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Grant Colip

Grant Colip is a Physical Scientist with the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (FBGC) at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia.

I am a geologist at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center in Reston, Virginia, where I work on the USGS Quaternary Geologic Mapping of the Glaciated Regions Project with Dr. Brandon Graham and other USGS scientists. Our research focuses on applying methods in stratigraphy, sedimentology, chronology, and geophysics to conduct Quaternary geologic mapping and associated research projects. These mapping and research efforts aim to address societally relevant issues and inform decisions surrounding aggregate resources and infrastructure for national defense. I also manage the Bascom Laser Diffraction Sedimentology Laboratory in Reston, which includes pXRF, microscopy, sieving, and laser diffraction particle size analysis instrumentation for use in a wide variety of geologic mapping and research applications. For more information, please visit the Laser Diffraction Lab website.

I joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 2018 during my time at James Madison University as an undergraduate Pathways student trainee, and became a full-time researcher in 2023 after completing my master's degree at North Carolina State University.

Employment

2018 - present: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, Virginia.

  • Quaternary Geologic Mapping of the Glaciated Regions Project (2024-present)
  • Glaciated Regions Geologic Mapping Project (2022 - 2024)
  • Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Project (2019 - 2022)
  • Geology of the Appalachian and Illinois Basins (2018 - 2019)

2020 - 2023: Graduate Research / Teaching Assistant, North Carolina State University, Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina.

  • Master's Thesis: "Interpreting seismic reflection imagery to reconstruct late Quaternary earthquake history at Lake Crescent, Washington, USA."  Advisors: Dr. Elana Leithold & Dr. Karl Wegmann

2017 - 2019: Undergraduate Laboratory Assistant, James Madison University, Department of Geology & Environmental Science, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

  • Honors Thesis: "Grain size and vegetation as controlling variables for stream channel morphology."  Advisor: Dr. L Scott Eaton

Professional Experience

  • 2023 - present: Physical Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, Virginia

  • 2018 - 2023: Student Trainee (Physical Science), U.S. Geological Survey, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, Virginia

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. (2023) - Earth Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

  • B.S. (2019) - Geology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

  • B.A. (2019) - Modern Foreign Languages - Spanish, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Honors and Awards

  • 2023 - USGS STAR Award, for outstanding educational outreach efforts and facilitation of land access for geologic mapping

  • 2022 - CSD Facility Visiting Graduate Student Travel Grant, for carrying out ICD (initial core description) work at the CSD (Continental Scientific Drilling) facility at UMN, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • 2019 - Philip R. Cosminsky Award, for outstanding service to the Geology department and the University

  • 2018 - Spade Field Camp Scholarship, for the JMU Geology Field Course in Ireland

  • 2017 - Fred Schaefermeyer Scholarship, for excelling in the Mineralogy course & showing enthusiasm for mineral collecting

  • 2017 - Inducted into Sigma Gamma Epsilon, national earth science honor society

  • 2015 - Second Century Scholarship, 75% of in-state tuition cost for all four years of undergraduate study, for showing outstanding promise as an incoming STEM major with a GPA of over 3.5

Abstracts and Presentations

  • Graham, B., Mahan, S., Colip, G., Stone, B., and DiGiacomo-Cohen, M. (2025) Characterization of variations in optically-stimulated luminescence response in different pro-glacial environments: Fort Drum, NY as a proving ground. Geological Society of America Joint Northeastern/North-Central Section Meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania, March 27-30, 2025.

  • Leithold, E., Wegmann, K., and Colip, G. (2024) An 8,000-year Holocene earthquake record from the northern Cascadia forearc: evidence for multiple sources at Lake Crescent, Washington. Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, April 29 - May 3, 2024.

  • Colip, G., Swezey, C., Mahan, S., Toomey, M., and Rodysill, J. (2023) Quaternary permafrost-fluvial and lacustrine sediments deposited during glacial intervals in the Water Sinks depression, a prominent karst sinkhole in Silurian-Devonian limestone, Highland County, Virginia. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 15-18, 2023.

  • Colip, G., Leithold, E., Wegmann, K., Brothers, D., and Burr, R. (2023) Seismic reflection imagery aids late Quaternary earthquake reconstructions at Lake Crescent, Washington, USA. Geological Society of America Joint Northeastern/Southeastern Section Meeting in Reston, Virginia, March 17-19, 2023.

  • Swezey, C., Brent, E., Colip, G., and Mahan, S. (2021). Luminescence dating of sand in Butler Cave (Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia) reveals a sedimentary record from the last glaciation. Geological Society of America Northeastern Section Meeting (Online), March 14-15, 2021.

  • Colip, G., Swezey, C., Rodysill, J., Toomey, M., and Hayslett, M. (2020). Holocene sediments at Browns Pond, a vernal pool located within a karst sinkhole in the Silurian Tonoloway Limestone in Bath County, Virginia. Geological Society of America Northeast-Southeast Join Section Meeting in Reston, Virginia, March 20-22, 2020.

Science and Products

link
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Task 2 - Geologic Mapping of the Great Lakes States

The area encompassed by Task 2 comprises the states that border the Great Lakes, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The primary objective of Task 2 is to develop and improved understanding of the Quaternary geology of the Great Lakes region. This work involves a combination of both regional-scale studies and detailed (“cornerstone”)...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
link

Task 2 - Geologic Mapping of the Great Lakes States

The area encompassed by Task 2 comprises the states that border the Great Lakes, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The primary objective of Task 2 is to develop and improved understanding of the Quaternary geology of the Great Lakes region. This work involves a combination of both regional-scale studies and detailed (“cornerstone”)...
Learn More
link
Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Task 4 Image

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
link

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
Learn More

Particle size and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2024

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis (PSA) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Samples denoted by "FD24-Sed" were collected to obtain representative samples of surficial geologic map units, and samples denoted by "FTD-WS-MW" were collected during a...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size distribution across windward islands of the Bahamas (Great Abaco, Eleuthera, San Salvador, and Long Island)

Recent Quaternary carbonate island sediment preservation along low-latitude coastal regions, such as in the Bahamas, contain sediment sourced from adjacent marine environments during interglacial intervals. During these interglacial intervals, denoted by odd-numbered Marine Isotope Stages (e.g., MIS 1, 3, 5), sea levels are at a highstand relative to glacial periods (e.g., MIS 2, 4, 6)...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2023

The dataset documents results from portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Most of the pXRF samples were collected from representative cells in a series of five portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) grids, here denoted G1 through G5, to constrain variations in grain size...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size distribution data from Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida - 2024 analyses of samples collected following Hurricane Irma (2017)

In January 2018, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team collected short cores and surface samples from four islands in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, south Florida (Wingard et al. 2019). The 2018 samples were collected approximately five months after the passage of Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017, as a category 4 storm. The four islands had also been cored in 2014. The goal of...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Bascom Laser Diffraction Sedimentology Laboratory

Particle size distribution data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2023

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis (PSA) conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Most of the PSA samples were collected from representative cells in a series of five portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) grids, here denoted G1 through G5, to constrain variations in grain size. These samples were...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size analysis results from the VA-Clarke-03 core, Cherry Hill quadrangle, Dinwiddie County, Virginia

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from the VA-Clarke-03 core, Cherry Hill quadrangle, Dinwiddie county, Virginia [36.931926, -77.566802]. The 44-foot-long core was collected on 05/16/2023 using the North Carolina Geological Survey Geoprobe. The core was collected from sands and gravels of the uppermost coastal plain that...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Science and Products

link
Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Task 2 - Geologic Mapping of the Great Lakes States

The area encompassed by Task 2 comprises the states that border the Great Lakes, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The primary objective of Task 2 is to develop and improved understanding of the Quaternary geology of the Great Lakes region. This work involves a combination of both regional-scale studies and detailed (“cornerstone”)...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
link

Task 2 - Geologic Mapping of the Great Lakes States

The area encompassed by Task 2 comprises the states that border the Great Lakes, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The primary objective of Task 2 is to develop and improved understanding of the Quaternary geology of the Great Lakes region. This work involves a combination of both regional-scale studies and detailed (“cornerstone”)...
Learn More
link
Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Task 4 Image

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
link

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
Learn More

Particle size and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2024

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis (PSA) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Samples denoted by "FD24-Sed" were collected to obtain representative samples of surficial geologic map units, and samples denoted by "FTD-WS-MW" were collected during a...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size distribution across windward islands of the Bahamas (Great Abaco, Eleuthera, San Salvador, and Long Island)

Recent Quaternary carbonate island sediment preservation along low-latitude coastal regions, such as in the Bahamas, contain sediment sourced from adjacent marine environments during interglacial intervals. During these interglacial intervals, denoted by odd-numbered Marine Isotope Stages (e.g., MIS 1, 3, 5), sea levels are at a highstand relative to glacial periods (e.g., MIS 2, 4, 6)...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2023

The dataset documents results from portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Most of the pXRF samples were collected from representative cells in a series of five portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) grids, here denoted G1 through G5, to constrain variations in grain size...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size distribution data from Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida - 2024 analyses of samples collected following Hurricane Irma (2017)

In January 2018, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team collected short cores and surface samples from four islands in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, south Florida (Wingard et al. 2019). The 2018 samples were collected approximately five months after the passage of Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017, as a category 4 storm. The four islands had also been cored in 2014. The goal of...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Bascom Laser Diffraction Sedimentology Laboratory

Particle size distribution data from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York, 2023

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis (PSA) conducted on a suite of sediment samples from U.S. Army Base Fort Drum, Jefferson County, New York. Most of the PSA samples were collected from representative cells in a series of five portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) grids, here denoted G1 through G5, to constrain variations in grain size. These samples were...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Particle size analysis results from the VA-Clarke-03 core, Cherry Hill quadrangle, Dinwiddie County, Virginia

The dataset documents results from particle size analysis conducted on a suite of sediment samples from the VA-Clarke-03 core, Cherry Hill quadrangle, Dinwiddie county, Virginia [36.931926, -77.566802]. The 44-foot-long core was collected on 05/16/2023 using the North Carolina Geological Survey Geoprobe. The core was collected from sands and gravels of the uppermost coastal plain that...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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