks, D.E. Crowe, Craig A. JohnsonNatural or fertilizer-derived uranium in irrigation drainage: A case study in southeastern Colorado, U.S.A.
Drainage from heavily cultivated soils may be contaminated with U that is leached from the soil or added as a trace constituent of PO4-based commercial fertilizer. The effect of decades-long application of U-rich fertilizer on the U concentration of irrigation drainage was investigated in a small (14.2 km2) drainage basin in southeastern Colorado. The basin was chosen because previous reports indiAuthorsR. A. Zielinski, S. Asher-Bolinder, A. L. Meier, C.A. Johnson, B. J. SzaboProterozoic low-Ti iron-oxide deposits in New York and New Jersey: Relation to Fe-oxide (Cu–U–Au–rare earth element) deposits and tectonic implications: Comment and Reply
No abstract available.AuthorsCraig A. Johnson, James McLelland, Michael P. FooseDetermination of 15N/14N and 13C/12C in solid and aqueous cyanides
The stable isotopic compositions of nitrogen and carbon in cyanide compounds can be determined by combusting aliquots in sealed tubes to form N2 gas and CO2 gas and analyzing the gases by mass spectrometry. Free cyanide (CN-aq + HCNaq) in simple solutions can also be analyzed by first precipitating the cyanide as copper(II) ferrocyanide and then combusting the precipitate. Reproducibility is ±0.5‰AuthorsCraig A. JohnsonCierco Pb-Zn-Ag vein deposits: Isotopic and fluid inclusion evidence for formation during the mesozoic extension in the pyrenees of Spain
The Cierco Pb-Zn-Ag vein deposits, located in the central Pyrenees of Spain, crosscut Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and are in close proximity to Hercynian granodiorite dikes and plutons. Galena and sphalerite in the deposits have average delta 34 S values of - 4.3 and - 0.8 per mil (CDT), respectively. Coexisting mineral pairs give an isotopic equilibration temperature range of 89 degrees to 16AuthorsC.A. Johnson, E. Cardellach, J. Tritlla, B.B. HananNitrogen isotopes in nitrate from surface water and shallow groundwater at Sixmile Creek, southeastern Colorado
No abstract available.AuthorsCraig A. Johnson, Robert A. Zielinski, Sigrid A. Asher-BolinderNon-USGS Publications**
Riciputi, L.R., McSween, H.Y., Jr., Johnson, C.A., and Prinz, M., 1994, Minor and trace element concentrations in carbonates of carbonaceous chondrites, and implications for the compositions of coexisting fluids: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 58 (4), p. 1343–1351, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(94)90386-7.Johnson, C.A., and Prinz, M., 1993, Carbonate compositions in CM and CI chondrites, and implications for aqueous alteration: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 57 (12), p. 2843–2852, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(93)90393-B.Johnson, C.A., Cardellach, E., Tritlla, J., and Hanan, B.B., 1993, Origin of the Cierco Pb-Zn vein system (central Pyrenees, Spain): evidence from stable isotopes, Sr isotopes and fluid inclusions, in Fenoll Hach-Ali, P., Torrez-Ruiz, J., and Gervilla, F., eds., Current research in geology applied to ore deposits. Proceedings of the 2nd SGA Biennial Meeting, Granada, Spain, 9-11 September 1993, p. 135-138.Johnson, C.A., and Prinz, M., 1991, Chromite and olivine in type II chondrules in carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites: implications for thermal histories and group differences: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 55 (3), p. 893–904, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(91)90349-A.Johnson, C.A., Rye, D.M., and Skinner, B.J., 1990, Unusual oxygen isotopic compositions in and around the Sterling Hill and Franklin Furnace ore deposits, in Proceedings for conference on character and origin of the Franklin and Sterling Hill orebodies: Bethlehem, PA, Lehigh University, p. 63–76.Johnson, C.A., Rye, D.M., and Skinner, B.J., 1990, Petrology and stable isotope geochemistry of the metamorphosed zinc-iron-manganese deposit at Sterling Hill, New Jersey: Economic Geology, 85 (6), p. 1133–1161, https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.85.6.1133.Johnson, C.A., Prinz, M., Weisberg, M.K., Clayton, R.N., and Mayeda, T.K., 1990, Dark inclusions in Allende, Leoville and Vigarano: evidence for nebular oxidation of CV3 constituents: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54 (3), p.819–830, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(90)90376-V.Skinner, B.J. and Johnson, C.A., 1987, Evidence for movement of ore materials during high grade metamorphism: Ore Geology Reviews, 2 (1-3), p. 191–204, https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-1368(87)90028-X.Johnson, C.A., Bohlen, S.R., and Essene, E.J., 1983, An evaluation of garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometry in granulites: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 84 (2-3), p. 191-198, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00371285.Johnson, C.A., and Essene, E. J., 1982, The formation of garnet in olivine-bearing metagabbros in the Adirondack Mountains, New York: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 81 (3), p. 240-251, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00371301.**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.
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