John W. Counts, Ph.D.
John Counts is a Research Geologist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, Virginia.
John's research focuses primarily on process-based sedimentology, especially in deepwater and shallow marine depositional systems. He also has interests in ichnology, provenance studies, carbonates, and modern analogues for ancient deposits. John received his Ph.D. from the University of Adelaide in South Australia in 2016, after completing work on Precambrian sediments in the Flinders Ranges. He previously worked as a geologist for Encana in the East Texas Basin, and conducted research in the U.S. midcontinent and Gulf of Mexico coastal plain for his M.S. and B.S. degrees, respectively. His postdoctoral work focused on clastic and carbonate deposits in the modern deep sea. John is a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) and the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM).
Professional Experience
2020-present: USGS Geology, Energy and Minerals Science Center, Reston, Virginia
2019-2020: Postdoctoral researcher, University College Dublin, Ireland
2017-2018: Postdoctoral researcher, Ifremer, Brest, France
2008-2013: Encana USA, Dallas, Texas
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of Adelaide, 2016
M.S., University of Kansas, 2012
B.S., Geology, Auburn University 2005
Science and Products
USGS National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project—Norphlet Formation: Assessment Unit Boundaries, Assessment Input Data, and Fact Sheet Data Tables
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units, assessment input data, and resulting fact sheet data tables for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Norphlet Formation of the Western Gulf Basin Province, U.S. Gulf Coast Region. The assessment unit is the fundamental unit used in the National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project for the assessment of undis
Detrital Zircon U-Pb data from selected Appalachian rivers and Outer Banks-area coastal sediments
U-Pb isotopic data from zircon grains from the sediment bedload of seven modern rivers: the Susquehanna, Potomac, Roanoke, James, Peedee, Tar, and Cape Fear, as well as from three samples taken from beaches in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds (North Carolina), two Pleistocene core samples, and three samples on the ocean-facing foreshore of the Outer Banks barrier islands (North Carolina and Virginia).
Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024
This dataset contains results from a stratigraphic section of the Hue Shale located along the Jago River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at 69.9099, -143.3947 (WGS84). Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in a continuous succession. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at either the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) or the University of
Detrital Zircon U-Pb and Hf isotope data from selected Appalachian rivers
This data release contains zircon U-Pb (n=1467) and Hf (n=332) data for five modern rivers (Connecticut, Susquehanna, Roanoke, Peedee, and Chattahoochee) draining the Appalachian mountain belt. The data show that zircon crystallization ages are characterized by several discrete populations that often correspond with orogenic episodes in the Mesoproterozoic and Paleozoic, with distinct differences
Geochemical and isotopic data from glendonites and surrounding sediment, Carter Creek, North Slope Alaska
The dataset consists of geochemical and isotopic data from fine-grained sediments and glendonite crystals collected at Carter Creek on the North Slope of Alaska. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) values in the measured section were found to range between 0.5 and 3.5%, with a shift towards lower values in the uppermost 5 m of the section. Stable isotopes (13C) in organic matter were relatively stable thro
USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (ver. 2.0, October 2023)
The USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD) is an online repository for all publicly available source rock data (outcrop and subsurface) from the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. "Source rock data" are defined in this context as data that include any of the following measured or calculated parameters: -total organic carbon (TOC), -various pyrol
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast region, 2023
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 16 million barrels of oil and 348 billion cubic feet of gas in conventional reservoirs of the Norphlet Formation in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
John W. Counts, William H. Craddock, Jared T. Gooley, Marc Buursink, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Christopher J. Schenk
Discerning sediment provenance in the Outer Banks (USA) through detrital zircon geochronology
Detrital zircon data from modern barrier island and estuarine environments in the Outer Banks (Atlantic Coast, USA) were statistically compared to sands from nearby rivers to assist in determining source-to-sink pathways. Fluvial samples, collected from near the Fall Line contact between the Appalachian Orogen and sediments of the coastal plain, all have age unique distributions, making them ideal
Authors
John W. Counts, Jared T. Gooley, Joshua Long, William H. Craddock, Paul O'Sullivan
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin during middle Cretaceous carbon burial remains enigmatic. We present the first Arctic deepwater CIE r
Authors
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
Defining the hafnium isotopic signature of the Appalachian orogen through analysis of detrital zircons from modern fluvial sediments
Fluvial sediments are the product of erosion, weathering, and transport of bedrock within a well-defined catchment area, and their constituent grains may therefore record valuable information about the lithological and geochemical properties of geologic units within the upstream drainage. Analysis of U-Pb ages and Lu/Hf isotopic values in detrital zircon grains from major rivers in the eastern USA
Authors
John W. Counts, William H. Craddock, Jared T. Gooley
Insights into glendonite formation from the upper Oligocene Sagavanirktok Formation, North Slope, Alaska
The type locality for the upper Oligocene Nuwok Member of the Sagavanirktok Formation (Carter Creek, North Slope, Alaska, USA) contains abundant occurrence of glendonite, a pseudomorph after the calcium carbonate mineral ikaite, which typically forms in the shallow subsurface of cold marine sediments. The region during the time of Nuwok Member deposition was located at a high latitude, similar to
Authors
John W. Counts, Madeleine Vickers, Martha (Rebecca) Stokes, Whittney Spivey, Kristina Frank Gardner, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, Ryan J. McAleer, Aaron M. Jubb, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, Neil Patrick Griffis, Martin S. Vickers, Kasia Śliwińska, Hannah Gail Dooley Tompkins, Adam M. Hudson
A review of sand detachment in modern deep marine environments: Analogues for upslope stratigraphic traps
Isolated, detached sands provide opportunities for large-volume stratigraphic traps in many deepwater petroleum systems. Here we provide a review of the different types of sandbody detachments based on published data from the modern-day seafloor and recent (generally Quaternary-present), shallow-buried strata. Detachment mechanisms can be classified based on their timing of formation relative to d
Authors
John W. Counts, Lawrence Amy, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou, Peter Haughton
Assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1,407 billion (1.4 trillion) cubic feet of gas in conventional accumulations in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska.
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, Tracey J. Mercier, Christopher J. Schenk, Thomas E. Moore, William A. Rouse, Julie A. Dumoulin, William H. Craddock, Richard O. Lease, Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, Rebecca A. Smith, Christopher D. Connors, Christopher P. Garrity, Katherine J. Whidden, Jared T. Gooley, John W. Counts, Joshua H. Long, Christina A. DeVera
USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD)
The database is designed to be a convenient resource for any member of the public to easily access source rock data from across the Gulf Coast region, circumventing the need for extensive, time-consuming literature searches.
Science and Products
USGS National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project—Norphlet Formation: Assessment Unit Boundaries, Assessment Input Data, and Fact Sheet Data Tables
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units, assessment input data, and resulting fact sheet data tables for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Norphlet Formation of the Western Gulf Basin Province, U.S. Gulf Coast Region. The assessment unit is the fundamental unit used in the National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project for the assessment of undis
Detrital Zircon U-Pb data from selected Appalachian rivers and Outer Banks-area coastal sediments
U-Pb isotopic data from zircon grains from the sediment bedload of seven modern rivers: the Susquehanna, Potomac, Roanoke, James, Peedee, Tar, and Cape Fear, as well as from three samples taken from beaches in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds (North Carolina), two Pleistocene core samples, and three samples on the ocean-facing foreshore of the Outer Banks barrier islands (North Carolina and Virginia).
Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024
This dataset contains results from a stratigraphic section of the Hue Shale located along the Jago River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at 69.9099, -143.3947 (WGS84). Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in a continuous succession. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at either the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) or the University of
Detrital Zircon U-Pb and Hf isotope data from selected Appalachian rivers
This data release contains zircon U-Pb (n=1467) and Hf (n=332) data for five modern rivers (Connecticut, Susquehanna, Roanoke, Peedee, and Chattahoochee) draining the Appalachian mountain belt. The data show that zircon crystallization ages are characterized by several discrete populations that often correspond with orogenic episodes in the Mesoproterozoic and Paleozoic, with distinct differences
Geochemical and isotopic data from glendonites and surrounding sediment, Carter Creek, North Slope Alaska
The dataset consists of geochemical and isotopic data from fine-grained sediments and glendonite crystals collected at Carter Creek on the North Slope of Alaska. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) values in the measured section were found to range between 0.5 and 3.5%, with a shift towards lower values in the uppermost 5 m of the section. Stable isotopes (13C) in organic matter were relatively stable thro
USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (ver. 2.0, October 2023)
The USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD) is an online repository for all publicly available source rock data (outcrop and subsurface) from the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. "Source rock data" are defined in this context as data that include any of the following measured or calculated parameters: -total organic carbon (TOC), -various pyrol
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast region, 2023
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 16 million barrels of oil and 348 billion cubic feet of gas in conventional reservoirs of the Norphlet Formation in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
John W. Counts, William H. Craddock, Jared T. Gooley, Marc Buursink, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Christopher J. Schenk
Discerning sediment provenance in the Outer Banks (USA) through detrital zircon geochronology
Detrital zircon data from modern barrier island and estuarine environments in the Outer Banks (Atlantic Coast, USA) were statistically compared to sands from nearby rivers to assist in determining source-to-sink pathways. Fluvial samples, collected from near the Fall Line contact between the Appalachian Orogen and sediments of the coastal plain, all have age unique distributions, making them ideal
Authors
John W. Counts, Jared T. Gooley, Joshua Long, William H. Craddock, Paul O'Sullivan
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin during middle Cretaceous carbon burial remains enigmatic. We present the first Arctic deepwater CIE r
Authors
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
Defining the hafnium isotopic signature of the Appalachian orogen through analysis of detrital zircons from modern fluvial sediments
Fluvial sediments are the product of erosion, weathering, and transport of bedrock within a well-defined catchment area, and their constituent grains may therefore record valuable information about the lithological and geochemical properties of geologic units within the upstream drainage. Analysis of U-Pb ages and Lu/Hf isotopic values in detrital zircon grains from major rivers in the eastern USA
Authors
John W. Counts, William H. Craddock, Jared T. Gooley
Insights into glendonite formation from the upper Oligocene Sagavanirktok Formation, North Slope, Alaska
The type locality for the upper Oligocene Nuwok Member of the Sagavanirktok Formation (Carter Creek, North Slope, Alaska, USA) contains abundant occurrence of glendonite, a pseudomorph after the calcium carbonate mineral ikaite, which typically forms in the shallow subsurface of cold marine sediments. The region during the time of Nuwok Member deposition was located at a high latitude, similar to
Authors
John W. Counts, Madeleine Vickers, Martha (Rebecca) Stokes, Whittney Spivey, Kristina Frank Gardner, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, Ryan J. McAleer, Aaron M. Jubb, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, Neil Patrick Griffis, Martin S. Vickers, Kasia Śliwińska, Hannah Gail Dooley Tompkins, Adam M. Hudson
A review of sand detachment in modern deep marine environments: Analogues for upslope stratigraphic traps
Isolated, detached sands provide opportunities for large-volume stratigraphic traps in many deepwater petroleum systems. Here we provide a review of the different types of sandbody detachments based on published data from the modern-day seafloor and recent (generally Quaternary-present), shallow-buried strata. Detachment mechanisms can be classified based on their timing of formation relative to d
Authors
John W. Counts, Lawrence Amy, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou, Peter Haughton
Assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1,407 billion (1.4 trillion) cubic feet of gas in conventional accumulations in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska.
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, Tracey J. Mercier, Christopher J. Schenk, Thomas E. Moore, William A. Rouse, Julie A. Dumoulin, William H. Craddock, Richard O. Lease, Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, Rebecca A. Smith, Christopher D. Connors, Christopher P. Garrity, Katherine J. Whidden, Jared T. Gooley, John W. Counts, Joshua H. Long, Christina A. DeVera
USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD)
The database is designed to be a convenient resource for any member of the public to easily access source rock data from across the Gulf Coast region, circumventing the need for extensive, time-consuming literature searches.