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Erick R Burns

Erick is a Research Hydrologist at the USGS Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He specializes in the development of methods and tools for analysis and simulation of groundwater and heat flow in the subsurface, particularly in the volcanogenic terranes of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Erick Burns is a Research Geologist with the USGS Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. His research experience is varied, including groundwater flow and transport, geothermal energy, geostatistical methods and stochastic analysis, process thermodynamics, agricultural water pollution, and seawater intrusion. Additionally, Erick has taught hydrology and geostatistics courses.

Non-USGS Partners:

  • U.S. Department of Energy - Geothermal Technologies Office

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Bioresource Engineering, Oregon State University, 2004

  • M.S. Mathematics, Oregon State University, 2004

  • M.S. Hydrologic Sciences (Groundwater), University of Nevada - Reno, 1996

  • B.S. Geology (extended major: Geophysics), Northern Arizona University, 1994

Science and Products

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Picture of renewable resilience

Renewable Resilience: City-Scale Geothermal Energy Everywhere

Despite the proven efficacy of geothermal energy as a city-scale heating and cooling resource, the relative newness of most city-scale applications using diverse technologies has resulted in limited widespread adoption. We aim to develop authoritative information suitable for city-managers and other decision-makers. Geothermal resources are ubiquitous and diverse, with technologies available bot
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Renewable Resilience: City-Scale Geothermal Energy Everywhere

Despite the proven efficacy of geothermal energy as a city-scale heating and cooling resource, the relative newness of most city-scale applications using diverse technologies has resulted in limited widespread adoption. We aim to develop authoritative information suitable for city-managers and other decision-makers. Geothermal resources are ubiquitous and diverse, with technologies available bot
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GMEG Exhibit poster

Geothermal Resource Investigations Project

Geothermal energy is a significant source of renewable electric power in the western United States and, with advances in exploration and development technologies, a potential source of a large fraction of baseload electric power for the entire country. This project focuses on advancing geothermal research through a better understanding of geothermal resources and the impacts of geothermal...
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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Geothermal Resource Investigations Project

Geothermal energy is a significant source of renewable electric power in the western United States and, with advances in exploration and development technologies, a potential source of a large fraction of baseload electric power for the entire country. This project focuses on advancing geothermal research through a better understanding of geothermal resources and the impacts of geothermal...
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Old Perpetual Geyser

Hydrogeologic and Geothermal Conditions of the Northwest Volcanic Aquifers

Although sparsely populated, this area in southeastern Oregon, northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, and southeastern Idaho has high geothermal heat flow that may be used to generate large amounts of electricity.
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center
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Hydrogeologic and Geothermal Conditions of the Northwest Volcanic Aquifers

Although sparsely populated, this area in southeastern Oregon, northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, and southeastern Idaho has high geothermal heat flow that may be used to generate large amounts of electricity.
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Groundwater Flow in the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System Cover

Columbia Plateau Groundwater Availability Study

The Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System (CPRAS) covers about 44,000 square miles of eastern Oregon and Washington and western Idaho. The primary aquifers are basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group and overlying basin-fill sediments. Groundwater availability issues in the basin include: 1) widespread water-level declines caused by pumping, 2) reduction in base flow to rivers and associated...
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Idaho Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Washington Water Science Center
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Columbia Plateau Groundwater Availability Study

The Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System (CPRAS) covers about 44,000 square miles of eastern Oregon and Washington and western Idaho. The primary aquifers are basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group and overlying basin-fill sediments. Groundwater availability issues in the basin include: 1) widespread water-level declines caused by pumping, 2) reduction in base flow to rivers and associated...
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MODFLOW-NWT model used to evaluate the groundwater availability of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

A three-dimensional groundwater flow model (MODFLOW-NWT) of the Columbia Plateau Regional aquifer (CPRAS) in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho was developed to provide an integrated understanding of the hydrologic system to implement effective water-resource management strategies. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Groundwater Resources Program assessed the groundwater availability as part of a nationa
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Washington Water Science Center

Wells and water levels used in the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System Study, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

These data describe the wells and groundwater level elevations compiled for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer Study (CPRAS). The well data included are well ids used in the study, the X and Y coordinates of each well, in feet, in Washington State Plane South NAD 1983 coordinate system (zone 4602), land-surface elevation, in feet, of each well in North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88),
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Oregon Water Science Center

Heat flow maps and supporting data for the Great Basin, USA

Geothermal well data from Southern Methodist University (SMU, 2021) and the U.S. Geological Survey (Sass et al., 2005) were used to create maps of estimated background conductive heat flow across the greater Great Basin region of the western US. The heat flow maps in this data release were created using a process that sought to remove hydrothermal convective influence from predictions of backgroun
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program

Compiled reference list to support reservoir thermal energy storage research

This text file (Reference_List_V1.txt) lists references that describe relevant characteristics for reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) research in the United States. References are grouped by corresponding city, including: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Decatur, Illinois; Lansing, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; Phoenix, Arizona; and Portland, Oregon. The
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New Mexico Water Science Center

SUTRA model used to evaluate Saline or Brackish Aquifers as Reservoirs for Thermal Energy Storage in the Portland Basin, Oregon, USA

This archive documents five 30-year SUTRA simulations summarized in Burns at al. (2020), and provides output from one short (2-year) simulation to allow verification that the archive model code runs properly. A modified version of SUTRA 2.2 was used to evaluate Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage by simulating layered system conditions (grid spacing varies depending on simulation run time to prevent
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Filter Total Items: 30

Exploratory analysis of machine learning techniques in the Nevada geothermal play fairway analysis

Play fairway analysis (PFA) is commonly used to generate geothermal potential maps and guide exploration studies, with a particular focus on locating and characterizing blind geothermal systems. This study evaluates the application of machine learning techniques to PFA in the Great Basin region of Nevada. Following the evaluation of various techniques, we identified two approaches to PFA that prod
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Connor M. Smith, James E. Faulds, Stephen C. Brown, Mark Coolbaugh, Jacob DeAngelo, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Erick Burns, Drew Lorenz Siler, Sven Treitel, Eli Mlawsky, Michael Fehler, Chen Gu, Bridget F. Ayling
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Geologic energy storage

Introduction As the United States transitions away from fossil fuels, its economy will rely on more renewable energy. Because current renewable energy sources sometimes produce variable power supplies, it is important to store energy for use when power supply drops below power demand. Battery storage is one method to store power. However, geologic (underground) energy storage may be able to retain
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Marc L. Buursink, Steven T. Anderson, Sean T. Brennan, Erick R. Burns, Philip A. Freeman, Joao S. Gallotti, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Eric A. Morrissey, Michelle R. Plampin, Peter D. Warwick
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

When less is more: How increasing the complexity of machine learning strategies for geothermal energy assessments may not lead toward better estimates

Previous moderate- and high-temperature geothermal resource assessments of the western United States utilized data-driven methods and expert decisions to estimate resource favorability. Although expert decisions can add confidence to the modeling process by ensuring reasonable models are employed, expert decisions also introduce human and, thereby, model bias. This bias can present a source of err
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Stanley Paul Mordensky, John Lipor, Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, Cary Ruth Lindsey
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program

New maps of conductive heat flow in the Great Basin, USA: Separating conductive and convective influences

Geothermal well data from Southern Methodist University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) were used to create maps of estimated background conductive heat flow across the Great Basin region of the western United States. These heat flow maps were generated as part of the USGS hydrothermal and Enhanced Geothermal Systems resource assessment process, and the creation process seeks to remove the i
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Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, Emilie Gentry, Joseph F. Batir, Cary Ruth Lindsey, Stanley Paul Mordensky
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program

Effects of structure and volcanic stratigraphy on groundwater and surface water flow: Hat Creek basin, California, USA

Hydrogeologic systems in the southern Cascade Range in California (USA) develop in volcanic rocks where morphology, stratigraphy, extensional structures, and attendant basin geometry play a central role in groundwater flow paths, groundwater/surface-water interactions, and spring discharge locations. High-volume springs (greater than 3 m3/s) flow from basin-filling (<800 ka) volcanic rocks in the
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Marina Francesca Marcelli, Erick R. Burns, L. J. Patrick Muffler, Andrew J Meigs, Jennifer A. Curtis, Christian E. Torgersen
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Volcano Hazards Program, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Discovering hidden geothermal signatures using non-negative matrix factorization with customized k-means clustering

Discovery of hidden geothermal resources is challenging. It requires the mining of large datasets with diverse data attributes representing subsurface hydrogeological and geothermal conditions. The commonly used play fairway analysis approach typically incorporates subject-matter expertise to analyze regional data to estimate geothermal characteristics and favorability. We demonstrate an alternati
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Velimir V. Vesselinov, Bulbul Ahmmed, Maruti K. Mudunuru, Jeff D. Pepin, Erick R. Burns, Drew L. Siler, Satish Karra, Richard S. Middleton
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

What did they just say? Building a Rosetta stone for geoscience and machine learning

Modern advancements in science and engineering are built upon multidisciplinary projects that bring experts together from different fields. Within their respective disciplines, researchers rely on precise terminology for specific ideas, principles, methods, and theories. Hence, the potential for miscommunication is substantial, especially when common words have been adopted by one (or both) group(
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Stanley Paul Mordensky, John Lipor, Erick R. Burns, Cary Ruth Lindsey
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program

Predicting geothermal favorability in the western United States by using machine learning: Addressing challenges and developing solutions

Previous moderate- and high-temperature geothermal resource assessments of the western United States utilized weight-of-evidence and logistic regression methods to estimate resource favorability, but these analyses relied upon some expert decisions. While expert decisions can add confidence to aspects of the modeling process by ensuring only reasonable models are employed, expert decisions also in
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Stanley Paul Mordensky, John Lipor, Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, Cary Ruth Lindsey
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program

Impacts of climate change on groundwater availability and spring flows: Observations from the highly productive Medicine Lake Highlands/Fall River Springs Aquifer System

Medicine Lake Highlands/Fall River Springs Aquifer System, located in northeastern California, is home to some of the largest first-order springs in the United States. This work assesses the likely effects of projected climate change on spring flow. Four anticipated climate futures (GFDL A2, GFDL B1, CCSM4 rcp 8.5, CNRM rcp 8.5) for California, which predict a range of conditions (generally warmin
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Lauren K Mancewicz, L. Davisson, Shawn J Wheelock, Erick R. Burns, Simon R. Poulson, Scott W. Tyler
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

National-scale reservoir thermal energy storage pre-assessment for the United States

The U.S. Geological Survey is performing a pre-assessment of the cooling potential for reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) in five generalized geologic regions (Basin and Range, Coastal Plains, Illinois Basin, Michigan Basin, Pacific Northwest) across the United States. Reservoir models are developed for the metropolitan areas of eight cities (Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charleston, South Carolin
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Jeff D. Pepin, Erick R. Burns, Jesse E. Dickinson, Leslie L. Duncan, Eve L. Kuniansky, Howard W. Reeves
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Water Resources Mission Area, Arizona Water Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Using saline or brackish aquifers as reservoirs for thermal energy storage, with example calculations for direct-use heating in the Portland Basin, Oregon, USA

Tools to evaluate reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES; heat storage in slow-moving or stagnant geochemically evolved permeable zones in strata that underlie well-connected regional aquifers) are developed and applied to the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) beneath the Portland Basin, Oregon, USA. The performance of RTES for heat storage and recovery in the Portland Basin is strongly dependent
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Erick Burns, John Bershaw, Colin F. Williams, Ray E Wells, Matt W Uddenberg, Darby P Scanlon, Trenton T Cladouhos, Boz Van Houten
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Water Resources Mission Area, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Washington Water Science Center

Regional patterns in hydrologic response, a new three-component metric for hydrograph analysis and implications for ecohydrology, Northwest Volcanic Aquifer Study Area, USA

Study RegionOregon, California, Idaho, Nevada and UtahStudy FocusSpatial patterns of hydrologic response were examined for the Northwest Volcanic Aquifer Study Area (NVASA). The utility of established hydrograph-separation methods for assessing hydrologic response in permeable volcanic terranes was assessed and a new three-component metric for hydrograph analysis was developed. The new metric, whi
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Jennifer A. Curtis, Erick R. Burns, Roy Sando
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center
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Study Explores Groundwater and Geothermal Energy in Drought-Stricken Eastern Oregon and Neighboring States

A new study now underway by the U.S. Geological Survey is exploring the groundwater resources and geothermal energy potential in drought-stricken...

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