Jon Mason
Science and Products
Black Mesa Monitoring Program
The U.S. Geological Survey water-monitoring program in the Black Mesa area began in 1971 and provides information about the long-term effects of groundwater withdrawals from the N aquifer for industrial and municipal uses. The monitoring program includes measuring potential recovery in the N aquifer as a result of the reduction in industrial pumpage by Peabody Western Coal Company.
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2016–2018
The Navajo (N) aquifer is the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of its arid climate. Precipitation in the area...
Mason, Jon P.
Geophysical surveys, hydrogeologic characterization, and groundwater flow model for the Truxton basin and Hualapai Plateau, northwestern Arizona
This is the third and final report in a series that describe the groundwater resources of the Hualapai Indian Reservation. These reports document the findings of a comprehensive groundwater study conducted on the reservation and adjacent areas from 2015 through 2018 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. The...
Mason, Jon P.
Geology and hydrology of the Truxton basin and Hualapai Plateau, northwestern Arizona
The geology of northwestern Arizona is prominently displayed on the canyon and cliff walls that compose the high-desert landscape of the Hualapai Plateau and that border the Truxton basin. The Truxton basin is a small topographic basin filled with Quaternary and Tertiary deposits and volcanic rock (about 1,600 feet thick near Truxton, Arizona)...
Mason, Jon P.; Mason, Jon P.; Bills, Donald J.; Macy, Jamie P.
Gravity surveys and depth to bedrock in the Truxton basin, northwestern Arizona
The volume of available groundwater and the effect of groundwater pumping in an alluvial basin is influenced in part by the shape and depth of the basin boundary, which commonly consists of low-permeability bedrock. To better understand the shape and depth of basin fill in the Truxton valley in Arizona, new gravity data were collected at 149...
Mason, Jon P.; Kennedy, Jeffrey R.
Groundwater availability in the Truxton basin, northwestern Arizona
This is a summary chapter of a multichapter volume that includes a brief description of the study area and descriptions of the hydrogeologic framework, numerical groundwater-flow model, and estimates of simulated changes to groundwater levels of the Truxton aquifer.
Mason, Jon P.; Mason, Jon P.; Knight, Jacob E.; Ball, Lyndsay B.; Kennedy, Jeffrey R.; Bills, Donald J.; Macy, Jamie P.
Hydrogeologic characterization of the Hualapai Plateau on the western Hualapai Indian Reservation, northwestern Arizona
This study was developed to assess if groundwater from the western Hualapai Plateau could be used to supply developments in the Grand Canyon West area of the Hualapai Indian Reservation and to collect hydrogeologic data for future use in a numerical groundwater model for the reservation. Ground-based geophysical surveys; existing well, spring, and...
Mason, Jon P.; Macy, Jamie P.; Bills, Donald J.; Gungle, Bruce W.; Jones, Casey J. R.
Major hydrostratigraphic contacts of the Truxton basin and Hualapai Plateau, northwestern Arizona, developed from airborne electromagnetic data
The area surrounding the Grand Canyon has spectacular outcrop exposure in the modern canyon walls, leading to stratigraphic contact delineations that are well constrained near canyons yet poorly constrained where the terrain remains undissected and relatively unexplored by boreholes. An airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey of the western...
Mason, Jon P.; Ball, Lyndsay B.
Simulation of groundwater-level changes from projected groundwater withdrawals in the Truxton basin, northwestern Arizona
A three-dimensional, numerical groundwater flow model of the Hualapai Plateau and Truxton basin was developed to assist water-resource managers in understanding the potential effects of projected groundwater withdrawals on groundwater levels and storage in the basin. The Truxton Basin Hydrologic Model (TBHM) is a transient model that simulates the...
Mason, Jon P.; Knight, Jacob E.
Characterization of Big Chino subbasin hydrogeology near Paulden, Arizona, using controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric surveys
The Big Chino subbasin is located in central-northwest Arizona in the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range Province. The controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) geophysical method, a low-impact, non-intrusive, electrical resistance sounding technique, was used to evaluate the subsurface...
Macy, Jamie P.; Gungle, Bruce W.; Mason, Jon P.
Investigation of recent decadal-scale cyclical fluctuations in salinity in the lower Colorado river
Beginning in the late 1970s, 10- to 15-year cyclical oscillations in salinity were observed at lower Colorado River monitoring sites, moving upstream from the international border with Mexico, above Imperial Dam, below Hoover Dam, and at Lees Ferry. The cause of these cyclical trends in salinity was unknown. These salinity cycles...
Tillman, Fred; Coes, Alissa L.; Anning, David W.; Mason, Jon P.; Coplen, Tyler B.
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2015–2016
The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of the arid climate....
Mason, Jon P.; Macy, Jamie P.
Conceptual and numerical models of dissolved solids in the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Imperial Dam, and Parker Dam to Imperial Dam, Arizona, California, and Nevada
Conceptual and numerical models were developed to understand and simulate monthly flow-weighted dissolved-solids concentrations in the Colorado River at Imperial Dam. The ability to simulate dissolved-solids concentrations at this location will help the Bureau of Reclamation satisfy the binational agreement on the volume and salinity of Colorado...
Anning, David W.; Coes, Alissa L.; Mason, Jon P.
USGS Arizona Water Science Center publishes a series of reports that describe the groundwater resources of the Hualapai Plateau and Truxton Basin
The USGS Arizona Water Science Center has published three reports documenting the findings of a comprehensive groundwater study conducted from 2015 through 2018 on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and adjacent areas from 2015 through 2018 in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation.