David is a Research Geologist with Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center in Menlo Park, CA. Since joining the USGS in 1992, he has worked on many topics in volcanology, tectonics of southern California, Nevada, and Arizona, groundwater in arid environments in southern CA, and characterization of a possible high-level radioactive waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, NV.
David has been studying the physical and geochemical characteristics of volcanic and sedimentary rocks since his bachelor’s degree. He applies geologic mapping (at many scales) and petrology (microscopy, whole-rock and electron microprobe geochemistry) to a wide variety of projects including (1) depositional and post-depositional processes that formed the rocks, (2) depositional history recorded in a sequence of deposits, (3) structural deformation of rocks through time, and (4) translation of the geologic processes and history that formed the rocks into distributions of hydrogeologic and thermo-mechanical properties used by modelers and land use planners.
David’s first 20 years with the USGS was working on site characterization of a possible high-level radioactive waste repository site in volcanic and sedimentary rocks at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. He worked on detailed mapping of rocks exposed at the land surface and especially those penetrated in boreholes and tunnels. He led in the development of a detailed volcanological-based stratigraphy that was used as the foundation for the 3D site geologic framework model. His work on development of geologic properties that relate to hydrogeologic and thermo-mechanical properties (such as porosity and fractures) helped establish integrated and multi-scale modeling of the site characteristics.
David is currently working in the Mojave Desert, California, on groundwater investigations and structural deformation in the Eastern California Shear Zone, a zone of faults that accommodate motion of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates. His focus is on rocks that formed 2-25 million years ago with detailed studies of volcanic deposits (from lava flow, pyroclastic flow, and fallout tephra processes) and sedimentary deposits (from stream flow, avalanche, and aeolian process), and how these rocks were deformed to help build deep-time geologic frameworks for groundwater basins and earthquake hazards.
Professional Experience
2012-present, Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
2010-2012, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
1992-2010, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Las Vegas, NV
1980-1992 (intermittently), faculty at Pasadena City College, CA, California State University Los Angeles, and Idaho State University, Pocatello.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geology (with a focus on volcanology) UC, Santa Barbara, 1992
M.S., Geology, California State University, Los Angeles, 1984
B.S., Geology, California State University, Los Angeles, 1978
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Geological Society of America
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 45
A review of geology and mining in the Marble Mountains, southeastern California
Mining in the Marble Mountains of southeastern California was active in the earliest 1900s and gradually declined to very few active mines by 1959. Most mining consisted of hard-rock prospects and mines, with a few soft-rock prospects and one mine. The Marble Mountains are a 10 km by 30 km, gently NE-dipping dipping structural block composed of Proterozoic plutonic and metamorphic rocks, Paleozoic
Authors
David C. Buesch, Bruce W. Bridenbecker
Volcanoes of the Mojave: The 2022 Desert Symposium field trip road log
Basalt lava fields, some decorated with scoria ‘cinder’ cones, are scattered around the Mojave Desert. Most basalt fields are short-lived, but the Cima volcanic field is unique in having eruptions that span ~7.5 m.y., including the youngest eruption in the Mojave Desert at ~12 ka. Xenolith-bearing basalts that include both mantle and deep crustal rocks are known in several fields. All basalt fi
Authors
David C. Buesch, David M. Miller, Bruce Bridenbecker, Mark Sweeney
Remote sensing and mapping Miocene paleovalleys of the Marble, Bristol, and Old Dad Mountains in the Trilobite and Bristol Mountain Wildernesses, California
Wilderness areas in the Mojave Desert, California, are remote and rugged terrain, but they contain important geology for understanding faults of the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ), and remote sensing offers techniques that can optimize mapping. The Bristol–Granite Mountain fault zone (BGMFZ) is the easternmost fault of the ECSZ with the Marble, Bristol, and Old Dad mountains on either side o
Authors
David C. Buesch, Janet Harvey
Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) images of basaltic and sedimentary deposits in the southwest Cima volcanic field, California
The southwestern part of the Cima volcanic field in the Mojave National Monument, California, contains many of the youngest basaltic cinder cones and lava flows in the field (Wilshire and others, 2002). In 2014 the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) collected a swath of data across this area. This summary describes the HyTES instrument, data, and images, and compares two standar
Authors
David C. Buesch, Simon J Hook
Young basalt fields of the Mojave Desert
Basalt, a mafic volcanic rock common in mid-ocean islands and in several continental settings, is melted from upper mantle rocks in many cases and thus provides information on mantle conditions. Basalt lava fields, some decorated with cinder cones, are scattered around the Mojave Desert. Only a few basalt fields have been well studied, so we undertook a compilation of basalt fields that are younge
Authors
David M. Miller, David C. Buesch
Correlations along a 140 km transect in the westernmost Peach Spring Tuff, and tracing changing facies through depositional environments
Tephrochronology is the correlation of tephra beds and tuffs by various means, and it is an important tool in refining stratigraphic and structural interpretations. The 18.78 Ma Peach Spring Tuff (PST) is a large-volume ignimbrite that was deposited across a ~200 km x 360 km area of southeastern California, northwestern Arizona, and southern Nevada. The PST is a valuable stratigraphic marker in
Authors
David C. Buesch
Summary of hydrologic testing, wellbore-flow data, and expanded water-level and water-quality data, 2011–15, Fort Irwin National Training Center, San Bernardino County, California
In view of the U.S. Army’s historical reliance and plans to increase demands on groundwater to supply its operations at Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), California, coupled with the continuing water-level declines in some developed groundwater basins as a result of pumping, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army, evaluated the water resources, including wate
Authors
Joseph M. Nawikas, Jill N. Densmore, David R. O'Leary, David C. Buesch, John A. Izbicki
Lithostratigraphic framework in boreholes from Goldstone Lake and Nelson Lake Basins, Fort Irwin, California
In 2011 and 2012, the sedimentary basins in the Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, were evaluated for groundwater resources using a variety of techniques, including drilling of boreholes. This study summarizes lithostratigraphic features and deposits in 8 of 10 boreholes drilled in 2 basins located in the western part of Fort Irwin. The western part of Fort Irwin straddles the easter
Authors
David C. Buesch
Cenozoic geology of Fort Irwin and vicinity, California
The geology of the Fort Irwin National Training Center in the north-central Mojave Desert, California, provides insights into the hydrology and water resources of the area. The Fort Irwin area is underlain by rocks ranging in age from Proterozoic to Quaternary that have been deformed by faults as young as Quaternary. Pre-Tertiary sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic bedrock and Miocene volcanic a
Authors
David C. Buesch, David M. Miller, Christopher M. Menges
Against the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log
The Mojave River evolved over the past few million years by “fill and spill” from upper basins near its source in the Transverse Ranges to lower basins. Each newly “spilled into” basin in the series? sustained a long-lived lake but gradually filled with Mojave River sediment, leading to spill to a yet lower elevation? basin. The Mojave River currently terminates at Silver Lake, near Baker, CA, but
Authors
David M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, Krishangi D. Groover, David C. Buesch, H. J. Brown, Geoffrey Cromwell, Jill N. Densmore, A.L. Garcia, D. Hughson, J.R. Knott, Jeffrey E. Lovich
Analysis of the age and paleomagnetic orientation of the Broadwell Mesa Basalt, Bristol Mountains, CA
To add to the regional paleomagnetic data documenting block rotation in eastern California, we determined the age and paleomagnetic rotation of the Broadwell Mesa basalt, a basalt in the Bristol Mountains, CA as part of an effort to constrain the timing and rotation of blocks adjacent to the fault. The east-striking sinistral Broadwell Mesa fault cuts and separates the basalt into two outcrops. An
Authors
Geoffrey Phelps, John Hillhouse, Robert J. Fleck, David M. Miller, David C. Buesch, Andrew J. Cyr, Kevin M. Schmidt
Geochemical variations during development of the 5.46 Ma Broadwell Mesa basaltic volcanic field, California
The 5.46±0.04 Ma Broadwell Mesa basalt and associated basaltic volcanic field in the western Bristol Mountains, California, formed a ~6 km2 volcanic flow field with architecture including numerous lava flows, a ~1.1 km2 lava lake, and a ~0.17 km2 cinder cone. The local number of lava flows varies from one along the margins of the field to as many as 18 that are stacked vertically, onlapped by you
Authors
David C. Buesch
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 45
A review of geology and mining in the Marble Mountains, southeastern California
Mining in the Marble Mountains of southeastern California was active in the earliest 1900s and gradually declined to very few active mines by 1959. Most mining consisted of hard-rock prospects and mines, with a few soft-rock prospects and one mine. The Marble Mountains are a 10 km by 30 km, gently NE-dipping dipping structural block composed of Proterozoic plutonic and metamorphic rocks, PaleozoicAuthorsDavid C. Buesch, Bruce W. BridenbeckerVolcanoes of the Mojave: The 2022 Desert Symposium field trip road log
Basalt lava fields, some decorated with scoria ‘cinder’ cones, are scattered around the Mojave Desert. Most basalt fields are short-lived, but the Cima volcanic field is unique in having eruptions that span ~7.5 m.y., including the youngest eruption in the Mojave Desert at ~12 ka. Xenolith-bearing basalts that include both mantle and deep crustal rocks are known in several fields. All basalt fiAuthorsDavid C. Buesch, David M. Miller, Bruce Bridenbecker, Mark SweeneyRemote sensing and mapping Miocene paleovalleys of the Marble, Bristol, and Old Dad Mountains in the Trilobite and Bristol Mountain Wildernesses, California
Wilderness areas in the Mojave Desert, California, are remote and rugged terrain, but they contain important geology for understanding faults of the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ), and remote sensing offers techniques that can optimize mapping. The Bristol–Granite Mountain fault zone (BGMFZ) is the easternmost fault of the ECSZ with the Marble, Bristol, and Old Dad mountains on either side oAuthorsDavid C. Buesch, Janet HarveyHyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) images of basaltic and sedimentary deposits in the southwest Cima volcanic field, California
The southwestern part of the Cima volcanic field in the Mojave National Monument, California, contains many of the youngest basaltic cinder cones and lava flows in the field (Wilshire and others, 2002). In 2014 the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) collected a swath of data across this area. This summary describes the HyTES instrument, data, and images, and compares two standarAuthorsDavid C. Buesch, Simon J HookYoung basalt fields of the Mojave Desert
Basalt, a mafic volcanic rock common in mid-ocean islands and in several continental settings, is melted from upper mantle rocks in many cases and thus provides information on mantle conditions. Basalt lava fields, some decorated with cinder cones, are scattered around the Mojave Desert. Only a few basalt fields have been well studied, so we undertook a compilation of basalt fields that are youngeAuthorsDavid M. Miller, David C. BueschCorrelations along a 140 km transect in the westernmost Peach Spring Tuff, and tracing changing facies through depositional environments
Tephrochronology is the correlation of tephra beds and tuffs by various means, and it is an important tool in refining stratigraphic and structural interpretations. The 18.78 Ma Peach Spring Tuff (PST) is a large-volume ignimbrite that was deposited across a ~200 km x 360 km area of southeastern California, northwestern Arizona, and southern Nevada. The PST is a valuable stratigraphic marker inAuthorsDavid C. BueschSummary of hydrologic testing, wellbore-flow data, and expanded water-level and water-quality data, 2011–15, Fort Irwin National Training Center, San Bernardino County, California
In view of the U.S. Army’s historical reliance and plans to increase demands on groundwater to supply its operations at Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), California, coupled with the continuing water-level declines in some developed groundwater basins as a result of pumping, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army, evaluated the water resources, including wateAuthorsJoseph M. Nawikas, Jill N. Densmore, David R. O'Leary, David C. Buesch, John A. IzbickiLithostratigraphic framework in boreholes from Goldstone Lake and Nelson Lake Basins, Fort Irwin, California
In 2011 and 2012, the sedimentary basins in the Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, were evaluated for groundwater resources using a variety of techniques, including drilling of boreholes. This study summarizes lithostratigraphic features and deposits in 8 of 10 boreholes drilled in 2 basins located in the western part of Fort Irwin. The western part of Fort Irwin straddles the easterAuthorsDavid C. BueschCenozoic geology of Fort Irwin and vicinity, California
The geology of the Fort Irwin National Training Center in the north-central Mojave Desert, California, provides insights into the hydrology and water resources of the area. The Fort Irwin area is underlain by rocks ranging in age from Proterozoic to Quaternary that have been deformed by faults as young as Quaternary. Pre-Tertiary sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic bedrock and Miocene volcanic aAuthorsDavid C. Buesch, David M. Miller, Christopher M. MengesAgainst the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log
The Mojave River evolved over the past few million years by “fill and spill” from upper basins near its source in the Transverse Ranges to lower basins. Each newly “spilled into” basin in the series? sustained a long-lived lake but gradually filled with Mojave River sediment, leading to spill to a yet lower elevation? basin. The Mojave River currently terminates at Silver Lake, near Baker, CA, butAuthorsDavid M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, Krishangi D. Groover, David C. Buesch, H. J. Brown, Geoffrey Cromwell, Jill N. Densmore, A.L. Garcia, D. Hughson, J.R. Knott, Jeffrey E. LovichAnalysis of the age and paleomagnetic orientation of the Broadwell Mesa Basalt, Bristol Mountains, CA
To add to the regional paleomagnetic data documenting block rotation in eastern California, we determined the age and paleomagnetic rotation of the Broadwell Mesa basalt, a basalt in the Bristol Mountains, CA as part of an effort to constrain the timing and rotation of blocks adjacent to the fault. The east-striking sinistral Broadwell Mesa fault cuts and separates the basalt into two outcrops. AnAuthorsGeoffrey Phelps, John Hillhouse, Robert J. Fleck, David M. Miller, David C. Buesch, Andrew J. Cyr, Kevin M. SchmidtGeochemical variations during development of the 5.46 Ma Broadwell Mesa basaltic volcanic field, California
The 5.46±0.04 Ma Broadwell Mesa basalt and associated basaltic volcanic field in the western Bristol Mountains, California, formed a ~6 km2 volcanic flow field with architecture including numerous lava flows, a ~1.1 km2 lava lake, and a ~0.17 km2 cinder cone. The local number of lava flows varies from one along the margins of the field to as many as 18 that are stacked vertically, onlapped by youAuthorsDavid C. Buesch
*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