Jeffrey Phillips
Jeff Phillips is a Scientist Emeritus (Geophysics) in the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver, Colorado. He develops and maintains the USGS potential-field geophysical software package for the PC, a public-domain resource for the geophysical community.
Jeff's research focuses on potential-field theory and its application to geologic problems, including water, mineral, and energy resources.
Dr. Phillips has conducted geophysical research for over 40 years in support of USGS programs on Energy and Mineral Resources. He is a specialist in the analysis of potential-field (gravity and magnetic) geophysical data. He has published more than 70 professional reports and presented more than 60 talks at scientific meetings. Dr. Phillips has worked extensively on Energy Resource studies in Alaska and recently participated in Central Asia Mineral Resource Assessments. His recent work for other Federal Agencies includes a dam safety study in California and a geophysical investigation at the former Nevada Test Site.
Professional Experience
2014-Present: Scientist Emeritus
1991-2014: Research Geophysicist
1991-Present: U.S. Geological Survey (Denver, CO)
1980-1986: Branch Representative, Eastern Region, Branch of Geophysics
1975-1991: U.S. Geological Survey (Reston, VA)
1973: U.S. Geological Survey (Menlo Park, CA, and Beaufort Sea, AK)
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. (1975), Stanford University (Geophysics)
M.S. (1973), Stanford University (Geophysics)
A.B. (1970), University of California, Berkeley (Geology)
Affiliations and Memberships*
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
American Geophysical Union
Abstracts and Presentations
McCafferty, A.E., Bedrosian, P.A., and Phillips, J.D., 2019, Critical Mineral Systems Under Cover: Insights from Magnetic, Gravity, and Magnetotelluric 3D Inversion Models, Southern Midcontinent, USA, in Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA), 2019, Volume 3 - New discoveries – new views - Advances in the Science of Mineral Exploration, p. 1132-1135. 15th SGA Biennial Meeting, Glasg
McCafferty, A.E., Phillips, J.D., and Ayuso, R.A., 2017, Crustal architecture beneath the southeast Missouri (USA) Mesoproterozoic Iron-Oxide province from geophysical models: Proceedings of the 14th SGA Biennial Meeting, 20-23 August 2017, Quebec City, Canada: p. 871-874.
Phillips, J.D., 2006, The role of negative structural indices in magnetic interpretation - lessons from the Bishop model: Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 2006 Workshop W-5 The Bishop Model: Investigations into the Use and Abuse of Test Models.
Phillips, J.D., 2001, Tools and techniques for the application of high-resolution aeromagnetic data to engineering problems: Proceedings, SAGEEP 2001, CD-ROM, 22p.
Phillips, J.D., 2001, Designing matched bandpass and azimuthal filters for the separation of potential-field anomalies by source region and source type: Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 15th Geophysical Conference and Exhibition, Expanded Abstracts CD-ROM, 4p.
Phillips, J.D., and Grauch, V.J.S., 2001, Some current research on the processing and interpretation of potential-field data at the U.S. Geological Survey: Proceedings of the workshop on future directions in the analysis of potential-field data, August 18, 2001, Perth, Australia. 4p.
Science and Products
Crustal structure beneath the Paleozoic Parnaíba Basin revealed by airborne gravity and magnetic data, Brazil
Porphyry copper assessment of western Central Asia
Active tensor magnetic gradiometer system final report for Project MM–1514
Evaluation of geophysical techniques for the detection of paleochannels in the Oakland area of eastern Nebraska as part of the Eastern Nebraska Water Resource Assessment
Geophysical investigations of geology and structure at the Martis Creek Dam, Truckee, California
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cook Inlet region, south-central Alaska, 2011
Estimating structural dip from gravity and magnetic profile data
A preliminary, full spectrum, magnetic anomaly grid of the United States with improved long wavelengths for studying continental dynamics: A website for distribution of data
Geophysical Interpretations of the Southern Espanola Basin, New Mexico, That Contribute to Understanding Its Hydrogeologic Framework
The use of curvature in potential-field interpretation
Geosoft eXecutables (GX's) Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Version 2.0, with Notes on GX Development from Fortran Code
Geophysical Characterization of Pre-Cenozoic Basement for Hydrocarbon Assessment, Yukon Flats, Alaska
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 77
Crustal structure beneath the Paleozoic Parnaíba Basin revealed by airborne gravity and magnetic data, Brazil
The Parnaíba Basin is a large Paleozoic syneclise in northeastern Brazil underlain by Precambrian crystalline basement, which comprises a complex lithostructural and tectonic framework formed during the Neoproterozoic–Eopaleozoic Brasiliano–Pan African orogenic collage. A sag basin up to 3.5 km thick and 1000 km long formed after the collage. The lithologic composition, structure, and role in theAuthorsDavid L. de Castro, Reinhardt A. Fuck, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Roberta M. Vidotti, Francisco H. R. Bezerra, Elton L. DantasPorphyry copper assessment of western Central Asia
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an assessment of resources associated with porphyry copper deposits in the western Central Asia countries of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan and the southern Urals of Kazakhstan and Russia as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The purpose of the study was to (1) delineate permissive areas (tracts) for undiscovered porphyry copper dAuthorsByron R. Berger, John L. Mars, Paul Denning, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Michael L. Zientek, Connie L. Dicken, Lawrence J. Drew, Dmitriy with contributions from Alexeiev, Reimar Seltmann, Richard J. HerringtonActive tensor magnetic gradiometer system final report for Project MM–1514
An interactive computer simulation program, based on physical models of system sensors, platform geometry, Earth environment, and spheroidal magnetically-permeable targets, was developed to generate synthetic magnetic field data from a conceptual tensor magnetic gradiometer system equipped with an active primary field generator. The system sensors emulate the prototype tensor magnetic gradiometerAuthorsDavid V. Smith, Jeffrey D. Phillips, S. Raymond HuttonEvaluation of geophysical techniques for the detection of paleochannels in the Oakland area of eastern Nebraska as part of the Eastern Nebraska Water Resource Assessment
Over the winter and spring of 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a general assessment of the capabilities of several geophysical tools to delineate buried paleochannel aquifers in the glacial terrain of eastern Nebraska. Mapping these paleochannels is an important objective for the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment group. Previous attempts at mapping these channels included a helAuthorsJared D. Abraham, Paul A. Bedrosian, Theodore H. Asch, Lyndsay B. Ball, James C. Cannia, Jeffery D. Phillips, Susan LackeyGeophysical investigations of geology and structure at the Martis Creek Dam, Truckee, California
A recent evaluation of Martis Creek Dam highlighted the potential for dam failure due to either seepage or an earthquake on nearby faults. In 1972, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed this earthen dam, located within the Truckee Basin to the north of Lake Tahoe, CA for water storage and flood control. Past attempts to raise the level of the Martis Creek Reservoir to its design level haveAuthorsP. A. Bedrosian, B.L. Burton, M.H. Powers, B. J. Minsley, J. D. Phillips, L. E. HunterAssessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cook Inlet region, south-central Alaska, 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed a new assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Cook Inlet region of south-central Alaska. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of nearly 600 million barrels of oil, about 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 46 million barrels of natural gasAuthorsRichard G. Stanley, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, David W. Houseknecht, Timothy R. Klett, Kristen A. Lewis, Paul G. Lillis, Philip H. Nelson, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Richard M. Pollastro, Christopher J. Potter, William A. Rouse, Richard W. Saltus, Christopher J. Schenk, Anjana K. Shah, Zenon C. ValinEstimating structural dip from gravity and magnetic profile data
The anomalies of ideal sources, dipping magnetic contacts and dipping density sheets, provide the theoretical basis for estimating structural dip from gravity and magnetic profile data. The dip is always related to the local phase angle of a complex analytic signal evaluated directly over the source. For magnetic sheets, the complex analytic signal is constructed from the anomaly and its Hilbert tAuthorsJeffrey PhillipsA preliminary, full spectrum, magnetic anomaly grid of the United States with improved long wavelengths for studying continental dynamics: A website for distribution of data
Under an initiative started by Thomas G. Hildenbrand of the U.S. Geological Survey, we have improved the long-wavelength (50-2,500 km) content of the regional magnetic anomaly compilation for the conterminous United States by utilizing a nearly homogeneous set of National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) magnetic surveys flown from 1975 to 1981. The surveys were flown in quadrangles of 2 deg ofAuthorsD. Ravat, Carol A. Finn, P. Hill, R. Kucks, J. Phillips, R. Blakely, C. Bouligand, T. Sabaka, A. Elshayat, A. Aref, E. ElawadiGeophysical Interpretations of the Southern Espanola Basin, New Mexico, That Contribute to Understanding Its Hydrogeologic Framework
The southern Espanola basin consists of a westward- and northward-thickening wedge of rift fill, composed primarily of Santa Fe Group sediments, that serves as an important aquifer for the city of Santa Fe and surrounding areas. Detailed aeromagnetic surveys were flown to better understand ground-water resources in this aquifer. This report presents a synthesis of these data with gravity data anAuthorsV. J. S. Grauch, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Daniel Koning, Peggy S. Johnson, Viki BankeyThe use of curvature in potential-field interpretation
Potential-field anomalies can be transformed into special functions that form peaks and ridges over isolated sources. All special functions have a common mathematical form over an isolated source, which leads to a common equation for estimating the source depth from the peak value and the curvature at the peak. Model-specific special functions, usually calculated from a transformed version of a poAuthorsJeffrey Phillips, R. O. Hansen, Richard J. BlakelyGeosoft eXecutables (GX's) Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Version 2.0, with Notes on GX Development from Fortran Code
Introduction Geosoft executables (GX's) are custom software modules for use with the Geosoft Oasis montaj geophysical data processing system, which currently runs under the Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP operating systems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Oasis montaj primarily for the processing and display of airborne geophysical data. The ability to add custom software modules to the OasAuthorsJeffrey D. PhillipsGeophysical Characterization of Pre-Cenozoic Basement for Hydrocarbon Assessment, Yukon Flats, Alaska
The Cenozoic basins of interior Alaska are poorly understood, but may host undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in sufficient quantities to serve remote villages and for possible export. Purported oil seeps and the regional occurrence of potential hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks fuel an exploration interest in the 46,000 km2 Yukon Flats basin. Whether hydrocarbon source rocks are present in tAuthorsR. W. Saltus, J. D. Phillips, R. G. Stanley, A. Till, R. L. Morin
*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